Make Skyrim Vanilla Again Mod Manager
The best Skyrim Special Edition mods
Several years into its life, the best Skyrim Special Edition mods defenseless up to the best in Oldrim modding. Many of our favorites from the original take been ported across, so you may recognize some of those on this list.
Oldrim Modding
Looking for mods for the original version of Skyrim? Nosotros've selected over 100 of the best mods for improved visuals and optimization, new quests and locations, roleplaying and immersion, creatures and NPCs, and much more. These are the best Skyrim mods.
But there are enough of newer mods equally well—a decade into its life, both original Skyrim and the Special Edition y'all can safely alt-tab out of are nevertheless fertile ground for new creations. Skyrim modding still hasn't slowed down with new additions every calendar week.
Skyrim Script Extender has been updated for the Anniversary Edition, and many of the mods that were broken during the changeover are working again at present. Still, once SKSE is installed, you lot should go into Skyrim Special Edition's properties in Steam and set it to "Only update this game when I launch information technology" and launch Skyrim with skse64_loader.exe, as otherwise whatever new updates will break the Script Extender and you'll have to download a new version of it.
Some of the following Skyrim Special Edition mods can be found on Bethesda's site, but the links we'll mail service unremarkably point to our go-to sites, NexusMods or AFK Mods. Mods added in recent updates of this list have been marked with a ⭐. And if you're looking to have even more fun in Skyrim, cheque out our listing of Skyrim panel commands.
The best Skyrim Special Edition mods
Modern managing
It's easy to get carried away modding Skyrim Special Edition. To help y'all keep track of all your various additions, be sure to use a mod manager of some sort. Here are the ones we suggest you try out.
Vortex
For downloading, installing, and managing Skyrim Special Edition mods, we recommend Vortex. It'south simple to apply, and it works with a number of other games similar the Fallout series, the Witcher series, Darks Souls, XCOM two, and lots more. Make sure to download the version that lets y'all pick a custom install installation if you don't have Skyrim on your C drive.
Modernistic Organizer 2
As an alternative to Vortex, Mod Organizer 2 is meant for modders who programme to practice a lot of experimenting, keeping dissever profiles and installing then uninstalling various mods. If you actually care about how keen your folders wait, Mod Organizer 2 is probably for y'all. One downside to Mod Organizer two is that if y'all program to modernistic multiple different games with information technology, switching betwixt them tin be a hassle. The easiest way to practice that is to install it separately for every single game you want to mod.
Patches, UI, and cheats
Nosotros all know the reputation Bethesda's games have. Enough of fans have taken information technology upon themselves to fix bugs, optimize systems, and make user interface more than to their liking.
SkyUI
The heavens parted, golden saints sang, and SkyUI was supported past Skyrim Special Edition. This interface replacer makes Skyrim feel like it was designed for mouse controls, and lets you filter and sort inventory based on weight, value, harm and the similar. Also adds an in-game mod configuration menu several other mods rely on. Information technology's essential.
Better MessageBox Controls
Increases the clickable areas of bill of fare items so they're the bodily width of the detail rather than just an absurd piffling square in the middle of it. Y'all have no idea how much better this tiny quality-of-life tweak makes things. It also improves the keyboard controls in a few ways. For instance, tab will always take you lot back a stage and enter will let y'all select an option even when y'all're crafting and would normally accept to mouse dorsum over it.
A Quality World Map
Skyrim's map is functional merely boring. A Quality World Map offers multiple ways to fix it. It can replace the map with a much more detailed earth texture, with colors that help delineate the split up areas much more obviously, but at that place's likewise an option to have a paper map, with a more Oblivion look, if that'southward your thing.
Achievements Mod Enabler
Simply because you're modding doesn't hateful you're cheating (necessarily). So why does the SSE disable achievements if you've got mods running? Stick it to 'em past using this plugin from xSHADOWMANx that lets you earn achievements fifty-fifty while using mods.
⭐ Proteus
While y'all could switch to some other savegame to play your Khajiit archer for a while, Proteus lets you import your characters into an existing globe country—meaning y'all can switch to a character with their own items, skills, and spells, only keep your current quest progression. NPCs who take died remain dead, items left in storage can be retrieved, and and so on. Information technology also lets y'all edit NPCs and items, even the weather. Some of what Proteus makes possible is already doable with Skyrim's panel commands and existing mods, simply this brings information technology all together in a unmarried pop-up carte.
Proteus replaces an older version chosen Project Proteus. The new version runs faster, and when swapping between characters you at present switch to their location rather than them existence summoned to yous, making for a more than GTA 5 kind of experience. There are a bunch of other tweaks as well. If yous've got Project Proteus installed, uninstall and replace it with Proteus instead.
An improved graphic symbol creation menu with numeric displays for all sliders and the ability to choose any colour for your pilus, peel, or other tints rather than being limited based on race. There's a sculpt mode if you want to become right into messing with the geometry of your head, and you tin turn the light illuminating your confront on and off to run across how your features volition wait in different situations, which is a approving. (Notation that an update to this mod made information technology uniform with the Anniversary Edition after a long period of not working.)
⭐ Downgrade Patcher
If the Anniversary Edition update is causing your favorite mods grief (we're talking about Simply Knock hither), this will whorl you back to Special Edition version 1.5.97. There are two versions to download, and the All-time of Both Worlds version lets you go along all the Creation Club content added by the Anniversary Edition.
Unofficial Skyrim Patch
This modernistic is a compendium of hundreds of fixes for bugs, text, objects, items, quests, and gameplay elements assembled by prolific modder Arthmoor. The patch is designed to exist equally compatible as possible with other mods. If you've got a few hours, you tin read through the patch notes.
Binaural 3D Environment Sound for Headphones - HRTF
"HRTF (Head Related Transfer Functions) refers to the style that the curvature of one's ears are used to localize sound in 3D space." I don't know exactly what that first judgement means, but I understand the 2nd one. Make SSE more realistic for your ears with this mod, though note it only works if yous play exclusively in first-person. You may also want to check out Immersive Sounds for a huge overhaul of Skyrim's sound furnishings.
Quests and locations
Skyrim may be a huge identify, but modders are ever finding ways to make it bigger. Nosotros've collected some really impressive location overhauls to aggrandize your Skyrim experience along with some huge quest mods to take yous on new adventures.
The Forgotten City
Skyrim'south got lots of hazard, only here's nigh 10 hours more than courtesy of writer and developer Nick Pearce. Play detective and solve a murder mystery while exploring a massive, ancient city. Information technology's got splendid, laurels-winning writing, a non-linear story, fantastic voice interim by a large cast, an enjoyable original soundtrack, and even a bear upon of time travel. Here's our write-up of the Forgotten City Skyrim mod. It's also been adapted into a standalone game fix in ancient Rome.
Legacy of the Dragonborn
Adds a gallery you can fill up with unique items, a museum to your achievements that is also a library, a storage facility, a questline of its own, and a identify to learn archaeology consummate with its ain perks. While there is a version of Legacy of the Dragonborn for Oldrim, the v5 update specifically for Special Edition remaps the building to make information technology larger and more than similar a existent museum.
Enderal: Forgotten Stories (Special Edition)
This total conversion creates an entirely new globe, very nearly the size of Skyrim itself, and populates information technology with new dungeons, quests, monsters, and fully voiced NPCs. Some of Skyrim's systems take also been tweaked, there's a new custom story to enjoy, and a good 50+ hours of new adventures to exist difficult. You lot can read virtually the opening hours of Enderal here.
Vigilant SE
Vigilant is a four-function quest mod that adds some Dark Souls flair to Tamriel. After getting stuck in Oblivion, you'll face off against otherworldly monsters and big, Souls-style bosses while exploring areas filled with special items and keys. Across that, the 'Anvil of Zenithar' allows players to craft their own wares after finishing objectives, besting bosses and reaching new areas. Vigilant Voiced adds voice-interim.
Y'all can also snag the aforementioned modder's Bloodborne-themed adventure chosen Glenmoril.
Moonpath to Elsweyr
Moonpath to Elsweyr was one of the first quest mods for Oldrim back in the mean solar day. It's fabricated its fashion to SSE now with its two new regions and custom quests. In Jody'southward Moonpath spotlight he talks to its original creator.
Helgen Reborn
Who'south going to rebuild Helgen subsequently it got toasted by a dragon at the beginning of the game? You are, of course. It's a huge, fully voiced quest modern where yous'll restore the town, choose a faction, and fight in the new loonshit. Chris wrote about Helgen Reborn years ago for Oldrim, so we're psyched to replay information technology in SSE.
Cutting Room Floor
Another big modernistic from Arthmoor restores loads of content that exists in SSE'due south data files only wasn't implemented in the game. Numerous locations, NPCs, dialogue, quests, and items take been brought dorsum into the light, and Skyrim is richer for it.
JK'south Skyrim
This big construction overhaul mod redesigns all of Skyrim'south major cities and some settlements too. Every urban center has been reimagined to more distinctly fit its ain theme with new buildings and vendors. It doubles every bit an immersion mod as well, with local banners and guards changing allegiance as Skyrim's civil state of war develops.
The Asteria Dwemer Airship
In that location are thespian home mods to suit all tastes, merely the Asteria is a particularly nice one—a flight ship with all modernistic cons, by which I mean storage space and crafting tables. It'south permanently docked, however, and can't be moved around, though it does accept a teleporter for a more immersive alternative to fast-travel. If you want a flyable skyship, try the Dev Aveza.
Visual mods
Fifty-fifty with Skyrim Special Edition, there's nevertheless enough of room to make Tamriel prettier. Modders have updated how characters look and added higher resolution textures, among other things, to put a new shine on the game.
Climates of Tamriel
Climates of Tamriel is a huge overhaul calculation new weather types, new lighting, and clouds. It can make night-time darker likewise for a more than immersive adventuring experience. There's even a winter version that covers even more of Skyrim in snow.
Realistic H2o Ii
Realistic Water Two, drawing and expanding on the work of some earlier water mods, adds amend ripples, larger splashes, re-textured foam and faster h2o menstruation in streams, bobbing chunks of ice, and fifty-fifty murky, brackish-looking h2o in dungeons. For all your extremely realistic screenshot-taking needs.
Total Character Makeover
Skyrim'due south NPCs already looked dated when the game was first released, and they certainly haven't aged well. The SSE might better the looks of the world, merely it doesn't touch its citizens, so this mod from Scaria should be on your list. It gives everyone in the game (including your avatar) a facelift with more detailed textures that won't kneecap your framerate, without making characters await out of place.
Vanilla Hair Replacer
Nosotros can all concur Bethesda's RPGs aren't often stunners in the hair department. So many pilus mods go carried abroad turning characters into models, though. Vanilla Pilus Replacer aims for more than lore-friendly changes for Skyrim's default hair choices so NPCs look a less scraggly but however like they hail from Skyrim. Be sure to bank check the "recommended mods" section of the page to go your characters looking exactly similar the ones in the screenshots.
Static Mesh Improvements
While Skyrim Special Edition adds plenty of enhanced visuals, information technology doesn't do a thing to amend the original game's low-poly meshes. This modernistic edits hundreds of 3D models placed in thousands of different locations for items similar piece of furniture, ataxia, architectural elements, and landscape objects to make them look nicer and more realistic.
⭐ Security Overhaul SKSE - Lock Variations
The Security Overhaul Lock Variants and supplemental Security Overhaul Add-Ons mods add a whole agglomeration of new lock designs for you lot to peer at while you're heroically robbing Skyrim of its every last septim. The locks range from startlingly beautiful to mystically eerie to fairly disgusting, but they're all lore-friendly and wonderfully animated. There are fifty-fifty new audio effects to accompany some of the weirder designs.
Glorious Doors of Skyrim
Hear me out. Aside from NPC'south faces, what are you going to accept your nose upwardly against in Skyrim near often? Well yeah, enemies, but as well doors! Modder "Hype1" has created lots of new door meshes with glorious 4k textures so you'll never be stuck picking the lock on a low-res door over again. While yous're at information technology, Volume Covers is a mod that volition make books as cute as they deserve to be.
Companions and creatures
Skyrim is an even more than beautiful place thanks to the visual mods and new locations on this list, but you lot'll desire to populate it with interesting people likewise. These mods add some of our favorite companion characters, and some absurd creatures for them to fight too.
Shirley
This companion mod is a particularly sweet ane, based on popular octogenarian YouTuber Shirley Curry, otherwise known as the "Skyrim Grandma". Created past fans and voiced past Curry herself, the Shirley companion shares Curry's likeness. Tamriel'southward Shirley has her own lore-appropriate backstory besides. After you've completed her recruitment quest, Shirley will join you, fighting alongside you as a barbarian warrior—Curry's preferred gainsay way. Curry has already started playing with the mod herself, which yous can grab the kickoff of in her video series.
Inigo
Peradventure yous don't think a blue Khajiit who follows y'all around commenting on everything and existence sarcastic about Lydia is what Skyrim needs, but trust us on this. Inigo has tons of dialogue, some tied to his own questline and more that crops up at appropriate times depending on the location you're at. He can be told where to go and what to do by whistling, and will follow you even if y'all've got an existing companion, chatting away with them thanks to skilfully repurposed voice lines.
Vilja in Skyrim
A sequel to a much-loved Oblivion mod (which Terry Pratchett contributed to), Vilja in Skyrim adds the dandy-granddaughter of the original Vilja as a follower. She'due south an alchemist with her own questline to follow and a unique organisation to give her orders—essentially spells spring to hotkeys that can be used to co-ordinate attacks. Like Inigo she doesn't count toward your follower limit, and if introduced to each other Inigo and Vilja will even conversation among themselves.
Yennefer of Vengerberg
Will we e'er tire of crossovers between our favorite big RPGs? No, we definitely will not. This follower modernistic adds a custom-made Yennefer that re-purposes her lines of dialogue from The Witcher 3. She dual wields magic, of class. Sadly, she isn't eligible for spousal relationship. The same modder has too made a Ciri follower modernistic and contributed to mods for Geralt and Triss followers all based on their Wild Hunt selves.
Amazing Follower Tweaks
This extremely popular mod for Oldrim is 1 you'll want to grab the Special Edition version of too. It lets you micromanage a lot of details about your companions similar their gear, how to fight, and which of your many houses to alive in.
Convenient Horses
This mod makes having a horse much less of a headache. Yous tin accept conversations from horseback. You tin can loot and gather herbs while mounted. Your followers can even buy and ride their own horses instead of sprinting helplessly behind y'all.
Diverse Dragons Collection
Despite the Special Edition's visual overhaul, its dragons are still a bit ho-hum. This mod, contributed to by a large collection of modders, adds 28 new and unique dragons with different models and textures, and capable of over a dozen new breath attacks and abilities. The dragons come in different ranks as well, to ensure you take a challenge no matter what your level.
Strigoi - Enhanced Vampire Encounters
With Strigoi installed, whenever vampires spawn there'due south a chance to encounter some of its new varieties of bloodsucker. These powered-up undead might turn into bats, throw you around, or but generally be a lot tougher than regular vampires.
Insects Begone
Why is it always spiders in RPGs? Well, information technology doesn't have to be. Insects Begone replaces all the spiders and chaurus insects with bears and skeevers instead. It too removes decorative spiderwebs and other spider-related decor. If you can't deal with all the giant spiders plaguing Skyrim, this mod volition squash them.
Magic, gainsay, and skills
If being the Dragonborn isn't enough, these mods give y'all new abilities to tinker with. Some are mundane skills similar additional crafting abilities, others are new shouts and spells to play with.
Arcanum: A New Age of Magic
Arcanum is a huge improver to Skyrim's magic organisation. It lets you lot summon tornados and meteors among many other feats. It doesn't merely throw all these new skills at you as soon every bit it's installed, though. Arcanum is peachy for starting a new playthrough of Skyrim with because unlocking spells is a more lore-friendly journey of custom quests, crafting, and adventuring.
Gainsay Gameplay Overhaul
CGO strikes a corking balance for those wanting a bit more out of Skyrim'due south combat without turning it into too much of a fast-paced activity game. It adds the ability to contrivance roll, which surprisingly looks pretty decent in get-go-person. There's also the ability to switch between one- and 2-handed grips to change how attacks land. Oh, and yous can attack in midair, forth with lots of other smaller tweaks.
Modder "DServant" also created the Archery Gameplay Overhaul which takes a similarly even-handed arroyo to improving bow apply.
Wildcat - Combat of Skyrim
Wildcat is a much heavier combat overhaul, and an extremely popular 1. It makes combat more deadly with increased impairment and stamina use, but that's not all. It also adds an injury system where taking enough damage has a chance to requite you a serious injury that could knock you down, unequip your weapon, or give y'all other dangerous effects. It rewards you for properly timed blocks and for attacks of opportunity while enemies are performing other actions likewise.
For the Thieves Order and Nighttime Alliance members amid u.s., Sneak Tools adds extra functionality to being good at hiding. Instead of just a damage bonus, you can kill NPCs from behind with daggers, knock them out with fists, and assassinate them while they're sleeping. You lot can douse torches and arrows to improve sneak through the shadows and employ a bunch of new arrow types with sneaky benefits.
When you're not playing a metallic-plated tank, there'south less use for smithing. Archers, thieves, and other stealthy characters have no bug finding calorie-free armor on their adventures, so there'due south never been much reason to make it themselves. This mod by Arthmoor gives slippery sorts reasons to acquire smithing by letting them forge arrows, lockpicks, and guild-specific armor, as well as cook down bulkier armor they'd never really wearable into ingots.
Roleplaying, survival, and immersion
Roleplaying and immersion mods are all aimed at making Skyrim Special Edition feel just a bit more real.
No NPC Greetings - Reduced Range Greetings
Sick of NPCs repeating the same catchphrase from across the street every fourth dimension they see you? Sick of guards commenting on your best skills, which they somehow know all well-nigh just by looking at y'all—even Sneak? This mod has a few options for fixing the issue, whether you desire to reduce the distance these barks trigger at, or go rid of them altogether.
Simply Knock SE
Sometimes y'all don't want to break into someone'southward home and take the local guard subsequently you. Instead of lockpicking, this modern gives yous the pick to just, yous know, knock on the door. If someone is home they might answer, giving yous the option to earn entry with your speech abilities. If they don't respond, then go your lockpicks out. (If this mod causes crashes after the Ceremony Edition update, bank check the sticky post at the pinnacle of this page for a solution.)
Alternating Commencement - Alive Another Life
If you're playing Special Edition, yous're starting from scratch whether y'all're a newcomer to Skyrim or a veteran. Why not start your new game as someone other than the Dragonborn? Alternate Get-go—again, by Arthmoor—is a roleplaying mod that gives you choices on how yous'd like to brainstorm your next playthrough. Are you a patron at in inn, a company arriving by boat, a prisoner in a jail cell, or a fellow member of a guild? You tin beginning equally a soldier, an outlaw, a hunter, even a vampire. It's a great way to re-experience Skyrim from a different perspective, and skip the tutorial while you're at it.
Open Cities
Information technology's a little immersion-breaking to enter a urban center through a gate and encounter a loading screen. Open Cities aims for more of a Morrowind feel: the cities aren't instances, they're part of the larger world. Stroll right in—or ride in on horseback—without a break in your experience, and these cities volition feel more similar real places than loaded-in maps.
Opening Scene Overhaul
This mod, by elderscrolliangamer, changes and enhances Skyrim's opening sequence by restoring dialogue that Bethesda chose to cut, merely which is even so present in the game files. With that content restored, you'll learn more nigh the globe you're preparing to inhabit by listening in on boosted conversations and seeing full sequences that were snipped before release. Best of all, if y'all choose to side with the Stormcloaks, you'll actually be able to escape Helgen with Ulfric himself at your side.
Human relationship Dialogue Overhaul
This mod past cloudedtruth adds thousands of lines of voiced dialogue for NPCs to make you experience like you lot have a closer and more personal relationship with followers and friends. Your spouse volition no longer sound similar a random follower, but address yous in a more than personal manner, and those you've angered will have a host of new insults to hurl your manner.
Frostfall and Campfire
Skyrim Panel Commands
There'south no demand to play Skyrim as a apprehensive warrior. Become a giant, fly, walk through walls, spawn any detail you want, and even become Santa Claus with Skyrim console commands, and requite yourself every item in the game with Skyrim item codes.
Looking to plough SSE into a survival experience without having to rely on the Creation Club's survival mode? So package up and look no farther. These mods from Chesko make the frosty earth of Skyrim more dangerous more immersive and enjoyable with a system that makes you lot manage your temperature in the cold climate. Hypothermia is an issue, especially if you swim through icy water, and then you'll have to apparel warmly, and camping elements include craftable tents, torches, and other gear. In that location'southward even a crafting skill system.
Too, cheque out Wet and Common cold, which adds weather-dependent visual effects and sounds.
⭐ Survival Control Panel
If you exercise want to stick with the Creation Gild survival manner, perchance because you got information technology as part of the Anniversary Edition, this control panel volition permit you modify how it works. You can plough on and off options like whether you demand to slumber to level up, also as modifying the warmth rating of clothes, including cloaks if yous've got a mod that adds those.
Positive Undressed Reactions
What could mayhap exist more than immersive than walking effectually in your underclothes and being lavished with compliments by strangers? OK, maybe it'southward non that immersive merely information technology is a fun one. On top of that, this mod too uses a very absurd new AI-based vocalization synthesis tool chosen SKVA Synth to create some of its voice lines.
Source: https://www.pcgamer.com/best-skyrim-special-edition-mods/
0 Response to "Make Skyrim Vanilla Again Mod Manager"
Post a Comment