Anyone who's spent any decent amount of time in Kenshi knows that the combat animations are… well, wooden. 😅 Don't get me wrong, I love this game to death, but watching my character swing a sword like he's chopping wood rather than fighting for his life? Yes, it gets boring quickly. This is where animation mods for Kenshi come in, turning awkward arm flapping into something truly epic.
I have tested dozens of mods over hundreds of hours of play. Goodbye, social life. These are the ones that really change how Kenshi feels. Whether you are tired of robotic sword swings or martial arts that look like awkward flailing, these mods fix what vanilla left behind.
More Combat Animation (MCA)
The granddaddy of Kenshi animation mods. More Combat Animation does more than add a few swings: it completely reworks movement and the feel of combat for every weapon type.
- 15 new animations for katanas: slashes, combos, parries, thrusts and special moves
- 14 additional animations for high-level katanas, which are unlocked at skill level 75
- 8 new animations for heavy weapons: slashes, combos, parries, dashes and kicks
- 7 new animations for polearms, including slashes, combos, parries and thrusts
- 9 new animations for sabers with various strikes, combos, parries and special moves
- 9 new animations for blunt weapons with strikes and combo attacks
- 8 new animations for axes: slashes, combos, parries and spin attacks
- 12 new unarmed combat animations with different martial arts techniques
✅ Gameplay changes: Combat becomes much more visually interesting without changing damage or balance. There is no need to import the game, so you can simply drop the mod into an existing save and immediately see the difference.
Great Animations Mod
This mod goes a different route, using 56 new combat animations from Mixamo. Each weapon type gets its own unique moves, plus rare taunt and strike animations have been added to give combat a personal touch.
- 56+ unique battle animations taken from Mixamo
- Weapon-specific strikes that look appropriate
- Rare animations of taunts and fatal blows
- Compatible with other animation mods such as MCA and Military Craft
✅ Gameplay changes: Fights gain real weight and style without breaking the game mechanics. The animations feel more professional and less jerky than the original.
GROUNDED 2 Combat Animations
One of the new heavyweights on the animation scene. GROUNDED 2 focuses on realistic, grounded combat moves that fit into the gritty aesthetic of the world of Kenshi.
- Over 75 attack animations that feel realistic and grounded
- 6 stagger animations for more varied battles
- New block animations for weapons that didn't have them before
- Side dodging animations especially for martial artists
- Animations unlock gradually as your skill rises from 0 to 45
✅ Gameplay changes: Combat feels more tactical and weighty. The gradual unlocking system means that your character's fighting style actually evolves as his skill increases.
Military Craft
Military Craft adds attack moves that work well with other animation mods. It is often combined with MCA and other overhauls in a larger animation setup.
- New attack moves to complement existing animations
- Designed to work in tandem with other popular mods
- Focuses on military fighting techniques
- Easy installation
✅ Gameplay changes: Adds variety to combat without overloading the system. Works best in conjunction with other animation mods for maximum effect.
Flashier Fight
This mod doesn't just add new animations – it forces the AI to actually use more of the available moves, making combat much more dynamic.
- Enables all moves for every weapon type, including unarmed techniques while wielding weapons
- Adjusts the distance thresholds that trigger attack animations
- Changes action priorities based on character skills, weapon type, and combat situation
- Speeds up attack animations by 10%, defense animations by 20%, and stance animations by 30%
- Allows heavy weapons to use lighter attacks and light weapons to use heavy attacks
- Increases the speed of martial arts attacks with the ability to deal area damage
✅ Gameplay changes: Battles are becoming faster and more varied. The AI uses the full arsenal of available animations instead of spamming the same three moves.
More Combat Stance MIABC+
This mod focuses on improving how characters look while preparing for and recovering from combat, rather than on the attacks themselves.
- Improved fighting stances that look more natural
- More natural ready stances for different weapon types
- Improved recovery animations after attacks
- Works with other animation mods
✅ Gameplay changes: Characters look more professional during pauses in combat. Less awkward standing around between attacks.
Martial Arts Animations
This mod serves as a patch to the martial arts animations from Military Craft and More Combat Animations, fixing some strange interactions between different movesets.
- Adjusts skill levels for different melee techniques
- Reduces attacks that swing through empty air and miss their targets
- Makes martial artists more impressive in battle
- Improved progression system for unarmed fighters
✅ Gameplay changes: Martial Arts finally feels viable and looks professional. No more punching into empty space.
Sensible Martial Arts
Unlike pure animation mods, this one focuses on balancing martial arts skill progression while improving the visuals.
- Increases the strength and usefulness of martial arts at early levels
- Reduces excessive efficiency at high levels
- More balanced progression curve throughout the game
- Improved visual feedback from martial arts moves
✅ Gameplay changes: Martial arts become more useful early on while staying balanced in the late game. Progression feels more natural.
Animation Overhaul Mod — Crafting
Crafting animations in vanilla are practically non-existent. Your character simply stands there like a statue while the magic happens. This mod completely solves this problem.
- 11 new crafting animations for different stations
- Supports all races, including modded ones like Cannibals and Fishmen
- Works with heavy armor smithies, arrow benches, engineering tables, clothing benches, cooking stoves, and more
- Does not overwrite existing animations and does not require importing
✅ Gameplay changes: Crafting becomes visually interesting instead of boring. Your workshops finally look like people actually work there.
Immersive Non-Combat Animations (INCA)
Vanilla Kenshi characters stand motionless when they are not fighting. INCA adds natural idle behavior.
- Natural idle behavior: scratching, shifting weight from foot to foot, and simple movements
- Replaces vanilla idle animations that were essentially a single empty frame
- Regular updates and compatibility patches for major overhaul mods
- Makes NPCs look like living creatures while resting
✅ Gameplay changes: The world feels more alive. The characters don't just freeze for hours – they move like living beings.
Wakigawa’s Animation Overhaul
This mod focuses on improving character animations during vulnerable moments – when they are injured, sleeping, or recovering.
- Improved "wound" animations that don't clip oddly
- The improved sleep animation has been returned
- New sitting and campfire animations
- Better visual feedback while recovering from combat
✅ Gameplay changes: Characters look more realistic when resting and healing. Small details make a huge difference in immersion.
More Idle Animation
Adds 13 idle animations to replace static poses and make everyone move more naturally.
- 13 new idle animations replacing static ones
- A more dynamic environment where NPCs do not stand still
- Especially noticeable during long crafting sessions
- Improved behavior of guards and characters on duty
✅ Gameplay changes: Cities and settlements feel more alive. No more creepily frozen NPCs standing around like mannequins.
Another Stealth Run
For stealth players who want sneaking to look more natural and unobtrusive.
- Different arm animations while running in stealth
- Keeps leg, body and head animations in vanilla style
- A more subtle and realistic approach to stealth movement
- Keeps the visual changes to sneaking restrained
✅ Gameplay changes: Stealth gameplay feels more immersive without being too over the top. Ideal for ninja builds.
Talkative Kenshi — An Ambient Dialogue Overhaul
Although it is primarily a dialogue mod, it uses animation components to make conversations more dynamic.
- Most NPCs become interactive with dynamic dialogues
- Squad members speak with appropriate animations
- Uses the INTERACTIONS PLUS framework for improved NPC behavior
- A concept that evolved over a year of development
✅ Gameplay changes: NPCs feel more like real people rather than cardboard decorations. Conversations take on visual life.
Animation Compatibility Collection
It's the glue that holds everything together. This is a compatibility patch that allows multiple animation mods to work together without conflicts.
- Supports at least six different animation mods simultaneously
- Prevents conflicts between different animation overhauls
- Allows you to safely combine multiple mods
✅ Gameplay changes: You can actually use several animation mods together without breaking the game. This is what makes complex animation mod collections possible.
Putting together an animation mod setup
These mods turn Kenshi from a game with excellent ideas and rough execution into something that feels polished. The difference is night and day, especially when you combine compatible mods. 😊
When choosing mods, pay attention to their compatibility. Find out how to properly install mods in Kenshi and configure load order for stable operation.
The mods I recommend:
- More Combat Animation or Great Animations Mod for reworking combat
- Animation Overhaul Mod – Crafting to bring workshops to life
- INCA and Wakigawa's Animation Overhaul for background character behavior
- Animation Compatibility Collection, if you use several mods at once
If I missed a mod or you know another interesting one, leave a comment. I will test it and add it if it fits. I am always ready to try something that works in a mod setup without conflicts.
