Fallout: New Vegas – 34 Mods That Make It Feel Like A Brand New Game (2024)

Modding is the lifeblood of most Bethesda titles. The Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises aren't without their problems, but it's thanks to the talented and passionate modding community that these games are still alive. Few modding scenes can match the quality content made for Skyrim and Fallout: New Vegas. Considering the game's age, Fallout: New Vegas still sees massive overhauls and quest mods nearly every year. Some mods greatly improve the game's performance, while others add a barrage of new quests. While performance mods are fantastic, the best Fallout: New Vegas mods can make it feel like a brand-new game.

The sheer amount of modding support this game still enjoys even now is a great indication of why so many people love Fallout: New Vegas to bits. The game was a triumph in every way, combining the best of old and new Fallout to make for a tantalizing experience that doesn't really have an equal. While the bugs that marred this game at launch led to both fans and critics bashing the title for being rushed out the window, the steady stream of updates coupled with fan patches have made the experience more stable than ever before, letting players enjoy a masterful RPG where the possibilities are just endless.

Updated on June 9, 2024, by Ritwik Mitra: Fallout: New Vegas is considered by many to be one of the best games in the series, and for good reason. The combination of the deep role-playing mechanics from the first two games coupled with Bethesda's amazing open-world design made for a genuine treat that players can't get enough of to this day. With the immense popularity of the Fallout TV adaptation, it's easy to see why more players would want to check out the best Fallout game in the eyes of many. However, the visuals and gameplay of this title can feel a bit dated at times, which is why mods are highly recommended to bring the game up to modern standards.

34 Vanilla UI Plus

Downloads: 921,700

• Mod created by Axonis (ModDB)

It's no secret that the UI in most Fallout games isn't all that intuitive, and Fallout: New Vegas is no exception here. The Pip-Boy is certainly an immersive way to cycle through in-game menus, but there comes a point when cycling through said menus can become rather irritating. However, some players don't want to change the UI with mods so much that it's downright unrecognizable when compared to its vanilla counterpart.

This is why the Vanilla UI Plus mod is such a helpful tool to have for any Fallout fan. It does a great job of polishing the UI without making changes that are so intrusive that purists find it too uncomfortable to use. It strikes a perfect balance and makes the UI more accessible for modern gamers to get into.

33 High Res Local Maps

Downloads: 501,876

• Mod created by Ungeziefi & WallSoGB (Nexus Mods)

Players who open the map screen in Fallout: New Vegas can either check out the world map or a local variant that highlights things in one's vicinity. This is a section of the Pip-Boy that players don't use all that often because of how muddy the visuals are in this department, and any excuse to check out a high-res version of this screen would be something that many fans would like.

The High Res Local Maps do a great job of enhancing the resolution of these maps so that these screens become more viable. It's a nice and minor change that isn't too in-one's-face and does a great job of communicating what's around the player instead of leaving them puzzled.

32 High Resolution Screens

Downloads: 60,236

• Mod created by lStewieAl and Wall_SoGB (Nexus Mods)

While it may be a simple change, there's no debate that the Pip-Boy in New Vegas has a lower resolution screen than what the game allows for. It may seem like a minor thing to bring up, but there are a lot of players who may find the act of bringing up the Pip-Boy to be pretty grating after a point because of how ugly it looks.

With this simple mod, the Pip-Boy screen matches the in-game resolution, which makes for a simple yet much-welcome change that a lot of players will appreciate. This includes every sub-menu in the Pip-Boy and the many terminal screens that the Courier will browse during their adventures in the Mojave.

31 ActorCause Save Bloat Fix

Downloads: 528,120

• Mod created by lStewieAl (Nexus Mods)

Bethesda's Gamebyro engine was definitely quite groundbreaking when it came out, but there's no denying that this engine faced many issues when it came to the act of optimization itself. This made it frustrating for players who've sunk hundreds of hours on games in this engine just to save in the latter stages since this process could take several seconds and even minutes in some instances.

No one wants to wait that long for a simple save to be carried out, especially in games where quicksaving becomes second nature for many players. This mod reduces the bloat in saves when actors notice the player, reducing save times by a substantial amount. It's a small change, but it's something that players who have invested hundreds of hours in this title will appreciate quite a bit.

30 Lumen - Ambient Lighting

Downloads: 609,434

• Mod created by Grumod-Grulag and TheKevlarKnight (Nexus Mods)

New Vegas is a gorgeous game, but most people may not be aware of this when they check out the darker areas where the ambient lighting is painfully basic. This is where the Lumen mod comes to the table, changing how lighting works in the game, especially in dim areas.

The atmosphere of this game changes for the better with this mod, making it a must-have for players looking to completely immerse themselves. Immersion is enhanced significantly with these realistic lighting effects, which go a long way in helping players stick with this game for the long haul.

29 JSRS Sound Mod 2.0

Downloads: 328,562

• Mod created by MesserAR and JSRS Studios (Nexus Mods)

This mod was originally made for Arma 3 to make the firearms in the game sound as realistic and engaging as possible. Given how big a role gunplay has in Fallout: New Vegas as well, it's easy to see why a bunch of people decided to repurpose this mod for Obsidian's masterpiece.

The JSRS Sound Mod 2.0 has multiple patches for custom weapon mods, too, making it a must-have for anyone who feels that the vanilla sounds of weapons are lacking. Firefights become more tense and immersive when the sound of guns rattling sends chills down a player's spine. Players who consider audio to be a huge part of what immerses them in a video game will find this mod to be right up their alley.

28 Depth Of Field Fix - NVSE

Downloads: 469,749

• Mod created by WallSoGB and lStewieAl (Nexus Mods)

Depth of Field is an effect that certainly makes a game's visuals look more atmospheric when used correctly. Unfortunately, the vast majority of video games don't use this visual effect properly, and Fallout: New Vegas is no exception. Sometimes, this DoF effect bleeds into the player's view model, which makes things look way uglier than they should.

A simple tweak correcting this has been added via a mod to ensure that this Depth of Field effect isn't cranked up to the max every single time, especially in situations where it's completely inappropriate. It's a small change, but it's something that goes a long way in making New Vegas feel like a modern, polished game.

27 Essential Vanilla Enhancements Merged

Downloads: 404,739

• Mod created by PushTheWinButton and the New Vegas Mafia (Nexus Mods)

Downloading mods one at a time can prove to be a massive pain, even with mod collections on tools like Jabbawock making things relatively easier for players. Even then, most people need to pick and choose certain mods that are downright necessary if they want to play a game as dated as Fallout: New Vegas, which can be rather irritating after a point.

Thankfully, the modding community of New Vegas has evolved to the point where a bunch of enhancements that are balanced and bug-free can be added to this video game in one go. The Essential Vanilla Enhancements Merged mod is a simple but downright mandatory collection that players should get if they want New Vegas to feel as modern and engaging as possible.

26 Fog-Based Object Culling

Downloads: 390,419

• Mod created by Wall_SoGB (Nexus Mods)

There's no denying that Fallout: New Vegas is a pretty old game, but this doesn't mean that the title will run like butter on most operating systems. If players want to augment their experience with mods (and they should), then performance can take a pretty severe hit. So, it helps to download a file that helps conserve memory and improves the performance of this game without making too many aggressive changes.

This is exactly what Fog-Based Object Culling strives to achieve, hiding anything in the worldspace obscured by fog so that performance is improved at little to no visual cost. Given how unstable the Gamebyro engine is, it's easy to see why players wouldn't mind a mod that stabilizes their game and minimizes any chances of stutters, performance-related issues, and even crashes in the worst instances.

25 Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks

Downloads: 370,725

• Mod created by Roni8501 (Nexus Mods)

A lot of work was put into making New Vegas look unique and visually striking, especially when it comes to the game's interiors. However, as lighting has been perfected quite a bit in modern video games, most people won't be able to appreciate the atmosphere conveyed by New Vegas' vanilla lighting that is used in its interiors.

Spaces look too bright at times, which can make things look rather flat and uninteresting. Thankfully, with the advent of the Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks mod, players can easily turn New Vegas' interiors into something else entirely, retaining the vanilla artistic stylings while enhancing the mood to make for a visually rich experience in these contained environments.

24 The Living Desert

Downloads: 1,062,011

• Mod created by ElPascal (Nexus Mods)

The Mojave is a blast to explore, with the isolating nature of some of the game's areas adding to the overall immersion. However, there are times when players may feel that even some areas that should have people around end up being oddly barren, which can make the Mojave feel rather lifeless at times.

This is where The Living Desert mod comes into the picture. It adds several NPC patrols, events, and skirmishes in the game that make the Mojave feel more alive and engaging. Players who download this mod will be genuinely impressed by just how much life it injects into the regular exploration of this title.

23 Mojave Raiders

Downloads: 567,201

• Mod created by PushTheWinButton (Nexus Mods)

There are several raider groups present in the Mojave that players will interact with and battle against. This can make regular exploration rather interesting as players stumble upon various factions while traversing the desert, but many people feel that this system isn't perfect.

After all, despite all raiders being different with unique traits of their own, every faction ends up wielding the same weaponry and doesn't really seem all that different, especially when players loot them and see that almost every raider has the same items to offer. The Mojave Raiders mod strives to improve these raiders by giving them unique loot, making them more in line with the lore of each raider faction and adding more appropriate raider encounters to make traversal feel more engaging.

22 Just Assorted Mods

Downloads: 1,100,404

• Mod created by yvileapsis and others (Nexus Mods)

It's amazing how mods do everything, from overhauling the entire experience to adding small yet notable changes that improve the flow of gameplay quite a bit. Just Assorted Mods falls into the latter category, adding several small yet much-needed improvements that do a great job of making Fallout: New Vegas feel more modern and engaging.

Sprinting, bullet time, hit markers, dynamic crosshairs, weapon wheels, and loot menus are just a few of the many modern additions added by this mod. The gameplay of New Vegas is modernized quite a bit when players download this extensive and brilliant mod collection, which covers every base and can be customized as per a player's personal preference.

21 NMCs Texture Pack For New Vegas

Downloads: 15,175,657

• Mod created by NeilMc_NMC (Nexus Mods)

The textures of Fallout: New Vegas are anything but pretty to look at, so it goes without saying that a texture mod is a must to ensure that the game doesn't look extremely dated. The NMCs Texture Pack ends up upscaling and retouching most of the textures in New Vegas, allowing for the game to look absolutely beautiful — something that can prove to be a huge difference-maker in a title that is heavily showing its age.

With this mod, New Vegas genuinely looks like a brand-new title in some instances, which makes it easier for new players to go through the game. While some purists may argue that these texture mods compromise the core visuals of the game, those who don't mind seeing the creativity of modders in their games will love what this texture pack brings to the table.

20 Nevada Skies

Downloads: 4,733,127

• Mod created by Yossarian and Anro24 (Nexus Mods)

The weather effects present in Fallout: New Vegas might be pretty decent in their own right, but there's no denying the fact that there's way more that can be added to the weather in order to make it easier on the eyes.

With the Nevada Skies mod, the weather of the Mojave Wasteland takes on a beautiful identity of its own, turning the exploration of this game into a treat pretty much every single time.

19 Fallout Character Overhaul

Downloads: 4,968,328

• Mod created by Drumber (Nexus Mods)

The characters present in Fallout: New Vegas might be memorable for many reasons, but their looks are not one of the reasons why. However, with the Fallout Character Overhaul mod, this will become a thing of the past.

This mod upscales the textures of all the characters and makes them all the more pleasing to look at, which is definitely a welcome change since the look of these characters hasn't aged overly well.

18 Weapon Mods Expanded — WMX

Downloads: 7,069,415

• Mod created by Antistar (Nexus Mods)

Modding one's weaponry in Fallout: New Vegas is bound to be an addictive task to accomplish, and this is something that the creator of the WMX mod has realized.

This creator also made a mod like this for Fallout 3, and the fact that this ended up inspiring the people over at Obsidian Entertainment to integrate weapon mods in their game is quite an achievement indeed. With WMX for Fallout: New Vegas, this base modding system is expanded considerably for massively entertaining results.

17 Bleed

Downloads: 187,700

• Mod created by Roy Batty - Puppettron - Qolore (Nexus Mods)

Similar to Fallout 3, New Vegas' weapons are not that satisfying to use since they are not particularly impactful. Even on higher difficulty levels, the base game is still pretty easy, leading to combat scenarios lacking much in the way of tension or depth.

The Bleed mod improves things by changing how damage is inflicted, presenting a more realistic experience that packs quite a punch on Very Hard or Hardcore. Although this mod doesn't change too much on the surface, it transforms the Fallout: New Vegas experience as it forces players to carefully consider how they approach each battle.

16 Wasteland Flora And Terrain Overhaul

Downloads: 3,090,582

• Mod created by vurt and Marcurios (Nexus Mods)

Fallout: New Vegas is rich with character and environmental storytelling, but the wasteland is not exactly the most varied of terrains to explore. Eventually, all the trees start to look the same, causing the game to feel rather repetitive.

This mod rectifies this by adding a whole slew of new trees and plants, spreading more than a hundred variants across the wasteland. Even if it doesn't change the gunplay or add new story beats, this download makes the simple act of traveling through the Vegas desert more engaging.

15 World Randomizer For NV

Downloads: 13,757

• Mod created by Honest Signal (Nexus Mods)

Even though Fallout: New Vegas has been out more than a decade by this point, the modding scene still occasionally throws out a unique surprise. World Randomizer for NV is a brilliant idea for a mod, randomizing every door within New Vegas.

This makes the whole adventure unpredictable and singular since nobody will have the same exact experience. It's a must-try for those who feel like they have done everything Fallout: New Vegas has to offer.