How to Fix Game Crashes After Installing Mods

Installing mods can drastically improve your gaming experience, not only by adding cool things to games but in a lot of cases by actually fixing performance and stuttering issues. However they can also cause a ton of crashing issues that prevent your game from running properly. If your game crashes right after installing mods, you've got a mod problem! This is something you're going to need to get used to and this is going to show you the most common crash causes and how to fix them. My best bit of advice though is not to get too attached to a particular mod!

Different Types of Game Crashes After Installing Mods

This covers all kinds of modding, manual modding or if you are using Mod Managers like Vortex.

• Crash to Desktop (CTD) on Startup: The game closes immediately after launching, often without an error message. This is probably the most common way games crash.
• Infinite Loading Screen: The game gets stuck on the loading screen and never reaches the main menu or game world.
• Crash When Loading a Save: The game crashes after selecting or loading a saved game file.

Game Crash Patterns (IMPORANT)

I'm putting this at the top of the list because it is super important! You need to pay close attention to the way the game crashs.

• Startup crashes typically relate to missing masters, script extender problems, or broken core mods.
• Loading screen freezes usually indicate load order conflicts or script errors.
• Crashes when loading saves can be caused by removing mods mid-play or broken quest mods.
• Identifying when and how the game crashes helps narrow down the cause.
• Crashing during certain events in game usually means a particular mod is at fault. For example if you run a reloading mod and it crashes if you reload a gun. This happens with performance mods sometimes too.

How to Fix Game Crashes After Installing Mods

If you want to fix all the problems you are having with games crashing after installing mods you are going to head to go through all the things below as each and every single one of them has the potential to crash your game. They are all potential reasons for all games as well.

Mod Updates: This is a big one! Make sure the mod is up to date! If the game you are playing has been updated after the mod was last updated there's a good chance it is going to fail. So make sure the mod is current. Be prepared for some bad news. Not all mods stay updated!

Missing Dependencies: Tons of mods rely on additional software or other mods to function. These dependencies might include script extenders, libraries, or core frameworks. If any required dependency is missing or outdated, the game may crash or fail to load mod content properly.

Incompatible Mod Versions: Mods are usually designed for specific game versions. If the game updates but the mod doesn’t, incompatibility issues often cause crashes. This is particularly common for mods that include scripts or affect gameplay mechanics.

Load Order Issues: The order in which mods load matters. Incorrect load order can cause conflicts where mods overwrite or break each other’s data. This may result in crashes, glitches, or missing content.

Script Extender Mismatch: Script extenders are essential for many mods, but they must match your exact game version. Using an outdated or incompatible script extender almost always causes crashes at startup.

Install Mods in the Right Order: Start by installing the script extender and any required core frameworks or libraries.

• Next, add major gameplay overhauls and quest mods.
• Finally, install smaller mods such as textures, UI tweaks, and quality-of-life improvements.
  This order ensures that dependencies are met and reduces the chance of conflicts.

Test Mods Singally or in Small Batches

• Install one mod a time.
• Launch the game and test for crashes or issues.
• If the game crashes, you know which recent mods are the cause.
• Remove or update problem mods before adding more.

Note: If you are installing a mountain of mods do them in small batches. This is something I've had to get used to when modding Cyberpunk and Skyrim.

Check Mod Dependencies

• Review each mod’s Nexus Mods page for required dependencies.
• Download and install all required frameworks or supporting mods.
• Vortex and other mod managers usually notify you about missing dependencies. Do not ignore these warnings.