Are there any must have mods?

[Antera]

or should I go play vanilla? bought all the DLC (hope wife won't kick me out of house)

[whatamidoing]

There's no must-haves. Just play the game, and if you think of anything you'd want changed or added, go look for a mod that does it.

[brian_va]

Won't know what you want to change if you don't know what there to begin with. Play vanilla for a bit and see where you want to enhance or fix

[XelNigma]

Some games have qol mods that you should probably get right off the bat. And some people might say RimWorld has them mods too.

But vanilla is so strong to start with that it's only after you understand the game and how it works do you then start thinking, "I wish I could do X" and that's when you go and get a mod to do that.

There's been post after post of people asking "what's your must have mods?" And every single person has different mods that to them are must haves.
Because everyone plays a little bit differently and wants a little bit different stuff. And the moding community is so strong and there's everything for everyone.

So start with vanilla and rest assured that when your ready for a mod to do something, it will be there waiting.

[Tam]

Wall lights
Puck up and haul

[Paroe]

Originally posted by Tamm:

Wall lights
Puck up and haul

Wall lights, rimfridge, pick up and haul, animal logic, SRTS expanded.

If you want more content in general i highly suggest vanilla expanded.

[Wasted]

no mods, play vanilla no dlc at first for a few playthroughs, then add dlc after you get the basics down. dlc add more content and changes the feel of the game

[Swordmouse]

Originally posted by Paroe:

Originally posted by Tamm:

Wall lights
Puck up and haul

Wall lights, rimfridge, pick up and haul, animal logic, SRTS expanded.

If you want more content in general i highly suggest vanilla expanded.

The OP has 4 hours in Rimworld. In all politeness, none of these, except maybe Wall Lights, ESPECIALLY when you're just starting out.

Slapping mods on before you've tried the base game/DLC's is like throwing completely unknown spices into a dish you've never made before and haven't yet tasted.

That goes extra for things like SRTS, Pick up and Haul, Rim Fridge, and Vanilla Expanded, which trivialize trading & logistics while making caravans obsolete, trivialize hauling, organization and storage, trivialize freezer placement and planning, and are almost without exception brokenly OP, respectively.

Mods like these alter the game significantly, often because players have arrived at the conclusion that the base game is "broken" and these mods "fix" imagined issues or inconviences which in actuality exist to encourage thought and add balance and depth. It's all well and good to play Rimworld however you see fit, but pushing mods like these onto a brand new player is going to rob them of deciding for themselves what Rimworld should be, because they're going to have no idea how the base game operates and a very skewed perspective on what constitutes balance before they even know what balance is.

Just trying to set a new player on the right path. I'm not interested in derailing this thread by arguing back and forth about what is and isn't OP, so this will be my only post.

[Paroe]

Originally posted by Swordmouse:

Originally posted by Paroe:

Wall lights, rimfridge, pick up and haul, animal logic, SRTS expanded.

If you want more content in general i highly suggest vanilla expanded.

The OP has 4 hours in Rimworld. In all politeness, none of these, except maybe Wall Lights, ESPECIALLY when you're just starting out.

Slapping mods on before you've tried the base game/DLC's is like throwing completely unknown spices into a dish you've never made before and haven't yet tasted.

That goes extra for things like SRTS, Pick up and Haul, Rim Fridge, and Vanilla Expanded, which trivialize trading & logistics while making caravans obsolete, trivialize hauling, organization and storage, trivialize freezer placement and planning, and are almost without exception brokenly OP, respectively.

Mods like these alter the game significantly, often because players have arrived at the conclusion that the base game is "broken" and these mods "fix" imagined issues or inconviences which in actuality exist to encourage thought and add balance and depth. It's all well and good to play Rimworld however you see fit, but pushing mods like these onto a brand new player is going to rob them of deciding for themselves what Rimworld should be, because they're going to have no idea how the base game operates and a very skewed perspective on what constitutes balance before they even know what balance is.

Just trying to set a new player on the right path, and am not interested in derailing this thread by arguing back and forth about what is and isn't OP, so this will be my only post.

OP asked for, explicitly, "Must haves". An opinion based question.
Wall lights, Rim fridge, pick up and haul, and animal logic are all very much so extremely light mods that fit in that vein. Id also offer, now that i think about it, smarter building.
SRTS expanded is also a "must" because it adds an optional layer of depth to the post-mid game and allows you to effectively move around your world that isnt ungodly slow.

Who exactly are YOU to decide what is and isnt a must have mod, too?

[whatamidoing]

I don't use them. Most people don't use them (except maybe wall lights). They're not "must-haves." Especially not bloat expanded and SRTS.

[Tam]

I dont use SRST either, only 200k subs there, doesnt look like must have mod.

[Bermag]

One mod which is a "must have" IMO is RimHUD. Make the UI less frustrating.

[Yorke Hunt]

Common Sense
Simple Sidearms
RimFridge Updated
Wall Lights
RT Solar Flare Shield
Terraform Rimworld

Those are my must-haves, but I have more than that.

[Yxklyx]

No must-have mods. I had nearly 1000 hours before I started using mods.

[A TIN OF JAR]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=761421485

[Zero]

I agree with many others - I think the best method to learn this game when just starting out is keeping it as vanilla as possible, as to learn the base mechanics and menus. That said, if I had to pick:

RimHUD: Makes the menus / pawn info screens much more informative. Very easy to see skills, moods, etc at a quick glance.
Wall Light: This honestly should just be in the game
Pick Up and Haul: Arguably a "cheat" to some people, since it makes hauling items much more efficient (pawns will pick up as much as they can carry, instead of just 1 stack).

There's tons of mods I have in addition to this that keep the game feeling fairly 'vanilla' for me, but the above ones are a good place to start. Outside that, just keep playing the game until you start to think "Hey, I really wish I had something to do ___", and then search for a mod for said thing; I guarantee you'll find it, the mod community is *massive*.