Kenshi XP Mods – Just Stop Grinding And Start Playing

XP Multiplier Mods

The most direct way to speed things up. These mods apply a global multiplier to all experience gained. They’re simple, effective, and perfect if you just want a faster version of the vanilla progression.

Alex’s Faster Leveling

A classic choice on Nexus, this mod is great because it gives you options. You can get a straight x10 boost to all XP gains, which is great on its own. Or, you can choose a version that also adjusts the XP penalties to match, creating a more volatile, high-risk, high-reward leveling curve. It’s a smart design that understands not everyone wants the same thing.

• Two versions: one simple x10 multiplier, one with adjusted penalties.
• Speeds up leveling across the board.

✅ Gameplay changes: Your characters become competent much faster, letting you take on bigger challenges sooner. It basically respects your time, making it less painful when a character gets downed and needs to retrain lost skills.

10x XP mod

If you’re on the Steam Workshop and just want a no-nonsense, massive speed-up, this is it. It does exactly what it says: multiplies your experience gain by ten. It’s perfect for players who have seen the early game a dozen times and just want to get to the mid-game content.

• Straightforward x10 experience multiplier.
• Available in different multiplier strengths.

✅ Gameplay changes: This mod turns the leveling crawl into a sprint. Your recruits will become veterans after just a few tough fights. It’s a huge time-saver for anyone wanting to experiment with different squad compositions without the massive time investment.

x5 xp

This mod hits the sweet spot for many players. A five-times multiplier is significant enough to eliminate the worst of the grind, but it doesn’t completely break the sense of progression. You still have to work for your skills, but the reward comes much faster. The mod’s description says it best: “Have a life?”

• A flat 5x multiplier on all experience gained.
• No other changes, keeping it simple and compatible.

✅ Gameplay changes: It makes starting a new game, especially with a large custom squad, much more manageable. You can get your team combat-ready in a reasonable amount of time instead of spending hours on basic training.

XP multiplier 5

A Steam Workshop alternative for those who want that x5 boost. It’s a simple, clean mod that does one thing and does it well. The author’s first mod, it’s a great example of how a small change can have a huge impact on the game’s pacing.

• Increases all experience gained by 5 times.
• Options for other multipliers are available.

✅ Gameplay changes: Like its Nexus counterpart, this mod drastically cuts down on grinding. It’s perfect for players who want to focus more on base building or exploration rather than constantly babysitting their trainees.

3x XP Gain

For players who find 5x or 10x to be a bit too much, this 3x multiplier is an excellent choice. It provides a noticeable boost that takes the edge off the grind without making you feel overpowered too quickly. It’s a balanced option for a “vanilla-plus” playthrough.

• A simple 3x experience gain multiplier.
• Clean, lightweight, and focused.

✅ Gameplay changes: This multiplier smooths out the early-game difficulty curve nicely. It allows for a steady sense of progression that still feels earned. You’ll spend less time repeating the same actions and more time engaging with the world.

2X XP Mod & Global XP Gain Multiplier Doubled

These two mods do the same thing: they double your XP gain. They are perfect for players who love the vanilla Kenshi experience but just wish it was a little bit faster. A 2x multiplier is subtle enough that it doesn’t feel like cheating, but it makes a difference over a long playthrough.

• Doubles all experience gained.
• Minimalist approach to faster leveling.

✅ Gameplay changes: This is the ideal “first-time” XP mod. It shortens the grind without fundamentally changing the game’s rhythm. Your characters will still struggle, but their recovery and growth will be less punishing.

Training Dummy Mods

If you prefer a more controlled approach to leveling, training dummies are the answer. These mods add new researchable items that let you train specific skills safely inside your base, away from hungry Skimmers.

Advanced training dummies

This is the most comprehensive training mod available. If a skill exists in Kenshi, this mod probably has a dummy for it. Assassination, Stealth, Armorsmithing, Turrets, Toughness… you can train it all. It’s incredibly detailed, with different tiers of dummies for various skill levels.

• Adds training dummies for nearly every skill in the game.
• Covers combat, crafting, stealth, and ranged skills.
• Multiple versions available for different level caps (up to 100).

✅ Gameplay changes: Turns your base into a proper training academy. You can create highly specialized characters without the immense risk and time sink of field training. A must-have for players who love to optimize their squads.

Dummies Plus

A simple and effective mod that fills some obvious gaps in the vanilla training system. It adds dummies for skills you can’t normally train passively, like Medic and Strength. The different versions let you decide how powerful you want the training to be, with caps at level 15, 30, or a wild 100.

• Adds new researchable dummies for Medic and Strength.
• Comes in three versions with different level caps.

✅ Gameplay changes: A huge quality-of-life improvement. Training the Medic skill no longer requires waiting for someone to lose a limb. The strength dummies are a godsend, saving you from the tedious chore of manual strength training.

More Training Dummies

This mod aims for a lore-friendly expansion of the vanilla dummies. It smartly renames and reorganizes the training categories and adds new dummies that feel like they belong in the base game. It raises the training caps to 10, 25, and 50, which feels balanced and reasonable.

• Increases training caps to 10/25/50.
• Reorganizes the training UI for better clarity.
• Adds new dummies in a balanced, vanilla-friendly way.

✅ Gameplay changes: This mod extends the usefulness of training well into the mid-game. It’s a subtle but very welcome improvement for players who want more options without feeling like they’re cheating.

Cheat Dummies & Cheat Training Dummies

These mods throw balance out the window, and that’s the whole point. They add easily researchable dummies for pretty much every stat and weapon skill, allowing you to train them to high levels incredibly fast. They are the ultimate tools for bypassing the grind entirely.

• Dummies for nearly all stats and weapon skills.
• Extremely fast training speeds and low research requirements.

✅ Gameplay changes: These mods turn your base into a stat factory. They’re perfect for quickly setting up characters for specific roles, testing weapon matchups, or just empowering your squad for a casual playthrough where you’re the undisputed king of the wastes.

What’s Your Perfect Pace?

With so many options, the best choice really depends on what you want from your playthrough. Start small with a 1.5x or 2x multiplier. If it still feels too slow, move up to 3x or 5x. For targeted training, Advanced Training Dummies is the undisputed champion, while Dummies Plus is a great quality-of-life fix. And if you just want to create gods among men, the cheat mods are there for you.

Remember that global XP multipliers also affect NPCs, which can make the world even more dangerous. But hey, that’s just more Kenshi flavor.

If I’ve missed any of your favorite XP or training mods, feel free to contact me. I’m always happy to test out new mods and maybe add them to the list!