Oblivion Mods

Oblivion is a good game, sure. But it can be so much better! Oblivion has one of the strongest modding communities for any game, and the /v/'s Recommended Games Wiki is here to bring you the benefit.

You may or may not wish to play through Oblivion without any mods first, but it's probably a good idea. If you can't stand the original Oblivion, like many people, go ahead and jump right into modding it.

Modifying Oblivion 101

 * Vanilla means original, how the game would be if you had no mods.
 * Mods can conflict. If you have two mods that modify the same things, then you have a problem.
 * Because of this, the order in which mods are loaded is important. The mod that is loaded last has its modifications applied last, and therefore will be what you see during the game.
 * Don't install 50 mods at once. Play the game in between installing mods, so you know what caused the problem when something goes wrong.

Basic Instructions For Installing A Mod

 * 1) Read the instructions that come with the mod. Really.
 * 2) Put the .esp, .esm, or .bsa files into C:\Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion\Data
 * 3) Open up the Oblivion Mod Manager.
 * 4) Put a checkmark next to the mod in the pane on the right.
 * 5) If you have BOSS, run it. Click BOSS.bat and it will order your mods correctly.
 * 6) If you ran BOSS, scan through the mod list it gave you. If there are any comments read them and obey.
 * 7) If you ran BOSS, if any conflicts were detected, go back into OBMM and disable the conflicting mods.
 * 8) Start the game.

Do this first

 * 1) Patch your game to the latest version.
 * 2) Get Shivering Isles. A lot of mods are dependent on Shivering Isles, so having it will make things simpler.
 * 3) Install the Oblivion Script Extender: . Get the beta version, v0018 beta 4. Put all the files right in your Oblivion directory, probably C:\Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion. Make sure they are not inside a subfolder.
 * 4) Install the Oblivion Mod Manager:.
 * 5) Install the Unofficial Oblivion Patch:.
 * 6) If you have Shivering Isles, install the Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch:.
 * 7) If you have any official modifications or DLCs from Bethesda, install the Unofficial Official Mods Patch:.

Essential Mods and Utilities

 * Better Oblivion Sorting Software:
 * In a perfect world, this would erase any need to worry about load order. Unfortunately, it does make the occasional mistake if you have a very long mod list.
 * Wrye Bash
 * If you're reading this you probably won't know what to do with Wrye Bash; that's alright. Just leave it in your Oblivion directory, it is practically guaranteed that you will need it eventually.
 * Quest Popup Remover:
 * Follow the instructions in the readme. Make sure the quest_added.xml file falls in C:\Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion\data\menus\generic
 * Quest Reward Leveler:
 * Map Marker Overhaul:
 * This mod is in OMOD-ready format. Open up OBMM, click Create, click Add Archive, select the zipped file you downloaded. Click yes, yes, Create omod. Click on Map Marker Overhaul in the right pane, and select the settings you want, though the default settings should work best.
 * No Psychic Guards:

FCOM
"FCOM: Convergence shatters previous barriers in the Oblivion mod community by letting you play four of the largest Oblivion "overhaul" mods at the same time -- Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul, Martigen's Monster Mod, Oblivion WarCry, and Francesco's Leveled Creatures-Items. It also seeks to show how new item and/or creature expansion mods can be added directly to this environment, and thus includes optional support for Bob's Armory, Loth's Blunt Weapons for Npcs, Cobl, Tamrielic Ingredients, Knights of the Nine, Tamriel Travelers, and many other popular mods." 

Supposedly, FCOM is extremely hard to install successfully. However, it actually is pretty simple at this point.