Keyword Effects are special visual effects that can be applied to the corresponding Keywords. All Keyword Effects are available in the Cosmetic → Keyword Effect tab.
What is a Keyword and How It Works
Keywords in Once Human are special properties of weapons. At the moment, there are 10 Keywords in the game:
- Frost Vortex,
- The Bull’s Eye,
- Shrapnel,
- Fast Gunner,
- Power Surge,
- Bounce,
- Unstable Bomber,
- Burn,
- Blunt DMG,
- Fortress Warfare.
Every weapon in the game (rare, epic, legendary — except common green ones) is linked to a certain Keyword, which is specified in its description. For example, DE.50 – Jaws B.P. triggers the Unstable Bomber effect every 4 hits.
If you aim at any Keyword with the cursor and press “X”, you can check the list of all Keywords in the game.
What is a Keyword Effect?
A Keyword Effect is a visual effect that replaces the original one when the player triggers the Keyword. For example, the Frost Vortex Keyword Effect will replace the default visual effects of the Frost Vortex Keyword whenever it’s triggered.
Unfortunately, there is no way to preview all the Keyword Effects in the game, but you can still see them on YouTube. For example, content creator Dovaz made a compilation of all the visual effects in one video.
Phantom Cubes and How to Get Them
To unlock a Keyword Effect, you need to spend Phantom Cubes: 1 for an epic effect and 2 for a legendary one. You can see the total number of your Phantom Cubes in the top-right corner of the interface. Note that Phantom Cubes, as well as Keyword Effects, are shared across all your characters within the same geographic region.
To get Phantom Cubes, you need to level up your Blueprint Collection (Blueprints → Collection Level). Every time you unlock or enhance blueprints in Once Human, you obtain XP for your Blueprint Collection.
Upon reaching key levels (30, 50, 60, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, and so on), you receive Phantom Cubes, which can be exchanged for Keyword Effects. At the moment, the maximum Blueprint Collection level is 660, so you can obtain quite a lot of Phantom Cubes.
Additionally, you can sometimes receive Phantom Cubes as a gift or compensation from the developers. For example, all players received 2 Phantom Cubes after the update on March 27, 2025.
How to Apply a Keyword Effect
Go to the Cosmetics → Keyword Effect section, select an unlocked effect in the list, and press “Gear” to equip it.
In the screenshot above, you can see what the legendary Frost Vortex Keyword Effect looks like — it’s very different from the default visuals.
