I tried to find a list of mods that could be considered must haves for the PS4 that doesn’t include a ton of mods I’d consider to be cheats, so after several months of tinkering I have a list myself. In my opinion these are all excellent additions to the game that don’t compromise the integrity of the game; I’ll list a few cheat mods along with other excellent mods that didn’t quite make the cut as honorable mentions.
- USO – Unlocked Settlement Objects is a great addition for anyone who likes making settlements- it can be an almost overwhelming amount of new things to build with but you’ll quickly get to grips with it once you’ve figured out how to navigate the menus. This mod does cause the game to lag out for a few seconds when you open workshop mode, but that’s a problem with how mods are forced to function on console.
Place Anywhere Tool – Another great tool for building settlements, this helps you place things where you want to place them. Simple, effective and does exactly what it says on the tin. - Integrated Commonwealth- Quite a few mods by ANDREWCX are on this list it turns out. This is for the folks who have the season pass (or at least Automatron, Far Harbor and Nuka World)- now you’ll be able to find DLC items and creatures rarely in the commonwealth and in the other DLC areas- creatures from the DLCs won’t start appearing until you complete the Mechanical Menace quest.
- STS- Scrap That Settlement is a great tool that finally let’s you scrap all that nasty stuff you’re forced to leave around your settlements. Gone are the trashpiles, random bushes, and piles of leaves. Granted some might consider this a cheat because of how many resources scrapping can net you, but realistically the only more rare resource you’ll find yourself with barrels of is fertiliser.
- The Beantown Interiors Project, Stumble Upon Interiors and Lexington Interiors- I’m growling these three together because they all offer the same function… they give you more interiors to explore! It really makes the game fresh again to be able to wander around and spot a door in a well trodden city that you’ve never been in before and inject the excitement of exploration back into your experience. Some may note that I’ve left out another mod that creates plenty more exploration but that’s coming up next…
- Plenty’o’Exploration OR Minuteman Watchtowers- Plenty’o’Exploration gives you more interiors and a few exteriors to explore, mostly around the Concord area, while Minuteman Watchtowers adds nine new exterior locations to explore. These are both great mods and I would recommend using one but not the other… unfortunately there’s one location both mods use and they end up conflicting.
- Dismemberment Overhaul (original version)- Makes the game gorier and more satisfying, and can lead to some rather funny scenarios. There’s a version where headshots kill but that’s up to you if you want to use it, for the purpose of this mod I’m trying to avoid cheaty mods.
- TCE – The Companions Enhanced is a mod that makes your companions look better and be somewhat more useful. It also fixes Mama Murphy’s zombie face which is a plus.
- Simple Settlers (Mortal Edition)- Gives settlers names, increases the number of variants for their appearance and provides a small chance to recruit functional child settlers. Just a nice bit of immersion added.
- Better Graphics and Weather – Really, this does what it says on the tin, just improving the lighting and feel of the game at times- nights are actually dark! Some prefer Weather Redux which is a great mod but adds new weather systems I’m not really a fan of, but I’d definitely recommend giving either a try!
- Water Redux – Lots of the water mods make all water crystal clear or all murky; I find this mod strikes a nice balance and manages to get the water looking just right.
- Insignificant Object Remover – This helps with performance by removing about a quarter of the grass and rubbish strewn about the commonwealth that the game generates on the fly. You won’t even notice the difference in how the game looks… all you’ll notice is that the game is running more smoothly.
- Dogs Not Brahmin – I’d say this is an almost essential mod. It removes the pack Brahmin of caravans and provisioners and replaces them with junkyard dogs. Simple, effective and removes massive animals that end up on rooves because they have no idea how to navigate the environment.
- NPCs Travel – Adds over 130 random encounters you can find patrolling across the roads of the commonwealth. It’s more immersive when you bump into some minutemen wandering along and adds a bit of challenge when you bump into some gunners instead.
- Loaded Loading Screens – “but Psychosociety, why is a mod for loading screens a must have?” I’m not going to answer that question. I don’t want to tell you anything else. Just install it. Trust me.
- Pip-Boy Flashlight (Brighter) – Only really necessary if you have a mod that makes nights darker, but if you do, this is an absolutely essential addition.
- Shotgun Surgeon Perk – This mod replaces the useless Basher perk in the strength tree with one that increases your damage with shotguns and scattered lasers. I don’t consider this a cheat, I think it was an oversight on Bethesda’s part to make it so no perks affect shotguns. This fixes that by replacing a useless perk with a very useful one; I believe it’s balanced as 8 strength is quite the investment.
- Eli’s Tweaks & Fixes All In One – As it says on the tin, this is just a bunch of tweaks and fixes that really help. I’m not a big fan of the fact that it increases your resources gained from water, electricity, and defense in settlements as it’s a bit cheaty but that can’t be helped- the rest of the changes are great ones.
There are several home mods worth mentioning that are static and don’t give you a bunch of freebies. I’d recommend Elianora’s Marlborough Mansion and Outfield Retreat homes, whilst Shezrie’s Fenway Apartment is the one I’m currently using and liking a lot.
Now for the honorable mentions. Unified Clothing Overhaul (UCO) is an absolute must have in my opinion, but many consider it to be a cheat mod- no-one forces you to put ballistic weave on your bandana, that’s your decision. SimpleSeasons is a great series of mods that allow you to change how the environment looks, making things a bit greener, but I’ve not included it in the list as using one of these mods compromises the ‘fallout feel’ for me personally.
Buffed Minuteman Militia 2 is another great, well liked mod, though I don’t really side with the minutemen all that often and it can mess either Integrated Commonwealth’s leveled lists so I run without it (definitely a great addition if you just have the base game however!) Sanctuary Hot Springs and Settlement is an excellent player home mod however I prefer to avoid it simply because none of the decorations are static and I end up knocking everything over anyway, kinda ruining the aesthetic. OCDecorator is a great addition if you do want to decorate, I used to run with this mod a lot but unfortunately I’ve found running this plus USO can lead the game to crashing often when you open workshop mode.
Another amazing mod is FreeFall 4- it’s a pretty amazing mod that fixes a lot of bugs and fixes throughout the game and adds in cut content, however it’s a mod of enormous scope and if you’d like to use it it’s best to do so with it standalone- I personally use several other mods that add in some of the cut content and just live with the bugs for the sake of having a fair few mods installed. Finally I’d like to throw you cheaters a bone- Cheat Room and Freemaker are both great mods that let you pretty much make anything and get anything in the game, allowing you to so whatever the hell you like.
I’m not great at Reddit formatting so please forgive any errors, and if you have any other suggestions for mods I should add to this list please leave feedback. I hope this helps someone out there improve their Fallout 4 experience on PS4.
Original Link – Continuation of discussion
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