Rimworld: How to Remove Traits

What would you say really brings your pawns to life in Rimworld? The best answer for this is their traits.

Different traits in the game can affect everything from a pawn’s speed and accuracy all the way to their personality. In short, the traits make a pawn who they really are.

Sometimes, though, you need to change a pawn’s traits. The game doesn’t really give you any info about how to get started.

Fortunately, our guide on how to remove traits in Rimworld will help you get started right away!

The Bad News

I’m a big believer in getting the bad news out of the way first. The bad news, in this case, is that there is no way to change a pawn’s traits in “vanilla” Rimworld.

There is no cheat code you can enter on the keyboard or setting you can toggle in the dev mode. Short of using a mod (more on this later), there is absolutely no way you can change the traits while playing the game.

However, we’ve got some good news to go with the bad news. If you really want to change traits in the game, all you need is a copy of Notepad++ and a little technical know-how.

The Good News

If you want to change a trait, and you don’t want to use a mod, then you’re going to need to edit your Rimworld save game file. We recommend using Notepad ++ to do this. And, of course, we recommend keeping a backup of the original save file just in case things go sideways for you.

Use Notepad++ to open the file for the name of the colonist whose traits you wish to change. You should see a section labeled <thing Class=”Pawn”>. Within that section, you should see something like <name Class=”NameTriple”>.

Examining this area will help you find <traits><allTraits>, followed by a list of all that colonist’s traits. All you have to do now is find a trait, change the text between <def></def> to the new trait, and you are good to go. Or you can simply delete the unwanted trait.

Mod It Up

Some players are resistant to the idea of using mods. Then again, once you’re cracking open a game’s save file to change things, all bets are pretty much off.

There are a few different Rimworld mods to help you make changes to your pawns’ traits. The Polarisbloc Core Lab, for example, gives you more manual control over changing individual traits. Meanwhile, the People Can Change mod allows for organic trait changes to happen over time.

These mods can either increase or decrease the challenge of the primary game. For example, the first mod lets you surgically min/max trait changes as needed. The second, however, makes the whole thing feel more organic, forcing you to deal with unexpected changes.

How to Remove Traits in Rimworld: What’s Next?

Now you know how to remove traits in Rimworld but do you know what you should try next?

If you’re ready to start modding your game, check out our guide to the best Rimworld mods and start playing today!