Baldur's Gate 3 Mod Manager
Before doing any of these steps, please ensure that you have downloaded the Baldur's Gate 3 Mod Manager (simply scroll down to the Setup instructions and click on the highlighted "Grab the latest release."). Please note that as of Patch 9 in EA, your profile must be set to public to use the mod manager properly.
1. Find the mod you would like to download and download the file. This is usually a zip file. When downloading mods from Nexus Mods, make sure to select "Manual Download" to have the file downloaded to your computer.
2. Open the zip file. This is quite simple, all you need is a software such as WinRAR. Double click the zip file and open it with the software. The zip file usually contains an "info.json" JSON file, README text document, and the actual mod itself which will be a PAK file.
3. In another window, open your file explorer and go to the mod folder for Baldur's Gate 3. The mod folder will be located at a location generally named C:\Users\yourusername\AppData\Local\Larian Studios\Baldur's Gate 3\Mods . Please note that the AppData folder is hidden by default. To be able to easily access it as well as other hidden folders, click "View" at the top left of the file explorer and check off "Hidden Items.".
4. Go back to the window of the zip file, and drag the mod's PAK file into the "Mods" folder for BG3.
5. Open the BG3 Mod Manager. The mod you just dragged into the Mods folder should appear on the right of the screen. If it does not, try clicking Refresh above it. The Patch 3 Mod Fixer is an exception, and does not appear in the mod manager nor does it need to be activated. Repeat steps 1-4 for all the mods you want.
6. Click and drag all the mods to the left side of the screen. Please note that load order can be crucial for some mods, so make sure to put mods that other mods are dependent on above them in the load order. Once you have dragged all the mods you would like to use to the left side of the screen, make sure to save your load order by clicking the save button beside the "Mod Order" label.
7. Export your order to the game by clicking the first icon beside the word "Export" at the top bar.
BONUS STEP FOR DIRECTX 11 USERS: You will need to enable DirectX 11 mode for the mods to work if you are using that version of the game. Simply click "Settings" in the top most bar, click on "Open Preferences", tick "Enable DirectX 11 Mode" then click on "Save" at the bottom.
Launching the game: You will need to launch the game through the mod manager for most of the mods to work properly. At the top bar, beside "Shortcuts", there are a few icons; a file icon that will automatically open the Mods folder mentioned in step 3, an icon that opens the workshop folder, an icon that opens the logs, and the BG3 icon. Click on the BG3 icon to launch the game. The launcher should open and you should be able to simply press play and enjoy your mods. Note that some mods need you to turn off the sending of analytical data to Larian, which you can do at the launcher by simply going into settings at the bottom left.
Manually
- Copy the .pak file to the Mods folder.
- Add the mod to the modsettings.lsx file.
- Set modsettings.lsx to read only. If this isn't done, the game will overwrite the file and changes will have to be made again.
Mod Order
Mod order instructions here...
Mods
<node id="ModuleShortDesc"> <attribute id="Folder" type="LSString" value="Gustav"/> Change to the name of your folder from modsettings.lsx <attribute id="MD5" type="LSString" value=""/> Leave blank <attribute id="Name" type="LSString" value="Gustav"/> Change to the name of your mod from modsettings.lsx <attribute id="UUID" type="FixedString" value="991c9c7a-fb80-40cb-8f0d-b92d4e80e9b1"/> Generate a new UUID <attribute id="Version64" type="int64" value="36028797018963968"/> Needs to match Gustav entry </node>