Base and building mods in Kenshi change everything when it comes to creating your own settlement. The vanilla building system works, but it quickly becomes clear that the developers left too many restrictions.
I've put together mods that fix placement issues, add hundreds of new buildings, and make base management less painful. All mods have been tested for compatibility with the latest patches, taken from Nexus Mods and Steam Workshop. If you are interested in everything about Kenshi: guides, mods, etc., take a look at my main page on the game.
Better Building System
Better Building System completely reworks interaction nodes for machines, storage units, and objects so AI behaves properly inside your base. You can now place chests directly on top of workbenches and other storage units to save space. Custom collision files work with vanilla jobs and AI goals without conflicts.
- Edits interaction nodes for machines, storages and objects
- Improves AI behavior when working inside the base
- Allows chests to be placed on top of work tables
- Adds custom collision files for node interaction
- Fully compatible with the vanilla work system
✅ How it changes gameplay: Characters stop fumbling around workbenches and storage units, and their routes become more sensible. You no longer need enormous gaps between objects to keep the AI from getting stuck. Your base runs like clockwork.
Slopeless
Slopeless removes slope requirements so you can place buildings anywhere , even inside hills and mountains. Buildings sit naturally on uneven ground instead of jutting out at odd angles. It increases vertical placement tolerance with the – and = keys and removes building collisions to allow overlap. No developer tools or cheats are needed.
- Completely removes the slope requirement for building placement
- Allows buildings to extend into hillsides
- Increases vertical tolerance
- Removes collisions between buildings so they can overlap
- Does not require development tools
✅ How it changes gameplay: Your freedom to choose a base location grows many times over. Build mountain fortifications, hide outposts in hills, or create multilevel complexes on slopes. Vanilla restrictions disappear.
More Building
More Building adds 50+ buildings , including ancient citadels, factories, laboratories, bridges, platforms, and swamp structures. It includes items such as bananas, cheese, goat milk, wood, and paper, along with NPCs who trade in plants. New research, including cactus hydroponics and biofuel distillation, expands your production options.
- 50+ new buildings (houses, walls, bridges, storage facilities, workbenches)
- New systems (woodworking, paper production)
- Adds NPC traders and goat farmers
- New items and crafting recipes
- Available on Steam Workshop and Nexus Mods
✅ How it changes gameplay: The base ceases to be a set of standard boxes. Unique production chains, new ways to earn money, and the ability to create visually interesting settlements appear. Each location may look different.
Buy Any Building
Buy Any Building breaks vanilla restrictions, allowing you to buy almost any building in cities and some outside of them. Occupied buildings turn into empty ones that you can customize for yourself. You can capture entire cities if you have money. Use at your own risk – it may break some quest chains.
- Allows you to buy almost all buildings in cities
- Converts occupied buildings into empty buildings
- May not be compatible with Genesis mod
- Doesn't work on military installations by default
✅ How it changes gameplay: Complete freedom in choosing real estate. You can build an empire right inside other people's cities, without wasting time building from scratch. The risk is that some quests may break if you buy the wrong building.
Expanded Storage
Expanded Storage raises the capacity of 27+ storage types to as much as 1,000 units. It covers armor plates, building materials, cacti, copper, cotton, leather, meat, ore, and more. It works well with Expanded Storage – Mines, making micromanagement at large bases more tolerable.
- Increases the capacity of 27+ storage types up to 1000
- Includes bread baskets, cloth chests, flour storage, grog barrels, etc.
- Compatible with Expanded Storage – Mines
- Steam Workshop version available
✅ How it changes gameplay: One container replaces ten vanilla ones. Space is freed up for production buildings, and less time is spent on resource management. The base looks like a base, not like an endless warehouse.
Warbird’s Starts — Base Builders
Warbird’s Starts — Base Builders is designed to let you start building immediately without lengthy preparation. It offers two game-start types with several locations and starting positions tailored to base builders. Skip hours of the early game and get straight to creating a settlement.
- Two starting types with multiple locations
- Start with the means to begin building immediately
- Saves time in the early game
- Personalized starting positions for builders
✅ How it changes gameplay: Skips the boring part of the game where you need to run, collect scrap metal and upgrade skills. Immediately provides resources and position for construction. Ideal for those who want to focus on developing their base.
SCAR’s Pathfinding Fix
SCAR’s Pathfinding Fix improves AI so characters reach their destinations faster and choose better routes. They avoid water and stay together while traveling, while animals move more naturally along roads. An Auto-Patcher supports modded races. Place it correctly in the load order, below major world mods.
- QoL improvements for AI pathfinding
- AI avoids water and chooses optimal routes
- Characters are not separated when traveling
- More natural animal movement
- Contains Auto-Patcher for modified races
✅ How it changes gameplay: Work at the base becomes more efficient, characters stop wasting time on stupid routes. Caravans no longer separate along the road. Can even improve FPS thanks to route optimization.
Interior (and Exterior) Design
Interior (and Exterior) Design makes 100+ furniture pieces buildable – chairs, tables, shelves, benches, seat cushions and a variety of exterior items. Allows you to create a unique base interior and add details that are found in NPC cities. Compatible with Forgotten Buildings and More Building.
- 100+ furniture items become buildable
- Includes external objects and buildings
- Allows you to create a unique interior
- Compatible with Forgotten Buildings and More Building
✅ How it changes gameplay: The base ceases to be a set of functional boxes. You can arrange bedrooms, dining rooms, lounges, and create the atmosphere of a real settlement. Purely a visual improvement, but greatly affects the feel of the game.
Forgotten Buildings
Forgotten Buildings restores 400+ buildings and 300 alternative textures from older Kenshi versions and NPC towns. Old vanilla furniture, walls, bridges, factories, domes, ruins, lights, and turrets become buildable. Reworked collisions let you place them without tilting. Several buildings gain stairs and accessible rooftops. Load it below Interior Design.
- 400+ new buildings and 300 texture options
- Ancient buildings, bridges, swamp platforms, fortresses
- New furniture, turrets and lighting sources
- Stairs and accessible roofs for buildings
- Reworked collisions for placement without tilting
✅ How it changes gameplay: The largest collection of content for construction. Allows you to create bases of any type – from ancient ruins to futuristic complexes. Each building can look unique. A must-have mod for experienced builders.
Reworked Buildings and Placement Plus
Reworked Buildings and Placement Plus offers stackable storage and fewer interaction nodes on workbenches, with 1–3 per bench. Nodes can be placed inside and outside buildings. Ore and copper storage do not create towns, and all [NL] versions can be upgraded to vanilla versions at no cost. Seating variants can also be stacked. It is ideal for complex bases where space is limited.
- Stackable storage for efficient use of space
- Reduced interaction nodes on workbenches (1-3 nodes)
- Nodes are located inside and outside buildings
- Ore and copper storages do not create cities
- All [NL] versions can be upgraded to vanilla versions for free
✅ How it changes gameplay: You can build a compact but functional base. Saving space allows you to fit more production into a smaller area. Fewer placement problems, more freedom in design. Indispensable for experienced builders.
Mod installation recommendations
Most building mods are compatible as long as they are ordered correctly in the load order. Always back up your saves before adding new mods. After enabling new mods, import your save for full compatibility.
Slopeless must be at the very end of the load order, otherwise it will not work correctly. Better Building System works better when Better Crop Fences and Interior Design are ranked above it. Forgotten Buildings requires placement below Interior Design. SCAR's Pathfinding Fix should be placed below the big mods of the world.
To reduce the load, use Compressed Textures Project. Storage modules do not slow down the game when configured correctly. SCAR's Pathfinding Fix can even improve FPS by optimizing routes.
The best mod combinations for base building
Better Building System + Slopeless = Maximum placement flexibility. You can build anywhere, any way, without restrictions.
Interior Design + Forgotten Buildings = Maximum options for furniture and decorations. The base looks alive, lived-in, unique.
Warbird’s Starts + Reworked Buildings = Ideal for base-oriented starts. You immediately start building with efficient use of space.
SCAR’s Pathfinding + Expanded Storage = efficient management of a large base. The AI behaves properly, and resources do not take up half the settlement.
You can combine all these mods if you arrange the load order correctly. Start with the core options, Better Building System, Slopeless, and More Building, then add others as needed.
Build your dream base with these mods
Kenshi does not receive major updates, all mods are stable and work with the latest patches. Better Building System, Slopeless and Interior Design are the foundations without which building bases remains a pain. More Building and Forgotten Buildings add content that should have been in the vanilla game. Expanded Storage and SCAR's Pathfinding Fix remove annoying management issues.
But before starting a new game with mods, make sure that everything is installed correctly. All the most important things can be found in the instructions for installing modifications.
(Forgotten Buildings and Reworked Buildings and Placement Plus) are a must for experienced builders. Forgotten Buildings gives you 400+ buildings that are not available in the regular game. Reworked Buildings and Placement Plus allows you to build compact yet functional bases without wasting space.
If you know a mod I missed that works reliably, write to me. I will test it and add it. I am always looking for options that will not break a mod setup after an hour of play.
