Ketaros Smart Raiders

So, you've been fooling those dumb raiders into your kill boxes, trap mazes, and silly little ambush corridors for years now? Watching them march single-file to their doom while you sip your beer?

Not anymore, my friend. Now they learn.

When a raider drops dead in your perfectly crafted choke point, the rest of the group actually notices. "Hey, maybe walking over Dave's corpse into that exact same turret isn't the best plan." And just like that, they start looking for another way in. Your beautiful kill box? Still useful — but not the free win it used to be.

What's going to ruin your day

• Your first few kills come easy. Then the survivors get creative. Suddenly they're going around your walls instead of through your carefully designed death corridor.
• That one perfect choke point you spent 3 hours building? You might actually need a second one now. Sorry.
• Each faction learns on their own. Pirates got shredded in the east hallway? Tribals showing up next won't know that. They'll walk right in... once. Then they'll learn too.
• The fear fades over time. Give it a few hours and they'll "forget" and try again. Raiders aren't exactly known for long-term memory.

How it actually plays

A raid hits. Your turrets mow down the first two in a gap. The rest of the group freezes. Recalculates. Starts heading around your outer wall looking for a weak spot you forgot about. Maybe they find one. Maybe they don't and just leave. Either way, you're no longer watching a shooting gallery — you're in an actual fight.

Deaths scare them more than downings. The danger is worst at the exact spot and fades out a few tiles in every direction. So they don't panic and avoid your entire base — just the area where their friends stopped breathing.

Not all raiders are created equal

Here's the thing — personality matters. A Brawler isn't going to tip-toe around a death zone. They'll charge right through it because that's what Brawlers do. Bloodlust raiders? They're practically excited about it. But that one Wimp in the group? Taking the scenic route all the way around your base.

And berserkers in a mental break? They don't think. They just run at you. Good luck with those.

Do I need to configure anything?

Nope. Install it, forget about it. The raiders will handle the rest. Or rather, they'll handle things much better than they used to, which is kind of the problem for you.

Modders and curious types: enable "Write path costs" in dev mode to watch the danger zones glow red and slowly fade during a fight. It's oddly satisfying.

Compatibility

Requires the Harmony mod. Nothing else. Works fine with Combat Extended and other combat or AI mods.

One last thing

This only affects factions hostile to you. Your colonists, friendlies, traders, and animals are blissfully unaware of the whole system. It also doesn't mess with roofing, rooms, or building mechanics in any way.

Built for RimWorld 1.6. Inspired by the original Careful Raids concept by Andreas Pardeike.