Kenshi Hive Mods For Hiver Playthrough

Major Faction Overhauls

These mods completely rewrite how hive factions work and feel. They’re the foundation of any serious hive playthrough.

Hives Expanded

Remember when you first saw a hive village and thought “this could be so much cooler”? Well, this mod heard you loud and clear. Hives Expanded transforms all three major hive factions with unique armors, weapons, races and characters, but it goes way beyond just adding shiny new gear.

• Hive Praetorians protect queens with elite combat stats
• Paintable hiver armor sets crafted using special notebooks
• Queen revenge mechanics trigger increasingly brutal retaliation waves
• Faction-specific weapons that can only be looted, not crafted
• Dynamic world state changes based on your actions

✅ Gameplay Changes: Kidnapping or killing queens now has serious consequences – expect waves of increasingly powerful revenge attacks that can wipe out unprepared outposts

What makes this mod brilliant is how it turns queen interactions into high-stakes decisions. Kill a queen? You better have serious defenses ready because her faction will remember. The paintable armor system also gives your hivers a unique identity that goes beyond just “generic bug person #47.”

The rebalance patch toned down the revenge attacks to more manageable levels, but they’re still challenging enough to make you think twice before messing with royalty. This is basically the gold standard for hive overhauls.

Ultimate Hive Mod

Building on Hives Expanded, this mod takes the concept and cranks it up to eleven. It brings the best hive mods together and adds additional features by creating five distinct hive clades that each feel like completely different factions.

• Five unique hive clades (Eastern, Northern, Dark, Pearl, Primordial)
• Custom villages with clade-specific architecture
• Unique resistances and perks for each hive type
• Integrated compatibility with other popular hive mods
• Expanded equipment sets for each clade

✅ Gameplay Changes: Each hive clade plays differently with unique strengths, weaknesses, and cultural identities – Eastern hivers aren’t just reskinned Western ones anymore

This mod essentially turns the hive experience into five different playthroughs depending on which clade you choose. The Dark Hive feels genuinely menacing while Pearl Hivers have an almost ethereal quality. It’s like having multiple DLC factions rolled into one package.

The integration with other hive mods is seamless, which is impressive considering how many moving parts are involved. You won’t get conflicts or weird interactions between different mod features.

Universal Wasteland Expansion (UWE)

While not exclusively a hive mod, UWE includes some of the most comprehensive hive faction improvements while maintaining vanilla mechanics. What I love about this approach is how it enhances hivers without breaking the core game feel.

• Enhanced Southern Hive relations with tribute payment systems
• Exclusive trading opportunities for allied players
• Southern Hive Exile start with neutral relations
• Expanded hive villages with more recruitment options
• Cross-faction compatibility between Western Hive and other factions

✅ Gameplay Changes: You can actually become allied with the Southern Hive through diplomacy rather than just endless warfare, opening up new trading and recruitment opportunities

The tribute system is genius – instead of just fighting the Southern Hive forever, you can establish trade relationships that benefit both sides. This creates much more interesting diplomatic gameplay than the usual “kill everything that moves” approach.

For anyone looking to blend hive gameplay with broader world changes, UWE is perfect. It doesn’t just focus on hivers but makes them fit better into the expanded world ecosystem.

Specialized Hive Starts and Origins

Want to try something completely different? These mods offer unique starting scenarios that change how you approach the entire game.

New Hive – 101 Hivers

This start gives you 101 Hivers from the beginning – a real micromanagement nightmare. I’m not kidding about the micromanagement part. Managing 101 characters at once is like trying to herd cats, except the cats are insects and they’re all hungry.

• Vanilla version: 1 Prince, 50 Workers, 50 Soldiers
• Genesis version: Multiple Princes with enhanced leadership
• Immediate swarm gameplay from day one
• Massive resource requirements for food and equipment
• Chaos management as a core gameplay loop

✅ Gameplay Changes: Complete paradigm shift from individual character focus to mass swarm management – you’ll spend more time organizing squads than actually fighting

This mod is not for casual players. Managing 101 hivers requires serious planning and patience. You’ll need to set up multiple bases, organize complex supply chains, and coordinate massive military operations. It’s like playing an RTS inside Kenshi.

The Genesis version with multiple Princes is slightly more manageable since you can delegate leadership roles, but you’re still looking at a logistics nightmare that makes managing a small town seem simple.

The Banished Hive

For players who want their hive experience with extra grit, this mod offers a cannibalistic hive start that forces you into raiding and desperate survival tactics from the beginning.

• Cannibalistic mechanics integrated into hive culture
• Fogmen faction interactions with unique diplomatic options
• Timed recruitment system creating urgency
• Enforced early-game raiding for survival
• Gritty atmosphere that matches the harsh world

✅ Gameplay Changes: You’re forced into aggressive expansion and raiding to survive, creating a much more brutal and desperate gameplay experience

This start turns you into the villains of your own story. You’re not building a peaceful colony – you’re creating a raiding force that survives by taking from others. It’s morally questionable and tactically challenging, which makes for some memorable moments.

The timed recruitment adds pressure that keeps you moving. You can’t just turtle up and wait for better times – you need to act or your hive will collapse.

One with the Hive

Ever wanted to rejoin the Western Hive after starting as an outsider? This mod makes that possible through quest mechanics and reputation systems.

• Rejoining mechanics for Western Hive integration
• Quest-based progression rather than simple reputation grinding
• Queen-level interactions with direct dialogue options
• Recruitment access to Western Hive forces
• Parasitic integration through scientific research

✅ Gameplay Changes: Adds a completely new progression path where you can integrate with existing hive factions rather than competing against them

The parasite mechanics are particularly interesting – you literally become part of the hive collective through scientific research. It’s like a reverse body horror story where becoming less human is the goal.

This mod is perfect for players who want to experience hive culture from an outsider’s perspective before fully committing to the collective experience.

Visual and Aesthetic Enhancements

These mods focus on making your hivers look and feel more unique without drastically changing gameplay mechanics.

Hive Cybernetics

Want your hivers to look like they stepped out of a cyberpunk nightmare? This mod creates a unique cyborg aesthetic that transforms regular hivers into something that looks genuinely alien.

• Cyborg armor sets with high-tech appearance
• Enhanced statistics reflecting cybernetic improvements
• Unique race options with skeleton-like attributes
• Rite of passage concept using limb replacement
• Sci-fi aesthetic that stands out from vanilla designs

✅ Gameplay Changes: Limb removal and replacement becomes a cultural identity element rather than just medical necessity

The rite of passage concept is brilliant – losing limbs and replacing them with cybernetics becomes part of hiver culture rather than just bad luck. It gives mechanical depth to what’s usually just a gameplay inconvenience.

The visual transformation is dramatic enough that other players will immediately recognize your faction as something different. Your hivers will look like they’re from a completely different game.

Mogwai Hive Modifications

This mod gives hivers a scavenger/scrap aesthetic that makes them look like they’ve been cobbling together equipment from battlefield salvage.

• Scrap armor sets with makeshift appearance
• Color variations for visual diversity
• Boot slots unlocked for all hivers
• Leucistic/albino variants for rare hivers
• Scavenger theme using edited vanilla assets

✅ Gameplay Changes: Adds visual variety and customization options while maintaining vanilla balance and mechanics

The leucistic queens are particularly striking – they look otherworldly in a way that makes encounters with them feel more significant. The scrap aesthetic also fits perfectly with Kenshi’s post-apocalyptic setting.

The boot slot addition is a quality of life improvement that makes equipment management much more flexible for hive characters.

Building and Infrastructure Mods

Creating authentic hive settlements requires the right building options. These mods provide the architectural elements you need.

Hive Buildings

Finally, faction-appropriate buildings that actually look like hivers would construct them. No more human-style houses for your insectoid colony.

• Hive houses and domes based on vanilla structures
• Healing beds with 6x recovery rate
• Faction-specific furniture including stools and tables
• Hive skeleton limb bench for compact crafting
• Campfire cooking methods matching hive lifestyle

✅ Gameplay Changes: Your settlements will look and function like actual hive colonies rather than human settlements with bug residents

The healing beds are a game-changer for hive colonies. They’re better than sleeping bags but not as good as human beds, which creates a nice balance between faction identity and practical function.

The compact limb bench is perfect for outposts where space is limited but you still need to maintain your cyborg hivers.

Hoser’s Hive Buildings

Building on the foundation of basic hive structures, this mod adds communal living spaces that better reflect hive social organization.

• Hive commune huts in various sizes
• Individual dwelling options for leaders
• Better visual integration with hive themes
• Scalable building sizes for different colony needs
• Improved aesthetics over basic hive buildings

✅ Gameplay Changes: Your settlement layout can properly reflect hive social hierarchy and communal living arrangements

The commune huts are brilliant for large hive colonies. Instead of building dozens of individual houses, you can create communal spaces that house multiple hivers while looking appropriate for the faction.

The size variety means you can start with small communal spaces and upgrade to larger ones as your colony grows.

Combat and Character Enhancement

These mods address specific gameplay issues with hive characters and combat mechanics.

Hive Soldiers++

Soldier Drones are supposed to be the military elite of hive society, but in vanilla they’re often disappointingly weak. This mod fixes that problem.

• Increased combat move speed from 1.1 to 1.2
• Enhanced combat effectiveness without breaking balance
• Matches Prince and Worker mobility for better squad coordination
• Focused improvements on core combat stats
• Maintains vanilla balance while fixing obvious issues

✅ Gameplay Changes: Soldier Drones become viable combat specialists rather than disappointing elite units

The speed increase is crucial for combat effectiveness. Having your supposedly elite soldiers lag behind other hivers in combat was always frustrating. Now they can actually fulfill their role as military specialists.

The balance is perfect – soldiers become better without becoming overpowered. They’re still hivers, just more effective ones.

Hive Soldier Drone Buff

For players who want more dramatic improvements to Soldier Drones, this mod takes a more aggressive approach to enhancement.

• Significant stat increases across all combat skills
• Rarity compensation making soldiers worth their scarcity
• Combat specialization focus on pure fighting ability
• Substantial improvements over vanilla stats
• Elite unit transformation for military specialists

✅ Gameplay Changes: Transforms Soldier Drones into genuinely elite combat units that justify their rarity and recruitment difficulty

This mod is for players who want their soldiers to feel like actual elite warriors rather than just slightly better workers. The stat increases are substantial enough to make a real difference in combat.

The trade-off is that soldiers become much more valuable, so losing them hurts more. This creates interesting risk/reward decisions about when to deploy your elite units.

Specialized Gameplay Mods

These mods add unique mechanics and systems specifically designed for hive gameplay.

Social Lives (Western Hive)

This mod adds social mechanics and immersion for players who want to integrate with or rejoin the Western Hive.

• Parasite mechanics for scientific hive integration
• Direct queen dialogue options
• Hire-able military patrols for settlement protection
• Recruitable youth troops seeking leadership
• Diplomatic quest lines for faction relations

✅ Gameplay Changes: Adds complex social systems that make hive integration feel like a living, breathing process rather than simple reputation grinding

The parasite mechanics are fascinating from a roleplay perspective. You literally become part of the hive collective through scientific research and biological integration.

The youth troops system is particularly clever – you can recruit young hivers who are looking for leadership, creating a natural recruitment pathway that feels organic to hive society.

Hive Mod List

Grab the list and save somewhere for the future 😉

1. Hives Expanded
2. Ultimate Hive Mod
3. Universal Wasteland Expansion (UWE)
4. New Hive – 101 Hivers
5. The Banished Hive
6. One with the Hive
7. Hive Cybernetics
8. Mogwai Hive Modifications
9. Hive Buildings
10. Hoser’s Hive Buildings
11. Hive Soldiers++
12. Hive Soldier Drone Buff
13. Social Lives (Western Hive)

Your Hive Empire Awaits

These mods transform Kenshi’s hive factions from underdeveloped side content into some of the most engaging gameplay experiences in the game. 

The key is starting with the major overhauls like Hives Expanded or Ultimate Hive Mod as your foundation, then adding specialized mods that match your specific playstyle. Want to manage 101 hivers? Go for it. Prefer a small elite cybernetic collective? That’s covered too.

Remember that many of these mods work well together, but always check compatibility and load orders. It’s worth reading the mod descriptions carefully.

If I’ve missed any incredible hive mods that deserve a spot on this list, feel free to contact me. I’m always testing new mods and updating these guides when I find something that genuinely improves the hive experience. Modders keep creating amazing content, and I want to make sure the best stuff gets the recognition it deserves.

Now get out there and build your hive empire. The wasteland won’t conquer itself… but your swarm might just do it for you

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