Hitting The Books

Post-install instructions for completing a mod list.

In order to prevent every mod guide presented on this site from becoming too long, this is the catch-all post to cover everything you should do after downloading the final mod and running LOOT one more time. So far, it only includes instructions for using Wyre Bash to create a Bashed Patch, but as more complex mod guides are posted, Hitting The Books will start to cover more complex post-install processes, including DynDOLOD and Merge Plugins.

Wyre Bash

The Wyre Bash tool can be used as a mod manager of its own, but for the purposes of this guide, it is solely used to create a Bashed Patch. This patch, which comes at the end of a mod list, merges various things from plugins – chiefly leveled lists. This means that you can use multiple mods that change the same levelled lists, and still see the actors/items from every mod.

Run Wyre Bash through Mod Organizer. If you have not yet set up Wyre Bash, please see Before The Storm for instructions on how to do so.

Make sure you are in the ‘mods’ tab at the top. You should see a list of all your installed .esp files. Scroll to the bottom, right click on ‘Bashed Patch, 0.esp’, and select ‘rebuild patch’. If a window appears asking you to deactivate some mods prior to patching, click OK. This will merge several .esp files into the Bashed Patch, reducing your .esp count.

Open the ‘tweak settings’ menu if you would like – I generally recommend setting the timescale of the game to 12, by right clicking ‘timescale’, selecting 12 from the list, and checking the box next to it. Leave everything else – the ‘automatic’ box should be checked in the ‘leveled lists’ screen. Click Build Patch. Let Wyre Bash do its work, then click OK on the report screen, and yes to activate the Bashed Patch.

The Bashed Patch is now active in your load order, but the .esp file is contained within Mod Organizer’s overwrite folder. To keep your folders clean, and to allow for easy switching between mod profiles (files in the overwrite are not unique to a profile – leaving something in overwrite for one profile will mean the same files appear in another), scroll to the bottom of Mod Organizer and right click on the red ‘overwrite’ mod. Select create mod, and give it a suitable name – ‘Dragon Rising Bashed Patch’, for example. Activate this new mod, and place it just below the last mod in your list. Now, the Bashed Patch functions as a normal mod, and can be activated and deactivated at will.

You should rebuild your Bashed Patch every time you add new mods to your game, and it will almost always be at the very bottom of your load order. It’s an important step – don’t forget it!