Weather in Fallout 4 is much different from what we were used to seeing in previous titles from the franchise.

• Fallout 4 No Fog Switch
• Fallout 4 Clear Fog

It’s no longer quite as dark or haunting, giving Bethesda a chance to show off their new visual effects and better take advantage of the new hardware at their disposal.

OUR TWITCH CHANNEL: Patreon: In our latest Fallout 4 video we show you our top 5 playst. The Fog is a radioactive mass of cloud material that plagues Mount Desert Island and the surrounding islands. Known to drive people mad (as in the case of the barbarous Trappers that can be found on the island), it also brings with it many dangerous creatures such as Gulpers and Anglers.The Fog has been around as long as the townspeople can remember, but it can wax and wane from time to time.

The result is a beautiful game that lets you experience both the serenity of nature and the dangerous scars that nuclear war left on the climate.

Still, for many players this arrangement isn’t to the benefit of the series. For some the game looks too cheery, too colorful – too alive.

It’s supposed to be a post-apocalyptic wasteland, so why wouldn’t it look like one?

Whether you belong to one group or the other, I’ve made sure to include something to fit your needs in this list. Let’s get to it!

15. Climate Control

Thanks to user Bowser62, changing the climatic situation of your immediate vicinity is as easy as typing a command into the console.

CcClear for clearer skies or ccRadstorm to bring down the wrath of the heavens upon us – you get the drift. It really doesn’t get any simpler than that.

14. No Green Weathers

And if you’d rather leave a more permanent mark on the world’s climate, consider No Green Weathers by MrTroubleMaker.

This mod simply brings new weather possibilities to areas like the Glowing Sea, Atom Springs or Nuka World, which are usually plagued by the ugly and notoriously dangerous green fog of radiation.

Once installed, you’ll notice these places can now be sunny, rainy, or foggy without any green color. In fact, you can remove the green tint from radiation weather in general.

With this, a summer at the Glowing Sea doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.

13. Calamity Weathers

On the other hand, perhaps you find the Wasteland uncharacteristically cheery for what it’s supposed to represent.

Thinking that games like Metro 2033 or Last Light have a better concept of a post-apocalyptic world, modder Omega2008 replaces the cartoonish vanilla weathers for a darker, more grim climate.

Not only does the weather feel truly menacing and, well, apocalyptic… but the Radstorms actually do hit harder with this mod installed.

If I were you, I’d find cover. Fast.

12. Nuclear Weathers

If you’re a hardcore survivalist and Calamity Weathers just isn’t enough of a challenge for you, then perhaps Nuclear Weathers will do the trick.

This dangerous mod from creator Densalegion adds eight new kinds of storms into the game, including firestorms to burn the fields, acid rain to poison your water and mind storms where the Institute tries to take control of your actions through mind-controlling technology.

11. Wasteland Weather – After Nuclear War

Rather than taking inspiration in other franchises to make the Commonwealth feel more, well, wasted, modder CorenseWolf decided to bring back the charm of old-school Fallout.

What this means is that, rather than the varied and lively weather of the vanilla game, you’ll be seeing a post-apocalyptic brown fog cover the land 97% of the time.

The other 3%? Those are the chances that a Radstorm will hit.

You’ll never see the sun again.

10. Fallout 76 Weather

On the other side of the cheery spectrum, we have Fallout 76 Weather, which aims to – you guessed it – bring Fallout 76’s weather to the Commonwealth.

Modder Masshep simply turned up the contrast a bit and tweaked color correction to make the game look lush and alive.

They also made sure to increase the probability of nice weather, and the rest of the time you’re unlikely to be hit by anything worse than a light fog.

9. Apocalyptic Weather

We’ve gone through Calamity Weather, Nuclear Weather, Wasteland Weather… there’s clearly something wrong with having decent weather in a Fallout game, if modders are any measurement.

Apocalyptic Weather by AtomicFailure attempts to do the same as all of these mods, which is making the Commonwealth look more polluted and treacherous than ever before.

Other than tweaking the vanilla weather types and adding a couple more to make the Wasteland cruel and unforgiving, this mod makes nights considerably darker and improves interior lighting as well.

So you can be more immersed while cowering in fear indoors.

8. Polluted Climate

Despite science telling us that over 200 years after the bombs fell, the world would look prettier than ever, efforts endure to worsen the Commonwealth’s living conditions.

However modder MandragoraSprouts has taken a much more subtle approach, adding some fog here and there as well as clouds of dust and overall reduced contrast to make colors less vibrant.

Of course, they couldn’t stop at that.

So Radstorms are also more frequent now, and those accompanied by radioactive rain and dust will deal much more damage than the regular kind.

7. Polluted Climate – Winter Edition

As a companion piece to the original Polluted Climate, anyone who liked it should also try the Winter Edition.

This mod does the same as its predecessor, but it tweaks and adds some things to make it work with the snowy weather you’d expect from Winter.

It was made to go with the Icepick Overhaul mod, but it’ll work with anything that adds snowy textures to the landscape.

6. Morose – Psychological Horror Overhaul

One of the most exciting mods I got a chance to review for this list was Morose, a Psychological Horror Overhaul for Fallout 4 by creator Thumblesteen.

Not only does it tweak the weather and lighting to bring you a more intense and oppressive experience Fallout, but it also replaces most of your soundtrack with a new one meant to induce fear, anxiety, and the feeling of serene isolation.

Fun!

What makes this mod so interesting and real is how the author draws from their own experiences with anxiety and depression and shares it with others through this mod.

5. Simply Better Weather II

In contrast with the complex aspirations of the previous mod, Simply Better Weather II might come off as a bit basic, and maybe it is.

Still, making the entire Commonwealth look and feel like a Summer vacation in Buenos Aires is no small feat. No clouds, no fog, no dirty water – nothing.

Not even in Far Harbor!

It may not feel like much, but this mod really changes the gaming experience greatly. And it may even give you better performance due to loading fewer effects.

4. Unified Commonwealth Weather

On the other hand, if what you want isn’t to stabilize the Commonwealth’s weather but to make it more vicious and unpredictable, Unified Commonwealth Weather might be what you’re looking for.

This mod by user HomicidalGrouse will allow the special weather types present in Far Harbor and Nuka World to appear anywhere else on the map as well, with varying chances depending on the region.

What sets this apart from many similar mods promising more varied weather is that it only uses vanilla assets, and therefore doesn’t alter the overall style of the game.

3. Vivid Weathers – Fallout 4 Edition

The same can’t be said of Vivid Weather, a mod ported from The Elder Scrolls V that adds a grand total of 75 new weather events to Fallout 4.

That said, NexusMods user Mangaclub assures us it’s all lore-friendly. Even if the overall feel of the Wasteland is completely changed.

This is partly due to the mod improving general image quality with some tweaks, as well as replacing the cloud textures for more diverse ones.

Unlike other weather-changing mods, this one also includes a new player home and a complete questline explaining the backstory behind these changes.

2. True Storms – Wasteland Edition

If what you’re looking for is an intense weather mod that makes you remember why “shelter” is so high up on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, then True Storms is the thing you’re looking for.

Thunder, rain, and all other weather events have been entirely redone by modder FadingSignal. He hasn’t only intensified the vanilla weather but added other unique and intense possibilities.

Most weathers now employ new particle geometry meant to make them feel more treacherous, and heavy dust storms or blinding fog are just some examples of what to expect.

1. NAC – Natural and Atmospheric Commonwealth

If any other mod claimed to be “the most advanced” and complete weather, lighting, and visual overhaul Fallout 4 has seen to date, I’d doubt it immediately.

But after taking a look at Looping’s work on NAC, I have no reason to doubt it.

This mod is easily among the most in-depth overhauls I’ve ever seen, introducing over 500 random weather events as well as tweaking visual effects and lighting to better complement these new meteorological possibilities.

Among the best bits about this mod is how easy it is to control – all done from your PipBoy, down to the visual effects.

Add to that the fact that it loads different weather presets depending on the in-game date to simulate the passing of seasons, and you can understand why I think this is easily the best weather mod in Fallout 4.

Painted ghoul is a creature in Far Harbor. Found only across The Island, these ghouls consist of the locals that have turned feral due to overexposure to the radioactive fog that plagues the region.

Background

The degeneration into a feral state (referred to as ferocious post-necrotic dystrophy) is not fully understood. It is known that it is a result of a degeneration of the brain (which is not affected by the regenerative mutation of the spinal cord) and emerges following the atrophy of higher brain functions, accompanied by an increased level of aggression and appetite. When the loss of capacity for thought is complete, a ghoul is considered feral.^[1][2] The factors that may cause a ghoul to enter this state are unclear, but anti-social or isolated ghouls are more susceptible to it.^[3] Exposure to intense radiation may also be a factor – feral ghouls have no body heat and emit lethal levels of radiation, indicating that feral ghouls are for all intents and purposes dead, their functions sustained only by their high irradiation. This allows them to survive for centuries, relying only on the energy provided by radiation – at the expense of a horrifying, emaciated appearance. Understandably, the process is irreversible.^[4][5]

Characteristics

Fallout 4 No Fog Switch

These long gone, decaying sacks of flesh run the gamut, from being little more than a nuisance to a hardy and stalwart opponent. Ferals are typically found anywhere that is abandoned, including metro stations, office buildings, factories, and town ruins.

Feral ghouls are encountered in three distinct ways: simply wandering around, camouflaged among the rubble as they sleep, and by occasionally falling out of cracks in the walls and foundations of buildings. Once disturbed however, they growl and scream to alert other ghouls in the vicinity, causing them to attack in packs, viciously rushing and pursuing whomever or whatever disturbs them. The ability to crawl out of the walls allows them to quite easily flank and outmaneuver their targets.

The most important feature is that feral ghouls will reflexively duck and dodge incoming fire while closing distance, making automatic weapons or explosives a preferred method of dealing with them. Furthermore, ferals will not be stopped if they lose a limb or two. If they lose their arms, they just keep on coming to slam their bodies into and bash their skulls against the attacker. The only way to kill them is to deplete their hit points, but they can be immobilized by stripping the legs off.

Appearances

Fog ghoul appears in Nuka-World.

References

1. ↑Fallout 4 loading screen hints: 'While they can easily be mistaken for zombies, Feral Ghouls are actually horribly irradiated humans whose brains have rotted away, causing madness.'
2. ↑Tenpenny Tower terminals; Exploration Database, Feral Ghouls
3. ↑Underworld terminals; Research Terminal, Study Of Ferocious Post-Necrotic Dystrophy
4. ↑The Lone Wanderer: 'I need more details... What's the breach all about?'
   M.A.R.Go.T.: 'Internal visual sensing equipment is detecting numerous unidentified persons in the southeast tunnels area. The individuals have damaged metro equipment and refused dialogue with our security units. In accordance with U.S. Security Statute A567/B, the use of deadly force has been authorized.'
   The Lone Wanderer: 'Can you tell me more about these unidentified persons?'
   M.A.R.Go.T.: 'My apologies. My sensing equipment in that area must be damaged. My equipment indicates the persons possess no internal body heat and are emitting lethal levels of radiation.'
   (M.A.R.Go.T.'s dialogue)
5. ↑Little Yangtze terminals; Little Yangtze Log Terminal, Elijah's Journal - Day 2

Fallout 4 Clear Fog