5422

I’m mostly looking for a list of mods that greatly increase graphical quality (I have a 5950X and a RTX3080) and add tons of content while all playing smoothly together, with as little jank as possible.

5423

I assume you will be going to Nexus for your mods so my comments below will be based upon that assumption.

First off, go to this site:

This person put together modding guides for both FO:NV and Fallout 4 and it gives a good idea on how to get started using MO2. I would use his most of his suggestions down through gameplay, especially those around Bug Fixes, Utilities, Tweaks and UI. Note that he has very limted gameplay suggestions because he avoids any mods that put a strain on the game or are somewhat buggy. I usually start with the parts I mention above as a basic foundation, and then add whatever I am interested in with respect to stuff like new weapons/armor, quests, locations, etc - stuff that he pretty much avoids for the most part.

Next for any mod you are interested in (we’ll get to that below), READ the description. You’ll find there any mod requirements, sometimes they will mention conflicts or issues. In addition, you should READ the comments section for the first 3 or 4 pages - oftentimes there you will find issues/conflicts that users have identified - and sometimes fixes.

To get started selecting and downloading mods, go to the Nexus, select Fallout 4, then select Mods, then select categories, then select Models & Textures. Then I would sort by either Unique Downloads or Endorsements. By using that ranking you will get the best of those mods that improve graphics. From there you can select those that interest you.

For content, do the same - select the content you are interested in (be that weapons, armor, quests, additional locations, etc) rank them and see what interests you.

As far as playing smoothly together, that’s going to take more work. Graphic upgrades generally won’t cause problems but content can. As noted above, reading the description and comments can be very helpful.

But no matter what you do, it seems issues always arise - I don’t think I have a modded play through where a conflict/crash has not arisen. There are no guarantees that any group of mods you select will always play together. For example in a current playthrough, all my mods worked fine - until I got to the alley you take to go to Diamond city right past the battle with the Super Mutants. It crashes every time. I stopped right before Christmas but the only way to figure out what is going on is to disable all my mods, then activate maybe ten at a time, load the save, and keep doing that until it crashes again. Than I’ll have to look at the group of ten that caused the crash, load them one or two at a time, until I identify that mod that is causing the crash, and then delete it.

This is just a quick overview, hope it is helpful.

5424

Yeah, I’m very familiar with bethesda game modding, been installing them since Morrowind. That site is helpful for graphical mods but doesn’t have many recommendations for content, which are (as you noted) typically what really conflict.

5425

Ok, sorry didn’t know how familiar you were with modding. Like I said, just go to Nexus for a particular category, rank them and see what interests you.

If you want I can send you by PM a list/spreadsheet of the location and quest mods that I use that I think are pretty good. Or armor/weapon mods. Just tell me what you want. I can do that this weekend.

5426

Why not post them here, so other people can benefit?

I just want a list of mods that works well together so I can install them and immediately play without having to worry about my game breaking halfway through.

5427

I was going to send a spreadsheet to you so it would have links to the mods to make it easier for you. But I can certainly post a list here.

I don’t think anyone can guarantee you that any mod won’t “break” your game. From what I’ve seen, modded games are very fragile by nature. I’ve never had a “broken” game luckily but sometime stuff happens, and a number of people have had such games. Almost by definition, modding of Fallout games involves risk.

5428

Certainly, but assurances that someone tested a particular combo go a long way here.

5429

Seriously modding FO4 and Skyrim is a rabbithole, literally. It’s like:

a) Hey, cool mod! I think I’ll grab it. Hmm, I’m carefully reading the description and it appears that this mod relies on another mod.
b) I’ll go grab that required mod first.
c) GOTO a)

and when you RUN/STOP-RESTORE that loop, and run your new modded FO4, you find out that you inadvertently skipped one tiny step, or one mod is slightly out of place on the load order, and you summon Shub-Niggurath into your room.

I spent like a week futzing around with Skyrim AE and that was before the fixed SKSE and other .dll mods came out.

5430

That’s basically the hellmouth I’m trying not to tongue-kiss.

5431

Here are the mods I’m running:

  • A Little Bit of Green
  • Achievements
  • Armor and Weapon Keywords Community Resource
  • Armorsmith Extended
  • Better Locational Damage
  • Better Settlers
  • Carry Weight Modifications
  • Classic V.A.T.S.
  • Companion Infinite Ammo
  • Cross_Jetpack
  • Customizable Power Armor and Jetpack Drain
  • Diamond City Expansion
  • Enhanced Blood Textures
  • Enhanced Lights and FX
  • Everyone’s Best Friend
  • Extended Weapon Mods
  • Fallout 4 Script Extender
  • Full Dialogue Interface
  • Improved Map with Visible Roads
  • Lowered Weapons
  • Main Quest Choices Extended
  • Mod Configuration Menu
  • Outcasts and Remnants
  • Project Valkyrie
  • Realistic Death Physics
  • Seasonal Weather
  • See Through Scopes
  • The Beantown Interiors Project
  • True Storms
  • Unofficial Fallout 4 Patch
  • Visible Companion Affinity
  • Visible Weapons
  • We Are The Minutemen
  • WET - Water Enhancement Textures

All except Project Valkyrie and F4SE were installed through Vortex, and no crashes or compatibility issues so far.

5432

Beautiful, thank you!

5433

I have long suspected the real game in these Bethesda products is “getting the mods to work.” All the rest is window dressing!

5434

I played Fallout 3 with mods since I’d just bought a new computer and wanted it to look its best. But it caused many issues despite being only graphical mods, so I’ve never tried to mod Bethesda games since then. It might have been different if the mods made a huge difference but they didn’t really. The game still looked basically the same.

In Fallout Vegas, I decided ENBs made the look so much better that it was worth looking into it again, but basically I ended up just messing with that ENB and crashing a lot and running at low frame rates, and therefore I didn’t get very far in Fallout Vegas, so I learned my lesson. No more mods! I’ll never get to the dang game if I go down that road.

5435

After the game’s been out a couple of years these things tend to settle down. Now is the perfect time to get into modded F4.

5436

I was really reluctant to start modding because it seemed like it would be a frustrating pain in the ass, but it’s been a stable breeze so far.

And the combination of graphical mods (I think True Storms and Enhanced Lights & FX are doing the heavy lifting) make it look really good. Especially in rainy or foggy weather.

5437

Holy crap! Just a few mods. :)

5438

Hey, Vortex made it super simple to add!

5439

God, just building the transmitter reminds me why I’ve always skipped the settlement B.S. and just let Preston rot in Concord. Oy…

5440

Do any of these mods require the expansions? I have none of those, and IIRC some need the expacs. That would mean a no go for some of these mods for me.

5441

Oh, good question. Probably? Some at least. I picked up the season pass on sale so I’ve got the whole bundle.