To Clean or Not to Clean.... That is the Question (most specifically: TES IV)

[Sonja]

I've noticed over the last couple of years that there seems to have been another shift with regard to cleaning Bethesda games, at least the "newer" titles like Skyrim SE and FO4. Previously, cleaning was, in general, recommended...but now...not so much? I'm specifically asking, though, about Oblivion, which I've recently reinstalled. Both Wrye Bash and LOOT (I have the latest stable versions of both)  are telling me that the official DLCs need cleaning… Considering that Oblivion (I have all the stability mods, incidentally), even unmodded, can be an astonishingly shaky house of cards at the best of times… I'd like to maximise my chances for a "stable" experience.

Thanks for any thoughts.

[smr1957]

Well, definitely do not clean the SSE master files or any Creation Club content - as to cleaning Oblivion's master files, I will leave that for someone else to answer.

[Sigurð Stormhand]

It's probably safe - no issues manifested prior to the release of Skyrim, and Oblivion is not as robust at coping with a later mod affecting a previously deleted reference.

[Arthmoor]

Since Oblivion's DLC files are basically on the same level as user mods, they should be cleaned to avoid issues with overwrites and deletions since they can be ordered in any way you want them.

As for the "master files", Oblivion only has one and you can't touch it at all.

[Sonja]

Thanks everyone, I knew this was the place to ask!

I'd suspected something like this might be the case, but since I'm just a decently experienced mod user, I lack the technical ability to really know, so cheers!