Being one of the most prolific PC games with mod support, it goes without saying that Project Zomboid has an abundance of mods for players to choose from.
Some of them add new guns, some add real-world vehicles, while others throw in entirely new gameplay mechanics for good measure. Most of them will, most certainly, break once Build 42 comes out. With a modding community as dedicated as this, though, updates are sure to be coming shortly thereafter, and we’ve got a shortlist of the game’s very best mods for you to choose from.
The best mods for Project Zomboid
In most instances, visual and content addition mods are a matter of taste in Project Zomboid. With that in mind, we didn’t focus much on those outside of a few truly outstanding examples. For the most part, the shortlist of must-have Project Zomboid mods featured below includes extremely important gameplay features and quality-of-life improvements, each improving your playing experience without actually altering the core of the game.
#10: Map Legend UI
Project Zomboid‘s overworld map is almost ridiculously large – the size of an actual real-world county – and if we’re being honest, it’s not the best map interface we’ve ever seen, specifically when it comes to explaining what’s what and what the colours mean. Enter NikGamer’s Map Legend UI mod, which massively improves your Zomboid map viewing experience by adding a full-featured legend. It sounds simple, it is simple, but it is incredibly useful no matter what your plans for the game are.
#9: Equipment UI – Tarkov Style Interface
Juggling gear is neither easy nor simple in a game as complex as Project Zomboid, and keeping tabs on the stuff you’re wearing, its own respective gear slots and its tear status is a royal pain. That’s where Notloc’s Equipment UI mod comes into the picture, however. This handy little piece of UI not only gives you a fast overview of everything your character is wearing but also lets you manage it via contextual sub-menus and more. It’s the sort of thing you’ll quickly get used to, and it’ll become instrumental for your Zomboid gameplay experience for sure.
#8: Better Car Physics
Cars are instrumental for long-term survival in Project Zomboid, but their cumbersome handling and on-road behavior usually lead to them becoming cover for the inevitable zombie onslaught you’ll trigger after accidentally slamming into an obstacle. It’s how these things go, not much more to it. The Better Car Physics mod from Neidmare tackles this problem head-on, hugely improving the game’s vehicle handling model and adding heaps more depth to it. You can adapt to the game’s basic driving mechanics, yes, but with Better Car Physics, you don’t have to do so.
#7: Authentic Z
Authentic Z is one of the Zomboid mods that the community swears by. In the simplest terms possible, this is a clothes addon mod, but there’s lots more to it as well. On top of getting access to a real wealth of era and period-appropriate outfits (and a few wacky rare encounters, to boot), Authentic Z also adds customization options to your backpacks, allowing you to attach dangly bits to them via carabiners. There’s no real reason not to install Authentic Z, all things considered, as it adds a lot of value to your Project Zomboid gameplay experience.
#6: Fencing Kits!
Sooner or later, you’re going to want to set up a base in Project Zomboid, and your ability to safely cordon off an area for defense purposes is crucial here. As with most things Zomboid, this is a bit of a pain by default, and mod developer East has thus developed the Fencing Kits! mod. Once unspooled, a single fencing kit gives you 12 metal pipes and 25 units’ worth of chain roll to set up a perimeter with. Extremely handy in practice.
#5: Vanilla Vehicle Enhancer
The odds are you’ll want to add a snazzy Mustang or a JDM car bundle to Zomboid sooner or later, but our go-to vehicle-improving recommendation is far, far simpler than that. Mighty Imp’s Vanilla Vehicle Enhancer replaces all of Zomboid‘s fictionalized vehicles with variants that are more in line with their real-world inspirations. Further, this mod also adds massive amounts of variety via more than 400 unique vehicle skins. Instead of just having one police-themed sedan, you’ll how come across three different kinds (standard, sheriff, and state trooper versions), and the same approach applies to most other service cars. Variety is king, right?
#4: Brita’s Armor Pack
Whereas Authentic Z adds tremendous amounts of regular clothing, the ever-popular Brita’s Armor Pack is far more concerned with armor, wearable tactical gear, and a frankly ridiculous variety of other assorted tidbits for your Project Zomboid avatar to wear. It’s just variety for the sake of variety, yes, but Zomboid is all about making your own way through the zombie apocalypse, so having oodles of options makes perfect sense.
#3: Brita’s Weapon Pack + Vanilla Conversion
And speaking of variety, there’s something to be said about Brita’s Weapon Pack mod as well. Look, it’s not Escape From Tarkov level of customization, but boy howdy does it not get close. When combined with Madman_Andre’s vanilla weapon conversion mod, Brita’s Weapon Pack replaces the baseline weapons and massively improves Project Zomboid‘s gunplay and weapon management facilities, allowing you to tweak your gear precisely the way you see fit. If finding a snazzy new Honey Badger SBR doesn’t feel right for Zomboid‘s time period, the mod even lets you remove all post-1993 weapons from the loot pool. Handy!
#2: RV Interior
It’s a simple thing, we’ll concede, but not having interiors for RVs and other related vehicles always felt wrong in Project Zomboid. Going off-grid with a properly equipped RV is the way to go if you’re trying to avoid large hordes of the zed, and Maxwelt’s RV Interior mod facilitates this in the best way possible. With support for over 100 different vehicles and in-depth power and water functionality, we cannot recommend this mod enough.
#1: Common Sense
Project Zomboid operates on its own internal logic that, coincidentally, doesn’t always take common sense into account. That’s why Braven’s Common Sense mod is our favorite mod at this time. From being able to pry open doors and windows with a crowbar to attaching a flashlight to your belt, the list of sensible features this mod adds is far too long and comprehensive to consult here. If you’re going to take just one mod from this list and install it, make it Common Sense. You can thank us later!
