Seriously, what are some 'essential' mods to download?
because i haven't seen too many worth downloading... so what do you use, and what ones are your favorites?

Darnified UI and Mart's Monster Mod are the ones i would recommend for everyone. For me personally FWE and Weapon Mod Kits have become pretty much essential too, but FWE is not necessarily for everyone. FOOK2 is another large high-quality overhaul, it doesn't work with FWE so you'd have to choose between them.

However, in my opinion the game without it gets absolutely boring -- once you reach a high level: becomes a casual walk in the park, with no challenges at all. FWE restores its power, better yet: turns the game into what it must have been from the very start. Take a look at the readme, see if you like.

My suggestions: FWE + MMM + Realistic Headshots + 85 Outfits Recolor (something like that) + Fellout + Enhanced Weather.

Fellout is an absolute must-have, IMHO.

here's a link to a post I started along the same lines, even has the same title...

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1096936-must-have-mods/page__p__16023443__hl__must%20have%20mods__fromsearch__1&#entry16023443

After just reaching level 10 in my FWE playthrough I'm going to have to highly recommend it. It brings a serious challenge to the game so make sure to hit F5 OFTEN. In vanilla I would chug stimpacks like candy, now I only use them if I'm below 25% health. The great thing too is that many of the features in FWE are adjustable in game so if it does prove to me too much of a challenge (or if you're crazy, not enough of one) then you can change it.

But, FWE is still not for everyone, and there are other choices. I seriously doubt that you would find your game a "walk in the park" with my Realism Tweaks, and many users do prefer my overhaul over FWE.

The main reasons I created my Realism Tweaks was that when I first started playing Fallout, I could not find an overhaul (including FWE) that matched the way I wanted to play the game . . . so I created an overhaul that matched my game play. My mod is not for everyone either, but it does provide an alternative to FWE. The nice thing about FO3 mods is that there are so many choices (which can unfortunately be a bit overwhelming).

Real time settler RTS is a must have

Arwens is best for me. But I did actually stop at the(can't recall version) time she made that machine gun knockdown fix. This also is because I'm not using my own computer. Using a public one so I can't grab newer mods and their updates. Sorry Arwen, I do like play testing them for you (but I won't give away my other handle in case I piss some people off lol). =)


Few fun mods-

-Explosive Entry; Locked doors getting annoying. Blowem up!

-Destructive Alcohol; Not the exact name....It makes a small modular esp that allows the vanilla alcohol bottles to be damaged also splashing their content and debris all over the place. (SOOOoooo want a kitchenware version.....playes, mugs, pitches etc)

-Companions; Jessi(and her sister) and Amy. They make for interesting companions. Plus Amy can go off on her own and get more followers of her own plus sell your junk =)

I know people love FWE, but I want to add a counter point, Fook 2.

Sure FWE makes the game a lot more challenging, but so does Fook 2.

If Fook 2 doesn't suit your needs for awesomeness, I'm sure there are others that will work.

My prefered list is MMM+WMK+FWE+fellout+Enchanced weather
Fook 2, last time i checked had very bad quality control, so its not for me. Im not saying its a bad mod just doesnt meet my standards.

FOOK2 has leagues better QC than FOOK, but yeah it is a little low at times.

All debate over one overhaul vs. another put aside, the "must have" aspect really seems to come down to this...

Most people agree that FO3 by itself is too easy. Finding the "right" overhaul for your tastes will likely take some time, depending on what exactly you're after - if you just want the gameplay to be more difficult (harder opponents, more scarcity of resources, more deadly combat)... or want things to be more realistic (needing to eat/drink/sleep, not being able to heal wounds with a meal, not being able to run backwards at the same speed you can run forwards), etc. If nothing else, most of the overhauls seem to agree on two things more than anything else from what I've seen --- combat needs to be more deadly, and stimpacks need to be more scarce. (And a possible third universally agreed upon thing: that leveling needs to be slower - which can also be found as a standalone mod)

Mart's Mutant Mod is also an excellent mod that many people adore, but that is still not for everyone. If you take a look at it and decide that it is not for you, make sure to look at his other mods -- as several of the features of the main mod are still available separately (like Increased Spawns - including Interior Respawning, and Tougher Traders).

All of that aside, I have a hard time seeing anyone not like DarnUI once they've played with it a little bit --- and while people may disagree over which nighttime option to use, Fellout seems to be pretty universally loved.

Certainly GNR: More Where That Came From and DCInteriors fit in the category of "very popular, and not as subject to individual tastes as many other mods".

What do you mean by Bad Quality Control?
It has a rather nice amount of bug fixes that happen rather quickly, so when big bugs happen, they get fixed fast.
:)

But yeah, the Best is subjective.
Some people like OOO for Oblivion, others prefer MMM, like me.

It's a matter of opinion. But I like to suggest Fook 2. It's pretty cool.
Plus, dismounted Soviet AA cannon. What's not to love?

I prefer the .50 anti-materiel rifles more, so much in fact i had to add one to FWE

Essential for me are:
MMM. Feral ghoul rampage is awesome.
Darn UI.
Arwen's Tweaks.
Simple Needs plus darn plugin.
Bess the pack Brahmin (well, maybe this isn't essential!)