===Morrowind 2016===

This guide aims at keeping the vanilla look of Morrowind. The guide was written with manual installation of mods in mind.

*Changelog:

>V1.0 / December 18, 2015: First version of the guide. Be gentle.

>V1.02 / December 21, 2015: Changed some wording to be a little less confusing after some Anons read over the guide. Added a load order section near the end. Changed the download link for Windoors Glow to a new archive including an English fixed .esp. Changed the link for Bethesda Official Plugins to fixed/updated versions done by WHReaper. Created and linked to an archive including fixed ground meshes for Native HiRez.

>V1.03 / December 23, 2015: Added Connary's Fine Vials to the misc. section. Added a link to a greener water shader for MGE XE in the shaders section. Added link to True Skyrimized Torches in the other mods section, thanks to Anon's suggestion.

>V1.04 / December 25, 2015: Added Insanity's Soul Gem Replacer as an optional step. Added Insanity's Potion Replacer. (Thanks for the suggestion, Watercolor Bro!) Also added a mega linked for 1k textures for both mods.

>V1.041 / December 29, 2015: Was the 'Fliggerty is down!' special edition.

>V1.05 / January 3, 2016: Happy New Year! Reverted the special edition changes. Added Long Live the Glassware to the miscellaneous section. Also, for anyone keeping their install up to date as the guide changes, Mesh Improvements Optimized recently updated to 1.4.

>V1.10 / June 22, 2016: Long time without an update, so it's a big one:

1) Long overdue fixes: Fixed the HiRez Native Armor link, which is six months overdue, along with links to better fixes. Included a link to better DeFemm Armor patches in the Better Morrowind Armor section. Tweaked instructions for the HD Intro Cinematic. Fixed the Less Generic Tribunal entry by including a link to the original Nexus page and an additional link to a missing textures fix archive.

2) New stuff: Added a fixed version of Lougian's Colovian helm (now with Bloodmoon texture!) and Armor Retextures - Outlander Styles in the armor section. Added Less Bulky Pauldrons as an optional mod in the armor section. Added Spear-Staff Fix as an optional mod under the weapons section. Added an optional fix for the Gnisis fort roof in Imperial Architecture. Added MOAR Mesh Replacers under the mesh replacer section. RR Better Meshes updated, which necessitated a little clean up in the misc. replacers section (specifically, I removed one of Qarl's mods and changed the installation instructions for another). Added Peter Bitt and Pherim's Scamp Replacer under creatures. Added some fixes for Westly's Head Replacer by borok and Greatness7. Added Ingredients Mesh Replacer, Long Live The Limeware and R-Zero's Random Retextures under miscellaneous items. Slightly tweaked the landscape install, due to new vanilla-like textures from Lush Ascadian Isles. Swapped out Vurt's Leafy West Gash trees for Melchior Dahrk's new Vanilla-friendly trees; Leafy West Gash was moved to the plants section instead. Added some collision fixes for Vurt's trees by Greatness7. Added Flash's Minor Retextures to the weapons section. Removed Darknut's Dwemer Ruin Textures, mikeandike's Dwemer Ruin Retexture, and Connary's Dwemer Creature Replacer. Changed Mourning of Bamz-Amschend to optional. Added Tyddy's Full Dwemer Retexture to replace those mods. Added Bal Isra Rising and Antares' Big Mod to the other mods section.

Now that that's out of the way, I want to say thanks (and sorry) to Guardly and anyone on /tesg/ who had to help people out with the unfixed errors in the guide while I was MIA. Also I want to say thanks to the Anon on /v/ who gave me suggestions for the guide; you (presumably) know who you are. Also thanks to the one lonely soul who actually sent me messages through pastebin, who pointed out some errors, suggested a few mods, and indirectly led me to realize Moranar's DeFemm patches still had a pretty serious error. Finally, thanks to all the Morrowind threads that were on /v/ the week before e3 that motivated me to finally update.

===Before we begin===

You should always read the mod page or glance through the readme of any mod we're downloading, so you'll at least be aware of what you're getting and what your options are. Also, you should extract the mods into a separate folder and not directly into your Morrowind install, because sometimes I'll ask you to delete textures or meshes as we already have something better. I'll be striving to arrange mod install order so that you don't have to do that very often. A few terms to keep in mind:

>Install: This means dragging & dropping or copy and pasting the mod files into their proper folders in your Morrowind install directory. Almost all mods we download will be in the proper install setup (textures in textures folder, meshes in meshes subfolders), and if they're not, I'll tell you where they need to go. Unless I say otherwise, you should overwrite files as you go. If the mod comes with a .esp or .esm, you should activate it, again unless I say otherwise. Sometimes activating the .esp file is optional.

>Activate the .esp/.esm: This means going into your Morrowind Launcher, clicking Data Files, and scrolling to find the new .esp or .esm and double clicking on the checkbox to activate it. Without this step, the game doesn't know to use the mod.

>Pluginless: A pluginless replacer does what it says; it replaces game files (usually textures, sometimes meshes) without requiring a .esp or .esm file to do so. Most of the mods in this guide are pluginless.

>Activate the archive: This only comes into play in a few mods listed in the guide, and all of them are optional. Still, if a mod comes with a .bsa, you need to open your Morrowind.ini and find the [Archives] section. By default, if you have Morrowind and both expansions, it should look like this:

[Archives]

Archive 0=Tribunal.bsa

Archive 1=Bloodmoon.bsa

If you install a mod with a .bsa, you need to add another line, and put the name of the .bsa there. An example, using Windoors Glow:

[Archives]

Archive 0=Tribunal.bsa

Archive 1=Bloodmoon.bsa

Archive 2=RR_Windoors_Glow.bsa

>Generate distant land: This is a function of MGE XE and will have its own section towards the very end of the guide, so if you don't know what it is yet, don't worry about it until then. Most of the really cool functions of MGE XE (like per pixel lighting) require distant land to be generated.

>Bump mapped mods: A lot of links in this guide will have bump map versions available, especially once we hit the architecture section. I don't know all the technical details of it, but bump mapping in Morrowind isn't quite like what you'd expect it to be. It's often very shiny looking, sometimes plastic-y, and it can make things look very bright depending on the reflection texture used. This is fine for metals and wet looking plants (it looks great on mushrooms, in my opinion), but can sometimes look a little weird on architecture. That means, if you ever have a choice between getting a bump map or no bump map version, the choice is 100% yours. If you do download a bump map version and decide you don't like it, you can get rid of the bumps by deleting the meshes that were included in the mod, and you can also delete the normal maps (usually they have _nm or _n at the end of their filename) if you want to save space. A note for anyone using or thinking about using OpenMW: do NOT use bump mapped mods made for the original Morrowind. It looks awful in OpenMW.

===Install the game===

a) Install the game, preferably not in Program Files. If GOTY edition, no patches are necessary. If you have some ancient disc version, the Tribunal patch is here (http://download.zenimax.com/elderscrolls/morrowind/patches/tribunal_v1.4.1313.exe) and the Bloodmoon patch is here (http://download.zenimax.com/elderscrolls/morrowind/patches/Bloodmoon_v1.6.1820.exe).

b) Download Morrowind Code Patch (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/19510/?), extract it in your game directory and run it. Read through the patches, but the most important ones should be checked already. You might be interested in some of the game mechanic changing options--toggle sneak is great! For a modern install, make sure to check 'Bump/reflect map local lighting' under Graphics changes. If you want to download HD cutscene replacers, check 'Hi-def cutscene support' under Mod related features. If you want to try a sound overhaul mod later (like Morrowind Acoustic Overhaul) make sure to check 'Scripted music uninterruptible' and 'Separate axe inventory sounds'. Make SURE to keep the backup Morrowind.Original that running the code patch makes, this way, if you ever need to change your MCP applied patches, you'll have your original executable to go back to. You can't code patch Morrowind once you've used the .exe optimizer or the 4gb patch.

c) Next, use Timeslip's .exe Optimizer (http://timeslip.users.sourceforge.net/exeopt.html) on your Morrowind.exe. If it doesn't work for you (it didn't for me at first), there's a few things you can try. The first thing I recommend is to go into the code generator patch and changing all the drop downs to read 0; this worked for me. Other things you can try are to turn off the 'Benchmark patches' option in the Benchmarker tab, or setting exeOpt to run with only one CPU affinity in task manager. If you try all of this and it still errors out or doesn't work for you, just restore your backup (by running exeOpt again and trying to patch Morrowind one last time, and choosing to restore backup, or renaming Morrowind.Original to Morrowind and rerunning the code patch) and go to the next step.

d) Use the 4gb patch (http://www.ntcore.com/4gb_patch.php) on Morrowind.exe.

e) Download and extract MGE XE (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/41102/?) into your install folder--not the data folder! MGEXEgui must be in the same folder as Morrowind.exe! Run MGEXEgui, choose your resolution and settings from the first tab (don't forget to click the Auto FOV button). I don't recommend messing with shaders at this time, and don't even bother clicking on the Distant Land tab; that's going to be one of our final steps. The In-Game tab lets you edit some .ini settings easily. Choose whatever you want. For lighting settings, use the following (from Knots' old guide):

Quadratic 2.619

Linear 1.0

Constant 0.382

If you'd like the latest version of MGE XE, the beta can be found here (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/26348/?). It's the second file down. It needs to be installed over the 0.9.10 you got earlier.

f) Download mlox (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43001/?). You can also get the latest data file for it here (http://sourceforge.net/projects/mlox/). mlox is the Morrowind equivalent of LOOT or BOSS, and it needs to go into its own folder in your Morrowind install. Mine is in Morrowind\mlox. Extract the latest data file (mlox_base) into your mlox folder, run the application and hit update load order. You should get into the habit of doing this after you install mods that require an .esp to be activated. It's a few months out of date, but the mods we'll be downloading with .esps are all old enough that they're included in the mlox_base file.

Reminder: From now on, unless told otherwise, files should go into either Data Files or their respective folder (usually Meshes or Textures). .esps, .esms and .bsas go directly into Data Files. .dds and .tga are texture files. .nifs are meshes, but almost always go in a subfolder based on a prefix (ex_ goes in x, in_ goes in i, furn_ or flora_ goes in f, etc). Most mods are already packaged so that it's a simple matter of drag and drop to install them manually.

===Patch Plugins===

a) Unfortunately, unlike newer titles, there's no simple Unofficial Patch--yet. The closest Morrowind has is the Morrowind Patch Project, which is now several years out of date and no longer includes every known bugfix. There's a group working on the Unofficial Morrowind Patch, but they haven't released anything yet. Download Morrowind Patch v1.6.6_beta.7z here (http://www.theassimilationlab.com/forums/files/download/1060-previous-patches-unofficial-morrowind-patch/). Don't forget to go into your Morrowind Launcher and activate the .esp.

b) Go ahead and get the following mods:

>Script Improvements (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43828/?) - Edits over 200 scripts, with a focus on reducing the chances of encountering quest-breaking errors.

>PeterBitts Small Mods (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42306/?) - Look through and download what you want. I would highly recommend Gondolier Destinations, Grahl Eye Fix, Legion Uniforms, and No Resting in Ald Velothi.

>Texture Fix 2.0 (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-90-10353) - Repairs landscape seams

*Texture Fix - Bloodmoon 1.1 (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-90-10388) - Repairs landscape seams on Solstheim. However, you might be interested in Wollibeebee's Solstheim overhaul mod (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42979/?). Wolli's Tomb of the Snow Prince includes a landscape overhaul that negates this mod. If it's your first time playing, I would use this instead of TOTSP.

>Poorly Placed Object Fix 1.2 (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-56-12002)

>Mesh Fix 1.2 (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-15-6088)

>Delayed Dark Brotherhood Attack Add-On 2.0 (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-90-7300) - Delays the Tribunal main quest from staring until a reasonable time.

>Illy's Solstheim Rumour Fix 1.0 (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42952/?) - Makes it so every NPC in the game will no longer want to discuss Solstheim. Only people with a reason to talk about Solstheim talk about it.

>Bloated Caves (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43141/?) - Adds bloatspores (a plant) to Morrowind. Bloatspores were included in the game files but not placed in the world.

===Official Bethesda Plugins===

Bethesda made a number of official plug-ins for Morrowind. Unfortunately, they have some problems. Fixed versions of all of them can be found here (http://download.fliggerty.com/download-13-1079). The download includes all of Bethesda's official plugins, but you don't actually have to USE all of them. You can read about the official add-ons here (http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Official_Plug-ins). I personally use Bitter Coast Sounds, Master Index, LeFemm Armor and Adamantium Armor. Siege at Firemoth and Helm of Tohan add quests, if you're interested. Some of the folders have optional components, usually with higher res textures, glow maps, or normal maps. Feel free to install all of the optional folders.

===Dialogue Mods===

a) First and foremost you should get the LGNPC mods. (http://lgnpc.org/downloads) Download the LGNPC bundle. You should install all of the mods. A few notes:

>If you want to avoid wereguars, skip LGNPC Pelagiad. It's one of their earliest mods and it really shows.

>Make sure to read LGNPC Soul Sickness Patch's readme. It's optional, so decide on your own if you want it or not.

>In LGNPC Tel Uvirith, ignore the LGNPC_TelUvirith_v1_20_UI esp. Unless you decide to play with outdated House Telvanni mods, it's unnecessary.

>As far as I can tell, there's no reason not to use LGNPC NoLore 1.02. The others seem to be unnecessary.

b) Get the Less Generic modules. These give the main quests of Morrowind, Tribunal and Bloodmoon the LGNPC treatment and are fantastic. It does tend to make some of the quests a little trickier, though.

>Less Generic Nerevarine (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/23335/?)

>Less Generic Tribunal (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/23363/?) - This one is a bit of a mess. Grab the v2 archive, and then (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bywrx4WHfGJJZTdsOEJsdFFFdmM/edit) to fix missing texture problems and finally the fixed .esp (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bywrx4WHfGJJcjZJVFVLVXhsREE/view) to repair sound problems and other bugs. The fixes were assembled or made by abot.

>Less Generic Bloodmoon (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/23346/?)

c) A few extra mods to add even more to the dialogue of the game:

>Django's Dialogue (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/37328/?)

>Nastier Camonna Tong (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/22601/?)

===User Interface===

a) Get your dialogue font mod. Start with Better Dialogue Font(http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/36873/?), which makes the standard Morrowind font (Magic Cards) higher resolution. Consider the mods below afterwards if you wish.

*Bigger Vanilla Font (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42420/?) - Optional. Use if you'd like a larger font. Requires Better Dialogue Font and 'Unrestrict menu size' option from MCP.

*MORRA BUF - MORe ReadAble Bigger UI Fonts (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42934/?) - Don't like Magic Cards? Here you go. Take note of the .ini changes you'll need to do.

b) Replace your icons with Ultimate Icon Replacer (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-56-6673). Mods you install further down the line will overwrite some of these.

c) Pick ONE book mod. I prefer Arukinn's.

>Arukinn's Better Books and Scrolls (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43100/?)

>Illy's Dirty Books (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42257/?)

d) Pick ONE. I use MOS.

>MOS Paper Retexture (https://yadi.sk/d/5kucHewDHZQ7V)

>Vurt's Hi-Res Menubook and Scroll Pack (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/28562/?)

e) HD video/splash screen replacers. You can get all of these.

>HD Intro Cinematic - English (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/39329/?) - Make sure to pick the right one for your resolution, and only get this if you picked the proper option in MCP. To install, you need to rename the movie file to mw_intro.bik before dropping it in your data/video folder. You might want to make a backup of the original first, just in case; I usually just rename the original to mw_intro.bak before installing the HD replacement.

>Morrowind Bethesda Logo HD Makeover (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42352/?) - If you have 'skip intro movie' turned on in MGE XE, there's no point to downloading this.

>HD Concept-art Splash Screen and Main Menu (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43081/?) - Skip this if you absolutely can't stand the Russian writing on the splash screens, but the screens look amazing enough that you should overlook it.

f) Finally, get JiFFY Morrowind UI Revamped (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43922/?). This UI mod was chosen in particular because of how much it revamps, and it looks nice to boot. Choose between Dark or Classic, pick your crosshair and choose any size options. I went with 50% smaller crosshair and 25% smaller cursor, but you can and should try all the sizes in game to see which you prefer. Lastly, don't forget to make the necessary changes to your .ini.

===Major mods to be aware of===

The following mods are optional to install, but have compatibility patches listed in the mesh/texture replacers we'll soon be downloading, so I'm listing them here. Read up on them and decide if you want to use them or not.

>Tamriel Rebuilt (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42145/?) - One of the biggest mods in Morrowind and still a work in progress, but it adds a huge chunk of playable landscape (mainland Morrowind). It shouldn't be incompatible with anything listed here, but you should keep an eye out for things with TR compatibility if you choose to install it.

>Graphic Herbalism (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43140/?) - By default, plants in Morrowind act as containers: when you activate them, the container interface opens and you can remove any ingredients that might be present 'inside' the plant. Graphic Herbalism is a rather old mod that makes plants act more like plants; activating the plant picks it, you automatically get the ingredients, and the plant changes in the world to show it has been picked. Think Skyrim plants. If you want to use Graphic Herbalism, you'll need to keep compatibility in mind when we download plant replacers, otherwise it might be a little jarring when your smooth plant mesh gets replaced with an ugly vanilla mesh and texture.

>Windoors Glow (https://mega.nz/#!7gpUCBwS!RFCTKmTE_2qSbjy_KC9x4rWQErFlZbm77vrJaFWT-dY) - Windoors Glow is a remade version of the older mod Windows Glow by Siberian Crab. It can only be downloaded (that I can find) on the Russian forum fullrest.ru, so I uploaded to the Mega for your convenience. In addition to doing what Windows Glow + Windows Glow expansion did, it also adds the glowing window effect to shack 'screen' windows, Imperial fort arrow-slits, a very faint glow to Ashlander yurt doors, and underneath some doors. You will need to activate the included .bsa file in your Morrowind.ini. Two .esps are included; you should use the one named 'RR_Windoors_Glow_1C' and not the original Russian version.

*Windows Glow (http://mw.modhistory.com/download--442) - If you don't want to download Windoors Glow for whatever reason (reposted on Mega, poor documentation, no screenshots, whatever), but would still like some of your windows to glow at night, get the original version here. You will also want the expansion to go with it, which can be found here (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-56-14155). You will need to activate the .bsa for these.

*Windows Glow - Tribunal 1.1 (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-56-12181) - Neither Windows or Windoors Glow cover Tribunal so you'll need this for Mournhold. Don't forget to activate the .bsa.

*Windows Glow - Bloodmoon (now with Raven Rock) (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-56-6231) - Same with Solstheim. Again, activate the .bsa if you use it.

===Mesh fixes and improvements===

>Mesh Improvements 1.7 (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-90-13384)

>Better Meshes plus Optimization (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/38170/?)

>Mesh Fix (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42134/?) - You need to use both folders in the Compatibility fixes folder.

>TM - Various Fixes (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43148/?) - Get all of them.

>Correct Meshes (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/39348/?)

>More Improved Imperial Fort UVs (https://www.dropbox.com/s/0likn9n2fyq4o0s/More_Improved_Imperial_Fort_UVs.7z) - These go in your meshes\x folder.

>Dwemer Mesh Improvement (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43101/?)

>Dahrk Mods by Melchior (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43528/?) - Get Common doors fixes and UV Fix for Velothi Trap Doors_1.0

>Various tweaks and fixes (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43795/?) - Get BoatFixes. If you're not using Windoors Glow, feel free to grab Common Windows UV Fixes and Tavern UV fix as well. If you're using Windows Glow, you can get them, but you need the compatibility patches.

>Mesh Improvements Optimized (http://download.fliggerty.com/download-56-1088)

>RR Mod Series - Better Meshes (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43266/?) - Get the RR - Better Meshes V1.2 file and the Bittercup fix. Before installing, delete meshes/m/misc_com_pillow_01.

>MOAR Mesh Replacers (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/44057/?)

===Nature texture & mesh replacers===

This is by far going to be the most complicated part of the guide so hold on to your butts.

a) Morrowind Visual Pack (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-56-6990) - This is our base mod. It replaces a lot of stuff that still isn't touched by modern mods, mostly because they're not really used often enough to think about replacing. Most of the textures will be overwritten.

b) Bitter Coast. Install the following mods in this order:

>Connary's Bitter Coast (http://www.fullrest.ru/files/connarysbittercoast)

>Apel's Bitter Coast Retexture (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42661/?)

Feel free to start the game and check out Seyda Neen if you'd like, but we're not done and the Bitter Coast landscape will be changing more later as we add tree, plant and new landscape textures.

c) While we're at it, lets get a few more Connary packs. Some of this stuff will end up overwritten later; that's fine.

>Grazelands (http://www.fullrest.ru/files/connarysgrazelands)

>West Gash (http://www.fullrest.ru/files/connaryswestgash)

>Webs (http://www.fullrest.ru/files/connaryswebs)

>Caves (http://www.fullrest.ru/files/connaryscaves)

d) Get Apel's Asura Coast retexture. (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42573/?)

*Using Graphic Herbalism? (https://mega.nz/#!f8AW2bTK!LaQ0WoYtU59iwVHF_fAvieOfwx0tJB4buQM3urBCDNY)

e) Time for rocks. Download the following, overwriting as you go:

>Correct UV rocks v1.0 (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-56-12003)

>WIP Smooth Correct UV Rocks (http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1514660-alternatives-to-on-the-rocks/?p=23908143)

>correctUV Diverse Ore veins v1.0 (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-56-13484)

*Using Graphic Herbalism and it's Extra Mining module? Get this patch (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43197/?).

>Ore Rock Retexture ORR (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-56-12942)

Yes, this does overwrite Apel's admittedly nice Azura's Coast rocks. I'll explain later, you might want to skip ahead and read the end of this section, then you can decide if you want to keep Apel's rocks or not.

f) Water.

>Dongle's Waterpack Bumpmapped (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42317/?) - Personally, I don't use this. I don't like the way the water looks. Try it out in your own game (to do it quickly, start the game, press ` to go into the console, type COC "Vivec, Puzzle Canal, Level 1", hit enter, and leave through the grate ahead of you). If you're not playing with Tamriel Rebuilt, all you need are the following files:

Meshes\x\Ex_Vivec_P_water_01.nif

Textures\water\ (just copy the folder)

>Waterfalls Bump mapped (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42405/?) - These I do play with.

g) Fire and smoke.

>Apel's Fire Retexture (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42554/?)

>Vurt's Lava and Smoke (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/28519/?) - Just get the smoke folder, we'll get lava in the landscape textures section.

h) Trees. The only real option is Vurt's various tree mods, with one exception.

>Vurt's Bitter Coast Trees II (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/37489/?) - Don't forget to activate the .esp, otherwise the mushrooms will look weird.

>Vurt's Ascadian Isles Trees Replacer II (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/37249/?) - Make sure to get the newer file.

>Vanilla-friendly West Gash Tree Placer (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/44173/?) - The only non-Vurt tree mod in the list. I recommend using the darker leaf texture found in the extras folder.

>Dahrk Mods by Melchior (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43528/?) - Specifically, Vurt's Ashtrees - Shorter. But you should also grab the BC Trees Collision Fix right below it.

>Vurt's Grazelands Trees I (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/35368/?) OR Vurt's Grazeland Trees II (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/37038/?) - Pick the one you like best. I prefer 1, and I use the palms free version.

>Vurt's Trees Fix by Greatness7 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/rwtjc7stx1gbeje/VurtsTreesFix.7z?dl=0) - Install the meshes from the Ascadian Isles and Bitter Coast folders. Leafy West Gash can be deleted if you're following this guide as we used different trees. Only use the Grazelands folder if you're using Grazelands II.

>Vurt's Mournhold Trees II (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/35400/?)

>Vurt's Solstheim Tree Replacer II (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/37856/?)

i) Plants.

>Underwater Static Replacer (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-56-11998)

>Better Barnacles (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43605/?)

>Lush Ascadian Isles (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43872/?) - Get the vanilla version.

>Plant life retexture (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/37947/?)

>Bloatspore retexture (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42384/?) - We already have a better bloatspore mesh, so just get the 'simple retexture' file. Unless you REALLY want bump/glow mapped bloatspores for some reason, but you'll have a less smooth bloatspore as a result.

>flora_bush_01 replacer (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42941/?) - Get the 1.3 file, and I highly recommend grabbing the 1k texture optional file because 2k textures for a bush is a little overkill. Make sure to look through your options. I used the flowerless version of the mesh with browner bark. If you do decide to change anything, make sure to follow the instructions closely and rename the files properly.

>Trama Bump mapped (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43015/?) - Make sure to get the Graphic Herbalism compatibility patch if you need it.

>Hackle-lo Fixed (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42784/?) - The extras folder contains a patch for Graphic Herbalism.

>Comberry Bush and Ingredient Replacer (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42586/?) - The extras folder contains a patch for Graphic Herbalism. Additionally, there's another folder which includes vanilla style textures. I recommend those.

>Improved Kwama Eggs and Egg Sacs (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43555/?) - Technically not a plant, but they work the same way plants do. The install is a little complicated if you're doing it manually. If you want the full package (bump maps + animation) get 00 + 01 + 03 (and 05 if you use Graphic Herbalism). If you don't want bump maps but do want the animation, get 00 + 02 (and 04 for GH). For a no frills retexture, just get folder 00 (and 04 for GH).

>Fire Fern Plant and Ingredient Retexture (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43568/?) - Get the GH patch if you need it.

>Better flora (https://mega.nz/#!HwpRRRZQ!IKYOhTxBrfEATUXGltYNsESBZs_Y-CZRQ4zq2bM8duo) - We're just after the meshes from this mod, but the original had collisions for all the flower meshes. I've fixed that in this version. You do need to delete four files from meshes\o, and those are the three kreshweed .nifs and the marshmerrow .nif. If you don't like spinning flowers, you might want to delete the gold kanet meshes as well, as the flowers will rotate when you move your camera. Included in the extras folder are Graphic Herbalism meshes; install them if you're using GH.

Original mod can be found here: http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43288/

>Ascadian Isles Plants (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/36810/?) - If you'd like, install these. I personally don't like the way they look in-game, I think they stick out too much. You might want to skip the comberry bush meshes and textures if you prefer Pherim's (which we already installed). Your choice. If you'd like to use the flowers but want to skip the bush, simply delete the following files before copying into your installation:

Meshes\f\flora_comberry_01

Meshes\Gherb\Comberry_01_P

Meshes

\ingred_comberry_01

If you aren't using Graphic Herbalism, it's actually safe to delete the entire Meshes\Gherb folder.

>EKM Corkbulb Retexture (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43809/?)

>EKM Vanilla-Based Ash Grasses (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43836/?)

>Vurt's Grazeland Trees II (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/37038/?) - We only want the chokewood and roobrush assets. Install only the meshes/o folder and vurt_chokeweed, vurt_oakbark07, and vurt_roobrush textures. Delete everything else.

*Using Graphic Herbalism? (https://mega.nz/#!a04nVKYZ!5voYIPYMnPEhoD5-wz71eWHLlYuRfumScCGFQGrO__A) - I don't remember who made this and I can no longer find the download link, so I uploaded it to Mega.

j) Solstheim textures. (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42979/?) This mod is actually a massive overhaul of Solstheim. If you're not interested in a massive overhaul, you should download it for the meshes and textures. Just don't activate the .esm. If you don't want to clutter your data folder with unnecessary files, you can safely delete the following folders:

Icons\WL

Meshes\WL

Textures\WL*

*Using Windows Glow, but not activating the STOTSP .esm? There are Windows Glow textures included in STOTSP, but they're in the Textures\WL folder. If you want to use them, rename the following files and put them in your Textures\_wgb folder, creating such a folder if you don't have one already:

wl_win_light_00 to tex00

wl_win_light_01 to tex01

wl_win_bm_a01 to tx_s_windowpane_a01

wl_win_bm_a02 to tx_s_windowpane_a02

wl_win_bm_a03 to tx_s_windowpane_a03

wl_win_bm_00 to tx_s_windowpane00

wl_win_bm_01 to tx_s_windowpane01

wl_win_bm_02 to tx_s_windowpane02

k) Landscape textures. (http://www.fullrest.ru/files/tyd_landscape-texture_compilation_1/files). Delete the following before installing, we have better from Lush Ascadian Isles:

tx_ai_clover_02

tx_ai_dirtpatch_01

tx_ai_dirtroad_01

tx_ai_grass_01

tx_ai_grass_dirt_01

tx_ai_mudflats_01

tx_grass_01

tx_grass_rocky_01

tx_rock_brown_02

tx_rockybadlands_01

tx_rockyscrub_01

l) Skies. A little more advanced due to the required .ini edits. For now, just download all of these, don't install them yet.

>Skies .IV (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43311/?)

>Alternate Skies (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42629/?)

>Dying Worlds - moons retexture (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43023/?)

Okay, now that you have all the files...

1) From the Skies IV archive, install all the files from the Skies - .IV folder.

2) If you can see the textures yourself, just pick and choose from among the Skies IV folder (which we already installed) and Alternate Skies for your favorite sky textures. If you can't, then I suggest using all the skies from Skies IV except foggy and ashstorm, which you should take from Alternate Skies.

3) If you can see the textures yourself, pick your own moon retextures from the Skies IV folders and Dying Worlds. If you can't, I suggest using the eight Secunda textures from the Skies IV Moons folder, and the eight Masser textures from Dying Worlds.

4) Install the Particles folder from Skies IV.

5) You might notice your clouds moving by far too quickly. Let's fix that. First, make a backup of your Morrowind.ini. Grab this file (https://mega.nz/#!zsADQbQQ!d5uOr1R8SM468G7DwA0a3cchDuFHbTJrKaAFtFTgURQ), then copy/paste the weather sections over your own weather settings in your .ini. This includes fixes to cloud speed required by Skies IV but also changes the weather settings to correspond to those provided by Alternate Skies. Try them out and see if you like them. Among other color changes, they make the nights darker, but not so dark as to blind you. If you don't like them, just restore your backup and keep reading.

6) If you ONLY want the cloud speed .ini adjustments required for Skies and not the weather color changes, change these lines in your .ini:

[Weather Clear]

Cloud Speed=0.25

[Weather Cloudy]

Cloud Speed=0.4

[Weather Foggy]

Cloud Speed=0.25

[Weather Overcast]

Cloud Speed=0.3

[Weather Rain]

Cloud Speed=0.4

[Weather Thunderstorm]

Cloud Speed=0.6

[Weather Ashstorm]

Cloud Speed=1.4

[Weather Blight]

Cloud Speed=1.8

[Weather Snow]

Cloud Speed=0.3

[Weather Blizzard]

Cloud Speed=1.5

Keep in mind the Snow/Blizzard sections might be at the end of your .ini and not with the rest of the weather sections, as they were added by Bloodmoon.

And with that, we're done with the nature section of the guide. If you'd like, generate distant land (if you plan to use it) and run around in-game to check things out. We'll be generating MGE XE grass in a later step, so don't worry if you still find the landscape bare.

*Q: Why didn't you just delete the meshes from Better flora yourself if you made the fixed version?

*A: Just in case anyone prefers the Better flora kreshweed and marshmerrow to Apel's versions. I wanted it to be a complete archive.

*Q: Why didn't you include On the Rocks?

*A: Despite the fact that On the Rocks has much more detailed rock meshes, they unfortunately change the shape/size from vanilla so drastically that they sometimes block entrances to caves and tombs. This is especially prevalent in landmass mods (like Tamriel Rebuilt) or quest mods that use rocks. The same can be said for Apel's Asura Coast rock meshes, which is why we overwrote them. This CAN be fixed by going into the console (` key), clicking on the rock in question and typing disable, then hitting enter, but a workaround like that shouldn't be required to play the game. If you want to use OtR anyway, do the following:

1) Skip out on downloading Correct UV Rocks and WIP Smooth Correct UV Rocks. [If you've already installed everything, that's fine, but you should go back and reinstall the Meshes folder from Apel's Asura's Coast mod before continuing.]

2) Download ONLY the Ashlands, Molag Amur and Red Mountain modules from here (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-44-14107). [If you've already done the install, go ahead and overwrite everything, but reinstall the landscape textures from step K afterwards.]

3) Download everything except Azura's Coast and Shores from here (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43075/?) and install it.

That's it, you're done. Now you have nicer (and bigger) rocks.

*Q: Why did you suggest On the Rocks Optimised instead of regular On the Rocks?

*A: Because optimization. Less polys means higher FPS and Morrowind already runs pretty poorly if you completely mod it. Every little bit helps. If you really want to use the full versions, go ahead. Skip step 3 and download every module except Azura's Coast and Shores from the link on step 2. Apel's Asura's Coast mod replaces the Azura's Coast and Shores rocks, so those modules are unnecessary.

*Q: Why overwrite OtR textures with Tyddy's landscape textures?

*A: Personal preference. Tyddy's textures are a lot more vanilla friendly than the ones used by Taddeus, and there are times when different region rocks will be right next to each other and look very out of place with OtR textures. Feel free to use Taddeus' if you want, though, it's your install.

*Q: Why didn't you include Caverns Bump mapped by Lougian?

*A: I originally planned to, but the textures included in it are a pretty vast departure from vanilla, which is important to me. The only real alternative was Connary's, which come pretty close to vanilla. But the deciding factor was actually the comments section on Nexus, which pointed out a lot of issues with the meshes, and Lougian himself commenting that he really needed to update the mod. It hasn't been updated in over two years. If you want to use it despite the problems with it, feel free. You can get it here (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42412/?).

*Q: What if I don't want to use Vurt's trees?

*A: Unfortunately you don't have a lot of options... You can get correct UV Trees (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-35-5808) to make the textures look better. You can use the billboard trees from Better flora (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43288/?), but keep in mind you'll need to replace the meshes for distant land generation, and then switch them back afterwards. SWG has a similar, though older replacer for the Grazelands (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/24537/?) but it doesn't have a distant land compatibility patch, so you'll have no leaves.

===Architecture replacers===

Hopefully this will be slightly less complicated than the nature section. Something to keep in mind: if a section mentions bump mapping, you CAN safely ignore/skip the bump map mod and use only the textures listed if you want to. Bump mapping doesn't always look great in Morrowind. If, as you're going along, you actually prefer the look of one of the bump-mapped mods instead of my suggestion (meaning Lougian's textures instead of Tyddy's, most of the time), feel free to use the bump map textures instead and skip my recommendation. The ones I picked are closer to vanilla Morrowind, but that doesn't mean it's to everyone's taste.

a) Windows. Only get this step if you're not using Windows/Windoors Glow. Personally, I'd suggest using Windoors Glow instead.

>KN Windows (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42099/?)

>There's a missing texture, tx_glass_reena_01. Ironically, that can be found in Windows Glow. (http://mw.modhistory.com/download--442) Just put the missing texture in your texture folder and delete the rest.

b) Imperial architecture and shacks.

>Bump-mapped AOFs Imperial Housing (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42407/?) - Install 1, 3, and if you're using WinDOWS (not WinDOORS) Glow or KN Windows, 5. Skip this entirely if you don't want bump-maps. Please note that even though it says you need the original mod, you DO NOT need the original mod!

>Bump-mapped Imperial Housing Fixed Filter Mode (https://www.dropbox.com/s/sjsxdkuy46d136k/Bump-mapped_AOFs_Imperial_Housing-fixed_Filter_Mode.7z) - Fixes issues with the meshes from the last step. Again, skip this if you don't want bump maps.

>Imperial Houses and Forts Retexture (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43940/?) - This is the actual texture pack we'll be using. HQ is 2k, MQ is 1k. Get the optional Bump Mapped files if you're using those. Finally, if you're using Windoors Glow, get that patch as well.

>Dragon Statue Replacer (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43218/?) - I used Option 3.

>Apel's Lighthouse Retexture (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42532/?) - Get the version you want, bumps or no bumps.

>Shacks, Docks and Ships (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43520/?) - Get the Windoors Glow patch if you need it.

*Tydz Small Mods (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/44028/?) - Specifically, the Gnisis Fort Roof file. It's a very small change, so feel free to skip it if you want.

c) Hlaalu. Again, feel free to skip the bump-map mod.

>Hlaalu Bump mapped (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42396/?) - Note that you only need the meshes folder, and the tx_hlaalu_reflection from the textures folder. Everything else can be safely deleted. Of special note, if you're using Windows or Windoors Glow, make SURE not to use the three tx_glass_amber_02 textures.

>Hlaalu Arkitektora (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43098/?) - The actual texture pack. Get the normals file if you're using the bump maps.

d) Redoran.

>Redoran Bump mapped (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42406/?) - A note on these: they use extremely high poly meshes. If you're already struggling to top 30 FPS in exteriors, you should pass on these.

>Redoran Bump mapped fixes (https://mega.nz/#!qkY2gRJI!VSHQoMctyzL9X2qGYXMC2qqN7kHmu2kzsF--nwBJR2Y) - You only need these if you're using bump maps, obviously.

>Redoran Arkitektora (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43003/?) - The actual texture file, for those of you skipping the bump maps. Get the normals if you are using bump maps, as usual.

e) Telvanni.

>Telvanni Mesh Improvement (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42343/?) - If you're bump mapping, nearly everything here will be overwritten. If you're only using textures, grab this.

>Telvanni Bump Maps (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42431/?) - Go ahead and get both the main file and the interiors WIP.

>Telvanni Arkitektora (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43530/?) - Has a few problems, easy to fix.

1) Delete textures\tx_metal_silver.

2) If you're only using the textures, you'll need to download the Bump Maps file anyway and get the bark_01_nm texture and put it in your textures folder.

3) If you're using bump mapping, delete meshes\x\ex_t_manor_01 and meshes\x\ex_t_manor_02, use the ones from Telvanni Bump Maps instead.

>Telvanni Fireplace Replacer (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43232/?)

f) Velothi.

>Velothi Arikitektora (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43511/?)

>Set in Stone (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/21377/?)

>One True Faith (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43810/?)

>Ministry of truth Bump mapped (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42921/?) - If you don't want bump maps, the only file you need is textures\tx_moon_base_01.

>Sewers Arkitektora (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43144/?) - There are pictures showing the difference between the versions in the user uploaded images area.

*Concept Art Ghostfence Replacer (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43316/?) - Optional, because it IS a departure from the vanilla game. However, it looks great and it's based on concept art. Your choice.

g) Dwemer & Mournhold.

>Connary's Old Mournhold (http://www.fullrest.ru/files/connarysoldmournhold/files)

*The Mourning of Bamz-Amschend (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-56-11888) - Only three of these textures are better than what we have: tx_coilcopper00, tx_coilcopper01 and tx_coilcopper02. Grab only those three files and delete the rest. I've marked this as optional, because the textures in question are just 4x magnified vanilla textures.

>The Clockwork City (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-56-12886)

>Green Marble Mournhold (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-64-11859) - Use the alternate walls but not the alternate roof.

>Full Dwemer Retexture (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/44264/?) - This also covers armor, weapon and creature textures. Grab the Only Architecture archive of your preference for now. MQ is 1024, HQ is 2048.

h) Daedric Ruins.

>Daedric Ruins Retexture (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/39125/?)

>Daedric ruins bump mapped (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43318/?) - If you want bump mapping.

>Daedric Ruins Arkitektora (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43486/?) - Get the bump map patch if you want it.

Feel free to choose between Lougian and Tyddy's packs, if you prefer Lougian's then by all means don't get Tyddy's. Tyddy's is closer to vanilla, as usual.

i) Miscellaneous architecture stuff.

>Stronghold Retexture (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43948/?) - Get the vanilla friendly floor tiles if you want it.

>Connary's 6th House (http://www.fullrest.ru/files/connarys6thhouse/files)

>Road Marker retextured (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/28311/?)

>Banners retextured (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/21405/?) - We really only want a few of these. Others will be trumped by the next mod.

>Arukinn's Better Banner Signs and Signposts (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/41658/?)

And done.

*Q: What about Bloodmoon?

*A: Bloodmoon textures were actually covered in nature when we downloaded STOTSP. Remember, STOTSP is a massive overhaul of Solstheim's entire landscape. You do NOT need to activate the .esm if you only wanted to use it as a texture/mesh replacer.

*Q: Why delete metal_iron_rusty so often?

*A: Because the rusty iron texture is used in a ton of places, not only in architecture but in weapons and clutter. Tyddy's (from Shacks and Docks) is very close to vanilla so should (in theory) match the closest with everything we're installing.

===Miscellaneous replacers===

For things that don't really fit in any other section. If some of this seems too tedious to you, feel free to skip it. Some of this is pretty nitpicky...

a) Let's start off with Papill6n's various graphic things. (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/39122/?) This is a big package of... just what it says, but we don't need everything. Grab the following:

>Awning woven

>Bellow and canvaswrap

>Bridge rope brown

>Fabric on the imperial altar - more vanilla

>Kneeling stool - Get the texture only, we have a better mesh

>Logo crate

>Loom

>Ropes - only tx_rope_heavy_01

>Ropes woven + hammock's pillow

>Rusted metal

>Siltstrider - We'll be installing Vurt's silt strider soon.

>Soulgems - Take a look at the included screenshot, you'll want to know what they look like for later.

>Spinningwheel + spool

>Tribunal required - Almalexia and Mehrunes Dagon statues

>Tribunal required - Better Almalexia by Plangkye - note that we don't have this mod installed yet, but we'll get to it later

>Tribunal required - Mournhold roof

b) Qarl's mods. The following mods were made by Qarl but uploaded by someone else on fullrest.

>Plates. (http://www.fullrest.ru/files/Plate_Items/files)

>Bowls (http://www.fullrest.ru/files/Bowl_Items/files) - Delete the following before installing, we have better:

meshes folder

textures\q_wood_plate

When overwriting, if you have any larger or newer textures, you probably shouldn't overwrite them.

c) Other, less complicated to install mods.

>Connary's Fine Vials (http://www.fullrest.ru/files/connarysfinevials) - Delete tx_rustedmetal00.

>Connary's Mixed Pottery (http://www.fullrest.ru/files/connarysmixedpottery) - Delete the mottled texture and pewter 1 texture.

>AOF Containers (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/32427/?) - Delete meshes\m\misc_com_bucket_01.

>Small Mods by Wolli (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42453/?) - Get Darker Crates to match AOF's barrels.

>Better Kegstands (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/37708/?)

>Apel's Various Things - Sacks (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42558/?) - Bump mapped or not, it's your choice.

>Dahrk Mods by Melchior (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43528/?) - Get Detailed Brooms.

>Dunmer Lanterns Replacer (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43219/?) - Make sure to look at the images and choose the textures you want.

>EKM Vanilla-Based Paper Lanterns (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43837/?)

>AST beds texture replacer (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/21970/?) - We only want the chair mesh, the rest will be overwritten with the next mod.

>Illy's Bedspreads (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43565/?)

>Illy's Hot Pots (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43206/?) - Make sure to activate the .esp.

>AST redware texture replacer (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/21981/?)

>Better Skulls (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/28729/?) - Activate the .esp if you want. I don't.

>Dunmeri Urns Aestetika (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43541/?) - Get either the simple retexture or the bump map file, you don't need both.

>Cart Cloth Retexture CCR (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/21837/?) - I prefer the normal version.

>Propylon Pillar Retexture PPR (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/19600/?) - Get either PPR_Glow or PPR_Normal, then get the PPR_Index Addon.

>Soulgem Ingredient Retexture SIR (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/19467/?) - If you have both expansions (you should!) then pick SIR_TBandBM_v3 to download. Do NOT overwrite your stalhrim texture! You have a better one.

>Ingredients Mesh Replacer (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/44067/?) - You'll need to use the files in the compatibility patch folder.

>Crabmeat Ingredient Replacer (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43387/?)

>Django's Rugs and Tapestries (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/36872/?)

>Detailed Tapestries (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/22551/?)

>Shiny Septims (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42113/?) - I get the dulled version.

>Ghostnull's Silverware Enhancer (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-44-10088)

>Better Blood Morrowind (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/33426/?)

>Skeleton and Metal Sparks blood retexture (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43359/?)

>Improved Cavern Clutter (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l1660o8fg664bii/AABLfGQtcBsb0jfTsftnBZ-ca/Improved%20Cavern%20Clutter?dl=0) - Download as zip. You'll want to delete the three wood_weathered and rope_heavy textures before installing.

>Insanity's Potion Replacer (http://tesalliance.org/forums/index.php?/files/file/1402-insanitys-potion-replacer/) - You'll need an account to download these.

*Insanity's Soul Gem Replacer (http://tesalliance.org/forums/index.php?/files/file/1397-insanitys-soul-gem-replacer/) - Again, you'll need an account. If you like the look of these soul gems better than Papill6n's, go ahead and get them, overwriting your existing meshes. If you like the ones you already have, you might want to download it anyway, as Papill6n's didn't include a retexture of grand soul gems. If you just want the grand soul gems from this mod, get only the following files: meshes\m\misc_soulgem_grand and textures\tx_soulgem_grand.

*Insanity's lowres (https://mega.nz/#!T4pB3TCY!wQ3okENYSVv8T2PpHW5jxPiPkbOGrlXBP7ODVglGsDA) - Insanity's replacers are really high resolution for such small objects, especially in an old game like Morrowind. If you'd like, you can get these resized textures instead. You'll still need the original mods for the meshes! Also, if you're only using the grand soul gem, make sure to delete the other textures in the soulgems folder, as you don't need them.

>Long Live The Glassware (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/44016/?) - Delete tx_metal_strip_02.

>Long Live The Limeware (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/44045/?)

>R-Zero's Random Retextures (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/44025/?) - Get both files.

===Creature replacers===

a) Let's start off with our base. We're starting off with Darknut's suite of textures.

>Darknut's Creature Textures (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43420/?)

>Darknut's Creature Textures addendum (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43441/?)

>Darknut's Creature Textures TB (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43421/?)

>Darknut's Creature Textures BM (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43422/?)

b) Connary made some good creature retextures.

>Storm Atronach (http://www.fullrest.ru/files/connarysstormatronach/files)

>Skeleton (http://www.fullrest.ru/files/connarysskeleton/files)

>Lich (http://www.fullrest.ru/files/connaryslichking/files)

>Kwama (http://www.fullrest.ru/files/connaryskwama/files)

>Imperfect (http://www.fullrest.ru/files/connarysimperfect/files)

>Bonewalker (http://www.fullrest.ru/files/connarysbonewalker/files)

>Daedroth (http://www.fullrest.ru/files/connarysbaddaedroth/files)

c) And now for other replacers.

>Correct UV Mudcrabs (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42130/?) - Not a retexture, but it'll make them look better.

>Guars Aendemika (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42521/?)

>Kagouti Aendemika (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42523/?)

>Alit Aendemika (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42520/?)

>Ash Vampire Reworked (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43633/?)

>Cliffracer Replacer (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43925/?)

>Nix-Hound Replacer (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43620/?)

>Scamp Replacer (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/44314/?) - You (probably) don't need the PBR files, it's still a bleeding edge new feature in MGE XE. Get the Creeper replacer if you want.

>Luminous Atronachs (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42613/?)

>Vurt's Silt Strider Retexture (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/30696/?) - Don't use skin_01 and skin_03, we have fixed versions of those.

>Netch Bump mapped (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42851/?) - Get the main file and the optional file.

>HiRes Scrib (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43352/?) - I use the bright version.

>Unique Winged Twilights (http://download.fliggerty.com/download--743) - The .esp is unnecessary if you just want a replacer.

>BB Dwarven Spectre (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/29671/?)

>Better Almalexia (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/23388/?) - Either delete mask_glow before installing or don't overwrite.

>Azura Replacer (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-45-6053)

>Vivec God Replacement Creature Edition (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-26-10946) - Feel free to look through the extras folder at your options.

>Voiced Vivec and Yakety Yagrum (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/40994/?) - Not really a replacer, but it does involve 'creatures'.

We'll get a replacer for Dagoth Ur and dremora in the next step.

*Q: What about *insert other creature replacer here*?

*A: Dwemer will be installed in the next section. Otherwise, I don't know about it, or it didn't suit my taste. Here's a small list of mods I know about that didn't make the cut:

>Connary's other replacers - fullrest.ru

>Silt Strider Bump Mapped by Lougian - Nexus

>Psy's Golden Saint Replacer - MMH

>Divine Dagoth Ur - Nexus

>Spriggan Bump Mapped by Lougian - Nexus

>Kwama Forager Bump Mapped by Lougian - Nexus, specifically in his Various Little Mods

>Tyddy's Cliff Racer Aendemika - Nexus

===Body, weapon, armor and clothes replacers===

If you've modded Morrowind before, this section is going to be the biggest change to what you're used to. Better Bodies and Better Heads are both outdated, and armor and robes have both underwent major overhauls.

a) Let's start with heads.

>Westly's Pluginless Head and Hair Replacer (http://download.fliggerty.com/download-127-874)

>Various tweaks and fixes (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43795/?) - Specifically, Fixed Westly's Female Orc Heads and Fixed Westly's Barenziah Head.

>Westly's Heads Anim Fix (https://www.dropbox.com/s/d70l2lbjvm0xloo/WestlyHeadsAnimFix.zip?dl=0)

>Pluginless Khajiit Head Pack (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43110/?)

>Pluginless Khajiit Head Pack Talk-Blink Fix (http://abitoftaste.altervista.org/morrowind/index.php?option=downloads&task=info&id=68&Itemid=50&-Pluginless-Khajiit-Head-Pack-Talk-Blink-Fix)

Argonians will be in the next step, don't worry.

b) Body replacers.

>Robert's bodies (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43138/?) - Get the main file. Optionally, get Dagoth Ur OR Dagoth Ur (vanilla shaders), and RB Altmer Females, RB Bosmer Females, RB Orcish females. For the last three, you should look at the images section to see what they do; Westly's version is on the top, RB version is in the middle, and vanilla is at the bottom. The Orcish heads in particular are a drastic departure from Westly's heads, but they look more like the vanilla heads.

*Note that at the time this guide is being written, Khajiit meshes are nude. If seeing girl Khajiit nipples bother you, you should consider activating New Beast Bodies Khajit - Clean below, and make sure it overrides Robert's bodies. Also, it seems the nude meshes have been removed.

>Unique Shadow Pack (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-10-6029) - This is a requirement for...

>New Beast Bodies - Clean Version (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-10-10928) - You only need the argonian .esp and files. If you want to delete the khajiit meshes and textures, you can, but as long as you don't activate the Khajit bodies .esp, you'll be fine leaving them alone.

*Want 'mature' Argonians? (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-10-11364)

>Wey's Argonians (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43766/?) - Get the optional darker mouths file if you wish. I use it.

c) Clothes.

>Better Clothes (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42262/?) - Get the non-installer version. Only activate ONE esp. If you want your Argonian females to have breasts lumps when clothed for some reason, choose the regular version. For flat Argonian females, choose the nac version.

>Common Shirt Fix (https://www.dropbox.com/s/3kwi2ha2anpu7kw/BCFix.zip)

>BC Shoes Fix (https://www.dropbox.com/s/usgjr6hwi53c6ma/BC%20Shoes%20Fix.zip)

>Expensive Female Shirt Fix (http://mw.modhistory.com/download--14998) - Put this in your meshes\BC folder.

>More Better Clothes (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-53-6647) - Get both the main file at the bottom of the page and the MBC_ArmsFix.

>Better Clothes for Tribunal (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-87-11804)

>Better Clothes Bloodmoon Plus (http://download.fliggerty.com/download-21-804) - Make sure to get the 1.5 version.

>BCBM Pants Fix (https://www.dropbox.com/s/lkxditr9gl3a92c/BCBM_Pants_Fix.zip)

>Darknut's Better Clothes Textures (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43423/?)

d) Accessories. Note that some of this stuff (belts, rings, amulets) won't actually appear on your character model. It's mostly so your unique, fancy stuff will look cool when you painstakingly put it on shelves in your stronghold later.

>Drakkmore's Plugginless Ring Replacer (http://download.fliggerty.com/download-136-1035) - Actually gives rings textures. Without this they'll all appear black in-game.

>Unique Finery Replacer UFR (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/25725/?) - Activate the regular version. The robe mod we'll be using comes with a compatibility patch.

e) Robes.

>Better Robes (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42773/?) - Make sure to also install the patches for Tamriel Rebuilt if you're using it (TR folder) and UFR. If you plan to use Animated Morrowind, download the separate patch for that as well.

>Robe Overhaul (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43748/?)

*Various tweaks and fixes (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43795/?) - Optionally, if you hate the glow effect that Robe Overhaul adds to some robes, you can download Blank Glow Maps for Robe Overhaul. You might also be interested in Pluginless NoGlow Lite, which removes the plastic-y looking 'enchantment' effect from all items in game.

f) Weapons! There are likely a ton of unique/artifact weapon replacers I've missed. I was never very good at keeping track of weapon mods...

>Darknut's Little Weapons Mod Complete (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43418/?) - Our base. Unless you're on a toaster, use the 1024 folder. Delete the following 9 files before installing:

>Oriental Mesh Improvements (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/29906/?)

>Crossbows (http://download.fliggerty.com/download-98-1010) - If you don't want the new crossbows, don't activate the .esps. You'll still get new meshes for the base game's crossbows.

>Real Reflective Weapons - Iron (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43077/?) - Install the base (Data Files) folder and the bonus folder.

>Improved Weapon Meshes - Steel (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43120/?) - Install 00 and 01. You do not need the .esps.

>Improved Weapon Mehses - Ebony (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43484/?) - Install 00. Install 01 if you want an Ebony Claymore in your game, you'll need the .esp.

>Dwemer Armoury (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43335/?) - Unfortunately, this isn't totally compatible with our armor mods, but the weapon meshes and a few of the armor meshes will show up in game.

>Mehrunes Razor Replacer - Oblivion (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/23825/?)

>True Trueflame (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/33432/?)

>HopesFire Replacer Morrowind Edition (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-98-12378)

>Various little mods (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43330/?) - Volendrung. While you're getting that, you might as well download Colovian helm and Dust adept retextures, but don't install them yet.

>Improved Weapon Meshes & Textures WIP (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l1660o8fg664bii/AAAO3m96a4O4J4JOUOUBmFnFa/Improved%20Weapon%20Meshes%20%26%20Textures%20WIP?dl=0) - Download as .zip.

>Flash's Minor Retextures (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/44322/?) - Download both files.

*Spear-Staff Fix (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43353/?) - An optional fix for the position where spears and staves are held. Use it if you want. If you do, you'll need the Real Reflective Weapons Iron, Improved Weapon Meshes Steel, and Improved Weapon Meshes Ebony files from the Compatability [sic] folder.

g) Armor!

>Darknut's Armor Textures (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43416/?) - Make sure to get the newest version.

>Various little mods (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43330/?) - Install Colovian helm and Dust adept helm now.

>Improved Armor Parts (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l1660o8fg664bii/AAB-OssUyNu03Y5aGCO1Gav0a/Improved%20Armor%20parts?dl=0) - Download as .zip. First, delete the Bloodmoon folder; you already have that mesh. If you want a less bulky chitin pauldron, put that in meshes\a. Then go ahead and install the meshes and texture folder.

>Various tweaks and fixes (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43795/?) - Get Lougian's Colovian Helm fix. Install it and overwrite.

>HiRez Armors - Native Styles (http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1441431-relz-hirez-armors-native-styles-v2)

>Native HiRez fixes (http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1441431-relz-hirez-armors-native-styles-v2/page-2#entry22297270) and (http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1441431-relz-hirez-armors-native-styles-v2/page-2#entry23936622)

>Armor Retexture - Outlander Styles (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/44210/?) - Get the HQ version. You don't need to get the dragonscale armor textures. You should delete tx_a_templar_helmet before installing; we have better from Improved Armor Parts.

>Full Dwemer Retexture (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/44264/?) - We already installed the architecture, now we need the 'Only armor, robots, and weapons' archive. Pick MQ (1024) or HQ (2048), your choice.

>Better Morrowind Armor (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42509/?) - This needs more detailed install instructions, so...

1) First, install the main (Data Files) folder. You need to activate the Better Morrowind Armor .esp, and optionally one DeFemm patch of your choice. A removes all female versions of cuirasses (no boob armor for females), O acts like the original game, R gives boob armor only to stretchy armor. You should use the DeFemm patches from here (https://mega.nz/#!WgBQ2RRL!5CQU0ZIVvIv1vyUsutAr3gT-qMhRUU6E4KEvoE9AeOs).

2) Install the patch for Hirez Armors - Native Styles V2.

3) If you're using the LeFemm official plugin for Bethesda, install the patch for that as well. That means DEACTIVATING the [Official]LeFemm Armor.esp included with WHReaper's Morrowind Official Plugins and using the LeFemmArmor.esp included with Better Morrowind Armor.

>Daedric Lord Armor Morrowind Edition (http://download.fliggerty.com/download-4-1063) - Not only does this replace Daedric armor and gives bound armor a unique look, it acts as a replacer for Dremora as well. It's newer than Better Morrowind Armor and should load after it, so you'll get this nicer looking Daedric Armor in game.

*Less Bulky Pauldrons (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42566/?) - Optionally, you might like this. If you do decide to use it, make sure to use the the BAM & Native HiRez 2 files in the optional folder.

h) And finally, animations.

>Animation Compilation (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43982/?)

===MGE XE Setup===

If you have a toaster, you might want to skip most of this section. Run distant land as explained towards the end with default settings and see how the game runs for you first before trying out grass or any of the fancier light settings in the distant land tab. You might also try out shaders.

a) Before we begin, we need to download some grass mods. Please note, DO NOT ACTIVATE THESE .esps IN YOUR LAUNCHER!

>Azura's Coast and Sheogorath - Grassmod (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/30788/?)

>Morrowind grass mod combined v1.0 (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-56-14671) - Activate the .bsa in your .ini. Alternatively, you could use...

>Vurt's Groundcover (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/31051/?) - If you want Ashlands grass, you'll need to download this as none was included in the previous download. Use EITHER the previous mod OR this one for the other regions, do NOT use both. Use Reeds and the optional Corals download if you want, they should work with Grass Mod Combined just fine.

b) Some other MGE XE relevant mods.

>Distant Mournhold (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43255/?) - DO activate this .esp in your launcher.

>PeterBitt's Small Mods (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42306/?) - If you have a good computer and plan to use Per Pixel Lighting, get the Negative Lights Remover. Activate in your launcher.

c) Time for distant land! First, make sure all the mods you're using are activated in the launcher (again, don't activate the grass mods in the launcher). Then, run MGEXEgui.

1) Go into your Distant Land tab, and click on Distant land generator.

2) Click 'Use current load order', then go through the list and activate Grass_AC&S, Vurt's Groundcover - The Ashlands (if you're using it), and either Ozzy's Grass packages (there are five total) or Vurt's Groundcover - BC, AI, WG, GL and Vurt's Groundcover - Solstheim. Also, activate the reeds module and the corals module if you're using those. Click continue.

3) On the next few screens, change the settings only if you think it's necessary. If you're running a toaster you might want to turn your settings down. Be very conservative if you try to turn the settings up higher, as it CAN make your game run very slow. That said, re-running the distant land generator isn't too difficult. On the statics screen, make sure to read the tooltips for your options and set them accordingly.

4) When your distant land generation is finally complete, you'll have a lot more options in MGE XE to play with. Most of these are self-explanatory. If you have a toaster, you probably shouldn't mess with the default settings much; instead, launch the game and see how it runs for you with the basic settings, and with shaders, before messing with anything here. If you have a beastly machine, try out Per-pixel lighting (make sure to use Negative Lights Remover.esp in this case), high quality exponential fog, and high quality atmosphere and distance coloring. And, of course, turn up your draw distance. I play with 10 visible cells.

d) Shaders. Click the shader setup screen on the General tab. If you're using the latest MGE XE beta, the shaders screen will be pretty easy for you. Pick your quality preset, adjust it how you want (turning on/off DoF, using lower quality SSAO, etc.), and play. If, however, you're using the older, stable version of MGE XE, things are just a little more complicated. Follow the recommended install order at the bottom of the shader setup screen. For example, if you want the top of the line setup, using the best of ALL the available shaders, you'll want to double click first on SSAO HQ, then both Underwater effects, Depth of Field, Sunshafts, Bloom Soft, then finally, Eye Adaptation goes last.

Optionally, you might want to take a look at this water shader (http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1438303-mge-screenshot-thread-no-8/page-4#entry22311144). Screenshots of it can be found in the post. If you'd like to give greener water a try, download the XE Water.fx file, and put it in your Data Files\shaders folder, overwriting the old XE Water.fx. You might want to back up your old one in case you want to go back to the default water at some point.

e) Finally, and only when you're satisfied with your distant land generation, install Lore-Friendly Ghostfence Texture (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/29206/?). Why is this step last? Because if you generate distant land with these textures in your folder, it makes the ghostfence look like it has holes in it. Stick with the vanilla textures for distant land generation. If you re-run your distant land generation later, try to remove to remove the textures tx_gg_fence_01 and tx_gg_fence_02 from your textures folder first.

===Load Order===

If you've followed this guide to the letter, your (almost!) final load order of ACTIVATED .esps should look something like this:

_001_ Morrowind.esm

_002_ Tribunal.esm

_003_ Bloodmoon.esm

_004_ Morrowind Patch v1.6.6_beta.esm

_005_ Texture Fix - Bloodmoon 1.1.esm

_006_ Texture Fix 2.0.esm

_007_ Poorly Placed Object Fix 1.2.esm

_008_ Windows Glow - Tribunal Eng.esp

_009_ Windows Glow - Bloodmoon Eng.esp

_010_ Windows Glow - Raven Rock Eng.esp

_011_ Vurt's Grazelands Trees.ESP

_012_ VoicedVivec.ESP

_013_ YaketyYagrum.ESP

_014_ Vurt's BC Tree Replacer II.ESP

_015_ Vurt's Leafy West Gash.esp

_016_ aru_signs_en.esp

_017_ Better Clothes_v1.1_nac.esp

_018_ BetterClothesForTB.esp

_019_ New Argonian Bodies - Clean.esp

_020_ More Better Clothes.ESP

_021_ LGNPC_NoLore.esp

_022_ gr_ScriptImprovements.esp

_023_ [Official]Bitter Coast Sounds.esp

_024_ [Official]Master Index.esp

_025_ DB_Attack_Mod.esp

_026_ correctUV Ore Replacer 1.0.esp

_027_ Nasty Camonna Tong.esp

_028_ Better Morrowind Armor.esp

_029_ LeFemmArmor.esp

_030_ Djangos Dialogue.ESP

_031_ BetterClothesBloodmoonPlus1.5.esp

_032_ RR_Windoors_Glow_1C.esp

_033_ Better Morrowind Armor DeFemm(o).ESP

_034_ Better Robes.ESP

_035_ UFR_v3dot2.esp

_036_ PB_NegativeLightRemover.esp

_037_ Less_Generic_Bloodmoon.esp

_038_ Illy's Solsteim Rumour Fix.esp

_039_ PB_NoRestAldVelothi.esp

_040_ PB_LegionUniforms.esp

_041_ LGNPC_SeydaNeen.esp

_042_ LGNPC_GnaarMok_v1_20.esp

_043_ LGNPC_AldVelothi_v1_20.esp

_044_ LGNPC_MaarGan.esp

_045_ LGNPC_HlaOad.esp

_046_ LGNPC_Aldruhn_v1_20.esp

_047_ LGNPC_Aldruhn_suppl.esp

_048_ LGNPC_Pelagiad.esp

_049_ LGNPC_TelMora_v1_30.esp

_050_ LGNPC_Khuul_v2_21.esp

_051_ LGNPC_VivecFQ.esp

_052_ Less_Generic_Nerevarine.esp

_053_ Bloated Caves.esp

_054_ LGNPC_TelUvirith_v1_20.esp

_055_ LGNPC_SecretMasters_v1_30.esp

_056_ LGNPC_IndarysManor_v1_51.esp

_057_ LGNPC_VivecRedoran.esp

_058_ LGNPC_PaxRedoran_v1_20.esp

_059_ Illy's Hot Pots.ESP

_060_ DaedricArmor.esp

_061_ Mournhold LOD.ESP

_062_ Wey_New_Argonians.ESP

_063_ Graphic Herbalism.esp

_064_ Robert's Bodies.ESP

_065_ RB Altmer Females.ESP

_066_ RB Bosmer Females.ESP

_067_ RB Orcish Females.ESP

_068_ Less_Generic_Tribunal.esp

===Other mods===

Not satisfied with just a graphics overhaul? Here are some other mods you might want to try. Please, PLEASE read the mod pages for the following mods. Simply downloading and installing everything here could very well make your game laggy and/or unstable, especially if you don't use a proper load order. I do not play with all of the below mods myself anymore, but have played most of them in the past. Some I've never played at all, but they do come highly recommended and endorsed by the community.

1) Want your sound overhauled as well as your graphics? You can try Atmospheric Sound Effects (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-51-7148).

*Q: What about the Morrowind Acoustic Overhaul?

*A: Despite its upgrade to 1.0 status, I had a lot of issues with it in playtesting. I encountered the 'silent sound' bug, where the game would go completely silent and had to be restarted to fix it. Attempting to use the lower quality sound archive linked in the readme actually decreased my FPS for some reason, more than MAO already did. Trying to dispose of certain corpses (Scamps and Fire Atronachs, consistently) caused the game to immediately crash to desktop with no error message or warnings in logs. Attempting to use the modular .esps instead of the .esm made it so the game gave a bunch of errors when attempting to start a new game, and I could find no documentation anywhere listing what each individual .esp file changed. That being said, when playing with the .esm, when the sound worked, it was a really great experience. I really liked the container opening noises, and the different footstep noises based on equipped armor, and the environment sounds were wonderful. If you want to try it out, you can get it here (http://download.fliggerty.com/download-76-1045). Make SURE to backup your sound\fx folder and music folder before installing, just in case you need to uninstall it.

2) Don't want to worry about raising your Endurance early on in the game? Want your health to raise retroactively when you finally get around to training Endurance? Try this. (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-98-6521) However, if the idea of a leveling overhaul interests you, hold off on downloading this for now and keep reading.

3) Don't like vanilla leveling for whatever reason? Can't resist the urge to minmax, so you want to remove the temptation? You might consider one of the following mods. Use ONLY one.

>Galsiah's Character Development Lean 2.04a (http://wolflore.net/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=1116) - Tribunal or Bloodmoon is required. Not compatible with State Based HP, it has its own system.

>Automatic Leveling v0.4 (http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1533992-rel-automatic-leveling/) - Requires the latest version of MWSE (which itself requires the beta version of MGE XE), there's a link to the newest version in the post. A much more modern mod, but it's still a WIP. This mod includes it's own health calculating function, so you don't need State-Based HP. But you can turn off this mod's health function and use it anyway if you want.

In the case of the two versions of GCD, you need to make sure you didn't activate the skill/attribute uncapper patches in MCP. Also, you might want to turn off GCD's Magicka regen system because it's pretty laggy. You can do so by going into your console (`) and typing Set VgGCDMagickaOn to 0. Magicka regen mods will be listed below, use one of those instead. In addition to activating the GCD .esp of your choice, you might also consider activating Better Balanced Birthsigns and the Potion Fix with it. You can find out what those do in the file 3GCDReadmeFirst.

4) Are you used to newer Bethesda games where you swing your weapon and hit the enemy without miss chance? Is Morrowind absolutely ruined for you if your attacks miss when it clearly looks like they should hit? Try this. (http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1513002-rel-oblivion-like-combat-tweaks-part-of-men-project/)

*Disclaimer: I haven't tried this. But reading through the forum thread, it seems like a solid mod.

5) Want to be a wizard? Here are some mods you might like.

>Mastering Magicka (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42269/?) - This mod is a complete overhaul of the magic system. You should read the mod page to learn more. If you think this mod does a little too much and want to pick and choose for yourself, keep reading.

>Fair Magicka Regen (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/39350/?)

>Raym's Simple Mana Regeneration (http://www.wolflore.net/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=1553.) - Use either this OR Fair Magicka Regen, not both. The difference between them is that Fair Magicka Regen is percent based, while Raym's is simpler and lighter on CPU/scripting. Don't use this OR Fair Magicka Regen if you're using Mastering Magicka.

>Spell Cast Reduction (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-37-1406) - Another feature already included in Mastering Magicka.

>Melian's Teleport Mod (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-21-6360) - Not only for wizards, this mod makes travelling around Vvardenfell a breeze by allowing you to have unlimited Mark locations.

6) Do you want to travel with a companion (or two)? Then here is, hands down, the best Morrowind companion mod: Julan, Ashlander Companion. (http://lovkullen.net/Emma/Kateri.htm) You might also be interested in this (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42780/?) to give Julan plus some other characters the fully red Dunmer eyes. There are some other companion mods for Morrowind, but none with the sheer amount of dialogue (or a quest directly tied to the main plot) as Julan.

7) Want harder dungeons?

>Darknut's Greater Dwemer Ruins versions 1.1 (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43544/?) - A widely used and recommended overhaul of the Red Mountain citadels. It was mentioned in Knots' guide. It's incompatible with most anything that changes any of the final dunmer strongholds. Unfortunately, most of the compatibility patches for it only work with 1.0, which can be found here (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-98-11646).

>Sotha Sil Expanded (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42347/?) - Trainwiz's epic mod that completely overhauls the final dungeon of the Tribunal expansion. Conflicts with anything changing Tribunal's final dungeon. Less Generic Tribunal MIGHT be fine, as I can't find anything saying otherwise, but I haven't made it far enough in the Tribunal story to test it with the newest version of LG Tribunal.

8) Want a mod that gives your character needs?

>Necessities of Morrowind (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-53-12114) - For a long time, NoM was the only needs mod Morrowind had. NoM has several compatibility patches with various mods as a result. Seeing as it actually adds quite a bit to the world with food stalls, restaurants, wells, etc., if you plan to use NoM you should keep compatibility in mind. Alternatively, you could use the new mod The Bare Necessities instead, which strips out a lot of things NoM added (world changes, new items, cooking system) while keeping hunger, thirst and the need for sleep. You can find it here (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43365/?).

9) Want kids in your game?

>Children of Morrowind (http://lovkullen.net/Emma/kids.htm) - If you want kids, or to play a teenager, in Morrowind, this mod is your only option. Because this mod adds NPCs and items to settlements all over Vvardenfell, you should keep an eye out for any compatibility patches if you use this mod. And one last thing, CoM was designed in a way to keep the children of the mod safe, meaning if you attack them, they'll teleport away before you can hurt them. This was a design decision on Emma's part, so if you don't like invincible kids, don't download the mod.

10) Want mods to add atmosphere or to give you a more immersive experience?

>Mountainous Red Mountain (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42125/?) - Makes Red Mountain much bigger, at the cost of breaking compatibility with any mod centered in and around Red Mountain. It's popular enough that there are compatibility patches for most popular mods. I believe there's a patch for Julan and another patch for Greater Dwemer Ruins 1.0.

>Gondoliers (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43291/?), Boats (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42270/?), Silt Striders (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42267/?). All by abot. Travel in real time instead of instantaneously!

>Where are all birds going (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43128/?) and Water Life (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42417/?), by the same wonderful guy who made the above mods, adds birds and aquatic creatures to Morrowind.

>Animated Morrowind (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43960/?) - Adds NPCs to the game with new and unique animations to make the world feel more alive.

>Starfire's NPC Additions (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-90-13583) - Adds a ton more generic NPCs to the world to make it feel more lively, with a lot less 'getting destroyed by a high level vampire on the road to Pelagiad in the fucking DAYLIGHT' than Morrowind Comes Alive had. (I'm not bitter or anything.)

11) Are you an aspiring member of House Telvanni? The following mods might interest you, and as a bonus, they can all be used together.

>Uvirith's Legacy (http://download.fliggerty.com/download-35-884) - A major revamp of Tel Uvirith, your stronghold if you join and advance in House Telvanni. Make sure to use the RoHT addon from the addons folder if you plan to use Rise of House Telvanni (see below).

>Building Up Uvirith's Legacy (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-47-11851) - This mod is a major revamp of Uvirith's Grave, which is the area surrounding Tel Uvirith. If you plan to use Uvirith's Legacy, this is the version of BuUG you should use.

>Rise of House Telvanni (http://mw.modhistory.com/download-21-10664) - Further expands the Telvanni questline in a major way. Be warned there are some... special characters included in this. Do NOT get the compatibility addon! It's very out of date, use the one from Uvirith's Legacy instead!

*Q: What if I plan to join House Hlaalu or Redoran instead of Telvanni?

*A: If you plan to join House Redoran, you're in luck: you've already downloaded and installed the best major overhaul for Redoran around if you've followed this guide to the letter, and that would be the LGNPC suite. The LGNPC mods cover the entirety of House Redoran at this point in time, and a lot of their holdings, making a House Redoran playthrough a lot of fun. Also, the new mod Bal Isra Rising (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/44329/?) overhauls the Redoran player stronghold. At this time it looks like it MIGHT have some compatibility issues with LGNPC Indarys. If you want to be totally safe, you could play the mod without LGNPC Indarys activated, or you could wait for a compatibility patch from the mod author. If you want to use both, it sounds like the worst case scenario is that you might have to use the console to go to the old version of Indarys Manor to talk to NPCs inside it for new dialogue.

If you're going to join House Hlaalu... well, unfortunately, at this time, there really is nothing I can recommend. There are a few mods that revamp Rethan Manor, but nothing really spectacular stands out. House Hlaalu is still a very vanilla experience.

11) Annoyed with how quickly vanilla torches go out? While you're at it, want them to put out more light? What about lanterns and candles? Try out True Skyrimized Torches (http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43192/?).