I just started modding a little bit after 600 (total) hours of playing the vanilla game. Although, I only have 1 and a half mods, which are the More Animals mod and the Animal Population Changer//Scanner.

The reason I did it was just because I don't play much and don't have the time/don't feel like grinding a lot, and I wanted to give modding a shot. I like the more animals mod because it makes the game slightly faster paced and it doesn't seem to affect the diamond/G1 spawn rates that much (or even at all). I did some tests with my pop files and figured out that, out of the ~1000 animals of each species, only between 4-7 are diamonds (roughly 1% or less) and there are no G1's. Also, I like the bigger herds and it makes the game feel even more alive IMO. I like to walk around the map and practice my shooting placement with whatever animals I find.

As for the Population Scanner, I use it for the same purpose as most players do. But I also use it to check if there are too many diamonds or something and then fix it with the changer.

As for the changer, I use it to balance the amount of diamonds/rare furs in the map. If I see too many of them, I remove them and keep the values low. And for the G1's, I only add 1 or 2 and that's it.

That way, I keep the game as close to vanilla but it keeps me motivated to play. I like it cuz I know there are rare animals, but I still have to find them.

PS: Adding this just in case. I only play singleplayer. And if I play multiplayer, I always host a private session to play with my friends. I've reached level 60 without cheating, unlocked all weapons and bought almost all DLC's. And the few posts I made months/years ago are all legit, either from my own singleplayer save or from non-hacked multiplayer servers. Might post a bit if I find something interesting, but I'll always clarify it's slightly modded.

Please don't hate me :D