Modding is the lifeblood of most Bethesda titles.The Elder ScrollsandFalloutfranchises 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 forSkyrimandFallout: New Vegas. Considering the game’s age,Fallout: New Vegasstill 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, thebestFallout: New Vegasmodscan 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 loveFallout: New Vegasto bits. The game was a triumph in every way, combining the best of old and newFalloutto 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 enjoya masterful RPGwhere the possibilities are just endless.
Updated on July 21, 2025, by Gerardo Molina:The fact that Fallout New Vegas is still popular despite having been released almost 15 years ago goes to show just how beloved it is by its community. Although its graphics are considerably outdated and the game mechanics have been improved upon in the more recent titles of its franchise, the game still manages to captivate players and deliver a unique experience. Through the use of mods, players can further enhance their gameplay by correcting a few mistakes that might be present, and introducing new elements that make things more interesting.
35OJO BUENO Texture Pack
Downloads: 1,718,535
As fun asFallout: New Vegasis, it’s undeniable that its graphics are a bit outdated by today’s standards. Back when the game was released, this might not have been as noticeable as it is now. However, thanks to a few mods such as theOJO Bueno Texture Pack, tons of in-game textures can be replaced so they look a lot better and the gaming experience is elevated significantly.
Most modern graphics cards should be able to run this texture pack on Ultra settings, as only 4GB of VRAM is required.
34FNV Realistic Wasteland Lighting
Downloads: 1,784,475
AlthoughFallout: New Vegasis a masterpiece, it can’t be denied that its outdoor lighting isn’t the best, which can affect immersion and the overall gaming experience. Sometimes the world just looks a bit too yellowish with an unpleasant tint of green, which is not what the desert would normally look like.
TheFNV Realistic Wasteland Lightingmod addresses this in a great way by modifying the overall look ofFallout: New Vegasoutdoor areas and giving it a more photorealistic look. This way, players will actually feel like they’re exploring a deserted wasteland.
33High Res Local Maps
Downloads: 501,876
Players who open the map screen inFallout: New Vegascan 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 ofenhancing the resolutionof 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.
32High Resolution Screens
Downloads: 60,236
While it may be a simple change, there’s no debate that the Pip-Boy inNew Vegashas 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.
31ActorCause Save Bloat Fix
Downloads: 528,120
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 sunkhundreds of hourson 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.
30Lumen - Ambient Lighting
Downloads: 609,434
New Vegasis 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 theLumen modcomes 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 tocompletely 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.
29JSRS Sound Mod 2.0
Downloads: 328,562
This mod was originally made forArma 3to make the firearms in the game sound as realistic and engaging as possible. Given how big a role gunplay has inFallout: New Vegasas well, it’s easy to see why a bunch of people decided to repurpose this mod for Obsidian’s masterpiece.
TheJSRS Sound Mod 2.0has 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 rattlingsends 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.
28Depth Of Field Fix - NVSE
Downloads: 469,749
Depth of Fieldis 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, andFallout: New Vegasis 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 makingNew Vegasfeel like a modern, polished game.
27Essential Vanilla Enhancements Merged
Downloads: 404,739
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 asFallout: New Vegas, which can be rather irritating after a point.
Thankfully, the modding community ofNew Vegashas 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. TheEssential Vanilla Enhancements Mergedmod is a simple but downright mandatory collection that players should get if they wantNew Vegasto feel as modern and engaging as possible.
26Fog-Based Object Culling
Downloads: 390,419
There’s no denying thatFallout: New Vegasis 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 whatFog-Based Object Cullingstrives 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.
