Hello. I recently created a thread soliciting suggestions for must-have mods that would comprise a stable "minimalist" mod load. Well, after receiving many worthy suggestions and excellent advice, I arrived at the list below. Clearly, it's not minimalist, but I think it will result in the game I'm hoping for (I have already downloaded them all). While I've made several forays into Oblivion, this will be the first game I intend to stick with to the finish. And I do have some Oblivion mod installation familiarity.

What I'm hoping for with this thread is:
- Identifying any clear conflicts or redundant mods pre-install (for example, I'm thinking I won't need the several hotkey mods I've listed)
- Recommendations for any must-have or must-play mods that I've missed
- Warnings about any mods I've chosen that are very involved to install or often compromise game stability

While I'm not a hardcoe player, my goal is for a well-balanced game with enjoyable combat (considerably improved over vanilla Oblivion), respectable but not hardcoe challenge and, of course, some compelling high adventure that has me coming back for more.

Please note that I do not have Shivering Isles, so if you see a mod that you know requires it, please let me know. If SI is seen as essential, I can certainly buy it, but at this point I don't have plans to.

Thanks in advance for reviewing. I look forward to reading your comments.

MOD (and Tools/Resources) LIST (alphabetical)

• A to Take All
  
• All Natural
  
• Bank of Cyrodil
  
• Better Oblivion Sorting Software (BOSS)
  
• Coloured Enemy Health
  
• Common Oblivion (COBL)
  
• Darnified UI
  
• Deadly Reflex OMOD v5
  
• Drop Lit Torches in Combat
  
• Duke Patrick's Combat Archery (I was really enthusiastic about this one, but Shivering Isles only)
  
• Duke Patrick's Magic You Can Believe In
  
• Dungeons of Ivellon
  
• Enhanced Economy
  
• Enhanced Grabbing
  
• Enhanced Hotkeys (super hotkeys?)
  
• Expanded Hotkeys and Spell Delete
  
• FastExit 2
  
• Hear No Evil
  
• Heart of the Dead
  
• House Map Markers
  
• Keychain
  
• Kragenir's Death Quest
  
• Less Annoying Magicka (LAME)
  
• Map Marker Overhaul
  
• Mark and Recall
  
• Oblivion Gate Map Marker Remover
  
• Oblivion Mod Manager (OBMM)
  
• Oblivion Patch
  
• Oblivion Script Extender (OBSE)
  
• Oblivion Stutter Remover (OSR)
  
• Oblivion XP Update
  
• Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul 1.33 OMOD
  
• Persuasion Overhaul OBSE
  
• Quarl's Texture Pack 3 Redimized OMOD (QTP Redimized)
  
• Quest Award Leveller
  
• QZ Easy Menus
  
• Race Balancing Project (RBP) Omod Installer
  
• Realistic Ragdoll and Physics
  
• Reneer's Guard Overhaul
  
• Supreme Magicka
  
• Tamriel NPCs Revamped (TNR) Omod
  
• Tears of the Fiend
  
• The Lost Spires
  
• Toggleable Quantity Prompt
  
• Unlimited Rings and Amulets
  
• Unnecessary Violence
  
• Unofficial Patch
  
• Verona House Bloodlines
  
• Vilja (companion)
  
• Visually Realistic Lava
  
• Windom Earle's Oblivion Crash Prevention System
  
• Wyre Bash

Drop Lit Torches in Combat - http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16282 is preferred nowadays.
Expanded Hotkeys and Spell Delete - Enhanced Hotkeys is all you'll need. Spell delete is available in COBL
Keychain - Seems not to work right these days? And DarnUI can collapse item categories so might not need this any more.
Unlimited Rings and Amulets - Use the option in Wrye Bash, under Tweak Clothes
Verona House Bloodlines - Be sure the one you get is http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=36389
Visually Realistic Lava - http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=6854 looks better in my opinion, but of course that's subjective

You really should get a body replacer. I'm certain the others will recommend many more stuff, I'll just add some lesser mentioned ones.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=21565
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18434
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=26634
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16150
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18065
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=15294
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=21424

Many thanks, Omeletted. Exactly the type of advice I was hoping for.

Just one follow-up comment:

- Verona House Bloodlines: Arthmoor's version is only compatible with Shivering Isles. Since I don't have that, I can't use it. Though it's a shame to miss it, this add-on quest wasn't mandatory/essential anyhow. Perhaps others can recommend a replacement that doesn't require SI.

Thanks again. Great stuff.

i see you have Vilja, so i would get aleswel cottage to, its nice house with extras for your companion
and has little quest on it to

ngcd i would take in place of Oblivion XP Update, link http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=14065
and i would also take a look at http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=19628 and also http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16323

I would certainly try and buy Shivering Isles if you can. It must be pretty cheap to buy these days anyway. Quite a lot of mods including quests like VH Bloodlines (fixed version) do use it so it will certainly give you a wider choice.

First of all you can use Yacoby's http://search.yacoby.net/ to search for mods that you want to play. :user:

Here is a http://www.fliggerty.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=65361#p65361 that you can compare to your own mod list.

Some of these mods that you have selected needs to be either updated or it require patches. Instead of Darnified UI I use http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11280 which is better than the original version imo. I see you're using both OOO and Vilja. Just remember to grab the patch http://lovkullen.net/CDC/1em_Vilja_FCOM_Fix_3_0_1.7z and you might want to use Shadowburn's http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=35921, but if I were you I would definitely read a lot on http://lovkullen.net/Emma/index.htm about the mods she has released so far especially her cottage mods. :read:

Another thing that you need to consider is that you choose to use both QTP-Pack 3 and OOO together which could be a FPS killer with an older video card. Also update OBMM to http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=32277 and grab http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=22368 (doesn't require python).
Some of those map marker mods you got in your mod list isn't necessary, because the they're in some way already included in the http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=26389 mod. Oh and I almost forgot just make sure that you grab TheNiceOne's excellent http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=35969 mod.

Drop "House Map Markers" and "Oblivion Gate Map Marker Remover". They are both handled (better, but then I'm partial) by Map Marker Overhaul.
Also consider dropping "Coloured Enemy Health", and installing my "HUD Status Bars" instead. One of the bars in HSB's optional ini file is an enemy health bar that has a color that changes with the enemy's remaining health, and with some ini tweaking, allow you to give it the color/size/position/look you want - and HSB contains many other useful bars.
...and I of course agree my Enhanced Hotkeys is the only hotkey mod you need

Finally, make sure to update OOO to 1.34b.

I have not gone through the links by other posters in this thread, but I noticed You will be using LAME and Race Balancing Project, but you have not put Integration - The Stranded Light on your Mod list. EDIT SI is a requirement for many quest mods nowadays, but The Game Of The Year edition of Oblivion includes Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine, and with both discs installed it eliminates the need for an Official 1.2.0416 Patch. For the minimalistic Stable Load Order you are taiking about Steam is a viable alternative if you can not find the GOTY edition where you live.

Thanks very much for all the replies and thoughtful input — I reall appreciate people taking the time to help.

Specific replies...

nGCD versus Oblivion XP: I'd like to hear the specific argument here as to why I should go with nGCD. While I may not want to level quite as quickly as vanilla, I don't want a sluggish game that takes 500 hours either. And I'm concerned that complex leveling mods with may settings and tweaks may be too much for me to deal with, especially as I don't have enough play experience to determine exactly how I want to progress. Oblivion XP appeals because it sounds simple and straightforward, allowing me to raise the skills I want. Perhaps I'm wrong.

Leonardo 2 wrote, "Another thing that you need to consider is that you choose to use both QTP-Pack 3 and OOO together which could be a FPS killer with an older video card." I have an nVidia GTX 460 1GB card, so I'm expecting that I should be okay.

TheNiceOne, you clearly create good stuff — all of your suggestions will be taken.

Integration requires Shivering Isles, so I skipped it.

I'm not skipping Shivering Isles at this point because of cost or availability. I'm skipping it because it may well be just too much Oblivion for me. While I recognize that many players want their Oblivion experience to last as long as possible, moving into the hundreds of hours, I rarely last that long with a single game. I like to have a good, quality experience that's "just right" and move on. And since I really haven't gotten far in my dabbling with Oblivion thus far, I think I've got plenty to do. I recognize that this also calls into question why I bothered to load community-made quest mods, which will extend my game. I did this because, if they really are that good, then I don't want to miss some of the adventures the community developed. I want to see what they have to offer and add some diversity to the vanilla Oblivion quest lines. Perhaps I've gone too far with those I'm already adding, but I won't know until I try them.

As for Shivering Isles being required for what I have so far... I have been quite careful in checking the descriptions on TES Nexus for "SI required" and haven't found it for these, so I'm hoping this won't be an issue.

Thanks again. And please send more critiques and/or recommendations. This is all very helpful and improving my mod list considerably.

- ELB

Just because you have SI doesn't mean you have to play it. I bought it, played through it a couple times, and decided it wasn't my cup of tea. I keep it installed, though, so that I can play mods that require its resources.

Other stuff:

QZ Easy Menus covers "A to Take All"

I believe Unlimited Rings etc is covered in the Bashed Patch

If you're looking for a level overhaul that doesn't have dozens of settings and fiddly bits, I recommend Realistic Leveling. It's got a simple ini file, and you can control how quickly or slowly you level up. I've been using it (along with OOO x5 level rates) for a couple years, and I love it. I get to about L35 in 300-350 hours*, which is about what you're looking for, right?

*Which is about the point where I run out of stuff to do; I've since added a lot of content since the last time I did that, though, so I expect to go much longer this time.

Wonderful. Thanks very much!