How to equip and upgrade mods in Once Human

Mods can be easily overlooked when you’re just starting out in Once Human. But after completing a few quests and obtaining some mods, you should look to apply them as quickly as possible.

Each mod in Once Human comes with a primary effect that stays the same for all mods of that type. The Munitions Amplifier mod, for example, always increases weapon damage. But each individual mod also comes with a unique random attribute, like increased crit damage or magazine size. These random attributes can be unlocked by upgrading the mods. Early on, even basic mods will give your first weapons a much-needed kick.

If you’re like me, you probably went to your Gear Workbench first to look for a mod menu, but you can equip and upgrade mods directly from your inventory menu.

How to equip mods in Once Human

Mods can be equipped to weapons and armor directly from the Gear screen in Once Human. You don’t need to use any crafting station, and mods can be equipped or swapped out at any time.

To equip mods, open the Gear tab from your inventory page and right-click on the weapon or piece of armor you want to equip a mod to. This will bring up a menu of all your stored mods that can be applied to that item. Hover over the mod you want to be applied and either right-click or hit F. If a mod has a yellow E in the right corner, that means it’s already applied to another item; you can equip that mod, but it will un-equip it from the item it’s already attached to.

You can swap out any mod from this page at any time for no cost.

How to upgrade mods in Once Human

Upgrading mods is done in a different menu than the one you equip them from. To upgrade mods, select the Mods tab from your inventory page. This will show all the mods you’ve obtained for weapons and armor. Hovering over a mod will tell you what the mod’s main effect is, what its random attribute is, and what item it’s currently applied to, if any. Right-click on a mod to bring up its Enhance option.

The rarity of a mod determines how many times it can be upgraded. Upgrading a mod will unlock its random attribute. Upgrading mods costs Energy as well as either Weapon Mod Parts or Armor Mod Parts, which can only be acquired by disassembling unused mods at a Disassembly Station. The good news is that when using a Disassembly Station, it only lets you disassemble mods you don’t have equipped, so don’t worry about accidentally disassembling one you’re using.