Players have been enjoying Bethesda’s latest post-apocalyptic RPG for two weeks now. While many people enjoyed the game, many others have pointed out places where it comes up lacking. Even though Bethesda doesn’t plan to release the Creation Kit until next year, the modding community is already improving the game in ways both large and small. Here are the ten best mods that have been released so far.
Craftable Ammunition
There isn’t too much crafting in Fallout 4, aside from objects for settlements. Nexus user Xylozi’s new mod changes that by introducing a crafting system for ammunition. Players create the individual elements for each ammo type at the cooking station, and then craft the ammo itself at the chemistry station. Ammo can also be broken down into its junk parts at the cooking station. For those who have had a hard time finding mini-nukes, but have a lot of unused nuclear material, this mod may come in handy. You can get more details about how to craft ammo types and can download the mod here.
Lowered Weapons
The player character is almost always pointing his or her gun when a weapon is drawn. This can be annoying in first person, since it obscures a large chunk of the screen. For some, simply holstering the gun may be enough, but for those who prefer to move about The Commonwealth with weapons drawn, this simple mod will be a welcome addition. Installing it will make it so that the player character has the gun in a down position when not firing, obscuring much less of the screen. Many players may find this adds to the game’s immersion. User lesma666 is taking suggestions on how to improve the mod. You can download it here.
Value per Weight Indicator for Container UI
This is another simple, yet very helpful mod. Scavenging the wasteland can involve difficult decisions about which items to lug back home for sale or salvage. While selling to vendors is now not the only way to use unwanted items, it is still a helpful method of making money. This mod, by Nexus author CyberShadow, adds additional information to the UI about items’ value per pound. This should help players decide what scrap, armor, and weapons are worth taking with them. You can download it here.
Darker Nights
This one is relatively straightforward. Darker nights mods are popular for most Bethesda games, and most ENBs for prior releases included darkening effects. Many players undoubtedly want a truly pitch-black experience wandering the wasteland. The author, unforbidable, notes that these nights are not tremendously darker, but still noticeably so. The tool allows users to pick from seven levels of darkness, ranging from just shadier than vanilla, to the most dark. You can download it here.
Improved Map with Visible Roads
Fallout 4’s default map is murky, and certain aspects, like roads, are hard to distinguish. It gets the job done, but it could easily display geographical information more clearly. Mm137 has spruced up the default map. The mod replaces the murky original with a higher contrast version, which helps make roads, topography, and waterlines clearer to see. Because some users may find it too bright, there’s a slightly darker version as well. You can download it here.
Higher Settlement Budget
This one is simple, yet powerful. Bethesda places a limit on how much you can build in any given settlement. While this may not be a problem for some players, for those who have built fortresses out of Sanctuary, Tenpines Bluff, and other locations, this is a much needed addition to the game. With this tool, author GrimTech – PatrickJr helps you place even more objects of any kind in any settlement you like. It will also pair well with the SSEx mod featured below. You can download it here.
Settlement Supplies Expanded (SSEx)
As its name implies, this mod expands the supplies available to build and craft at settlements. Author Troy Irving wondered why there was such a low number of objects at his disposal, so he’s been adding more. This includes (as of press time, or mod update 1.8): 71 useable furniture items, 80 doors, 228 static objects, and an alternate power armor rack. There are custom categories, along with other additions. The project is so extensive and deep, he’s written a guide to all of the objects players can take advantage of. You can download it here.
Fallout 4 Configuration Tool by Bilago
Players who love to endlessly tweak their game configurations will enjoy this mod. The tool adds an expanded configuration launcher with a variety of helpful features. Some of these include an FOV tracker, a Pip Boy color changer, toggles for Depth of Field and Bokeh, toggles for Mouse Acceleration, framerate lock, mouse sensitivity, and windowed borderless mode. Bilago notes that this is still a work in progress. You can download it here.
Fallout 4 Texture Optimization Project
Not everyone can play Bethesda’s latest at Ultra settings with all the bells and whistles turned on. The game’s vanilla textures are massive, with ground textures running at 2048×2048 and plant textures running at 1024×1024. The Mod’s author, torcher, wants to improve Fallout 4’s framerate without sacrificing much visual fidelity at middle and long distances, especially for players who need all the extra FPS they can get. The modder has replaced the game’s textures with lower resolution textures that still retain an acceptable appearance. You can download it here.
Full Dialogue Interface
You may have noticed that the provided dialogue options don’t always match up with what your character will actually say. Sometimes, this is only a slight, harmless change in wording. Other times, however, what he or she actually says is drastically different than what the dialogue option presented. The Full Dialogue Interface mod changes the dialogue prompts so that they reflect exactly what your character will say if you choose that option. The default appearance is a list format with numbers in brackets, but the modders, Shadwar and Ciro, have included several appearance options based on your preferences, including one that looks like the vanilla diamond-shaped format. You can download it here.
Bonus Mods:
Darker Worn Helmeted cage armor – The visual retexturing done here is better looking than vanilla.
Clean Power Armor HUD – Those who can’t stand the intrusive Power Armor UI will enjoy this one, although it could also be improved.
