: Modded patch files frequently include fixes for SSAO methods and lighting to improve shadowing and realism beyond the original 2012 release settings.
If you are trying to "unpack" these files to edit game values (like health or damage), you must use third-party tools:
Far Cry 3 – The Importance of Preserving Original Patch Files (v72) Far cry 3 original patch.dat patch.fat 72
The only real solution is the manual merge method described above: .
: Most gameplay mods are distributed as replacements for these two files. You install them by backing up your original patch.dat / .fat and replacing them with the modded versions. : Modded patch files frequently include fixes for
In the Dunia Engine 2 (Ubisoft's proprietary game engine that powers Far Cry 3 ), game assets are stored in archive files using a paired .dat and .fat system. Think of the .fat (File Allocation Table) file as a detailed index or a table of contents. It tells the game's engine exactly what is inside the corresponding .dat file and where to find it. The .dat file itself is the archive, containing the actual game data—textures, scripts, configuration files, and more.
For users who want to avoid manual merging, the (available on Nexus Mods) automates the process. It allows you to add several mods in .a3 , .a4 , .zip , .7z , or .rar format, configure their load order, and then generates a new patch.dat/.fat accordingly. This tool has made modding accessible to a much wider audience. You install them by backing up your original patch
Whenever Ubisoft issued an official update or patch, the game would download a pair of files titled patch.dat and patch.fat into the \data_win32\ folder. The executable reads this patch directory first, prioritizing data inside it over older, base-game files like common.dat . Why Players Search for the "Original" Files
(unmodified) versions of these files to fix a broken mod or a corrupted game: Verify Game Integrity
