Once Human: outfit dyeing costs drop by 60% on August 24 — and you'll be refunded for what you've already spent

Starry Studio published a development blog on August 13 that amounts to more than a simple quality-of-life patch: custom dyeing for outfits, introduced on July 9, is being completely overhauled in the August 24 update. The price of a full outfit drops by around 60%, the billing logic changes, and — the rarest part of any announcement like this — all Metas who have already dyed pieces will be refunded.

A word of caution up front, since it shapes how everything below should be read: Once Human has stopped publishing its patch notes in French since 2025. The labels you'll see in-game therefore don't always match those in the English-language blog. Two useful reference points: the Crystgin from the English texts is called Cristal de roche in the French client; on the other hand, the Colorful Badge has no published French label, and we won't be inventing one for it.

The real problem: you weren't paying what you thought you were paying

The studio acknowledges the flaw head-on, and the explanation is instructive.

To offer maximum freedom, each outfit piece had been split into zones, and billing was done zone by zone, depending on whether the zone was dyed and which color was used. The more zones there are, the more combinations are possible — but the more steps there are, and the higher the bill climbs.

As a result, a full outfit often ended up split into more than a dozen zones. Dyeing piece by piece became tedious, and the total cost of an outfit was high. The studio points above all to an inconsistency that everyone had felt: the zones were nowhere near the same size. Some were tiny and invisible once the outfit was worn, yet they cost exactly the same as the others. Hence the line Starry Studio itself puts in its players' mouths: "I spent quite a bit, but the effect isn't obvious."

What changes on August 24: billing by piece, not by zone

The heart of the overhaul comes down to one switch: moving from billing "after dyeing each zone" to billing "after dyeing each piece".

In practice, after the update:

• You freely adjust the dye of each zone within a piece, without each zone triggering separate billing.
• You can combine several colors on the same top and touch up detail zones whenever you want.
• The tier classification of colors doesn't change. Billing is calculated based on the highest-tier color used in the piece, and mixing remains allowed.

This last point is the most important one in practice, and it will quickly be forgotten: mixing a rare color with five basic colors on the same piece will charge you at the rare rate. Mixing freedom is total, but it's charged at the price of the most expensive component.

The price chart, piece by piece

The studio has published the full pricing scale. Three color categories: basic (paid with badges), advanced and rare (paid with Rock Crystal).

On a base of six pieces, the complete set therefore comes to 900 in basic colors, 720 in advanced, and 1,440 in rare. Before the overhaul, on a base of fifteen zones, the same sets cost 2,250, 1,800, and 3,600. The decrease is 60% across all three categories.

Two observations that the table makes visible and that no one points out:

The top and bottom cost four times the price of the accessories. 300 versus 75. If your budget is tight, dyeing the five small pieces costs less than dyeing the top alone. It's the most cost-effective lever for changing an outfit's look on the cheap.

Advanced colors cost less than basic ones. 240 versus 300 for a top. This isn't a misreading: basics are paid for in Badges, advanced ones in Rock Crystal. These are two different currencies, so there's no direct comparison to be made. Don't conclude that you should "go premium to pay less."

The refund: what you'll get, and when

This is the part that concerns everyone who has dyed anything since July 9.

The studio explains that it's impossible to recalculate the exact price gap set by set, since the two billing systems aren't comparable. It's therefore applying a uniform rule: 60% of the currency spent on dyeing will be refunded, regardless of the currency.

The official example is telling. A Meta who spent 7,200 Rock Crystals and 2,250 Badges will receive 4,320 Rock Crystals and 1,350 Badges.

Three key points to remember:

1. The refund arrives automatically by in-game mail, within three business days following the August 24 update. There is nothing you need to do.
2. Your existing dyes don't change. You keep your colors and get currency back.
3. If you have any doubts about the amount received, the studio points you to in-game customer service.

The practical takeaway: stop dyeing now

This is the concrete advice of the week, and it's counterintuitive.

Since the refund covers 60% of the currency spent and the new pricing is 60% cheaper, dyeing before August 24 or after ends up costing roughly the same in the end. Except on one point: before the 24th, you pay zone by zone, and every detail tweak gets billed again. After, you can adjust the zones of a piece as much as you want for a single payment.

In other words, if you're currently looking for a palette, if you're torn between three shades on a detail, or if you simply plan to experiment: wait until the 24th. The new system no longer punishes trial and error, unlike the old one.

Conversely, if you have a precise idea and just one color per zone, nothing stops you from doing it today: you'll be refunded like everyone else.

And next: no more dyeable outfits in September

The blog announces one last thing, which partly explains why the studio is fixing this so quickly: currently, only a limited number of outfit sets accept dyeing. The September update will progressively open up dyeing to more sets and more rarities.

There's an obvious business logic here: an expensive and tedious customization system applied to a small catalog earns nobody any money. By lowering the price and simplifying the process before expanding the catalog, the studio is laying the groundwork. So if you're after a specific outfit that isn't dyeable yet, the window to watch is September, not August 24.