Mods to Avoid
This list is far from comprehensive. There are still tons of mods not listed here that will break your game. This is why it is very important to have some modding knowledge before adding any mods.
Always view every plugin you install with FNVEdit to check for conflicts.
Bugfix & Optimization Mods
ENBoost
ENBoost works around an issue (which NVTF already fixes properly) with a hacky memory sharing across processes. It also requires configuration based on the user's system and much like ENB, has been abandoned.
New Vegas Stutter Remover
Will cause crashes roughly every 15 minutes. Every single feature from NVSR has been replaced in a modern manner by the combination of New Vegas Tick Fix, New Vegas Heap Replacer and lStewieAl's Tweaks. These mods also have many great features that NVSR never had, like the high FPS physics fix. There is no reason to use NVSR, even on Windows 7.
Zan AutoPurge Crash Protector, PCB Hotkey, and Clear Cache Hotkey
The script command used by these mods is a leftover command from development that forcefully clears buffered cells from memory, which can lead to unforeseen consequences. Essentially the same function is performed safely by the INI tweaks in the guide.
Mission Mojave
Heavily outdated compared to Yukichigai Unofficial Patch, it will cause more problems and crashes.
FOOK, New Vegas Enhanced Content and Mission Mojave Ultimate Edition
Massive compilation mods like these eventually get outdated and break other mods like Yukichigai Unofficial Patch. For example, NVEC includes the old version of the Burning Campfires that causes save bloat, an old version of EVE that is even more performance-intensive than the current one, outdated bug fixes that break Yukichigai Unofficial Patch and much more.
NVAC
- It mostly consists of very generic null checks that allow the program to run even when it should not be able to.
- It can lead to increased instability and save corruption because of the unpredictable behavior after ignoring an error.
- Crash logging is impossible with NVAC, meaning you will get nonsensical and useless crash logs.
- NVAC's aggressive inlining and patching can conflict with other NVSE plugins. Due to the closed source nature of NVAC, not every conflict point is known, thus there's always a chance for NVAC to actually cause crashes due to memory corruption.
- Most engine issues have been fixed in other plugins, meaning that the only use case NVAC has in the modern day is to hide issues of "normal" mods (scripts, meshes etc.).
Visual Mods
AI-upscaled texture packs
Mods upscaled with AI or other lazy techniques generally are not worth the higher VRAM usage.
Oversized textures
Based on the object size and how the texture is wrapped around it, you should pick textures with a reasonable resolution and avoid the very big ones also based on your display resolution. Keep in mind that the textures will not be displayed with their full resolution at all times, in fact they will be scaled down because of mipmaps based on distance and other factors, as shown with these sliders. Just for reference, a maximum of 2K at 1080p is a pretty safe bet in terms of balance.
ENB
As mentioned earlier with ENBoost, ENBs were never fully developed for New Vegas and have been abandoned by the author. They have a ton of bugs and performance issues, such as broken anti-aliasing, transparent objects and glowing objects (though glowing objects can be mostly mitigated with ENB Glowing Objects Overhaul). They also use a lot of vision-obscuring effects like depth of field, lens flares, bloom and chromatic aberration to obscure the broken anti-aliasing, which makes them very hard to play with. I recommend using a ReShade preset instead, such as Vibrance or Vanilla Plus ReShade Preset.
Fallout Character Overhaul
Multiple broken file paths which cause missing mesh triangles and pink textures. The installer auto-selects patches for mods you don't have installed and installs the Glowing Ghouls file which causes massive performance drops and save bloat. It doesn't cover every NPC in the game (plus NPCs from the DLCs or mods), so any uncovered NPCs look very out of place. It requires the bLoadFaceGenHeadEGTFiles INI setting to be enabled, which causes performance loss due to generating NPC face textures on the fly in-game. It also overwrites many YUP fixes for NPCs. I recommend New Vegas Redesigned 2 Revised or Character Expansions Revised instead.
Handheld Pip-Boys, such as the 2500
All hand-held Pip-Boys share the same common visual bugs that occur if you enter/exit your Pip-Boy too fast. The methods these mods use to hide the Pip-Boy in third person are also quite janky, as they were made before NVSE extensions like JIP LN. These bugs and quirks have mostly been removed with Handheld Fixes though. I still recommend either the 2500a or 2000 Mk VI for wrist-mounted Pip-Boys.
Electro City
Has broken LOD that can cause crashing. Also includes unnecessary bloat and leftover features from a planned quest. I recommend A Little More Lamplight instead.
Vault 22 Flora Overhaul
Disables objects with the Has Tree LOD flag, which can cause crashing. Also has tons of unnecessary bloat such as new weapons, enemies, poison effects, skill books and more. I recommend Vault 22 Flora Overhaul Remastered instead. Be aware that the mod is still pretty performance-intensive and should be avoided on weaker systems
New Vegas Landscape Overhaul Remastered
Has broken navmeshes, disabled objects with the Has Tree LOD flag (which can cause crashing), many floating/clipping objects and bad balance. I recommend New Vegas Landscape Overhaul Re-Remastered instead. Be aware that the mod is still pretty performance-intensive and should be avoided on weaker systems.
Project Reality
Will cause massive performance issues and save bloat due to bad scripting. Check out Weathers Revised if you don't like Desert Natural Weathers (what the guide uses), but this will require you to disable or uninstall MoonlightNVSE and High Resolution Bloom NVSE to achieve its intended look.
Dragbody 10 Year Anniversary Pack and any other armor replacers
They break fixes done by other mods and have problematic assets that lead to instability.
Ragdolls
Broken meshes prone to crashing.
Interior Lighting Overhaul
Use Simple Interior Lighting Overhaul instead.
Weapon Animation Replacer WAR
Might cause crashing, use the newer kNVSE animations by author such as hitman47101 and rockbiter68.
Borderlands Inspired Numeric Damage
Has a bug that can cause NPCs to teleport directly to you upon entering an interior.
Content & Gameplay Mods
Any mods that edit timescale
Vanilla AI packages and scripts are based on the vanilla timescale, and can break and/or run when they aren't supposed to if the timescale is changed.
Project Nevada
Outdated, inefficient, bloated and broken. Most features have modern alternatives (listed below). Causes save bloat due to continuous quest stages being triggered, and some features either don't work or break the game (chargeable weapons, lethal headshots and the stealth/AI changes).Although it may seem counterproductive to install a bunch of small mods to replace one big mod, these alternatives are all more functional and performance friendly:
Core Module
- Dynamic Crosshair, Bullet Time, Sprint and more: Just Assorted Mods
- Grenade Hotkey: BATH - Backup and Throwables Hotkeys
- Headwear Overlay: Helmet Overlay
- Variable Zoom and Slower Backpedaling: lStewieAl's Tweaks (enable bAdjustableScopeZoom and bMovementPenalties in the INI)
- Immersive Health Visuals: Custom Health and AP Visuals
- Enhanced Vision: Enhanced Vision
- Explosive Entry: Simple Explosive Entry
- Immersive Primary Needs: Immersive Primary Needs
- Inventory Sorter: yUI with ySI - Sorting Icons, or Universal Item Sorter
Cyberware Module
Rebalance Module
- Better character progression/combat: JSawyer Ultimate Edition (enable bSurvivalModeDamage in the INI)
- Item rarity changes: Famine
- Lethal headshots: JIP LN NVSE (enable bLocalizedDTDR in the INI)
- Alternate repairing system: Repair Tools or Alternative Repairing
- Miscellaneous gameplay changes: lStewieAl's Tweaks (enable bMovementPenalties, bNoKarmaMessages and bRemoveSneakLabel in the INI)
Equipment Module
- Fallout 3 Weapons: Fallout 3 Weapons Restoration
- Classic Fallout Weapons: Classic Fallout Weapons Remastered
- Original Project Nevada WeaponsZL Armaments Remastered
Unlimited Companions (or any other companion-related mods)
Unlimited Companions re-compiles every script in the game and will break many mods. Use JIP Companions Command and Control if you want unlimited companions at the same time or other companion-related features like equipment managing, infinite ammo, combat-ready companions and much more.Before installing any mods that edit companion behavior, you should check if JIP CCC already does it.
Populated Casinos
Poorly made mod with many dirty edits, ITMs, and UDRs. It will also severely reduce performance due to the amount of new NPCs. Use Casino Crowds instead.
Freeside & Strip Open
Same performance issue as Populated Casinos. Adds many new NPCs and pieces of unpolished restored content that cause many bugs and performance drops and lacks any sort of performance optimization. Use Simple Open Freeside and Simple Open Strip instead.
Increased Wasteland Spawns
Causes save bloat due to using the PlaceAtMe function. Use The Living Desert and the Vanilla No Chanced Spawns Version version of Mojave Wildlife instead.
True Wasteland Economy
Incredibly script-heavy, will cause save bloat and deteriorate performance over time. Use Economy Overhaul or Harder Barter Faster Stronger instead.
DUST
Contains tons of errors of all kinds. If you do insist on playing it, DUST Tweaks, DUSTed DUST, and DUST - Additional Fixes are a must, optionally alongside DUST Expansion Project.
Weapon Mods Expanded/Extended
Overwrites Weapon Mesh Improvement Mod's mesh fixes and requires conflict resoluton with any mods that edit weapon records. It's also debatably unbalance since many of the mods are either silencers or damage increases.
More Perks
Made in 2010 without the use of any script extenders, so many of the perks are broken or have poor implementation. Use More Perks Reimagined instead.
CAGE - Continue After Games Ending
Broken, use Functional Post Game Ending instead.
NV Interiors Project
Causes save bloat due to the large amount of havok-enabled items that all have their individual positions stored on the save when you enter an interior. Use NV Interiors Remastered instead.
Classic Fallout Weapons
Countless broken meshes and leveled lists that will cause crashes. I recommend Classic Fallout Weapons Remastered instead.
Honest Hearts Reborn
Re-compiles every script in the game and still has many bugs after cleaning.
Cz52
Has broken meshes and recompiles all scripts.
Killable children mods
Might break quests.
Weapons of the Wasteland
Causes crashes.
Leave Conversation
Force closes dialogues, breaking scripts and possibly locking you out of dialogue choices.
Monster Mod (MoMod)
Has broken meshes that cause crashing and broken levelled lists.
Enhanced NPC Awareness
Causes random NPCs and companions after firing to become hostile to the player, among other issues.
The Storyteller Companion
Contains dirty edits.
Miscellaneous
Sinitar's Modlists
If you have a few hours and want more information about Sinitar's lies, scamming and lack of modding knowledge, check out this twenty-eight page essay that goes into excruciating detail about it.
Game Settings Tuner - GST
Bad scripting that causes save bloat and corruption. Use Stewie Tweak's GMST override feature instead.
DSOAL
Can break audio or make it lag.