Once Human: RaidZone August 28 Update Targets Cheating, Survival, and Server Rules
The August 28 update for Once Human: RaidZone is shaping up as a broad corrective pass rather than a narrow patch. According to the latest developer communication, the team is targeting four pressure points that have dominated player feedback: anti-cheat visibility, vehicle usability, survival friction, and server rules. The message is clear: fair competition, smoother exploration, and less punishing survival management are now central to the RaidZone experience. But can a single update solve all of those issues at once? The developers are betting that a combination of transparency, mechanical tuning, and stricter moderation can move the needle.
Anti-Cheat: Fair Play Under the Spotlight
Maintaining fair competition remains one of the team’s biggest priorities. The developers say they have rigorously tackled cheating through continuous monitoring upgrades, reverse-tracing of external cheats, and iterative improvements to AI detection models. The August 28 update adds three visible anti-cheat measures. First, banned players on a current server will be displayed in a marquee, ensuring cheaters have nowhere to hide. Second, character ban status will appear in the Friends list and search results, making sanctioned accounts easier to identify. Third, the team will soon begin recruiting player moderators through community channels. These moderators will help identify and analyze rule-breaking behavior; successful applicants receive an exclusive in-game Moderator Badge and can earn in-game items and limited merchandise based on contributions. Recruitment details will arrive in an upcoming developer update. The reporting system is also slated for a September version update, with a streamlined process, new violation categories, and improved progress tracking. Cheating undermines fair play and the open-world experience, and the developers reiterate a zero-tolerance policy. Will visible bans and player moderators make would-be cheaters think twice? That is the hope.
Vehicle Mechanics: Fewer Roadblocks, More Reliable Rides
Vehicle changes focus on reducing interruptions. Bicycles that spawn on the map will have full Durability by default and can be used immediately without repairs. Their maximum Durability is increased, making them last longer and resist destruction more effectively. Players can no longer carry a pillion rider on bicycles. In the open world, vehicles can now destroy most barriers by colliding with them, reducing situations where players get stuck on obstacles during exploration. The changes are small on paper but potentially significant in practice, especially for players who rely on quick traversal.
Survival Experience: Less Monitoring, Bigger Rewards
The survival tuning is perhaps the most player-friendly part of the package. Stamina cost of sprinting is reduced by 25%, gathering no longer costs Stamina, and Stamina recovery speed increases by 25%. The developer message explains that Stamina management should mainly focus on rolling, gliding, and other combat or escape actions rather than regular exploration and gathering.
Hydration and Energy effects are also reworked. Previously, Load would gradually decrease when Energy was below 30%; now Load is reduced only when Energy reaches 0. Previously, Stamina recovery speed and Movement Speed were reduced when Hydration was below 30%; now only Movement Speed is reduced when Hydration reaches 0. On the positive side, the reduced Stamina cost of sprinting previously applied at 60% Hydration; now it applies only at 100%. Likewise, a Force recovery effect applies only at 100% Energy. The aim is to reduce basic survival pressure so players do not have to constantly monitor Energy and Hydration to avoid penalties, while offering bigger incentives for maintaining full values.
Returning from a blackout is also less burdensome. Instead of restoring Energy and Hydration to pre-blackout levels, Energy now returns to approximately 50% and Hydration to approximately 70%. In RaidZone scenarios, all Sanity-related negative effects are temporarily disabled, and Max HP remains fixed. Does this make survival more about decisions than bookkeeping? The design direction suggests yes.
Server Rules and Restart Cycles
Server structure is getting a significant adjustment. RaidZone servers opened after the August 28 update will have Scenario Challenges unlocked by default and will consist of a single phase rather than multiple phases. These servers will no longer have triggerable endings or end early due to triggered endings.
A new server category for restart cycles is being introduced with two types: Weekly Restart and Monthly Restart. Weekly Restart servers restart every 7 days at a fixed time; Monthly Restart servers restart every 28 days at a fixed time.
| Restart type | Interval | Key detail |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly Restart | Every 7 days at a fixed time | Shorter cycle for faster resets |
| Monthly Restart | Every 28 days at a fixed time | Longer cycle for sustained progression |
Some servers opened before August 28 will close after ending, with no further restarts. Players are advised to note their server status and plan accordingly. More servers will be opened per category as needed based on server count and player demand. Temporary servers do not restart and will close upon ending. What happens when a server’s ending is no longer triggerable? The update removes that uncertainty by design.
Commissions: Temporary Closure and Rule Changes
RaidZone commissions will be temporarily disabled on August 28 until revamped Commissions arrive on September 11. During this window, players cannot accept or complete commission tasks, so outstanding tasks and rewards should be handled as soon as possible. After the revamp, players can accept and complete up to 3 tasks from the commission list each day. Rewards must be claimed manually from the Commissions panel. Commissions refresh daily at midnight, and incomplete commissions are automatically abandoned. If completed commissions have unclaimed rewards at refresh, those rewards can still be claimed from the panel the following day without affecting the next day’s daily task limit.
Conclusion
The August 28 update is not a single headline feature but a cluster of quality-of-life and fairness changes. Anti-cheat visibility, vehicle reliability, survival rebalancing, server rule simplification, and commission adjustments all point in the same direction: reduce friction and protect competitive integrity. The developers encourage feedback through community channels and the Feedback Platform, noting that player suggestions are crucial to improving the game. For RaidZone players, the message is straightforward: the rules are changing, the pressure is easing, and the fight against cheating is becoming more public. Will that be enough to satisfy a demanding community? The update will be the first test.