ME3 Mod Guide

The first thing you should do is: back up your Mass Effect 3 folder. This is important because of the golden rule of Mass Effect modding: gameplay/story mods must be installed first. Graphic mods must be installed last. You won't be able to play your game if you try to add or remove a gameplay/story mod after installing graphic mods.

Various mods will ask you to AutoTOC the game after installing them. Instead of using ME3Explorer, I recommend using Mass Effect 3 Mod Manager, I find it more "user-friendly". Whenever you're asked to AutoTOC, simply open Mass Effect 3 Mod Manager, go to Tools --> Run AutoTOC on game. The mods that are installed through .exe files actually do the AutoTOCing themselves, so you don't need to do it again.



MOD INSTALLATION ORDER:



I. DLL Patcher [the file is me3_binkw32.zip; simply unzip the two .dll files inside your /Mass Effect 3/Binaries/ folder and overwrite; if you're going to install A Lot of Textures for ME3 (ALOT), you don't need it, since it does it automatically for you]



II. ME3Recalibrated



III. JohnP's Alternate MEHEM [OPTIONAL: install this mod only if you want to alter the ending]



IV. Citadel Epilogue Mod [OPTIONAL: install this mod only if you want to play the Citadel DLC after the ending; for plot consistency, it should be installed alongside JohnP's Alternate MEHEM, even though it's not required] --> 1. Citadel Epilogue Mod Full Version | 2. JohnP's Alternate MEHEM to Citadel Epilogue Mod | James CEM Full ALOT Fix



V. EGM - Expanded Galaxy Mod



VI. ThaneMOD [TEMPORARILY INCOMPATIBLE WITH PRIORITY EARTH OVERHAUL MOD AND PROJECT VARIETY. INSTALL THIS OR PRIORITY EARTH OVERHAUL MOD AND PROJECT VARIETY; if you have Thane as your Love Interest from Mass Effect 2, you MUST install ThaneMOD v2.0C and related patches] --> 1. ThaneMOD v2.0B-180-2-0.zip | 2. ThaneMODv2_EGMPatch-180-2-0.zip | 3. ThaneMOD v2.0.1 Patch-180-2-0-1.zip



VII. BackOff --> 1. BackOffv1.0-412-1-0 | 2. BOPatches_v1.0-412-Patch.zip | 3. BackOff_v1.2Update-412-1-2.zip



VIII. Better Dreams [OPTIONAL: install this mod only if you want to alter your dream sections] --> 1. Better Dreams V1-534-1-0.zip | 2. Better Dreams v1.0.1-534-1-0-1.zip



IX. Alliance Armor Pack DLC



X. Alliance Warpack



XI. EGM HR Vehicle Pack [the mod is in the same page of the main EGM mod]



XII. EGM Squadmate Pack



XIII. EGM Custom Extras Pack [the mod is in the same page of the main EGM mod]



XIV. Miranda Mod



XV. Urz on the Normandy [OPTIONAL: install this mod if you want Urz from Tuchanka in Mass Effect 2 on your ship rather than KEI-9]



XVI. Omega Hub



XVII. Spectre Expansion Mod



XVIII. Ark Mod



XIX. Priority Earth Overhaul Mod [this mod is currently down until the update, which should come in a few weeks; even if you decide not to install it, I HIGHLY recommend replaying the trilogy in the future with this mod installed; seriously, the first version was already pretty good, the one after the update should be absolutely great; there's even plan for a future, third, final update that would basically make it amazing]



XX. Respawn - Mission Overhaul



XXI. Project Variety



XXII. Interface Scaling Mod + Interface Scaling Add-On [OPTIONAL: install this mod only if you want bigger and more visible UI elements; requires Mass Effect 3 Mod Manager] --> 1. Interface Scaling Mod 2.2-439-2-2.7z | 2. Interface Scaling Add-On 2.21-440-2-21.7z | 3. Once installed, you have to generate a GUI compatibility mod. In Mass Effect 3 Mod Manager, go to "Mod Management" > "Custom DLC Conflict Detector", and wait for the scan to complete. At the bottom, if it says there are conflicts, click the button and follow the prompts. Apply the generated mod. If this mod updates, or you install updates to other mods, you need to update the compatibility mod. Remove the existing compatibility mod by deleting it in the "Restore" > "Custom Restore" window. Run this step again to generate a new one.



XXIII. A Lot of Textures for ME3 [after installing this mod, you WON'T be able to install gameplay/story mods; install this mod using ALOT Installer; I highly recommend downloading all the other graphical mods that come with ALOT Installer]



XXIV. Asari Remastered [OPTIONAL: I personally prefer this style for the Asari over the one given by ALOT; install this mod using the Mass Effect Modder built inside the ALOT Installer]