There was a time when the Fallout series was nothing more than a once-celebrated CRPG series that had slowly lost most of its popularity, with the latest game in the series — Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel — being reviled by the franchise for being a sub-par entry in a series that had consistently held itself to an extremely high standard… well, for the most part.
So, when Bethesda took over the series, fans were more than hyped for the next game in the series that would bring it back to its former glory. Fallout 3 managed to accomplish exactly that, featuring a brilliant open world and a new chapter in the series that definitely ended up being memorable in its own right… especially for PC gamers, who had modded the game to oblivion with some interesting results.
For players who want to experience Fallout 3 to its fullest on PC, here are some of the most popular and necessary mods for this title.
20 There’s No Such Thing As Bad Publicity
Custom quest mods are a dime a dozen for most Bethesda games, and Fallout 3 is no exception to this rule. However, players would need a filter here that lets them differentiate between good and bad quest mods that are released for the game.
Make no mistake — There’s No Such Thing As Bad Publicity is one of the best quest mods that players can download for the game. The voice acting is pretty decent for a free mod, and the quest carefully integrates the lore of the Fallout universe to make the game highly engaging in its own right.
19 Video Intercoms
There are several intercoms present in the world of Fallout 3 that players can use to interact with other characters in the game. However, the voice-only nature of these intercoms might not sit well with people who want the world to be more technologically advanced in every way.
This is where the Video Intercoms mod comes into the picture. It adds faces and lip-syncing for some of the intercoms in the game, which is a small yet welcome change that improves immersion for certain players.
18 Loot Menu
Fallout 4 added a ton of changes to make both combat and exploration a ton of fun in the game. A relatively small yet brilliant change that didn’t force players to open every container in sight was a contextual quick loot menu that popped up while checking out any containers in the game.
With mods, this loot menu can be added to Fallout 3 as well. The sheer joy players experience from not having to open each and every container in the game only to find it to be devoid of any useful materials makes this mod a must-have for Fallout 3 players.
17 Fallout 3 Rebirth
There’s no denying that the open world of Fallout 3 is extremely detailed and an absolute blast to explore. However, some players would argue that the exteriors in the game look a bit too desolate, even with the post-apocalypse looming on its head.
Fallout 3 Rebirth is a massive visual overhaul in this regard, adding a bunch of details to the overworld to make them look more lived-in before the bombs dropped. It also overhauls raider outposts to make them look more like proper settlements as opposed to makeshift compounds.
16 Fallout 3 Heap Replacer
Heap allocation is what Fallout 3 uses to load in environments quickly… but it’s far from a perfect solution. Sometimes, loading times can still take a while in the game, which can frustrate players to no end.
This is where the Fallout 3 Heap Replacer comes into the picture. It’s a simple mod that replaces the in-game heap with a customized version that allows for faster frame rates, loading times, and less stutter as well!
15 Enhanced Blood Textures
There’s no point in mincing words here — the Fallout series is known for being really gory. After all, there’s a mechanic in the game that allows players to target and dismember different parts of their enemies!
So, one can’t really be judged for wanting the gore in their game to look as high quality as possible. This is where the Enhanced Blood Textures mod comes into the picture, allowing players to enjoy the stylized gore in high definition.
14 Hair Pack
Character customization is an integral part of any RPG. Fallout 3 is no exception… although one has to admit that its customization options are woefully inadequate, especially when it comes to hairstyles.
To alleviate this issue, players can opt for the Hair Pack mod. The new hairstyles that this mod adds to the game do wonders when it comes to improving the overall level of immersion in the game itself.
13 Ultimate Perk Pack
The Perks present in Fallout 3 are certainly quite interesting to experiment around with. However, after a point, players will certainly get bored of the perks present in the base Fallout experience.
To ensure that this issue doesn’t end up hampering a player’s experience, they can opt for the Ultimate Perk Pack. It adds over 70 new and unique perks into the game to make one’s experience in the Capital Wasteland all the more enjoyable.
12 Weapon Mod Kits
Modding weapons is pretty interesting in Fallout 4, which makes it a downright shame when people come back to Fallout 3… only to realize that this mechanic is absent from these games.
Thankfully, with the Weapon Mod Kits mod, players can now finally mod weapons to their heart’s content. This makes the gunplay in Fallout all that more engaging and unique — something that is very much required in a game that has been showing its age for quite some time now.
11 Fellout
The green tint present in Fallout 3 can be somewhat unique to look at initially, but one has to admit that this tint becomes awfully overbearing — and somewhat ugly as well — over time.
So, to remove this tint, Fellout is an absolute must-have mod. It certainly helps that this mod tweaks and overhauls the weather and lighting of the game in several other ways as well — both subtle and otherwise — making for a highly immersive and memorable experience.
10 EVE — Energy Visuals Enhanced
Most of the energy weapons in Fallout may be a ton of fun to use, but there’s no denying the fact that the effects accompanying these energy weapons — along with a bunch of other heavy-duty artillery — can be somewhat lacking.
The EVE mod aims to change that, allowing for these energy and heavy weapons to be kitted out with a whole host of unique critical kill animations, along with a whole host of effects — such as better muzzle flashes and projectile animations — to make these weapons all the more fun to use.
9 Martigen’s Mutant Mod
The creatures of Fallout 3 may be unique in their own right, but there’s no denying the fact that the variety present in most of these enemies scattered throughout the map can be somewhat limited.
This changes once players install Martigen’s Mutant mod, which adds a ton of diversity to existing creators while simultaneously adding new lore-friendly enemies in Fallout 3 as well! All of a sudden, exploring the Commonwealth and engaging in combat feels all the more fresh and satisfying.
8 Fallout 3 Hirezd
There’s no denying the fact that Fallout 3 is an extremely dated title. This shows in the game’s presentation, which can feel rather muddy and uninspired at times due to the dated nature of these textures.
Thankfully, with the Fallout 3 Hirezd mod, this issue will become a thing of the past. Now, players will be able to experience the magic of Fallout 3 coupled with high-resolution textures for both creatures and weapons.
7 Fallout 3 Re-Animated
While the Fallout 3 Re-animated mod might be discontinued, the work that has already gone into this mod easily makes it one of the easiest mods to recommend due to the subtle manner in which it makes the world of Fallout 3 feel more alive.
This work is mainly done for the human animations that play out during action sequences, meaning that shootouts will definitely feel more varied and entertaining.
6 The D.C. Interiors Project
The Downtown D.C. Waste is certainly one of the most interesting areas to explore in Fallout 3. That being said, there’s one major source of disappointment in this area — a lot of the buildings in this area are boarded up for no reason whatsoever.
With the D.C. Interiors Project mod, players can now easily explore the innards of the Downtown D.C. Waste and explore the various buildings and their inhabitants. It’s a great way to heighten the sense of discovery and immersion in this particular area.
5 Fallout 3 Redesigned
However, while improving the animations present in the game is a neat touch in itself, one has to admit that all this work will be for naught if the NPCs still look outdated and ugly.
This is what Fallout 3 Redesigned aims to mitigate, featuring various small touches and full-blown redesigns that add more variety to the NPCs and make the act of talking to them less taxing for the player.
4 NMCs Texture Pack For FO3
NPCs aren’t the only part of Fallout 3 that has aged poorly — the graphics present in the world itself aren’t really great by any stretch of the imagination, either.
Thankfully, people whose eyes are paining from looking at these dated visuals can download NMCs Texture Pack for this game, which goes a long way when it comes to updating and beautifying the look of Fallout 3.
3 Rogue Hallow’s Iron Sights
The combat of Fallout 3 is easily one of its weaker aspects. The gunplay is as basic as can be, and the fact that none of the weapons in the game have Iron Sights makes this all the more egregious as well.
Thankfully, a mod exists that adds iron sights to all the weapons in the game — well, the vanilla weapons, that is — turning combat into more of a bearable affair. For people who want to install mods that make combat in this game bearable, having iron sights is the first priority.
2 Updated Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch
The Unofficial Patch is a term that any fan of Bethesda games is familiar with. These fan-made patches exist for pretty much every Bethesda game on PC — games that are notorious for featuring a whole host of bugs that are never fixed for a myriad of reasons.
So, if a player wishes to avoid any of these bugs and glitches from hampering the overall experience, look no further than the updated version of the Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch, which improves upon the original version to a great extent and helps in guaranteeing the most optimized experience possible with Fallout 3 — something that is very much required, given the fact that the game can be an absolute pain to run on PC at times.
1 Fallout 3 Wanderers Edition
There are a number of gameplay overhauls for Fallout 3 that end up streamlining the experience substantially, but one has to admit that Fallout 3 Wanderers Edition is perhaps the best one of the lot.
Featuring a total of 50 mods that end up improving the overall first-person gunplay while simultaneously ensuring a greater level of challenge and immersion as well, Wanderers Edition is a great way to expand upon the core gameplay of Fallout 3 without compromising on the overall feel of the game.
Fallout 3 is available now on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
