Best mods for Fallout 4 on PC

Fallout 4

Fallout 4 allows you to take on an American life after nuclear fallout, but instead of rescuing people, forming settlements, putting the Minutemen back together and finding your son, why not customize the experience to suit your needs? There are thousands of mods available for Bethesda's title and many of them share similar qualities to Skyrim counterparts.

We rounded up some of the best to get you started.

Another Life

Why you can trust Windows Central Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Another Life

Similar to how Alternative Life works in Skyrim, with this mod installed you regain control of your destiny ... or rather how it begins. You will be able to select from 36 different occupations, each dictating starting gear, faction relations, and more.

Download Another Life

Armor and Weapon Keywords Community Resource (AWKCR)

AWKCR

Aside from the horrifically long name, this incredible mod allows for other mods to work some magic with a standardized framework for armor and weapons. Not only that but crafting menus, color and decals and slot usage are all affected, to help prevent conflicts. If you wish to add some more stuff for your character to use, you need this mod.

Download AWKCR

Armorsmith Extended

After installing AWKCR, you'll want to pick up Armorsmith Extended. This is a huge mod that does a bunch of things. It can allow for shirts and other wearables to be worn under armor — because who wears plated armor on the skin? — and even make it possible to wear bandannas and other accessories while rocking a helmet.

Other cool features include the ability to rename clothing and craft more item types.

Download Armorsmith Extended

Beast Master

Beast Master

Venturing out into the wasteland with only the companions Bethesda deems acceptable isn't much fun. There are a number of beasts that would make interesting followers, which is exactly what Beast Master unlocks. You will now be able to take a freaking Brahmin with you. Who doesn't want a friendly two-headed cow to take down some mutants?

Download Beast Master

Craftable Ammo

Craftable Ammo

You can now craft ammo. Here's to never again running out of rounds mid-fight.

Download Craftable Ammo

Darker Nights

Darker Nights

Just like Skyrim, the nights in Fallout 4 are way too bright for my liking. And just like Skyrim, you can install a wonderful mod called Darker Nights, which — unsurprisingly — makes the nights darker. You have a choice of just how dark you wish the nights to become too for some flexibility.

Download Darker Nights

DEF_UI

DEF_UI

This mod not only allows for the customization of the HUD (health, XP, V.A.T and other elements) but also the inventory and storage screens. It achieves something similar to that of Sky UI in Skyrim, making it much easier to manage everything, especially with a keyboard and mouse.

Download DEF_UI

Full Dialogue Interface

Full Dialogue Interface

This mod allows you to see exactly what your character is going to say in response to NPCs. When in a conversation in Fallout 4, it can prove frustrating to realize that your character's voice lines differ from selections on the dialog wheel. This is what Full Dialogue Interface addresses.

You will now be able to immerse yourself, knowing exactly what you're getting into.

Download Full Dialogue Interface

Homemaker

Homemaker

Homemaker (also known as Expanded Settlements) is a mod for settlement Gods. Ideal for the creative mind, this mod allows for the creation of larger buildings with ease, not to mention new build sets for unique styling of settlements and a massive amount of objects that can be placed at secured locations. If you're a fan of the settlement system, you need this mod.

Download Homemaker

Improved Map with Visible Roads

Improved Maps

The in-game map is handy to get around, but it doesn't show roads, which are far more important in the early game and on harder difficulty settings. Improved Map with Visible Roads does exactly what the name implies. It improves the map and adds roads across the board so you know where the nearest winding route of concrete is located.

Download Improved Map with Visible Roads

More Where That Came From

MWTCF

The radio makes for more pleasant long journeys and adventures. With More Where That Came From installed, you'll want to rely on fast travel less in order to enjoy the 111 lore-friendly tracks added to the list of songs available for playback. This mod, in particular, adds all the tracks to the Diamon Radio station.

Download More Where That Came From

True Storms

True Storms

True Storms is an exceptional mod, by the same modder who made the similarly named mod for Skyrim. This mod adds new weather patterns, sounds, visual effects, and other configurable details that give the wasteland some variability when venturing out the front gate.

Download True Storms

Unlimited Settlement Objects

Unlimited

This one removes the maximum number of objects that can be placed in any one settlement. Enough said.

Download Unlimited Settlement Objects

Unofficial Fallout 4 Patch

Unofficial Patch

Bethesda games need some fixing, even after official patches have been released by the company. The same authors of the unofficial Oblivion and Skyrim patches return with the Fallout 4 patch. Hundreds of gameplay, quest, NPC, object, text, and placement bugs and issues are addressed in the mod.

It's safe to use and shouldn't break the game unless you have a ton of mods, where incompatibility may exist.

Download Unofficial Fallout 4 Patch

Worthy mention

The Fallout 4 Script Extender (F4SE) deserves a callout in our list, even though it's not technically available through Nexus. This handy tool allows for the installation and running of more powerful mods that can take advantage of even deeper hooks into Fallout 4.

Agree with our list? Have some favorites of your own? Sound off in the comments.

Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.