If you just started Once Human on PS5, Xbox or PC and everything you want — a better weapon blueprint, a rerolled Deviation, that cosmetic you keep eyeing — seems to cost a currency you never have enough of, you are running into the game's two economic engines: Starchrom and Energy Links. They are not the same resource, they are not farmed the same way, and the single biggest mistake new players make is grinding the wrong one for the wrong goal. This guide fixes that.
Everything below is current as of update 3.0.5 (September 3, 2026), works identically on PS5, PS5 Pro, Xbox Series X and S, PC and mobile (the economy is shared across platforms thanks to crossplay), and is checked against the official `oncehuman.game` update posts plus in-game systems. No drop rates are invented — Starry Studio has never published Starchrom or blueprint-pull rates, so anyone quoting you "X Starchrom per hour" is guessing. What you get here is method and relative efficiency: the loops that actually move the needle, ranked.
Quick answer: how to farm Starchrom and Energy Links fast
Starchrom is your hard progression currency — spend it on the Wish Machine (blueprint pulls) and the seasonal shop. Farm it through your server's Season Goals, Territory Purification with the highest-tier Cortex items, Battle Pass tier rewards, and first-clears of Prime War and dungeons. Energy Links are your everyday spending and trading currency — earn them fastest by running dungeons and daily/weekly Commissions, clearing Journey tasks, farming repeatable bosses, and selling crafted goods at a Vending Machine. In short:
- Need blueprints or seasonal shop items? Chase Starchrom via Season Goals + Territory Purification.
- Need to buy mats, calibrate, craft, or trade? Chase Energy Links via Commissions, dungeons and Vending Machine sales.
- Do the free stuff first. Season Goals, Journey tasks and Battle Pass tiers hand you huge lumps of Starchrom for content you would clear anyway — always exhaust those before you go out "farming."
- Starchrom carries over between scenarios — Energy Links do not. Starchrom is on the permanent carry-over list; Energy Links convert into Astral Sand in Eternaland when your server's scenario ends. Spend your EL before settlement, and bank Starchrom.
The mistake to avoid: burning hours "farming Starchrom" out in the world when your unclaimed Season Goals and Battle Pass tiers are sitting there with thousands of it waiting. Claim first, grind second.
Starchrom vs Energy Links: what each currency is actually for
These two currencies solve completely different problems, and knowing which is which stops you wasting time.
Starchrom is the main hard progression currency. Its headline sink is the Wish Machine, where you pull weapon and gear blueprints — the permanent unlocks that make your builds possible. It is also spent in seasonal shops. You cannot buy Starchrom with real money; it is earned entirely in-game, which is exactly why farming it efficiently matters.
Energy Links (EL) are the soft, everyday currency — and the medium of the entire player-to-player trading economy. You spend EL constantly: crafting, buying materials, calibration, blueprint fragments, and buying items from other players' Vending Machines. Because EL is what changes hands in trades, it is effectively the "cash" of Once Human.
Two supporting currencies feed into this loop and are worth knowing:
- Mitsuko's Marks — a season-goal currency spent in the Seasons Shop; weekly objectives feed it, and it unlocks phase rewards that include Starchrom. So chasing Marks indirectly chases Starchrom.
- Stellar Planula — exchanged for Starchrom Crates and weapon accessories, earned from World Tasks, Rift Anchors and Morphic Crates (the yellow flicker on your Cradle backpack you shoot down for rewards).
Here is the at-a-glance breakdown:
| Currency | Primary use | Farmable? | Buyable with cash? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starchrom | Wish Machine blueprint pulls, seasonal shop | Yes — Season Goals, purification, Battle Pass, events | No |
| Energy Links | Crafting, materials, calibration, player trading | Yes — Commissions, dungeons, bosses, selling goods | No |
| Mitsuko's Marks | Seasons Shop; unlocks phase rewards incl. Starchrom | Yes — weekly season objectives | No |
| Stellar Planula | Starchrom Crates, weapon accessories | Yes — World Tasks, Rift Anchors, Morphic Crates | No |
| Crystgin | Premium cosmetics only (optional) | No | Yes (official Top-up Center) |
Note the last row: Crystgin is the only cash currency, and it buys cosmetics — not power, not Starchrom, not Energy Links. Nothing that affects your build is behind a paywall, so there is no way to "pay to skip" the grind below. That is the whole reason this guide exists.
How to farm Starchrom fast in Once Human
Ranked by efficiency, highest-value first. The theme: most of your Starchrom comes from content you should be clearing anyway — you just have to actually claim it.
1. Claim your Season Goals every phase (highest value, zero extra effort)
Open the main menu and select your current scenario from the top-right corner to see your Season Goals. These reward Mitsuko's Marks and unlock phase rewards that include large Starchrom lumps — Marks are spent in the Seasons Shop, and their phase rewards feed straight back into your Starchrom balance. This is the single biggest source in the game because it pays you for progression you're doing regardless. As the community consensus on r/OnceHumanOfficial goes, "the seasonal goals are by far the best Starchrom source — everything else is a top-up." Do not let unclaimed Season Goals pile up.
2. Battle Pass tiers
Leveling the Battle Pass (current theme as of the 3.0.4 content drop: Final Prayer) hands out Starchrom at milestone tiers. The Fandom community wiki reports meaningful Starchrom drops at Battle Pass levels 5, 15, 25, 35, 45 and 55; treat the exact figures as community-reported rather than official, but the pattern is real — Battle Pass progression is passive Starchrom. The free track pays out too, so this applies whether or not you bought the pass.
3. Territory Purification with the highest-tier Cortex
The main active farm is Territory Purification — placing a Stardust Resonant Filter in your territory, loading an Eclipse Cortex or Chaotic Cortex stone, and defending the machine against waves until the timer runs out. Efficiency scales with the tier of Cortex you use, so always run the highest tier you can craft (community consensus points to T3 Cortex for PvE zones and T4 for PvP). One hard limit to plan around, straight from the official Once Human wiki: Eclipse Cortex and Chaotic Cortex share a cap of 40 purifications per week — "allowing you to purify as many and as high levels as needed within this limit." So there's no point over-farming Cortex stones; spend your 40 on the highest tiers. This is your go-to active method when Season Goals and Battle Pass are exhausted and you still need Starchrom.
4. First-clears: Prime War, dungeons and story
Many pieces of content pay a one-time Starchrom bonus on first clear — Prime War, Silos, and story/side-story milestones. These are not repeatable, but at a fresh server or a new scenario they add up to a large early bankroll. Prioritize first-clears when a scenario opens.
5. Events and the Journey
The rotating event layer (in early September 2026 that's the Forgotten Summer login events plus the 3.0.4 Global Heat cross-platform event) and your Journey task track both hand out Starchrom alongside Energy Links. Check them daily; they expire.
Wish Machine tip: each Wish Machine draw costs 500 Starchrom and returns one item from a set pool — blueprint pieces, full blueprints, cosmetics or gear from C to S rarity (Src: dotesports). Don't dump your whole balance the moment you have it — hold enough that when a weapon you actually want appears in your build plan, you can commit. Blueprints and their star ratings are permanent across scenarios, so a good pull pays off forever.
How to farm Energy Links fast in Once Human
Energy Links are earned by doing almost anything, but the yields vary wildly. Here are the reliable, high-throughput loops.
1. Daily and weekly Commissions
The Commission board is the backbone of EL income. Weekly commissions reward EL, EXP and Controllers, and the tasks are things you do anyway — take photos, kill a set number of Rosetta soldiers, craft ammo, use activators. You can reset the board and re-pick commissions that align with what you're already doing, which is the key efficiency trick: never grind a commission that sends you across the map when a "craft ammo" one completes itself.
2. Dungeons and Silos
Running PvE dungeons (the short ones near your base take only a few minutes each) pays EL plus loot you can sell. A common daily routine from the community: log in, clear your three fastest nearby dungeons, then chain into a World Task and a Commission objective on the way. Stacking objectives so one run satisfies several is how the high-EL players hit their numbers.
3. Repeatable world bosses
Most boss fights in Once Human are repeatable, and they drop Energy Links along with mats and gear. Team up with friends to scale the difficulty up and the payout with it. Bosses are also your best source of sellable materials, which feeds method #5.
4. Journey tasks and exploration
Your Journey track and general exploration/World Tasks hand out EL (and Starchrom, and Controllers) as you complete them. This is passive income for playing the game — clear the Journey milestones early because several are one-time.
5. Sell crafted goods at a Vending Machine (the compounding method)
This is the one that separates casual players from EL-rich ones. Once you're above level 10, build a Vending Machine and list crafted items, materials or Deviations for other players to buy. In the official Harvesters' Market (dedicated trading zones in Manibus, Evolution's Call and The Way of Winter, launched March 2025), you can run a Special Vending Machine that needs no power connection. Restock your machine every login, and it earns EL while you're doing everything else. Because EL is the trade currency, turning your surplus crafting into a storefront is the only truly passive income in the game.
Do Starchrom and Energy Links carry over between scenarios?
Partly — and the difference is the single most expensive misconception in the game. Starchrom carries over; Energy Links do not. Because Once Human's seasonal servers reset, what survives a scenario end is a specific list: your blueprints, Mods, star ratings, Battle Pass progress, story progress and your banked Starchrom all follow you to a permanent server or new scenario. Your Energy Links do not survive as Energy Links — at settlement they are converted into Astral Sand (the Eternaland building currency) inside your persistent hub. Guides that tell you "your Energy Links carry over" are wrong in the way that actually costs you.
The clean rule: spend your Energy Links down before your scenario ends, and treat Starchrom as the currency worth banking. Raw resources and crafted items also get moved into Eternaland, so don't hoard perishable materials expecting them to reappear untouched — convert value into blueprints, Starchrom or things you'll actually use first. And remember your character resets to level 1 with Memetics reset at a new scenario, so permanent unlocks (blueprints, star ratings) and banked Starchrom are the real head start veterans carry. If you're new to how servers roll over, our server wipe and permanent-server guide walks through the full reset.
Console note: is farming different on PS5 and Xbox?
No. Since the Once Human PS5 and Xbox console launch (August 25, 2026) (11:00 PT / August 26 in EU and Asia), PS5, PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X and S run the same game, same economy and same servers as PC and mobile. Every method above works identically with a controller. Two small console-relevant tips:
- Vending Machine management (listing, pricing, restocking) is done through the same menus and is perfectly workable on a controller — 3.0.4 significantly expanded controller customization, so remap if the trade menus feel awkward.
- To trade or sell to PC/mobile friends, you must all be on an untagged cross-platform server — the 【Console】-tagged servers are console-only and won't share a market with PC players. If you're setting up cross-platform play, our crossplay and cross-progression guide covers exactly which servers connect.
FAQ
What is the fastest way to get Starchrom in Once Human? Claim your Season Goals and Battle Pass tier rewards first — they hand out the largest Starchrom lumps for progression you're already doing. Once those are exhausted, run Territory Purification with the highest-tier Cortex you can craft (community consensus is T3 for PvE, T4 for PvP), and grab every first-clear bonus from Prime War, dungeons and story milestones.
Can you buy Starchrom or Energy Links with real money? No. Neither Starchrom nor Energy Links can be purchased directly. The only cash currency is Crystgin, and it buys cosmetics and convenience items only — nothing that affects your build or progression. That means there is no pay-to-skip; the farming loops in this guide are the only way to earn them.
What's the difference between Starchrom and Energy Links? Starchrom is your hard progression currency for Wish Machine blueprint pulls and the seasonal shop. Energy Links are your everyday soft currency for crafting, materials, calibration and — crucially — player-to-player trading. Farm Starchrom for unlocks, farm Energy Links for spending and trading.
Do I lose my Starchrom and Energy Links when the server resets? Your Starchrom is safe — it's on the permanent carry-over list with your blueprints, Mods and Battle Pass progress and follows you to a permanent server or new scenario. Your Energy Links do not carry over as Energy Links, though: at settlement they are converted into Astral Sand (Eternaland's building currency). So spend your Energy Links before your scenario ends, and bank Starchrom.
How do I make Energy Links passively? Build a Vending Machine (available above level 10) and sell crafted goods, materials or Deviations to other players. In the Harvesters' Market you can run a Special Vending Machine that needs no power. Restock it each login and it earns Energy Links while you play, since Energy Links are the currency all trades settle in.
Is farming different on PS5 or Xbox? No — console shares the same economy and servers as PC and mobile, and every method works with a controller. Just make sure you're on an untagged cross-platform server if you want to trade with PC or mobile friends; 【Console】-tagged servers are console-only.
Bottom line
Stop grinding blind. Starchrom = Season Goals + Battle Pass + Territory Purification, and you claim most of it for content you're already clearing. Energy Links = Commissions + dungeons + bosses + selling at a Vending Machine, with the Vending Machine being the only real passive income in the game. Do the free claims first, run the highest-tier content you can, and turn your crafting surplus into a storefront — that's the whole economy, and it's the same on PS5, Xbox, PC and mobile.
For more 2026-accurate Once Human guides written for the console era — from crossplay and cross-progression to how seasonal servers reset — keep an eye on our Once Human blog as the Isles of Abyss ocean expansion lands later in October.
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