Oblivion 2024 Essential Modding Guide

Oblivion. What a great game. A great game that if you play right now its going to feel pretty dated even more dated than the 3D fallouts as it was the precursor to those titles. This guide will not only tackle some bug fixes and help stabilize the game but will also include some mods to make it look less potato and feel a little more modern.

Requirements

Please have the GOTY Deluxe Edition for this game if possible before starting this guide. The game goes on sale fairly often for a good price. You can still use this guide with the base game or standard GOTY but certain mods are intended to be used with all dlc so if said mod doesn't have base game options I would avoid downloading the mod. This guide/mod list was also tested on pretty much exclusively on windows 10 (previously 7) and is also for the steam version of this game. Should work with gog as well.

You'll need an unzipping tool for manual mods as not every mod will be MM compliant. I use winrar[www.win-rar.com] but many people prefer 7zip as usual use what you prefer. And of course you'll need a mod manager. Now most people today will use Vortex or MO2. I personally cannot recommend either even if the general population rides it. I understand why people may want to use those other two managers specifically as they don't touch your data folder unlike NMM that actually installs the mods into your folder but I personally think thats where problems arise and if you know what you are doing you'll never need to worry about that. I have used Nexus Mod Manager[github.com] for nearly a decade on many games not just bethesda titles and with very little to no issues. I cannot say the same for the other two managers with my personal experiences. It is also a common misconception that NMM is abandoned as it gets community updates regularly. Use what you prefer of course but I cannot help you troubleshoot very well if you use Vortex (which is probably the worst thing to use other than like FOMM) or MO2.

Oblivion is also a special case. Generally most people will suggest Wrye Bash or Oblivion Mod Manager due to a few caveats this game has (thankfully SkyBSA blessed us so we don't need to mess around with timestamps anymore) and a lot of popular mods using BAIN. If you have the capabilities to do so go ahead and use Wrye Bash. I used to use that manager in the past and its actually solid and a powerful tool but I left it for NMM. Personally I don't think its beginner friendly at all compared to the standard stuff and you will become one of the just bashed patch it guys (If you grab certain mods in this guide you will have to use a bashed patch either one of the two that i've created for the possible load orders in this guide or you will have to generate your own if you didn't grab the full order or used the ORC alt I will cover this in its own section alongside information on why im using Wrye Bash soley for bashed patch and not as a MM). NMM does work with oblivion but some mods will sometimes install into the wrong location or just not outright work through a NMM installation due to it not being made for NMM. As I am a avid NMM user and manually mod in many other titles even these games I can basically guide you guys while using NMM and making it as painless as possible noting whenever a mod has to be manually installed or shift files slightly due to NMM not putting the files in the right place. So for those super green guys that really don't know whats going on you may want to go my route unless you want to go learn how to use the other managers on your own. Rule of thumb if I do not tell you to install manually assume to install via NMM. This also goes for patches for certain mods that you have to install manually.

Alongside that stuff you want to grab LOOT[loot.github.io] especially if your planning on heavy load orders. I generally will sort using loot and then manually move anything that needs to sit anywhere specifically. This tool works with all bethesda titles so its pretty damn useful. Use after finishing your load order and then move any specific esps as needed.

Finally you'll need a nexus account so you can download the mods on there. Nexus website for Oblivion[www.nexusmods.com]



I'll do my best to keep this guide updated if any mod becomes outdated and i haven't tweaked feel free to notify me. Whenever you download a mod whether its from this guide or on your own volition check the requirements and make sure you meet them ahead of time as some of these essential mods require files that aren't on nexus but they will give you a download link.

1. Splash Screen + BethINI

Install your game. Preferably on a ssd to reduce load times. Once installed launch your game and once you get to the splash screen pick all your settings out. You can always return here or even change settings in the ini files but I always like to do a base setting setup. If you have a decent or even good rig you should be able to pretty much max most settings especially on 1080p. 4K users can max out if they have a 4K rig or even a high end rig. Due to how cooked oblivion is do not be afraid to tone things down like grass, reflections and other graphical options if need be to secure stable framerates. This game can't utilize all of your rig even with the things we are going to do to this title.

You do not need to actually play the game but I personally like to launch the game itself and just start it up briefly before exiting of course thats optional and does not matter at all it is something I do out of habit. Manual ini tweaking is optional as there are many mods that will handle that for you but if you want to get certain things out of the way you can go into your documents folder C:\Users\(Your username probably)\Documents\my games\oblivion and once there remove the read only options by going into the properties of oblivion.ini

Now I could sit here and list all the things you should change yourself but ill do you one better considering the manual setup of the ini is completely optional as BethINI[www.nexusmods.com] basically lets you set things up without having to manually knowing values and what things do. This is for beginner modders and/or lazy modders (lol it be like that even I use it sometimes) Do not install this through a mod manager and I recommend the standalone not the other option. Pick whatever you fancy in the settings and you technically don't even need to actually do anything in the splash screen options wise when you use this tool as its going to overwrite all those settings. This tool is also pretty much available on almost every bethesda title and I recommend you use it for your other beth games modded or not.

Make sure auto-detect invalid settings is disabled for this game. It may work fine in other beth games but it just causes insta CTDs in this title. Also do not set AA on bethINI above 8 if you use it.

2. xOBSE & 4gb Patcher

Both of these mods are mandatory and must be installed manually.

Download 4gb Ram Patcher[www.nexusmods.com] and drop the exe into your main directory. Run it and apply it to your game exe and then the OblivionLauncher.exe GoG users may skip this step as the GoG copy comes pre patched.

You can download xOBSE here[www.nexusmods.com] Install it by unzipping the file and dragging the files into your fallout directory It may not be the same location for everyone but here is a common location C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\oblivion. You can always hit properties on steam and check the local files and it'll just take you straight there. I've tried installing this with NMM and it drops the files into the data folder instead of the directory. So either install with the MM and move the files yourself again or just download it manually and unzip into the directory where it is supposed to go.

Once you have done that xOBSE is installed and is good to go repeat the process whenever it gets updated. The game should launch with xOBSE enabled provided you launch via steam or the game exe file.

Make sure to grab xOBSE and not the original OBSE

3. Essential Performance & Bug Fix Mods

These mods will be mandatory for the game to run better and will fix bugs. As usual I must give you guys the ole DO NOT USE NEW VEGAS ANTI CRASH FOR THIS GAME it will cause CTDs. because Christ almighty everyone wants to use that thing on every bethesda title known to man. You will also not need to get the stutter remover provided you install Oblivion Reloaded.

Unofficial Oblivion Patch[www.nexusmods.com]
Cmon you guys these guides always start off with these things lol. Don't forget to grab the Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch[www.nexusmods.com] & DLC variant [www.nexusmods.com] as the main mod only covers the base game. You do not need the Official Oblivion 12416 Patch requirement. That is only for the physical version of the game steam and gog versions do not need this.

Blockhead[www.nexusmods.com]
Allows overriding for different types of textures.

Oblivion Reloaded[www.nexusmods.com]
This mod is not just a graphics extender but also includes a lot of essential features to the point where it be too much to bother writing on here. Read the description to see the features and you'll see real quick why this mod is "essential". Make sure to turn on everything necessary in the oblivionreloaded.dll config located in the OBSE plugin folder and disable anything not required such as setting actor value to 0 for shadowexteriors + shadowinteriors to avoid these super ugly buggy shadows. Plus disabling POM, FOV value, motion blur and turn on other important stuff like setting your frames. If you don't want to manually set these my OR config file will be up for download on my YT/Modding Discord[discord.gg]

Alternative Oblivion Reloaded Combined(ORC)[www.nexusmods.com]
This is an alternative to the regular oblivion reloaded. I personally had about a 10-15 fps boost using the original over this in certain locations but YMMV. I originally used this over the regular OR because of lighting issues but I was able to tweak OR settings to fix it. Im going to recommend OR over this and make it the base for this LO but for those of you who want to experiment and see what works best for you bon voyage. I also suggest controller users to disable the diagonal movement setting in the ini. Also a new test 2.0 version is out may work a lot better than the 1.8.0 version I used but it is still in testing stages.

EngineBugFixes[www.nexusmods.com] & Blue's Engine Fixes[www.nexusmods.com]
Engine bug fixes.

Oblivion Display Tweaks[www.nexusmods.com]
Basically a port of NVTF for Oblivion. Make sure to disable the fov options on Oblivion Reloaded's dll config file by setting it to zero if you use the variants in this mod (followed by going into the main game ini file and setting your FOV there.) This mod also has a D3D9Ex mode that is supposed to boost performance but I never bothered to try it as im already using DXVK and some people reported worse performance. You can give it a shot if you'd like.

SkyBSA[www.nexusmods.com]
You will no longer need to activate archive invalidation.

OBL Mod Limit Fix[www.nexusmods.com]
Increase max file handles.

MenuQue - OBSE Plugin[www.nexusmods.com]
UI plugin. Install v16a then v16b.

LINK[www.nexusmods.com]
MCM menu. Install manually if you want to avoid the OMOD NMM Bug. See section 9 for more information.

OBSE -Elys- Universal Silent Voice[www.nexusmods.com]
For some reason this mod does not install properly with NMM it drops the files into the data folder so either install manually by dropping into your xOBSE plugins folder ...\Oblivion\Data\OBSE\Plugins
or after installing with NMM move those files from your data folder into the previous file path I mentioned. I suggest the former.

Shambles Crash Fix[www.nexusmods.com]
This is a fix for shambles causing the game to CTD if they get knocked to the floor and get back up.

A fix for the crash after defeating Jyggalag[www.nexusmods.com]
People report a CTD after defeating Jyggalag. Grab this if you encounter the same issue. I'll leave this out of the pre-gen bashed for now will add it if its needed when I get to it during testing.

Optional DXVK[github.com]
Wraps the game in vulkan. Only for vulkan users. This may reduce stuttering and boost performance (It is what removed the majority of microstuttering in my game). However it gave me screen tearing with the only fix being forcing vsync through nvidia control panel and setting the frames to 60. If you do have vulkan I suggest you grab it as this further reduced my microstutters and gave me a slightly more stable frame rate.
Install this manually by scrolling down to assets and grabbing the file called dxvk-2.2.tar.gz
Then unzipping and going into the x32 folder (even if your system is not x32 based this game is so the x64 isn going to work) and copying the file called d3d9.dll into your main directory (where your game launcher and exe is located). If for whatever reason this mod does not work for you or causes problems you can uninstall by removing that file. (You will most likely have to redo your bethINI (or manually set your settings if thats what you are doing).

Optional Oblivion BSA Decompressor[www.nexusmods.com]
Decompresses your BSAs for better performance. It will increase your game's file size but reduce loading times and stuttering. I don't personally use this because I already have decent performance and my game is located in program files x86. Your game cannot be installed in a OS system folder if you want to use this tool. (It is good practice to not install in that type of folder.)

And with that all said and done your game should be performing a lot better while being more stable. If you were simply looking to have your Oblivion running in tip top shape while you play vanilla this is the end for you. But for those who want those juicy QOL and attempt at modernizing (hey we trying there's not much to work with here) stick around for the next section in the guide.

4. QOL mods

Optional QOL mods that will help with the potato aspect of this game and make the game feel a bit more modernized + controller support for those who want it.

Appearances & Textures + Skeleton

Qarls Texture Pack III Redimized - QTP3 R[www.nexusmods.com]
1k texture pack. If you get this make sure to install the Compatibility patch afterwards off of the unofficial oblivion patch page and then get the Unofficial Oblivion Patch excessive draw calls fix[www.nexusmods.com] mod as well. If you do not use this texture pack mod you will not need the excessive call fix as the UOP has the fix already and the QTP compatibility patch is what requires the fix.
Also disable the POM feature in Oblivion Reloaded if using this texture pack. I was able to import this into NMM and install but if you run into any problems manually install this.

Coronerras Maximum Compatibility Skeletons[www.nexusmods.com]
Skeleton mod.

HG EyeCandy Body[www.nexusmods.com]
Body replacer with underwear option.

HGEC more revealing standard armor[www.nexusmods.com]
Armor replacers to showcase that replacer with an alt for the db armor HGEC B and D-Cup DarkBrotherhood Armor Replacer[www.nexusmods.com] Install the more revealing standard armor manually if you want to avoid the OMOD NMM Bug. See section 9 for more info. If planning to use bashed patch uncheck/deactivate the HGEC_Special_armor_repl.esp in your plugins after installation.

Oblivion Character Overhaul version 2[www.nexusmods.com]
Goodbye to potato faces. This mod is the main reason we end up using bashed patch in this guide. If you do not want to use bashed patch at all you can basically avoid getting the mods that will conflict with this mod or do not get this mod. After installing this mod install the HGEC patch on the same page of the main mod if using the HGEC body replacer. And if you're planning to bashed patch get Oblivion Character Overhaul - Advanced Edition[www.nexusmods.com] and after installing only have the main esp replacer enabled in your plugins. Keep the other plugin labeled oblivion_character_overhaul_faces.esp unchecked/deactivated. You will also need OCOv2 - Filter Patch for Mods[www.nexusmods.com] (main file) as well. After installing also have it unchecked/deactivated. If you're planning to not use bashed patch and still want this mod you will need to avoid the filter patch + advanced edition. Instead get Untested Oblivion Character Overhaul v2 - Unofficial Patch[www.nexusmods.com] in order for npcs to keep the changes that the unofficial patch gives them and have the new visuals otherwise OCOv2 will revert the changes on the npcs and only keep the visuals (which I have done in the past lol).

New Eyes for OCO v2[www.nexusmods.com]
Eye replacer. I also use the bright eyes for the elves.

Overhauls

Ultimate Leveling[www.nexusmods.com]
Similar to the experience mod from skyrim. Allows you to either level up through an experienced based system like the fallout titles or skill based with an optional skill cap closer to vanilla oblivion. Can tweak through ini manually or LINK menu ingame. Install manually if you want to avoid the OMOD NMM Bug. See section 9 for more info.

No weapon decay[www.nexusmods.com]
For those who like skyrim/fo4 style no degrading. Optional file will apply to armor as well.
Currently isn't doing its job properly and only slowing down the degrading. Will look into this so you can skip this mod if you'd like.

Carry more stuff[www.nexusmods.com]
Increases carry weight significantly. Comes with two esps. Use one or the other. The light variant is much more grounded compared to the very large increase of the standard esp.

Civil Vampires[www.nexusmods.com]
No more sun damage and people will not attack you as a stage 4 vampire. Similar to those settings in better vampires.

Oblivion Weather Control[www.nexusmods.com]
I know the rain haters gonna love this one.

Companion Vilja[www.nexusmods.com]
Make sure to grab the NMM friendly all in one option.

NorthernUI[www.nexusmods.com]
UI Overhaul in the style of skyui. There is a second option on this mod called vanilla style for those who prefer the standard UI but want the benefits of northern UI (That is the variant I am using). For my controller brethren this mod also adds controller support and you can also grab NorthernUI Wheel Hotkeys[www.nexusmods.com] This is the closest you're going to get in terms of playing with console controls/controller. Steam users that want to use a controller/gamepad disable steam input for this game as it will interfere with the controller support of this mod.

Testing Maskar's Oblivion Overhaul[www.nexusmods.com]
Major game overhaul that is very tweakable via ini files. Install manually. And if you are using this mod in conjunction with OCOv2 you will need to double back to OCOv2 - Filter Patch for Mods[www.nexusmods.com] but this time you'll be grabbing the OCOv2 - MOO Patch file.

A Brotherhood Renewed 1.1.2[tesalliance.org]
Extends the DB questline to restore it to its glory as in TES fashion by the end of the base DB questline the chapter is typically down to a very small amount of people and very weakened from a purging event. The main filter patch in OCOv2 - Filter Patch for Mods[www.nexusmods.com] also contains support for this mod if you are bashed patching and using OCOv2.

5. QOL mods (Continued)

Optional Better Cities[www.nexusmods.com]
These are the options I used during the installer. Copy this if you are planning to use my bashed patch that will include Better Cities. Better Cities merged, Blood & mud for Bravil, Opened Better Cities for Anvil, Better Imperial City merged, Imperial isle, Imperial City waterfront fps patch, Skip the replacer plugins and for intergration patches grab the HGEC female body. This mod is a can of worms (tbh OCOv2 is the real can of worms but it is also a pretty heavy mod in the sense that it will body your performance and you will most likely be messing with graphical options to find that sweet spot. This is why I made it optional as while I think this mod adds a lot to the game and would love it to be used by all. It isn't exactly an easy mod to run especially if your trying to keep your oblivion looking pretty to an extent.) But in order to use this mod with OCOv2 you need to use the filter patch in OCOv2 - Filter Patch for Mods[www.nexusmods.com]
Better cities is a modular mod that essentially overhauls all the cities with other really dope features read the mod description for further information. If your looking to better your in-game performance for this mod consider tweaking the following settings to these values in oblivion.ini iMinGrassSize=120, fGrassEndDistance=3000, fGrassStartFadeDistance=2000, bUseWaterReflectionsActors=0, bUseWaterReflectionsMisc=0, bUseWaterReflectionsStatics=0. That alone should help boost frames in the cities that are very problematic but you can tweak further in both OR and other settings. I will have my ini along side OR config (and ORC.ini) files up on the discord for both reference and personal use. Keep in mind I do have a lot of other things turned up.

You can decide what cities are open or closed either through the ini located in the data folder Better Cities Resources.ini or once in game you can use the LINK mcm. (I'd save this for when you are actually ready to play.)

Simple Keyring[www.nexusmods.com]
Pretty solid QOL mod as there are many keys in oblivion and you don't want that clutter in your inventory. I haven't had issues other than having to remove certain keys from the keyring before they are able to be used.

Thats about it on this front. This would have more mods but I have had to get rid of a few mods that are no longer viable because they are straight up gone or have become unstable over the years (and may now clash with something in this LO).

6. Replaced/Unused Mods

This section is for mods I have replaced either due to finding an alternative or something is preventing me from using it with the current load order. These mods should work with the LO unless I explicitly say so.

Francescos Creatures and Items - V5[www.nexusmods.com]
Used to use this mod and it works fine with the LO. I did swap it with Maskar's Oblivion Overhaul[www.nexusmods.com] for a few reasons with the first being Maskar is actively working on his mod thats always a plus. The second thing is this mod uses BAIN to install. Granted you can totally install this mod manually (its how I did it in the past as I don't use Wrye Bash as a MM anymore) it is annoying considering the amount of files you do have to sift and decide to use as you have to pick and choose what stuff to use while manually dropping the files. I suggest using MOO as its newer and while manual installation is the only route for that mod your just dumping everything into the data folder instead of having to deal with picking and choosing stuff with this mod.

Oblivion Marriage[www.nexusmods.com]
Pretty good mod I used to use but it clashes with OCO will revert the person you marry to their vanilla state if you have it under that mod. If you let OCO have priority the script just does not work.
OCOv2 really breaking my balls.

7. Bashed Patch

Time for the dreaded bashed patch. (its actually not very difficult but can be super confusing for those that are not versed in Wrye Bash at all.) If you have no intentions of using bashed patch as you have set up your LO to not require it then you do not need the information in this section. Even if you plan to mirror one of the two LOs and use one of my generated bashed patches I suggest you at least read the basics so you do not botch anything as even though you won't be making the patch they are fickle in the way they work so it is good to understand how they work and how to make sure they work otherwise you might have a bad time.

The reason we are even going to be creating a bashed patch is because certain mods that we are using require filter patches. (Specifically OCOv2 which is why if you don't use OCOv2 or if you make sure to avoid mods that conflict with OCOv2 you do not need a bashed patch.) These things basically are one patch that have a large amount of mod patches in one file. This renders the thing useless on its own unless you happen to have every single mod for that filter patch which is super unlikely. Why? Because now the patch requires you to have the required master and you aren't going to have all those masters. Here's the other caveat to bashed patches. They must be rebuilt if you do anything at all to your plugins/LO. So if you change the order of any plugins, remove/add mods, or activate/deactivate any plugins you essentially have to rebuild the bashed patch. This basically makes pre generating bashed patches for other people basically trouble as it doesn't take much for someone to slightly alter a LO especially since people like to add their own mods even after using my guides or won't use all the mods in said guide. This is why im going to tell you guys how to do it step by step so A. you won't be confined strictly to the two setups im making & B. creating your own bashed patch based upon your LO will have less chance of running into bugs, errors or worse CTDs compared to copying me.

I do understand though that for some inexperienced modders creating a bashed patch may be a bit too much for them. Which is why I decided to not only explain how to do it but also actually generate two different setups with two different bashed patches. The makeup of these two setups will be exactly the same with one key difference. One will feature Better Cities the other will not as it is an intensive mod and I understand not everyone will want to deal with trying to tweak their game to get stable frames. (they will also be based on OR not ORC so you will have to generate your own bashed patch for that) I will have both the files up on my YT/Modding Discord[discord.gg] and they will also have the exact load order to go with them with 0 being deactivated and 1 being a activated plugin. This will ensure the bashed patches will work accordingly. But seriously if you decide to go the route of using one of my generated bashed patches you must grab every single mod in this guide other than the following mods

- Oblivion Reloaded Combined(ORC) (this is an alternative mod to OR so currently not using it.)
- A fix for the crash after defeating Jyggalag (This may become part of the BP at a later date.)
- DXVK (This will not effect the bashed patch.)
- Oblivion BSA Decompressor (This should not effect the bashed patch and I personally do not use it either.)
- Oblivion Character Overhaul v2 - Unofficial Patch (This is only for people not using bashed patch.)
- Better Cities (You can either have this mod or not I will have a different LO & patch for either having this mod or not.)
- Any mods from section 5. Replaced/Unused Mods (I am not currently using the mods in that section.)

I suggest you install the mods in batches and test just incase not just to be safe but also so you can tweak settings as you go if your running into any performance issues. (If you've been following the guide so far you have probably already done this) You won't really need to worry about the game having problems until you get towards the middle and end of section 4 at that point you could probably get away with installing the rest off so you can drop the bashed patch in and see if everything is solid. With that being said once you have fully installed everything You can go onto the discord download the file for the LO you are using drop it into your data folder and then look at the LO for said patch and replicate it in your MM. If you did everything right your donzo and good to go. I'd read the rest of this section & guide for that matter just for the additional information.

Now for those of us that want to build our own bashed patch (or want to understand the process) First sort your LO. Then you will need Wrye Bash[www.nexusmods.com] and I know some of you want to know why are we getting Wrye Bash or why aren't we just using Wrye Bash fully to mod this game but one thing at a time lets deal with this first. After downloading and unzipping the tool into its own folder run it (preferably as an admin) and select oblivion. Once we are in you'll want to be in the mods tab and you will want the following plugins unchecked.

(I am using the standard looter weight esp so the light one is disabled for me)
oblivion_character_overhaul_faces.esp
HGEC_Special_armor_repl.esp
OCOv2 - Filter Patch for Mods.esp

You will also want to place the bashed patch above the MOO master as bashed patch always has to load before MOO. If your bashed isn't already generated go to file and click new bashed patch and place it right above the main MOO mod so it'll be third to last on your LO. Now right click on the bashed patch and select rebuild patch. You can merge the available plugins to cut down on your max plug size but I am not looking to maximize plugin size and merging can create issues if you don't know what you're doing. Merging is a you either love it or hate it situation I am in the latter. So for this specific application deselect (or don't its your bashed patch) the plugins and hit ok. One more pop up will show up and you will want to once again deselect those same plugins in the merge patches section. Everything else that is selected or not leave it alone its already set up for you (unless you know what you're doing and want to further tweak your game as there are some interesting features in this thing) and then go on ahead and press build patch. It may take some time or be very fast just wait and when its done you'll get an overview on what was accomplished.
Hit ok and then it will ask you to activate the bashed patch hit yes and that's it your bashed patch is complete and now you are ready to play. Remember whenever you do anything to your LO you will have to rebuild the patch.

If you really want to know why we only used Wrye Bash just to create the bashed patch and not manage our mods in this guide check out section 9.

8. Known Errors & Bugs

- There's some weird shadow flickering problem that also casts really deep and splotchy shadows on NPCs when using Oblivion Reloaded. To fix set actor value to 0 for shadowexteriors + shadowinteriors.

- Hotkeys not working properly on controller with the NorthernUI Wheel Hotkeys. Also currently looking into this. Could be an issue with custom keybinds.

- Editing anything with the Official Oblivion Construction Set (I tried to mess with those values on the decay mod to no avail) has lead to the water in the ocean to become pink/purple. There is a mod to rectify that but i reverted my files to before they were edited with this as I have yet to actually find a way to fix the decay mod.

- More of a feature but it can feel like a bug. Very easy to trigger the dodge roll with controller I have turned off the setting in both OR config and ORC.ini if for whatever reason you want it back on you will have to turn it on yourself.

- If you cannot move while using kb/m check your main ini file and turn off bUse joystick=1 to 0.

- Sometimes after the game loads you will have no sfx, or dialogue audio only music. Usually restarting the game will fix this. This can also progress to after hitting play on the splash screen the game never actually opens and the small black window stays there while oblivion stops responding. The fix for this also will work for the audio bug. Restart/shutdown your computer. Idk what causes this maybe its a memory thing as this happened to me after restarting the game numerous times trying out different ini settings because I was looking to get better performance.

- Some OMODs will install properly on NMM (The newer ones at least.) but upon relaunching NMM they will typically have a mod loading error and will vanish from your mods tab. They will still be installed though. And you will always get that error every time you load. I suggest you manually install these mods but there is a way to work around this see the next section.

- ORC has this super weird camera jitter and some other issues with its camera. Disable all camera related settings in the ini to rectify.

- When using controller you will sometimes not be able to fast travel. Not sure what triggers this either but you can just switch to your mouse real quick and it'll work that way.

- BethINI will cause your game to CTD if you do not turn off auto-detect invalid settings (and can also occur if you set AA to 16)

- DXVK will cause screen tearing unless you set your frames & force v-sync through nvidia control panel (or whatever the amd equivalent is)

- When taking damage screen will blur further and further depending on damage. I think this is actually a feature (pretty sure its from OR but I have yet to remember what setting to turn off for this.) but it sucks imo and I will be looking into a way to remove/turn it off.

- From the better cities mod page
Currently known issues (as of version 6.3.1a)
The mod was just updated very recently will update with any major bugs.

9. FAQ & Bugs/Errors Solutions

FAQ & bugs/errors solutions

Q: Why do you have two sections dedicated to bugs/errors?

A: It its quite a few things and this section will go more in depth on certain bugs such as the OMOD NMM bug.

Q: The vanilla map sucks I need map mod.

A: Wanted to use the Just a bigger map mod but it does not work with the northernui mod at least not without some additional work and this guide already has quite a lot of work required so I decided not to include it. Feel free to suggest me any map mods that worth well with northernui specifically the vanilla style.

Q: I need further 1 on 1 help and this comment section won't cut it.

A: The random FRs are killing me so here is my YT/Modding Discord[discord.gg] I will be able to help you out much further if the situation is beyond comments and if you gotta upload photos for better support.

Q: What is BAIN?

A: Bash Automatic INstaller (or BAsh INstaller). Basically mods meant to be installed with Wrye Bash and have a wizard.txt

Q: If Wrye Bash and OBMM give the least amount of problems why use NMM for this guide?

A: I know NMM like the back of my hand so i'm able to mess around with it better. I also used to use WB back in the day and granted it is very powerful and still a very relevant mod manager especially with oblivion. Imo its not beginner friendly at all and pretty complicated when it comes to a MM. Its also currently a fight which MM should be used for oblivion as WB is typically the one recommended but lots of people swear by OBMM others will swear by MO2. For every person praising OBMM I see someone else going I have a problem. And lets say MO2 would be the ideal MM I don't like MO2 and it has personally given me problems in the past so I just decided to stick with what I know as whatever mod NMM has a hard time installing I can just manually install. So as always the MM you use is at your discretion.

Q: So why do we need to download Wrye Bash in this guide if we aren't going to use it as an MM?

A: Believe me if it was up to me I would not be using it at all I want to minimize the amount of stuff and work you guys have to do. However it's the only way to produce a bashed patch and we need that due to the fact that some of the patches that we need specifically for OCOv2 are inside of filter patches which only work by using a bashed patch to basically pull what we need. So we are only using Wrye Bash as a tool in order to produce said patch. If you are well versed in Wrye Bash or want to be (there are plenty of Wrye Bash guides out there) go ahead and use it for this guide it'll save you some grief and allow you to tap into BAIN based mods. And if you're a real mad lad (and big beef modder) you can even use OBMM to unpack the OMODs and turn them BAIN ready. Me personally I rather install manually at that point though.

Q: I got a mod loading error with NMM with X mod?

A: This occurs due to the fact that it is a OMOD which are mods intended for OBMM. Typically these mods have to be installed manually as they can often not install properly on nexus. But some newer OMODs do actually install fine on NMM such as LINK, HGEC sexy armor replacer, and ultimate leveling. But due to them being OMODs this issue occurs where after you install them and launch NMM again afterwards you get this error and they are no longer in your downloaded/installed section on NMM. So the mods themselves are still installed and work fine but this error is going to pop up everytime it launches and when you actually want to remove the mod you can readd the mod from nexus like if you were going to download it again. It'll get added back to the list and you should be able to deactivate the mod (or reinstall it then uninstall it). It can be a nuisance but can be completely avoided via manual installation.

Q: The game is too hard with the mods that are included.

A: The difficulty in this game especially with the mods we got cooking are extremely tweakable. In other words you can make the game as easy or as difficult as you want. You can even drop the in-game difficulty slider before you decide to mess around with the inis. The default setting for MOO's difficulty is (2) advanced so you can drop that lower as well.

Q: NMM sucks use MO2

A: You couldn't pay me to use MO2

Q: LOOT does not work

A: LOOT does work just use it as intended.

Q: How can I launch via Steam and/or have steam track my hours when using xOBSE?

A:xOBSE auto runs when using the game exe or launching through steam.

Q: Why do I need to do so much work to play this game? This is ridiculous

A: Technically you only need to do sections 1-3 for the game to work just fine. That does not take a long time. Its not a lot of work. You know what is a lot of work. Figuring out what mods work together, testing mod combinations for hours to make sure they work together and troubleshooting to fix any issues. Or better yet the people that actually sat down to create these mods and the tools to use them. It is a privilege to mod our games and it is very nice of the creators of these mods to not only make these mods for free (as some of them eventually start to gate their mods through paywalls) but to maintain these mods, update them, and keep working on them to make them better and reduce bugs on their own time. So no I wouldn't call it so much work.

Q: Why are there "Sex mods" in this guide?

A: There are zero sex mods in this guide nudity does not equate "sex". You need full blown animations for that and this guide does not have this. This is a rated M title so if you are "afraid" of nudity or just don't like it you can just not get the mod wow I know right? HGEC even has an underwear option for the record. Don't need a whole paragraph on why some pixels on a screen enrage you.

Q: Male body replacer?

So robert's body isn exactly NMM friendly. Its designed for BAIN or OBMM. Since im not using either im not including this mod. You can use the mod with NMM but your gonna have to mess around to get it working and you can't just pick the body type you want. Manual is also an option but it is a little tedious. Harts boners is the next best thing but good luck getting rid of the files if you ever wanna uninstall as its one of those mods that likes to stick around after uninstalling so you would probably have to nuke the files it touches and reverify or be proactive and keep backups of everything it touches. (That is probably a OMOD on NMM problem tbh.)

Q: Is there a way to remove neck seams?

A: Yeah there's a mod called Seamless - OCOv2[www.nexusmods.com] NS don't really bother me too much so I did not bother to get this mod. If you need them pesky seams gone and use OCOv2 there is your answer.

Q: why use X over Y?

A: Usually when there are multiple mods that do the same thing I will often pick one over the other because maybe the mod i'm using works better with other mods in the LO. Or it has better performance.

Q: My performance tanked after getting X mod

A: Oblivion is really poorly optimized even after all the stuff we did to it the game is still going to have some fps drops once in a while. If its bad consider removing some of the texture mods or lower some settings. And make sure all the important settings on Oblivion Reloaded are turned on.

Q: X mod isn essential this guide sucks.

A: All mods after section 3 are not mandatory. The guides in my essential guide collection are named so due to the fact that the first 3 sections are Essential. Anything in those sections are required with the exception of one or two mods that are included as they improve performance but are not required for stability.

10. FAQ & Bugs/Errors Solutions (Continued)

Q: I'm missing certain DLC esp files but I have goty deluxe edition how can I download them?

A: So steam is a little cooked and will basically say you own goty deluxe even if you don't the only way to check if you actually own goty deluxe is to check your purchase history as that will show if you bought the standard goty or goty deluxe. If you are running into this problem you most likely bought the standard goty and the only way to get the additional 9 dlc from goty deluxe is to basically buy the game again but the goty deluxe edition so you can just add the dlc. You will eat it on the additional copy of the game that gets lost but it is what it is. I suggest you make sure you buy goty deluxe on that first kop to avoid this (unless you don't care/want the additional dlc but you will need these files if you're planning to use one of the pre generated bashed patches.)

Q: This guide helped me how I can show my thanks?

A: Leaving feedback and a Thank you is more than enough for me. I made these guides to help people so by leaving feedback you make the guide more visible to more people that could use the help. And if that's not enough for you I do make content on YT checking out a video would mean a lot to me but do not feel obligated to do so. As I said before feedback and a thank you is already more than enough.

Q: Can I use X mod with this guide/LO?

A: I won't always have an answer for that some mods are new and I've never used them or I just don't have experience with x mod. But it does not hurt to ask. Generally you'll want to pick the comments apart and look to see if any major issues are going on or if it clashes with a mod you already use. Also there are just certain older outdated mods you shouldn't be using period. Comments will sometimes reflect that. Other times there will be notoriously older broken mods most users know about.

Q: Can I clean X?

A: I strongly suggest against cleaning anything.

Q: Can I update mods mid save/playthrough?

A: I've done it so many times with no issues (recently I did brick a skyrim save tho) but you always risk ruining a save file so only do it knowing the risk that it may work out, you might have bugs later or you may lose the file.

Q: Can I remove mods or add mods mid save/playthrough?

A: See previous question. Certain mods though are safe for removal mid run and the mod author will make note of that. YMMV at the end of the day.

Q: Can you make a modding guide for X game?

A: If there is demand for it and I have experience modding the game. Yes I will. Just bear in mind these guides are a massive time sink and helping people troubleshoot does take a lot of time so you guys gotta let me know. Put the demand into it. You want a modding guide for a game please comment, let me know on the discord etc. The more demand it has the higher it will go on.

Q: Wabbajack?

A: Don't know how to use or create anything with wabbajack. Not looking to learn how to use wabbajack either as a mod manager is already more than enough for me in terms of "assisting tools". If somebody wants to make a wabbajack with this modding guide feel free to do so. I will gladly add a link to it in the guide for those that don't want to actually learn how to mod but want to reap the rewards and credit you provided it has the full LO. Obviously I will not be able to give any support on this matter with any bugs or issues if someone actually were to do this.

Wrap up

This was my most difficult guide yet. Every time I thought I was finished boom new information popped up that would force me to scrap chunks or rewrite/redo certain things. Heck at one point there was going to be no bashed patch period. Was also a pain getting the performance going with better cities. Even if you don't use that mod there is a good chance you're going to run into some dips here and there. You can play around with the settings to make it work or even go full idc and disable grass and possibly trees as both of those things play a major factor in performance. I please ask you guys to thoroughly go over this guide as you use it as I went a little extra on it to try and prevent problems before they even occur as prevention is the best method of dealing with this stuff.

And thats about it for now at least. May add or remove things as time goes on. But all the mods that aren't labeled untested have had many hours put through them with little to no issues. So in theory you guys should be good. But mods don't get installed properly sometimes or more often than not another mod that a person has from their own order can clash. Having a bad load order can cause issues. Or even just missing one little step can sometimes cause a bug.

So if you do run into issues feel free to drop a comment I'll do my best to help troubleshooting but if you are not using NMM I may or may not be able to help you depending on what the situation is. Of course WB is ideal but again difficult to get a handle on. Thanks for reading everyone and I hope this helped your Oblivion. Whether you came here for the whole enchilada or 1 small piece of information or mod thats enough for me knowing I helped you out just a little.



As I write up more mod guides I will link them below:

Morrowind 2024 Essential Modding Guide

Fallout 3 2024 Essential Modding Guide

Fallout New Vegas 2024 Essential Modding Guide

Fallout 4 2024 Essential Modding Guide

Skyrim SE 2024 Essential Modding Guide

Starfield 2024 Essential Modding Guide (WIP)

Baldur's Gate 3 2024 Modding Guide (WIP)

The Witcher 3 2024 Modding Guide

Cyberpunk 2077 Modding Guide

[Flipbug]

I just want to mention for anyone looking at this in 2025 that there is a tool called Wabbajack that can install a huge modpack (Heartland Redux) that does all the above automatically :)

[Drake Platinum THE WORLD]

Even I get FPS drops lol. Don't get me wrong better parts always help just know the game isn't the best utilizer.

[AbDive]

I need to up my GPU game, godrays tank my FPS' to 40ish in certain areas around the imperial city.


But I LOVE OblivionReloaded!!!

thank you!

[Drake Platinum THE WORLD]

I've noticed pre skyrim (so pre creation engine gamebyro) really doesn't like AMD gpus. They have to do a lot more hoop jumping idk why but I feel for my team red friends.

[Methos-Kyuubi777]

@M4ST3R
It also happens every so often with Nvidia GPUs. It only lasts for a few seconds on my end, and the way I've noticed it stop is by pulling up the Inventory or other menu for a few seconds, then exiting that menu. It mainly happens with dresses for females with my card.

[M4ST3R]

It seems after installing Oblivion Reloaded characters clothing and armours are transparent or outright invisible at certain lighting? I found some info that it is a issue for AMD card players. Does anyone have a fix for this or might it be a some other issue?

[Methos-Kyuubi777]

@onepumpman
Oblivion GOTY hasn't been updated since the DLC Houses, Quests, and Horse Armor came out. That was over a decade-and-a-half ago. Bethesda has left it alone since then. The Remaster is the one that Virtuos and Bethesda were pushing, which runs on two engines.

Look for incompatibilities, or verify files in Steam. Sometimes mods will delete files for some reason and they need to be re-downloaded by verifying the integrity of the files.

[onepumpman =⊱Ɑ͞ ̶͞ ̶͞]

The game used to be working well with all the mods here installed. Today, the game just stopped working. Sad. I think there was some recent updates to Oblivion GOTY that broke it.

I deleted the game and reinstalled from scratch

[Methos-Kyuubi777]

@Drake Platinum THE WORLD
I have to agree. Starfield is beautiful. I pre-ordered it, though was not able to play until recently. (Needed Fiber Optics to survive the Download Process. Would have taken days without it.) I still don't understand why people who never played it have a massive Hate Boner for it. It's polished enough to play well and there are a decent number of mods and creations to make it enjoyable. I'd talk about the remake of Oblivion, but don't have space in here for it. Lol

[RLCGames]

Yeah that does sound like a good idea. There was about 130 mods for the remaster as of yesterday when I checked. At least for this one we got two separate games instead of the update like with Fallout 4. Makes it much better.