As a lifelong RPG reroller, I am obsessed with restarting titles until my first trip to the credits is perfect. For 15 years, my white whale has been Fallout: New Vegas. After 323 hours and countless characters, I finally beat it—and realized that this game doesn't need as many mods as you might think.

The sheer scale of Fallout: New Vegas makes completion a daunting task. Between deciding on a Cowboy sniper or an unarmed ninja, and choosing between factions like Yes Man or the NCR, the possibilities are endless. The game’s arc from Goodsprings to Novac opens into a massive world that incentivately pushed me to try everything before reaching Hoover Dam.

The Danger of Over-Modding Fallout: New Vegas

Part of my struggle was realizing I had never actually played the game without some form of modification. Even when I received it for Christmas in 2010, the modding scene was already in full force. This time, I went minimalist, and I don't think it is a coincidence that it was the first time I ever reached the credits.

I love modding, and I believe studios should encourage it—even if it means AI voice catgirl companions inhabit Bethesda worlds. However, many popular communities focus on heavy experience tweaks that change visual and mechanical structures to fit a mod author's specific desires. This can easily get out of hand.

We have all seen the YouTube titles promising a "4K Remaster" that transforms a game into something unrecognizable. It turns the game into an open-ended wish fulfillment platform rather than a discrete RPG classic. At a certain point, too much choice—from "tacticool" weapon packs to extreme content—can cause your experience to stray too far from the core game.

Finding the Sweet Spot with Essential Fixes

This isn't a plea to avoid all mods; I still enjoy certain visual improvements. I simply believe that players should give themselves permission to play with minimal interference. For my recent run, I avoided the heavy lifting of projects like "Viva New Vegas" to avoid the headache of complex dependencies on the Steam Deck.

Instead, I focused on a few essential stability fixes that I have relied on since 2013:

  • Anti-Crash
  • Tick Fix
  • Heap Replacer
  • Yukichigai Unofficial Patch

I did allow myself two small aesthetic indulgences: Ranger Helmets Neck Covers (because the official art shows them covered) and Improved Ranger Coats, which prevents the signature outfit from billowing like a gown.

This back-to-basics approach paired perfectly with the "eat and sleep" mechanics of Hardcore mode. It was incredibly gratifying to have my least-modded playthrough be my most successful. I may be a hypocrite—I am already eyeing the JSawyer Mod for my next run—but for now, the minimalist path is what finally let me finish the journey.