Once Human September 16 MG4 and Treacherous Tides Retest Checklist

The September 16 combat changes could alter how your setup feels, but the announced values remain provisional. Preserve a baseline, verify the live behavior, and rebuild only after a controlled comparison.

What the September 16 announcement does and does not establish

Separate the publisher's planned mechanics from confirmed live behavior.

• The update was planned for September 16 (PT) in the supplied announcement.
• MG4 - Conflicting Memories was planned to receive a lower Shrapnel trigger threshold and a periodic area Shrapnel effect.
• Treacherous Tides was planned to shift its damage relationship from sanity to HP, remove the fixed 3-piece damage bonus, and increase the 4-piece Shield benefit.
• The publisher labels the announced values as testing values that may receive slight adjustments before implementation.

Preserve a usable baseline

Give the post-update comparison a stable reference without requiring an expensive rebuild.

• Choose one activity that represents how the setup is normally used.
• Record the current version, equipment, relevant descriptions, and starting conditions.
• For MG4, note sustained-fire rhythm, target switching, multi-target performance, and interruptions to firing.
• For Treacherous Tides, note the HP conditions observed alongside damage consistency and survivability.
• If no pre-update record exists, begin with the implemented setup instead of recreating an old result from memory.

Retest MG4 - Conflicting Memories after implementation

Check whether the announced identity appears in the live version and whether it helps the player's intended activity.

• Confirm the implemented weapon description before relying on the announcement's provisional values.
• Repeat the baseline activity under comparable conditions.
• Observe Shrapnel cadence during sustained fire and after target changes.
• Include a multi-target comparison because the announcement specifically plans an area Shrapnel effect.
• Keep other equipment stable so an MG4 result is not confused with another change.

Retest the Treacherous Tides set after implementation

Replace the old sanity-centered assumption with an HP-aware comparison while preserving uncertainty about final values.

• Read the implemented 2-piece, 3-piece, and 4-piece descriptions before testing.
• Use controlled HP conditions that can be compared without changing the encounter or unrelated equipment.
• Record damage consistency and Shield usefulness as separate observations.
• Do not treat a brief high-output moment as sufficient evidence for the complete setup.
• Compare the revised set with the previous setup only when the test conditions are meaningfully similar.

Apply a commitment gate

Turn repeated test results into a cautious keep, adjust, or replace decision.

• Keep the setup when its post-update behavior still supports the intended activity and resource limits.
• Adjust one component when the test identifies a specific weakness connected to that component.
• Delay commitment when implementation details, test conditions, or results remain unclear.
• Consider replacement only after the same limitation repeats and a controlled alternative addresses it.
• Retain the previous configuration until the improvement repeats.

Use this page with the broader decision guides

Resolve overlap with existing RaidBench inventory while keeping this guide narrowly patch-specific.

• Use this page for the dated MG4 and Treacherous Tides change check and post-update retest sequence.
• Use the build-bottleneck guide to classify broader damage, survival, resource, encounter, or execution problems.
• Use the new-player commitment guide for general scarce-resource decisions beyond these two announced changes.
• Use the update-migration checklist when several systems or plans require verification after the update.

Decision checklist

• Confirm that the September 16 changes were implemented before treating the announcement as current behavior.
• Record the displayed version and implemented MG4 or Treacherous Tides descriptions.
• Choose one repeatable activity and preserve the starting setup.
• Test only one announced setup change at a time under comparable conditions.
• Commit scarce resources only after the useful result repeats.

Worked example

A player uses MG4 - Conflicting Memories with Treacherous Tides in a repeatable activity. Before the planned update, they record the version, setup, firing interruptions, Shrapnel rhythm, multi-target behavior, HP conditions, and survivability. After implementation is confirmed, they read the live weapon and set descriptions, then repeat the activity without changing unrelated equipment. They test MG4 first and record whether the revised Shrapnel pattern changes sustained-fire or target-switching performance. They then restore the comparison conditions and test the set across deliberate HP conditions, recording damage consistency and Shield usefulness separately. They postpone resource-heavy changes if either comparison is inconsistent or if the implemented descriptions differ from the pre-release announcement.

Common mistakes

• Treating the pre-release values as final implementation values.
• Changing the weapon, armor set, mods, and test activity at the same time.
• Comparing results from different encounters or uncontrolled HP conditions.
• Spending scarce resources after a single favorable run.

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