These instructions are for RC2
Now that you have Mad God’s Overhaul downloaded and installed, you can manage the installed list and launch the game via Mod Organizer 2 (MO2).
If you’ve created a shortcut, use that to launch MO2. If not, find ModOrganizer.exe in your MGO installation folder, and launch it from there.
MO2 takes a little while to start. Even the splash screen may not appear right away. Resist the temptation to launch it again. Just wait.
Quick Start
When MO2 has finished loading, you can launch the game with the Run button near the upper-right, with Launch MGO - Do Not Unlock selected in the nearby dropdown. You should always launch MGO this way. Don’t just run Skyrim VR from Steam. That will launch the vanilla (unmodded) game. To play MGO, you need to run it from MO2.
Skip to the game
Before jumping into Tamriel, you should take a quick look around MO2, especially the onboarding section labeled START HERE - Expand for Setup .
Mods & Plugins
Mod Organizer 2’s interface is basically split in two: mods on the left, plugins on the right.
The left pane is the mod list. In MGO, mods are collected in folders. You can expand each folder by clicking the arrow to the left of each one.
Within the folders are the actual mods. Most of them are packaged mods that you can download from Nexusmods or somewhere similar. Others are specific to MGO. If the box is checked, that mod is enabled. If it’s unchecked, the mod is disabled, and will not be included when you run the game.
Many, but not all, of the mods listed in the left pane have corresponding plugins on the right. We’ll get into what makes plugins special in a later section. MGO is pre-configured so that you never need to worry about it unless you want to start fiddling with the list yourself.
Before you play…
You don’t need to know everything there is to know about MO2 before playing for the first time. MGO is pre-configured with sensible default, but it’s worth taking a moment to do some initial configuration. Synergy Team has made it pretty straightforward.
Scroll down the mod list until you see a folder labeled START HERE - Expand for Setup . As the label suggests, there is where you should start.
If you open the START HERE folder, you’ll see subfolders labeled STEP 1, STEP 2, etc.
You can filter the list with the text box at the bottom of the left pane to find “START” quickly.
Startup Notes
STEP 1 doesn’t include any actual mods, but rather some important notes for using MO2 and running the game.
PLEASE FOLLOW PROVIDED DOCUMENTATION FOR SETUP
That’s the site you’re reading now, so you’re off to a good start. If you’re reading this from within Wabbajack, you can refer to it later at https://synergyvr.org/mgo/.
DO NOT ADD YOUR OWN MODS TO THE BETA
The MGO 4.0 beta is a testing period. At this stage, the team is looking for feedback on the mod list as they’ve developed it. To be part of that process, please resist the temptation to throw in additional mods.
DO NOT Click [ Unlock ] After Launching Game
When you run the game, MO2’s interface will lock to keep you from accidentally messing with it while the game is running. The dialog box that opens will include an Unlock button. This entry in the list is to remind you not to click that button.
DO NOT Use LOOT to Sort Plugins
LOOT is a tool that automatically sorts plugins (the files listed on the right side of MO2) to be loaded in an order that’s better optimized than if you just added them without much thought. The plugins in Mad God’s Overhaul have already been sorted. You shouldn’t mess with that order.
Preferred Runtime
VR runtime refers to the software layer that sits between a VR application or game (Skyrim VR in this case) and your VR headset. Step 2 asks you to choose between OpenComposite and SteamVR. As the folder name insists, pick ONE. Everything runtime-specific lives in the two subfolders here.
OpenComposite (Unleashed)
OpenComposite is the right choice for most players. MGO includes OpenComposite Unleashed, which works fine with SteamVR-native headsets and includes a number of features beyond just translating VR-related API calls.
You should probably go with OpenComposite unless you know that you have a really good reason to choose SteamVR—like a treadmill, trackers, or some other accessory that strictly requires using the SteamVR runtime.
To choose it, enable the single mod (with the really long label) in the Open Composite folder. That’s OpenComposite Unleashed itself, and its label doubles as instructions: the included configurator app lives in the mod’s folder (right-click the mod and select Open In Explorer to find it). The configurator has options for OCU’s built-in keyboard, changing your key bindings, upscaling (though you may want to do that with Community Shaders instead), and more. Seriously, read up on it if you haven’t yet.
SteamVR
To use the SteamVR runtime, just don’t enable OCU. There’s no separate mod to enable for SteamVR, since Skyrim VR is a SteamVR game in the first place.
If you’re using OCU, you should use it to manage your controls as well. If you’re using SteamVR, however, you should pick from the Controller Bindings folder, which provides three alternate control schemes. Skyrim VR’s default controls were designed for the Vive Wands, and they weren’t designed with today’s mods in mind. (In all fairness, those mods didn’t exist yet.) Choose only one of these. If they’re all disabled (and you’re not using OC Unleashed), Skyrim VR’s default controls will apply. Whichever you choose, we’ve got you covered.
OC Unleashed compatibility
VR FPS Stabilizer changes INI values to maintain your framerate. If you’re using SteamVR, enable it.
Performance Options
Step 3 includes a few performance-related presets.
The Community Shaders presets are split by GPU brand. Open the folder that matches your video card—NVIDIA or AMD—then select either the Quality or Performance preset. (That’s one preset total, not one per folder.) The Quality presets have a fairly significant impact on your outdoor frame rate. Whether that’s worth it is up to you. (And as the folder name says, you can press END in game to customize Community Shaders further.)
One upscaler only
Grass Density and LOD Distance have optional Quality presets as well, and they also impact outdoor frame rate. (Leaving them unchecked will default to performance settings.)
LOD?
Target Frame Rate (FPS)
Step 4 asks you to choose your headset’s target frame rate (also called the refresh rate). For optimal performance, check the one entry that matches your headset’s frame rate.
What about SpaceWarp?
For SteamVR-based headsets, you can check (or set) the target frame rate in the SteamVR desktop app. If you’re using Virtual Desktop, you can set the frame rate in the STREAMING tab of the VD overlay.
Why?
Optional Mods
MGO includes a number of optional mods across several categories. They’re all tested and known to work with the list, but most are disabled by default.
AI and Speech
This section includes mods for incorporating AI NPCs into the game via SkyrimNet and its plugins, as well as other voice-related features.
SkyrimNet
The SkyrimNet Docs are extensive, though not exhaustive. Check out our SkyrimNet section for a guide focused on how to set it up for MGO.
Say It
Say It - Dragonborn Voice Control adds voice recognition to the game. (This is independent of SkyrimNet and other AI mods.) You can control vanilla conversations with your voice—start conversations, speak your dialogue from among the avilable choices, and end conversations. You can perform shouts and powers, equip spells, use potions. You can even trigger console commands. It comes in two variants named for their speech-recognition engines, and you should enable one, not both. Vosk is lightweight, nearly instant, and the author’s recommended choice. WhisperGPU is heavier but can be more accurate with fewer false positives, and it requires an NVIDIA card.1 Check out the Nexus page for all the details.
Dragonborn Voice Over
Dragonborn Voice Over gives your character an in-game voice, speaking your chosen dialogue aloud. Even without SkyrimNet, this works with vanilla dialogue.
Convenience
The mods in the Convenience section are mostly self-explanatory, but I want to call attention to a few of them.
Prisma UI AddItemMenu is a lightweight, fast, and feature-packed mod for adding any item from the game (or from mods!) to your inventory. It’s categorized and searchable, and it lets you consume items directly from the menu. This mod, courtesy of Wondernutts, saved the day when an older AddItem mod was sent to Oblivion, keeping many modlists (including some previous versions of MGO) from being downloadable. This new one also happens to be much, much better.
VR Menu Mouse Fix, by Shizof, is a personal favorite. Thumbsticks are great and all, but I find some menus far more convenient to navigate by using motion controls to emulate a mouse. This mod lets you do that.
Insects Begone REDUX is the mod you’re looking for if you have arachnophobia, or just don’t care to see arachnids and other creepy-crawly things in VR. Enable this mod, and they’ll be replaced.
Difficulty
As your Skyrim character progresses, you’re likely to become an unstoppable killing machine. With all of the spells, perks, and content added by mods, this can happen even faster.
In short, the game is too easy. Arena balances things out a bit by adjusting the enemies that appear in each location.
Disable for Punishing Dragon Combat is the “Fire and Blood Story Mode add on”, and it comes enabled, which takes some of the edge off the Fire and Blood dragon encounters. If you’d rather have the a harrowing dragon slaying experience, turn this off.
Immersion
Immersion is a high priority for MGO. The list includes a number of mods to help you feel like you’re really in Tamriel, many of which are enabled by default. This section includes a few more optional mods that can enhance your playthrough, depending on your taste. I’ll tell you about a couple of my favorites.
DovaVR Locomotion allows you to walk by swinging your arms. Check out our full write-up or the mod’s Nexus page to read more.
Fake Edge VR is one of the roughly 1 million VR-specific mods by Machina, and it gives your weapons real collisions. They bump against walls, tables, your shield, and your other weapons instead of clipping through them. That’s because, strictly speaking, it’s not always equipped; you’re just holding it. When you hold 
Trigger, the weapon is equipped for combat, with all its usual damage and enchantments. Release Trigger, and the weapon becomes a physical object that bumps into the world. To try it, just enable it here, and run Sync Plugins2 from the menu bar (
Tools
→
Tool Plugins
→
Sync Plugins
). Holding the trigger through a long fight gets old, so you can equip-lock a weapon by squeezing Trigger four times within two seconds (and four times again to unlock). Power attacks only work while a weapon is equip-locked. Each hand’s trigger controls only that hand, so dual wielding works the way you’d hope, and crossing two un-equipped weapons in an X blocks.