TESVedit Merged and Wrye Bash

[YellowJacketXV]

Probably been asked a hundred times before but I'm curious either way.

Is this an "either/or" situation? Or is this a "make one then the other" situation?

 

What all can I merge? do I create separate merged files for greater categories? For instance, I am the kind of weirdo that adds a LOT of economy-based mods, would I be able to combine them in their own merged file as a lot of them are actually patches or addons to an existing concept?

 

For instance I like Coins of Tamriel (v2 script free of course so I can hoard valuables). I also have Golden Xroads, Exchange Currency, Trade Routes, and all the patches that effectively make them all one 'big' mod that rehauls the currency system. Would I be able to use TESVedit to simply reference everything to a single ESP? If so, is there a guide?

 

Thanks!

[thumbincubation]

I still don't understand the various processes fully, but this video by Gamer Poets helped explain quite a bit.

What I have been led to understand is you want to try for a merged patch, if there are mods that can be merged, but you always want to let wrye bash handle the leveled lists.

 

[DarkRudra]

There are two kinds of TES5Edit merge files, which is what confuses a lot of people.

 

First, you have merged mods - that is, take two mods and fully combine them in one. For example, take a mod that adds a sword and another mod that adds a shield - they'll likely have no conflicting records, so they're really easy to merge into one file. This kind of merge was, for a long time, done in TES5Edit using a script called Merge Plugins. That script has since spun off into a standalone utility, also called Merge Plugins, which is better to use than the old script in most cases. Generally speaking, you'll want to avoid merging mods that have conflicts (two or more mods that edit the same record). If you do, the lowest in the load order will take priority (the other mods' changes to the conflicted record will be ignored).

 

Second, you have what is called a TES5Edit Merged Patch. This is what is covered in that video posted above. I prefer to call it a "Conflict Resolution Patch," as I find that a slightly less confusing name. It is meant to combine portions of mods that conflict with each other so you can get changes from all the conflicting mods. For example, say you've got three mods that each make a single change to the Steel Sword. One changes the reach of it, one changes the damage it does, and one renames it to Sword of Steel. The Merged Patch will attempt to create a record with all three changes in it, so you get them all in your game instead of just one.

 

The Bashed Patch is mainly for handling leveled lists, that's distributing items and people out into the world.

 

The order of creation should always be Merged Mods -> Merged Patch -> Bashed Patch.