diff --git a/roles/7dtd/files/mods/No-Respawn-Near-Backpack-2-0-0-0.zip b/roles/7dtd/files/mods/No-Respawn-Near-Backpack-2-0-0-0.zip
deleted file mode 100644
index 5507fdd..0000000
Binary files a/roles/7dtd/files/mods/No-Respawn-Near-Backpack-2-0-0-0.zip and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/roles/7dtd/files/mods/Singularity-v4.1.3.zip b/roles/7dtd/files/mods/Singularity-v4.1.3.zip
deleted file mode 100644
index c42c1e8..0000000
Binary files a/roles/7dtd/files/mods/Singularity-v4.1.3.zip and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/roles/7dtd/tasks/main.yml b/roles/7dtd/tasks/main.yml
index d9a4563..68bb022 100644
--- a/roles/7dtd/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/7dtd/tasks/main.yml
@@ -35,8 +35,18 @@
 
 # Mods live in the bind-mounted serverfiles; the container loads them on its next start
 # (recreate on every deploy re-reads them). zips come from roles/7dtd/files/mods (sdtd_mods
-# in vars.yml), extracted one level deep (the zips already carry their own _Singularity/
-# and zByteblazarsNoRespawnNearBackpack/ subfolders, which fix load order by name).
+# in vars.yml), extracted one level deep (each zip carries its own mod subfolder; prefix
+# folders with z- if they must sort LAST for load order). unarchive only ADDS — it never
+# removes, so a mod dropped from sdtd_mods would keep loading: with an empty list we wipe
+# the whole dir and the create-task below rebuilds it empty. Partial mod swaps are not
+# auto-cleaned (the role only knows zip names, not the folders zips unpack into) — remove
+# those retired folders from the box by hand.
+- name: Remove 7 Days to Die Mods directory when no mods are deployed
+  ansible.builtin.file:
+    path: /opt/apps/7dtd/serverfiles/Mods
+    state: absent
+  when: sdtd_mods | length == 0
+
 - name: Create 7 Days to Die Mods directory (container user)
   ansible.builtin.file:
     path: /opt/apps/7dtd/serverfiles/Mods
diff --git a/roles/7dtd/templates/sdtdserver.xml.j2 b/roles/7dtd/templates/sdtdserver.xml.j2
index ab5ffe2..aaebd70 100644
--- a/roles/7dtd/templates/sdtdserver.xml.j2
+++ b/roles/7dtd/templates/sdtdserver.xml.j2
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@
 
   <!-- Performance related -->
   <property name="MaxSpawnedZombies" value="{{ sdtd_max_spawned_zombies }}" />
-  <property name="MaxSpawnedAnimals" value="50" />
+  <property name="MaxSpawnedAnimals" value="100" />
   <property name="ServerMaxAllowedViewDistance" value="12" />
   <property name="MaxQueuedMeshLayers" value="1000" />
 
diff --git a/vars.yml b/vars.yml
index 17e5a31..42674b6 100755
--- a/vars.yml
+++ b/vars.yml
@@ -1,7 +1,3 @@
-## Remote sudo password for ansible become (plaintext by operator decision, same as the
-## game-server passwords below). Runs the playbook without --ask-become-pass.
-ansible_become_password: "bQ4Sxf5Ycrw#7ag4j$"
-
 ## add generic 755 directory for application here
 directories:
   - /opt/apps/npm
@@ -202,22 +198,15 @@ sdtd_airdrop_frequency: 72
 ## PlayerKillingMode: 0 = no killing, 1 = kill allies only, 2 = kill strangers only, 3 = kill everyone
 sdtd_player_killing_mode: "3"
 sdtd_max_spawned_zombies: 64
-## EAC must be OFF because we deploy code mods (Singularity framework + the No Respawn Near
-## Backpack patch below) — EAC blocks their Harmony hooks. Keep "false" while mods are installed.
-sdtd_eac_enabled: "false"
-## Game mods, vendored under roles/7dtd/files/mods/ and extracted into serverfiles/Mods (the
-## container's bind-mounted Mods dir) by the role. Source of truth: add the zip name here AND
-## drop the file into the role's files/mods dir. Load order is handled by folder prefixes —
-## Singularity's leading underscore loads FIRST, the mod's z- prefix loads LAST (7dtd sorts
-## Mods alphabetically).
-## - Singularity (4.1.3): Byteblazar's core framework; No Respawn Near Backpack is a server
-##   policy implemented here, disabled by default, enabled via XML (the mod below).
-## - No Respawn Near Backpack for V2 (2.0.0.0): server-side XML patch that sets Singularity's
-##   ServerPolicies.NoRespawnNearBackpack=true -> players CANNOT respawn near their backpack,
-##   they respawn at a world starting point instead. Requires EAC off (see above).
-sdtd_mods:
-  - Singularity-v4.1.3.zip
-  - No-Respawn-Near-Backpack-2-0-0-0.zip
+## EAC is ON (default protection). It was OFF while code mods were deployed — EAC blocks
+## their Harmony hooks, so keep "false" if mods are ever reinstalled.
+sdtd_eac_enabled: "true"
+## Game mods: NONE deployed (Singularity 4.1.3 + No Respawn Near Backpack 2.0.0.0 were
+## removed; EAC was flipped back on as part of that change). To re-add a mod: drop the zip
+## into roles/7dtd/files/mods/ and list its name here. NOTE: the role's unarchive task only
+## ADDS mods — retiring to an EMPTY list wipes the whole server Mods dir; swapping one mod
+## for another (non-empty list) requires removing the retired folder from the box by hand.
+sdtd_mods: []
 sdtd_xp_multiplier: 100
 sdtd_telnet_enabled: "true"