Mods are a must?

[Piv0t]

Just picked up this game. Is it recommended to play without mods first and then with mods? or just go with the recommended mods?

Asking because the streamer I was watching (that got me interested in playing) had a billion mods loaded and looking through this discussion group.. seems its mostly about mods.

Thx.

[Jethro]

I’d start out playing vanilla (without mods) to see what the base game is all about, then after a while pepper in some mods.

I like some mods but mostly vehicles and a few QOL mods like weapon durability, don’t need a lighter, and skill journal.

[maviscruet]

play the game. work out which things you hate doing. get mods for those.

[rmemech]

i agree with maviscruet. i played specifically vanilla for at least a month. i watched tons of PZ youtube vids (still do) because the game was so much fun and saw the mods thing too. most didn't make sense to me at first, but a few things i saw did interest me, QoL really, like global looting. eventually i tried other mods to change the way i play to enhance different types of play throughs. like mods to make a pure wilderness play work better, or the RV mods to make nomadic playthroughs more interesting.

play vanilla for a bit, get the feel for all the vanilla mechanics, then find what you want out of the game and go for those mods. the mod community for this game is amazing and vast. you can turn PZ into 100 different types of games because of them. hence the 3000+ hours i have in this game now. i hope you enjoy it as much as i have. happy surviving!

[taxhelp_pro]

1,000 hours in with no mods and having a lot of fun

[Tenko]

Mods tend to ruin the game (make things too easy) and you get into stuck into the 'Mod-Loop' where you spend more time looking for and installing mods than actually playing. I wouldnt suggest mods until you survive winter.

HOWEVER.

If you're wanting the game to be more difficult such as making winter harder then that might be good.

[Coolranch]

Mods are cool but mods are also terrible. I like that it's a mod friendly game yet I do not use them. Most of the glitches people experience are going to be mod-related.

It's a good idea to give the core, unmodified game a real chance. It's the most 'pure' way to play if that matters, the most stable way to play (that does matter) and at very least, it gives you a frame of reference to know if the mods are making the game better or worse.

[Wilson]

Game is great by itself, you really only need some QOL mods.

[Anubis, un poderoso enemigo]

You don't need mods to have fun, but they sure are great. Maybe you could play the vanilla game until you learn how to properly play and then try mods so you don't get overwhelmed by the stuff added by them. And don't worry about people saying "most mods are for noobs", something fun about this game is that you have lots of options and can customize how you want to play: you want multi hit? sure, have fun, you want a harder challenge? then don't use it. You can play with or without infection if you want, customize the speed of the zombies, almost everything. You can install Brita's and go crazy, but if you don't like having 3 thousand bullets and just like the weapons, just reduce the spawn rates. If you want a challenge install things like that helicopter mod or Cryogenic Winter.

[RadLyte]

I would suggest adding some mods, especially those that fix some of the issues that the game currently has, or that are adding features that the game is missing. Here is a list that I posted in one of the threads earlier today, explaining what each of the mods do and why I think people should have them, especially if they are brand new to the game:

-Combat Text by Rezistor
This one is a must in my opinion, because it gives you a clear indication of how much damage you are doing, how many HP the zombies have left etc. Honestly, I can’t play the game without it.

-Weapon Condition Indicator by Noctis Falco
Essential one. It gives you a much better indication of available item slots, equipped items, their durability, status etc.

-Maximum Display Bars by Dr. Lalaoz
Another one that is a must. It lets you arrange (move, rotate, scale, color code, show/hide etc.) the bars for all of your character’s vitals, such as HP, stamina, fatigue, hunger, thirst, boredom etc. Some of the earlier versions of the game had similar UI elements, but they were removed at some point, no idea why.

-ATRO (Advanced Trajectory Realistic Overhaul) by Radon 226
This one should have been in the game, by default. It gives you an aiming reticle, whenever you are using ranged weapons. It is inspired by Resident Evil 4, and it is affected by things such as the Aiming skill, your character’s tiredness, injuries, panic level etc. The idea is to put the bottom of the icon (it looks like an isometric circle) at the feet of your targeted zombie, and to keep the crosshair close to their head.

-Maintenance Fix by Virplexer
By default, the Maintance skill does not take in the account any odd skill levels, making the game to completely ignore the effects of levels such as 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9. This mod fixes the issue by changing the formula.

-Standardized Nimble EXP by Conqueror Koala
By default, the Nimble XP gains have a very bad (almost wrong) formula, based entirely on RNG, which is why it takes an eternity to level up Nimble. This mod fixes it, and the most balanced setting I found was with the ‘XP Multiplier’ of 5x, ‘XP Delay’ of 250.

-Shoes Speed by Tchernobill
By default, the game completely ignores the shoes speed stat, so it does not matter if you use sneakers or combat boots. This mod fixes it.

-Take Any Amount Cpt. Metal
By default, the game only allows you to take ‘One’ or ‘Half’ of a stack from your inventory or a container. This mod allows you to type in the exact amount that you want to transfer.

-Become Desensitized by Monkey
It allows you to become desentisized over time, based on how many zombies have you killed, with options to become Brave at X zombies killed and Desentisized at Y zombies killed.

[Jambie Lionheart]

Originally posted by RadLyte:

I would suggest adding some mods, especially those that fix some of the issues that the game currently has, or that are adding features that the game is missing. Here is a list that I posted in one of the threads earlier today, explaining what each of the mods do and why I think people should have them, especially if they are brand new to the game:

-Combat Text by Rezistor
This one is a must in my opinion, because it gives you a clear indication of how much damage you are doing, how many HP the zombies have left etc. Honestly, I can’t play the game without it.

-Weapon Condition Indicator by Noctis Falco
Essential one. It gives you a much better indication of available item slots, equipped items, their durability, status etc.

-Maximum Display Bars by Dr. Lalaoz
Another one that is a must. It lets you arrange (move, rotate, scale, color code, show/hide etc.) the bars for all of your character’s vitals, such as HP, stamina, fatigue, hunger, thirst, boredom etc. Some of the earlier versions of the game had similar UI elements, but they were removed at some point, no idea why.

-ATRO (Advanced Trajectory Realistic Overhaul) by Radon 226
This one should have been in the game, by default. It gives you an aiming reticle, whenever you are using ranged weapons. It is inspired by Resident Evil 4, and it is affected by things such as the Aiming skill, your character’s tiredness, injuries, panic level etc. The idea is to put the bottom of the icon (it looks like an isometric circle) at the feet of your targeted zombie, and to keep the crosshair close to their head.

-Maintenance Fix by Virplexer
By default, the Maintance skill does not take in the account any odd skill levels, making the game to completely ignore the effects of levels such as 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9. This mod fixes the issue by changing the formula.

-Standardized Nimble EXP by Conqueror Koala
By default, the Nimble XP gains have a very bad (almost wrong) formula, based entirely on RNG, which is why it takes an eternity to level up Nimble. This mod fixes it, and the most balanced setting I found was with the ‘XP Multiplier’ of 5x, ‘XP Delay’ of 250.

-Shoes Speed by Tchernobill
By default, the game completely ignores the shoes speed stat, so it does not matter if you use sneakers or combat boots. This mod fixes it.

-Take Any Amount Cpt. Metal
By default, the game only allows you to take ‘One’ or ‘Half’ of a stack from your inventory or a container. This mod allows you to type in the exact amount that you want to transfer.

-Become Desensitized by Monkey
It allows you to become desentisized over time, based on how many zombies have you killed, with options to become Brave at X zombies killed and Desentisized at Y zombies killed.

I'mma nab a few for myself. I want mods in my next run >: ]

[kod77]

Originally posted by Oatvin:

Just picked up this game. Is it recommended to play without mods first and then with mods? or just go with the recommended mods?

Asking because the streamer I was watching (that got me interested in playing) had a billion mods loaded and looking through this discussion group.. seems its mostly about mods.

Thx.

If you wanna get more mechanics, you can install QoL mods (for example, "common sence" one)

Or explore modded maps, wich come in different zombie population level and in different setting i.g., also there are some map mods that are similar to vanilla KY

If you feel like it's also dumb that your character can't shoot zombies on literally 1 meter distancem you can install the "Advanced Trajectory's Realistic overhaul" mod, such mods also fix issues and weird/unlogical stuff that can happen in vanilla game atm

So, the mods here might either help you fix some vanilla issues, or have a different playstyle, you can start playing vanilla w/ some QoL (quality of life) mods at first, but if you wanna have an entirely new playstyle, you can get some mods related to zombie behaviour (night sprinters, zombie attack variety mod) or modded maps (Cherbourg, Daegu, Project Russia, Raven Creek, - there are a lot worth exploring as well)

[Aragon]

There are mods that are really useful and improve the game, but it is also tempting to install too many mods and this can quickly negatively affect the gaming experience.
It's a fine line: if you do it right, it will be really good. If you do it wrong, a lot of things can go wrong.

[Spark Sunbright]

1700+ hours played in vanilla and enjoying it enough not to want for mods.
But who knows, the day may come when I try a few.

[Gena Cider]

there's no reason to not use mods, ignorance is bliss

[waawa]

Originally posted by Oatvin:

Just picked up this game. Is it recommended to play without mods first and then with mods? or just go with the recommended mods?

Asking because the streamer I was watching (that got me interested in playing) had a billion mods loaded and looking through this discussion group.. seems its mostly about mods.

Thx.

I play vanilla, have 400 hours. not a must.