Against the Storm Mods 2026: 10 Picks That Fix the HUD, Make Every Building Moveable, and Add a New Biome

Before diving into mods, make sure you understand the base game. Our Against the Storm Beginner’s Guide covers species selection, blightrot management, and the blueprint framework that these mods enhance.

The first time you check when the next trader arrives in Against the Storm, you find the base game gives you nothing — no timer, no HUD element. You either remember roughly when the drizzle season started, or you hover over the season bar and guess. That’s one of several information gaps the vanilla UI leaves open — gaps that become genuinely run-damaging at higher prestige levels when every preparation window matters.

Modding ATS fixes this, but the ecosystem has a subtlety most guides miss: roughly half of the best mods require the ATS API as a dependency, and all of them require BepInEx beneath that. Skip the setup layer and your mods silently fail. This guide covers 10 mods verified against ATS patch 1.9.8 (March 30, 2026). Three fix the HUD. Four cut micromanagement. Two add genuine new content. One is the safest balance mod available. All sourced from Thunderstore, download counts current as of April 2026.

Before You Install: The Dependency Chain

Against the Storm doesn’t use Steam Workshop. Mods live on Thunderstore, and the ecosystem runs on two foundational layers every mod needs.

BepInExPack is the mod loader that lets Unity games accept plugins. It requires no configuration — just installation. Without it, nothing runs.

ATS API has 8,488 downloads and 22 dependent packages. It provides the functions mods use to add cornerstones, HUD elements, biomes, and buildings without directly patching game code. Five of the 10 mods in this guide require it.

The good news: you don’t manage this manually. Both major mod managers — r2modman (9.7 million total downloads) and Gale Mod Manager (432K downloads) — resolve dependency chains automatically. Install any mod that needs the API and the manager installs BepInEx and the API in the correct order. For new modders, Gale is lighter with a built-in config editor; r2modman has the longer track record. Either works.

Quick setup:

1. Download r2modman or Gale from the Thunderstore ATS page
2. Select Against the Storm as your game
3. Install any mod from this list — dependencies install automatically
4. Click “Start Modded”

Back up saves to %userprofile%\AppData\LocalLow\Eremite Games before any new mod session. Game updates can break mods temporarily; check each mod’s Thunderstore page for recent update activity before loading mods after a patch.

UI Mods: Three HUD Gaps Closed

These three are from DGH, a single modder who has built a cohesive quality-of-life suite. They share the same dependencies and have no known conflicts with each other or any other mod on this list. All require ATS API v3.7.0+.

1. TimerHUD

109 downloads. The season timer alone isn’t enough. You need to know when the next trader arrives, when newcomers are due, and when trade routes refresh — all at a glance. TimerHUD adds a moveable HUD element showing all four simultaneously: season duration remaining, newcomer arrival countdown, trader schedule, and trade route timing with desired goods listed. Any row can be disabled via the API settings menu. This supersedes DGH’s earlier TraderTimer mod if you’ve already installed it.

Best for: Every player from casual to prestige — the information is useful in every run.
Skip if: You prefer a minimal UI and never consult trader timing.

2. VerticalGoodsHUD

136 downloads. Vanilla goods tracking requires cycling through categories. VerticalGoodsHUD reorganizes the display to show all categories simultaneously in a vertical column. Food and crafting resources split into raw and complex sub-columns. The semicolon key toggles the entire panel. Middle-mouse drag scales it. The practical result: your run’s resource state is readable in one glance instead of four clicks.

Best for: Casual and optimiser players managing multiple production chains.
Skip if: You prefer the vanilla tab-based goods panel.

3. WorkplaceOverhaul

204 downloads. The vanilla workplace overlay shows basic occupancy but doesn’t match the full detail view available when you click a building. WorkplaceOverhaul closes this gap — the overlay now shows the same information as the building detail panel. When scanning your settlement during a storm approach, you no longer need to click into individual buildings to check production status.

Best for: Optimiser players auditing production chains mid-run.
Skip if: You manage buildings primarily by clicking them individually.

QoL Mods: Four Ways to Cut Micromanagement

4. EverythingsMoveable

1,866 downloads — the most popular non-tool mod on Thunderstore. EverythingsMoveable solves a problem that shouldn’t exist. In vanilla ATS, Hearths and Relics can’t be relocated once placed. Misplace a Hearth and you work around it for the entire run. This mod makes every building relocatable, including Hearths and Relics. One hard limit remains: resources on the ground and water geysers can’t move because the game has no UI mechanism for them. For everything else, this fixes the most common permanent planning mistake in the game. Understanding which buildings you’re most likely to want to reposition is worth reading about — the Against the Storm building selection framework covers the blueprint decisions that create the most relocation pressure.

Best for: Every player who has ever misplaced a Hearth — that’s most players.
Skip if: You use Hearth immobility as a deliberate challenge constraint.

5. KeepWorking

200 downloads. When you relocate a workplace in vanilla ATS, workers abandon whatever production cycle they were mid-way through. It’s a small waste each time, but across a full run of constant re-optimization those partial cycles add up. KeepWorking lets workers finish their current task before acknowledging the relocation. No wasted ingredients, no interrupted cycles.

Best for: Optimiser players who regularly relocate buildings to improve production flow.
Skip if: You rarely move buildings once placed.

6. UseAllRaces

1,176 downloads, 4-star community rating. Default runs give you three races per settlement — a constraint that forces adaptation to what you draw. UseAllRaces makes every race available in every run. The count is configurable; you still select which races appear, you’re just not locked into a random subset. Compatible with custom race mods. If the ATS API is installed, configuration is accessible in-game; otherwise, edit the .cfg file manually.

Best for: New players learning race interactions; veterans who want to test specific combinations.
Skip if: You value the run-to-run variance that random race pools create — that variance is intentional design at higher prestige levels. Race selection intersects directly with biome difficulty; the Against the Storm clans guide covers which race abilities matter most per biome.

7. Stormwalker

⚠️ Marked “InDev” — back up saves before installing.

579 downloads. Stormwalker bundles five distinct features. Woodcutter hotkeys: Shift+X unassigns all, Ctrl+X assigns one, Alt+X auto-lowers hostility. Backspace toggles an overview zoom for better map perspective. A 5× speed mode cuts late-game waiting cycles significantly. City score becomes visible in the trader menu, letting you track prestige-threshold proximity without leaving the trade screen. Ctrl+Right Click releases a worker mid-cycle without relocating their building.

The InDev status means occasional bugs. The developer warns that newer game versions may break functionality and recommends saving frequently. At its current state, the woodcutter hotkeys and 5× speed are the most reliable features; the rest is bonus.

Best for: Optimiser players comfortable with an occasional bug; late-game grinders who find vanilla speed limiting.
Skip if: You’re running a high-stakes prestige run where a bug-triggered crash costs serious progress.

Content Mods: New Biome, New Cornerstones

These two mods are the reason Against the Storm stays fresh past 100 hours. They add new decision spaces, not just convenience features.

8. JingleBellHollow

499 downloads. JingleBellHollow adds a fully custom winter biome: three tree types each with unique audio, four terrain textures, a reskinned workshop, and custom fog, water, and glade effects. Runs in this biome look and sound distinct from anything in the base game.

The mechanical hook is the Festive Lights system: every 8 festive decorations placed in your settlement grant +1 Global Resolve. At 40 decorations that’s a steady +5 Global Resolve — enough to offset a weak early blessing draw or cover the resolve deficit from a difficult biome modifier. It introduces a genuine strategic layer: allocate building slots and worker time to decoration placement in exchange for a resolve buffer. Requires ATS API v3.3.0+.

Best for: Players extending replayability with genuinely different-feeling runs; anyone who wants a new mechanic that doesn’t replicate base-game systems.
Skip if: The festive aesthetic isn’t for you, or you dislike resolve mechanics tied to decoration placement.

9. ForwindzCustomCornerstones

793 downloads. Eight new cornerstones across two rarity tiers, each introducing a mechanic not present in the base game. The four Legendary picks: Delay Insurance pays out when glade events expire, making patience a reward rather than a missed opportunity. Garden Design lowers Hearth upgrade requirements, reducing the mid-run development tax that slows momentum. Foolhardy Gambler enables free blind-box openings for high-variance, high-ceiling plays. Overdraft Technical Contract grants earlier access to legendary-tier cornerstones at a cost.

Among the Epic tier: Volatile Market creates amber profit through price arbitrage — a mechanic that rewards active trade monitoring. Adsorbent removes negative effects from Blood Flower, neutralizing one of the game’s most disruptive late-run hazards. The mod is bilingual (Chinese/English) and requires ATS API v3.3.0+.

Best for: Veteran players who’ve exhausted the base cornerstone pool and want new strategic decisions each run.
Skip if: You’re still learning core cornerstone synergies — more options increase decision complexity at a stage when fewer is better. The Against the Storm best buildings tier list covers the base-game fundamentals worth mastering first.

Balance Mod: One Safe Pick

Balance mods blur the line between quality-of-life and convenience at the cost of challenge. Most of the available options — Free Mine Upgrades, Cheaper Woodcutters, Free Wildcard Blueprint — remove resource costs that are there for a reason. The exception worth installing:

10. Essential Camps

1,298 downloads. Essential Camps guarantees all four resource-gathering camps — foragers’, herbalists’, trappers’, and fishing — appear in every run from the start. In vanilla ATS, camp availability is random. A bad draw can deny fishing or foraging entirely, creating a scarcity spiral that ends a run before the strategic decisions even matter. Essential Camps removes that specific RNG loss condition without touching resources, blueprint pools, or prestige mechanics.

When NOT to use: At Prestige 8 and above, which camps you draw is an intentional constraint. Essential Camps removes a layer of scarcity management that high-prestige play is built around. At those difficulty levels, working around a bad camp draw is part of the game.

Honourable mentions from Remans_mods: More Starting Resources (50% more at game start — reasonable for new players, eliminates early tension for veterans) and Free Wildcard Blueprint (one free wildcard per run — reduces variance ceiling rather than the floor). Both are safe to use while learning the game; remove them at Prestige 4+ when the scarcity decisions start to matter.

Which Mods to Install First

Starter stack for most players: EverythingsMoveable + TimerHUD + VerticalGoodsHUD + Essential Camps. These four require only BepInEx and the ATS API, have no known conflicts, and fix the most common vanilla frustrations without changing difficulty. Install them together on your first modded session.

FAQ

Do mods disable Steam achievements?

Yes. BepInEx loads before the game’s achievement system, which Steam treats as a modified session. If unlocking the base achievements matters to you, use two profiles in your mod manager — one clean for achievement runs, one modded for everything else. Both r2modman and Gale switch profiles instantly with no file management.

Will game updates break these mods?

Temporarily, yes. ATS patches regularly, and any update touching modded systems can break compatibility. Most mods on this list come from active developers who update within one to two weeks of a major patch. Safest practice: when a patch drops, don’t launch modded until each mod’s Thunderstore page shows a recent update or compatibility note. r2modman lets you disable all mods in seconds if needed.

Can I run all 10 together?

Yes. The DGH suite mods (TimerHUD, VerticalGoodsHUD, WorkplaceOverhaul, KeepWorking) are designed to work together. EverythingsMoveable, UseAllRaces, JingleBellHollow, and ForwindzCustomCornerstones have no documented conflicts with each other or the DGH suite. Stormwalker is the only one with an InDev caveat — run it alongside the others, but back up saves first. All API-dependent mods share a compatible version range (v3.3.0–v3.7.0), which Thunderstore managers satisfy automatically by installing the latest API version.

Sources

1. Thunderstore: Against the Storm Mod Database — download counts and listings verified April 2026
2. EverythingsMoveable — JamesGames, thunderstore.io/c/against-the-storm/p/JamesGames/EverythingsMoveable/
3. Stormwalker — StormwalkerDevs, thunderstore.io/c/against-the-storm/p/StormwalkerDevs/Stormwalker/
4. TimerHUD — DGH, thunderstore.io/c/against-the-storm/p/DGH/TimerHUD/
5. VerticalGoodsHUD — DGH, thunderstore.io/c/against-the-storm/p/DGH/VerticalGoodsHUD/
6. UseAllRaces — JamesGames, thunderstore.io/c/against-the-storm/p/JamesGames/UseAllRaces/
7. JingleBellHollow — JingleBellHollowDevs, thunderstore.io/c/against-the-storm/p/JingleBellHollowDevs/JingleBellHollow/
8. ForwindzCustomCornerstones — Forwindz, thunderstore.io/c/against-the-storm/p/Forwindz/ForwindzCustomCornerstones/
9. DGH mod suite — DGH, thunderstore.io/c/against-the-storm/p/DGH/
10. Remans_mods suite — Remans_mods, thunderstore.io/c/against-the-storm/p/Remans_mods/
11. ATS API — ATS_API_Devs, thunderstore.io/c/against-the-storm/p/ATS_API_Devs/API/

Michael R.

I've been playing video games for over 20 years, spanning everything from early PC titles to modern open-world games. I started Switchblade Gaming to publish the kind of accurate, well-researched guides I always wanted to find — built on primary sources, tested in-game, and kept up to date after patches. I currently focus on Minecraft and Pokémon GO.