There are times in Fallout 4 when one gets weary of setting the world on fire. After all, its post-apocalyptic world is begging to be taken seriously, but the game on its base version doesn't really make this easy, especially with all the janky animations and poor scripting. That's why mods exist, and can help the game look and feel like how the concept artists intended.
Fallout 4's modding community, much like Skyrim's, is full of talented programmers and modders who make the game better and more serviceable. The best of these mods supplement the game's lore or iron out some mechanical kinks that break immersion. So for players seeking out newfound appreciation for a six-year-old game, then these mods will breathe a new life to Fallout 4's wasteland.
10 HUDFramework
One of the worst things about and vanilla Bethesda RPG is usually the user interface. They were made with console convenience in mind, making the controls and UI elements clunky on PC. Fallout 4 is no exception. Fiddling through the terrible UI can easily make players frustrated and take them out of the immersion.
That's why installing a mod like the HUDFramework is almost always necessary, even for those who aren't after maximum immersion. This mod is more like a template that lets players tweak and modify the UI to suit their needs or wants. It's easier to appreciate the game's visuals, gameplay, and story when players aren't wrestling with the UI.
9 True Storms – Wasteland Edition (Thunder-Rain-Weather Redone)
Even centuries after a nuclear war, one shouldn't expect Mother Nature to be so forgiving. Reduced trees and increased atmospheric heat will surely trigger some nasty weather effects. Some players definitely noticed that Fallout 4's storms are too meek and don't fit in with the general harshness of the environment.
Hence, True Storms – Wasteland Edition yearns to improve the disfavorable weather in Fallout 4. With this weather effect mod, rains and extreme weather conditions are more brutal, loud, and heavy. There are new sound effects added to make storms more realistic, as well as textures and redone fogs to better explain why civilization hasn't thrived too much on the surface again.
8 Start Me Up – Alternate Start and Dialogue Overhaul
In Fallout 4, players don't get much of a choice in their character background. They're always a parent, no matter what. For an RPG, this is a rather limited narrative despite the plot twist and payoff. Having a pre-made story isn't always the best way to make an RPG immersive.
Mods like Start Me Up - Alternate Start and Dialogue Overhaul makes Fallout 4 more akin to the RPGs of old, where players are introduced to the game world as blank slates. With this mod, anyone can make their own background story, and break away from the family reunion main quest.
7 Lowered Weapons
In Fallout 4, the default player animation in first-person mode always has the gun at the ready in a hip-firing position, even when players are starting a conversation. Just imagine how ridiculous and rude that is for anyone on the dangerous end of the weapon.
Lowered Weapons exist for the sole purpose of making the player character more sociable. The mod makes it so that the player character keeps their gun down whenever they're not firing it. This makes it more believable that they're a trained gunman.
6 Darker Nights
Nighttime in most video games tends to be brighter than usual in order to strike a good balance between playability and visuals. In Fallout 4, they're even brighter than most other RPGs, making night time almost inconsequential because it has little to no impact on combat or exploration (apart from timed quests or areas).
Darker Nights was made with the main goal of making the game more difficult, by adhering to the rules of thermodynamics much more faithfully. In a wasteland with a polluted ozone, one shouldn't expect much light from the moon or the stars. That's why the mod introduces pitch black nights, making night runs more dangerous.
5 Vivid Fallout – All in One
Fallout 4, despite being released back in 2015, looks like a 2010 game when it comes to graphics. Granted, graphical fidelity isn't known to be a Bethesda strongest suit, but some of the game's textures are an eyesore. They're too smooth or too low-res, not rustic or decayed enough.
Vivid Fallout thankfully exists, and it not only increases the texture resolution but also adds or overhauls some of the game's bland textures. The All in One version of the mod ensures that players get the full texture package for easier installation. Do note that this will bloat up the disk space consumption, since textures take up a lot of space.
4 Better Settlers
One of the reasons Preston Garvey's wretched settlement quests feels unrewarding is that the settlers have less personality than early-generation synths. Some of them aren't even grateful or interesting enough, despite being provided a permanent safe lodging.
Better Settlers alleviates this issue a bit by adding more settler varieties and activities. Now, the settlements can look more busy or bustling. The settler generator can also add random spawns with lots of factors so that no two settlers are alike.
3 Enhanced Lights and FX
As expected of a 2015 game, Fallout 4's lighting doesn't quite live up to today's standards. Even in its heyday, its lighting left something to be desired, hence the existence of tons of ENB presets and the like. In any case, lighting is a huge part of the immersion, as anything too cartoonish or vibrant can look out of place.
Enhanced Lights and FX lets players use a more consistent mode of lighting in Fallout 4. It also improves the light behavior and gives a more atmospheric look and feel. Moreover, the light sources are also overhauled, candles, for example, were given the much-needed flame sprites. Light also now bounces more and can illuminate partially blocked areas as if in an RTX technology.
2 We Are The Minutemen
The main reason that settlement or Minutemen quests are so unmotivating (apart from repetitiveness) is that there's little to no incentive. Preston Garvey just keeps barking settlement reclamations or defensive operations as filler quests or activities. No activities break immersion worse than filler quests.
That's why We Are The Minutemengives purpose and meaning to Preston Garvey's addiction to settlements. As players reclaim of prop up more settlements, they get better resources. The Minutemen also get a visible and ample upgrade to their presence in the Commonwealth and obtain more firepower. As a whole, the Minutement are also vastly improved both functionally and aesthetically.
1 Vivid Weathers - Fallout 4 Edition – Weather Mod & Climate Overhaul
There's already a storm overhaul here, but what about the clear or overcast weathers? Why not make them more atmospheric? As they are, they're quite bland either and can often feel like a fake Hollywood backdrop. Vivid Weathers - Fallout 4 Edition works its magic here.
This mod adds dozens of overhauls and improvements for the existing weather effects in Fallout 4. The author also assures players that these effects are lore-friendly. Do take note that they might override the True Storms mod, so players might want to install this one first and then the other afterward if they want to use both mods. Regardless, this mod combined with the others will surely make Commonwealth survival a more intimate experience.