Once Human: what 3.0.3 changes on the permanent server — Monthly Challenge, mods via Scenario Honor, and the “batteries” false friend

Version 3.0.3 arrived on August 5, and all the attention went to what sparkles: the Block Adventure event, the August 25 console release, account linking. We ourselves covered the month's five deadlines and the online store.

But this update contains a series of substantive changes to the permanent server that received no serious coverage — and which, unlike the others, won't end on August 23. These are the ones worth dwelling on.

A new way to obtain mods

This is the most significant structural change in 3.0.3 for a permanent server player. A new method for obtaining mods has been added, accessible from the Scenario Honor interface, with a 30-day reset countdown.

The mechanic is therefore cyclical, not a one-off. In other words, it's not an event to catch up on before a deadline: it's a recurring source to build into your monthly routine, just like the game's other counters.

A vocabulary reminder is in order here, because French-language guides regularly get this wrong: the recycling resource is called Poussière de mod in the French client, not "poussière stellaire" — that term refers to Stardust, which is something else entirely. As for the higher-tier mods, they're displayed with the prefix "Brillant - ", these are the Brilliant mods.

The Monthly Challenge joins the Scenario Challenge

Second permanent addition: a Monthly Challenge joins the Scenario Challenge. Here again, the logic is that of a recurring appointment rather than one-time content to consume.

For a player who doesn't log in every day, these two additions change the calculation: the permanent server becomes a place where you can progress through spaced-out sessions, without being penalized by a daily counter. This is a direction consistent with the arrival of consoles, where the audience plays less regularly than on PC.

A welcome small return along the way: the "set a custom loading screen" feature, which had disappeared for a while, is available again.

The false friend to correct: these are not batteries

Here is the translation point that muddles all French-language coverage of this update, and it's worth stating clearly.

The official notes announce a unification of earning caps across three scenarios: Manibus, Whiteout Contingency and Isle of Dawn. The English text talks about batteries. This is not about batteries in the literal sense: the label in the French client is Lien d'énergie (Energy Link). "Batterie" is a false friend that the English version perpetuates and that machine translations copy without checking.

On substance, the unification is good news. Until now, caps varied from one scenario to another, which made it hard to anticipate one's income depending on where one played. From now on, choosing a scenario becomes a content choice again, not an optimization calculation.

Note in passing the official French labels for the scenarios: the client translates their names. It is indeed La voie de l'hiver and Rêve infini, not "The Way of Winter" or "Endless Dream."

The Old Currency Shop, in the Deviation scenario

Update 3.0.3 also opens an Old Currency Shop in the Deviation: Survive, Capture, Preserve scenario, located at Verdant Arena.

We're keeping these three labels in English, and it's worth explaining why: Once Human's patch notes have no longer been published in French since 2025. The official website's language selector now only offers English, Japanese, Korean, and Traditional Chinese. Without a verifiable publisher label, inventing a translation would mean giving a name you won't find in-game.

On principle, an old currency shop always serves the same function: it gives you an outlet for accumulated event currencies that have become useless. If you're hanging onto leftovers from past scenarios, this is where you go to convert them.

A quick vocabulary reminder while we're at it: in the French client, Deviations are called Anomalies — the term refers both to the capturable companions and to the hostile sites where you find them.

Custom servers: territory control

Custom server hosts get back two levers that were missing:

• Territory settings become configurable, with an adjustable limit from 1 to 100, and the setting is done per player role.
• Exclusive building features are added, with control options reserved for the host.

The per-role setting is the more interesting of the two: it lets you open up more ground to a community's builders without letting the whole server sprawl. It's the kind of tool that was missing for servers geared toward creative building.

What's left to do before the end of the month

The official calendar for late August is packed, and the two dates shouldn't be confused:

• August 24, 4 PM Pacific Time — next update.
• August 25, 10 AM Pacific Time — official console version launch.

In between, the Block Adventure event and its boss Block Wanderer close on August 23. If you want the 3.0.3 cosmetics — the mythic Enchanted Butterfly wings and the legendary Tideborn Dream outfit —, that's also the window to keep an eye on.

Finally, a quality-of-life point on the trading side that few players have noticed: the watched items list goes up to 20, across all modules combined. Combined with the buy order feature, it finally lets you keep a proper price watch without having to memorize everything.

One last warning

Since the console launch is approaching and articles are going to multiply, a useful factual clarification: first-person view is not a console novelty. It arrived on PC with version 3.0.1, in July 2026. Presenting it as an exclusive feature of the August 25 PS5 and Xbox launch would be a mistake — and that claim is already circulating.