Many Elder Scrolls fans hold Morrowind to be the best in the series. However, with RPGs and gaming, in general, having developed so many quality-of-life features and graphical improvements, as well as the fact that, two decades later, Morrowind can be quite buggy, many find the idea of booting up a playthrough daunting. However, with vanilla mods, new players will be able to enjoy this classic with all the modern amenities expected and bugs firmly squashed.
Vanilla, in this case, is defined as “as close to the original as possible.” Being able to experience the vanilla version allows players to appreciate the game for what it is rather than what two decades of modding can allow it to become, and vanilla mods are the only way to do this. While the entire Elder Scrolls series is famous for its modding potential, the following will give players as true an experience as possible to what the developers at Bethesda originally intended. These mods are best applied to the Game of the Year edition, which includes all of Morrowind‘s expansions. Using mod installers and following each modders’ instructions to the letter is advised.
OpenMW / Morrowind Code Patch
Either Bringing Morrowind Up To Speed Or Correcting Some Base-Level Issues
OpenMW is technically not a mod but an open-source software that takes Morrowind’s original engine and extends its capacities far beyond what was possible in 2002. It allows for better performance (including extending the draw distance), organizing save files by character, improved physics and NPC AI, quicksave functionality, a bug-free experience, and much more. All these additions are optional and fit appropriately within the game (for example, removing fog with the improved draw distance does not ruin immersion like San Andreas Definitive Edition did, for example, but actually enhances it).
However, for those who feel uncomfortable doing so, the bug-fixing functionality can be achieved with Hrnchamd’s Morrowind Code Patch, which can be used with Morrowind‘s original engine. New players should also know that while many modders cater to (and exclusively mod for) OpenMW, some mods, especially the older ones, are not compatible. Anyone interested in extending Morrowind’s graphical powers without OpenMW should look into MGE XE.
Patch for Purists
Does Exactly What It Says On The Tin
While some mods or engine-enhancing software do a great job at finding all the bugs and unintended quirks in Morrowind, unfortunately, many of them only address certain parts of the game but impose their own vision of how Morrowind should behave as a game. Overhauling Morrowind with mods might seem appealing to some, but it won’t do for those looking to experience the vanilla game.
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Put simply, Patch For Purist, the product of The Elder Scrolls 3 community, is an exhaustive bug-destroying mod that leaves the gameplay design decisions, questionable or otherwise, entirely alone. This is one of the highest-recommended mods for vanilla Morrowind, modded or not, and should be one of the first, if not the first, to be installed.
Unofficial Morrowind Official Plugins Patched
A Cleanup Mod For Bethesda’s Own Mod Contributions
As well as providing an excellent tool for modders to get started with their own tweaks, additions, and overhauls of the game, Bethesda released their own mods in addition to the base game and its expansions. These small additions, known as Morrowind’s official plugins, are well worth downloading, but unfortunately, they suffer from their own glitches.
Once again, modders have come in to save the day. PikachunoTM’s Unofficial Morrowind Official Plugins Patched mod fixes the various issues and even plays well with other world-altering mods, should players wish to dabble with them.
Expansion Delay
Prevents An Expansion From Spoiling The Main Story
When Bethesda put out Morrowind’s “Tribunal” expansion, they inadvertently left a large problem for new players. The first time a new player sleeps in a bed, they will be attacked by an assassin of the Dark Brotherhood for something they haven’t done in the story yet. The assassin’s dialogue even spoils the surprise. Due to their gear and stats, the assassin will easily murder the player.
Expansion Delay, by modder Half11, addresses this issue by having the event take place when the player is both at an appropriate level and has completed certain required story quests. This mod also delays NPCs talking about the other expansion, “Bloodmoon,” until the player is at an appropriate level.
Graphic Herbalism
Takes The Tedium Out Of Plank Picking
In subsequent Elder Scrolls games, players can interact with plants, mushrooms, herbs, and other natural resources, and their produce will be added to their inventory. In Morrowind, each such natural node is treated as a container. Players have to open it, drag and drop the item into their inventory, and then laboriously close the window.
Stuporstar and Greatness7’s Graphic Herbalism mod addresses this by making picking a one-click job, just like in Oblivion and Skyrim. This mod works both with OpenMW and the regular engine, but the latter will require the Morrowind Script Extender (MWSE) to play.
Better Balanced Combat
Addresses The Biggest Issue Deterring New Morrowind Players
As a disclaimer upfront: this mod is not 100% vanilla-friendly when it comes to adhering to the gameplay design philosophy of the game, but as combat can be the biggest roadblock preventing modern players from enjoying all that Morrowind has to offer, it is worth a consideration even for those who wish to throw themselves into dense classics. It is worth saying that it is possible to get used to Morrowind‘s combat system (especially when players remember that low stamina increases misses and high stamina improves the odds).
However, unlike the later Elder Scrolls games, Oblivion and Skyrim, a hit (to the player or enemy) is determined by a dice roll. The biggest problem with this is that when a hit does not land, there is no block or dodge movement animation to accompany the failed roll, signaling the miss. The player only sees the lack of contact and becomes frustrated by Morrowind’s “broken, impossible” combat system. While there are no mods to address the lack of animation or movement, Better Balanced Combat removes this frustration by guaranteeing a hit to players or enemies within the appropriate melee range, but it will make the game slightly easier in the long run.
