Amazon's critically acclaimed Fallout TV show has kicked off something of a renaissance for the beloved post-apocalyptic RPG franchise, with an ongoing Fallout player count resurgence making the games more popular than they've been in years. Alongside Bethesda's Fallout 4 and Fallout 76, one of the titles that's benefitted from this the most is Obsidian Entertainment's Fallout: New Vegas.
New Vegas is generally considered by most to be the best game in the series, with fans loving its deep roleplaying, nuanced writing, top-notch world design, and high-quality DLCs (its combat is a step up from Fallout 3, too, though the newer titles have the ultimate edge in that department). One big issue with it, though, is that it's notorious for its crashes and bugs — something that the thousands of new players checking it out right now are no doubt finding out firsthand.
Naturally, many are turning to community-made mods to address this problem, and they're right to do so. However, finding the right mods is a difficult process without guidance, as many bugfix patches available on Nexus Mods are outdated and can actually make things worse. New Vegas Anti-Crash, for example, hasn't been updated since 2016 and currently causes more crashes than it fixes despite its name.
Over the years, many experienced New Vegas players have made valiant attempts to detail exactly which mods you should and shouldn't use to improve the game's performance. In 2024, though, pretty much everyone agrees that you won't find a better guide than Viva New Vegas. First put together several years ago, it's been frequently updated and maintained over time and goes over all the best mods to use to make Obsidian's RPG smooth and stable.
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Whether you're a New Vegas veteran or a newcomer, you'll find the guide very easy and intuitive to follow. It carefully explains how to install mods properly using Mod Organizer 2, and also walks you through what each mod it recommends does thoroughly. Everything is broken up neatly into sections on the left side of the webpage; you can stop after reaching the "VNV Extended" part of the guide for a nearly bug-free vanilla experience, or keep going to make your game "Vanilla+" with things like sprinting, lore-friendly content additions, and visual enhancements.
If you'd prefer an automated installation of everything covered in Viva New Vegas, the Wabbajack section of the guide explains how to use the Wabbajack tool to install a VNV modpack. Learning how to use Mod Organizer 2 if you never have before is a good idea, though, so I recommend doing it manually — it's not difficult, and the guide covers the process in detail.
Notably, Viva New Vegas serves tremendously as a foundation for more extensive modding, and significantly reduces the likelihood that "heavier" mods will introduce stability problems. I actually used it a week or so ago when putting together a load order for a new playthrough myself, and my game is running perfectly fine despite having nearly 200 of the best Fallout: New Vegas mods installed.
Despite the bugs and crashes present in the base game, Fallout: New Vegas itself stands as one of the best PC games ever made, and a must-play if you're a Fallout fan or you're looking to get into the series. The Ultimate Edition that includes all of its excellent DLC is just $20, though it's on sale for a huge discount today at GOG. It's also playable on Xbox and the Microsoft Store through Xbox Game Pass. You won't be able to install mods on these versions of the game, however.
There's also Fallout 4, which newer Fallout players may prefer since it has more modern visuals and gameplay. Admittedly, the roleplaying isn't as good, but it's still a fun game, and the best Fallout 4 PC mods make it even better. The Xbox version has mod support, too, and the best Fallout 4 Xbox mods are absolutely worth your time.
