Skip to main content

Introduction

The Mojave Express Wabbajack (MEW) is a modlist for Fallout: New Vegas with the goal of creating a modernised and improved version of the base game, with a strong focus on balance and immersion. It takes a heavily curated "less is more" approach, only including highly polished mods that seamlessly integrate into the vanilla game and will ensure a cohesive vision throughout the entire experience, adding some much needed depth and additional elements that feel like were supposed to be there from the very beginning. See the full modlist here.

MEW is constantly getting updated with the latest and greatest mods, and includes innumerable amounts of bug fixes, performance & stability improvements, and engine enhancements to provide you with the smoothest experience possible. There are many custom patches and configurations exclusive to the list that tie the whole experience together in a way you won't be able to get anywhere else, ensuring a fun and challenging playthrough from beginning to end.

Whether you're a veteran who's played the game countless times, someone who's coming back to the game after many years, or even a first time player who's looking for a hassle-free and modernised way to experience this classic title, this list could be ideal for you.

MEW is a reincarnation of my previous Mojave Express Guide (MEG) which was a Viva New Vegas additions guide. This time it's a Wabbajack which allows me unrestricted mod choice and gives you a semi-automated mod downloading process (a Nexus Premium account is needed for fully automated downloading).

Note

There are very few "texture mods" in the guide, the visual mods included mainly consist of weather and improved VFX. The short reason for this is that there are currently no large scale texture packs for FNV that are completely vanilla in style and have consistent quality and coverage. The best option is to mix and match dozens of mods from various authors which vary in quality and art direction which I do not want to do.

Important!

This list is NOT designed to be a stable base for you to add your own mods as everything has been designed to work together as is! Unless you have a good general understanding of modding, the mods used, and xEdit, you should not try to add anything! If you are looking for something vanilla focused that is more suitable to be modified then try out Viva New Vegas.

Showcase​

1 / 24

Overview​

Bug Fixes & Performance:​

  • Thousands of bug fixes, stability improvements, and script optimizations using the latest up to date mods.
  • Tons of mesh fixes including visual and collision enhancements, allowing you to actually shoot through gaps.
  • Many textures and meshes have been packed into uncompressed BSAs for maximum performance.
  • A collection of tweaks for certain audio files to fix popping issues and other annoyances.

User Interface:​

  • Various basic modernisations like a Dynamic Crosshair, Hit Markers, Visual Quest Markers, and a Quick Loot menu.
  • Simplified FO4 style HUD display.
  • Higher resolution HUD and icons.
  • Text size and style adjustments.
  • Visibility tweaks and display modernisations from the newer games.
  • Exclusive Power Armor Pip-Boy holo panel.
  • Cleaner and more readable world map.
  • All items have an icon in menus to make them more readable and help with organisation.
  • Consumables will display a dedicated HUD widget after use showing how long it'll take until they wear off.

Gameplay Overhauls:​

  • Tons of Quality of Life tweaks.
  • A ton of rebalancing from JSawyer Ultimate Edition. Tweaking character progression, health, damage, carry weight, loot scarcity, and item values.
  • Player character's level is capped at 35 and levelling is around 50% slower.
  • Perks and traits have been completely overhauled. See PerkOut.
  • You can now sprint, with custom animations and sounds. You can run faster with higher Agility, and for longer with higher Endurance.
  • Weapons now have recoil, increasing or decreasing based on your character's stats.
  • Automatic weapons now have selective fire modes for accuracy improvements (Auto, Single, and Burst).
  • There's a new BOTW-inspired system for quickly selecting weapons, throwables, and aid items.
  • GRA custom weapons are seamlessly merged with their vanilla counterparts, so you don't have to worry about having the correct version to attach mods to.
  • Weapon mods can be found rarely on NPC's weapons.
  • Weapon requirements actually matter now and will have a much greater impact on their handling.
  • Weapons can jam even during regular firing at low conditions.
  • Bullet sponges at higher difficulty have been reduced noticeably.
  • Head DT/DR is now separated from the body, meaning helmets are necessary for head protection.
  • Power Armor is now big and bulky with custom animations and sounds.
  • You can bash enemies with your weapon like in FO4.
  • Some dialogue checks have been changed from Speech to Charisma where logically applicable, giving the once useless SPECIAL stat more of a reason to exist.

Difficulty Overhauls:​

These can all be safely disabled ⮯

  • Radiation is actually dangerous, reducing your HP and AP (in hardcore mode) like FO4.
  • Ghouls, Centaurs, Spore Carriers, Tunnelers, Mantis, Radroaches, and Molerats inflict radiation damage.
  • Water radiation is ramped up based upon depth.
  • Food heals less.
  • Loot is rarer and weapons & armour have lower conditions when found.
  • The Barter skill affects buying and selling prices significantly more.
  • You can no longer sell weapons & armour under 30% condition.
  • FO3-style item repair is now back. The max repair amount of items will be capped to the player's (Repair Skill * 0.6) + 40.
  • The strip is more difficult to get into and costs 4000 caps the direct way now.
  • NPCs can't be pickpocketed at all unless you invest into the Sneak skill.

NPC Overhauls:​

  • Thousands of small character face edits with subtle improvements.
  • They will have more emotion in dialogue.
  • Their loot distribution has been overhauled and should be more balanced.
  • Humanoids can sprint the same way you can.
  • NPC accuracy changes based on their faction and class.
  • Securitron faces look more detailed and will change when they enter combat mode.
  • NPCs will immersively react to guns being pointed at them.

Content:​

  • A plethora of restored content, consistency fixes, integrated content, and "grey area" bug fixes thanks to Goodies.
  • A collection of small vanilla-friendly gameplay improvements from EVEM.
  • DLCs get delayed until you reach their appropriate level or until you visit their respective starting locations, instead of all being dumped into your quest log at the start of the game.
  • You can now continue your playthrough after the credits and see the world change based on the consequences of your choices.
  • New dungeons to explore and loot to be found.
  • Previously vendor exclusive GRA weapons have been hand-placed in various locations across the Mojave, incentivising exploration. If you want spoilers, you can find their locations here.
  • NPCs will patrol the roads, travelling between towns, occupying locations, exploring the desert, and reacting dynamically to your choices throughout the game.
  • Hundreds of hand-placed, levelled, vanilla-friendly creature spawn points throughout the whole Mojave.
  • 2 new enemies, Exploding Mole Rats and Mutated Raiders.
  • Ghoul variants have been expanded.

Location Overhauls:​

  • Significantly more detailed environments. Locations that were previously lackluster and forgettable have been enhanced.
  • Freeside has been lightly overhauled.
  • The Strip is now cleaner and more secure, with improved lighting throughout.
  • Many more NPCs can be found inside The Strip and in the casinos.
  • Many interiors have been overhauled to be more useful, cluttered, atmospheric, unique, and lived-in.
  • Neon signs around the Mojave are now illuminated.

Visuals:​

  • Brand new weathers, with a much more naturalistic tone compared to the yellow color filter of vanilla, 360 panoramic cloud textures, and greatly improved lighting & tonemapping.
  • Overhauls to interior lighting to give them a more dynamic and atmospheric look.
  • Dual-Render Scopes with variable zoom levels and night vision toggle on supported scopes.
  • All energy weapons have built-in iron sights.
  • Redesigned blood, particle effects, and gore textures that fit within the New Vegas art style.
  • New and improved ballistic impact effects.
  • Bullet holes & casings match ammo.
  • Bullet tracers and bullet trails.
  • Radiation and drowning visuals.
  • Various vanilla-plus tweaks to textures.
  • High quality LODs.

Animations:​

  • Almost all guns, melee weapons, and throwables have had their animations completely revised.
  • First-person weapon inertia when moving the camera and improved weapon locomotion animations.
  • Your player character can now move diagonally in third-person.
  • Various chems now have animations when consumed.
  • New first-person pickup and interaction animations.
  • Turning on the Pip-Boy light now has a dedicated animation.
  • A subtle camera shake effect has been added for certain actions like moving and getting hit.

Audio:​

  • Ambient tracks have been seamlessly and tastefully rescored, bringing a darker and more somber atmosphere that feels closer to the classic Fallout games.
  • Radio New Vegas, Mojave Music Radio, and Mysterious Broadcast have many additional songs that fit the vibe of each station.
  • Higher quality main menu music and Fallout 1 & 2 songs.
  • Modernised ambient soundscape with an object based directional sound system.
  • Full replacement of all ballistic, explosive, and energy weapon sounds.
  • Subtle, immersive equip and ADS sounds.
  • Custom pickup sounds for item looting.
  • More realistic sounding footsteps with over 60 additional sounds.
  • A handful of fresh UI sounds.