UPDATED GUIDE for Launch - How to Install Mods for Baldur's Gate 3 [ With BG3 Mod Manager ]

This guide is working for launch! Requires BG3 Mod Manager.
Update for some simple fixes: • Issues with BG3 Mod Ma...
NOTICE: If you're a gaming website and using details or pictures from this guide, I expect you to link back to this video. I'm getting sick and tired of places like nerdrush and screenrant scumming content from my videos. The least you can do is give credit AND link back. This is a small channel and can use all the help it can get.
0:00 Intro
0:16 Download BG3 Mod Manager
0:35 Install BG3 Mod Manager
1:30 Download a Mod from Nexus
2:11 Extract Mod
2:44 Put the Mod in the Proper Location
3:14 Activating Mod in the Mod Manager
4:04 Warning Messages
4:22 Starting Game and Accept Message
4:34 If It's Not Working
5:38 Enjoy Your Mods!
---
Links mentioned in video:
Download BG3 Mod Manager - github.com/LaughingLeader/BG3...
Find mods- www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3
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[@wiktoriajedrzejewska7287]

Happy to see that all of my favourite mods are being updated for the full release. Gonna use them on my second playthrough. Thank you for the updated tutorial i love your videos.

[@Mmogurl]

You're very welcome! :)

[@lupinelp9226]

I wish, that at least when you were in camp, you could automatically access anyone's inventory without having to swap out the main party members. It would make moving the better armor and and weaponry around to the appropriate characters so much easier.

[@winnerjoin]

If you hit tab you can open everyone's inventory at once.

[@lupinelp9226]

@@winnerjoin I know, but only for the people in your "party". But I still have to swap out party members.

[@jameljami11]

yea, i think im gonna get the party limits begone mod for that reason, just to remove an extra step of dismissing a party member before adding the member you want to take items off.

[@nathanizabeast]

Does it not let you, basically, pick pocket them? I know it does with the main party members, but I'd have to check.

[@cieje]

I've discovered that if you actually go to the item slot on your character for applicable items to equip, that it actually pulls from all companion equipment (I think currently equipped) (like if you dismiss a companion with a necklace or ring etc you want, if you click the item slot, it'll be available to equip)

[@alpagasticot3485]

To find the mod folder from the Mod manager you can also just click "Go" and select "Open mods folder", otherwise great video thanks ! my vortex didn't work when i tried modding but thankfully it works with the bg3 mod manager !

[@IXXIMASONIXXI]

LEGEND, THANK YOU! For some reason it's not showing me the AppData folder in my users but this works :D

[@tonigor7148]

Thank you so much.

[@jonnikahwoodward2279]

Oh my gosh thank you!!! I couldnt find it and was about to give up.

[@rosycheeks550]

THANK YOU!!!! I spent hours looking for this and could not find it but now I can thanks to your comment

[@AnelorGalor]

She forgot to mention the most important part: In the Mod Manager hit settings > open preferences, and make sure the Saved Load Order Path is set to: C:\Users\(Your User Name)\AppData\Local\Larian Studios\Baldur's Gate 3\PlayerProfiles\Public Save the settings. And then File > save load order as > use the name it suggests. That will fix any issue with modding u have it seems.

[@helenshepherd165]

Amazing! Thank you so much for creating such an easy to follow guide. There is no way i could've figured all that out on my own.

[@Mmogurl]

You're very welcome! And sorry it took me so long to notice this.. randomly YT decided to show me recent super thanks and I was able to finally see it! Thank you again!

[@ryan1000011]

this was very helpful thank you. was seeing the mod in the right place on the manager but wasn't loading until I followed your steps so your awesome :)

[@gotrek44]

I'm glad people like you make these videos. Very helpful. Being detailed is so important.

[@eddiesensenig7909]

Thank you so much for the simple, straight to guide. I'm not very good at modding games outside of Stardew Valley and I was getting frustrated cuz I'm dumb. This got me straight to it within 10 min (messed up a few times cuz again, I'm dumb). Thank you very much!

[@dorrianbrooks9408]

You're a godsend lol. Im almost done with my first full playthrough and was looking to install mods for my second run

[@Mmogurl]

Yes! I noticed a bunch of people were looking at my old video that doesn't work anymore because the path changed. I thought with all those views.. this might be more helpful lol

[@dorrianbrooks9408]

@@Mmogurl Oh it's definitely helpful. I tried modding the game immediately after it launched, and basically had to delete documents and files because the game wouldn't let me load. Nexus worked during the beta, but it's definitely isn't now. But anywho, now I just gotta wait for more Male Half Orc cosmetic mods so I can live out my actual DnD fantasies lol

[@wiktoriajedrzejewska7287]

@@dorrianbrooks9408Same for me. Decided to do a first playthrough with a ''clean game'' still waiting for some of my mods to get updated.

[@keyxo_verskem]

Thanks for this! Such a simple click-and-drag solution held me up from activating the mod - but you pointed it out and saved meeee!

[@SkrizzzGames]

Thank you so much! I'd been struggling for so long because no one could properly explain what you need to do with the files.

[@Suzanne_sf]

Thank you! Several months ago, another online friend who makes mods, recommended your old video. I will have to remember to send him your new video.

[@bobombnik1817]

Just a note on the Basket mod you were using as the example. It didn't have requirements - those were mods that required the Basket mod. :)

[@Mmogurl]

Yes! I noticed that much later on! It was mods that required that mod and not the other way around.

[@xXUzumakiXx]

I was checking the comments as I also noticed that.

[@TheOneRiskinItAll]

Thanks for the guide. cannot wait to finish the first run, and take next run with mods... cannot wait to get GFB and BB, and hopefully a hexblade, bladesinger and swashbuckler

[@AnelorGalor]

She forgot to mention the most important part: In the Mod Manager hit settings > open preferences, and make sure the Saved Load Order Path is set to: C:\Users\(Your User Name)\AppData\Local\Larian Studios\Baldur's Gate 3\PlayerProfiles\Public Save the settings. And then File > save load order as > use the name it suggests. That will fix any issue with modding u have it seems.

[@sapphoris]

Would you know if the executable path should change as well?

[@AnelorGalor]

@@sapphoris it must point to the executable. so if u havent used the default installation path, adjust it so its right.

[@sapphoris]

@@AnelorGalor I'm new to using anything other than vortex and got confused by the settings and preferences being shown for steam, but then manually downloading into the local appdata folder. So I changed the mod path to the local app data folder and that's how I came to my original question after seeing this comment switch another location to a similar folder. Sorry for potentially overexplaining, but I think I still need help and that should give some context. I think the rest is default

[@AnelorGalor]

@@sapphoris ask away. I am new to BG3 mod manager but other wise I ve been modding for 15 years now. So essentially. what I saw when I used this tool. I had to only change the profile pointer. The mod folder and executable been automatically correct in detecting my installation.

[@bigdawg7919]

Do you know how to change where it's finding the mods from. I don't have room in my C drive for all the mods I wanna download so I want to change the folder to a D drive folder. Can you help me with this?

[@TajimaPendragon]

Thanks for the help and for setting "check points" or whatever its called in the video. It helped a lot.

[@craigsovilla6578]

Thank you so much. Very thorough in your explanation which i needed for this, i don't usually mod games with a mod manager, you made it fairly simple to understand!

[@k9ylaolivia]

hii, this was awesome help. Thank you for going through the proper file destination, I found out I had to "show hidden files" on my computer then was soaring after that :)

[@W4rr4X]

Just found your channel, I've been using Vortex for pretty much every games I own but saw multiple times it was best not to use it for BG3, since it's my first time modding it, I don't want to screw things up. You clarified things perfectly for me. And totally simping, but I love your voice. Thanks for the help ! :)

[@yrulaughing]

Thank you for making this process easy with a succinct video. Each step was well explained.

[@marv8360]

Thank you so much for this. May you trust the dice and have them roll in your favor!

[@Mmogurl]

You're very welcome!! :)

[@MordOptiMax]

This video was very well done. I appreciate succinct answers when I search. I'm glad that the Almighty algorithm suggested this. Looking forward to seeing more modding videos in the future. (Also just found your ME2 Garrus series: Chef's kiss.) If I could make a request: A mod showcase, not a recommendation list; More like a state of the union of what's available (series?)

[@MordOptiMax]

Also, quick question about your workflow. Do you write a script for your voiceover? Or is it just an outline? It sounds extremely natural and it's something I've struggled with when it comes to public speaking.

[@Mmogurl]

I've actually been thinking about suggesting more mods, so that is definitely in the cards although I'd probably make a mod per video until I've tried out some more. I honestly don't play with too much at this point just because the client is still new and I'm not sure how unstable it will get. But I have several off hand I can think of that would be great to suggest! Also.. thank you for the compliment! I do try to get the point across and clearly, but at this point I've had years and years of creating content! In most cases, I write a script so you can avoid the dreaded "umm" that usually occurs when you improvise.. But I've also streamed a good bit by now which helps with getting used to public speaking. This video I did improvise because I wanted the instructions to line up with what I was doing on the screen without a ton of editing. So, it can be either or :) Thanks for the comments and I'll def put more mod stuff on the list! I have a lot of romance scenes to get through as well which is another big staple of what I do here on this channel!

[@MordOptiMax]

@@Mmogurl looking forward to it I!

[@shanti1z]

Thank you for this. Under requirements, it lists other mods that use this, but it does state that BG Mod Manager does not have any dependencies other than the base game. Thanks again.

[@solarcrickets]

Thank you so much. I had everything downloaded, I just didnt know how to put it all together. This vid was a lifesaver!

[@Jcewazhere]

Protip: Putting %appdata% into the address bar in explorer will take you right to appdata, then just go up one folder with that up arrow, then local->larian->BG3->mods

[@ibeblue_bro7091]

Life saver bro thank you

[@kristofbalint5687]

Thank you!

[@KiwiPotao]

Thank you so much I was really confused when I couldn't find it under just regular %appdata%

[@elleastraea]

u life saver!! thank you

[@saerbom5528]

king

[@BlueIskra]

2 hours of trouble shooting and you were the only one to successfully help me. Bless ! 💖

[@Mmogurl]

Yay! :)

[@luisresto368]

Thank you for pointing me in the correct direction. On the manager I click File>Import mod and just select the one I want.

[@annie4584]

youre a lifesaver i dint realize the files were inactive i never moved them

[@gina7263]

thank you for such a good guide!! I'm still having some difficulties with individual mods like no party limit but at least I know it's not an install issue anymore

[@TheShieldWolf89]

Thank you, I enjoyed this guide. Your instructions were easy to understand and very helpful.

[@notevines]

Thank you for this guide. For the life of me I could not find a decent guide on how to use this particular mod manager. Resorted to vortex and promptly broke my game.. so going for attempt number 2!

[@TheXafen]

Thank you so much for such an easy to understand guide. Thank you so much!!!

[@Mmogurl]

You're very welcome! ;)

[@HEllFIRE-JINX]

I don't normally sub to people but this guide was so well done I just had to good luck on ur future videos

[@Mmogurl]

Thank you! I plan on doing some more mod videos in the future too once I get the romances mostly under my belt xD

[@AngryTheChipmonk]

Thank you. I was looking for a guide like this and it helped so much. Thank you again!

[@ciarrab1038]

This worked so much better than trying to use vortex thank you!

[@SappyFern]

Thank you so much for the video! Helped me out so much

[@DollieGaming]

I was struggling with installing custom clothes for my character... Thank you Darling! 😘😘

[@ishirutaekakura308]

Awesome video, helped me a lot, because I was confused how to do it! 😅

[@toddm394]

New subscriber loved your video easy instructions that even I could follow. Pleasant voice to listen too.

[@Mmogurl]

Thank you much! :)

[@Norua]

Thank you very much for the clarity of your video.

[@danilofloridiseriado]

Great Video ! Your voice sounds like that girl from the "Emanuel Don't do it" Meme.

[@CRBRUSX]

Nice video. Simple and easy to follow.

[@cutelilcurtain5728]

This video was SO SO HELPFUL thank you so much!!!!!!

[@lordofdem0ns997]

thank you for the easy to understand tutorial :)

[@goofball1_134]

yes this is exactly what I needed. simple and effective video.

[@JustJordansArt]

THANK YOU FOR THIS I WAS SO CONFUSED

[@Roddmend]

hey, love your voice and your explanation! thank you

[@wekilluminati9505]

Huge help, thank you!

[@kenzienator5576]

thank u so much for making it straight to the point

[@kyra3479]

Thank you so much. I'm new to downloading mods and this helped a lot

[@Sensenoi6]

Thank you kindly, this was super helpful!

[@EllienVitan]

This was very helpful thanks a lot!

[@Al-cj6po]

Thank you for making this

[@pablobrendon186]

Thanks! This helped a lot

[@lostsoulman]

Thanks. I will give this link to players using my mods, saves me explaining how to install mods!

[@Mmogurl]

Thank you! :) And thanks for making mods!

[@TenofSwords]

Your voice puts me in a relaxed state, like 'everything's gonna be alright' :D

[@Mmogurl]

Aww That's good to hear! :)

[@OfficerKD4-4.4]

Thanx ma'am, very good tutorial.

[@harvardford8752]

Thank you for this, Now i can get the selune armor without having to steal it XD you earned yourself a subscriber!!!!

[@BS-rm2wv]

This is the first PC game I've ever modded... very excited

[@BobaTeaBeech]

Thank you for this, I wanted to make my character really pretty with new hair and all that and had no clue how to mod lol!

[@epeedor4087]

Thank you soooooo much!

[@oguzkaanay8459]

ty for the video

[@aquitafajita]

Perfect tutorial!

[@nerdiigamer619]

Thank you for the assistance :3

[@Pendragon667]

Great video, thanks a bunch! One remark and one questions though: - some or a lot of mods need the script extender. I've read that it comes with the BG3 MM. Is that true? - the mod in your video didn't have requirements. It is other mods that depend on the basket mod 😀

[@EL-AY-EX]

thank you for this👍

[@arabtrooper3929]

Thank you, already have 300+ hours on Vanilla game and I don’t have the patience to wait for Larian to add stuff to the game 😂

[@user-he8cr4gy1i]

so helpful 🙏

[@Doubtfire.Official]

I've seen a lot of mods in nexus that need to be droped into the game data itself. Could you cover a tutorial on those maybe? (ie. Custom dice, appearance changes for companions, etc)

[@majik1468]

thank you so much! 👍

[@TeSBanshee90]

omg thank you so much!

[@addy4542]

THANK YOU SOOO MUCHHHHH

[@strizzacervelli]

ty so much

[@20storiesunder]

I've got a list of 34 mods I use now, it's glorious.

[@Kitofthevalley]

Thank you so much!!! 😭

[@edwardsieger2744]

do these still work after game updates? or will you have to wait for mod updates? i dont really mess with mods but seeing everyones Tavs makes me want to.

[@mike8235]

Thx did not knew i had to activated the mods...

[@gakkibear]

Thanks for help! I wanted a boob mod to help me focus and motivated to continue playing lmao

[@Nitryl44]

Thanks !

[@27Zangle]

I am finding leveling to be slow for me since I like to read everything / explore, honestly, thinking about doing the double xp mod. I am not even finished with ACT 1 but really want to feel like I am progressing since I want to play every possible class combination over the coming years when I have time.

[@primusnephilim]

Thank you for the video, straight to the point :) Question, if I wanted to turn off mods to play the game for achievements, is there a quick way (a toggle?) of doing that or do I just need to move each mod to the right and hit save?

[@qrcus]

there is a mod that makes you able to earn achievments with mods

[@bugfluids]

thank you !

[@Tanja9180]

Tip to find the folder Baldurs Gate 3 Mods: You can open the launcher and in the setting you can directly open it and see it

[@humboogu]

God bless you

[@slkrsmobile]

Does adding a mod affect all your saved games or is there a way to only mod some of them?

[@TB163]

Nice, quick easy video. However, I do wish tutorials would also pre-answer the most common questions like... Can I disable all mods easily so as to play another saved game in Vanilla BG3 and then switch back for the other saved game I have with mods? This is what I'm currently searching for an answer to. I have 3 different games I'm soloing and one multiplayer I'm playing with a friend. I want mods for only one of my solo games and then want to revert to vanilla to play the others.

[@user-qs2qj2rf8b]

Thank you for the leg work. The instructions alone from the developers was a little confusing.

[@lcdc_azuralie]

For those who's mods don't show whenever you refresh BG3 Mod Manager, you can go to File > Import mod You'll have to manually import mods but at least it will work

[@jode2589]

Shows up but doesnt work... Do you mess & edit the text/code in your games folder? Like adding new nodes.

[@culbyjenn]

thank you. Mods worked fine on my desktop, but wouldn't show up when I did the same exact thing on my laptop. Had to manually import them

[@vasiliysmirnov3922]

no such option, only "import order" in many ways, no "import MOD" in "file" menu. SO much wasted time only for 1 fkn mod - open multiclass in easy difficulty...

[@buckii4]

Hey there, First off, thank you so much for this amazing tutorial video :D helps a ton :D Secondly, I am new to modding, generally never found a reason to mod games, but im a big fan of dnd and this game is just amazing :D But I wanna play as some subclasses that werent released with the game, and I have found some of them on nexus mods and I am sure others will release eventually through mods most likely. But I dont wanna risk ruining my main playthrough, is there a way to only have mods active for one save game? or is it once I activate them, they are there? I am new to mods, so the most simple way to explain this would be great :D Also, If I have them active and join my friends game, will that affect gameplay? Thanks for any help with this :D

[@Mmogurl]

I think there is, but I have to verify with some in my much more talented than I at modding community before trying to put a video together on it, because as I understand it.. it's a little more complicated.

[@buckii4]

That’s fair enough, I look forward to seeing that video, hopefully it’s not too far off :) Until then I’ll continue with un-modded until I’ve seen the entire playthrough once :) Then I’ll play with some mods :)

[@siritalis4956]

I had this exact same question. I'm a noob with modding, but I want to use some with this (so thanks for the easy video!). I plan to play local coop, which I assume is fine with the mods. I also wanted to play online with some friends though, and I've been wondering if mods will mess that up, if I can just turn them off for that character, etc

[@azurespot8277]

My Profile field only has Public or some older saves but no Default option. Is this a problem? I can't get my mods to work, so trying to figure out why.

[@nauxic8550]

mines the same any fix?

[@AnelorGalor]

Dont forget that mods disable achievements unless you install a mod to enable them again

[@Vox-Multis]

Many thanks for this information! I was hoping to find a mod to change my character's appearance mid-game. Invariably after starting a game, I find myself not liking some tiny aspect of my character's appearance. The eye color isn't quite right, or the skin pigmentation is just a tiny bit off, and I've had to either start the game all over or be perpetually annoyed whenever I saw my character in a cutscene. Unfortunately, there don't seem to be any mods out there that will change my appearance to the degree I would like, but at least I was able to give it a shot. I understand there's supposed to be a way to edit your appearance in an upcoming patch, so I guess I'll just have to hope that gets here soon.

[@Smoses_senpai]

It doesn't have requirements but other mods require it to work. If you look at the text above it, it says that it doesn't need anything other than the base game.

[@Vxmpie]

Can you make or do you already have a video on mods that we NEED to have in order for our other mods to work? I originally started bg3 on ps5 but I just got it on my laptop so I can have fun with mods so I’m new to this and don’t know what mods are absolutely NEEDED

[@zanzariera2049]

Hi there! I appreciate your message, but I think there might be a misunderstanding. On Nexmod, I only find Baldur's Gate downloads that are compatible with Vortex. Or am I mistaken? In other words, are they compatible with both?

[@tobi3979]

After the newest hotfix I'm getting a message whenever I try to load my save saying that my mods were enabled in the save but are not disabled and the game might be unstable. When I try to load the save it crashes me to desktop. Do you know how to enable the mods again? I've tried updating them and reinstalling.

[@strangefruitlovex]

thank You

[@HALFD3V1L]

BG3 Mod Manager literally will not open for some reason, I went to the link and downloaded the latest release. Even tried running as administrator, notta

[@boumzy]

you sound a bit like Amelia, makes following the instructions even more of a treat.

[@RWCFORESKIN]

My mods don't show up in the inactive or active list. They show up in a different menu at the bottom under a heading that says overrides. Not sure why I'm having this issue

[@goinccrazyrae6727]

Im using vortex and all 30 mods are working fantastic

[@LocalMaple]

Hello! Quick question. I play multiplayer with others, and they don't have/use mods. I'm currently assuming that if I use mods, I can't connect with people not using them. Is there a way to quickly disable and enable mods? I found a few mods that use the ModFixer Override, which the Mod manager keeps always on. Even when I move other mods off the Active list, even when I open the game through Steam, it detects mods in use.