The 10 Best State of Decay Mods

What are the best State Of Decay mods?

State of Decay is a zombie apocalypse game all about seeing how long you and your group of survivors can last in Trumbull Valley.

While the main goal is to escape, staying alive long enough to even entertain that notion is the real challenge in this game!

Plus, we’ve been able to round up some exceptional mods that make this game even more interesting and immersive!

The 10 Best State Of Decay Mods

To create this list, we tried out many mods from the Nexus to find the ones that were the most worth downloading.

The mods that made the cut were chosen based on their popularity, number of downloads, and how they impact the game.

So, if you’re ready to put your survival skills to the test, here’s our list of the 10 best State Of Decay mods:

10. NPCs Use Guns Beta

Kicking off our list, we have a fantastic mod that allows NPCs to finally be able to use guns to fight back against the zombie hordes!

When this mod is installed, all enclaves, allies, and companions will be able to use firearms so long as they have one in their inventory.

Unlike every Fallout 4 companion, they also won’t use any ammo when they shoot, so you won’t have to worry about keeping them supplied throughout the game!

One great thing about this mod is that NPCs will also make use of silencers if they are attached to a weapon.

They’ll also use a mix of gunplay and melee, depending on the situation that they’re in, which is incredibly helpful.

This mod also fixes several bugs found in the original version by Free8015, and it is incredibly stable in its current form.

We certainly can’t go back to playing without this mod, and having NPCs use weapons certainly makes some difficult situations more manageable.

Plus, it doesn’t break immersion because there’s no real in-world reason why NPCs couldn’t use firearms in the first place!

9. Realistic Shadows

In the vanilla game, shadows often look way too dark and blocky, which isn’t the most immersive for players who enjoy realism.

Fortunately, Realistic Shadows by SilentResident fixes the contrast levels in the game, which makes everything look so much better.

Now, when you’re wandering around outside, instead of deep black shadows everywhere, the shadows are now lighter and more transparent.

The biggest difference can be seen in the interior sections, which were previously extremely dark even during sunny days.

With this mod, the reflection from sunlight properly illuminates interior spaces with windows so that you don’t have to waste your flashlight battery!

What we really love about this mod is that it doesn’t make surviving easier; it just makes getting around during the day actually feel realistic.

This mod is definitely worth downloading if you hate the base game shadows as much as we do!

8. Brant’s Military Surplus

Like the best Fallout 4 gun mods, Brant’s Military Surplus adds additional firearms from all three game modes to share spawns.

This means you can find guns and melee weapons from the Lifeline and Breakdown DLCs in every game mode, not just their own.

However, this mod only works with the original State of Decay and not the Year One Survival Edition because that version already integrates all weapons.

Essentially, this mod is perfect for those who don’t have that version of the game but still want to benefit from this perk.

A new game is also recommended for this mod, as the new weapons won’t load into containers until the map is refreshed.

We definitely love using this mod because it adds a ton of weapons that previously wouldn’t have been available.

It also doesn’t break immersion, since the weapons are from the vanilla game and have already been integrated into the Year One Survival Edition!

7. Realistic Flashlight

Another mod by SilentResident, Realistic Flashlight, turns the vanilla game’s halogen flashlight into one that interacts with surfaces in a way that makes sense!

In the base game, the flashlight has an overwhelming glow effect that washes out a lot of detail when shone on objects.

It also has a very small cone radius that makes it very ineffective at illuminating what’s in front of you.

With this mod, the ghastly glow has been greatly diminished, the radius has been increased, and colors and textures won’t get washed out!

Now, you’ll actually be able to see the things you aim your light at without having to squint to make out the details.

We really love that the flashlight isn’t so blinding with this mod, and it doesn’t hurt our eyes to have it on anymore!

When coupled with Realistic Shadows, this mod is exceptional, and it really goes a long way toward making State of Decay more immersive.

6. Skilled Survivors Stay Home

Now you can play one of the best post-apocalyptic games without worrying about losing your valuable survivors!

We absolutely love this mod because it keeps the most useful non-combatants in your crew safe and prevents them from needing to be rescued.

Let’s face it, the cooks and medics have no business wandering out to hunt zombies when their skills are set up for it!

With this mod installed, none of your survivors that have essential skills will leave your base, so you will never have to go look for them.

The essential skilled survivors this mod targets include medics, chefs, counselors, and gardeners.

There are three different versions you can download, one of which targets heroes, the other only skilled survivors and heroes, and an all-in-one version that combines these.

Like Brant’s Military Surplus, a new game is recommended after installing this mod to ensure that all of the changes are able to take effect.

Along with this mod, there is an additional file that prevents skilled survivors from going missing, which is extremely helpful.

If you’re tired of losing your skilled survivors, this is one mod you won’t want to pass up, and once it’s installed, you’ll never want to play without it!

5. Real Crossbows

Yet another mod by creator SilentResident, Real Crossbows, adds a fantastic silent weapon to State of Decay’s arsenal.

The crossbows added by this mod are available in the base game, and its two DLCs, and they make it so you can silently take out any zombie.

While we hope State of Decay 3 will feature these weapons from the start, this mod functions just as well as any of the vanilla firearms.

Two different crossbows are added with this mod, and they even include scopes to make taking out zombies from a distance easy.

Best of all, the only thing this mod does is add the weapons, making no other changes to the game’s files.

This means you can easily install it at any point in the game and not have to worry about messing up any scripts.

Real Crossbows is an absolute must-have for players who value stealth, and it can be an absolute lifesaver in some tough situations!

4. No Zombie Car Damage

Cars can be incredibly useful in State of Decay, but ramming through a group of zombies is a surefire way to total them.

Fortunately, modder BIZ created this fantastic mod that disables damage caused to cars by plowing down zombies.

Now you can run them over as much as you like without having to worry about your car breaking down and leaving you stranded.

While cars will still take damage from Juggernauts and zombies that can hold onto your hood, a majority of them won’t even make a dent.

No Zombie Car Damage makes getting around the map a lot easier and more convenient, and you’ll actually want to use cars more often.

However, State of Decay remains one of the best survival games even with this mod because it doesn’t really make your character too overpowered.

Sure, you can mow down most zombies in your cat now, but you still have to balance resources, scavenge, and struggle to stay alive!

3. Backpacks And Pick-Ups Fix With Climbable Pickups

In the base game, transporting multiple backpacks with a pick-up truck is tedious, to say the least, and impossible at worst.

Typically, when you try and load backpacks, you would have to find a way to jump into the back and then drop in the packs, rinse, and repeat.

Unfortunately, because of the physics mechanics, the packs you load up will either stay suspended in the air or slide out of the truck when you’re driving.

Thankfully, this mod fixes all of these issues both by making pick-up trucks climbable and by adding correct physics to the packs!

With this mod, you can just hop up into the truck and deposit your goods, and in our experience, up to 9 packs can now be carried reliably.

What we really love about this mod is that it doesn’t require you to start a new game to use, and it works with both the base game and Breakdown DLC.

It definitely makes grabbing resources a lot easier, and it’s lore friendly since it’s just a more reliable way of doing what most players already do!  

2. QMJS Extended Functions

This mod is amazing, and it overhauls many aspects of the game, including skills, items, facilities, and characters.

While it’s not designed to be a difficulty mod, it does make some parts a bit easier and others harder, but in a balanced way that makes sense.

For example, larger bases now have more building spots, while morale becomes more important to keep up among your survivors.

New facilities have also been added, including sanitation rooms, lounges, generators, and small watchtowers.

What really makes QMJS great is that it can work with all playstyles, even those who prefer to stay on a level for a while to build up large survivor groups.

However, it does require the Year One Survival Edition of the game, so make sure to keep that in mind before downloading it.

That said, QMJS is easily one of the best overhaul mods for State of Decay on Nexus, and we highly recommend giving it a try for yourself!

1. Zombies Don’t Run

Taking our number one spot is a mod that serves to return zombies to their classic shambling archetypes.

Zombies Don’t Run makes it so that these undead monstrosities can no longer rush after you, like Usain Bolt going for the gold.

While the best PS5 zombie games have leaned into the trend of making these creatures faster, sometimes it’s nice to return to their classic roots.

When this mod is active, zombies will no longer be able to run or sprint after you, with the exception of a few rare outliers.

So you’ll still have to stay on your toes to make sure you don’t get rushed, but most daily interactions won’t have you running for your life!

However, even though a majority of the zombies are now shamblers, they are still incredibly dangerous, especially if they’re in a horde.

We definitely love that this mod brings back class zombie mechanics while keeping a few runners around so you stay on edge!

Summary

We hope you’ve enjoyed our list of the 10 best State of Decay mods and found some you’re eager to download!

State of Decay is an amazing game, but after using these mods, we can’t go back to playing without them.

Zombies Don’t Run and QMJS Extended Functions are by far our favorite mods, and we definitely recommend trying them out first!

Here’s a quick recap of the 10 best State Of Decay mods:

1. Zombies Don’t Run
2. QMJS Extended Functions
3. Backpacks And Pick-Ups Fix With Climbable Pickups
4. No Zombie Car Damage
5. Real Crossbows
6. Skilled Survivors Stay Home
7. Realistic Flashlight
8. Brant’s Military Surplus
9. Realistic Shadows
10. NPCs Use Guns Beta

Which of these State of Decay mods are you most excited about? Leave a comment below.