The Best Fallout 4 Mods, Ranked

Key Takeaways

• Fallout 4 mods enhance the game by fixing bugs, improving visuals, and expanding dialogue options, adding to the overall immersive experience.
• The modding community proves that players still love Bethesda games, as they continue to create and download mods for Fallout 4.
• The addition of mods like Roleplayer’s Expanded Dialogue and Equipment and Crafting Overhaul elevate Fallout 4’s gameplay and customization options to a new level.

The Fallout series is considered to be one of the greatest Western RPG series of all time, starting as a CRPG series with excellent narratives and stories before Bethesda took over and transformed the series into a first-person exploration-shooter hybrid that had the same essence as their titles in The Elder Scrolls series.

The release of Fallout 4 was extremely hyped up in particular, with fans of the series being more than stoked by the idea of exploring the rich world of The Commonwealth once again. This went doubly for PC players, who would’ve finally been able to enjoy another new Bethesda title with a ton of mods to improve the overall experience. Some of the best Fallout 4 mods to augment the experience of playing this game can be downright crucial downloads for players, especially if the drawbacks of the base game are too much for them to ignore.

Updated on May 16, 2024, by Ritwik Mitra: With Fallout 4’s popularity through the roof right now courtesy of the TV show’s rampant success, it’s easy to see why a lot of people would suddenly be interested in modding this game. However, one thing to keep in mind is that a lot of mods don’t work with the next-gen update of the game, so players are encouraged to load an earlier version to ensure that the mods they download are actually put to use. It’s a simple fix that lets players enjoy the most optimal version of Fallout 4, with these mods doing a great job of modernizing Fallout 4’s gameplay, adding new features, and optimizing processes.

Updated on August 23, 2024 by Ewan Selmes: The popularity of Fallout 4’s modds and the health of its modding scene has never been better. There’s something for everyone, whether they’re a player who loves a lore-friendly quest or a radically new imagining of gameplay or setting. Although this list is ordered by number of downloads, every modder knows that sometimes, it’s not about the number of downloads – there are loads of great hidden gems out there. But these are some of the most popular Fallout 4 mods of all time, and for good reason.

42 Long Save Bug Fix

Downloads: 296,098

Bethesda’s Creation Engine is clearly showing its age, and this can be seen in the long save times that plague its titles after players invest numerous hours in these adventures. Skyrim was especially affected by this, and Fallout 4 is no stranger to this frustrating issue.

This is why so many players are glad to see that talented modders have added engine fixes that make saving less of a hassle for players. This particular mod implements some nifty fixes to make sure that players don’t have to wait too long for a simple save to go through after spending hundreds of hours in this post-apocalyptic adventure.

41 Fallout 4 Particle Patch

Downloads: 365,448

The lighting effects in Fallout 4 are pretty decent but are mostly made to gel properly with the base game. If players add mods that modernize the game’s lighting and make things more atmospheric, then this has the unintended side effect of making stuff like fog and smoke glow in the dark, which can be a huge immersion breaker for some.

Players who tweak the lighting present in Fallout 4 should make it a point to download this patch, which removes these glowing effects to make things look more natural. It’s a simple and pain-free way to ensure that players can enjoy the visuals of this game without getting too distracted by less-than-ideal effects getting in the way of their immersion.

40 Roleplayer’s Expanded Dialogue (RED)

Downloads: 401,895

One of the biggest points of controversy in Fallout 4 was the rudimentary dialogue system, which ended up being way too simplistic for its own good. As a result, the dialogue was barely serviceable at its best and downright laughable at its worst.

With the Roleplayer’s Expanded Dialogue mod, players can immerse themselves into the role of the Sole Survivor with greater ease. Depending on the player’s skills, their past actions, what they’re wearing, and everything else along the same lines, a player’s dialogue options are expanded considerably and make it easier for players to become immersed in a detailed, fleshed-out world that is easily one of the base game’s biggest strengths.

39 Reactor – A Fallout 4 ENB

Downloads: 407,316

ENB presets are a dime a dozen for a game like Fallout 4. So, it would take a really good ENB mod to actually make it on a list that is talking about the best mods for Fallout 4. Thankfully, Reactor has more than enough changes that make the game gorgeous and help players enjoy Fallout 4 to its fullest.

Fallout 4 isn’t exactly the prettiest game around, so it’s a testament to the quality of this preset that it turns the game into a modern title with state-of-the-art graphics and visual effects. The result is something truly magical and worth checking out for players who can handle the additional system load.

38 Equipment And Crafting Overhaul (ECO)

Downloads: 436,670

Crafting is a huge part of Fallout 4 that many players can spend hours on. The idea of customizing a weapon to incorporate a wealth of changes can certainly make combat more personalized and exciting than ever before, but the inhibitors limiting this system can be removed to make for a completely different experience that helps players customize their weapons and equipment to a degree they simply couldn’t have imagined!

The sheer number of options enabled by this mod is amazing, allowing players to tweak parameters of the Sole Survivor’s equipment that were simply untouchable at one point. It also adds new kinds of workbenches to the game, elevating their usefulness to new heights and making the crafting system way more engaging and deep than ever before. Players can take a while to come to grips with what this mod aims to improve, but spending this extra time learning how the mod works is quite rewarding once players finally form some truly unique equipment that simply wasn’t possible in the base game.

37 South Of The Sea – Atoms Storm

Downloads: 567,513

The Glowing Sea is one of the best areas in Fallout 4. The moment players find out about this area, they know that stocking up on radiation-repellant equipment is imperative if players want to even stand a chance of stepping foot in this irradiated area. It’s a high-level location in Fallout 4 where a single misstep can have dire consequences for the player.

Some people love this area so much that they’d love any excuse to revisit this area and see what else they can do here. Downloading a mod like South Of The Sea does a great job of expanding this area and letting players explore more tantalizing locations in the Glowing Sea. This mod had been abandoned for the longest time, and this new variant is a passion project carried out by a bunch of modders to fix any issues while also adding new content to the mix!

36 The Bleachers – A Diamond City Story

Downloads: 793,773

Many modders have done a great job adding additional content to the game. Suffice it to say, this can go one of two ways, with the majority of this additional content feeling totally out of place in the game. While players who have seen everything that Fallout 4 has to offer may not mind this comparatively amateurish content, some players don’t want their immersion to be completely broken by mods that are of a notably lower quality than the overall product.

This is why The Bleachers is such a huge achievement in the modding community. It adds an entirely new district in Diamond City that’s full to the brim with original stories, characters, and visuals that make for a great. There’s no doubt that most players will be more than pleased by the high quality of content offered in this mod, and it’s easy to see why it received a sequel that continues this trend of excellence!

35 MCM Booster

Downloads: 821,283

Many players will be using the Mod Configuration Menu quite a bit in Fallout 4. It makes mod management quite easy, with most Fallout 4 mods doing a great job of making themselves pretty compatible with this platform. However, players who download way too many mods will be quite aware of the fact that MCM can take a while to load and apply new settings for mods.

Players who don’t want these delays to impact their gameplay too much will have a great time with the MCM Booster mod. It’s a simple and intuitive way to hasten the process of going through the MCM menus without getting too frustrated with lengthy load times and the like.

34 Better Companions – All In One

Downloads: 929,409

Nexus’s Fallout 4 section is packed with mods for companions. There are makeover-themed mods like Koozebane’s “Loving” series or 83Willow’s Valentine REBORN, and there are others such as TheTalkieToaster’s Companion Infinite Ammo that focus on gameplay. Fallout 4‘s companions could be improved greatly, and modders have been doing just that for the best part of half a decade.

One of the best Fallout 4 mods of this subgenre is Better Companions – All in One. This download takes a more holistic approach than most other similar mods, opting to cover a wide spectrum while specifically focusing on gameplay rather than graphics.

33 Fallout 4 – Point Lookout

Downloads: 955,729

It’s truly impressive when modders end up integrating some truly massive mods in Fallout 4, and Point Lookout is certainly one of them. Veterans of the series fondly remember the great quality of the Point Lookout DLC for Fallout 3, letting players accomplish numerous objectives and interact with interesting characters in the process.

The fact that this entire DLC and its quests have been ported over to Fallout 4 is a monumental achievement. Fallout 4 may be one of the most modded games around, but things like this still wow players and prove just how revolutionary Bethesda’s modding tools are.

32 The Fens Sheriff’s Department – Bleachers 2

Downloads: 975,181

If players were impressed by the content added in The Bleachers, then its sequel would feel quite mind-blowing in comparison. Bleachers 2 takes everything done right in the first mod and expands it to a level that no player could’ve expected, making for a professional addition to the game that is rife with its fair share of quests, new weapons, voiced characters, and a bunch of enhancements.

The fact that this mod adds a whole new ending to the game is truly impressive and goes a long way in showing just how much thought and effort was put into this mod. Bleachers 2 is a great example of why modding should be encouraged in the community, letting modders flex their creative muscles to develop magical experiences that fans will appreciate and adore!

31 Project: Horizon

Downloads: 1,173,437

Horizon is a large-scale overhaul of most of Fallout 4’s systems to provide an increased challenge, new game mechanics, and an overall different experience while remaining true to the core of the Fallout franchise’s roots. The mod’s creator, zawinul, has been working on this particular mod for years, and it’s still being worked on.

Not only does zawinul overhaul existing values and systems, he adds new ones too to enrich gameplay. Horizon is balanced around Survival Mode gameplay, but it works well for other modes too. It’s perfect for players looking to spice up their Fallout 4 gameplay with increased challenge and some new mechanics.

30 cVc Dead Wasteland

Downloads: 1,902,624

The settlement-building portion of Fallout 4 is pretty underrated, with a lot of players loving the fresh change of pace it brought about from time to time. Still, a lot of people would agree that this mode feels a bit too restrictive at times, which is why mods are required to unlock the full potential of this mode.

This mod adds a bunch of special workshop items that are lore-friendly and do a great job of making each settlement feel unique. The variety of objects is immense, and players who are finicky about getting every detail right will love what this mod brings to the table. The usual selection of items in settlement building gets rather limiting after a point, so these expansions are always welcome.

29 High FPS Physics Fix

Downloads: 2,150,679

Sometimes, the simplest fixes are the ones that end up being the most helpful. Such is the case with this mod, which fixes the bug where the physics in the game get all wonky if players raise the FPS. It’s a mind-boggling issue that caused most players no end of problems until this mod came to save the idea.

The improvements in gameplay with this fix alone make it clear how important it is for games to be optimized before release. No matter what the player’s FPS may be, they don’t have to worry about their game freaking out as a result.

28 Buffout 4

Downloads: 2,171,584

There’s no denying that Bethesda’s game engines aren’t always the most optimized. Minor issues crop up from time to time in the form of slowdowns and the like, but there are times when serious problems may rear their head. Crashes are the last thing that players want from a game, and Fallout 4‘s unstable engine doesn’t help in this regard.

This makes it important to download mods that fix the inconsistencies in the engine to optimize processes. Such is the case with Buffout 4, which advertises itself as a drug that makes the engine run smoothly without generating too many bugs along the way. Humorous title aside, this is genuinely a great piece of programming that helps Fallout 4 be more stable, which is something players would covet if they’re running a ton of mods.

27 Enhanced Lights And FX

Downloads: 2,332,505

Exploration is a huge part of Fallout 4, making it important that environments look enticing for the entirety of the game. However, there’s no denying that the lighting in the game is pretty barebones and does an okay job of portraying the claustrophobic and post-apocalyptic nature of the game. For PC players, okay simply doesn’t cut it — they want this game to look as awe-inspiring as possible, and lighting certainly plays a huge role in this regard.

With this mod, the lighting present in the game becomes way more atmospheric than in the vanilla version. Exploration outside in the open world is pretty great as is, but this mod also does a great job of making interiors look moodier with the tweaked lighting, which does a great job of letting players enjoy the atmosphere of Fallout 4 as it should.

26 Everyone’s Best Friend (Dogmeat and Companion At the Same Time – No Console – No Hack)

Downloads: 2,684,512

With a total of 17 companions in Fallout 4, the Sole Survivor has to make a tough decision when deciding who they want to bring along as they head out into the great unknown. When it comes to good boys, nobody comes close to Dogmeat, the Commonwealth’s resident German Shepherd. The wasteland might be a cold place, but it feels slightly warmer when Dogmeat is around.

The Everyone’s Best Friend mod makes it, so the Sole Survivor can take with them both Dogmeat and another companion. This mod isn’t just inspired by the creator’s love for German Shepherds, as there is evidence to suggest Fallout 4 was originally meant to provide this option. This mod turns that rumor into reality and is a compulsory download for dog lovers who also want some human (or robot) companionship.

25 Fallout 4 — Texture Optimization Project

Downloads: 2,764,279

The reception to Fallout 4 was positive enough upon launch. However, one aspect of the game was underwhelming for many — the graphics. Textures in Fallout 4 didn’t really meet the mark for many gamers, especially on consoles.

In a bid to rectify this, the Texture Optimization Project came into being. With this mod, the world of Fallout 4 looks truly beautiful and worthy. It’s worthy of comparison with some of the modern AAA releases.

24 Vivid Fallout

Downloads: 3,384,155

While the texture pack discussed previously might be great in its own right, some players might specifically want the backgrounds and landscapes of the game to be more detailed. After all, these two facets of the game will be in view the most. These players should download Vivid Fallout.

This mod ends up enhancing the landscapes of the game substantially and makes for a visually pleasing experience that certainly won’t wear players down throughout their journey. It may seem like a simple mod, but it won’t take long for players to notice the difference and appreciate the simple way this mod updates the visuals of the game.

23 Scrap Everything

Downloads: 3,441,204

Some of the best Fallout 4 mods add new storylines, others enhance the gameplay, and an important few make the overall experience more convenient. The Scrap Everything mod picks up Bethesda’s slack by making it possible to completely scrap settlements rather than just a couple of things.

When the mod says “everything,” it is not exaggerating. With this mod installed, players can reduce their settlement to nothing more than a patch of land; an empty canvas for those wishing to start anew. This is a feature that probably should have been implemented in Fallout 4 from the get-go, but this mod at least fixes that oversight.