The 10 Best Fallout New Vegas Mods to Download

What are the best Fallout New Vegas mods?

Fallout New Vegas is arguably the best Fallout game in the entire franchise, but its short development time means a lot was left out.

Coupled with the fact that this game is now over a decade old, it’s easy to see that there is room for improvement.

This is where modding comes in, and fortunately, there is no shortage of incredible fan-created mods for this amazing game!

The 10 Best Fallout New Vegas Mods

Each of the mods on this list has been chosen based on the quality of improvements that they make to the game.

We’ve tried to add a little something for everyone, so you can create the gaming experience you want!

That being said, here’s our list of the 10 best Fallout New Vegas mods:

10. New Vegas Script Extender

Kicking off our list, we have the New Vegas Script Extender, which is needed for many mods to run in the game.

The NVSE enhances the scripting capabilities of the game, allowing for a greater level of functionality.

Almost every mod you find will require you to have this script extender installed, so we highly recommend grabbing it first and foremost.

With this script extender, you will be able to install as many mods as you want without worrying about it causing errors or crashes.

Essentially, NVSE helps increase the number of things the game can handle at once, something that is limited in the vanilla game.

Additionally, the NVSE improves the stability of New Vegas greatly, preventing game crashes and allowing it to run much more smoothly.

New Vegas may have started off as one of the best Xbox 360 games of all time, but this addition helps it run like new!

9. Nevada Skies

Up next, we have a visual enhancement mod that is a must-have for players who want New Vegas to look its best!

In-game, players spend a lot of time outside, wandering the Mojave between locations, and Nevada Skies sweetens this experience.

This mod removes the vanilla skybox textures and replaces them with over 400 weather effects to make the game really come to life.

Rain is no longer something only experienced in Zion, and instead, the Courier can run into it out in the desert.

However, because this is the Mojave, this mod also throws in blinding sandstorms for even more realism!

Nevada Skies is also highly customizable, and players can tailor all of the features to craft the experience they want.

What’s more, is that this mod also adds an interior lighting overhaul to better complement the outdoor weather effects.

If you’re someone who enjoys dynamic weather in video games, this is one mod you won’t want to miss out on!

8. The Living Desert

Fallout New Vegas may be one of the best post-apocalyptic games of all time, but that doesn’t mean it has to feel dead!

The Living Desert mod brings new life to the Mojave Wasteland by making it feel like a place where people are rebuilding society.

With this mod, several new elements are added to the game, including hundreds of new NPCs and scripted world events.

Now, players will find people traveling between New Vegas locations and faction soldiers patrolling and guarding their territory.

More raider ambushes have also been set up, making travel feel more risky and dynamic, even on major roads.

As the war between the NCP and the Legion gets worse, NPCs will react accordingly, with more people flocking to the protection of the New Vegas walls.

Similarly, the actions of the player will also impact how NPCs act, allowing what you do to have lasting consequences.

Even something as simple as clearing a road of dangerous creatures will cause the number of travelers to increase in that location.

If that wasn’t enough, previously empty locations now have new occupants, giving even veteran players new things to discover!

7. New Vegas Bounties

If you’ve played through all of the quests in New Vegas more times than you can count and want to experience something new, this mod is for you!

New Vegas Bounties introduces a new assortment of quests that fit perfectly into the world of Fallout.

With this mod installed, players will have the option of tacking down a load of dangerous outlaws throughout the Mojave.

Targets include everything from fiends and raiders to drug smugglers and even cannibals, providing a ton of variety.

Each target is also created to be the equivalent of a boss, and they become progressively more difficult over time.

New Vegas Bounties also has some fantastic voice acting that includes nearly 450 lines of new, fully-voiced dialogue.

What we love about this mod is that it adds just enough new content to give you something new to experience without overhauling the game.

It’s a nice, simple addition that fits right into the lore of the game, and it works so well that it feels more like DLC than a fan-made mod.

6. JSawyer Ultimate Edition

This mod is a reconstruction of the original created by the lead designer and director of Fallout New Vegas.

While Josh Sawyer has said he would be willing to work on the franchise again, he did bless fans of New Vegas with the foundation for this mod.

Due to the fact that New Vegas was only created in 18 months, a lot had to be left on the wayside come release day.

To make up for this, Sawyer released the JSawyer mod in 2011, which included tweaks and fixes that didn’t make it into the final release.

What the Ultimate Edition does is take things a step further, making this mod more balanced and compatible.

Although it keeps all of the changes made by Josh Sawyer, it also uses scripts to make things run smoother with fewer compatibility issues.

Essentially, this overhaul updates the older mod to make it more in line with modern modding standards.

We consider this mod to be a bit like a director’s cut of Fallout New Vegas, as the changes it provides come right from the director himself.

It is fascinating to see all of the little tweaks and improvements that have been added were missed before due to time constraints.

5. A World Of Pain

Like some of the best Fallout 4 mods to download, A World of Pain doesn’t change the base gameplay, but it adds a ton of new content.

With this mod, players can explore over 170 new locations and a ton of brand-new quests that fit seamlessly into the world.

There are also new items and weapons to find, giving players even more reason to explore the wasteland.

Best of all, the content added by this mod has been created to be difficult, meaning even veteran players will be in for a challenge!

While exploring, you can even meet new NPCs with unique dialogue, as well as new vendors and tougher enemies.

Everything in this mod has been created using things already available in the vanilla game, so you don’t have to worry about new assets creating conflicts.

You also don’t have to have any of the DLC installed for this mod to run, though there is an optional file for Dead Money.

This mod expands the world of Fallout New Vegas in an interesting and organic way, and it is highly recommended for players, both new and old.

4. NMCS Texture Pack For New Vegas

The graphics in Fallout New Vegas are definitely starting to show their age, which is why graphics mods are so popular.

However, not all texture packs are worth installing, which is what makes the NMCS texture pack stand out from the rest.

This is a global texture replacer, meaning that it overhauls absolutely everything from the environment to the building interiors.

All of the original textures are now replaced with high-resolution photographic equivalents that make New Vegas appear next gen.

When downloading this texture pack, players can choose from small, medium, and large options depending on the resolution.

The smallest offers 1024 x 1024 base textures, while the largest offers 2048 x 2048, though it requires the FNV 4GB Patcher mod.

This is because the high resolution can cause crashing, texture glitches, or low framerate without the patch.

However, regardless of which size pack you install, this mod definitely makes the base game look absolutely incredible.

Everything is much crisper and more detailed than before, making it seem like you’re experiencing the Mojave for the very first time!

3. Project Nevada

Project Nevada is up next, and it is a mod that aims to make New Vegas more interesting and more challenging.

This mod includes different modules that players can choose to add in order to customize their experience.

The Core Module is required, and it adds new gameplay features, such as improved FPS, dynamic crosshairs, sprinting, and immersive health visuals.

While this is the main module, there are also the cyberware, rebalance, and equipment modules you can choose to download and enable.

Cyberware adds high-tech equipment and implants that allow players to use powerful new abilities.

The Equipment module, like the best gun mods for Fallout 4, adds new weapons, explosives, and armor to the game, all of which are lore friendly.

Meanwhile, the Rebalance module adds several new options that make the game more challenging.

For instance, you can make food provide no healing, slow down leveling, reduce running speed, and make stimpaks harder to find.

We would recommend downloading all of these modules and giving them a try to see what parts you like.

Everything that each one provides can be completely customized so that players can create the game experience they want!

2. Fallout: New California

Fallout: New California is a DLC-sized mod that makes it feel like you’re playing a whole new Fallout game!

This mod starts players inside Vault 18, located deep in the San Bernadino mountains, and it features hours of new content to enjoy.

Set as a prequel to New Vegas, this mod revolves around a war between the New California Republic, the Enclave, the Super Mutants, and the Raiders.

While the new map is around two-thirds the size of the map in New Vegas, there is so much to do and explore.

New California also introduces a ton of new, fully-voiced characters, a new radio station, and a fantastic new campaign.

The storytelling in this mod is particularly praiseworthy, as it is filled with branching paths that really make your choices matter.

Players can also experience some truly massive battles that make the Battle of Hoover Dam look like a cakewalk!

If you love the west coast of the Fallout universe, we highly recommend downloading New California.

It offers a brilliant new experience that fits perfectly into the world of Fallout, so much so that it could be an official DLC!

1. Tale Of Two Wastelands

Taking our number one spot is one of the most ambitious mods ever created for Fallout New Vegas and, by extension, Fallout 3.

What this mod does is combine Fallout New Vegas and Fallout 3 into one seamless game that you can play all together.

As a Fallout New Vegas mod, Tale of Two Wastelands adds all of the mechanics from New Vegas into Fallout 3.

This means you can use iron sight aiming, ammo crafting, and hardcore mode, even while exploring the Capital Wasteland.

With this mod, players can choose to start at the beginning of either game and move between the two whenever they want.

By combining two of the best video games of all time, this mod has quickly become one of the most popular ever created for New Vegas.

Without a doubt, if you own both Fallout 3 and New Vegas, this is one mod you will never want to play without once you download it!

Summary

We hope you’ve enjoyed our list of the 10 best Fallout New Vegas mods and that it didn’t make you wish for a nuclear winter!

Fallout New Vegas is one of the best games ever made, and it remains popular today thanks to the hard work of the modding community.

Each of these mods comes highly recommended, and they can all make New Vegas feel like a brand-new game!

Here’s a quick recap of the 10 best Fallout New Vegas mods:

1. Tale Of Two Wastelands
2. Fallout: New California
3. Project Nevada
4. NMCS Texture Pack For New Vegas
5. A World Of Pain
6. JSawyer Ultimate Edition
7. New Vegas Bounties
8. The Living Desert
9. Nevada Skies
10. New Vegas Script Extender

Which of these mods are you going to add to your next playthrough? Leave a comment below.