Ask any gamer; they will say the same. Modding allows you to infuse new life into a game — it may be either a small modification or a complete overhaul. It adds depth to the original work and can extend the interest of the game.
Banished is another great game that was released in 2014. This gritty city-builder strategy game focuses on survival more than anything else. We will be honest here — when the game was first released, it had some flaws. But with time and a still-active community, the game took to a new height.
If you still haven’t played Banished, there can’t be better timing than now to take the game for a spin. What’s more, we have listed out some of the best Banished mods that you must definitely try. So are you ready?
Here are the best Banished mods
- Megamod
- Colonial Charter
- More Terrain
- Fishing Dock + 25 Or 50%
- Fix Field Placement
- Wildlife
- UI Improvements
- Nomad Zero Pop
- Celtic Buildings
- Fences and Decorations
- Jetty and Bridges
Megamod
What do we say? Megamod is the mother of all mods. No, we are not kidding!
It’s a standalone mod with 95 other mods included in it. Black Liquid Software has compiled a massive pack that allows you to build lots of new buildings and crops. It has many other new items and tools in it.
Colonial Charter
Have a thing for rustic? You can now build a truly rustic-themed town with Colonial Charter mod.
This is one of the biggest Banished mods, which lets you build your own mini-empire using the new city kit and buildings. If you are looking for something fresh, then this mod is the one for you.
A disgraced European noble goes to the new world to form a colony only to realize that they are understaffed and have inadequate resources. It gives you the same exact feel of vanilla Banished except that it has a colonial theme.
More Terrain
If you have played the original game, you would know how the base selection starts to scrape off just after a few playthroughs. So if you want to give it a lift, try the More Terrain Mode. You will get many terrain options to choose from — caldera, swamp, flooded plains, big lake, plains, and waterworld.
It also allows you to add ‘Larger’ and ‘Huge’ map sizes to give you a feel of a real city.
Moreover, you can recreate Esgaroth by building a swamp village or you can combine it with the Jetty and Bridges mod.
Fishing Dock + 25 Or 50%
Fishing Dock is here to make sure that you can easily sustain a sizeable population. Otherwise, the fishing dock in vanilla Banished takes a lot to pull in enough.
Also, this mod gives you the option to choose whether you want to increase the production of your fishing dock by 25% or 50%. It depends on the version you download.
No more building a dock on a small island to gather enough fish. With this mod, make your fishing more viable, and you can even use docks early on. It’s time to rejoice!
Fix Field Placement
Wouldn’t it be nice to farm on anything and not be restricted by flat grounds?
We all know-how, in reality, it’s impossible to farm on uneven lands. Banished stimulates this realism in the game, but honestly, it can be quite frustrating sometimes.
That’s where the Fix Field Placement mod comes to our rescue. It fixes the placement and allows you to farm wherever your villagers can walk. It enhances stock fields, tiles size, and increases the orchard’s density and pastures.
Wildlife
By Zenchina
After bigger terrain and viable fishing, we also need an improved version of hunting and gathering.
Wildlife mod increases the range for gathering huts, hunting lodges, herbalist, woodcutter, and forester by 50% as well as the number of workers for these buildings. It lowers the cost and setting time of these buildings.
Furthermore, since your villagers are wildlife experts, they collect stone and wood more effectively.
UI Improvements
Now easily fix some of the smaller issues in vanilla Banished using the UI Improvements mod. For instance, you can have longer town names with a maximum of 50 characters, which was otherwise limited to 18. You can alter the size of the town hall inventory tab and also have a larger toolbar to fit mod items.
Nomad Zero Pop
Nomad Zero Pop saves the day!
We know that all our settlers will die ultimately. It may be due to starvation, illness, or simply freezing to death. Nomad Zero Pop allows nomads even after a complete wipeout of your town.
But you will still require buildings to draw nomads to your village.
Celtic Buildings
Imagine a Celtic-styled village with standing stones, roundhouses, storages, and campfires. If you like the idea of it, then you should definitely use the Celtic Buildings mod.
It adds a bunch of well-structured items that make the village look really nice. Lugh’s Stone attracts nomads even when the population is 0, and Celtic School House lets in 20 students.
Fences and Decorations
Now make your town look extra fancy with Fences and Decorations mod.
This mod allows you to add a collection of wood walls/fences, a bunch of stones, and other decoration items that can be built in your village. It includes posts, barrels, crates, lanterns, wagons, and ladders.
In short, it’s a model train set, except there is more death.
Jetty And Bridges
Jetty and Bridges is a massive Banished mod that gives you the ability to build out over the water.
Along with jetties and bridges, you can also build water buildable homes, storage, production buildings, and services. What’s more, you can add a few decorative items such as canoes, fences, and more.
How do we install them?
While installing Banished mods is not rocket science, we found some issues with the Steam Workshop. That’s why we decided to include most of the mods from Banished.info or Nexus Mods. It takes some extra effort to get them started, but you don’t have to worry. The Banished website has a detailed guide for us.
To install, look for the mod file named modname.pkm and transfer it into the WinData folder.
We understand that the first time can be a little confusing. So if you find yourself stuck, just clear the folder. Even if that doesn’t work, just reinstall it, and you will be good to start again.
For those who have modded Minecraft previously, the procedure is almost the same.
We hope you really enjoyed this article. Please note that this list of Banished mods includes the most known and beginner-friendly mods.