Fallout 4 is one of my favorite games, and it continues to find ways to surprise me almost a decade after its release. Despite having some great quests, companions, and places to discover, there is always room for improvement. Like many in the Fallout fandom, I mod my game, and while some may be in rotation depending on my playthrough, there are some that have a permanent place in my load order.

Modding Fallout 4 is relatively straightforward, especially when using a mod manager such as F4SE to be installed. However, once everything is in place, the fun begins, and with mods covering everything from cosmetics to bug fixes, it's easy to customize Fallout 4 completely.

10 Scrap Everything To Clear Up Settlements

Get Rid Of Those Pesky Bushes & Trash Piles

When claiming a new settlement in Fallout 4 and preparing it for building, it’s common to travel around the area, scrapping everything possible. However, there are certain items that cannot be scrapped, which in some places can be very frustrating, such as mounds of debris or skeletons. Scrap Everything by shadowslasher410 does exactly as the name suggests and opens up the number of scrapable objects when in build mode.

Scrap Everything allows settlement locations to be stripped back as much as desired, making the rebuilding experience much better than having to work around certain obstacles. The only downside to this mod is that scrapping objects cannot be undone, so I suggest caution when selecting items to be scrapped to double-check that the correct one is highlighted. However, for the extra cautious, there is also the add-on mod Scrap (Not Quite) Everything by Duchess1, which disables the scrapping of some objects.

9 LooksMenu Helps With Character Creation

Clearly See What Parts Of The Face Can Be Tweaked

I don't know about anyone else, but I tend to spend a long time in character creators for RPGs, and Fallout 4 is no exception. Fallout 4 does have a great character creator, however. There are limitations, as it isn't the most intuitive, and it can feel clumsy. LooksMenu by expired6978 adds a fantastic menu to clearly show which parts of the face can be altered, allowing for much greater control.

The menu really comes in handy when using hair mods, as the large list makes finding specific hairs much easier as they are all listed clearly by name. But my favorite part of LooksMenu is the preset options, which allow character designs to be saved and reused later. It also opens up the option for other people's presets to be used, and there are plenty of stunning Sole Survivors available.

8 Better Settlers Make Settlements Feel More Alive

Settlers Look & Defend Much Better

Settlers in Fallout 4 are a little bland, all spawning from a limited pool of character presets, and I've even had times when I've had multiple versions of the same guy at a settlement. Better Settlers by Thom293 changes all that by adding in over 240 new settler designs to make communities feel more diverse. There are some amazing designs, including DLC-specific settlers, such as raider settlers for Nuka-World.

The options for Better Settlers can be tweaked as well to suit individual playthroughs to alter what clothes they wear or hair options with compatible mods. Gender ratios in settlements, settler mortality, and even more Stimpaks for them are all optional changes that can be made. I like to change how tough my settlers are to give them a better chance at defending settlements themselves and give them better starter weapons.

7 Functional Displays To Show Off Your Collection

Craft A Museum Or Organize A Settlement

There are a surprising number of display cases that can be crafted in Fallout 4 to decorate settlements and player bases, but weirdly, they can't actually be used to display things. Functional Displays by SecretAgent99 changes this by creating an impressive number of cases, shelves, and weapon racks for the game. The level of creativity in this mod is outstanding, with so many different ways for the Sole Survivor to show off their collections.

Functional weapon racks are available in Skyrim and Starfield.

Weapons racks and cases are divided into categories based on the size and types of weapons. But there is even more, such as new collectible models similar to the robot minis in the game, including a little Dogmeat to find and display. Needless to say, Functional Displays make organizing settlements much easier, although I tend to reserve their use for my own player home to justify my character's hoarding.

6 Improved Map With Visible Roads

A Simple Concept Makes A Big Difference

Not all mods for Fallout 4 make huge changes or overhaul entire areas of the game. Sometimes, the simplest change can make all the difference, and that is certainly the case with Improved Map with Visible Roads by mm137. As the name suggests, this mod improves the Pip-Boy map and adds in all roads, trails, and train tracks for better navigation.

The map of the Commonwealth is massive, and with so many different and hidden locations throughout Fallout 4, it is very easy to get lost or turned around. This mod makes finding routes to quest markers much easier and has the optional features of numbered grid lines or even numbered regions. What I like the most is that there are different levels of brightness for the roads, so the change isn't too intrusive, and the color will adapt to my Pip-Boy color settings.

5 Full Dialogue Interface Means No More Conversation Surprises

Know Exactly What You're About To Say

Another example of a small change that makes a big difference to gameplay is Full Dialogue Interface by Cirosan. There were plenty of times when I first started playing Fallout 4 where I would choose a dialogue option only to be annoyed or sometimes shocked at what the Sole Survivor would say. Having been so used to being able to see that full dialogue with previous Fallout games, finding this mod was fantastic.

The mod changes the interface to better resemble the one from Fallout 3, with a few different visual options. I find this makes speaking more immersive rather than just the paraphrased good, harsh, sarcastic, and question options in the vanilla game. There is even a 'lite' version that keeps the original look of Fallout 4's dialogue while still displaying the whole text, and an option to keep the sarcastic dialogue hidden.

4 Everyone's Best Friend For Dogmeat & A Companion At Same Time

Have The Commonwealth's Best Boy At Your Side Plus A Friend

Dogmeat is easily one of Fallout 4's most loved companions, and it's not hard to see why, as the best boy in the Commonwealth is great at finding goodies while out exploring. There is evidence within Fallout 4's files that the Sole Survivor was originally meant to be able to travel with both a companion and Dogmeat, and Everyone's Best Friend by valdacil restores that. This allows Dogmeat to stick around even when I'm exploring with Nick or MacCready, making the Commonwealth feel a lot less lonely.

This is a fantastic mod, giving more carry capacity when looting and more help in tough fights. With this mod, Dogmeat will no longer count as a follower but will still act as one, allowing him to impress even more people with his skill at finding useful items. I prefer this mod over others that allow multiple followers as I've found it reduces routing issues as well as things getting too crowded in tight spaces.

3 We Are The Minutemen Improves The Faction

Turns The Minutemen Into A Faction Worthy Of Their General

Despite being one of Fallout 4's main factions, the Minutemen's storyline and how they function are just kind of disappointing. We Are The Minutemen by TheFirstEnD changes this by turning them into a viable faction capable of defending the Commonwealth from raiders and the Institute. The premise behind the mod is simple: more settlements translate into better resources for the faction and, therefore, better weapons and firepower.

This mod also adds some great custom follower outfits with a Minutemen theme.

We Are The Minutemen also makes some changes to the Minutemen questline, by altering when Preston mentions retaking the Castle and leveling Minutemen characters to the Sole Survivor. By far, my favorite aspects of this mod are the changes to radiant quests, which are significantly reduced and have a greater cooldown period. This allows Preston to act more as a companion rather than a radiant quest-giver, letting the Sole Survivor get to know him rather than him immediately mentioning another settlement.

2 Sim Settlements 2 Makes Building Fun Again

A Great Storyline & More Additional Chapters

I’ve made no secret of how much I hate settlement building in Fallout 4, and despite it being a great premise, I find the execution in-game to be hard work. It took me far too long to try Sim Settlements 2 by kinggath, but now it has a permanent place in my mods library. This awesome mod takes all the frustration out of settlement building, allowing the Commonwealth to gain lots of new towns without me tearing my hair out.

The mod completely overhauls how settlement building functions by creating different zones and letting settlers build their homes. There are also tons of building plans, meaning no two settlements will look the same. Sim Settlements 2 has a great, fully voiced storyline that also acts as a guide to how the mod works and adds so much replay value with its many customization options.

1 Start Me Up Provides Alternative New Game Options

Skip The Long Pre-War Intro

Finally, a must for any long-time Fallout 4 player has to be Start Me Up by TinyManticore, which provides more start options when beginning a new game. Gone are the days of slogging through the long pre-war intro, as this mod gives the option to quick-start and skip right to waking up in Vault 111. However, there are even more options if the alternative start is chosen, where the player can wake from a dream with no connection to Shaun.

I adore this mod for its roleplay options, as it lets me pick from an impressive number of starting locations, occupations, and starting levels. Start Me Up brings back traits to Fallout 4, to grant bonuses in certain areas but also downsides in others. The plot has been given a rework so that any of the new alternate starts work, tweaking the dialogue where appropriate for things to still make sense, and adding more reasons to try all the different classes available.

Sources: ModOrganizerTeam, NexusMods, shadowslasher410, Duchess1, expired6978, Thom293, SecretAgent99, mm137, Cirosan, valdacil, TheFirstEnD, kinggath, TinyManticore