Main image courtesy Bethesda.
Despite several other Fallout titles’ status as some of the all-time classic games, you can’t talk about the franchise without talking about New Vegas. The near-perfect RPG comes in at the top of critic and fan rankings of the Fallout games alike – which goes to show you how wide the appeal of Obsidian Entertainment’s 2010 game really is.
But just because it gets Overwhelmingly Positive reviews doesn’t mean there’s no room for mods though. As the Republic grew, so did its needs. That’s why today we’re taking you through the best New Vegas mods we’ve ever downloaded, including:
Never modded before? Be sure to check out Steam’s New Vegas modding guide before you get started.
And just a note – all of these mods can be found on Nexus for easy implementation 👍 But if you aren’t a Nexus kinda guy you’ll want to follow the mod guide and recs over on Viva New Vegas for sure.
🖌️ Textures | 👤 NMC | ⬇️ 14M downloads
Bring the graphics into the 2020s. This mod retextures your environment including roads, trees, buildings, vehicles, and more with high resolution graphics that stay true to the original feel of the game.
🎮 Gameplay | 👤 antistar | ⬇️ 7M downloads
WMX mod applies three mods to every single weapon in FNV, including melee weapons.
🖥️ User Interface | 👤 Pelinor | ⬇️ 7M downloads
Take your mod management into the game itself. When you hit the pause button, a user-friendly menu pops up and allows you to configure your mods without exiting the game.
🪲 Bug Fixes | 👤 Queued | ⬇️ 6M downloads
Squash a bunch of the New Vegas bugs with a single mod. Implements structured exception handling and sanity checking to massively cut down on game crashes.
💪 Overhaul | 👤 Drumber | ⬇️ 5M downloads
Give Boone (and the rest of the NV crew, but especially Boone) the makeover he deserves with this mod by Drumber. It completely overhauls the characters with new head meshes, high resolution retextures, and everything else they need for a facelift.
It also introduces NPCs of different races, as well as adding different races for you to choose from when building your character.
🛠️ Utilities | 👤 kaburke | ⬇️ 5M downloads
Whether you’re using or making mods, you’ll want this mod in your arsenal. It includes features like fail-safe mod installs, mod info retrieval, mod versioning, and mod reactivation, which make the whole process of modding New Vegas much, much easier.
🖌️ Textures | 👤 weijesen | ⬇️ 4.5M downloads
This mod enhances animations and effects. If you’re looking for more realistic battle graphics, you’ll love the new crit kill animation scenes, HD blood, fire, and explosion effects, new bullet impacts, energy weapons projectiles and impacts, upgraded weapons textures, and more.
🎮 Gameplay | 👤 schlangster | ⬇️ 4.2M downloads
Project Nevada is not an overhaul… it’s a set of themed modules. The core mod adds FPS features that are conspicuously missing in New Vegas. Cyberware introduces new tech. Rebalance makes the game more challenging for seasoned players. And Equipment brings in new weapons and armors.
🛠️ Utilities | 👤 RoyBatterian | ⬇️ 4M downloads
Double the amount of memory Fallout: New Vegas can use to make the game more stable. The vanilla game only utilizes 2GB of RAM even if you have more. This mod enables the game to use 4GB of RAM, enhancing performance. As an added perk, it will also automatically load NVSE if downloaded.
🖥️ User Interface | 👤 jazzisparis | ⬇️ 4M downloads
When you’re dealing with a game that’s as… let’s say antique as New Vegas, the risk of accidentally “breaking” the game with mods is a real concern. That’s where UIO comes in. It keeps an eye on all of your UI/HUD mods and extensions so that you don’t have to – and that includes detecting, resolving, and preventing UI issues before they interfere with your quest for revenge.
📍Lands + Locations | 👤 djmystro | ⬇️ 3M downloads
Game getting too easy? Add some more intense locations to Fallout: New Vegas with A World of Pain. Includes 170 new locations, plus NPCs dialogs, quests, vendors, and some of the toughest enemies you’ll ever encounter for even harder-core gameplay.
🖌️ Textures | 👤 vurt | ⬇️ 3M downloads
Make the landscape look a little nicer… or as nice as a desert wasteland can be. This overhaul adds 100+ types of new desert trees and plants, and it makes the grass look more grassish.
🎮 Gameplay | 👤 Hattix | ⬇️ 3M downloads
Think the Mojave Desert looks just a little too cozy and inviting? It’s because of the orange. Fellout NV has been making the environment harsher and more unforgiving since 2008. This mod removes orange from the color palette and also overhauls the weather to make it more realistic.
No wonder people like it – it’s even considered one of the Best Fallout New Vegas Mods.
💪 Overhaul | 👤 sal203 | ⬇️ 2M downloads
Make your trek through the desert a little more realistic. This mod completely overhauls the visuals to give the weather, moon, lighting, clouds, stars, and more a more realistic feel. And when I say realistic, I mean the modder used real desert photos and tested extensively to get it right.
👾 Miscellaneous | 👤 carxt | ⬇️ 2M downloads
Tick count is a New Vegas bug that creates a noticeable micro stutter. It gets worse with better equipment, and considering our phones today are stronger than 2010s PCs, it’s a pretty big issue for today’s players even before they start throwing mods into the mix.
Combined with Hashtable Optimization that makes the game more efficient and a High FPS Fix that lets you play at 60+ fps without making physics and lipsync janky, NVTF makes a big difference in gameplay.
🎮 Gameplay | 👤 LogicDragon | ⬇️ 2M downloads
If you want to really put yourself into the action, this one's for you. This mod makes the player body visible when in first person, and puts any forced 3rd person scenes (sitting/knockout/death/etc) in first person, too.
🙂 Companions | 👤 llamaRCA | ⬇️ 2M downloads
Wandering the Wastes can get lonely. Even if you have Rex or ED-E along for the ride. Even if you have Boone or Veronica or Lily. Willow does more than carry some of your stuff and back you up in a fight – she forages, has mastered Survival, and has over 1200 lines of original voiced dialogue. Complete her quests and move along, or invite her as a companion. On the road, you can become friends, best friends, or a love interest.
Adult content must be enabled for you to view the original Willow - A Better Companion Experience mod.
🙂 Companions | 👤 olegbl | ⬇️ 1.5M downloads
No need to upgrade your Strength – your companions can carry your stuff. With the Unlimited Companions mod, you can bring along as many friends as you want. Not only does it expand your inventory, it also comes in handy during a fight.
🛠️ Utilities | 👤 Demorome | ⬇️ 1M downloads
Some more gameplay fixes – new functions mainly involving rest and fatigue, as well as some engine-level tweaks. While you can download the mod on Nexus, you can find a full list of features and updates on Github.
🪲 Bug Fixes | 👤 iranmrf | ⬇️ 1M downloads
If you wanna download alllllllll of the mods on this list (and more, do you), you’ll need this lil mod that allows you to add more mods. With the vanilla game, things start getting iffy by about 100. This mod more than doubles your modding capabilities, bringing you to a max of 255 plugins.
👾 Miscellaneous | 👤 korri123 | ⬇️ 1M downloads
Required for mods that include custom weapons and walking animations, this is another plugin that is likely to be required by other mods.
🛠️ Utilities | 👤 korri123 | ⬇️ 900k downloads
This is a tool for modders that expands the game’s scripting capabilities. However even if you don’t plan on creating mods of your own, many of the other mods on this list are powered by it (and require it to run). So best just download it now.
🗺️ Quests + Adventures | 👤 Thaiauxn | ⬇️ 900k downloads
If you’re not ready for New Vegas to be over when you hit the Hoover Dam, you’ll want this expansion. With new locations and hours of voiced dialogue, this unofficial prequel can be launched right from your menu.
🎮 Gameplay | 👤 Yvileapsis | ⬇️ 750k downloads
This is a collection of Yvileapsis’s essential mods, including:
And more.
🖥️ User Interface | 👤 RoyBatterian | ⬇️ 700k downloads
Adjust your Field Of View right from your Pip Boy
🧍NPC | 👤 PushTheWinButton | ⬇️ 500k downloads
Fight more raiders. This mod overhauls the current faction to balance their loot and boost their numbers.
🎮 Gameplay | 👤 PushTheWinButton | ⬇️ 250k downloads
This collection of vanilla-friendly game enhancements includes enhancements that have been fully merged, updated, and cleaned for easy upgrading.
💿 ENB Presets | 👤 Shrutesh | ⬇️ 200k downloads
According to the mod listing, this port of Fallout 3’s ENB of the Apocalypse is:
… a bleak and contrasty ENB preset; a representation of the ravaged world our Fallout characters inhabit. A world of chaos and suffering, of greed and pettiness, of destruction and of death.And yet there is beauty to be found in the harsh landscape; Solace, in the most unlikely of places; Hope, when there should be none.This world is a constant reminder of what was; and yet also one of what can be.For amidst the ruins and the abandoned wastes, among the abominations and the death; humanity still survives, struggles, and persists. This is still our world.
We’ll just leave it at that.
🙂 Companions | 👤 FO3Phalanx | ⬇️ 150k downloads
Grow your own Deathclaw! How’s that for a companion?
🙂 Companions | 👤 pintocat | ⬇️ 100k downloads
Instead of crowding your followers into the Lucky 38, you can set a home marker wherever you want them to return to.
🙂 Companions | 👤 Looca | ⬇️ 100k downloads
Take your unlimited companions beyond the bounds of the vanilla game. With this mod, followers will be able to follow you into DLC areas, too.
🎮 Gameplay | 👤 HonestSignal | ⬇️ 11k downloads
Randomizers often shuffle items, but this World Randomizer shuffles doorways. Any door can take you anywhere for a totally unique map.
🪖 Armor | 👤 WebbProductionsEntertain | ⬇️ 3k downloads
Missing your favorite outfit from Fallout 1 or Fallout 2? This mod introduces 10 new outfits/pieces of clothing from the earlier games.
🪖 Armor | 👤 FafnirEtherion | ⬇️ 1.5k downloads
There are many armor mods adding all sorts of things to your closet, from ED-E’s helmet to Doc’s Duster to Moon Knight to a Skull Suit. Turn your Courier into Cap with this mod that contains a variety of uniforms and two working shields inspired by Marvel’s Captain America films, including:
And more.
We hope you found some mods that work for you on this list. Want to see your favorite FNV mod covered in a future article? Drop us a line and let us know.