Where Do My Nexus Mods Go? An In-Depth Modding Guide

Modding games with Nexus mods can be an incredibly rewarding way to enhance your gaming experience. But before you can enjoy all the benefits of mods, you first need to properly install them. So where exactly do Nexus mods need to go?

The Mods Folder

Nexus mods should be installed into the Mods subfolder located inside your game‘s main install directory. This folder serves as the central location for all mod data.

For example, if you installed Skyrim to:

C:\Games\Skyrim

Your Skyrim mods folder would be:

C:\Games\Skyrim\Mods

So when installing a Nexus mod, ultimately you want its files to end up in this Mods folder. That way the game will detect and load them correctly.

Alternative Locations

However, some games use different mod folder locations:

• For Microsoft Store apps (Game Pass PC games), you instead install mods to:

    Documents\My Games\{game_name}_mods

  So Halo Infinite mods would go to:

    Documents\My Games\HaloInfinite_mods

• Bethesda Launcher games have mods under:

    \My Games\Fallout 4\Data

  or

    \My Games\Skyrim Special Edition\Data

So always check the game‘s modding documentation to confirm the proper location. Installing to the wrong folder can prevent mods from working correctly.

Use Mod Managers

Manually installing Nexus mods into the correct folder can be tedious and risky. Minor mistakes can break saves or ruin your gaming experience.

Instead, I highly recommend using an automated mod manager app like:

• Vortex
• Mod Organizer 2

These managers handle all the complex install details for you. With just a few clicks, they‘ll automatically:

• Download mods safely
• Install them to the proper folder
• Manage load order and conflicts
• Streamline updating and removing mods

This makes modding safer and easier even for beginners. For example, Vortex has a simple 4 step install process:

1. Download the Vortex app
2. Link it to your Nexus account
3. Enable mods for management
4. One-click install mods from Nexus site

And that‘s it! The manager handles the heavy lifting so you can start playing your newly modded game faster.

So do yourself a favor and setup Vortex or Mod Organizer before you install your first Nexus mod.

Clean Installs Are Crucial

When managing a heavily modded game, you‘ll occasionally need to remove or update certain mods. Maybe a mod is broken, incompatible, or you just want to try something different.

In these cases, it‘s important you perform a clean install process:

• Fully uninstall the existing mod
• Close the game and mod manager
• Manually delete any leftover files
• Restart and reinstall the updated mod

Clean installs wipe the slate clean and refresh all files to their latest state. This avoids leftover junk causing crashes, save errors, or weird conflicts between old and new mods.

So develop a habit of doing clean installs whenever you uninstall or update mods. It‘s a bit tedious but vital for mod stability over time.

Backups Are Your Friend

Modding fundamentally changes game files in uncontrolled ways. So things can easily go wrong, especially with mod conflicts, updates, or uninstalls.

That‘s why modders always recommend keeping regular backups of your game. Before making major changes like:

• Installing a large overhaul mod
• Updating to a new game patch
• Uninstalling/reinstalling lots of mods

Take 5 minutes to:

1. Zip up your entire game folder
2. Copy the archive to external media or cloud storage

If anything gets horribly broken later on, you can restore this vanilla backup and avoid losing any progress. Backups give you insurance if mods behave unpredictably.

Mod Organizer Keeps Things Separated

For extra safety, advanced modders use Mod Organizer 2 instead of Vortex. Rather than directly changing real game files, MO2 uses a clever "virtual file system".

This keeps the original game data pristine in one location, and all mods virtualized in another folder. No files ever get overwritten which avoids permanent damage.

So if mods explode, deleting the MO2 mod staging folder instantly restores your untouched vanilla game. This adds an extra layer of protection compared to typical mod managers.

Conclusion

I hope this guide gives you a good overview of where Nexus mods need to be installed, plus best practices for stable mod management.

The key takeaways are:

• Know your game‘s correct mods folder location
• Use mod managers to simplify installs
• Perform clean installs when adding/removing mods
• Keep regular backup copies of your game
• Consider advanced tools like Mod Organizer 2

If you stick to these basics, you‘ll avoid most common pitfalls and can focus on safely enhancing your gaming experience.

Let me know if you have any other questions!