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Edgesteel - Weapon Manufacturer and Smithing Overhaul

For a long time I've felt like the manufacturer system in Kenshi is pretty lackluster. For all the interesting lore involving the manufacturers, and all the systems that make it possible to differentiate them, they more or less act as quality level gates than anything. Each manufacturer fits neatly into a tier of which one is better than the others, with absolutely no overlap.

It's far too linear and boring in my opinion, compared to the old days of Kenshi when there were more manufacturers that had overlapping qualities, and each group had their own specialties and bonuses/penalties to them. Making your choice of model more about weighing the effects to see which fits you more, rather than just which one is higher level.

This mod is an attempt to rectify that. In doing so, I made a number of major changes.

• First off, I re-added the old manufactures to the game. They may not technically be lore friendly, they were created by the devs to fit with the lore at one point, so it's the closest one can get. The weapons of these new groups have been distributed out through the world, in as lore friendly a fashion as possible. For example, the Holy Nation will regularly be found using Metal Purity weapons, and the United Cities will use a mix of both Old-Eye Blades and Catun Scrapmaster. While the Shek are a culture that respects strength and the ability to take what is yours, so their weapons are often made by their enemies, taken long ago as trophies in war. This goes for smallers factions as well, I went through the entire list to make sure everyone was equipped with the weapons that made the most sense to me.
  
  
• I made each group have its own specialties and effects. For example, one might have bonus to a certain damage type (but a penalty to the other), another might have lower damage overall but be cheaper to buy and have major bonuses to low skilled users, and yet another might sacrifice damage for stat bonuses to attack/defence. Every NPC manufacturer has bonuses like this, and none have only bonuses with no penalties except for Cross. The Player faction gets no bonuses or penalties, their weapons are the baseline.
  
  
• I then also widened the quality range for the manufacturers. You will find plenty of overlap between groups. Especially in the mid tier weapons where the lower and higher tier manufacturers start to meet. There are still cut off points where certain groups are plainly better, don't expect to find an Ancient weapon that can compared to a high level Skeleton Smiths blade. But you might rarely find one that can compare to the lowest tier Skeleton blades.
  
  
• With all these changes and additions, this called for an overhaul of the player crafting as well. Before, the player simply used the same models as the NPC factions, but since there was so much overlap now that wasn't really feasible. So I opted to make models unique to the player. These new models are completely devoid of relation to the original set, and are instead based on the materials it takes to craft them. Crude Iron, Iron Forged, Steel Forged, and Edgesteel. Speaking of which...
  
  
• Edgesteel is a new resource I have added to the game. It is hinted at in the lore that something is unusual about the material that Edgewalker and Meitou weapons are made of. They don't rust, never chip or need sharpening, etc. This material is my interpretation of that. An ancient and advanced metal that nobody alive can make anymore, but the secrets of reforging it can be learned by masters of the craft. The research materials are found throughout the world, and it is even possible to surpass the quality of the Edgewalkers with it.
  
  That said, while there is technically an infinite amount of the material in the game, it is not common. You will NOT likely be able to equip your whole faction with Edgesteel weapons, they are meant to be rare and powerful tools for the elite soldiers, the same way the NPC factions use them. I expect this part will be unpopular with some people, and if there is demand for it I am willing to release an optional patch to remove this aspect. Though I urge you play it yourself first before making judgements.

It is HIGHLY recommended to try this mod on a new game, rather than an existing one. It does work with an import, but you will be missing out on a large part of the experience if you already have a well established faction. Any crafted weapons you have made may also end up screwed up as well, as the models they once were no longer exist. Backup your save before installing if you plan on using it on an existing save.

Other than that, please report any issues or feedback. I'll be happy to help or listen. Enjoy!

Looking for a place to discuss Kenshi or Kenshi modding? Feel free to join the Kenshi Community Discord[discord.gg] We're always welcome to new faces. :)