Must have mods? Finally got a PC, just started Fallout 4 on PC

[fftfan]

Can anyone list what they'd consider the must have essential mods? Finally got a PC, just started Fallout 4 on PC. I have GTX 1080 & i7-700 & SSD so should be okay now for performance especially since I'm still using 1080p for now. Previously I couldn't run the game at all so I've never even tried the game at all on PC and I'm out of the loop on the best stuff.

I've played it on the Xbox One a bit and have used a couple mods there including: Unofficial Patch, AWKCR, Armorsmith Extended, Sim Settlements, UCO, USO Season Pass, Snap N Build though author took it down on Bethesda's site. I'll start by getting those plus F4SE immediately. Of course I'll check the top 100 mod list in various categories but I think I'd miss out on some if only using that since any new fantastic mods still won't be able to rank for a while due to the top files having 10's of thousands of endorsements and millions of downloads. I'm going to add an ENB at some point but I'll wait a good while until I get a balance without ENB installed so I can maintain good performance.

Edited August 26, 2017 by fftfan

[sopmac45]

Hi ffrfan,

 

I do not think that anybody can tell you what mods to install because that would depend on how do you want to play your game and that will determine what mods you should install.

 

A piece of advice before you start installing mods : it does not matter how good your rig is, you will suffer fps drops in certain areas on the map because this game engine is not that friendly. There are a lot of players using the same rig that you have with serious problems about fps drops. I also do have a good rig and the only difference between yours and mine is that my video card is the 1070. I am also experiencing fps drops where I am supposed to get them and there is nothing I can do to avoid that. I am also getting CTD's once in a while, so I am just letting you know that just because you have the 1080, does not means your game will be locked at 60 fps 100% of the time and that you will never have a CTD. Live with that and you should be fine.

 

That being said, I have started a new game several times because I started to play in PC a year ago and I thought that because I had a good rig I could have all the mods that I wanted and never have a CTD or fps drops. I was very wrong !! I have been learning the hard way and I have my own personal way to play this game that probably is not fitting your style but here we go :

 

- Texture mods apply globally and will stress your rig especially in those areas of the map already known as "heavy". I do not use any texture mod at all. My game video options are : AA = off, 2560x1440, Motion blur = off, Godrays = off, Shadow = medium. Why this setup ? Because the AA ( Anti-aliasing filter ) will soften your graphics and when you turn it off, your graphics will be very sharp and crispy ... but some people does not like that ... I do !! Everything else in my video game setup is on Ultra settings and my game looks ( as I said ) very sharp. One of the mods that I have is Fallout 4 Color enhancement and that helps a lot to make it look much better.

 

- Personally, I want to go out there and have a lot of fun in combat. For me, WOTC ( War of the Commonwealth ) is a must have mod. This game is about combat, so by using this mod I have a lot of enemies to face anytime anywhere so my game is challenging me all the time. I am playing in Very Hard or Survival ( I switch back and forth because while in Survival mode you cannot fast travel ).

 

- I also use mods ( known as Player Settlement ) to build my own house but I do not use them to help the Minuteman. I do not care about them at all, so I have some mods like Scrap Everything, Homemaker, Better Generators, Robot Home Defense, Pass through walls, Move that workbench, Place Everywhere, etc.

 

- I do not use any ENB mod. ENB will make drop fps more than if you do not have that. I also did not install the Bethesda Texture pack ( are you kidding me ? ).

 

- Because my priority is to focus on performance ( what is the point to have a lot of texture mods to make your game looks so beautiful if probably those mods are going to make you drop fps ? ) so I can be in combat facing a lot of enemies ( with WOTC ) and still run my game as smooth as it is possible. I only have 80 mods and all of them are related to Player Settlement, Weapons and Armors. After I have used almost all the weapons out there, I have decided just to keep : the Vektor ( excellent weapons because it is fast and have almost no recoil ), my Earthquaker shotgun IF-88 ( automatic ), the Vindicator ( minigun and the best out there ) and the mod PRTS-41 which will allow you to have a very powerful weapon that you can use as a sniper or to terrorize your enemies. The sound is superb and it is devastating. I also carry a regular Missile launcher ( with lock-on target ) and a regular 10mm pistol. All of my weapons are "explosive" via console command.

 

- Regarding console commands, IMHO why would I need for example a mod that allow vendors to have more caps when I can have a million in my pocket by just typing a console command ? There are a lot of things that you can do via console command that a lot of mods will give you but the more mods you have, the more chances that your game will CTD. Again, this is my very personal opinion and that is what I do.

 

- In the Model and Texture category I have : CBBE, CBBE pubic hair, Enhance Blood ( is war out there right ? ), Gore Overhaul, Improved map, Penis envy, Jetpack unlimited ( only the master and one more ) and Raider Overhaul. This last is a must to have for me. Again, combat is the core of this game so I want to be challenged and I need my enemies to be though.

 

- I also have Super Mutants Overhaul, same as Raiders but for the "human, human" super mutants and this mod will enhance them very high and they will kill you if you are not good.

 

- For armor : Cross Jetpack and West Tek Tactical Optics and Armorsmith Extended ( of course ). One thing about Cross Jetpacks : I just started a new game 2 days ago and I decided not to use anymore a Power Armor ( because I want to have more challenge ), but I wanted to be able to use a Jetpack and this is the perfect mod for this. You can use a jetpack with any armor out there. Also, to make this mod works like a gem, I installed the great Jetpack Overhaul ( by Imp of the Perverse ). This mod will give you something that you cannot get at all with a regular power armor. So, because I decided not to use any Power Armor in this current game, I decided to use ( IMHO ) the very best armor our there : the Nano Suit and I chose the white one because it does allow me to have medic pump in combat. Also, I want to see my targets in red, so that is why I installed the West Tek Tactical Optics which will allow you to have a Targeting HUD ( the same you get via power armor ).

 

- There are other mods that I have and related to combat like : Faster Respawn Rates by Random Unit. Again, I want to be in combat, period !! You've got to have the Unofficial patch, AWKCR, an audio mod ( I use Reverb and Ambiance Overhaul ) Loads of ammo, New Calibers, etc. Some mods depends on others and one master mod that will make you download others is the awesome AWKCR.

 

- Easy lock picking, easy hacking, immersive lovers embrace, crafting workbenches, Mega Explosions, Live dismemberment ( c'mon is war out there ... ), no negative affinity and WORSIN Immersive Power Armor ( only the master and two more for colors ). Why this mod if I am not wearing a power armor ? Because I want to collect them all and decorate my home. I also want my companion Piper to wear one of them.

 

Again, I am not selling my style, I am just sharing and one more time, I play my game based on what I want. Why I do not have True Storms ? Because I do not want to turn off the weather as I did when I had this mod. IMHO, it is more immersive for me to have Bethesda weather and not be able to turn it off rather than be able to turn it off. Last but not the least : use LOOT but read the mod description and follow the author' suggestion by the letter. For example, Scrap Everything must be placed on the bottom of your load order ... period !! Clean your game files via FO4Edit and have a good time playing your game. Sorry If I extended myself a bit.

 

Cheers :cool:

[sopmac45]

Watch the below video ( you can find the link in the War of the Commonwealth mod - description - ) ... it will teach you a lot of stuff that you need to keep in mind before starting modding. I learned this today. I do not think it is a tool to be learned in 10 minutes but after you watch that video, you will realized that modding a game is something much more complex of what I said in my previous post. Good luck.

 

 

[RangerDulann]

Party Hat mod.

[damanding]

Settlement Building Mods: http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/articles/384/

[RS13]

Here's my favorites by category.

Overall favorite: FO4Hotkeys. In my opinion, this is, bar none, the best mod for FO4. Here's a list of things I use it for: (I) to get more hotkeys (duh) (II) to have a quick outfit switcher (super helpful if you don't want to leave conversation to switch to your persuasive outfit) (III) to seperate the bash and grenade key (Seriously, FTS). (IV) To quickly activate Registrator's bullet time mod (V) To save without entering a menu (VI) To Wait without sitting down (Seriously, Bethesda, what the hell?) (VII) To toggle the radio on/off without entering a menu (VIII) to lower weapons with a button press (IX) to drop the portable workbench quickly. (X) To toggle the nightvision modes in West Tek Tactical Options (XI) to open my inventory via console command so I can easily change weapons while stealthed (Seriously, how is the pip-boy still not fixed!) (XII) To teleport companions to me (XIII) To remotely open companions inventory (XIV) To use VANS without stopping time (Seriously, FTS) (XV) to bash annoying characters in the face mid-convo.

That's FIFTEEN things that FO4 hotkeys lets me do! It can be a pain to set up, since you have to adjust things via a text file, but still it does more than any other mod I've seen.

 

Another absolute essential is Atomic Radio and Tales From the Commonwealth. It adds a whole bunch of interesting NPCs and about a dozen really high-quality quests. I'd say the two most moving quests I've played in FO4 came from that mod. Seriously, one quest nearly made me cry, while another diverted me from my evil ways because I just couldn't bring myself to be that evil. They fit into the game so well, that there have been times when I was on a Tales quest and only realised it was a mod quest when I realized Beth quests don't usually give you the kind of choices that show up there.

I'm a couple hours in to Maxwell's World and really enjoying it.

Llama's Heather is the best companion hands to the f*cking ground, but Ellen is really good too. I strongly recommend both of those, plus EFF so you can keep them both with you at all times.

Unless you hate music, you need Old World Radio in your life.

 

For crafting, I'm a big fan of Legendary modification (Normal Difficulty is my preferred option) along with free downgrades. Better Mod descriptions is great too. The Mobile mechanic is also super-helpful.

For settlements, I highly recommend Tiny Tina's Cookiepocalypse. It adds Tiny Tina and pretty lore unfriendly, but it's hilarious and adds a ton of cool stuff for your settlement. If you don't want the quest, the author has an All-in-One version that doesn't include the quest. If you don't use craftable cats to make your settlers happy, you're a bad person.

Power Armor: I recommend Skyrim Themed Power Armor and Bioshock Themed Power Armor. The former seems to have a lot of bugs, but it's so cool that I'd recommend trying it out and seeing if it works. Both of them fit into the game really nicely, btw. I also recommend Power armor delivery system, power armor storage system, and War Tags (really cool paints).

I don't really like to recommend aesthetics mods because everyone's taste is different, but ultra interior lighting is great. The performance hit is minimal and the extra shadows add a lot to immersion.

Fixes/Quality of Life Mods: Unofficial FO4 patch. Nuff said. No health level scaling: it keeps both you and enemies from becoming damage sponges late game. There are several mods that remove the Bethesda difficulty from the game. Use one of those if you don't play on normal. More Durable Power Armor: nuff said. Quick Trade: enter the trade screen without engaging the vendors in dialog. Thank God. Mini Nukes Ignore LOS: Because a wooden door shouldn't save anyone from a Nuke. Immortal cats. Because obviously letting kitties die was a bug.

 

And finally for the lore-massacring mod that somehow feels like a part of the original game: the mysterious B.I.G. Turn the mysterious stranger into Biggie Smalls. I'd recommend getting an old version because the new one has the mod author (or just some guy?) reading Biggie lyrics in the Perk menu. That drove me nuts so I reverted to an older version. (version 2, I think?)

[RS13]

Oh, two others I forgot. I highly recommend The Dan Bull Intro Replacer (http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/2415/?) and The Wanderer Level Up Sound Replacer (http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/2338/?). Personally, I think FO4's music tries to be way too f*cking serious for a game that were you dress up as a comic-book character. These much better fit the overall mood of FO4.

Edited August 29, 2017 by RS13

[Crimsonhawk87]

Mods are really what you want out of the game...personal preference, if you will. I'd start at the "Most Endorsed" and just look around for the kind of stuff you want to do in game.

 

I highly recommend CBBE body, as it probably allows the most customization and is the most supported of body mods (You will need Bodyslide as well...the two pretty much go hand in hand). Looksmenu, and Looksmenu Compendium are just about required if you want to really get in there and tweak your characters looks and/or use other user's presets, but they they require F4SE (which is pretty much required for any mod that uses a bunch of scripts, so bottom line....GET IT and learn how to install in first).

 

Armorsmith and Weaponsmith Extended allows for alot of weapon and armor customization, but they can be daunting to install for someone who doesn't have much experience modding on the PC (and for some of us that do too!), but the mod author has video tutorials set up to make installation easier. There are many, many, MANY weapons and armors to chose from...so much so that it really depends on how you want to play: a gritty, realistic style, a more adult oriented play through (slooty and skimpy), historically accurate, down right silly....all up to you and there are weapons and armors to support all of those play styles.

 

if you are into settlement building then you can't go wrong with Sim Settlements, Homemaker, Scrap Everything, Place Anywhere, Better Stores, Better Settlers, Transfer Settlements, Robot Home Defense....quite frankly the list goes on and on. Again, all up to your play style.

 

As for companions, Unlimited Companion Framework is essential for more than one companion, and let's be honest, Bethesda's locking you in at one companion at a time has always baffled me. If you were really wandering around the dangerous wasteland, you'd have has many people who would follow you as you could (granted 4-5 is usually the max I have with me at one time due to logistical issues of tight spaces and such). There are presets and face changers for all of the Beth companions, awesome Robot customization mods for Automatron, and really good standalone companions like Heather Casdin and Wintermute.

 

There are DLC sized quest mods like the extremely professional and expertly done Fusion City Rising, Outcasts and Remnants, 50 ways to Die at Dr. Nick's, and Xander's aid (all authored by the same group or members of the same group) which are fun, hard, and extremely hilarious in places (the battle with the pimps...my god the music had me on the floor!) and also reward you with companions, armor, weapons, and various items/perks.

 

So basically however you want to play FO4 there is 9 times out of 10 a mod that supports that play style. I'd start at the most endorsed and work your way backwards, downloading what you think you will make your play through yours. But remember, there are a maximum of 255 .esm/.esp slots (all Beth games have this limitation) so keep that in mind when downloading and as already warned in prior posts, the more you mod, the greater the chance at CTD, drops in FPS, some mods not working as intended (mod conflicts), and a host of other weird, crazy s#*! that will have you pulling your hair out! Follow the instructions on installing the mods, learn how to manage load orders, get FOedit and LOOT and be ready to troubleshoot for hours if need be to get it all right. Welcome to PC modding!

[fftfan]

Thanks for the replies! Been busy playing the game.

 

A piece of advice before you start installing mods : it does not matter how good your rig is, you will suffer fps drops in certain areas on the map because this game engine is not that friendly. There are a lot of players using the same rig that you have with serious problems about fps drops. I also do have a good rig and the only difference between yours and mine is that my video card is the 1070. I am also experiencing fps drops where I am supposed to get them and there is nothing I can do to avoid that. I am also getting CTD's once in a while, so I am just letting you know that just because you have the 1080, does not means your game will be locked at 60 fps 100% of the time and that you will never have a CTD. Live with that and you should be fine.

 

That being said, I have started a new game several times because I started to play in PC a year ago and I thought that because I had a good rig I could have all the mods that I wanted and never have a CTD or fps drops. I was very wrong !! I have been learning the hard way and I have my own personal way to play this game that probably is not fitting your style but here we go : - Texture mods apply globally and will stress your rig especially in those areas of the map already known as "heavy". I do not use any texture mod at all. My game video options are : AA = off, 2560x1440, Motion blur = off, Godrays = off, Shadow = medium. Why this setup ? Because the AA ( Anti-aliasing filter ) will soften your graphics and when you turn it off, your graphics will be very sharp and crispy ... but some people does not like that ... I do !! Everything else in my video game setup is on Ultra settings and my game looks ( as I said ) very sharp. One of the mods that I have is Fallout 4 Color enhancement and that helps a lot to make it look much better.

Strangely I seem to be getting better results than FO4 on GTX 1080 benchmark videos. No lag except from one added settlement mod. I'm going to try it the author's other settlements to see how it goes.

 

I'm using same settings except 4K and AA is on.

 

- I do not use any ENB mod. ENB will make drop fps more than if you do not have that. I also did not install the Bethesda Texture pack ( are you kidding me ? ).

I tried out the Bethesda textures and it's going okay so far. I'm skipping ENB too for now.

 

 

Also, I want to see my targets in red, so that is why I installed the West Tek Tactical Optics which will allow you to have a Targeting HUD ( the same you get via power armor ).

Did they fix that Targeting HUD bug on PC? On my Xbox I had couple mods that let you use Targeting HUD while outside PA but it caused quest issues with everybody going hostile sometimes, like when you go to join the Railroad they just attack even before the light goes on.

 

 

 

So basically however you want to play FO4 there is 9 times out of 10 a mod that supports that play style. I'd start at the most endorsed and work your way backwards, downloading what you think you will make your play through yours. But remember, there are a maximum of 255 .esm/.esp slots (all Beth games have this limitation) so keep that in mind when downloading and as already warned in prior posts, the more you mod, the greater the chance at CTD, drops in FPS, some mods not working as intended (mod conflicts), and a host of other weird, crazy s*** that will have you pulling your hair out! Follow the instructions on installing the mods, learn how to manage load orders, get FOedit and LOOT and be ready to troubleshoot for hours if need be to get it all right. Welcome to PC modding!

This reminds me, are there any good guides on learning the Creation Kit for Fallout 4? I get around that ESM/ESP limit by merging armor/weapon mods into my own plugin, that's what I did for TES IV. I'm at like 130 already after going through most of the top-100 lists but game still seems really stable, a lot moreso than my Xbox One save which had about 50 mods. Only 2 CTD so far after a week, on X1 I'd generally get them every session. Are there good guides around for 3D modeling/texturing specifically for Fallout 4?

 

So far only one mod has caused lag, custom settlement called Fort Hope. It's pretty nice but I get drops to 30-40fps with stutters when I face certain angles though I am on 4K. I tried going to the known troublesome spots like downtown, Fallen Skybridge, Swan's Pond, Corvega Assembly Plant/Lexington but stayed at 60 with occasional drop to 58/59 even if using Fatman. I'd generally get pretty severe stuttering when doing this on Xbox One.

 

 

 

 

if you are into settlement building then you can't go wrong with Sim Settlements, Homemaker, Scrap Everything, Place Anywhere, Better Stores, Better Settlers, Transfer Settlements, Robot Home Defense....quite frankly the list goes on and on. Again, all up to your play style.

Thanks, added these! I do consider Sim Settlements to be totally essential.

 

 

As for companions, Unlimited Companion Framework

This mod is great!

 

Settlement Building Mods: http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/articles/384/

Thanks for this! Some gold to be found here! Trying out Atom's Greatness first. Edited September 6, 2017 by fftfan

[sopmac45]

"""Did they fix that Targeting HUD bug on PC? On my Xbox I had couple mods that let you use Targeting HUD while outside PA but it caused quest issues with everybody going hostile sometimes, like when you go to join the Railroad they just attack even before the light goes on. """

 

... yes, it is fixed, no issued whatsoever ...