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//This guide was written for Fallout 4 and may be only partially applicable to other games.//
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This guide covers merging your archives for Fallout 4 Creation Club content. \\
If you've reached the [[references:ba2_limit|BA2 Limit]], this can potentially cut down the number of archives significantly. \\
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To check your current archive counts, use the [[https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/87907|Collective Modding Toolkit]].
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==== Terminology ====
  * **CC:** Creation Club (or related files)
  * **BA2:** A ''.ba2'' file, short for Bethesda Archive 2. Combines multiple data files into a single file with optional compression.
  * **Module:** Any ''.esm'', ''.esl'', or ''.esp'' file. Also referred to as a Plugin.

==== Key Concepts ====

=== BA2 Loading ===
When the game starts and loads ''MyMod.esp'', it tries to find these files and loads them if they exist:
<code>MyMod - Main.ba2
MyMod - Textures.ba2
MyMod - Voices_en.ba2
MyMod - Voices_XX.ba2</code>
The last one only if playing in a non-English mode, and ''XX'' varies with language.

BA2 file names don't have to match what's inside them (you //could// name an archive of textures ''MyMod - Main.ba2'').
It also doesn't matter which module a BA2 is loaded with (but this does determine conflict winners!).
The only thing that matters is that the game can find them based on their file names.

==== Tools Used ====
  * A ''.7z'' file extractor (I use [[https://github.com/M2Team/NanaZip|NanaZip]]).
  * BSArchPro (Comes with xEdit. Download the latest from the [[https://discord.gg/5t8RnNQ|xEdit Discord]] and extract it anywhere.)

==== Preparation ====
  - Create a temporary ''WIP'' folder anywhere, containing ''General'' and ''Textures'' folders: \\ \\ <code>WIP/
├───General/
└───Textures/</code>
  - Open the Fallout 4 Data folder. \\ e.g. ''C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 4\Data\''
  - Sort by Type.
  - Scroll to the BA2 files.
  - Select all BA2 files with names that start with ''cc''. \\ {{:guides:ba2_merging-01.png?500|Steps 2-5}} \\ \\ 
  - Move them all into the ''WIP'' folder.
  - Search the ''WIP'' folder for ''Textures''. \\ {{:guides:ba2_merging-02.png?500|Steps 6-7}} \\ \\ 
  - Select all the Texture BA2 files.
  - Drag and drop them onto the ''Textures'' folder.
  - Click the ''Back'' button or press ''Backspace'' to return to ''WIP''.
  - Select all remaining BA2 files in ''WIP'' and drag and drop them onto the ''General'' folder.
  - Open the ''General'' folder.

==== Merging ====
  - Open ''BSArchPro.exe''.
  - Click ''Clear List'' at the top. \\ BSArchPro remembers selected files between runs so we want to be sure we have a clean slate.
  - Select all BA2 files in the ''General'' folder.
  - Drag and drop them onto the BSArchPro window.
  - Click ''Pack'' at the bottom.
  - Choose ''Fallout 4'' (not the DDS option). \\ This format can hold any packable file.
  - Give the file a name ending with '' - Main.ba2'' in your ''WIP'' folder. \\ I will be using ''Merged - Main.ba2''.
  - Click ''OK'' to start the repacking process. \\ {{:guides:ba2_merging-03.png?500|Steps 6-8}} \\ \\ 
  - Click ''Clear List'' at the top.
  - Select all BA2 files in the ''Textures'' folder.
  - Drag and drop them onto the BSArchPro window.
  - Click ''Pack'' at the bottom.
  - Choose ''Fallout 4 DDS''. \\ This format can hold only textures, but allows optimized loading.
  - Give the file a name ending with '' - Textures.ba2'' in your ''WIP'' folder. \\ I will be using ''Merged - Textures.ba2''.
  - Click ''OK'' to start the repacking process.
  - Click ''Clear List'' at the top and close BSArchPro. \\ {{:guides:ba2_merging-04.png?500|Steps 13-15}} \\ 

==== Using Your Merges ====
There are two ways you can have the game load your BA2 files:
  - Use a dummy module to load them.
  - Rename them to be loaded by a CC module.
Either choice is fine; this is primarily a preference-based decision.

=== Option 1: Load via Dummy Module ===
  - Download this dummy module file and keep it with your merged BA2 files. \\ [[http://wxmichael.net/files/Merged.esl|Merged.esl]]
  - If necessary, rename it to match your merged BA2 files (refer to [[#key_concepts|Key Concepts]]).
  - Add the dummy module and merged BA2 files to your mod manager.
  - Set the dummy module to load along with your other CC. \\ Order is irrelevant as long as it is before the Unofficial Fallout 4 Patch. \\ This ensures that conflict winners are unchanged from your original setup.

=== Option 2: Load via CC Module ===
  - Rename your merged BA2 files to match one of your CC modules (refer to [[#key_concepts|Key Concepts]]). \\ Typically your first CC file is used, e.g. if your first CC is ''ccBGSFO4044-HellfirePowerArmor.esl'', you would name them like this: \\ {{:guides:ba2_merging-05.png?500|}} \\ \\ 
  - Add the merged BA2 files to your mod manager.