This Guide is for version 1.10.163 of the game with F4SE 0.6.23 rel 25 (final update before next gen update) Idk if or when I will have support/a guide for the next gen update but for those of you who want my help you must remain on this version of the game and use mods for said version of the game. Any mods that have been updated on april 25 2024 or later please grab the previous version as it has most likely been updated for next gen and will most likely cause problems

PSA: There will be a "next gen update" for fallout 4 on April 25th 2024. For those looking to continue to using my fallout 4 2023 essential modding guide/playing their current run make sure to disable auto update on steam and be ready to launch your game via Mod managers or the script extender itself (revert the steam launch rename). Do not launch through steam it will auto update and will most likely break a large amount of mods. Update: It has broken a large amount of mods and many people have stated it ruined their performance further YMMV. If you want to downgrade check section 10 for instructions on how to downgrade or you can do it the easy way now with this great mod[www.nexusmods.com] & this mod[www.nexusmods.com] Also check section 8 for a mod to get rid of the update button on steam.

Please have the GOTY edition for this game if possible before starting this guide. The game goes on sale fairly often for a good price. You can still use this guide with the base game but certain mods are intended to be used with all dlc so if said mod doesn't have base game options I would avoid downloading the mod. This guide/mod list was also tested on pretty much exclusively on windows 10 (previously 7) and is also for the steam version of this game. Should work with gog as well. Not sure how it will fare with EGS variants as everyone I know that has games on that terrible store complains about modding. Also avoid the free HD texture pack dlc!!! A it bloats the crap out of your game size, B it doesn't even look that good and C I will provided modded alternatives in the QOL/gameplay changes section of the guide that not only look better but cost a fraction of the size and performance of that texture pack. This will also be a No-AWKCR build as that mod is outdated as hell and there are a good amount of mods that rely on it. So either I will give you a no-AWKCR alt or you just do not use the mod

You'll need an unzipping tool for manual mods as not every mod will be MM compliant. I use Winrar[www.win-rar.com] but many people prefer 7zip as usual use what you prefer. And of course you'll need a mod manager. Now most people today will use Vortex or MO2. I personally cannot recommend either even if the general population rides it. I understand why people may want to use those other two managers specifically as they don't touch your data folder unlike NMM that actually installs the mods into your folder but I personally think thats where problems arise and if you know what you are doing you'll never need to worry about that. I have used Nexus Mod Manager[github.com] for nearly a decade on many games not just bethesda titles and with very little to no issues. I cannot say the same for the other two managers with my personal experiences. It is also a common misconception that NMM is abandoned as it gets community updates regularly. Use what you prefer of course but I cannot help you troubleshoot very well if you use Vortex (which is probably the worst thing to use other than like FOMM) or MO2. NMM also has the easiest form of Archive Invalidation compared to any other mod manager as in the case of fallout 4 you just reset it with one button. You'll have to do a bit more work with MO2 or Vortex so heres a quick guide made by m8r98a4f2.[www.nexusmods.com] Whenever you add any sort of texture mods you'll want to reset this. Not sure if required to reset for mo2 or vortex but on NMM its a click away.

Alongside that stuff you may want to grab LOOT[loot.github.io] especially if your planning on heavy load orders. It is a automatic LO sorter. I generally will sort using loot and then manually move anything that needs to sit anywhere specifically. This tool works with all bethesda titles so its pretty damn useful. Use after finishing your load order and then move any specific esps as needed.

Finally you'll need a nexus account so you can download the mods on there. Nexus website for Fallout 4[www.nexusmods.com]



I'll do my best to keep this guide updated if any mod becomes outdated and i haven't tweaked feel free to notify me. Whenever you download a mod whether its from this guide or on your own volition check the requirements and make sure you meet them ahead of time as some of these essential mods require files that aren't on nexus but they will give you a download link.

Install your game. Preferably on a ssd to reduce load times. Once installed launch your game and once you get to the splash screen pick all your settings out. You can always return here or even change settings in the ini files but I always like to do a base setting setup. If you have a decent or even good rig you should be able to pretty much max everything out especially on 1080p. 4K users can max out if they have a 4K rig or even a high end rig.

You do not need to actually play the game but I personally like to launch the game itself and just start it up briefly before exiting of course thats optional and does not matter at all it is something I do out of habit. Manual ini tweaking is optional as there are many mods that will handle that for you but if you want to get certain things out of the way you can go into your documents folder C:\Users\(Your username probably)\Documents\my games\fallout4 and once there remove the read only options by going into the properties of fallout.ini and falloutprefs.ini

Now I could sit here and list all the things you should change yourself but ill do you one better considering the manual setup of the ini is completely optional as BethINI[www.nexusmods.com] basically lets you set things up without having to manually knowing values and what things do. This is for beginner modders and/or lazy modders (lol it be like that even I use it sometimes) Do not install this through a mod manager and I recommend the standalone not the other option. Pick whatever you fancy in the settings and you technically don't even need to actually do anything in the splash screen options wise when you use this tool as its going to overwrite all those settings. This tool is also pretty much available on almost every bethesda title and I recommend you use it for your other beth games modded or not.

F4SE is mandatory and needs to be installed manually (they say you can install F4SE through vortex but I do not recommend nor support installing these types of mods through a MM especially when your dropping right into your directory).

You can download F4SE here[f4se.silverlock.org]. Install it by unzipping the file and dragging the files into your fallout directory It may not be the same location for everyone but here is a common location C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 4. You can always hit properties on steam and check the local files and it'll just take you straight there. If you want to trust the mod manager go ahead I personally won't not for this mod at least.

Once you have done that F4SE is installed and is good to go repeat the process whenever it gets updated.

The Following should be reversed before the next gen update (or don't do it at all and launch from f4se_loader)

If you want to continue to launch your Fallout 4 through steam and not through a MM or a shortcut (like myself) take the exe called Fallout4Launcher.exe rename it to Fallout4Launcherold.exe (for whenever you need to pull up the splash screen if you ever need it again) and then take the exe called f4se_loader.exe and rename that to Fallout4Launcher.exe you will now launch F4SE through steam. This will most likely make your LOOT think you do not have F4SE installed and its always going to bug you about it. Ignore that "error" its a false positive if you followed the steps above F4SE is installed and you are good to go.

This section is mods that will greatly boost performance and increase stability if you are having stability issues. If your looking for a vanilla experience (I suppose one vanilla run is cool but fallout 4 really shines when you just start stapling mods all over it) and solely just high performance gains you can stop after this section. Two mods that are often recommended by the modding community and many other guides are Load Accelerator and Previsibines Repair Pack (PRP) Stable Branch. Now while PRP is actually a pretty good mod I don't recommend it mainly because of the amount of mods that are not compatible with it. Granted if it doesn't clash with anything you don't use or if there is a patch for it you can go ahead and use it. I just personally do not use it so I will not be recommending it with my mod list nor suggesting you go using it. But it does work for a lot of people. In retrospect you won't need it though with these mod suggestions. Load Accelerator on the other hand while back in the back in the day was a great mod it is extremely outdated and outclassed by the high fps fix mod I mention below so avoid this mod. It basically boosts your fps to 300-350 so the game loads faster in between screens and the LS are tied to frames. That was a band aid and the replacement mod actually straight up fixes the problem and gives you even faster Load times.

Unofficial Fallout 4 Patch[www.nexusmods.com]
Get used to grabbing an unofficial patch for bethesda titles. They usually fix hundreds of bugs and are often a base for many other mods. This requires all dlc.

Address Library for F4SE Plugins[www.nexusmods.com]
Base plugin for many other mods. Some people suggest installing manually but I had no issues using NMM.

Baka ScrapHeap - Script Memory Limit Expander[www.nexusmods.com]
Essential for anyone who likes to use script heavy mods. Even as a vanilla user you will see performance improvements as the memory allocation for scripts is not that large. Users that have downgraded the game have reported this mod to prevent them from loading so try removing this mod if you run into that issue. People who did not update should be able to disregard

Cell Reset Workaround Patch[www.nexusmods.com]
They say bethesda allegedly patched this issue but some people report it still happening and im not taking chances. So I suggest you grab this regardless.

High FPS Physics Fix[www.nexusmods.com]
One of the most important mods for this game! Without this mod your load times will be terrible even on a ssd. Not only does this mod fix load times it fixes the physics issues that occur when going above 60 fps for anyone that likes to play with high fps (I play at 60 so I mainly grab the mod for the loading) After installing make sure to go into the ini file located in your directory. ie. C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 4\Data\F4SE\Plugins. Look for the HighFPSPhysicsFix.ini and ensure these values are true. If you do not want to edit this yourself I will have the edited ini file on my YT/Modding Discord[discord.gg]

UntieSpeedFromFPS=true

DisableVSyncWhileLoading=true

DisableBlackLoadingScreens=true

DisableAnimationOnLoadingScreens=true

If you use vsync I would also turn it on from this ini. Any other settings you wish to change in that ini is up to you of course but those 3 are essential in getting the extremely fast loading screens.

Fog Remover - Performance Enhancer II[www.nexusmods.com]
Gets rid of most of the interior fogs for better visuals and performance.

Insignificant Object Remover[www.nexusmods.com]
Boosts performance by removing objects you probably won't even notice are gone.

Optional Fallout 4 FPS and Performance Fix[www.nexusmods.com]
Only use this if you really need it so grab every other mod in this category and test before you attempt this. Mainly for people with lower end rigs or people with an absurd amount of mods that need a few more frames. Avoid the cell buffer setting and ugrid unless you really really need it because that can effect certain things like quest triggers. You have been warned! Now this is actually not a mod but a text file with instructions on how to edit certain settings for better performance. May sound redundant after using bethINI but its basically for when bethINI isn enough. I've actually used a few of these settings in the past when running insane mod orders. But this really isn needed for normal games/ mod orders/ high end rigs.

Mod Configuration Menu[www.nexusmods.com]
This is not required for performance but I am adding it here as its a base mod and pretty damn important for a lot of other mods. If you have issues installing it with your MM do it manually.

Achievements[www.nexusmods.com]
Not a performance mod but if you use any modding the game disables achievements so here you go so you can keep chugging along.

Optional Godrays Performance Fix Redux - ESPless[www.nexusmods.com]
For Godray users. Get a few more frames! Requires Papyrus Script Runner[www.nexusmods.com]

And thats about it for essential performance and stability mods. You game should run like a well oiled machine as long as you don't make a bells and whistle sentry codsworth and take him to any heavy loaded areas (this will make sense later just keep it in the back of your head for now). If you were simply looking to have your fallout 4 run immaculate while you play vanilla this is the end for you. As for everyone else we'll be moving onto the QOL and gameplay change mods that will take fallout 4 from a good game to a great game (and make it feel similar to fallout 3/nv if you are bigger fans of tighter RPG mechanics).

These mods are all optional but will bring a lot of QOL changes and overhaul gameplay mechanics and improve textures significantly. Some of these mods are also intended to bring more of a rpg feel to the game (3/NV style) as this game is more of a streamline shooter. As always these mods are tested and work well together and you can always cherry pick the mods you want if you do not want them all of course. Whenever you install new texture mods always reset Archive Invalidation before launching. If you are using Nexus Mod Manager like myself click on tools and it'll be the last thing on the drop screen. For other mod manager users please refer to m8r98a4f2's Guide[www.nexusmods.com]

Appearances + Animations & Skeletons

Rusty Face Fix[www.nexusmods.com]
Fixes that annoying face bug. If it does happen you can now use the console and toggle a refresh by writing rff on the character affected.

LooksMenu[www.nexusmods.com]
This mod hasn't been updated in a while but a lot of mods have a dependency for this one and it does let you tweak your character more than usual. Some of the settings are bugged and can cause CTDs so my advice is to either isolate and find which things will cause CTD (heck some people dont even run into it so you may just be fine) or not go crazy in making your character and once your able to actually save and your in the wasteland then save and go nuts on customizing your character as you can open the menu with console commands.

ZeX - ZaZ Extended Skeleton 6.0[www.loverslab.com]
Skeleton base for animations, bones and physics.

BodySlide and Outfit Studio[www.nexusmods.com]
Dependency for other mods.

Caliente's Beautiful Bodies Enhancer -CBBE-[www.nexusmods.com]
The best body mod in beth continues on. There is a underwear option.

CBP Physics for Fallout 4[www.nexusmods.com]
Breast Jiggle Physics CBBE CHCBBEP[www.nexusmods.com]
MTM 3BBB CBP OCBP OCBPC Physics Preset - CBBE - Fusion Girl - Wonder Body - Enhanced Vanilla Bodies - JaneBod Extended - Vanilla - More[www.nexusmods.com] These 3 mods are for jiggle physics so if you dont mind rock hard body parts don't grab these. You basically need CBP than one or the other. You can use all three but you will most likely have very jelloey physics.

Valkyr Female Face and Body Textures[www.nexusmods.com]
We just want the facial textures from this mod so don't let it override CBBE or grab the body textures.

Advanced Animation Framework (AAF)[www.nexusmods.com]
Framework for animations. Get this if your looking to add any mods with custom animations.

Immersive Animation Framework[www.nexusmods.com]
Animations for food, drink and drugs.

Possibly Untested Bodytalk[www.nexusmods.com]
The author is back on Nexus and im not sure if this is identical to the version I originally had linked here from patreon.

Motoko Hair (GITS)[www.nexusmods.com]
Dependency for Loving Curie.

Ponytail Hairstyles by Azar v2.5a[www.nexusmods.com]
Dependency for Loving Cait & Loving Piper. Also adds more hairstyles for the MC as well.

The Eyes Of Beauty Fallout Edition[www.nexusmods.com]
Better looking eyes.

HD Smile Teeth[www.nexusmods.com]
Nice teeth or stained take your pick.

THBrows 2.0[www.trophihunter.com]
Better looking eyebrows and dependency for Loving Piper.

deLuxe Makeup[www.nexusmods.com]
Better makeup.

keke-bu Magnolia[www.nexusmods.com]
Gives Magnolia a more attractive vixen appearance.

Commonwealth Cuts - KS Hairdos - ApachiiSkyHair[www.nexusmods.com]
More haircuts and a dependency for Loving Piper.

Lots More Male Hairstyles[www.nexusmods.com]
More male hairstyles.

Loving Cait[www.nexusmods.com]
Facial replacer for our favorite Irish gal. Now with extra cute.

Loving Curie[www.nexusmods.com]
Pick one of two face replacers for Curie either supermodel or femme fatale. I went with the supes.

Loving Piper[www.nexusmods.com]
Pick one 3 new piper faces. I personally use true reporter as it keeps that dorky vibe she gives off while still being super cute.

Valentine REBORN - Nick Face Retexture - HD Synth Eyes and Teeth - Gen1 Metal Skeleton[www.nexusmods.com]
Lots of options on this one. You can determine Valentines eyes, Gen 1 eyes and even get a silver metal skeleton for gen 1 as well. Make sure to grab the Truly Unique Nick[www.nexusmods.com] mod so Nick actually uses the eyes hes supposed to use as for some reason he will often be using the gen 1 eyes you picked out otherwise.

D.E.C.A.Y - Better Ghouls[www.nexusmods.com]
Makes ghouls look super gross and more rotted. The next mod is essential if you grab this one.

DECAY Redux[www.nexusmods.com]
Just keeps the textures and the ghoul types.

Consistent Power Armor Overhaul[www.nexusmods.com]
Allows all paintjobs on all power armors.

Concealed Armors[www.nexusmods.com]
Allows you to conceal armor pieces if it messes with your drip.

Textures

High Resolution Texture Pack 2K and 4K - Valius[www.nexusmods.com] & FlaconOil's Complete Retexture Project[www.nexusmods.com]
With these two mods we've basically replaced that hd texture pack dlc and without killing performance or insane file sizes.

Rebuilt Croup Manor[www.nexusmods.com]
Great for people who make croup manor a player home.

Retextured Water - by Ben Ephla[www.nexusmods.com]
Very nice looking water bottle retextures.

Commonwealth Trash Removal Overhaul[www.nexusmods.com]
Gets rid of a lot of the trash floating around.

UI

HUDFramework[www.nexusmods.com]
Framework for hud mods.

FallUI - HUD[www.nexusmods.com]
FallUI - Inventory[www.nexusmods.com]
FallUI - Map[www.nexusmods.com]
FallUI - Icon Library[www.nexusmods.com]
FallUI - Workbench[www.nexusmods.com]
The fallUI collection. Lets you customize the hell out of your UI works great with the next two mods as well.

Fallout 3 HUD - A FallUI HUD layout[www.nexusmods.com]
For those of us that loved the UI from the last two games and want it back.

There It Is - Satellite Maps For Collectors[www.nexusmods.com]
No more monochrome map!

XNFRain's Power Armor HUD 2K-1K HD Retextures[www.nexusmods.com]
Changes colors for PA UI. Doesn't not work properly with next mod as some PA UI will still show up.

Power Armor HUD - paHUD[www.nexusmods.com]
Hides PA UI.

QOLs + Game Overhauls

FIS - The NEW FallUI Item Sorter[www.nexusmods.com]
Your gonna need a item sorter. Trust.

4estGimp - M8r98a4f2's Complex Item Sorter Enhancements[www.nexusmods.com]
Some item sorter enhancements.

Equipment and Crafting Overhaul (ECO) - Redux[www.nexusmods.com]
Basically a more lightweight replacer for AWKCR (this doesn't work with mods that require AWKCR though).

Leveled Item Framework (LIF)[www.nexusmods.com]
Requires all dlc and basically fixes the level item forms.

Extended Dialogue Interface (XDI)[www.nexusmods.com]
Best dialogue interface mod out there. Really brings its back to 3/NV and you are no longer stuck to 4 options.

Legendary Modification[www.nexusmods.com]
Craftable legendaries. See section 7 for an alternative.

Legendary Modification - DLC and Additional Fixes[www.nexusmods.com]
Only get this if your willing to do this as it does require AWKCR
"Open FO4Edit and select ArmorKeywords.esm. In the left panel, expand ArmorKeywords.esm so the top level sections are shown. Select all of the sections except for File Header, FormID List, and Keyword, right-click, and delete. Then, go into Keyword and FormID List, and select/delete any items that are yellow - yellow means they are modifying a vanilla form, which we do not want. Then exit FO4Edit and make sure it saves your file" u/MaSt3RofDraGOns from the comments section.

Weightless Junk[www.nexusmods.com]
A QOL junk mod that comes in three variants.

Well Rested and Lover's Embrace 24 Hour[www.nexusmods.com]
increases lovers embrace from 12 to 24 ingame hours.

Perks Unleashed[www.nexusmods.com]
Perks are no longer level locked.

Service Rifle[www.nexusmods.com] & Modern Weapon Replacer - Service Rifle Redux[www.nexusmods.com]
Replaces that ugly assault rifle (lets be real that thing is a damn LMG) with the service rifle.

Wasteland Melody's Chinese Assault Rifle[www.nexusmods.com]
Who remembers everyone's favorite assault rifle?

Brotherhood Power Armor Overhaul[www.nexusmods.com]
The brotherhood will also use the other two PA models.

Power Armor Materials AND Paints (PAMAP)[www.nexusmods.com]
Materials and paint can now be both applied to PA.

Power Armor Airdrop[www.nexusmods.com]
Great mod for anyone who doesn't want to lug their PA 24/7

Stronger Brotherhood of STEEL[www.nexusmods.com]
Makes the brotherhood not feel like walking paper mache.

FGEP - Feral Ghouls Expansion Pack[www.nexusmods.com]
Adds new ghoul types to fight.

Very Zen FGEP Textures[www.nexusmods.com]
New textures for FGEP.

Skip Far Harbor Memory Puzzle[www.nexusmods.com]
Yeah beating that puzzle once was enough for me.

Super Mutant Redux[www.nexusmods.com]
Makes super mutants a challenge while bringing nightkin into the fold. (yes I know nightkin on the east coast isn lore friendly. Ngl don't give a damn at this point)

4estGimp - Super Mutant Redux-No AWKCR[www.nexusmods.com]
That amazing SM redux mod requires AWKCR. Luckily this mod fixes that.

4estGimp - Raider Overhaul ONE - All Files - No AWKCR[www.nexusmods.com]
Yeah another AWKCR reliant overhaul that thankfully got blessed by 4estGimp.

Longer Power Lines[www.nexusmods.com]
Trust me you'll want this.

Orphans of the Commonwealth - More Children[www.nexusmods.com]
There is not too many kids in the game. This balances it out a bit better.

Killable Children[www.nexusmods.com]
I know your probably like bruh I don't need this. But trust the process.

Raider Children and Other Horrors of the Commonwealth[www.nexusmods.com]
yeah settlements aren't just getting kids either. This does a lot for the world building.

Better Settlers[www.nexusmods.com]
Settlers won't be useless anymore.

Better Companions - All In One[www.nexusmods.com]
Companions don't suck anymore.

Better Companions - MCM Settings Menu[www.nexusmods.com]
MCM menu for better companions.

Better Wait Menu[www.nexusmods.com]
You can wait much faster.

Binary Speech Checks[www.nexusmods.com]
You can set it up to be like NV or FO3.

Classic Holstered Weapons System (CHW)[www.nexusmods.com]
Brings back visible weapon holstering.

Classic V.A.T.S.[www.nexusmods.com]
Need I say more ?

Bullet Counted Reload System (BCR)[www.nexusmods.com]
Dont forget to grab the LAR v1.02 file as well.

No Negative Affinity and No Affinity Cooldown[www.nexusmods.com] & No Negative Affinity DLC Patch- Far Harbor and Nuka World[www.nexusmods.com]
No more affinity grinding for companion quests.

More Armor Slots[www.nexusmods.com]
Now you can wear armor with those clothes that don't let you.

Key Remapping Done Proper[www.nexusmods.com]
A blessing for those of us who need to remap keys to play games.

Keep Commonwealth Radiant quests within the Commonwealth[www.nexusmods.com]
I know this mod is "outdated" but it still works great for me and some of the other newer alternatives just didn't work for me.

Infinite Fusion Core[www.nexusmods.com]
I know this may feel cheesy but PA wasn't even meant to have a power supply that needs changing out so often.

Immersive Lovers Embrace Remastered[www.nexusmods.com]
Better immersive romance considering how lackluster the vanilla is.

Playstation 4 Buttons (Ps3 and Ps4)[www.nexusmods.com]
I won't let my roller brethren suffer.

Fallout 4 Dual Sense Adaptive Trigger Mod - F4SE[www.nexusmods.com]
Requires DSX. Use 360 emulation.

Easy Hacking[www.nexusmods.com]
QOL anti save scumming mod thats great for anyone whos beaten the game so many times.

Easy Lockpicking[www.nexusmods.com]
Another QOL mod that while many people may see as cheating I just see it as anti save scumming.

Discord Rich Presence (F4SE)[www.nexusmods.com]
Customizable discord rich presence.

Heather Casdin - A Unique Companion Experience by llamaRCA[www.nexusmods.com]
Willow's creator is back with another companion mod. Latest update borks the MM installation so either install manually or drag the ba2 and esp out of the folder it makes in the data folder.

Heather Casdin - No More Granny Panties by llamaRCA[www.nexusmods.com]
Self explanatory.

Nora Spouse Companion[www.nexusmods.com]
Great companion mod as nora is not just resurrected. She survives and will give input on the main quest when shes with you.

KARMA[www.nexusmods.com]
Introduces the karma system from previous titles. To take advantage of all the features you will need mcm (which we have already), RobCo Patcher[www.nexusmods.com] Users that have downgraded the game have reported robco patcher to prevent them from loading so try removing this mod if you run into that issue. People who did not update should be able to disregard, & PipboyTabs.[www.nexusmods.com]

Unsilenced Suppressors[www.nexusmods.com]
Hate how suppressors make the guns sound a joke but want the benefit of the suppressor? Hello to this mod. The downside is you can't apply this to modded weapons.

Nuka World - Skip raiding your own settlements[www.nexusmods.com]
For those of us that want to run the Nuka world storyline but don't want to raid your own settlements/think its stupid.

If you cherry picked or grabbed everything in the part 1 and 2 of the QOL/game overhaul section of the guide your game is basically all set to go and has a lot of QOL improvements to make your experience more enjoyable, less frustrating and with certain mods (not all of them) even more lore friendly. The following section of this guide will basically be a few more mods that I personally think enhance the game even further and are truly optional so if you were simply looking for performance, QOL and game overhauls your done ! But if you want a few extra mods that I think are really good and continue to work with this load order check out the following section as the first mod collection I bring up is really really good and gives lots of replay value to fallout 4 !

Extras/Personal recommendations

The Thuggyverse
So the thuggyverse is a collection of 5 mods that can drastically change the plot of the game. They are very modular and affect different parts of the main quest. Depravity - A Harmless Bit of Fun[www.nexusmods.com] essentially replaces act I and allows you avoid preston and avoid lots of boring beats of said act. So you can take this mod on which is a bit evil orientated and it will allow you to basically skip all of act 1 MQ. You can even choose to do the vanilla quests with depravity if your just looking to really capitalize on xp which I have done before. It brings lots of life into this game especially if you've played it to death. This continues with Outcasts and Remnants - Quest Mod Plus[www.nexusmods.com] & Project Valkyrie[www.nexusmods.com] which covers acts II & III and these mods not only give you new ways of competing the game you can now even basically take over each main faction and broker peace if you so choose. And some of these mods bring back fan favorite characters from previous games without spoiling too much. The last mod Fusion City Rising - Quest Mod Plus[www.nexusmods.com] & Hookers of the Commonwealth (HotC)[www.nexusmods.com] Basically add more world building and lore to the story as fusion city is mentioned in those mods (HOTC basically just adds functional subways and hookers). All of these mods combined add massive amounts of content and honestly is one of the most impressive modded questlines i've ever played. It is a bit goofy at times and can be self aware so if you don't like that perhaps this mod is not for you. But if your looking for a new experience for fallout 4 and don't mind modded questlines give this a shot it even rivals belthans quo vagis and coito ergo sum mods which are other high caliber quest mods for fallout 3 and NV.

Optimization and Tweaks for Thuggysmurf's Quest Mods (Fusion City - Outcasts and Remnants - Depravity)[www.nexusmods.com]
This mod is supposed to help with performance on the above mods. I already have good performance but got this to see if itll fix my frames inside of that massive club in fusion city. I have yet to actually go there with this mod installed.

Better The Third Rail[www.nexusmods.com]
Better Goodneighbor[www.nexusmods.com]
Flirty Commonwealth[www.nexusmods.com]
These three mods go well together and spice up goodneighbors appearance. It just has a bug that makes the windows see through in goodneighbor for certain buildings. Not a big deal for me personally if it bugs you no need to grab better goodneighbor.

SuitDreams - Sexy Female Clothes pack CBBE[www.nexusmods.com]
Some outfits to showcase that CBBE body. Great for companions.

Acheans Mods[www.nexusmods.com]
Currently these mods are MIA no idea why but lets hope they come back soon.
And as always for my NSFW brethren here is a collection of mods to make your wasteland fithy as hell. Some of these can be od but ngl the magazine replacer is really good.

This section is for mods that Im planning on intergrating into the guide eventually but I have personally not tested with this current load order. Feel free to sub them out for the mods they will eventually replace provided they pass my testing phases. Mods located here may remain here for some time as I test in batches and it can take time for me to get around to it.

Legendary Effect Overhaul (LEO) - Legendary Modification And More[www.nexusmods.com]
I personally don't have problems with LM but some people do and this is a newer mod that does mostly the same thing(you just won't be able to get free legendaries if thats what your after. At that point you will have to use LM) So if LM is giving you problems Or if you want to try your luck with a newer mod you can give this a shot. I have not tested this mod with this load order but I don't think it'll cause any issues for those looking to give it a shot.

The Fens Sheriff's Department - Bleachers 2[www.nexusmods.com]
Pretty big quest mod. Currently testing to see how it reacts to this load order. If all goes well it will be added to the extras category. Try to install this on a new game or a save that hasn't reached diamond city yet otherwise you will have naked DC guards with the only solution is to use the console command openactorcontainer 1 on the naked guard(s) and manually equipping their armor sets.

Sprint Stuttering Fix[www.nexusmods.com]
Haven't gotten this mod yet but its in my crosshairs.

STEAM - Skip Next-Gen update[www.nexusmods.com]
A way to get rid of the update button on steam so you can keep launching from it. Haven't gotten this yet will try it eventually.

Known Issues
If using mod organizer 2 (possibly vortex) you will need to hit e or enter after starting a new game otherwise it may appear that you are in a infinite loading screen. It is just some sort of hidden confirmation menu. May be due to a manually installed F4SE. Nexus Mod Manager users shouldn't encounter this as I do not.

Warning
Sim Settlements 2 gave me some issues that required me to nuke my game as even after uninstalling as I could not reassign supply lines. Now idk if it was the mod itself, dependencies of said mod or just it not mixing well with something in this LO but I had to nuke my stuff. So if you want that mod I would make a backup before attempting to use it. Maybe its fixed now as time has gone by but I probably won't try again as I am not fond of settlement building. I just got the mod for the storyline. Maybe they will release a solo storyline mod in the future who knows.

FAQ & bugs/errors solutions

Q: I need further 1 on 1 help and this comment section won't cut it.

A: The random FRs are killing me so here is my YT/Modding Discord[discord.gg] I will be able to help you out much further if the situation is beyond comments and if you gotta upload photos for better support.

Q: Game is not loading after modding what's the issue?

A: You most likely have a mod that's been updated for the next gen version of the game. Please double check and ensure all your mods are files from before april 25 2024.

Q: NMM sucks use MO2

A: You couldn't pay me to use MO2

Q: LOOT does not work

A: LOOT does work just use it as intended.

Q: How can I launch via Steam and/or have steam track my hours when using F4SE ?

A:Take the exe called Fallout4Launcher.exe rename it to Fallout4Launcherold.exe (for whenever you need to pull up the splash screen if you ever need it again) and then take the exe called f4se_loader.exe and rename that to Fallout4Launcher.exe you will now launch F4SE through steam.

Q: When I start a new game I get an infinite loading screen or never progress from the menu.

A: Press E or Enter there is a hidden confirmation menu that occurs when using certain MMs.

Q: Can I use Buffout/why doesn't this guide have buffout ?

A: So buffout does a lot. But it does clash with certain mods and can sometimes cause CTDs depending on what mods you are using. This mod outright will clash with baka as both mods manage memory. You can use both if you disable the memory aspect of buffout by going into ...\F4SE\Plugins\Buffout4\config.toml and setting the memory manager setting to false but I personally don't need buffout so I don't do this. I also don't want the risk of adding any more chances to produce CTDs as while its a really good mod it will not play nice with everything so it can come down to do you want buffout or do you want X ?

Q: PRP ?

A: So its similar to buffout. Another amazing mod that actually does its job really well. But due to the nature of the mod it can clash. So if you are looking to use that mod you may want to check and see if there are any compatibility patches for whatever mod your looking to use with this one that needs a patch. ie most of the thuggyverse mods if not all of them have patches for PRP (Some of the patches that you find may not be on the latest version of PRP). This is essentially why I had to forgo this mod as while it does boost performance significantly I have already reached a point where I can play with good performance and this mod would be literal gravy.

Q: I have rusty face fix but npc faces are still "rusty"

A: You can toggle the console click on the NPC and write rff. And if its not already on in the RustyFaceFix.ini file set "facegen_nps" to 1 (and optionally set "streaming_mode" to 1 if you're not experiencing any in-game issues).

Q: Insert question related to any messed up textures

A: Make sure archive Invalidation is enabled.

Q: How to enable Archive Invalidation ?

A: If using NMM you can use the reset tool toggle. Or follow these instructions for manually triggering Howto: Enable Modding - Archive Invalidation[www.nexusmods.com]

Q: Why do I need to do so much work to play this game. This is ridiculous

A: Technically you only need to do sections 1-3 for the game to work just fine. That does not take a long time. Its not a lot of work. You know what is a lot of work. Figuring out what mods work together, testing mod combinations for hours to make sure they work together and troubleshooting to fix any issues. Or better yet the people that actually sat down to create these mods and the tools to use them. It is a privilege to mod our games and it is very nice of the creators of these mods to not only make these mods for free (as some of them eventually start to gate their mods through paywalls) but to maintain these mods, update them, and keep working on them to make them better and reduce bugs on their own time. So no I wouldn't call it so much work.

Q: Why are there "Sex mods" in this guide?

A: There are zero sex mods in this guide nudity does not equate "sex". You need full blown animations for that and this guide does not have this. This is a rated M title so if you are "afraid" of nudity or just don't like it you can just not get the mod wow I know right? CBBE even has an underwear option for the record. Don't need a whole paragraph on why some pixels on a screen enrage you.

Q: X mod isn essential this guide sucks.

A: All mods after section 3 are not mandatory. The guides in my essential guide collection are named so due to the fact that the first 3 sections are Essential. Anything in those sections are required with the exception of one or two mods that are included as they improve performance but are not required for stability.

Q: This guide helped me how I can show my thanks?

A: Leaving feedback and a Thank you is more than enough for me. I made these guides to help people so by leaving feedback you make the guide more visible to more people that could use the help. And if that's not enough for you I do make content on YT checking out a video would mean a lot to me but do not feel obligated to do so. As I said before feedback and a thank you is already more than enough.

Q: Can I use X mod with this guide/LO?

A: I won't always have an answer for that some mods are new and I've never used them or I just don't have experience with x mod. But it does not hurt to ask. Generally you'll want to pick the comments apart and look to see if any major issues are going on or if it clashes with a mod you already use. Also there are just certain older outdated mods you shouldn't be using period. Comments will sometimes reflect that. Other times there will be notoriously older broken mods most users know about.

Q: Can I clean X ?

A: I strongly suggest against cleaning anything.

Q: Hotkeys aren't working in menus

A: If using the key remapping mod please read the description. Also if you changed any hotkeys those keys are going to be the ones you use in menus despite the originals being shown.

Q: Can I update mods mid save/playthrough ?

A: I've done it so many times with no issues (recently I did brick a skyrim save tho) but you always risk ruining a save file so only do it knowing the risk that it may work out, you might have bugs later or you may lose the file.

Q: Can I remove mods or add mods mid save/playthrough?

A: See previous question. Certain mods though are safe for removal mid run and the mod author will make note of that. YMMV at the end of the day.

Q: Can you make a modding guide for X game?

A: If there is demand for it and I have experience modding the game. Yes I will. Just bear in mind these guides are a massive time sink and helping people troubleshoot does take a lot of time so you guys gotta let me know. Put the demand into it. You want a modding guide for a game please comment, let me know on the discord etc. The more demand it has the higher it will go on.

Q: Wabbajack?

A: Don't know how to use or create anything with wabbajack. Not looking to learn how to use wabbajack either as a mod manager is already more than enough for me in terms of "assisting tools". If somebody wants to make a wabbajack with this modding guide feel free to do so. I will gladly add a link to it in the guide for those that don't want to actually learn how to mod but want to reap the rewards and credit you provided it has the full LO. Obviously I will not be able to give any support on this matter with any bugs or issues if someone actually were to do this.

Q: Can I/should I use Performout 4?

A: So I asked the author of the mod if its worth using this mod if you aren't using vanilla textures. And after speaking to them I came to some conclusions. There are two things that will basically have me suggest you not to use performout. 1. replacing the textures. If you decided to use the texture replacements mods I suggested in this guide (or if you yourself are just using texture replacers in general) its going to be more work to use performout because now you can't use the performout base mod (which saves you a lot of hours and I mean a lot) and you might end up creating artifacting that will make the game look worse and basically ruining the point of using those texture mods.
The second thing is your specs. If you have a high end rig that can already run this game pretty well with the higher textures than you aren't going to get much improvement. Will you get improvement? Yes but for the amount of work I personally do not think its worth it. If you do go for it. Just be wary of the first point you may end up making the game look worse if you do not know what your doing.
Basically its totally ok to use the mod if you either do not use those modded textures (at that point I suggest to actually use performout base and the other aspects of performout) Or if your specs are not amazing (if your specs are not amazing you should probably not be using those texture mods either which would only give you another reason to use performout).
So due to me using modded textures I won't be including the mod in this guide. But if you do not or cannot use those textures this mod should certainly be in your sights.

Q: Im having random crashing unrelated to mods (still occuring on vanilla) any idea?

A: Currently I don't know too much could be related to newer Nvidia drivers as the issue is reported from Nvidia users currently disabling weapon debris or using Weapon Debris Crash Fix[www.nexusmods.com] seems to be a fix. Thanks user u/Yuka Sativa for the mod suggestion.

Q: I'm on the next gen update how can I downgrade to use this guide/mods?

A: It is a tedious process but very doable. I did it for witcher 3 when certain updates would run like ♥♥♥♥ and I was filming for my witcher 3 movie and needed to keep going without waiting for fixes. Update: There is now a Fallout 4 Downgrader[www.nexusmods.com] that will do all the work for you. I will leave up the manual instructions regardless for those who want to do it that way but I recommend using the downgrader. You will also need Backported Archive2 Support System[www.nexusmods.com]

Thanks to Bilago who wrote these instructions!

"Create a new folder to contain all your Fallout 4 files
Open the Run Dialog box (WINKEY + R) paste the following:
steam://nav/console
press enter
A Steam console should appear. At the bottom, copy and paste each "download_depot" line by line

Fallout 4 Base Files + English
download_depot 377160 377161 7497069378349273908
download_depot 377160 377162 5847529232406005096
download_depot 377160 377163 5819088023757897745
download_depot 377160 377164 2178106366609958945

These are DLC's, you need to own them to download them:

Automatron + English
download_depot 377160 435870 1691678129192680960
download_depot 377160 435871 5106118861901111234
Wasteland workshop
download_depot 377160 435880 1255562923187931216
Far Harbor + English
download_depot 377160 435881 1207717296920736193
download_depot 377160 435882 8482181819175811242
Contraptions workshop
download_depot 377160 480630 5527412439359349504
Valt-Tec Workshop + English
download_depot 377160 480631 6588493486198824788
download_depot 377160 393885 5000262035721758737
Nuka World + English
download_depot 377160 490650 4873048792354485093
download_depot 377160 393895 7677765994120765493
HD Texture Pack:
download_depot 377160 540810 1558929737289295473

After each one completes, visit the folder path specific in the console, and navigate
If you get an error about a license that just means the above list includes DLC you did not pay for. Ignore those errors
Once done, open the folder specific in the "Depo download complete" message, locate the Fallout 4 files within, and paste them into the folder you created in step 1.
After downloading all of the above depos you should now have a fully reverted version of Fallout 4 to do with as you please."

And thats about it for now at least. May add or remove things as time goes on. But all the mods that are here have had many hours put through them with little to no issues. So in theory you guys should be good. But mods don't get installed properly sometimes or more often than not another mod that a person has from their own order can clash. Having a bad load order can cause issues. Or even just missing one little step can sometimes cause a bug.

So if you do run into issues feel free to drop a comment I'll do my best to help troubleshooting but if you are not using NMM there won't be much I can do unless its a simple fix as these MMs work differently and can cause different issues. Thanks for reading everyone and I hope this helped your Fallout 4. Whether you came here for the whole enchilada or 1 small piece of information or mod thats enough for me knowing I helped you out just a little.

Oh and remember that thing I said about codsworth. Funny story I always make him a massive beefy sentry with the craziest weapons and armor. I then learned he will tank (maybe any automatron sentry with all the bells and whistles) your frames hard. Like I literally remember being like 1-5 frames in one of the southern settlements and im like how is this possible. Problem went away as soon as I sent him away. On top of that doesn't happen in every location. I feel like boston and anywhere south of boston it'll happen for sure. If you wanna try be my guest just don't get mad if your game crashes or if your in the single frames.


As I write up more mod guides I will link them below:

Morrowind 2024 Essential Modding Guide

Oblivion 2024 Essential Modding Guide

Fallout 3 2024 Essential Modding Guide

Fallout New Vegas 2024 Essential Modding Guide

Skyrim SE 2024 Essential Modding Guide

Starfield 2024 Essential Modding Guide (WIP)

Baldur's Gate 3 2024 Modding Guide (WIP)