Cities: Skylines 2 is a city planning sim from Paradox Interactive, focused on the megacities of today. It has its share of technical issues, yet the gameplay can hook even readers who aren’t typically drawn to this genre. With a thoughtful mod setup, Cities: Skylines 2 becomes even more engaging. This article highlights the most interesting mods and how they can enhance the experience.
Installing Mods on Cities: Skylines 2
- Download the archive containing the change and unzip it.
- Copy the contents to the mods folder, which by default is located in %UserProfile%AppDataLocalLowColossal OrderCities Skylines IImods.
- Start the game.
Waffle’s vibrant GShade or Reshade Preset – Improved graphics
An easy method to brighten and enhance saturation in Cities: Skylines 2 visuals. The mod creator notes that the changes affect not only the game, but also the user interface. Some manual tweaks may be necessary to improve usability. To activate the mod, press the key combination Shift + F2.
Asset Editor Activator 3.0 – refinement of core game parameters
This mod is for players who want to adjust specific game parameters themselves. It lets you rebalance settings to suit personal preferences, making progression either easier or more challenging.
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Realistic density – balanced population dynamics
This tweak revises several assumptions from the base game. After installation, power plants will employ thousands of workers instead of a small count, and a large school will require hundreds of teachers. The challenge increases, but so does the strategic depth.
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Kexford – a map with challenging terrain
A brand-new region featuring rivers, hills, and small rocks. Building a city here requires careful planning and is best suited for seasoned players.
Quadrant map. A flat map, ideal for building – a perfectly flat surface
A counterpart to the previous map. Flat terrain means developers can focus entirely on construction without topographic obstacles.
New York City – build your own version of New York
The mod adds Manhattan Island and surrounding areas, letting players craft a customized New York within the game world.
Cali Coast – Building San Francisco
This map places San Francisco on the landscape, with meticulous terrain work that highlights each detail from coast to hills.
Wanaka New Zealand – Nature Map of New Zealand
A map inspired by New Zealand’s landscapes, linking roads, rivers, and elevation changes to the game’s geography.
Paris. Ile de France – reconstruction of Paris
France enthusiasts can rebuild the capital on an authentic terrain model, including the Ile de la Cité on the Seine.
School Capacity Balancer – adjust school dynamics
This mod shifts costs and capacity, aiming to better reflect how education scales with city growth and manpower needs.
Service Vehicle AI – smarter city fleet behavior
A practical tweak that makes service vehicle drivers behave more realistically on the roads.
Traffic – enhanced traffic management
New controls for steering vehicle flows, especially at intersections. It lets players set main-road priorities, cap jams, and fine-tune congestion at complex junctions.
Unemployment Monitor – visible employment stats
A handy tool for late-stage cities. It lists unemployed residents by education level, helping planners match skills with jobs and ease budget pressure. It also shows which buildings aren’t contributing to production chains. To use it, HookUI must be installed.
Additional landscape tools – more terrain options
This add-on expands terrain editing. The brush gains power, enabling new resources such as ore or oil and allowing soil fertility adjustments.
Water features – reservoir management
This tool fine-tunes rivers, seas, lakes, and streams. You can adjust channel size and flow, and tie water levels to seasonal changes and tides.
Which mods will you install in Cities: Skylines 2? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Are you planning on installing mods for Cities: Skylines 2?