New to Morrowind

[Sloady]

Two questions I need answered, as I've read all the guides.

1. Would you recommend installing mods first, or playing vanilla first?

2. What mods should I install, and what utilities will I need to get them to work?

I clear the system requirements by miles, but I'm definitely not capable of running modern games.

EDIT: The forums are clearly trolling me, because I swear I hit the Morrowind forums.

[Eltee]

Poor sloady.
Well, I am an Xbox Morrowind gamer, so I guess I have to say 'play 'er vanilla, Trampy!'
Glad you're getting the game. It's a blast!

[Believe]

Should this not be in the Morrowin forum?

but in answer to your questions,

1. I would suggest only using mods that change graphics first time round.
2. Better Bodies is a must have. I don't really use alot of mods for Morriwnd, just graphical ones mostly. The game is good enough without add-ons. Also, I don't think you need any utilities for Morrowind mods, at least I don't. You just download, install, and then turn on

Happy Morrowinding Sloady!

[NLN]

Careful with the graphics, my Morrowind runs around 25 fps sometimes on the same computer that doesn't break a sweat to render Oblivion and Skyrim smoothly on max graphics. I fried TWO graphic cards with Morrowind.

MCA is a bad idea on older computers I think, but LGNPC mods don't hog the computer (as far as I know), and I wouldn't want to play without that. And The Lightning Mod. All else is personal preference...

Better Bodies, yes, that should work too, and the game is real ugly without...

[Crimea River]

I've been meaning to install Better Bodies and Better Heads, but at the present I've simply been playing it vanilla, with no mods at all. I've actually been enjoying it and don't see it as ugly (maybe because I grew up on games with those kinds of graphics. xD). But yeah...IMO it's best to experience the game in its vanilla form for a while, then perhaps install aesthetical mods such as MGSE. ^_^

[AddictedtoMorrowind]

Yay Sloady! Now I can't ship Morrowind to you though.

I think you should play it vanilla. I never found graphics mods necessary, as I find Morrowind's graphics charming and beautiful(even the Ashlands and West Gash). A mod I would recommend when you're all done and finished with Morrowind and the expansions is Tamriel Rebuilt, but that is when you're done.

[Sloady]

Thanks for the replies everyone! Unfortunately, I pretty much went against everyone's advice. The first thing I did was install better bodies and better heads, and after some frustration with magic not regenerating, BTB and some other gameplay tweaks.

The great thing is, I don't notice much of a difference, but the frustration I had when playing originally disappeared. I've clocked my first 6 hours, and can't wait to spend so much more time in Morrowind!

[Avron the S'wit]

Honestly, mods like better bodies and heads and the graphics extender don't change anything about the game. They only make it more beautiful. The amazing dialogue and quests are still right there...so you'll have fun either way, Sloady, as you already noticed.

(When you've finished your first playthrough, though, please, please go download the Less Generic NPC pack. So many delicious dialogue options...)

[OblivionDuruza]

1. Would you recommend installing mods first, or playing vanilla first?

I'd recommend having a hit at the vanilla game first, but if the graphics and mechanics of the game aren't really your thing, there are a number of Mods that will improve the game without detracting from the vanilla experience, most of which are contained in the Morrowind Graphics and Sounds Overhaul pack. MGSO 2.0 (watch) has now been released, it even comes with its own automated installer, or so I'm lead to believe.

2. What mods should I install, and what utilities will I need to get them to work?

There a a lot of great mods out there which can seriously alter the game or add minor details that only complement the vanilla game, as such, after you play the game for the first time, you really have to decide in which direction you want to go with it as far as mods. There are some really great mods out there, and here's a short list of notable ones I've had varying degrees of personal experience with:

First off, this article might be worth sifting through, as it lists some pretty well tested and reviewed mods. It might be an idea to try the Unofficial Morrowind Patch and the Morrowind Code Patch (included in MGSO). This is also a great looking list, that I myself am going to look more into, it's very user friendly, labelling each mod by what it does (Graphics Replacer, Added Content).

You might like to try some gameplay and character development mods. For example, this one is said to add more Oblivion style gameplay, by adding Magicka regeneration and increasing your chance to hit, proportionately to your Agility. Galsiah's Character Development, changes character progression, and is supposedly quite good, although I've never tried it personally, although I've been meaning to.

You might also like to try some new landmasses. The most obvious ones that spring to mind are Tamriel Rebuilt and Silgrad Tower, however smaller ones like Dulsya Isle and Havish are also pretty good.

Additionally, there are some pretty good factions available, including Rise of House Telvanni for House Telvanni fans (Crazy Wizard Lords), PAX Redoran for House Redoran fans (Honourable Warrior types), 6th House and Great House Dagoth for House Dagoth lovers or even those looking to stray from the vanilla Morrowind Mainquest, and even these simple offerings, Grandmaster of Hlaalu and Great House Indoril (Beta) for Hlaalu and Indoril fans (although House Indoril probably never will be finished, and from experience is fairly riddled with minor bugs - so perhaps only diehard Indoril fans will enjoy it).

I'd also recommend Emma's Mods, as they're all very well done, and Emma, and the late Grumpy are modders I've really come to respect in the Morrowind community.

Hope that helps, seriously, there are so many great mods out there, I could list loads. I'm sure there's something that will suit you just great.

All the best, and good luck.

[Sloady]

Thanks Duru I'm going to replace BTB with Better Gameplay, as I'm not sure entirely what all of BTB does, and would rather a more vanilla friendly game experience. I already have Galsiah's character development mod installed, but I think I may remove it, considering it's quite an overhaul.

[NLN]

I recommend LGNPC over vanilla on first playthrough, too... it does not change anything original (drastically), but will actually give more personality to almost every NPC now and lots of small quests to run. It's MORE compatible with lore than the vanilla, where everybody gives the same reply to a question even if they should think differently, being the enemy, imho.