Many fans would argue that Fallout: New Vegas is the best in the series. Released in 2010, the game has aged considerably in the intervening years. The fact that gamers keep coming back to it, again and again, is a testament to its superb overall quality. The RPG mechanics are one-of-a-kind, with the game combining the best of both the old-school Fallout games along with modern innovations to make for a brilliant role-playing experience that continues to be Obsidian Entertainment's magnum opus to this day.

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However, there's no getting around the fact that visually, Fallout: New Vegas is a fossil. Luckily, as with most products associated with Bethesda and Obsidian, the modding community is quite active. With the right essential Fallout: New Vegas graphics mods in place, this game can be given a new lease on life. These mods should serve as the core of any player's load order.

Updated February 4, 2026 by Mark Sammut: We have added a few more FNV mods to this article, along with removing a couple that covered similar ground as other recommendations.

1 Meshes and Collision - Totally Enhanced Nifs (MAC-TEN)

Fixes Hundreds Of Game Models

fallout new vegas mod Meshes and Collision

As great as Fallout: New Vegas is, the game has its share of tiny bugs that start to compound over a play session. We are not talking about game-defining glitches that can ruin a playthrough, but small oddities that just don't look right. Items floating ominously, landscapes that seem to have a piece missing, and players getting stuck in random places.

The Meshes and Collision mod seeks to fix a lot of these issues, covering hundreds of bugs across both the vanilla content and its expansions. This mod's changes do not really announce themselves, and you will probably forget that you even have it installed after a while. However, that's the point.

Inthegrave's MAC-TEN NVR builds on the original Meshes and Collision mod, and it is also worth a download.

2 Nevada Skies - Weather Effects

Bring The Weather With You

Nevada Skies - Weather Effects

This mod completely overhauls the weather system. It introduces over 400 weather variations that help to change the game's overall feel. Not only that, but this mod also overhauls interior lighting, making it so the outside weather and the interior lights work seamlessly together.

This mod is perfect for those who want to inject a bit more life into the world. The weather patterns in the vanilla version of the game get a little boring after a while, and this mod really allows players to spice things up.

3 A Little More Lamplight

FNV's Streetlights Will Shrine Brighter Than Ever

A Little More Light

For all the things the developers got right, there were a few things that slipped through the net during the game's development. One of those things was the way that streetlights work. Unfortunately, most of the streetlights in the vanilla version of the game are rather lackluster. They have very little detail.

This mod completely changes the way that streetlights work, making them much more visually pleasing. Instead of a blurred light, this mod injects some pretty detailed light mechanics into streetlights in various locations all over the map. While the mod is small, it is very well-made, and it helps to change the feel of nightlife in the Mohave.

4 Performance Of The Titans

Improves Performance By Removing Geometry That Cannot Be Seen

Performance Of The Titans fnv mod

OK, this mod recommendation is a bit of a special case, as it isn't really about graphics. Performance of the Titans will not make Fallout: New Vegas nicer to look at or improve textures; heck, if everything works correctly, players should not be reminded visually that it is even installed. Instead, this mod seeks to improve the performance by removing out-of-sight geometry that is weighing down the game at no benefit to the player.

This mod's usefulness will depend on your set-up, as it is mostly for systems that have a CPU that is bottlenecking a GPU. If that is the case, you might want to try this mod as it should reduce the draw calls between the two hardware.

5 Natural Waters For New Vegas

New Vegas Gets Some Gorgeous Water

Natural Waters For New Vegas

Getting water to look good in a video game is a challenge. Even big-budget games such as GTA 5 have some issues surrounding water. The Natural Waters For New Vegas mod makes the water look considerably more realistic than it normally does. With this mod, water is more reflective. Not only that, but the color of the water will change to match environmental factors such as the weather.

This mod works great alongside most other graphic mods out there, making it a great choice for those who like to download lots of mods.

6 Improved Lighting Shaders

A Graphics Mod That Makes A Big Difference

Improved Lighting Shaders mod for Fallout New Vegas

The lighting in the base version of Fallout: New Vegas is all over the place. Each cell is limited to four light sources when it can support ten, which leads to odd moments where the lights get cut off illogically, illumination flickers as players move around, and certain areas aren't lit up properly. Suffice it to say, players would want to get their hands on a Fallout: New Vegas graphics mod that does a great job of ensuring that anyone who wants to enjoy the magic of New Vegas isn't pulled out of the game's immersive qualities because of these issues.

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This is accomplished with the Improved Lighting Shaders mod, which does precisely what is stated in the title. Players don't have to deal with odd lighting issues with this mod, which is pretty unintrusive and doesn't add too much load to an engine that can buckle in no time if people download too many incompatible mods in one go. Given how lighting plays a huge role in augmenting the visuals of a game, it's easy to see why many players would be interested in acquiring this amazing Fallout: New Vegas mod.

7 Lighting Enhanced Normal Textures

Add A Bit Of Shine To FNV's World

Lighting Enhanced Normal Textures fallout new vegas mods

In this article, we will recommend quite a few lighting mods, just so players can pick one that fits their needs the best. Compared to some other releases, Lighting Enhanced Normal Textures is a bit more subtle in its improvements, as it mainly focuses on giving a better shine to metal and glass objects. Although that might not sound like much on the surface, this mod still changes a lot of models in Fallout: New Vegas, all the while not really impacting performance in any meaningful way.

You will need to install Vanilla Plus Tonemapper for Lighting Enhanced Normal Textures to work properly, but they are both lightweight mods that enhance the base experience without drastically changing it. The most exciting FNV graphics mods tend to feature big and widespread changes that are immediately apparent, but they don't all have to leave the vanilla version completely behind.

8 Energy Visuals Plus 2.0

Super Energy

Energy Visuals Plus 2.0 mod for Fallout New Vegas

The Energy weapons in the Fallout series have been a blast to use time and time again, and New Vegas is no exception. There's something inherently satisfying about shooting an enemy until they're nothing more than a formless lump of goo and ash that can be looted. However, the base visuals in this department can be a bit lacking for players more used to modern sensibilities, making it the need of the hour for a Fallout: New Vegas graphics mod to immerse players in this department.

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The Energy Visuals Plus 2.0 does a great job of enhancing numerous aspects of the game's visuals, both in and out of combat. The energy weapons are an obvious mention here, feeling more punchy and satisfying than ever before. Watching enemies melt and burn to a crisp feels more cathartic than ever. On top of this, the mod also does a great job of adding extra effects to special melee weapons, projectiles, explosions, and flares, making them awe-inspiring in the best way possible.

9 WTH - Weapon Textures from Heaven

Realistic Weapons Mod

WTH - Weapon Textures from Heaven mod for Fallout New Vegas

Texture mods are all the rage for Fallout: New Vegas, and some mods add new textures that don't quite fit the vanilla game. It can be immersion-breaking to download weapon mod textures that make these armaments look completely different from the rest of the game and its art style.

Players who want to be careful about the visual mods they download for New Vegas can try WTH. The improved textures make every weapon look authentic and beautiful, with players having the option to choose alternate textures for mods that look different from their regular look if they wish.

10 Power Armor Visual Enhancement (PAVE)

Make Power Armor Look As Awesome As They Are To Use

Power Armor Visual Enhancement (PAVE) for Fallout New Vegas

Power Armor is one of the most iconic aspects of any Fallout game. While Fallout 4 may have arguably perfected the implementation of this massive armor, this doesn't mean that using Power Armor in New Vegas isn't fun. As long as players have the training required to wear this armor, they can tank damage and decimate foes while wearing this powerful suit of armor.

However, even the biggest New Vegas fans have to agree that the look of the Power Armor is a bit too muddy, given the many years that have followed since the game's release. With this simple mod, Power Armor gets a noticeable visual upgrade that is in line with the original design of this armor. It's a simple yet great mod that players should use if they love using this powerful suit of armor in the game and want it to look as imposing as it feels.