How to Fix Starfield Mods Not Working in Vortex

Is there anything worse than spending an afternoon modding your favorite video game to discover something wrong? It’s a process and pain point that many of us have endured over the years, and Starfield proves no different. If you’ve downloaded a bunch of quality-of-life mods for Starfield and nothing is working, here’s how to fix your mods in Vortex!

Why Are My Starfield Mods Not Working?

Before you take a nuclear approach to fix your Starfield mods not working in Vortex, let’s review a few of the most common reasons why mods would fail.

• Conflicts between multiple mods
• Outdated game version
• Incorrect mod installation method

When a game mod is installed, it alters the “.ini” file of the game itself, which can lead to various problems and inconsistencies.

How to Fix Starfield Mods Not Working

There are several fixes to help resolve mod compatibility issues and errors in Starfield, including:

Check Mod Requirements

First and foremost, closely examine the Nexus Mod page for any requirements. Some mods, especially for a big game like Starfield, require multiple mods or files to run correctly. If the file in question is one such mod, it will tell you in the description on Nexus Mods.

Edit the StarfieldCustom.ini File

Many players online have quickly discovered that you can edit the StarfieldCustom.ini file to help repair mod issues. The process involves:

• Navigate to Documents/MyGames/Starfield
• Locate StarfieldCustom.ini
• Open with Notepad
• Add:
  • [Archive]
  • bInvalidateOlderFiles=1
  • sResourceDataDirsFinal=
• Save as read-only

Enable Hardlink Deployment in Vortex

Lastly, you can enable Hardlink Deployment in Vortex, under the Deployment Method options, to resolve mod errors.

Unfortunately, none of these tricks are concrete. You may find that they do not work, and in such cases, it’s typically the problem of the mod itself. It simply may be incompatible with the current version of the game and require additional work by the mod author.