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Getting Started

Welcome! This guide will help you set up r2modman so you can begin downloading and using Hell2Modding (also known as h2m) mods from Thunderstore.

Browsing available mods​

All available mods can be viewed in the Thunderstore Hades II community.

1. Remove old mods​

If you were not previously using mods from Nexus, skip to Step 2!
If you were using mods from Nexus, you will need to uninstall them before using r2modman.
How to clean up ModImporter mods

danger

Mods downloaded from Nexus Mods are NOT compatible with r2modman mods!

2. Install r2modman​

Download r2modman from Thunderstore, extract the archive, and run the installer.
r2modman on Thunderstore

3. Start r2modman​

  1. Start r2modman
  2. Search for Hades II and click Select Game
  3. Click Select profile to continue with the default profile
  4. Browse the Online mod section and download whatever you like
  5. Click Start modded in the top-left of the screen to start the game with your downloaded mods
  6. Have fun!

FAQ​

What if I want to use mods I found on Nexus Mods?​

Short answer - you can't use them if you plan on using r2modman.

Long answer - this guide is specifically for Hell2Modding mods, not ModImporter/Nexus Mods. Please be aware that many mod authors are no longer developing for ModImporter, and no longer post updates on Nexus Mods.

If you were using old format (ModImporter) mods from Nexus Mods, uninstall them before installing r2modman.

Why move away from ModImporter and Nexus Mods?​

ModImporter and Nexus Mods served the community well for the original Hades, and was quickly ported over to Hades II during the Technical Test. Unfortunately, ModImporter works by physically modifying the game scripts on your computer. With enough mods, this could put your game installation into an unstable state. There were also a lot of manual steps, like having to navigate into your game directory to drop files in there. It was an error-prone, manual process.

What's the deal with Hell2Modding?​

The new h2m framework has significant benefits over ModImporter. It does not need to touch your game installation files. Additionally, with r2modman there is no need for any manual installation steps. Installing mods with r2modman/h2m is a much more user-friendly, seamless process. It's also convenient for mod developers, as they can publish directly to Thunderstore from GitHub.

What if I don't want to use r2modman?​

This is not recommended, as manual installation of h2m and its mods is not a straightforward process.

How do I clean up old ModImporter mods?​

  1. Navigate to your Hades II/Content directory
  2. Delete the Mods directory
  3. Run modimporter.exe (or modimporter.py) one last time to clean up your files

What do I do if cleaning up ModImporter fails?​

If you're using Steam, validate your game files to revert to a clean state. Otherwise, you may need to reinstall.