After the release of Fallout 3, long-time fans made their critiques loud and clear. They didn't like the actions of the companions. Players thought the main plot didn't make sense. They didn't like the drastic change of the Brotherhood of Steel's values. Bethesda heard their cries and tried to resolve their issues with the Broken Steel DLC. Many didn't think it was fair they had to buy an extended version of the ending.

1. Fallout New Vegas Delilah Mod

Bethesda soothed their angry complaints with the release of Fallout: New Vegas. The side game was developed by Obsidian Entertainment, which had several of the original Fallout creators on the team. They knew their post-apocalyptic world best. The former Black Isle Studio members used ideas from their version of Fallout 3, along with a new plot. Both long-time and new fans were happy with the engaging storyline and new factions.

While Obsidian and Bethesda managed to make many fans happy with the game, there were still several complaints. Many of those issues could have been resolved with longer development time. The game had a short development window, so the developer had to remove planned content. They also couldn't fix bugs or crash issues.

Some things that couldn't be fixed are your companions. They have unusual mannerisms that frustrated gamers more than the frequent game crashes and silly animations. Many players don't want to travel the desert alone, especially if they need the extra firepower or inventory space.

With companions like these, the Courier may want to travel the Mojave Wasteland alone.

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Companion wheel Edit Edit. Directing Raul with the wheelAdded by Ausir The companion wheel is a new feature that is added to Fallout: New Vegas.The wheel provides easier control over non-player companion characters in the game. There are 8 sections on the wheel, each with a specified function. In Fallout: New Vegas, there's a total of 6 permanent humanoid companions and 2 permanent non-humanoid companions, but you can only have 2 (one of each kind) at a time following you. The 6 companions in New Vegas are Craig Boone, Lily Bowen, Rose of Sharon Cassidy (Cass), Arcade Gannon, Veronica Santangelo and Raul Tejada.

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25 He’s Not A Real Canine

Freeside has an unusual canine resident named Rex. He belongs to the leader of the Freeside faction. Rex is a cybernetic dog who was formerly a K-9 unit with the Denver City Police Department. Just by looking at him, it's easy to see he's not entirely real. Rex has three legs, and his brain is visible.

When Rex is your companion, other characters will completely disregard his cybernetic enhancements.

NPCs either talk to him as if he's a humanoid companion or an average dog.

24 They’ll Always Be Around

Companions are marked as essential after recruiting them. Before joining your side, anyone can take them out. This will ruin your chance of recruiting them later.

Fallout New Vegas Delilah Mod

There are two potential followers who are marked as essential, no matter what. ED-E is already in pieces, and can't be harmed any further. Veronica Santangelo is one of the toughest unarmed fighters who can join the Courier. Before or after recruiting her, she can't be eliminated.

23 She Tries To Steal Your Spot

Unlike the Courier, who must defend their lives every day, Companions are marked as essential. After recruiting them, they can survive until the end. Before joining your side, anyone can take them out. This will ruin your chance of contracting them later.

Two potential followers are marked as essential, no matter what. ED-E is already in pieces, and can't be harmed any further. Veronica Santangelo is one of the toughest unarmed fighters who can join the Courier. Before or after recruiting her, she can't be eliminated.

22 At Least It’s More Rad-X For You

Almost everything in the Mojave Wasteland can hurt the Courier. The food causes radiation poisoning, the dry desert heat makes you thirsty, and the bugs are irradiated monsters. Companions can help the Courier take out the monsters, but can't do anything about the environmental dangers.

Companions aren't harmed by the radiation that still lingers in post-apocalyptic America.

If the Courier is exposed to too much radiation, it can cause long-term damage. They can drink from any water source and eat pre-war food without being injured.

21 He Has Many Enemies

Boone makes it evident that he's a loner. He's not interested in working with the Courier at first. He doesn't get along with many people, even in his home settlement of Novac. The Sniper has fought in several battles, including the Bitter Springs Massacre against the Great Khans. Similar to the Legion, Boone will become instantly hostile to the Khans upon seeing them. This can cause the Courier trouble for certain side quests, such as 'Climb Ev'ry Mountain' near Red Rock Canyon.

20 Save The Repairs For Later

Raul Tajeda is a ghoul mechanic who was taken captive by the Nightkin of Black Mountain. He's forced to work with them until you set him free. In the meantime, he will repair your gear for a fee. If you don't have much money, you may assume you'll get the money back after recruiting him.

Unfortunately, once Raul is hired, those bottlecaps disappear for good. There's no way to recover those lost caps. At least he can help you earn more money during your journey.

19 Your New Grandma

Lily Bowen is the sweetest Nightkin you'll ever meet. She's not like the spooky Nightkin living on Black Mountain. Lily was once a senior grandmother living in a Vault who was mutated into a terrible beast.

Lily enjoyed her time as a grandma so much that she refers to herself as everyone's grandmother.

While traveling through the Mojave Desert, she refers to herself as 'Grandma' instead of 'Lily.' She may believe she's the Courier's grandma and wants to protect her newest grandchild.

18 It’s The Thought That Counts

Veronica is a Scribe for the Brotherhood of Steel. She is loyal to her faction, though at times she quests their actions. Veronica enjoys learning more about the world, including going on adventures with the Courier. As you get to know her, she's more interested in leaving them. Though she's devoted to the group, she will gladly trade her scribe robes for fancy pre-war dresses.

After giving her the clothing in 'You Make Me Feel Like a Woman,' nothing happens. She won't wear it because her current armor is stronger, but appreciates the kind gesture.

17 He Dislikes Them This Much

Caeser's Legion has a terrible reputation in the Mojave Desert. They treat settlers like their servants and regularly take them captive. Many of your companions have a burning anger towards the Legion. Arcade won't talk to the Courier if they're wearing Legion armor. You can't 'Talk' to him in the Follower Wheel, but you can still command him around. At least we know that he takes his job as a follower seriously, but he probably doesn't enjoy it while you're wearing Legion Armor.

16 It’s Not That She Doesn’t Like You

Rose of Sharon Cassidy is a caravan owner. She's recently hit a rough patch but is willing to work with the Courier. Her responses are often sarcastic but hide something. There may be times when you wonder if she hates you.

If playing a male Courier, it turns out Cass cares for him more than she led you to expect.

In the ending, Cass will look for you. She wants to spend time with you but discovers you're gone. Although Cass is disappointed, she will move on with the assumption you didn't return her feelings.

15 What Did Hats Do To Him?

Compared to other companions, Rex doesn't complain much. He has one strange aversion to hats. Rex will bark at anyone wearing a hat. If the Courier wears a hat when first meeting the canine, he will bark at you.

Rex's dislike of hats is never explained, but beware if you wear one in his presence. Once the Courier decides to put on a hat, Rex will immediately start barking at the accessory. Make Rex happy and keep your head hat-free.

14 The Sunglasses Should Hide All

Boone is a quiet sniper who spends most of his time regretting his past. He stands out in his red beret. Boone always wears a pair of dark sunglasses, even at night. They have no effect on his skill in battle.

When walking by NPCs, they will state 'That man has cold eyes.' Boone's dark sunglasses would hide his eyes, making it impossible for others to comment on his personality. Boone's 'cold eyes' may be so striking that NPCs can tell he has a cold heart.

13 Must Be Sensitive Contraptions

Eyebot Duraframe Subject E, or ED-E, is a floating eyebot. It has traveled all through post-apocalyptic America and can aid you in battle if your repair skills are high enough. ED-E always floats and won't know you over in combat.

One unusual trait about the eyebot is its ability to activate land traps.

If ED-E hovers over a trap that's on the ground, it will enable the trap. There's no way a trap could activate by hover. Either ED-E gets too close, or the game believes ED-E is a person.

12 He Cares More About The Courier

In New Vegas, you can earn positive or negative reputation points for every faction. Most of the factions have a recruitable companion associated with the group. If you have a bad reputation with a faction, they won't work with you. Their partners can't be recruited.

Arcade Gannon is different. Even if you have a negative reputation with the Followers, you can talk him into joining your side. Although he praises his group, he can be persuaded to join you instead.

11 Watch Out For That Cliff

Journeying with a companion can make your journey easier, but your travel time much slower. The Courier must wait for their partners to catch up if they're not using Fast Travel. A partner won't travel the same path the Courier does. If you're walking near any cliffs, this poses a greater danger.

Companions are mostly immortal, but can still get hurt if falling off of a tall cliff. If playing in Hardcore mode, this may mean the end of your companion's traveling days.

10 He’s Being Modest

Craig Boone is known for his sniper abilities. He always hits his target and will criticize your skills in battle. While in Novac, he is assigned to guard within the Dinky the Dinosaur Statue. Boone will tell the Courier that he's not good at melee. His tag skills include Guns, Sneak, and Melee Weapons.

Boone may complain when you hand him a melee weapon, but it's one of his primary offensive skills.

He may not like it, but he can put any melee weapon to good use.

9 Water Has No Effect

The Courier does more than deliver packages. Their journey will take them from the Hoover Dam to the bottom of Lake Mead. To survive, you'll need the rebreather to breathe for long periods underwater. If your Courier lacks this critical accessory, they will eventually run out of air.

Companions don't need any extra headgear to survive underwater. They can follow the Courier in Lake Mead with no issue because they can't drown. They're essential while under your command. If you're worried they might not make it, make them wait by the water's edge.

8 Maybe He Doesn’t Know Yet

Arcade's job as a doctor requires him to know how to craft healing ingredients. One of the most powerful healing item in the game are Stimpacks. These valuable items can save your life in the heat of battle.

Arcade believes that these items can't be crafted from local wildlife. He thinks they're more valuable than they actually are. The Courier can craft Stimpaks with an empty syringe, Xander root, and a Broc flower. Maybe the Courier can teach the good doctor something new.

7 Where Did They Go?

Fast Travel helps players get from city to city with a click of a button. Unless your character has previously visited the location, they can't transport to every mark on the map.

The Courier's companions can disappear before your eyes.

Once they are dismissed or quit, your service, partners can immediately transport home. They'll say a few short sentences before walking off and disappearing. Many believed that only Pip-Boys give the power to Fast Travel, but New Vegas proves this wrong.

6 Boone Has His Limits

Boone may have left the services of the NCR Army, but they are still close to his heart. He respects the service they provide to the Mojave Wasteland. Boone's opinion of the Legion is entirely different. He doesn't like how they have treated settlers of the region, including the tragic events related to his deceased wife.

If the Courier decides to hire Boone, then wears Legion clothing, he will refuse to work with you. Though you may have formed a close bond, Boone has his limits.

5 They're Almost Too Loyal

Many of the followers are part of a faction before meeting the Courier. Some may no longer be part of a group, like Boone, but hold their former faction in high regard. If you believe your followers need tougher or better-looking armor, you can give them almost anything. Companions won't wear anything. If you try to provide them with clothing from another faction, they can refuse to wear the armor. Boone will always refuse to wear clothing from the Legion, no matter what the base stats are.

4 Only Helps If He Has To

Most doctors will gladly help anyone in need, but Arcade Gannon is different. It takes a while to get on his good side, but once you befriend him, he becomes a helpful friend. Arcade's loyalty lies with the Followers and the Courier, if they're lucky.

If forced, Arcade can join Caesar's Legion, but he'll never forgive the Courier for the evil deed.

Arcade will not help out any wounded NCR or Boomer faction members in the side quests 'Restoring Hope' and 'Volare!' Though he will gladly help out the Courier, he doesn't want to get in the middle of another faction's war.

3 They Love The Scenic Route

While adventuring through the Mojave Desert, companions don't instantly transport to the Courier. They will follow close, but sometimes obstacles will get in the way. If there is a shorter route that can be achieved by jumping, they will choose a different path.

Companions will always take the longest route to reunite with the Courier. They may either choose this route because it's the safest or due to the limitations of their programming. Either way, you'll have to wait until they catch up.

2 Don’t Try To Cross Him

Boone left the military to begin a new life with his wife, Carla. Unfortunately, fate had other plans. Carla was taken captive by the Legion. Boone didn't want her to suffer for the rest of her life under the faction and decided to end things early. Boone has nothing but anger towards the Legion.

If the Courier dares work for them after hiring Boone, the sniper will find out, no matter where he is in the Mojave. He will give the Courier one warning before leaving their service for good.

1 The Courier's Special Gift

In Fallout 3, once a follower was eliminated in combat, they were taken out for good. The only exception was Dogmeat with the Puppies! perk. Fallout: New Vegas changed this.

Once a companion is in your service, they will become 'essential' which means they become immortal.

They can't be taken out in battle and will only have the option to be fired or quit your service. The only exception is what happens before you meet them. With the exception of Veronica and ED-E, if companions are harmed before meeting the Courier, they're out for good.

Fallout: New Vegas is a great game; arguably the best of the franchise. The issue is the game is unfinished in both a literal and figurative sense. It was a rush job that Obsidian did their best with but wasn't given enough time to realize their vision fully. Unlike a lot of Bethesda games, mods feel less like an extra and more like a necessity to keep the game fresh after a single run through, since everything in New Vegas is nearly inextricably hooked into the main quest. Almost every quest that first appears to be optional is still related to the main conflict in some way, with few exceptions. Some are even mandatory; you can just choose to do them out of order.

However, from that flawed yet amazing shell, a lot of modders have created mods that push the game closer to its more definitive version. Many fix bugs and common crashes or add extra content or even things that were intended to be added but were never finished. In any case, from the simple quality of life improvements to necessary bug fixes, and fun gameplay tweaks, here are the top New Vegas mods.

Fallout New Vegas Script Extender

If you want more, bigger, and more complex mods, you need the New Vegas Script Extender (NVSE). It's only technically a mod, since it's more like an extra bit of software modders use for most complex New Vegas mods, but deserves a spot for how ubiquitous it is and how much it improves the modding scene.

FNV 4 GB Patcher

Sadly, a necessary mod rather than a fun one. New Vegas is an excellent game, but clearly rushed and unstable. The 4 GB Patcher allows it to use more memory, increasing stability and reducing script lag and crashes from memory overload, a problem New Vegas shares with Skyrim where save bloat increases over time (exponentially so with mods) until eventually a given save file is too large for the game to process.

New Vegas Anti Crash (NVAC)

Another necessary one, this mod (NVAC) does what it says on the tin. The game will crash less. Mind, it only reduces a specific kind of crash (though it is a common one), but combined with the 4 GB Patcher and NVSE you're in pretty good shape.

NMC's Texture Pack

Now that the game is more stable, why not upgrade its looks? Let's be honest, New Vegas is an old game and wasn't particularly a looker at the time of its release anyway. Given the limited time Obsidian had to work with, it's understandable they focused more on gameplay than visuals, but modders have no such time constraints. While I never dive deep into heavily modded visuals for Bethesda games (I don't even use ENBs), I do appreciate a little upgrade after all these years, and NMC's Texture Pack hits the perfect middle ground between being easy to install and having wide-reaching changes to the game's visuals. Taking the game to vanilla Skyrim levels is quite the achievement, and looks plenty good enough for me. Plus if you want more, it plays well with most other graphic overhaul mods, as long as they don't replace the same textures of course.

Fallout Character Overhaul (FCO)

Fallout 3 those quest walkthrough. What NMC's Texture Pack does to most textures, FCO does to the people of the Mojave. Given you spend a good 40% of this game zoomed in on these people's faces, it's a pretty good idea to make sure you like what you're looking at. Similar to NMCTP, this boosts New Vegas to roughly vanilla Skyrim levels in terms of what each NPC (and your own character) looks like, which is perfectly tolerable for me.

EVE-Essential Visual Enhancements

One last boost to the visuals and we're good to go. This one (EVE) is primarily about weapon effects. Not weapon textures themselves, but bullet impacts, explosion textures, lasers, ash and goo piles on kill, and even character reactions to being shot. Given the lion's share of the other 60% of this game besides talking to people is shooting them, this will be sure to make your experience more enjoyable if you like seeing people get killed in flashy ways, like seeing brief skeletal outlines of people that get ashed by your laser criticals!

Project Nevada

All right, we're into the fun stuff now. Project Nevada is the overhaul for New Vegas. It expands on existing mechanics (the cybernetic implants available from the Clinic, for example), adds a boatload of new ones (like using explosives to unlock doors and chests), and also functions as a rebalance to the game, making combat more challenging and inventory space more precious.

The best part about it? It's fully customizable. Every feature can be changed, activated, or deactivated at will from its mod page. I don't like the reduced carrying capacity, so I crank it up, so I never have to worry about it again. You can make your movement speed faster, change how much health you get from Endurance and leveling, and everything else the mod touches.

It's the one mod I recommend everyone install because there's something there for every kind of player. For a while, it was the only New Vegas mod I ever installed since it did so much of what I look for in other modded Bethesda games already.

The Someguy Series

This is a master mod for all of the quests and companion mods made by someguy2000. Which mods you install after are up to you, but all are great. His quests and companions are fully voice acted and are quite interesting plot-wise after the first (New Vegas Bounties I is pretty bare bones) and just keep getting better both in voice acting quality, complexity, and plot as time goes on. It's very fun to play from the start and see how the mods evolve as he gets better at creating the quests.

New Vegas Uncut

Like the Someguy series, New Vegas Uncut is not one mod, but a collection. The entire purpose of this mod series is to complete and add content that was meant to be added to New Vegas, but was never released, usually due to lack of time on Obsidian's part. From weapons to entire quests, this nine mod series adds a lot to the game that's all lore friendly and could even be considered canon content. The only one I don't recommend is Freeside Open. While a very cool mod that interconnects all of Freeside's parts so there aren't so many loading screens to go through (similar to the Open Cities mods for the Elder Scrolls games) it is notoriously incompatible with a lot of other mods. Basically any mod that adds new quests, areas, some items, or NPCs to Freeside (which is a lot) breaks with Freeside Open in the mix. This includes one quest deep into New Vegas Bounties I (mentioned above) and makes the quest impossible to complete without going into the mod's files, sifting through the quest stages, and using the console to move the quest ahead.

Other than that, though, they're all worth a look.

Beyond Boulder Dome

Wait wait wait, before you let the silly name throw you off, hear me out. Beyond Boulder Dome is an excellent, DLC sized (about the size and quest length of the official Honest Hearts DLC) quest and locations mod based on the Boulder Dome location from Fallout: Van Buren (a sadly never realized third Fallout game from Black Isles Studios before they went under, that has extensive notes on what a lot of Fallout's world looks like and was the partial basis for New Vegas itself) that has an interesting and disturbing atmosphere. Definitely worth at least one playthrough.

Weapon Mods Expanded (WMX)

This WMX mod adds more weapon customizations for existing weapons, and even adds a few new ones. This is another mod I consider almost official content. The mod author (Antistar) is actually the reason why weapon mods are in New Vegas at all! He made a mod adding weapon mod kits to Fallout 3, and Obsidian liked the idea so much they implemented them as a base part of New Vegas. That makes this sort of a third generation mod; a modification of a core system based on an original mod. Which is pretty cool to me.

Moreover, it greatly expands the limited weapon mods of New Vegas (there were only three per weapon before if that since some weapons were left out entirely) and adds a lot of new variety and options to weaponry. Only three mods can be added to any one weapon still, so rather than adding the only three mods to a weapon and calling it fully kitted and never touching it again, there are actual trade-offs to modifying a weapon, since adding one mod means precluding another. It's not a deep change, but it adds enough, and in such a way that I sometimes forget it's not part of the base game, in much the same way I feel about Project Nevada.

Yukichigai Unofficial Patch

New Vegas is a buggy game. No fan will deny that. But thankfully, there are patches. A lot of them, in fact, making New Vegas pretty unique among Bethesda's games with active modding scenes. Oblivion and Skyrim, for example, have one big Unofficial Patch team that made it their mission to patch as many bugs as possible. New Vegas, perhaps fittingly, was more like the wild west, a bunch of dedicated individuals stomping out problems as they came across them.

YUP is but one of many extensive New Vegas patches, but it is my preferred for one big reason: it's easily compatible with the last mod on this list. If you don't use the below, then any of the other patches will do you pretty much just as well.

A Tale Of Two Wastelands

Recreating a previous game in the series in the newest game's engine iteration is kind of the holy grail of Bethesda game modding. The Elder Scrolls series has had many failed, abandoned, or stalled projects from Morrowblivion to Skyblivion and Skywind, and several others that have produced little results over the years. Even the New Vegas recreation in Fallout 4's engine has borne little fruit since it was initially revealed.

A Tale of Two Wastelands is the exception. To be fair, they had it a little easier: Fallout 3 and New Vegas use almost identical engines and assets, and they got permission early from Bethesda to work on the project. That isn't to undersell their accomplishment though; successfully linking two games (Fallout 3 and New Vegas in this case) into one enormous, seamless game is no small task.

Still updated, this is the way to play the previous generation Fallout games in my opinion. Starting in Vault 101 and making your way to the Mojave is quite satisfying, especially with its compatibility with certain other mods (Project Nevada being the big standout). You can always go in reverse as well, though that gets a bit weird, narratively speaking.

It is an excellent, ambitious mod and improves on both games by applying New Vegas' new mechanics and more interesting perks to Fallout 3's gameplay, and let you enjoy an improved version of 3 while carrying over many of the fun weapons and other items from 3 to its sequel.

And that's the list! Happy modding!