Hello...some of you may know me from Oblivion mods page. Anyways, I am tired of OB and MW and ordered Fallout 3 GOTY. Would anyone be kind enough to offer assistance on decent mods? Thanks.

EDIT...one of my favorite OB mods was called LEVEL SLOW, which gave you a chance to slow down the rate by which you gained levels. I always played the 5x version....5 times slower. Is there anything similar in Fallout?

Darn's UI mod, FPS Grenade Hotkey and 'GNR - More Where That Came From' are what I'd use on a first playthrough. And possibly some texture replacers.

How about the one mod which adds a whole bunch of general places around the city...I saw it, but I forgot the name. It allows you to enter them, while in vanilla, you couldn't. Would that be a good choice?

http://fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=97 - Simple
http://fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=10597 - Very configurable

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5573.

Thanks...I just can't play Bethesda games without a SLOW experience level!

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1056342-mezs-gameplay-and-immersion-mod-list/

Thanks you Simon....this is going to be so great...to be able to actually play the game with tons of mods right from the start!

I'd suggest playing the game without mods for a day and then browsing the Nexus mod website top 100 to see if anything there appeals to something you might want to see changed.

But I'll give you an idea of the best load order in the world.

Which happens to be mine:P

Honestly it could be slightly better, but I've had to delete some very promising mods here and there because they were poorly done and caused problems. That's always a sad thing.

Warning: Some of these will be difficult to find because the esp file names don't always correspond to the name of the mod -- I've tried to catch all of these instances but I've doubtless missed a few here and there.

PS: Someone tell me how to use the spoiler thingie and I will edit this, thanks!



Lings.esm (Lings eyes hair and lashes beauty pack, I only got this to fix the freaky ass purple eyes that were a problem for Project beauty)

StreetLights.esm (Adds street lights to the wasteland. Realistic if you stop asking how they're still lit, but cool to see in the distance and good for dark nights)

The Librarian.esm (A popular quest mod named "Orions Gate" that I've yet to actually start, but it hasn't caused any bugs that I know of and people endorsed it a lot so it's probably worth trying)

Orion's Gate - Interiors.esp (This is an add-on to Orions Gate, the popular quest mod that I listed above. It's supported by the author of the quest mod and updated along with it to add more interiors to his new location -- basically if you have that then you should get this)

Project Beauty.esm (Must have. People look like complete and utter poopies without it)

TheInstitute.esm (See: "The Librarian" for the same description... popular quest mod.

Vault 101 Revisited.esm (Same as above)

CubeExperimental (EN).esm (Same as above)

Project Genesis.esm (Same as above)

Mothership Crew.esm (Same as above)

NecronomiconExMortis 5.6.esm (Same as above)

FO3 Wanderers Edition - Main File.esm (Must have. Brings control to many different aspects of your game. Things such as how difficult combat is, how hard sneaking is, how hard bartering is, how much loot is available, dozens of other "How.... etc's". Also adds in great new weapons and combines some of the best mods around into one package. Let's you have the ability to sprint for instance.)

Mart's Mutant Mod.esm (Must have. Adds a variety of new creatures to the game while also allowing you to control how many enemies there are to fight. Without MMM the gameworld seems boring, lifeless, and all too easy to combat)

Globaltravelsystem.esm (An interesting mod that I've yet to fully test out but which adds new and expansive areas to travel to beyond the original fallout map included in the game)

DCInteriors_ComboEdition.esm (Almost a must have. Fills up those those buildings that were left un-enterable in the vanilla version of the game. Aids in a feeling of immersion, gives the player more to do and explore in his or her game)

RH_IRONSIGHTS.esm (A must have *imo*, adds "Ironsights" to guns in the game. Actually lets you aim down the guns barrel and center your shots that way, as opposed to vanilla which only let's you shoot your gun from your hip)

BridgeTown.esm (I have not been here yet, have not found it actually lol, but it's an extra town. More life to the wasteland is needed because without a bunch of mods that give you a bunch of new stuff to do, you're going to finish the game all too quickly!)

BackToAnchorage.esm (Go back to Anchorage after you're done with the DLC, only this time check it out in its post-war form)


Enhanced Weather - Rain and Snow.esm (These two are weather overhauls that really make the game just look a lot better, with more variety and, dun dun dun... actual weather conditions such as rain and sandstorms. Use these next two in combination with one another, but download Xepha's dynamic weather first and follow the read-me from there)
Xepha's Dynamic Weather.esm (When I wrote "use these next two", I was talking about this one and the one above it)


Weight Lifter Perk.esp (I got this added perk because for me, the most annoying thing about the game is not being able to loot new gear because I've become "overencumbered". Realism is great and all, but I prefer to get mine in other ways. A weight limit is nothing more than annoying to me. So I downloaded this, and edited it to give me the ability to carry around 2,000 lbs of equipment.


A6WastelandBosses1.esp (Boss fights! Zomg!!! What's more exciting:)

TakingOutTheTrash.esp (Vanilla fallout comes with ugly trash all over the place. The textures used are very low quality and lower your FPS for no real reason. The game looks much better without it imo)

CC.esp (This is the esp to a quest named "The Refuge", another popular quest mod that seems fairly bug free and gives you more to do)

ASU.esp (An important Automatic Save utility. These are important for two reasons, to avoid save game corruption if you're a chronic quicksaver like I am, or to bypass quicksaving alltogether because it automatically saves for you)

UPP - Pack 2.esp (More perks, what's not to love)
Dree Perks.esp
Dree Perks Broken Steel.esp
Dree Perks Point Lookout.esp
Dree Perks Mothership Zeta.esp

The Mantis Imperative - Nasty Zeta.esp (Makes the mothership Zeta DLC difficult -- who wants to play a game if it's easy anyway?)

AnArtGallery.esp (Another quest mod)

FEV_Subjects.esp (Adds new types of enemies to the game, comes from the creature resources mod)

Broadway_cinema.esp (Really cool mod, adds a movie theatre with real movies to the game and quests to fix it and then watch them and... bring your popcorn? -- big download though)

NotSoFast.esp ("A note easily missed" one of the best quests mods)

HeirApparent.esp (An evening with mr. manchester, again one of the best quest mods)

AQFH.esp (A quest for heaven episode 1, another great quest mod)

NewMirelurk.esp (new types of mirelurks, doesn't replace the old ones just adds new)

IntoTheDeepWoods.esp ("To sleep perchance to dream" again one of the best quest mods)

AQFH2.esp (A quest for heaven episode 2)

PLweightadjust.esp ("In the shadow of the swamp" Again one of the best quest mods ... P.S. whenever I say that it's because it's from Puce Moose, I just like his quests the most)

The Mantis Imperative - Mantis.esp (Puce moose quest again)

Regulators.esp (Revamps the regulators. Basically adds a bunch of quests... 47 hunt and kill missions pretty much, just something to do!)

SOL.esp ("Sanity observation lab" Pretty neat little quest, nothing major but very well done)

Vault A.esp (Another quest mod I've yet to do)

More2Megaton.esp (A must have quest mod that adds to Megaton, voice acting etc)

SelfSurgeryKit.esp (Only get this mod if you started your character with lower than usual SPECIAL points, you can do that with FWE which I listed above, but I say to only get this mod under those circumstances because it allows you to purchase a kit that let's you surgically alter your body to increase special attributes. Each surgery can be performed one time and each one will add +1 to a special stat, each comes with a 3 day recovery period in which you will suffer negative effects before gaining the positive effect to sort of balance it out. Ultimately overpowered unless you made your game very hard to begin with)

DangerousRadroaches_MMM.esp (Radroaches are pointless to the game without this mod and MMM to back it up)

rockville.esp (Pretty cool quest mod, adds a little town with some things to do. Escort a trader to the town, defend it from bad guys, and several other quests)

D.C. Confidential.esp (This mod adds numerous lore-friendly notes scattered throughout the wasteland. They provide interesting reads -- not sure how to sell this one but I like it)

UNDCity.esp (Very big very good quest mod... think it's called Underground city)

Megaton House and Theme Overhaul.esp (I hate house mods but if you're going to have at least one then get this one... (Or underground hideout, which I don't use but many people like)

SuddenDepthCharge.esp (Quest mod, have yet to do it but it's from a fairly good quest maker)

Progman.esp (I've yet to do this but I believe it allows you to play virtual reality pacman -- only you're pacman)

CEI - CaesarrulezExcessiveInteriorsEN.esp (Sort of like DC interiors listed above, only there's more quality over quantity in this one)

FLAK.esp (Sort of a mix between DC interiors and CEI)

FWE_Overhaul Kit - Main.esp (Adds some great mods to the game such as Selective fire, a flashlight, dynamic crosshairs, helmet POV, and others, while also giving every vanilla and FWE weapon ironsights (something RH ironsights didn't manage to do completely -- get this mod if you get FWE, it's little known now but it's being actively updated and I think it's great)

BoSDX.esp
WinterizedT51bDX.esp All of these DX mods add high resolution rextextures of the Power armor featured in the game. I honestly have tons of re-textures but I've forgotten them all unless they came with esps like these)
Outcast DX.esp
Tribal_DX.esp

NewSuperMutantOverlords.esp (Adds more enemies to slaughter, sweet!)

Satcom Strike.esp (Quest mod I have not done yet, but it should be good)

Werewolf Quest.esp (Same as above)

TheGhoulKing_Nov_15_2010.esp (Same as above)

Mart's Mutant Mod - FWE Master Release.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod - FWE Master Release + DLCs.esp (You can find these 3 mods on the FOIP page. They allow FWE, MMM, and Project beauty -- three must have mods, to be compatible with one another)
Mart's Mutant Mod - FWE Master Release + Project Beauty.esp

ColdSMOverlords.esp (Adds frozen supermutant overlords to the game -- that means they're blue, big, mean and carry weapons that will freeze you)

Owned!.esp (Allows you to own the properties of those you kill, or obtain them "legally" by purchasing them for a set amount of caps. You can also choose to tax the properties you own for extra income)

dD - Enhanced Blood Main.esp (A must have mod. Replaces the poopy blood texture that comes with vanilla fallout to something much better)

Dalls_STORM_Troopers.esp (Quest mod I have not started yet)

AmbrosiaBells.esp (A quest mod from Frank slimski, seems really cool -- if you do get this then starting it can be hard to figure out because it doesn't say in the readme, but you basically sit down in the chair that's in the top room of the megaton common house)

AquaPura 3000.esp (A good texture replacement for in-game watter bottles)

EwwGhoulyBody.esp (From user black blossom, texture replacement for ghoul bodies, as sixy as something like that can get I suppose...)

tubunarFWE.esp (The unique armors in the game sometimes do not look too unique, this corrects that with retextures)

1 Thompson M1923 With a Note In tech museum.esp (Just a gun that happens to have ironsights, don't need to get this)

RH_IronSights_Vanilla_BetterUniques.esp (Self-explanatory)

GNR Enhanced.esp (A must have if you listen to your radio)

VeryVeryHard.esp (A must have. If you can work the simple program of TesEdit provided with fallout mod manager, then you can adjust the 3 variables inside of this mod to control the difficulty of your game. The three variables are: How much damage you deal (percentage), how much damage enemies deal you (percentage), and how much XP you gain (percentage) If you don't want to edit it that's fine as well, it still makes the game Very hard!

Blowback_v1.esp (Adds recoil to weapons, doesn't effect 100% of weapons in the game, but it does most of them and it's great fun/realistic it's called "Weapon recoil" on nexus)

Existence2.0.esp (A must have radio station if you want some actual ambience in your dang game)

Agatha Radio Enhanced.esp (I happen to enjoy classical violin, perhaps you do to, this adds 30 new tracks to agathas radiostation (which focuses on just such music)

DarNifiedUIF3.esp (A must have mod. UI replacer. Just get it, trust me)

megalight.esp (Adds some cool lighting to megaton)

dD-No Screen Blood.esp (A must have mod if you hate screen blood popping up on your screen constantly -- comes with the "enhanced blood texture" pack I mentioned earlier)

PiPBoy Light Range x4.esp (Comes in some pipboy light mod on the nexus, from the maker of Fellout, increase the usually crappy pipboy lights range)
PiPBoy White Light.esp (Same location as above, changes the color -- you can choose a different color though -- red, green, amber, purple, who knows...)

Outcast_Rewards_Decreased.esp (Outcast rewards are waaaay overpowered, this solves that)

DeadlyTurrets.esp (Turrets in vanilla are underpowered, this goes some way into solving that)

Moira 100 Repair.esp (Might be considered a cheat, but come on... it gives the most commonly used NPC vendor in the game 100% repair skill)

GaryHoloTape.esp (adds back a holo tape to the game that was cut out due to its content, i think it was violent or involved torture or something, but I'm an advlt so eff that)

QuickerMessages.esp (Some messages in the game last 10 seconds. That's lame especially when there are tons of them backlogged. This fixes that)

PowerfulColonelAutumn.esp (Makes the lame duck colonel autumn boss fight towards the end of the main story line difficult instead of a complete let-down)

no blur on hit.esp (Not only is blur on hit completely annoying to me, and makes it difficult to see anything, but it's also a drain on game performance. This solves that)

UPP - Pack 1.esp (more perks)

Overhead3PCamera.esp (Chnages the camera to be more like World of Warcraft -- personal preference thing)

UPP - Experience Perks.esp
UPP - Quest Perks.esp
NPCs Sleep Tighter.esp
UPP - Beverage Perks.esp

fast travel.esp (Let's you fast travel in combat as long as the enemies aren't right in front of you - very convenient since in vanilla if you want to fast travel you have to hunt down people who might be pretty far away)

Megaton Walkway.esp (Makes getting from one place to another in megaton a little easier, which is great considering how much traveling you have to do there and how dumb the layout is)

Cyber-Enhancements.esp (Adds hidden cyber enhancements throughout the game that can be installed depending upon your skill level as "Implants" at a certain location in the game, pretty nifty actually)

Double Perks.esp (A must have mod -- double the perks, perks are one of the best parts of the game)

Trucker Holotapes.esp (More cut holotapes)

SniperZooming.esp (A must have mod, allows you to zoom in out out with scoped weapons instead of having only one set zoom level)

MoreMapMarkers.esp (Almost a must have mod, adds map markers to all the interesting places in the game that should have been marked but weren't, also adds "convenience" map markers to allow you to skip load screens, for instance, at paradise falls there will now be a map marker to both the outside and the inside. Originally with only the outside map marker, you would have to travel there (load screen) then walk to the gate and to get inside (another load screen)... this mod saves you time and sanity)

Death Canyon v3.esp (a new place to explore, yay -- but I haven't been there yet :)
Ghoul Mansion v3.1.esp (same as above)


I'll Touch What I Want.esp (A must have mod. In vanilla fallout every time you brush up against an item you get some assclown telling you to watch the *** out. That will drive you crazy after awhile. This mod stops them from annoying you while you walk around)

Rivet City Underworks 1.1.esp (just a nifty dungeon crawl -- kill a bunch of enemies in a new location underneath rivet city)

MZAllAccessPass.esp (Allows you to open up all the rooms that vanilla fallout closes for good after the completion of the ZETA DLC. You should grab this to go along with Mothership Zeta Crew (one of the most popular mods around)

StreetLights - Wasteland.esp (Like one of the first mods I listed, only this streetlight mod focuses on populating the wasteland, while the first one focuses more on urban areas)

A Trail of Crumbs.esp (An intersting little quest mod that leads you on a path of discovery to interesting places in the wasteland)

New_Eyebot.esp (Eyebots in the game are weak and die with about one shot, this makes them deadlier, and they only get stronger as you level!)

RandomEncounters.esp (A must have mod -- notifies you when a random encounter occurs, puts it in your quest log and maps it on your map -- without this mod you would probably miss 75% of the cool random encounters fallout has to offer)

FO3 Wanderers Edition - Talon Loot Crash Fix.esp (A must have mod **IF** you use FWE because FWE comes with a bug that causes crashes almost every time you loot a pack or carton of cigarettes from raiders/talons and probably other people as well -- which means that you will crash a lot without this mod)

SuperDuperBasemant.esp (adds a basemant to the superduper market, more [censored] to kill, more places to discover... SUPER? Was that lame? I'm getting tired)....

No fall damage.esp (Probably a cheat but I hate dying due to falling/jumping long distances so I got this mod -- saves you hours of time in megaton alone. Just jump from the moriarties to the ground and you're set)

It`s very difficult to know what each person requires in a Mod as games like these are very personal. Some people like arcady where nothing is much effort, some like hardcoe realism, where every step is a fight for survival, and others fall inbetween.

I tend be a hardcoe survivalist with a companion for backup. I left FO3 for about a year and just returned to see what`s new. The Mod that has most impressed me so far and adds a slew of things I would`ve added singly myself has been Fallout 3 Wanderer`s edition.
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2761

It allowsyou to adjust so many settings so you can go hardcoe with less starting stats or not. It adds new weapons and loads of other stuff for realism for all GOTY add-ons. I don`t FT, but it adds a nice Morrownind-type FT with a motorbike or caravans for a fee which I might actually use sometimes. Add in Martigen`s Monster Mod same guy from Oblivion, I think) and this will integrate with it. You can also add in the iron sights Mod for added immersion. The guns sounds from the wanderer`s mods sound very authentic. Even little things I notced like running backwards is far slower than running forwards- no running backwards any more and killing monsters, if you want to run, you must turn and run! Great!

I also recommend enhanced weather and dynamic weather (they work togther) which have transformed my FO3 world. It doesn`t rain much, but when it does it adds a much needed feel of realism to the world. the weather alters and changes from sandstorm bleak to bright day- You feel like you`re in a desolate world of survival.

I also use a no Compass mod and no pop-ups as I prefer finding things naturally.

My world is a lot tougher and scarier now, I enter each fight like a Special Forces soldier needing backup, so I tend to have a pretty lady as back up in a companion. Yep, she`s there to help and shoot and for me to stare at something nice in this bleak land- and I don`t have my companions essential so I make sure I use a Mod with lots of companions at various places. Not that I want my companions to die but just in case.

These have transforemed my game.

I don`t have links for all these but you can pop then into the search engine for TEss to find.

That`s what I have anyway, hope it helps.

Hey Richard, I certainly remember you from the Ob mods forum!

I also recently too the dive from Oblivion to FO3 with a christmas GOTY version for myself, and I'm loving it.

One very useful piece of info I got from Psymon is the following comparisons of overhauls between the two

FOOK = Francesco
FWE = OOO (minus the quests)
MMM = MMM
Arwen = TIE

There is, however, no equivalent of FCOM.

However, I would STRONGLY recommend you have a really good playthrough without an overhaul and experience the game as Beth indended. It is really well done (much better than vanilla Oblivion) and many 'must have' Ob mods are already present, such as everything's already viewable when distance, the economy / dynamic currency is like living economy (minus price changes is different areas) plus it runs so much better than oblivion due to it being able to us slightly more than 1 core.
So please experience is out of the box first, if only to work out what mods / overhaul you really want!

Saying that, Darn UI mod and FPS grenade hotkey, the unofficial patches and possibly Fellout are good starters.
The lack of a proper good hotkey mod is an issue, but Wrye Flash works well, not as advanced as Bash but I use it for installing and the bashed patch works just fine with the variety of tags availiable. Unfortunatley it hasn't seemed to have caught on like Bash for Ob, with many people using FO3Edit to make a merged patch, odd when theres a custom made tool designed to do it for you :shrug:
After a month I have ~30 mods installed

Also, I'm now a BOSS contributer, so any unrecognised mods can be added a-la-moi :hubbahubba:

Torello...

Then I am going to play it for awhile naked vanilla. I don't want to make the same mistake I did shortly after I started playing Oblivion...which was get as many mods on as quickly as I could.

Not a bad idea - I played about 5 levels of F3 and then started to see what had to change.

VATS is lame period, never use it. You will see what else too.

I can't recommend FWE enough though. Probably if I ever do another playthough I may choose Arwen.

Fellout is an absolute must, it makes the landscape simply gorgeous; massive improvement in environmental looks.

GNR More Where That Came From is great for making listening to GNR for extended periods of time much better than it already is.

Project Beauty makes NPCs not look absurd or horrific.

These three mods will greatly improve your game enjoyment without altering anything gameplay wise your first time around.

I forgot to say I don`t use Vats ever either. Thought I was the only one. Nice that the game-makers allowed the game to be playable without.

I tried project beauty, but it needed so much fiddling and caused me to start a new game all over again, I did without it. The NPCS don`t look so bad that it`s worth the trouble. When they have project beauty more held togther as one Omod with no extra little files, I might try again.

Well Project beauty much like http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1904 is better to configure with a bashed patch rather than a merged patch as Valda really took time figure out the tags needed.

As for weather - I used Fellout for about a year until Dynamic Weather came out. Fellout is great for removing the green tint on everything and making it crystal clear and the nights dark, but Dynamic Weather I think is better suited for the game. It is moody (sometimes really moody) and has a greater range of weathers including sandstorms. Combined with mods that reduce view distance and add a DOF blur way off - it makes the world a bit bigger and heavy feeling like I'd imagine a post apocalypse to be.

It is another mod best used with a bashed patch.

There are a few mods that adjust vats all sorts of ways. I do use it for particularly difficult encounters, but only with FWE adjustments.

I don't use VATS either. I tried a few times with sneal attacks, but it always missed and just gave my position away.
I love using my sniper rifle or the scoped .44 for long range critical hits. Takes down mutes which one shot :ninja:
Fellout is great, but the pitch black nights are an issue for me. Theres a couple of options, either a http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2725 or http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=9853

So there is no way I will use VATS...I am hearing multiple complaints against it. I like the idea of using nightvision glasses and having dark nights.

Wooooooow! Good call Psymon! That destrction mod sounds brilliant, will definitely give that a try.
Mmmmm, looks like I'll be replacing Fellout with Dynamic weather now...

That nightvision mod I linked to is one of many. I chose it as it's nicely balanced: you have to buy the glasses and they drain energy cells, plus you can choose the brightness/drain speed. The dark nights I'm not keen on - realistic yes, but not fun to play (especially when timescale is set to 8!). So I'm after something in between this and vannilla's non dark nights - helpfully an option in Dynamic Weather :celebration:

>>So there is no way I will use VATS...I am hearing multiple complaints against it. I like the idea of using nightvision glasses and having dark nights. <<

I live for VATS, else i'd be playing Morrowind, the video that follows the shot is delightful, especially when the Mysterious Stranger appears
Granted all my missiles seem to miss (fire at them if they are near a wall to get splash-back at least with EXPLOSIVE KNOCKDOWN mod) and a few other things go array, but the player has a big advantage most of the time anyway, (reload an old save, alas if life's errors could so easily be reworked ).


Remote control companions PLUS helps in managing the irritating companions, a must have.

Well all in taste. Vats was really made to represent the turn-based slow element of the real RPGs like FO1 and 2 where it was REALLY needed. However, with the fps-centric element of FO3 it`s actually easily payable without. The zooming around 3rd person thing looks good for once-over, but after that I don`t ever need it again. I even make sure the Vats key is configured far away so I`m not even tempted, but I don`t even get tempted anyway. It`s far more immersive for me (and less annoying as I actually hit what I shoot) without it. But that`s what`s great about FO3 we can play the game how we want, especially on the PC.

I gave Project Beauty another try and actually got it working. Yay!