The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is nothing wanting legendary. It managed to win over 200 awards and bought greater than 30 million copies from its preliminary launch. This would solely be amplified by not one however two re-releases, a 2016 launch that noticed a cool 939,000 copies bought within the first week, along with the Nintendo Switch port that following yr.
Emblematic because the expertise could also be, Bethesda’s lore-riddled fantasy RPG wouldn’t be one of many best open-world video games with out its devoted modding neighborhood. From easy graphical touchups to finish out-of-universe transformations, Skyrim mods have advanced alongside the long-lasting title. Whether it’s house to extra immersive NPCs or turns into a nightmarish model of the Mushroom Kingdom, Tamriel can now virtually change into something a participant needs.
Despite the immense setlist of Skyrim mods, which averaged at 10,000 again in 2012, not all of them can work in tandem, neither is it sensible to gorge on mod downloads. Some of those mods, particularly these altering graphics and world overhauls, can have important results in your sport efficiency. Running parallel to that record of modifications is a equally endless stream of Skyrim modding horror tales, so be additional cautious and vigilant when exploring their attain.
The following mods are quintessential for bettering upon the vanilla Skyrim expertise. Do take into account a big portion of them are unavailable on PS4, because of the console’s 1GB restrict on exterior asset imports.
Unofficial Skyrim DLC mods
Hearthstone, Dawnguard, and Dragonborn are three unimaginable expansions that gave gamers many extra hours’ price of story and exploration following the primary questline. With the appearance of full-fledged modded content material, nevertheless, hours can actually change into days. Community-developed DLC expansions, like these talked about under, invite gamers to breathtaking new areas underscored by compelling and lore-driven narratives. While not official Bethesda content material, they’re infused at their core with the guts and soul of die-hard Skyrim followers.
Voyage to the Dreamborne Isles
Among many testaments to the ability of online game mods, Voyage to the Dreamborne Isles is one avid Skyrim fan’s dream venture turned full-fledged expertise. It takes the Dragonborn on a tour of Moonshadow, whereby the sudden disappearance of a sage has incited disarray. Complete with highly effective new gear, intense archer battles, and the uncovering of a misplaced civilization, Voyage to the Dreamborne Isles is a novel expertise solely made potential by the proficient creators and devoted followers amongst Skyrim‘s modding neighborhood.
PC Xbox One
Dwemertech – Magic of the Dwarves
While among the most fascinating moments in Skyrim happen when delving deep into the traditional ruins of the Dwemer, their intriguing backstory stays comparatively minuscule. The Dwemertech mod seeks to shine a extra compelling mild on the elven dwarves by the portrayal of their deliberate return to Nir. Despite lasting solely round three hours, Dwemertech continues to be well worth the journey, rewarding gamers with 14 bionic upgrades, 42 staves, and an assortment of spells upon completion.
PC Xbox One
Falskaar
Falskaar feels extra like a completely developed DLC slightly than a community-made mod. It provides over 20 hours of recent content material to the bottom sport, together with 26 new quests, totally voiced NPC characters, and distinctive spells. Falskaar even has its personal unique rating. If you’re a grizzled Skyrim veteran with a number of completions of the primary story and DLC quests, Falskaar is a must-play Skyrim mod.
PC Xbox One
The Forgotten City
Where Falskaar resembles a conventional piece of Bethesda DLC, The Forgotten City is extra linear and story-driven. Adding roughly eight hours of recent gameplay, the now-iconic Skyrim mod follows a homicide thriller set in, because the title suggests, a forgotten metropolis. Upon the invention of an underground Dwemer smash resplendent with equal elements nightmare and intrigue, the Dragonborn should journey by time to resolve the investigation. Mod creator Nick Pearce even earned a nationwide Writer’s Guild Award for the script, whereas the enlargement itself has been acclaimed by players and reviewers alike.
PC Xbox One
Enderal: The Shards of Order
Less of a mod and extra of a brand new sport constructed with the identical engine and belongings from Skyrim, Enderal options near 100 hours of recent content material, together with an unique narrative and voice appearing from trade veterans. Diverse new locales, such because the forested Heartland, the tropical Powder Desert, and the frozen Frostcliff Mountains, together with an overhauled ability and expertise system, make Enderal a one-stop mod for near-endless post-main-questline content material.
PC
Moonpath to Elsweyr
Breathtaking as they’re intriguing, the jungles of Elsweyr welcome few vacationers however for the Khajiit. Their enhanced sight underneath darkness affords them protected and unobstructed traversal by the Mane into the verdant world past. Moonpath to Elsweyr, initially launched in 2012, is likely one of the first main Skyrim mods of its type. Much like Dwemertech, Elsweyr is a modded quest that examines an attention-grabbing race in Skyrim that doesn’t usually garner an excessive amount of consideration in the course of the base story of the sport.
PC Xbox One
Performance optimization mods
Like many Bethesda titles, The Elder Scrolls V isn’t with out its multitude of bugs and glitches. In an effort to additional develop and polish off the expertise, an assortment of varied modifications have been made that even put the remake to disgrace. Some are supposed to repair these infamous Bethesda bugs, whereas others provide a extra streamlined interface. Most of them weren’t constructed to work together with each other and should require the set up of additional recordsdata, just like the Skyrim Script Extender, or removing of different mods earlier than working correctly.
Unofficial Skyrim SE Patch
Bethesda is famend for crafting multilayered open-world sandbox video games, whereby participant selection reigns supreme and a laundry record of glitchy bugs inundate the expertise. The Unofficial Skyrim Patch seems to amend these points, from invisible quest objects to misplaced NPCs. Unless you’re among the many few that consider these bugs are a part of Skyrim’s allure, you’ll wish to obtain this mod instantly.
PC Xbox One PS4
SkyUI 5
The fifth installment of SkyUI incorporates a totally rebuilt interface, giving Skyrim’s in-game menus simpler and extra handy navigation schemes. Among different enhancements, SkyUI incorporates a redesigned stock menu, a “favorites” record that’s simpler to handle, and a streamlined crafting menu. The mod additionally makes use of Skyrim‘s black-and-white design scheme and provides a number of new instruments, serving to to instill all-around ease when sorting by varied gear and quests.
PC
Project Optimization
Skyrim is heralded for the epic adventures and exploration of its huge world, but the title would nonetheless be nothing with out the numerous detailed and lovely interiors. Project Optimization is a posh package deal that enhances body price performances when occupying Skyrim’s internal places. The mod principally makes scenes whereas inside pop utilizing tweaks on illumination. Although delicate, Project Optimization is delicate but very good for these searching for a bit extra graphical immersion.
PC
Visual and audio enhancement mods
Experience the fantastic thing about Skyrim like by no means earlier than. These mods will make the in-game world much more wondrous and serene, altering every part from HD textures to extra ambient music. The remastered version included a number of graphical upgrades to Bethesda’s Creation Engine, particularly enhancements on snow and water shaders. Still, the modding neighborhood will cease at nothing to make Tamriel’s northernmost province a photorealistic paradise, even on the expense of treasured body charges.
Vivid Weathers SE
It’s tough to really feel immersed when a menacing stormcloud rolls by Winterhold, consisting of a mere 10 droplets of water and perhaps a number of measly snowflakes. The Vivid Weathers mod corrects these points by including a ton of recent climate results to Skyrim, full with each visible and aural cues to let when a fierce thunderstorm or a blanket of fog is on the horizon. The mod additionally replaces the sport’s default snow and cloud textures, the latter of which makes for some actually spectacular sunsets.
PC Xbox One
Surreal Lighting
Where most graphics-based mods zig, Surreal Lighting zags. Instead of enhancing textures or reshading drops of water, the mod goals to make Skyrim really feel extra like a fantasy world than some historical model of Canada. The mod alters brightness, distinction, and colours in outside settings, leading to beautiful skyboxes stuffed with shades of pink and blue. Surreal Lighting isn’t a dramatic add-on by any means, but it surely helps so as to add a bit extra vibrancy to Tamriel’s usually dreary landscapes.
PC Xbox One PS4
Immersive HUD
The Immersive HUD mod, usually shortened to easily “iHUD,” eliminates the in-game Heads Up Display and reticle for a extra immersive Elder Scrolls expertise. Not solely does it punctuate each second in photographic realism, but it surely additionally makes Skyrim a contact harder.
PC Xbox One
Skyrim HD – 2K Textures
Aptly coined Skyrim HD, the 2K Textures mod envelopes the sport in surreal readability. No gamer wants a historical past of 3D texturing in video video games to grasp these instruments have come a great distance for the reason that 2011 launch of The Elder Scrolls V. While the 2016 next-gen remake does provide some enhancements to the bottom expertise, like volumetric god rays and dynamic depth of area, new texturing wasn’t considered one of them. What Skyrim HD principally does is comb over many of the in-game world’s textures, from landscapes to dungeons, and replaces them with HD renders. It is available in two totally different packages, a Lite and Full model, with the Lite model enhancing texture resolutions at 50% of the Full model.
PC
Quality World Map
Players proceed to seek out random oddities and secret spots all through the map nonetheless to at the present time. Not a single Skyrim participant will denounce this insanely detailed open world, however given the myriad of off-the-beaten-path locales which have gone simply missed, its illustration within the participant menu might do with some enhancements. Enter the Quality World Map mod, which rids the participant’s map of the foggy cloud impact and provides extra correct, hand-drawn representations of Skyrim’s varied footpaths and roads. It even consists of quite a lot of viewing types akin to the on a regular basis GPS, equivalent to Vivid, Classic, and Paper, the latter of which makes for essentially the most immersive expertise.
PC Xbox One
True Vision ENB
Making lighting results crisper and extra reasonable, True Vision ENB washes Skyrim in a pristine coat of paint. It provides off the impression of a dream world, whereby colours are as near lifelike as potential. From the open plains at dawn to the ebon darkish caverns under the map, True Vision ENB coats each inch of the map with realism, making it vital mod for all Skyrim followers.
PC
Sounds of Skyrim
While the unique music of Skyrim is epic, including twofold to an already well-equipped story and setting, there are not any additional audio-based results that give places any range. The Sounds of Skyrim mod makes up for that by including a ton of various results positioned at particular elements of the map, respiration life into the wilds, the dungeons, and cities. The estimated 445 newly added sounds embody every part from the occasional barking canine at night time to the daytime laughter of kids enjoying in metropolis streets.
PC Xbox One
Perks, tools, and fight mods
From out there magic capabilities to A.I. swordplay, modders have discovered each conceivable angle of enhancing Skyrim’s fight mechanics. Additional enhancements to the leveling system have additionally been made, alongside a large number of weapons and tools mods.
Apocalypse: Magic of Skyrim
Many Skyrim followers complain that the sport doesn’t steadiness its varied play-styles notably nicely. Stealth-focused archers, for instance, can develop so highly effective that the majority enemies change into mere trivial obstacles, because of the overpowered injury bonuses attributed to stealth assaults. Magic-based characters, in contrast, can really feel underpowered and boring, because of the extreme lack of distinctive in-game spells. Apocalypse: Magic of Skyrim is a gigantic mod that introduces a complete of 155 new spells (31 per college) all constructed to fulfill each magical need. Teleportation spells? Yep. Volcanic eruptions? Check. Summon chair? You get the thought.
PC Xbox One
Ordinator
The Ordinator mod utterly augments the sport’s base perk system with a whole lot of factors to the present ability timber to create a deeper, extra customizable expertise. For instance, gamers with an archery ability of 80 or above can improve their arrows at a blacksmithing station to deal elemental injury (along with the bow’s enchantment), and gamers with a lightweight armor ability of 70 or above can activate elemental shockwaves to accompany unarmed assaults. Ordinator does an awesome job of balancing perk timber that have been unbalanced within the base title, making viable some character builds that might be all however ineffective in vanilla Skyrim.
PC Xbox One
Better Combat AI
Skyrim’s assorted A.I. usually really feel like pushovers even when enjoying on legendary. When stacked towards extra trendy video games, particularly The Forest and its well-designed A.I. mechanics, Skyrim is solely no match, until the Better Combat AI mod is put in. Players received’t have to fret about tangling with a lone horker or sabre cat anymore, as creatures can have raised confidence and aggressiveness solely when in teams. The solely draw back is that this Skyrim mod is barely out there on PC.
PC
Warmonger Armory
The Warmonger Armory mod is, as the outline reads, “made with compatibility in mind.” It features a multitude of garments, weapons, and armor all primarily based upon traditional Elder Scrolls lore, supposed to uproot the bottom sport and DLC with the flavour of years previous. Categorized by race, the numerous choices of outfits and kit make Skyrim an all-around expertise primarily for these Elder Scrolls junkies.
PC Xbox One PS4
VioLens
Like most elements of this practically decade-old sport, kill strikes have now change into terribly redundant. Before it was the Dance of Death mod, which gave gamers extra management and a greater number of kill strikes, but with VioLens, Skyrim is a completely new sport. The new query: How many rampages does it take to seek out essentially the most killer animation?
PC Xbox One PS4
Staves of Skyrim
Skyrim has no scarcity of weapon selection, but what it does lack is a selected deal with the inverse of magical staffs, the defense-based stave. The Staves of Skyrim mod captures this potential with all-new staves, fashions, and textures. There’s additionally an extra perk on the Block tree that enhances the employees, permitting magic-based characters to make use of these weapons in quite a lot of totally different techniques.
PC Xbox One
NPC and creature mods
Ditching horses for monster mounts and giving companions really dependable fight choices, the next mods instill the wildlife and social circles of Skyrim with all-new intrigue.
Diverse Dragons Collection
Skyrim‘s dragons always felt a bit half-baked. The first few encounters felt appropriately epic, but the fun soon fades after hours of dragon-slaying. Most of these terrifying creatures appear relatively identical, with the exception of color being an identifying factor only part of the time. The Diverse Dragons Collection amends this issue, accumulating content from several different artists and modders to bring forth a more engaging and varied stable of dragons. In addition to 23 unique dragon models, each of which tuned to seven different difficulty levels, 15 unique breath attacks make up one of Skyrim’s hottest mods.
PC Xbox One
Amazing Follower Tweaks
Not solely does the Amazing Follower Tweaks mod give gamers the choice to have a number of followers (as much as 5 at one time), it additionally broadens the mechanic’s total performance in Skyrim. Players can now handle their leveling, fight type, outfits, spells, and even flip their companions into any one of many transformation-based Beasts, whether or not or not it’s a werewolf or vampire lord. Along with improved A.I. are a ton of choices that may be toggled at any time, like invincible followers, horse driving, 1000 weight companion carry weight, and a useful catch-up mechanic that teleports a participant’s celebration to their facet with however a easy press of the draw button.
PC Xbox One
Skyrim Immersive Creatures
Barring the crazier, extra world-rending potential adjustments, most Skyrim mods are tasks initially based upon the enhancement of the sport’s immersion. Though it does as its identify implies, the Immersive Creatures mod additionally injects its personal wild sense of creativeness and horror. An assortment of recent creatures, just like the menacing Dreugh pictured above, on prime of the up to date variations on already-existing wildlife, makes this Skyrim mod a dreadful, but must-see expertise.
PC
Interesting NPCs
Interesting NPCs takes care of the alternative world of Skyrim, bettering upon the dialogue choices and role-play selections of each random oddball within the sport. If the included 250 totally voiced NPCs, 25 followers, and 15 marriage choices simply weren’t sufficient, the mod additionally has over 50 distinctive quests that can satiate each fan’s need for an increasing number of Skyrim.
PC
Complete world-overhaul mods
Introducing comedian guide superheroes and cartoon trains to a fantasy RPG, this closing class is most prevalent among the many Grand Theft Auto modding communities, whereby an AK-touting Goofy and sun-blotting spacecraft from Star Wars are the on a regular basis. These varieties of overhaul mods go towards the grain, scrapping a extra immersive Skyrim expertise for near-limitless potentialities, like changing Frostbite Spiders with Marvel’s Spider-Man, dragons with Thomas the Tank Engine, or the whole in-game world with a Super Mario Bros lookalike. No matter what craziness the thoughts can provide you with, likelihood is it’s already a Skyrim mod.
Super Skyrim Bros.
Sure, Tamriel’s northernmost province is house to its justifiable share of princesses and castles, however a real Nintendo fan wouldn’t be glad till gold cash have been littering the panorama. Thankfully, you’ll solely want to put in one mod to make these desires a actuality, coined Super Skyrim Bros. While clearly supposed for goofs and giggles, the creators of this Skyrim mod went all in and layered it with a number of Super Mario-themed worlds to discover, every loaded with their very own number of enemies to leap on. It hardly qualifies as Skyrim, but it surely’s shut sufficient, proper?
PC
Jedi of Skyrim
EA’s Fallen Order, which was not too long ago up to date to incorporate an assortment of recent modes, might be the perfect interactive Star Wars title on trendy consoles. However, no padawan ascends the rank with out first conquering their Jedi coaching in Skyrim. This mod makes use of the perfect of each franchises, not merely retexturing weapons within the guise of lightsabers however imbuing them into the lore as Magicka Sabers. Their integration into the perk system additionally permits for bettering upon and customizing a participant’s personal private methods of the Jedi.
PC Xbox One PS4
Uncle Sheogorath
While most Skyrim mods intention to make the sport extra attention-grabbing or immersive, Uncle Sheogorath’s Helpful Hints and Tips is the exact opposite. Picking on the thoughts of Sheogorath, Skyrim’s Daedric Prince of Madness, this mod seeks to switch all loading display texts with the Daedra’s ideas. The excerpts vary in ample selection, adapting outdated ones whereas including much more, all of which border on the hilarious and absurd. Punctuating the need of this Skyrim mod are blurbs like the instance pictured above and people cited under:
“Wood Elves fizz when dipped in lemon juice.”
“The best thing to do with deer is to train them in smithing. You’ll never look back.”
“Reading can take you places. It took me to Riften once! It was awful.”
PC Xbox One PS4
Pokémon in Skyrim
Who would have ever thought to catch all of them and be the perfect there ever was might lengthen even into The Elder Scrolls? Clearly, DJSuperGenius, whose Pokémon in Skyrim mod not solely alters creatures into the facet of iconic Pocket Monsters but additionally transforms the sport into the traditional handheld expertise. It exploded into reputation by way of a 2013 Kotaku function penned by trade journalist Brian Ashcraft, who concludes the article by admitting, “This mod looks so bad, it’s good.”
PC Xbox One
Really Useful Dragons
Kid-friendly locomotive Thomas the Tank Engine finds an all-new breadth of marvel by the equal elements hilarious and terrifying Really Useful Dragons mod. Although The Elder Scrolls V could be famend for its inclusion of fierce and mighty dragons, changing them with Thomas & Friends characters from The Railyway guide sequence simply looks like a extra helpful portrayal.
PC

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