I see so many people dependent on mod-installation software. With large mods it can be very nice and can save some time. However, learning the file-structure of your game-directory, and learning how to manually install mods will save you so much time and so many headaches...I promise you'll thank me later.

Learn how to - yes, definitely.

Always install manually - hell no.

If you use a lot of mods, especially texture replacers, mod managers are the cleaner and safer way. Even more so if you maintain multiple mod setups and/or want to keep a vanilla installation for testing. Though I guess Fallout 4 isn't at that stage yet.

I never said always, but I prefer to do it that way the vast majority of the time. I know what is going in and out of my file-directory at all times. Texture replacers are the easiest. Of course, this means you also have to keep the original zip file in an accessible location, which isn't hard to do.

I used literally thousands of mods in Morrowind, and hundreds in Oblivion, Skryim, FO3/FONV, and this method always worked flawlessly. Like I said, there are a few exceptions with large mods that have lots of options. In those cases it was nice to have FMODS etc. Wrye Mash/Bash/Flash always kept it nice and tidy as well.

I know exactly what's going into my game too, I check the structure of every mod I install, but I don't see the benefit of creating and replacing folders manually when a program can do it for me much faster and allows me to deal with file conflicts more efficiently. I can still manually tweak my mod setup afterwards.

I just don't get your "it will save you so much time" argument. In my experience it usually does the exact opposite.

Yes, until that tool starts to malfunction, or isn't up-to-date with the version of the game you're using, etc. How much time does it take to drag files from an archive to your data folder?

All I'm saying is, don't become dependent on installation tools. Learn to manually install, then if any problem with the installation software arises, you have a workaround. After that, people can personally decide which method to use. I, personally, still prefer manual install the vast majority of the time.

Agree. It is very obvious from some of the comments here and on the Nexus that people have no idea how modding works. They then get bent all out of shape when there is a conflict, etc.

Sad, really.

That I can agree with.

I used to do this regularly. Then one day I looked at my data folder and realized it was a total [censored] mess. Everything worked in game just fine, but trying to figure out what needed to be uninstalled and what needed to stay was a nightmare. In the end the best option simply was to nuke the whole damned thing and start over from scratch.

Back then, trying to figure out Wrye wasn't exactly a pleasant experience. I don't remember having the sorts of videos out then, that we do now, on how it functions. Took me what seemed like forever to actually figure out just how it works, and how to manage my mods properly.

But yes, it is definitely a good idea to know how to install manually, but IMO it is more important to learn how to use Wrye, NMM, Mod Organizer, the like, efficiently early, rather than waiting till you have to nuke your entire install later. You'll save yourself a huge headache in the long run that way.

Learning how to create your own mod packages to install can be great. If just for those rare times a person doesn't pack a mod up right, or you need to tweak the files before an install. Easiest example I can think of, was a couple armor mods in skyrim that had variants you had to swap some texture folders for. So I unzipped them, made the alteration, and recreated the package. Or some of larger weapon mod packs, that had half a dozen patches. So I installed the base mode, and then created my own patch package that combined it all.

As for learning how to install manually... why on earth would you ever want to? Sure if your messing around with a single esp or two its not bad. However, once you start adding in mesh/texture/sound/script/etc etc folders.. you are talking about a bloody nightmare to uninstall manually.