Many gamers have decided that it is time to pick up mods after hours of playing vanilla Fallout 4. Here’s how you can be a part of the cool mods-playing community yourself.
Before we get started with the steps, we’d like to inform you that modding Fallout 4 is basic, it will become simpler over time. Bethesda’s official modding tools for its newest open-world hit are yet to be released. That, along with Steam Workshop support, should be available next year. Steam Workshop is Valve’s platform for allowing developers and general users to insert add-ons into games natively through Steam. This allows gamers to immediately add mods by clicking the “subscribe” button on a workshop page in Steam. However, even if it happens in Fallout 4, the approach we are going to mention should always work.
Let’s get rolling!
How to install Fallout 4 Mods?
Enable modding in Fallout 4
Before installing mods, you must first enable modding in Fallout 4’s game files, which will allow the game to accept the mods you install. To do so, follow the steps below:
- Open the Fallout4Custom.ini file and make the necessary changes.
- Go to the Fallout 4 directory folder and open it. When you installed the game, the location of the folder was decided. C:\Users\YOURNAME\Documents\My Games\Fallout4 is the default directory folder.
- Using a text editor, open the Fallout4Prefs.ini file. The file will be opened using the default text editor Windows Notepad if you don’t install a third-party text editor. Alternatively, you may use Notepad++ to open and modify the file.
- To open a search box, press the Ctrl+F keys on your keyboard at the same time. To find the [Launcher] section in the text editor, type [Launcher] into that search box.
- Below the [Launcher] section, add the following line: bEnableFileSelection=1
- To save the file, go to File -> Save, and then exit the text editor.
Open and configure Fallout4Custom.ini file
- Go to the Fallout 4 directory folder and open it. When you installed the game, the location of the folder was decided. C:\Users\YOURNAME\Documents\My Games\Fallout4 is the default directory folder.
- Using a text editor, open the Fallout4Custom.ini file.
- To the end of the file, add the following lines:
[Archive]
bInvalidateOlderFiles=1
sResourceDataDirsFinal=
- To save the file, go to File, click on Save, and then exit the text editor.
Install Nexus Mod Manager
Bethesda.net’s Nexus Mod Manager is a mod manager that makes it simple to install and remove mods. The first time you run Nexus Mod Manager, the application will do a scan of your computer to see whether there are any games installed. When it detects Fallout 4, you may opt to end the scanning and confirm that Fallout 4 is installed by checking the box, then clicking OK.
You have the option of storing your Fallout 4 mods in a specific directory. Otherwise, you may do nothing and save the mods to the default directory. If you store the mods in the default directory, however, you may need to run Nexus Mod Manager as Administrator to avoid problems.
Install Mods of your choice
After you’ve installed Nexus Mod Manager, you may use it to install whatever mods you wish.
- Go to nexusmods.com’s Fallout 4 Mods Download Page.
- You will be directed to the download page for the mod you wish to install after clicking it.
- To download the mod to your computer, click the MANUAL button and follow the on-screen instructions. The downloaded mod file will be compressed and saved as a ‘.zip’, ‘.7z’ or ‘.rar’ file. It is not necessary to extract the file.
- Launch Nexus Mod Manager
- To add the mod you downloaded, click the green + button in the left pane.
- Double-click the mod under the Mods tab, and it will be installed immediately.
Install any mods you wish by repeating the instructions above.
How to install Fallout 4 mods without Nexus Mod Manager?
After enabling modding in your PC’s Fallout 4’s game files, you can follow the steps down below to install mods without downloading the Nexus Mod Manager.
Searching and installing mods
- To begin, you should first research and seek mods for Fallout 4 that you wish to try.
- Choose a mod and go to the “Files” tab. You may also add mods to your library by going to the Bethesda.net site and selecting “Add to Library.”
- Select “download manually” from the drop-down menu.
- Save the file to your desktop or a folder dedicated to Fallout 4 mods.
Mods extraction and installation
- Go to the folder where you stored the downloaded mods.
- To extract the downloaded items into a new folder, use software like WinRAR.
- To prevent files from becoming lost or jumbled, use the “Extract to…” option.
- Copy the relevant files into a new folder.
- In most cases, you would want to copy the whole folder.
- Find the location of your Fallout 4 installation, which is usually: C:\Program Files (x86)\ Steam\steamapps\common
- Paste the copied folder into the “Data” folder in Fallout 4.
- If you are prompted to replace or merge files, click the yes button.
All you have to do now is stylishly swivel in your chair, put on your headsets, start the game and play!