A utility that allows you to easily manage all of your game medications from Nexus Mods
A utility that allows you to easily manage all of your game medications from Nexus Mods
Popular programs in Various Utilities
What is Vortex: mod manager
Vortex Mod Manager is a gaming utility that enables you to easily manage mod files for a wide range of PC games. The manager tool integrates directly with Nexus Mods, which is an online repository of mods for many popular games. The interface for Vortex Mod Manager is easy to navigate and use, and it seamlessly downloads mods from Nexus Mods to your game directories.
How Vortex Mod Manager Works
When it comes to installing a mod for a PC game, you generally have one of two options for doing so. You can install it manually by placing the appropriate files in the game directory by hand, or you can use a mod manager to handle this process automatically. It's generally recommended that you use a mod manager for downloading and installing mods as it removes user error, something that is commonly responsible for broken or corrupt mod installations. Vortex Mod Manager is one of the leading mod managers that gamers look to for organizing their PC mods.
Vortex Mod Manager works by allowing you to log into your account associated with the Nexus Mods website. After logging in, the app and the website sync together so that they can easily work together.
Using Vortex Mod Manager
At first glance, Vortex Mod Manager might be a little intimidating in appearance, but you'll soon find that it's quite user-friendly. On first start-up, Vortex will scan your computer for compatible games, and then it will ask whether or not you'd like the utility to manage them. After this point, Vortex will have direct access to your games' file directories so that it can install downloaded mods to them automatically. Games supported by Vortex Mod Manager include the Fallout series, the Elder Scrolls series, Stardew Valley, The Witcher, Monster Hunter, Cyberpunk 2077, and more.
When you're ready to actually use Vortex, you can do so by browsing to Nexus Mods on the internet and finding the mod file you'd like to download. Simply choose the "Mod Manager Download" option on the "Files" tab for the mod, and it will ask for permission to launch Vortex Mod Manager to initiate the download. After providing permission one time, your browser will remember this setting and always automatically launch Vortex when pressing "Mod Manager Download" on the Nexus Mods website.
Once Vortex Mod Manager receives the download instructions from Nexus Mods, it will begin downloading the appropriate mod files from the internet. Once they are downloaded, they will be automatically installed to your game directory. In the event you already have an existing mod file on your local drive and you'd like Vortex Mod Manager to install it, you can use the "Install from File" feature to do so.
Categorize and Organize Your Mods
Vortex Mod Manager comes with an impressive system for organizing existing mods so they are easy to manage and browse. Existing mods can be browsed by category and easily identified via the intuitive interface. While some mod managers display all installed mods in a long, confusing list, Vortex Mod Manager approaches mod management with practicality in helping users keep easy tabs on even larger-sized mod collections.
If you ever want to share or take note of your existing mod list, you can do so with the "Modlist" feature included in Vortex Mod Manager. The "Purge Mods" feature also helps you delete an entire directory of installed mods for a game, should you ever need to do that.
What to Keep in Mind
Vortex is known to be buggy in some cases, but that is to be expected with just about any software these days. It's recommended in the documentation for Vortex that users not run the app with administrator rights in Windows, but in fact, doing so has actually been known to solve various problems in Vortex. If you happen to run into any issues in the mod manager, running as administrator is actually recommended as a possible fix.
Solid Solution for Mod Management
If you're looking to start using a mod manager with your PC games, it's worth giving Vortex Mod Manager a try. It's easy to set up and use, and it gives the user significant simultaneous control over multiple game directories, if they happen to have more than one linked to Vortex. Downloading and managing mods is easy even for more inexperienced users, so it's a viable option for just about everyone. If you have games installed on your PC, it only makes sense to have Vortex Mod Manager installed as well.
Pros
- Incredibly easy to use
- Categorizes mods automatically
- Syncs and works with Nexus Mods seamlessly
- Supports many games
Cons
- Buggy for some users
- Running as administrator is not recommended despite it helping with certain bugs