Alright guys, can you give me a run down of all the essential mods I need? As well as any hints or tips? I haven't fully devoted myself to playing the game, other than dabbling occasionally so any suggestions would be nice.
There aren't really any "essential" mods. The base game can be quite fun and challenging as-is, especially if you only play occasionally. I'd only begin to expand it if you are feeling bored or limited by what it offers.
Some things like
Enhanced Navball,
Kerbal Engineer Redux, and the
Mk2/Mk3 IVA views are nice to give the game a sense of completeness without changing it.
KAS (Kerbal Attachment System) and
Kethane are great baseline additions to expand the amount of things to do on your missions to anywhere. They add few parts (for the most part), and, with some exceptions, fit in pretty well with stock parts.
FAR (Ferram Aerospace Research) and
Deadly Reentry seriously change how the game plays - rockets have it easier, planes have it a little harder, and both need extra planning on reentry. The mods add next to no parts on their own, but pretty much require using a plugin such as
Procedural Fairings, to keep your craft streamlined.
After that are the parts packs, mostly. A lot of people seem to use
NovaPunch - a general expansion of rocketry parts. I very much like the
Near Future Propulsion Pack - a mod focusing on a set of high-efficiency electric thrusters that is realistic and fits with the stock KSP theme, as well as the means to produce enough electricity to power said thrusters. There is also
KSP Interstellar, a similar (in premise) mod that goes rather further with the whole "future propulsion" thing by adding a Warp Drive and assorted futuristic engines.
There are also less stock-fitting mods that are also popular, like the
B9 Aerospace Pack,
Infernal Robotics,
Firespitter Propeller Parts Pack, the ever-controversial
MechJeb, and an assortment of others.