Mods that make the game harder

[bruhman5milly]

I've got mods that make more enemies spawn, zombie survival, etc. just looking for a mod like sexlab survival for skyrim to make the game that bit harder i guess

[TheBurningHeart]

https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/58440

https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/58429

 

Or

 

https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/17374?tab=files

[shadowlord445]

better locational damage

https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/3815

game configuration menu, I set damage done to 3, and damage dealt to 1, works pretty well

https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/33759

deadlier deathclaws

https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/13822

mutant menagerie has some decent enemies

 https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/53550

[Karna5]

I find Higher Level Perks mod to be essential to my Fallout 4 game play because vanilla Fallout 4 only scaled difficulty to  around levle 50. This mod keeps the game hard to well over 100th level.

 

High Level Perks (Modular Edition) at Fallout 4 Nexus - Mods and community (nexusmods.com)

[bruhman5milly]

thx for the suggestions will be sure to check these out

[Reefymapupset]

Check out Arbitration. It has some highly configurable options. In my experience the damage taken modifier is the simplest and single most impactful change you could make to difficulty. Complimented further by level list modifiers and spawn overhauls. I personally like to sprinkle hardcore economy mods on top of all this for a truly gruelling survival experience.   

 

My current config is: 

 

WOTC

Arbitration - Survival Damage by Player 1x.esp=1
Arbitration - Survival Damage to Player 2x.esp=1
Arbitration - Reduced Grenade Spam.esp=1
Arbitration - Stealth Overhaul.esp=1
Arbitration - Sneak Detection Distance Increase (Half).esp=1
Arbitration - Fall Damage Overhaul.esp=1
Arbitration - Reduced Reload Speed.esp=1
Arbitration - Speed Uninstaller (Remove This and Save).esp=1
Arbitration - Better Combat AI.esp=1

noexfromint.esp=1
5pc.esp=1

Less Settlement Resources 1.0 50.esp=1
Harder Enemies 0.75 lvlmult 70.esp=1
Harder Barter 0.7 - Cap Collector 2 Fix.esp=1
Harder Barter 0.7 60.esp=1
Harder expansion of settlements 1.0 1,5x.esp=1
Less Legendary Items 1.0 50.esp=1

Less Loot and Ammo 1.3.esp=1
Less Loot and Ammo 1.3 - Less Ammo 70.esp=1
Less Loot and Ammo 1.3 - Less Meds and Chems 30.esp=1
Less Loot and Ammo 1.3 - Less Stuff 50.esp=1

 

 

I wouldn't recommend this to the faint of heart, but it's a good recipe for creating the ultimate bottom-feeder roleplaying experience. Pairs really well with mods like AAF-Violate, Sexual Harassment. 

 

(Note: Reduced XP I would consider one other vital component to maintaining hardcore balance. Without it you just snowball like you normally would) 

[Karna5]

On a related note, for the last 15 or 20  (or more) Fallout 4 playthroughs I haven't worn any armor at all. And half my playthroughs I don't use weapons  (though I build up the fisticuffs skill as high as possible).

 

Also the latest version of AAF Violate lets you set your character to be Essential which means you won't die if you're defeated (you go into a bleed out state). You can still die to exploding collars but not to normal attacks and explosions. It lets you role play being defeated without having to redo fights over and over and works great with gameplay in which you don't use armor and use the higher level perks mod (up to 2.5x damage against you) where even normal raiders can kill you in 2 or 3 hits when you're 100+ level.

[Lorphe]

Bethesda did such a poor job with Fallout 4... It's not designed to be hard in his own core design, everything is ofered to the player for him to feel like the top killing machine.

You have a power armor, settlers/traders, shitload of amunitions everywhere and heal patch after 2hours.

 

Ppl think Fallout 4 would be harder with more NPC and enemies, but it's the total opposite.

Play in survival modded only.

Make the game with 10 times less enemies (slower leveling, less loot).

Give them mostly melee weapons (make these encounter deadly).

Remove 90% of the game amunition and healing items.
Use a Death Alternative mod with a NO save scum function, only auto save every 15min.
Make consumable rare and expensive.
Remove VATS.

 

Now you have a hard game.

[Reefymapupset]

On 2/6/2023 at 2:20 PM, Lorphe said:

Bethesda did such a poor job with Fallout 4... It's not designed to be hard in his own core design, everything is ofered to the player for him to feel like the top killing machine.

You have a power armor, settlers/traders, shitload of amunitions everywhere and heal patch after 2hours.

 

Ppl think Fallout 4 would be harder with more NPC and enemies, but it's the total opposite.

Play in survival modded only.

Make the game with 10 times less enemies (slower leveling, less loot).

Give them mostly melee weapons (make these encounter deadly).

Remove 90% of the game amunition and healing items.
Use a Death Alternative mod with a NO save scum function, only auto save every 15min.
Make consumable rare and expensive.
Remove VATS.

 

Now you have a hard game.

 

A lot of users seeking, or at least pretending to seek a truly hardcore experience often neglect several vital components of balancing to make it actually viable. It is, as you said, counter-productive to add loads of enemies and nothing else. However things change quite drastically when one is bothered to add the supporting modifications needed to tie everything together. 

 

With a setup similar to what I posted, you will not ever make it through a single day without dying multiple times unless you just sit on your bum hiding in the corner. Literally every enemy, of which there are many, will one-shot you, or at the very least leave you severely maimed. In fact you probably have less than 10% chance of surviving a trip from Sanctuary to Concord in the earlier stages and even less chance of getting back.

 

You'll be clamouring for supplies, in an attempt to get any edge you can over enemies that are vastly higher level and do 200% damage. For the longest time, the only place you'll feel safe is cowering at settlements or behind walls. You'll get so desperate that you'll turn to enemies for help.    

 

That said there are some balancing aspects which I've yet to find a proper solution for, namely player scaling and more consistent level-list integration. Even so, this is a night and day contrast to playing vanilla survival on hardest settings. It's not even remotely comparable, which is precisely the reason I enjoy it. 

 

In my current game it wasn't until some 15 days (real time) and 25 levels later where I started to feel semi competent to handle myself out in the wasteland. Getting one-shot is still very much a thing, but after hundreds of hours of being the wastelands plaything I eventually clawed my way up to where I no longer feel scared out of my mind at the sight of a few Radroaches. 

 

Edited February 9, 2023 by Reefymapupset

[georgechalkias]

Can always try SKK Random Encounter Manager, SKK Combat Stalkers and NPC Travel mods. It is said all 3 work together just fine for the most part.

[L00ping]

Gun Play mods:

 

Real time bullet penetration framework,  you will need to download or make your own patches however the nexus has a 50 cal penetration framework and there is also a vanilla penetration framework for all vanilla ammo types.   This mod will make it that you can shoot through walls or barriers,  within reason ie: 50 cal can penetrate sandbags and walls while a 9x19mm can only penetrate wood or barrels.   It also works against you so be careful where you take cover. 

 

MAIM/MAIM LITE,  this is a good damage mod,  MAIM adds a lot of healing items to stop bleeding and healing as well as makes you vulnerable while healing,  MAIM LITE cuts down on the bloat of healing items but the rest of the mod is the same,  it also proxes well with live dismemberment, true damage and Scourge.   You can literally get one shot by an enemy with higher caliber weapons,  head shots are generally instant death and if you have a helmet and you get a non lethal headshot your screen blurs out and you get the tinnitus effect.   both you and enemies can also bleed out. 

 

Scourge,  scales enemies better and removes the broken scale system giving diversity to enemies,  ie no more Gunner General with more damage sponging than a Behemoth.

 

True damage,  for this mod to work you need to use a ammo overhaul mod like Munitions, Armament or my personal favorite Caliber Complex,  this mod removes perk based damage buffs and makes damage dependent upon what cartridge you use ie: .600 nitro express or 50 Cal is deadly business,  a 9x19mm is less so and enemy damage resistance makes it harder to kill them.   Caliber complex is quite bloated with all the ammo types,  but you can also mod your own using FO4edit or download premade weapon patches.   This mod will allow you to also make enemies deal more damage by adjusting their damage scale,  by default yours and enemies deal 1:1 damage but a 50 cal will kill the player as 50 cal does 250-350 damage and you can only have a maximum of 250 HP. 

 

Realistic Accuracy,  this will make the enemies more variable in accuracy,  ie: a bloat fly wont snipe you from 500m with aimbot accuracy,  higher level gunners, minutemen and BOS troops are more accurate as are institute coursers but Raiders will be more spray and pray. 

 

Looted world,  removes stupid clutter like burnt books and files,  but it also removes 98% of open world free standing items, weapons from the world making loot very rare and realistic,  it is 200 years later why would duct tape be laying around in abundance.   The mod does not affect items regarded as stored ie: nuka machines but will affect loose nuka's. 

 

Loot logic and reduction,  I like this mod for sensibility,  meds in medkits,  tools in toolboxes it just works.

 

Horizon,  horizon is the ultimate survival mod,  but it is a bit outdated now and many modern mods won't work with horizon unless it is patched.   

 

Lost world another non nexus survival mod,  you need a good rig though as it overloads you with built in mods 

 

Truestroms + dynamic ghoulification,  set rad damage around 4-8x vanilla levels makes the glowing sea lethal,  ghoulification effects can cause you to become a ghoul is irreversible but you get the ghoul perk for free.    

 

any survival mod that removes eat/drink to heal,  unless you want to be a wasteland popeye.