Hey guys! I know you get these topics often, but here's my story anyway. I originally bought and played Oblivion on the Xbox 360 the day of release. I was blown away and played for roughly 250 hours (which is a lot for me).. I finally bought a powerful rig, repurchased Oblivion on PC, and went mod crazy! I probably spent more time messing with mods then I did playing. Anyway, I was using FCOM with many, many more. Eventually, I just got overwhelmed, and for whatever reason, I stopped playing. I honestly think I burned myself out with trying to get mods to work together. Well, here I am with a serious TES itch. I've been messing with Morrowind and Fallout NV, but I can't shake the feeling that I want to come back to Oblivion...

With that said, I'm asking you guys for some help. I want to mod my game obviously, but with certain conditions. I'm going to list each category or mod, and then I'm hoping you guys will provide specific recommendations.


1. Tools: Is OBMM still the main mod manager? Also how about the latest script extender?

2. Overhauls: I REALLY do not feel like tackling the beast of FCOM again. It's an amazing project, but my goodness it is NOT user friendly. I'm thinking about either OOO+MMM or TIE. I could really use your help here. I want something that overhauls everything, adds depth, content, balance, immersion, gives a more unique feel, etc.

3. Graphics: Is Qarl's pack still the way to go? I'm looking to overhaul every aspect of the graphics, including all items, landscapes, plant life, water, etc. I'm also looking for better face textures for all NPC's and the player character. Not to mention added choices for eyes and hairstyles. Anything else that affects graphics positively would be good, like shaders or anything you can think of.

4. Immersion: I'd LOVE a good survival mod, something that requires sleep/food/drink. I uses some back in the day but never found a good one that wasn't buggy or well scripted. Obviously it'd need to be compatable with the overhaul. Something akin to Necessities of Morrowind would be awesome!

5. Weather: this probably fits under immersion, but it's so important that I think it deserves its own section . I've been using Nevada Skies in NV, and it's unbelievable. Is there a weather mod that matches that quality?

6. House mods: what I'm looking for here are quality, balanced, houses. Morrowind had a mod package that added 20 or so buyable houses to the world. Something along those lines would be awesome.

7. Combat: I used Deadly Reflex, but never delved too deep. Is it still a top combat mod? Would you suggest Duke Patrick's mod over it? Also how about good magic mods? (compatable with the overhaul of course)

8. Content: This is for any mods that add additional content that compliment the overhaul. I'm thinking of stuff like balanced, unique items sprinkled throughout the world, or traveling NPCs, unique landscapes, etc.

9. Leveling: I used to use Oblivion XP because I loved the concept of it, but it felt unstable and tacked on. Has it improved? Would you recommend a better mod?

10. Misc: This is a section for any mods you may recommend that are compatable and compliment the game.


My goal with the game is to add to it without unbalancing it. I want to bring back the fun of exploration, survival, role-playing, etc. I know I'm asking a lot here, but a big THANk YOU to anyone that helps me!!

OBSE is a must of course. Wrye Bash's installer (BAIN) is more powerful than OBMM. I'd recommend using BAIN as the main installer as it gives full control over everything.



I'd say OOO+MMM. It's an awesome combo. You get most of what you get with FCOM with an easier install.

I use OOO+MMM+Deadly Reflex 5, OBSE 20 ,All Natural (Weather Mod) Qarls Texture Pack 3, I can't recommand any others as i dont use them,(Well Immersion interiers?) Is nice.

This is a pretty big list, but I'm going to try tackling it in less than 10 minutes. Here we go...

1. Tools: I use http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=32277, which allows you to pull info from TESNexus when creating omods. However, a growing number of people use http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=22368 BAIN installer feature now. Since I don't use it, I can't really comment on that. http://obse.silverlock.org/ is still the big thing, and you can find the latest stable version on their website.

2. Overhauls: If memory serves me right, I recall being told that overhauls like OOO are incompatible with TIE. http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=35265 does a great job at making the world random and intriguing without adding any new material. Use that with http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=17784 and you should have quite a bit of fun. MMM just adds a huge amount of creatures and such.

3. Graphics: You asked too many questions for just one bullet point here, so I'll be as general as possible to save myself time. http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.Detail&id=2363 or http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.Detail&id=3813 is still a big deal, but there are more comprehensive texture enhancers that just add more depth to the normal maps. You can videos and discussions of several popular graphics mods (including those that affect the way characters and water look) on http://matthewkaine.blogspot.com/.

4. Immersion: I used NoM back when I played Morrowind, and I can assure you there are several different approaches to adding this sort of thing into the game. However, I've never looked into it too much myself, so I sadly can't provide you with many names at the moment. I've been told that http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=15773 is good for this sort of thing, but it appears to no longer be updated. http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=37088 looks more current, but also keep in mind that it adds new materials to the game, which is important to consider when sorting out compatibility issues.

5. Weather: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18305 is the largest weather enhancer currently released and regularly updated and supported. It includes a few smaller weather mods and allows you add things like weather sounds in interiors and change interior lighting to be dependent on physical light sources. I also discussed this mod in my blog.

6. House Mods: Take a look at the site http://www.oblivionsrealestate.com/. While I don't believe it's super up-to-date, it still is the largest listing of house mods that I currently know about. You're pretty much guaranteed to find something you like there.

7. Combat: I've tried http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8273 but got rid of it due to the annoyance of it's glitches and the complications of learning new combos and such. I love http://www.tesnexus.com/modules/members/index.php?id=329734 work, so I highly recommend it. Magic is something I have yet to look into, but I recommend taking a look at the comparison list of magic overhauls http://www.thenexusforums.com/index.php?/topic/78260-magic-overhaul-comparison/ on the TESNexus forums.

8. Content: Take a look at my blog for my posts about http://matthewkaine.blogspot.com/2011/04/living-roads.html and http://matthewkaine.blogspot.com/2011/05/crowded-cities-improved.html. They both do a lot to make Cyrodiil feel more alive and thriving. You should also check out big mods that add large amount of weapons and armor such as http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=25309 and http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18417.

9. Leveling: I sadly can't really comment on leveling mods, since I personally enjoy the way leveling works in the game. However, http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=35333 has been noted as being very similar to Fallout's leveling system. If that's what you're looking for, go for it. Pretty sure it's regularly updated, too.

10. Misc: Again, I can't stress more how useful my blog will be to you. If you didn't notice the link I put earlier in this post, it's also the second link in my signature. There a several mods on there that I'm sure you'll enjoy, so don't hesitate to take the time to read up on them.

And sadly that took 15 minutes instead of 10, so now I'm late to breakfast! Good luck in your endeavors, and I'll fix up this post a bit more later today if I have the time. :foodndrink:

EDIT: Edited in links and such. Hope it helps!

Pretty much agree with what's been stated already.

I didn't see the Unique Landscapes project mentioned yet. That's one of my favorites. I also really like the Race Balancing Project.

All of the combat mods are being worked on and updated. Duke Patrick's should be coming out with a new release soon. Deadly Reflex 6 still has some kinks that need to be worked out last I checked.

If you want a stealth immersion mod, I created a new one that's very comprehensive. Links are in my signature. Combine that with Thieve's Arsenal, SM Combat Hide and Reneer's Guard Overhaul, and you'll have a nice stealth combo package that only takes 4 .esps.

My general recommendation is to get the generic environment, interface and gameplay working the way you want it before adding any of the custom quest lines. Once you have that down and conflict free, install some of the new quests. (but I would back up your Oblivion Data file first).

Also, when checking out the custom modded homes, I made the mistake of installing too many of them without checking them out first. Many of them were cool to look at, but once I had done the walk-through, that was enough for me. So to make the most of your .esp slots, if the real-estate aspect is important, I'd install all of the ones you are interested in before you install anything else, then use the console commands to jump to each one and check them all out. Then uninstall all the ones you aren't planning on using regularly so you can put those .esp slots towards other things.

Oh, and if you have the DLCs, check out Frostcrag Reborn. Not only does it get an overhaul, but a very cool quest and backstory with it.

When I decided to replay Oblivion again with all the new mods, it took me quite awhile to sort through what I wanted. But being patient and thoroughly researching conflicts and install orders will save you headaches later. It's best to do things in chunks.

Just fyi, Basic Primary Needs adds items only indirectly using the AddToLeveledList function to the following default leveled lists: VendorIngredientsFood, LL0FoodUpperClassDrinks75, LL0Ingredients0Food100, LL0Ingredients0Food75, LL0Ingredients0Food50 and LL0Ingredients0Food25. Compatibility with other mods will therefore not be an issue.

Guys thank you so much for taking the time to post and especially link!! I have a good starting point here. Feel free to post anything else you can think of!

I suggest you install Nehrim http://www.nehrim.de/indexEV.html .
It's a total total conversion.

Shameless selfplug for lots of new content: http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1172274-relz-the-arsenal-30/, compatability patch for OOO is available!

I checked out Nehrim, and while an admirable effort, it's definitely not what Ike looking for. Thanks though.

Lol StarX, I'll browse through your suggestions here in a sec