If you do nothing else, PLEASE read the 'Instructions' section before continuing on to the mod lists!

New users run the risk of having content spoiled for them otherwise, and all users need to read the special installation instructions listed here to install the mod builds properly!

If you've always wanted to mod KOTOR 1 or 2 but have been hesitant—which mods are good, which are compatible?—this resource is here to help.

For over a decade I've worked with modders, first for reddit and now standalone in collaboration with the Deadlystream mod community, collating and managing modular packages of compatible mods which I refer to as "mod builds." The goal behind these builds is to find the best KOTOR mods and present them as a fully-compatible & modular archive, allowing users to pick-and-choose the mods they want from a large, vanilla-friendly selection with minimum hassle and no fears of incompatibility. That said, I have never skimped on quality in return for quantity; all mods listed in this thread are lore-friendly, and no mod which significantly alters or interrupts the vanilla experience has been considered for inclusion. The goal for these mod builds is an improvement of the vanilla experience rather than the creation of a new experience.

The builds for both games are divided into Full builds and Spoiler-Free builds. These spoiler-free builds contain mods with censored readmes, to prevent the player from accidentally being spoiled, so even if you are a brand-new player you can still enjoy bugfixes, updated graphics, and most of the full build's added content free of any risk. Most, because the spoiler-free builds also lack mods which have the potential to alter the game's balance from what BioWare/Obsidian intended, to ensure that your first playthrough is the most pure vanilla-plus experience possible.

There are also builds for both games designed to work on mobile devices, containing all the content of their Full or Spoiler-Free counterparts, but without any extremely large or graphically intensive content which could cause issues while running on mobile. This allows users to experience bugfixes, mechanics improvements, added content and some small-scale graphical improvements without risk of your device catching fire.

Each build is modular in nature, meaning that most mods aren't reliant upon one another to function. Because of this, you can choose to either use everything I list, or to pick and choose what you prefer for a personalized experience. You are also, of course, welcome to add additional mods on top of these builds, and although I cannot guarantee their compatibility I would be happy to work with any user to maximize their chances of creating a compatible build.

If the above has sold you, then by all means, please continue down to the Instructions section. But I understand why it might not have; after all, a premise is all fine and well, but does it deliver?

If you want some additional convincing, I invite you to take a look at this quick list of bullet-points about what the mod builds offer, and why those offerings are unique.

In the section below are eight links. Simply choose the game, content package, and platform you'd like and you're set!

As for actually installing these mods, there are a few simple rules to follow:

• Create a Deadlystream and Nexus Mods account. Deadlystream—our main host for KOTOR mods—has a download speed limit for users without an account (which is free). The Nexus has an actual file size limit without an account, so you'll need a Nexus account to download some files.

• Install the mods in the order you are presented with them. If you fail to do this, you risk running into bugs, many quite significant. Note that you'll still encounter some warnings on installer mods even when doing this, but those warnings are normal (errors, however, are not). If you want to add new mods which aren't included in these lists to a build, you should reach out to me so we can work together to create an installation order which is stable for you.

• Don't attempt to continue an old save after installing these mods. Unless they're just texture files which do not contain files of the .2da filetype, once your game is modded any previous saves you have should be treated as incompatible.

• If you are intending to use any content not included in the mod builds, search for and identify that content BEFORE installing the builds! Certain mods have install steps or overwrite requirements that will necessitate you installing them midway through the mod build install, so if you want to use content outside the builds, you should identify that content before you start your install.

• Do not use the Nexus's Vortex Mod Manager with either build, or the Steam Workshop alongside the KOTOR 2 mod build! Don't even use a Workshop version of one of the mods present in the KOTOR 2 builds! Both systems have trouble properly functioning with KOTOR mods; you can read more about why this is for the Workshop here.

• Be mindful of what mods work with non-English versions of the game. If you are not playing in English, only some mods will be compatible with your game version. Each mod lists whether it is compatible with non-English versions or not, and you will need to either play in English or skip several mods. There's nothing that we can do about this; most mods which modify dialogue only support English. Please also bear in mind that you need to select the language you intend to play in before installing these mods, and CANNOT change your chosen language after you have completed your install (doing so will overwrite many of the mod files downloaded here).

• Keep an eye on mod categories and tiers to get an idea of what a mod does and how important I believe it is to use that mod. This is especially important for users of the Spoiler-Free builds, where information will sometimes necessarily be very vague, but it's also helpful for users who don't intend to use the entirety of one of the Full builds. Each mod has a category and a tier, the former of which clarifies the types of changes the mod makes, and the latter of which, on a scale of 1-4, clarifies how important I believe the mod is for getting the best possible experience out of the game. Using this information, you can better judge what mods you would like to use and what you can safely ignore in the course of your build installation.

• If you are not installing on a Windows OS, keep this card in mind, as it goes over the various install types present in the builds and will help you determine what mods will be easy to install on your OS, and which might need special support (for instance, using a wrapper to install .exe files on Mac OS).

• Follow installation instructions, mine when I provide special instructions and the mod creator's when I have no word to put in. Most of these mods are extremely easy to install, but it's very important to make sure that none of the special install instructions are missed for the sake of mod compatibility.

• Keep track of master mods. Some mods require other mods to function, and thus the "master" mod cannot be removed if you want that mod in your build. In the build posts I will list when a mod has a master.

• Overwrite any files when prompted. Most of the mods in these builds are fully compatible, but some partially overwrites a part of another mod. These cases are where the install order matters; I have purposefully tailored the installation order so that mods that have compatibility issues are overwritten in the proper order for the game to function as intended, and for all of the changes we're making to be seamless.

• New users: be careful with readme files and descriptions! Even for mods that I've censored, there might still be minor spoilers in the readme, and this goes doubly for mods that have included screenshots or file descriptions on their hosting site. When reading about a mod, it's always an excellent rule of thumb to only read so much of the description—and view as few of the screenshots—as are necessary to make sure you know whether you want to use it or not, then the installation instructions (and nothing else).

PC/Mac

KOTOR 1 Spoiler-Free Build

KOTOR 1 Full Build

KOTOR 2 Spoiler-Free Build

KOTOR 2 Full Build

Android/iOS

KOTOR 1 Spoiler-Free Mobile Build

KOTOR 1 Full Mobile Build

KOTOR 2 Spoiler-Free Mobile Build

KOTOR 2 Full Mobile Build

It's highly recommended that you read the Builds' FAQ if you have any questions about the current implementation of the Builds, problems with the Builds, or a desire to include mods of your own outside of those available in the Builds!

NOTE: Only major changes are reflected in changelogs. The builds undergo constant iterating and compatibility work, but large batches of mods are only added during Revision-level updates.

10/9/2023

1. Sunsetting of Reddit support for the mod builds. The mod builds are now principally hosted offsite on kotor.neocities.org, with satellite hosting continuing as Steam guides and Nexus downloads; the builds themselves, as well as support for them, will no longer be hosted on reddit. Primary support migrated to the Discord at https://discord.gg/kotor

12/25/2022

1. Merry Christmas! A new piece of restored content by JC, an alternate ending for DS characters who romance Carth, has been integrated!

12/9/2022

1. Several dozen new mods across both games.

2. Several mods for KOTOR which also work for KOTOR 2 have now been integrated into the KOTOR 2 build list, to make the games more visually consistent across builds and improve overall graphical fidelity.

3. Added information on all mods indicating how they are installed (loose-file, TSLPatcher, etc.) and whether or not they are compatible with non-English game versions. De facto, this now makes the builds compatible with non-English game versions, although for the moment, out of necessity, several mods must be skipped when not playing in English.

4. Conversion of all .tga-based upscale mods to .tpc, saving several GBs of download size and space on disk.

5. Thanks to further collaboration with ShiningRed, tightened up the AI upscale mods to remove the last problem textures, and integrated most of the Nar Shaddaa upscale, which was previously excluded.

4/13/2022

After the most implausible series of delays and problems I've ever encountered, finally, the new build release is out! Highlights follow:

1. Fully supported mobile builds!

2. Complete and fully-tested AI upscales of almost all areas and characters for both games!

3. Dynamic lightsaber lighting & reflections for both games in all game areas.

4. The inclusion of LDR's amazing A Crashed Ship on an Unknown World mod for KOTOR, in my opinion the best piece of added content ever made for these games, hands-down.

Changelogs older than 4/13/2022 can be found here!

Principle thanks to JCarter426, longtime collaborator and co-author of the mod builds. Without his assistance maintaining and improving guides of this size would not be possible, and a massive debt is owed to him both by myself and the community more broadly.

A very special thanks to my testers! Although I do all the playthrough testing myself these days, the testers of the old builds helped us get to the point we've arrived at today, and as I don't own the games on mobile my mobile testers are critical to every future mobile release!

Special thanks also to all of the modders whose work I've been using over the years, and an especial thanks to DarthParametric, Fair Strides, Deltm, A Future Pilot, and Nomuit, who have at various times all been indispensable helping me with testing, bugfixing, and rebuilding mods to support build compatibility!

Thanks to /u/mattekillert for mocking up the original category and tier images for me, and Amanda from the Discord for updating them for me.