Surviving Nalcott is already chaotic enough. You are fighting monsters, looting abandoned buildings, grinding resources, and trying to keep your base from looking like a half-finished construction project. Then Once Human throws Deviations into the mix, and suddenly you have an army of bizarre Stardust-altered creatures and objects ready to become combat partners, automated workers, resource gatherers, and crafting machines.

That is where things get seriously interesting. The right Deviation can jump into battle beside you, quietly mine ore while you are off exploring, keep your crops growing, boost your power setup, or produce materials that unlock useful items. There are roughly 80 core Deviations to collect, although the total becomes much higher once scenario-exclusive, event, collaboration, Shiny, Morphed, and other variant forms are counted.

Some Deviations float around the overworld waiting to be captured. Others come from bosses, quests, Securement Silos, crates, events, mining, fishing, raids, Monoliths, World Tasks, and other activities. Building the right roster can make your journey through Nalcott dramatically easier, especially when your strange little Stardust workforce is doing half the survival work for you.

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What Are Deviations in Once Human?

Deviations are anomalous creatures and objects altered by Stardust. Once captured and secured, they can provide benefits ranging from combat assistance and base automation to resource gathering and crafting.

The main functional categories include Combat, Territory, and Crafting Deviations. Some sources, including IGN’s classification, further divide them into Combat, Defender, Territory, and Gadget categories. Defender Deviations focus on cover and damage mitigation, while Gadget Deviations are designed around useful crafting materials.

Combat Deviations accompany you into the field and can deal damage, heal you, draw enemy aggro, mark targets, or apply special effects. Territory Deviations remain at your base and automate activities such as mining, farming, logging, cooking, power generation, and defense. Crafting or Gadget Deviations can produce special materials, Whims, and other useful items.

Some rare Deviations can fill multiple roles, but most are built around a specific purpose. That means the smartest collection is not necessarily the biggest one. A balanced roster built around your combat style and base requirements can be much more valuable than simply collecting everything you encounter.

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How to Capture, Secure and Build Your Deviation Roster

How to Capture Deviations in Standard Scenarios

Finding a Deviation is only half the battle. Actually securing one can sometimes turn into a tiny Stardust-powered gamble.

In standard scenarios such as Manibus and Way of Winter, many overworld Deviations appear as floating creatures or objects. Approach one and press F, the default interact key, to begin the capture attempt. A percentage chance appears during the process, with your success rate depending primarily on your gloves’ Deviation Capture stat.

Higher-tier gloves and fully repaired equipment generally provide better capture odds. Failed attempts slightly increase the chance on the next try, but repeated failures are not completely risk-free. After roughly four consecutive failures, the Deviation can escape permanently.

Not every Deviation requires a capture check. Deviations obtained from loot, discarded objects, settlement Securement Pods, and certain rewards can be picked up directly.

Capture-enhancing consumables can make difficult catches considerably easier. Securement Soup, Miracle Tea, and other foods with a Deviation Capture bonus can provide roughly +1 to +3 Capture Ability Levels, effectively raising your gloves’ effective capture capability for a limited time. Stardust Italian Soup Can and similar items provide smaller boosts. These are temporary buffs that improve capture ability; they do not increase the Deviation’s own level or guarantee better Skill Ratings, Activity Ratings, or traits.

Glove tiers roughly correspond to the Deviation levels you can reliably capture, with Tier V gloves plus capture-boosting food capable of handling very difficult targets.

Deviations can also be obtained without ordinary overworld capture through:

• Boss drops and Securement Silo rewards
• Specific World Tasks and main story quests
• Morphic Crates and event rewards
• Mining certain ores
• Fishing
• Raids and Monolith activities
• Overworld crates and puzzles
• Tutorial progression
• Scenario-specific activities

For example, The Digby Boy has a chance to appear while mining tin or silver, while Butterfly’s Emissary is the first Deviation most players receive through tutorial progression. Lowe, who appears in different settlements, is also an important source of side-quest and World Task-related Deviations.

Some Deviations can appear as Shiny, Morphed, or other variant forms. These versions can have unique appearances and additional traits, making them especially valuable to collectors and players looking for stronger long-term roster options.

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Survive, Capture, Preserve Uses a Different Capture System

The Deviation: Survive, Capture, Preserve scenario changes the capture process completely. Instead of approaching an overworld Deviation and using the standard interaction system, players capture roaming Deviations with Binding Capsules and Binding Grenades, which are crafted through Memetics → Logistics.

Higher-tier grenades increase the maximum Deviation level you can capture. Your success rate can also improve dramatically when you weaken the target to roughly 25% HP and investigate its footprints or traces before attempting the capture.

A single grenade can potentially capture multiple Deviations when they are close together. Wish Statues provide another option, allowing players to summon stronger Deviations in exchange for Wish Coins.

This makes Deviation hunting in SCP feel much more like an active monster-catching system than the standard scenario’s capture mechanic.

How to Use Deviations at Your Base

Capturing a Deviation does not automatically put it to work. Territory and Crafting Deviations need an Isolated Securement Unit before they can begin performing their assigned tasks.

The unit is built through Facilities → Special / Function and requires:

• 20 Metal Scraps
• 15 Copper Ingots
• 10 Glass

The facility is unlocked through the Deviation Securement Facility memetic, although novice scenarios and tutorial progression can provide access to it for free.

In standard scenarios, the base limit is usually five Isolated Securement Units. Territory expansion Memetics can increase the limit to 10 and eventually 20 units, depending on the scenario.

SCP handles the limits differently. Its Isolated Securement Unit becomes available through the Tech System’s Build category during Phase II, while additional capacity is tied to Symbiosis progression. The supplied progression details place the limits at five units at Symbiosis Level 4 and 10 units at Level 8.

Once a Territory or Crafting Deviation is placed inside the unit, it can begin working passively. Combat Deviations can also be secured at your base, but in standard scenarios they must be synced to your Cradle before they can accompany you into combat.

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Sync Combat Deviations to Your Cradle

Combat Deviations work differently from Territory and Crafting companions. In standard scenarios, they must be synced to your Cradle before they can join you in battle, and you can normally bring only one Combat Deviation at a time.

That makes your choice important. The rarest Deviation is not automatically the best one for every build. An offensive companion may be ideal for a damage-focused setup, while a defensive or healing Deviation can completely change how another build performs.

Keep Deviations Happy With the Right Environment

Your Deviations have two major management stats: Deviant Power and Mood.

Deviant Power caps at 100 and determines how long a Deviation can remain active. Combat abilities consume Power while they are being used. Mood affects efficiency, meaning a happy Deviation works more effectively while a Deviation with poor Mood can slow down or stop working.

When Power becomes low, a Deviation can consume Mood to recharge it. When both Power and Mood reach zero, the Deviation stops performing its tasks until those stats recover.

The environment surrounding an Isolated Securement Unit plays a major role in that recovery. To see what a particular Deviation prefers, interact with its facility by pressing F and check the Securement Environment section.

Common environmental requirements include:

• Colored lights
• Music
• Specific electricity levels
• Temperature
• Flowers
• Crops
• Toys

Some useful examples are:

• Butterfly’s Emissary: Green Light + Flowers
• Festering Gel: Red Light + 2 W Electricity
• The Digby Boy: Red Light + Music + 5 W Electricity
• Electric Eel: Blue Light + Music + High Temperature
• Logging Beaver: Music + Crops + 3 W Electricity
• Lonewolf’s Whisper: Red Light + Low Temperature + 5 W Electricity
• Rebecca: Green Light + Toy + Flowers

Matching these preferences helps restore Mood and Power more efficiently. Grouping Deviations with similar environmental requirements can also make your base layout much more efficient because the same setup can support several companions.

Temperature management becomes particularly useful in extreme environments. Heaters, coolers, and thermal boundaries can help maintain suitable conditions, especially in scenarios such as Way of Winter.

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Skill Rating, Activity Rating and Traits Matter

Not every copy of the same Deviation is equally valuable. Before selling, discarding, or trading a duplicate, check its Skill Rating, Activity Rating, and Traits.

Skill Rating, which ranges from 1 to 5, indicates how effectively a Deviation performs its primary role. Depending on the Deviation, this can affect combat strength, gathering performance, crafting efficiency, or other forms of automation.

Activity Rating, also ranging from 1 to 5, affects how quickly the Deviation recovers Power and Mood while dormant. Higher ratings are generally more desirable, with 5/5 versions being especially valuable for players building an optimized endgame roster.

Traits can make an otherwise ordinary duplicate worth keeping. Positive traits can improve work speed, Power recovery, Mood sharing, nearby Deviation performance, combat bonuses, or other specialized effects. Negative traits such as Worn-Out and Feeling Blue can reduce Activity performance, slow recovery, or negatively affect output.

In SCP, Fusion adds another reason to keep strong duplicates. Players can combine Deviations to transfer or improve ratings and traits, with parent ratings influencing the resulting Deviation and material Deviations affecting trait possibilities.

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How to Restore Deviation Power

The most reliable way to accelerate recovery is to keep each Isolated Securement Unit inside its Deviation’s preferred environment.

This matters because Power and Mood are connected. A Deviation can convert Mood into Power when its Power becomes depleted, meaning a poorly optimized habitat can eventually hurt both resources. For Combat Deviations, Power management becomes even more important because their abilities consume that resource during combat.

Keeping the right environmental conditions active lets your Deviations recover more efficiently while they are not being used.

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The Best Early Deviations to Prioritize

You do not need to catch everything immediately. A handful of strong Deviations can completely change the early-game experience.

Festering Gel is one of the strongest early Combat options because it creates a fortification that blocks damage and restores HP and Sanity. Butterfly’s Emissary, the tutorial starter, can mark weak spots and automatically attack enemies, making it a reliable early companion. Lonewolf’s Whisper provides a strong offensive option while also drawing enemy aggro.

Other Combat Deviations include:

• Polar Jelly
• Mr. Wish
• Pyro Dino
• Enchanting Void
• Dr. Teddy
• Grumpy Bulb
• By-the-Wind
• Mini Feaster
• Zeno-Purifier
• Shattered Maiden

For Territory management, The Digby Boy is a major quality-of-life upgrade because it can passively mine ore up to silver, with higher tiers requiring platforms. Electric Eel increases generator power limits, while Buzzy Bee supports farming and crop mutation chances. Logging Beaver automates wood collection.

Other useful Territory Deviations include Nutcracker, Chefosaurus Rex, H37, Fetch-A-Lot Bunny, Strange Door, Extradimensional Cat, Flame Essence, Paper Doll, Growshroom, and Lethal Rabbit.

For crafting and utility, Chefosaurus Rex helps with cooking, while Growshroom and Rain Man provide a strong farming-support combination. Space Turner produces useful spatial items. Other Crafting or Gadget Deviations include Harveseed, Dreamcatcher, Atomic Lighter, Pup Buddy, Disco Ball, Gingerbread House, Frog the Leaper, and Masonic Pyramid.

Later priorities can include Rebecca for supporting the energy recovery of other Deviations, Nutcracker for defense, and a high-rarity Combat Deviation that complements your preferred build.

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New Deviations From Recent Scenarios and Collaborations

The supplied Game8 information also covers newer Deviations introduced through Deviation: Survive, Capture, Preserve and the Once Human x Palworld Collaboration.

Cattiva works in the Territory to gather ores or operate at the Mining Operation Platform. Chillet remains in the Territory and accompanies its owner to sleep to help ensure they are fully energetic the next day, while Chillet Ignis shares the same Territory and sleep-related function.

Whalepup can participate in combat and transform the battlefield into an underwater environment that drowns enemies and increases the Weapon DMG they receive. Director Fox helps tame, grow, and breed animals while working in the Territory. Soul Summoner joins combat, weakens enemies with cursed arrows, and increases the Weapon DMG enemies receive.

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How the SCP Symbiosis System Changes Progression

SCP is not simply standard Once Human with different capture tools. Its central progression system is Symbiosis, where players register Deviations and build progression around their total Deviation Value.

The Symbiosis Level can reach 10 and increases benefits such as Deviation registration capacity, Deviation level caps, and ability scaling. Arenas, Gym battles, and Chaos bosses also serve as important progression gates.

The combat setup is also different. Instead of bringing one Combat Deviation through the Cradle, players can equip and summon up to three Deviations at once, using inventory slots 4 through 6. They can be directed using Ping to target enemies or through the player’s own attacks.

Capture, Fusion, habitat information, and other Deviation systems are integrated into the Symbiosis interface, making SCP much more focused on developing a coordinated Deviation team.

Notable Deviation Locations and Acquisition Methods

Availability is highly scenario-dependent. The supplied location data covers Manibus, Deviation: Survive, Capture, Preserve, Endless Dream, Way of Winter, Prismverse’s Clash, and Evolution’s Call. Some Deviations are restricted to particular scenarios, events, collaborations, or progression activities, so always check the active scenario’s Deviation list before beginning a farming session.

Deviation	Type	How to Obtain It
Artisan’s Touch	Crafting	Complete the Carnival of Doom Quest or find a random world spawn
Atomic Lighter	Crafting	Farm Securement Silo EX1
Atomic Snail	Crafting	Prime War and Stardust’s Advent Loot Crate rewards
Butterfly’s Emissary	Combat	Complete the Eve of Evolution Tutorial, find it at GAIA Research Center Ruins, or farm Securement Silo Alpha
Buzzy Bee	Territory	Capture it in Citrus County or find it in farm plots
Chefosaurus Rex	Territory	Complete There’s A Dragon Here or capture it in Securement Silo Phi
Disco Ball	Crafting	Complete Hales’ Moving House Side Quest
Dr. Teddy	Combat	Farm Securement Silo Theta
Electric Eel	Territory	Catch it while fishing or during Surge of Fish events
Enchanting Void	Combat	Farm Securement Silo Theta
Extradimensional Cat	Territory	Capture it in Neutral Strongholds or find it in settlements
Festering Gel	Combat	Defeat Ravenous Hunter in Monolith of Greed
Fetch-A-Lot Bunny	Territory	Cut down Dracaena or Bald Cypress Trees
Flame Essence	Territory	Capture it in Sutherland Chemical Plant
Frog the Leaper	Crafting	Find it in ponds and car stacks
Growshroom	Territory	Chance to appear while gathering mushrooms
Lethal Rabbit	Territory	Drops from rabbits or can be farmed south of Sunbury
Logging Beaver	Territory	Found southeast of Deadsville and at Meyer’s Market docks
Lonewolf’s Whisper	Combat	Dropped by Shadow Hound in Monolith of Thirst
Mini Feaster	Combat	Complete Lord of the Fog or Mist Zone events
Mr. Wish	Combat	Capture it at Blackfell Fallen Zone and Evergreen or farm Securement Silo Sigma depending on the scenario
Nutcracker	Territory	Dropped by Forsaken Giant in Forsaken Monolith
Polar Jelly	Combat	Cargo Scramble reward or Securement Silo EX1
Pyro Dino	Combat	Farm Securement Silo Phi
Rain Man	Territory	Dropped by Rainfall Reapers at Sutherland Chemical Plant
Rebecca	Territory	Capture in LEA Research Lab
Shattered Maiden	Combat	Complete Farmside Fright or Production Facility events
Snow Globe	Crafting	Farm Securement Silo PSI
Space Turner	Crafting	Clear Dayton Hospital Side Quest or find it through Door Puzzles
Strange Door	Crafting	Chance to spawn in Door Puzzles
Tar Pudding	Territory	Obtain through the Treant in Avalanche Monolith or its side quest
The Digby Boy	Territory	Complete the Deviation Expert Side Quest or obtain it while mining
Voodoo Doll	Combat	Complete Carnival of Doom, find a random world spawn, or meet other scenario-specific requirements
Whalepup	Combat	Defeat the secret room boss in Securement Silo Theta on Hard mode or higher
Wish Box	Territory	Purchase from Severin in towns or obtain it from Morphic Crates
Zeno-Purifier	Combat	Kill 200 enemies using a melee weapon or obtain it from weapon crates

The broader source table also contains scenario-specific alternatives involving locations, quests, vendors, events, Mutagens, Prism Deviations, and situations where a particular Deviation cannot be obtained in a given scenario.

Use the Interactive Deviation Map to Save Time

Tracking Deviations manually can become a serious time sink, especially when you are hunting a rare spawn.

The supplied Game8 interactive map includes markers for Union Strongholds, Hamlets, Teleportation Towers, Workshops, Settlements, Danger Zones, Monoliths, Rift Anchors, Weapon Crates, Gear Crates, Elite enemies, Mystical Crates, Morphic Crates, Securement Silos, Securable Deviants, Scenic Viewpoints, Puzzle Crates, Riddle Spots, Recipes, Moving Houses, Chaosweavers, Lunar Oracle Crates, and Star Advent Crates.

Search, pin display, full-screen mode, icon mode, all-pins, and counter functions make it easier to narrow the map down to the activity or Deviation you actually want.

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Build Your Deviation Roster Around Progression

You do not need every Deviation to create an effective collection. Build around your current progression and the activities you actually spend time doing.

For the early game, prioritize Festering Gel, Electric Eel, The Digby Boy, and Flame Essence or another useful early Crafting helper. This gives you combat support, power management, resource gathering, and base assistance.

For the mid game, add Lonewolf’s Whisper or Polar Jelly, Logging Beaver, Growshroom and Rain Man, and Nutcracker. This expands the roster with stronger combat choices, automated gathering, farming support, and defense.

For the endgame, prioritize Rebecca, Chefosaurus Rex, and whichever high-rarity Combat Deviation best matches your preferred playstyle. At this point, specialization becomes more important than simply increasing your collection size.

In Survive, Capture, Preserve, the progression path is different. Focus on Symbiosis Level, Deviation Value, your three-member combat team, capture levels, habitats, ratings, traits, and Fusion. The goal is less about having one Combat companion alongside a large automation network and more about developing a coordinated team with complementary abilities.

What to Do With Duplicate Deviations

Never automatically discard a duplicate. First check its Skill Rating, Activity Rating, and traits. A second copy with better ratings or stronger traits can easily be more valuable than the one already in your collection.

Eligible duplicates can be:

• Sold at the Eternaland Island Shop for 500 Astral Sand each
• Traded with other players
• Discarded
• Placed near another player as a gift
• Listed through personal Vending Machines for Energy Links
• Used as Fusion materials in Survive, Capture, Preserve

Bound and event-related Deviations can have restrictions that prevent them from being traded or sold.

Deviation Storage Limits

Your Backpack’s Deviation tab can hold up to 96 Deviations without adding weight. When the limit is exceeded, additional Deviations can overflow into your mail.

Deviation Storage Crates in your Territory can hold up to 20 Deviations per crate, and multiple crates can be used for additional storage.

Eternaland can also function as permanent storage between seasons, although transferring items can require Resource Points.

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Best Tips for Finding More Deviations

Deviation hunting can become surprisingly competitive when multiple players are searching the same world for the same rare spawn. Deviations can respawn at known locations, but another player may capture one before you arrive.

When a rare overworld Deviation is missing, use a Teleportation Tower or Worldstone to switch worlds and check another instance. World-hopping remains one of the best ways to farm contested or rare overworld spawns.

Remember that availability can change dramatically between scenarios. Manibus, Way of Winter, Evolution’s Call, Prismverse’s Clash, and Deviation: Survive, Capture, Preserve do not necessarily offer the same Deviation pool.

Higher Skill Ratings from 1 to 5 and stronger Activity Ratings from 1 to 5 are generally more desirable, while traits can make an otherwise ordinary duplicate worth keeping. Lowe’s settlement-related activities are also worth checking when you are looking for Deviations tied to quests and World Tasks.

Most importantly, keep your Isolated Securement Units inside the environments your Deviations prefer. Good habitat management improves Mood and Power recovery and helps your roster remain productive.

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The Bottom Line: Build Smart, Not Just Big

Deviations can transform Once Human from a lonely survival grind into a surprisingly busy post-apocalyptic ecosystem. One can fight beside you, another can mine while you are halfway across the map, and another can handle crops, cooking, crafting, power, defense, or resource gathering back at base.

That is why the goal is not simply to catch everything because you can. Build around what you actually need, pay attention to Skill Rating, Activity Rating, and traits, and optimize every Securement Environment around the Deviations you use most.

Standard scenarios reward smart combinations of Combat, Territory, and Crafting companions, while Survive, Capture, Preserve adds its own capture system, Symbiosis progression, three-Deviation combat teams, and Fusion mechanics. Once you understand those differences, building your roster becomes much more strategic.

With the right collection—and the right environment for each member—these strange Stardust-altered companions can become one of the most powerful and useful parts of your entire Once Human journey.

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Featured Image Credit: NetEase Games

Image 2 Credit: NetEase Games / YouTube (Anestic)