New to fallout 4: recommend a collection?

[flarenial]

Brand new to fallout 4. I'm looking for recommendations on a collection that would maximize my experience graphically and with quality of life, but without a ton of extras to complicate a noobs first playthrough.  Or should I just wait for the incoming update?

Appreciate the ideas and suggestions!

[worm82075]

If you are brand new to the game I strongly recommend playing all the way through the vanilla game before you mod it. This is not just to extend the length of time you will get out of the game but you NEED to know what is vanilla and what is newly added or altered by a mod in order to successfully manage a large mod list. Also, don't get attached to your saves because building and managing a mod list is an ever evolving process and you will save yourself a lot of heartache if you simply commit to starting a new game after adding a bunch or removing even ONE mod from your list. Once you have some experience building and managing you will understand why you don't want to use collections.

If you insist on forgoing the vanilla play through you can find a very detailed list of links for MY base install to get started with here.

[fraquar]

1)  If you are here from the TV show - learn to wait.   

This game is due a significant update next week.

2)  You are looking for the easy way - well there is no easy way when it comes to modding games.

Edited April 19 by fraquar

[flarenial]

Thanks fraquar.  But Ive been modding rim for years. Not here because of the show either.  Almost like I asked if I should wait for the update-learn to communicate

[Karna5]

I agree with worm about the first play through being vanilla experience.

This said, I do think cosmetic mods are okay even on a first play through. Skin textures, face textures, even terrain textures (though I don't use the latter) won't harm your story experience and may enhance your enjoyment.

But yeah, like worm said, avoid anything that changes or adds to the actual quests in the game in part because quest mods can and will dilute the vanilla experience.

[363rdChemicalCompany]

There are quite a few mods I wish I had on my 1st playthrough to enhance that most important experience of all, the first one.

There are some utilities:

A small "essentials collection is here:

FO4 Essentials | Fallout 4 | Nexus Mods

 

I could recommend many more modsvia collections  but I dont like linking to collections because they contain so many mods, some of which are a bit "fluff" and also as mods get updated, the collections rarely do.

So only newish collections are suitable for download.

But when you do a search for highest rated collections (because u want what works right?) its biased towards older collections who been up long enough to get amass endorsements, yet its that same feature that often means theymay include mods that have been overhauled or even deleted)

So I will link some of my own recommendations  for a light 1st time player mod list

Some visual mods

This one adds a lot of small locations and makes the world less "empty": 

Remarkably bug and conflict free too.

Atomic World at Fallout 4 Nexus - Mods and community (nexusmods.com)

Here is a nice weather mod, a chance to turn off the illogical and pesky rad storms and enb tyope reshades and a bunch of other visual tweaks:

Its a bit RAM hungry so dont run it on a weak rig , though many have run it successfully on less what I have.

NAC X - NATURAL AND ATMOSPHERIC COMMONWEALTH 10 - Legacy Edition at Fallout 4 Nexus - Mods and community (nexusmods.com)

Power Armor Night vision:

P.A.N.V. - Power Armor Night Vision at Fallout 4 Nexus - Mods and community (nexusmods.com)

On this vein the PA light should reach much further. Even right now weapons mounted lights on a  Carbine can reach 100m so why not a power armor light designed in 2077?

Longer Headlamp Light Distance at Fallout 4 Nexus - Mods and community (nexusmods.com)

Tales of the Commonwealth: 

Atomic Radio and Tales from the Commonwealth at Fallout 4 Nexus - Mods and community (nexusmods.com)

Optionall also Better settlers:

Better Settlers at Fallout 4 Nexus - Mods and community (nexusmods.com)

A forest:

Adds a lot of trees, as 200 yrs after post apoc the land should be in it original (pre settlement, pre logging) state again

A Forest at Fallout 4 Nexus - Mods and community (nexusmods.com)

If you have a medium to strong rig I highly recommend this:

Fallout 4 HD Overhaul at Fallout 4 Nexus - Mods and community (nexusmods.com)

If you rig is not so strong this works great to improve textures using  a very light touch

Vivid Fallout - All in One at Fallout 4 Nexus - Mods and community (nexusmods.com)

This here really works for most people to reduce long ,oading times:

High FPS Physics Fix at Fallout 4 Nexus - Mods and community (nexusmods.com)

ON a first playthrough I generally dont recommeend too many weapons mods except this one, its just too Birlliant (a fallout flavored redo of the basic M4, no COD vibes on this one but more a Fallout look)

Select Assault Rifle at Fallout 4 Nexus - Mods and community (nexusmods.com)

To run many mods you need F4SE which you get here: 

Fallout 4 Script Extender (F4SE) (silverlock.org)

Also Controlling yur mod features and settings this is used :

Mod Configuration Menu at Fallout 4 Nexus - Mods and community (nexusmods.com)

One thing you can also do suggestion you can poke around in the exisitng collections and check thier mod lists and when u see something that strikes your fancy download that mod

[VilLynne]

By playing vanilla first, I would add that allows only getting the few recommended engine and bug fix mods, though definitely avoid any recommendations with tons bugs then abandoned, including those with dependencies like that.  As for me personally, minigames may be fun at first, but when they finally become annoying then get mods to bypass them.

Edit:  So the few famous engine and bug "fixes" mods may cause more problems than they solve?  I do thoroughly check the bugs lists.  Although, there could be something unreported.  I'll be more careful.

[Karna5]

12 minutes ago, VilLynne said:

By Vanilla, they presumably mean Vanilla plus the few recommended engine and bug fix mods, but avoid any recommendations with tons bugs and seemingly abandoned

Just an fyi, if you included me in that reference to vanilla (as I used that term), I never ever use engine and bug fix mods. I don't trust them and refuse to use them, not in Skyrim and not in Fallout 4.

When I say vanilla I genuinely mean vanilla