Are there any essential mods for this as I may start a playthrough after fc5?
its a difficult question...everybody has their favourites that they couldn't play without
some are just simple quality of life mods
stuff like the whole CBBE and looks menus side of things are just window dressing..they are not needed...but they do help if you want to have changes for npc's or companions ( I use wasteland heroines replacers..but its only so after multiple playthroughs you are not looking at the same people over and over again..plus they are generally of better quality than the originals)
I use loads of weapons mods just to keep things fresh ( doombased weapons merged is my favourite) but there are super quality single weapon mods (g36, ak5c, krebs ak, ru556)
general rule of thumb...look at the nexus categories and filter for most downloaded or endorsed....generally the cream rises to the top and the most downloaded mods are the most useful.
true storms, darker nights and a directional torch mod are essential I would say for just lifting the overall atmosphere..after that its how you want to play... sim settlements takes the hassle of of building whilst still keeping it interesting, you can be as hands on..or off as you want and its a lovely touch seeing the settlements grow without having to build everything for them
in the vanilla game you didn't have a choice..you had to house feed and water them and it could be a pain if you really didn't want to play that part of the game. With sim settlements and rise of the commonwealth you can still do that if you want, but you can let them get on with it ( I use city leaders pack as you really don't have enough companions to go round
and if you want to keep revisiting settlements..I use better settlers which varies greatly their looks, clothing and equipment
also mods that turn off irritating radiant quests such as stuff from the minutemen and settlements attacks...they just get in the way of questing
we are the minutemen and militarised minutemen also provide more life and atmosphere around the settlements
but everybody will be running something different..and each will have their favourites
theres plenty of you tube footage of mods to decide if they are for you...mxr, juicehead and oxhorn seem to be the most viewed on you tube
and if you want to keep it simple..avoid things that need f4se (fallout 4 script extender) as everytime they update fallout 4 this breaks and you have to wait for it to be updated..its not a deal breaker as they generally get it done within 24 hours
anything to do with body or looks usually needs a whole raft of other smaller mods to make them work properly