FNV Modding Guide

Where or how do I start?

This guide will teach you how to install mods for the game, covering necessary tools such as MO2, Wabbajack, xLODEdit, etc.,
that will make modding a little bit easier than learning C#, C++, and Java simultaniously all at once.


Jump to MO2 guide Jump to Wabbajack guide


Do NOT skip anything in the guide. If anything is written here, it was for a reason.

THIS WILL NOT WORK WITH THE Bethesda.net/MICROSOFT STORE/XBOX GAME PASS VERSION OF Fallout: New Vegas!

TTW (Tale of Two Wastelands) will not be covered in this guide.

FOR MO2 logoUSERS -

This part will cover how to manually install the Mod Organizer 2
application, and make some use of it. You don't need a Nexus Premium
subscription, but you will need Fallout NV Ultimate Edition.

Step 1 - Make sure you have Fallout: New Vegas + every DLC.
You can purchase the Ultimate edition on Steam/Epic/GOG for $19.99.
Sometimes it’ll be on discount for cheaper. DO NOT BUY THE BASE GAME AND
NOTHING ELSE OR YOU’LL HAVE AN ISSUE WHEN USING MODS IN THE GAME! Skip this
step if you already own it.

Step 1A - Make sure your Steam folder is outside of Program Files / Program Files (x86)
(Skip this step if you already have it outside any of those folders. The OneDrive folder and
AppData folders will also not work if you are currently following this procedure).

To move it, you’ll need to (According to Steam’s own website):

1 - Exit the Steam client application

2 - Navigate to the Steam installation folder. The default installation location is C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\

3 - Delete all of the files and folders except the steamapps and userdata folders and steam.exe

4 - Cut and paste the whole Steam folder to the new location, for example: C:\Games\Steam\

5 - Launch Steam and log into your account.


IMPORTANT: MAKE SURE YOU REMEMBER YOUR STEAM LOGIN CREDENTIALS!
If you are having issues, refer to here.

Step 1B - Install it, or uninstall the game if you already have it installed and travel to
“C:\[any other folder from Program Files/Program Files (x86)]\Steam\steamapps\common”, and delete
the entire Fallout New Vegas folder, then go to “C:\Documents\My Games”, then delete the entire FalloutNV
folder. Reinstall the game and run the game normally on Steam to generate your .ini files, then close out of it.

Step 2 - Log into Nexus Mods by creating an account or logging into your already existing account, then finding
the game “Fallout: New Vegas” / “New Vegas”. Alternatively, you can travel here
to get to where you need.

Step 3 - Search and install “xNVSE”, the 4GB Patcher, AND BSA decompressor. Drag them into your root folder
(C:\Games (or whatever you named it if you moved steam out of Program Files/Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout New Vegas)
and run the 4GB patcher. Once that’s done, run the BSA decompressor. If you have the Epic Games Store version, install the “Epic Games Patcher” mod.

If you are not sure what each do, here’s what it says on their Nexus page:


xNVSE

The New Vegas Script Extender, or NVSE for short, is a modder's resource that expands the scripting capabilities of Fallout: NV.
It does so without modifying the executable files on disk, so there are no permanent side effects.



4GB Patcher

Simple patcher to make Fallout New Vegas 4GB Aware. Supports all known Steam and GoG versions. The EPIC Games, Bethesda.net
and XBOX Game pass versions are NOT supported since NVSE will not support them either.



BSA Decompressor

Decompresses the Fallout New Vegas BSAs and repacks them without zlib compression for performance, additionally transcodes
the .ogg sounds effects to .wav so they work. It also extracts any mp3 files to loose files because they will not play when in a BSA.



Step 4 - Install Mod Organizer 2 (MO2) and put it somewhere like C:\Utilities or C:\Modding for example. Cannot be in any Program Files folder.

Step 5 - Once MO2 is set up, re-run the game from MO2 just in case. Do not pick the option that takes you straight into the game.

You're technically done from here, but you still would want to put in a couple of mods to patch it or make it better. Refer to here for mods.

Either way, here's a guide on how to install your own mods:

1 - Download whatever you want + it's dependencies if it has any.

2 - Go back to MO2, click the top left icon with a disc, and click on it.

3 - Search through your files for the mod you want. It'll usually be in Downloads if you are on Windows.

4 - Install the mod. If it has toggleable options, make sure you toggle what you want AND patches if it has any on that window.

5 - Click "Install" or "Download", then drag the mod up or down to where you want it. It does sort of matter where you put it, but barely.

6 - If you see your number count up in your ESP/ESMs, or you see more of them, it probably has a ESP/ESM. It matters where you put them by a mile.

Load Orders

If you have your mods, you'll notice there's .esp/.esm's on the right hand side in plugins.
You WILL need to organize your load order properly to ensure no mod is broken.

You can do so by dragging them either up or down by holding your left mouse, then dropping them
in a spot you determine is correct. Some mods on the Nexus will tell you where to put them in
your load order.


FOR Wabbajack USERS -

The process here is relativly easy to follow through, unless you have a free account on Nexus Mods,
so I would HIGHLY recommend you get a Nexus Premium subscription either by claiming the 3-day trial
or purchasing it with your money, which is $7.99/mo, unless you are downloading lighter lists like
Viva New Vegas, which is what we are covering + another modpack I really like.

1 - Download Wabbajack. You can look it up on Google or Firefox or whatever browser you're using.

2 - Create a new folder in your C:\ drive (or whatever drive you're using) called "Modding".

3 - Once you have downloaded Wabbajack, extract the zip folder it downloads to the folder you made.
There should ONLY be an executable file when you place it.

4 - Run the exe. You should see new things pop up in the Modding folder.

5 - Once it opens, go to its settings and log into Nexus Mods. If you don't already have a Nexus Mods
account, Wabbajack requires a Nexus Mods account to download things.

6 - If you are downloading a huge modpack, you will need a Nexus Premium account. Though it isn't required,
if you don't have it, you're just gonna sit there clicking download every 45 seconds. Think about how much time it would take.

If you are going to play using Wabbajack, I highly recommend "FNV Wild Card" if you have the required specifications.


MINIMUM:


RECOMMENDED:

If you want to install it, here's how you would usually do it:

Guide to Nexus page; I recommend using the guide there.

*Skip step 1 if you have never played NV or just installed it for the first time


1 - Uninstall Fallout New Vegas from Steam/GOG, then go to "Documents\My Games". Delete the whole FalloutNV folder.

2 - Reinstall Fallout New Vegas, and run it once normally from Steam to generate INIs. Once you get past the
game automatically making graphic setting changes in there, exit out.

3 - Open two instances of File Explorer (You can do that using Windows Key + E) and, on one of them, navigate to
where you installed Wabbajack. It should be in the folder you made. On another instance, go into your C:\ drive,
and create a new folder, "Modlists".

4 - Go to where you would download modlists in Wabbajack, and toggle "Non-featured". Search for the modlist.

5 - Download the modpack, and where it wants you to download to, create these folders in your C:\ Drive as follows:

C:\Modlists\Fallout Wild Card\downloads


The downloads folder will be where Wabbajack installs the mods, and "Fallout Wild Card" will be your Root folder.

6 - Once you see that your install is done, you can close out. DO NOT CREATE A SHORTCUT TO IT!

7 - Open the file directory and open "modorganizer.exe" to open the Mod Organizer 2 UI for Wild Card.

8 - Once you've done that, go to where it says "FNV Wild Card", but do NOT run it! Instead, click on the name to open
a drop-down menu, and click "Configure Game Settings". Customize them to your liking, then close out.

9 - Once you're done, click back on the drop-down menu and click "FNV Wild Card." You should be good to go to play!

9A - Click on the profiles on the top above the mods, and click on whatever profile you want to play. You have a choice on what you do there.

9B - Unless you love having support for some reason or you can't use Discord, customize it to your liking! If you do want to maintain support, do not edit
ANYTHING or add ANY mod. You can only toggle mods that have a "[O]" tag at the beginning. (Tip: Use Ctrl + F to search for mods with that.)

You should be good to go on playing Fallout Wild Card!

(fun fact!: you can actually install TTW on this! It just takes some effort and time.)

SALVO 2

You ever wanted your game to look like the graphics were ripped out of a modern game like Cyberpunk 2077 or RDR2? Well there's another Wabbajack
modlist for THAT! There will be videos below explaining the installation on how to install SALVO 2.


SALVO 2 on Nexus Mods - Has the files you will need.


SALVO 2: How to install BSA Decompressor for SALVO 2 on YouTube


SALVO 2 Install Guide - CORE on YouTube


SALVO 2 Install Guide - PRIME on YouTube