The 10 best Fallout: New Vegas mods

Fallout: New Vegas is usually cited as the best Fallout game ever made. With great characters, a unique setup, and multiple factions vying for control of the ruins of Las Vegas, it remains one of the best open-world games. With such a strong following, it is no surprise that the modding community remains strong more than a decade after its initial release. Here are our picks for the best mods for Fallout: New Vegas and where to find them.

The Best Fallout: New Vegas mods – our top ten picks

Many mods on this list offer visual upgrades or add new quests or companions to the game. Of course, there are also some decidedly spicy mods for Fallout: New Vegas, but we won’t go into them here. Though they are a bit tamer, that doesn’t mean they don’t have a big impact on your gaming experience.

Related: The best Fallout 4 mods

Fast V.A.T.S and Kill Camera mod

Image via Nexus Mods

The combat in Fallout: New Vegas has a lot of growing pains, partly because of how it slows down when you use the V.A.T.S. mechanic. Thanks to some enterprising modders that doesn’t have to be an issue anymore. The Fast V.A.T.S. and Kill Camera mod cut both those processes almost in half, allowing you to stay in action longer.

FNV 4GB Patcher

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Because of the age of the game, Fallout: New Vegas won’t try to use more than 2GB of RAM, as this was considered the top specs at the time. However, playing it on a modern PC means it can probably access far more resources. That’s where the FNV 4GB Patcher mod comes in. This gives a minor tweak to the game’s settings so that it will use more of your PC’s RAM. With this mod in place, you’ll notice a significant decrease in load times.

Interior Lighting Overhaul

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This mod for Fallout: New Vegas aims to add a bit of extra atmosphere to the game’s interior locations. With the Interior Lighting Overhaul mod installed, buildings will get a weathered, more desolate feel thanks to more dynamic lighting options. It also aims to fix some lighting-related bugs and even adds a few shadow textures to enhance the overall effect. This is one of the best graphic mods for Fallout: New Vegas just for making the game feel more modern with just a few small touches.

JSawyer Ultimate Edition

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If the name JSawyer is familiar, it’s because it stands for Josh Sawyer, the project director and lead designer for Fallout: New Vegas. After the game was released, he created his mod designed to fix many bugs and issues New Vegas shipped with. This includes some rebalancing issues and fixing some technical problems that slowed the game down. The JSawyer Ultimate Edition mod is the best place to start when modding the game.

Nevada Skies

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The weather in real-world Nevada ranges from hot to very hot, but that doesn’t have to be the case in Fallout: New Vegas. With the Nevada Skies mod, you can have more than 400 different weather types during your playthrough, making each day that bit more dangerous and unpredictable. This mod goes a long way to giving new life to New Vegas and making it feel more modern than when it was first released. You can change many of the settings in the mod to make some weather more or less likely to happen, giving you more control over the world.

New Vegas Anti-Crash

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Just like any other PC game, Fallout: New Vegas isn’t without its bugs and issues. One of the most common problems is when the game crashes unexpectedly, which is why someone created the New Vegas Anti-Crash mod. It does some structured exception handling and other processes in the background to keep the game from crashing quite as often. It isn’t perfect, but it certainly helps, particularly on modern hardware.

Populated Casinos

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Did you ever find it strange that the casinos on the New Vegas strip were largely empty? This mod will populate them with generic NPCs to make the world lively. Don’t worry about Populated Casinos breaking the game’s immersion, though. Places that people usually avoid according to the game’s lore won’t suddenly become hot spots of activity. The Ultra-Luxe restaurant, for example, will remain empty.

Project Nevada

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With a team of over 10 modders behind it, Project Nevada is one of the most ambitious mods for Fallout: New Vegas. It aims to make the game more interesting and challenging by implementing new features like Dynamic Crosshairs, Bullet Time, and even the ability to blow open doors and chests with explosives. The package includes dozens of individual mods that can be installed or uninstalled as you play, with individual features accessed in the in-game menu. It isn’t a full remake of the game but a great enhancement to an already classic game.

Unofficial Patch NVSE Plus

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As is tradition for Bethesda games, there are countless bugs in Fallout: New Vegas that never got fixed during the game’s life cycle. The Unofficial Patch NVSE Plus does a good job of fixing almost all the major glitches, such as stuttering graphics and characters clipping through the ground. It works for the final patch of the core game plus all of the DLC, making this one of the most essential Fallout: New Vegas mods at your disposal.

Weapons of the New Millenia

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If you ever thought that the weapon options in Fallout: New Vegas were a bit limited, we’ve got the mod for you. Weapons of the New Millenia adds 45 new weapons to the game, most of which have new customization options. It even includes a custom store with a quest and a fully voiced vendor, making this a great mod to expand your arsenal as you explore the Wasteland.