- Best Skyrim Mods Xbox One 2018
- Immersive Mods For Skyrim Special Edition Pc Free
- Best Mods For Skyrim Special Edition
Posted by10 months ago
Archived
Caution:
I might make a more organized list with many more mods, that I've got suggestions for, from the comments. The list will be partitioned to different categories.
Best Skyrim Mods Xbox One 2018
The list will have a large list of the more 'nit-picky' mods, such as various fixes for the engine and the game aswell.
And my wish will stand, comment for mod suggestions.
Just another list with just some popular gameplay overhauls
Remember to check the requirements for given mods, as I might not have listed them!
These mods aren't in any particular order, except the ones below.
ESSENTIAL TO HAVE:
This is by far the greatest creation of mankind:
:)
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About this mod
Skyrim Immersive Creatures adds dozens of new creatures to enhance your gaming experience. This mod adds brand new creatures which fit in to the world of Skyrim, alongside variations of existing creatures, adding diversity and improving gameplay.
Off-site requirements
Mod name | Notes |
---|---|
SKSE 2.0.4 |
Mods requiring this file
Mod name | Notes |
---|---|
Genesis Surface Spawns patch for Skyrim Immersive Creatures 6.6a | teseted with 6.6a |
Nettlebane Patch for Zim's Artifacts and Immersive Creatures | |
Predator Patches Galore | |
QUASIPC - Qwinn's Unified Automated Self Installing Patch Compendium | |
Skyrim Immersive Creatures - Official Patch and Patch Central | |
Skyrim Immersive Creatures - Official Patch and Patch Central - Traduzione Italiana | |
Skyrim Immersive Creatures Special Edition - Deutsch | |
Skyrim Immersive Creatures Special Edition - Traduzione Italiana | |
Skyrim Immersive Creatures Special Edition PL (spolszczenie) | |
Skyrim Immersive Creatures Special Edition RU | Main mod, RU translation |
VR Body - Skyrim Immersive Creatures Patch | |
WiZkiD Patches Compendium |
Credits and distribution permission
- Other user's assetsSome assets in this file belong to other authors. You will need to seek permission from these authors before you can use their assets
- Upload permissionYou are not allowed to upload this file to other sites under any circumstances
- Modification permissionYou must get permission from me before you are allowed to modify my files to improve it
- Conversion permissionYou are not allowed to convert this file to work on other games under any circumstances
- Asset use permissionYou must get permission from me before you are allowed to use any of the assets in this file
- Asset use permission in mods/files that are being soldYou are not allowed to use assets from this file in any mods/files that are being sold, for money, on Steam Workshop or other platforms
- Asset use permission in mods/files that earn donation pointsYou must get permission to earn Donation Points for your mods if they use my assets
Author notes
You must contact me and obtain my permission before re-packaging any part of this mod. My mod also contains assets released by other authors. Permission for using this files must be obtained separately from the original author!
Under any circumstances a upload or re-upload to the Steam Workshop is explicit forbidden.
Under any circumstances a upload or re-upload to the Steam Workshop is explicit forbidden.
File credits
Mod author lifestorock, with contributions from Kuertee, and additional contributions from & currently maintained and updated by jackstarr.
Assets used from:
- Grohiik for Dwarven Mechanical Dragons - Perfect Blood Hybrids Mod - Draman Skeleton - The Werewolf King
- PROMETHEUS_ts for Better Female Natural Body - which is used for Golden Saints, Winged Twilight, Dark Seducers and his Beast Skeletons mod.
- trainwiz for Dwemer Spectres
- nivea for Winter Is Coming
- exray catt for Frost Giants & Fire Giants
- Phitt for Cliffracers
- dogtown1 & Ironmann5000 for his Chaurus Crawler, Giant Brute Skeleton, Bone Spider & Dwarven Spider models - taken from Monster Mod
- StarX - for 2 giant textures
- JeffreyXiong1 for Spear Meshes
- Perraine for Skirtless Fur Armor
- defunkt for Helmet variants
- alienslof for Werewolf inspiration
- 747823 for Weapons of the Third Era
- Anuiel for Dwemer Beard
- Martigen for his savegame debloating scripts
- wrig675 for a dragon texture used on Draman and several used animal textures taken from this mod
- tonycubed2 for scripts and script assistance and for letting me use his mod Sands of Time as script resource
- Dalquist for High Level Enemies
- newermind43 for Ents in Skyrim
- Omesean for the mesh used for the Goblin Tribe Banners - taken from Aesir Armor
- Vicn for Vicn Creature Resource
- Witcher5688 & Luddemann for Armor of Yngol - male armor mesh and textures
- hypno88 for custom wolf pup meshes taken from his mod Wolf Follower
- opaj for his mod Radiance - great inspiration and base for the new SIC random events
- Laup26 for Dawnguard Saddle from his mod More Saddles
- VectorPlexus for male Spriggan base meshes
- Leaffall for his wonderful custom fish mesh & textures
- daventry for being the user with the Aladdin avatar, asking many questions and posting on so many mod sites .. oh and showing me the male spriggans
- Natterforme for Daedric Lord Armor
- Durzog Mesh by Mr Siika
Assets used from:
- Grohiik for Dwarven Mechanical Dragons - Perfect Blood Hybrids Mod - Draman Skeleton - The Werewolf King
- PROMETHEUS_ts for Better Female Natural Body - which is used for Golden Saints, Winged Twilight, Dark Seducers and his Beast Skeletons mod.
- trainwiz for Dwemer Spectres
- nivea for Winter Is Coming
- exray catt for Frost Giants & Fire Giants
- Phitt for Cliffracers
- dogtown1 & Ironmann5000 for his Chaurus Crawler, Giant Brute Skeleton, Bone Spider & Dwarven Spider models - taken from Monster Mod
- StarX - for 2 giant textures
- JeffreyXiong1 for Spear Meshes
- Perraine for Skirtless Fur Armor
- defunkt for Helmet variants
- alienslof for Werewolf inspiration
- 747823 for Weapons of the Third Era
- Anuiel for Dwemer Beard
- Martigen for his savegame debloating scripts
- wrig675 for a dragon texture used on Draman and several used animal textures taken from this mod
- tonycubed2 for scripts and script assistance and for letting me use his mod Sands of Time as script resource
- Dalquist for High Level Enemies
- newermind43 for Ents in Skyrim
- Omesean for the mesh used for the Goblin Tribe Banners - taken from Aesir Armor
- Vicn for Vicn Creature Resource
- Witcher5688 & Luddemann for Armor of Yngol - male armor mesh and textures
- hypno88 for custom wolf pup meshes taken from his mod Wolf Follower
- opaj for his mod Radiance - great inspiration and base for the new SIC random events
- Laup26 for Dawnguard Saddle from his mod More Saddles
- VectorPlexus for male Spriggan base meshes
- Leaffall for his wonderful custom fish mesh & textures
- daventry for being the user with the Aladdin avatar, asking many questions and posting on so many mod sites .. oh and showing me the male spriggans
- Natterforme for Daedric Lord Armor
- Durzog Mesh by Mr Siika
Donation Points system
This mod is not opted-in to receive Donation Points
Translations- Spanish
- Russian
- Polish
- Italian
- German
Translations available on the Nexus
Language | Name |
---|---|
Italian | Skyrim Immersive Creatures Special Edition - Traduzione Italiana |
Polish | Skyrim Immersive Creatures Special Edition PL (spolszczenie) |
Russian | Skyrim Immersive Creatures Special Edition RU |
German | Skyrim Immersive Creatures Special Edition - Deutsch |
Other | Skyrim Immersive Creatures Special Edition - Traditional Chinese Translation |
Spanish | Skyrim Immersive Creatures Special Edition - Spanish |
Italian | Skyrim Immersive Creatures Special Edition Italian |
Version 6.6a
- small update to incorporate missing water flow data
Version 6.6
- optimised all meshes and textures for the Skyrim Special Edition
- incorporated fixes from the unofficial SIC patch - thx Kelsenellenelvian
- merged the two ESPs into one new main file
- finally fixed wrong behaviour of the Stormcloak Wolves
- added a creature toogle for the Pygmy Hill Troll and drastically lowered their spawn chance
- added recipes to change SIC armor variants into their vanilla counterparts (not finished yet)
- cleaned up some scripts
- added a new creature: the Ogre
- minor bugfixes here and there
Both straight donations and premium membership donations accepted
If you're looking to improve your experience in Bethesda's epic adventure, then adding some of the best Skyrim mods can certainly help with that. Skyrim is starting to look a bit tired these days, but that isn't really surprising as the remastered edition came out back in 2016 and the vanilla original has been around for almost eight years. The good news though is that by installing a selection of the best Skyrim mods we've picked out here, you can take on massive new quests and battle against improved enemies, while enjoying graphical improvements and gameplay tweaks to make your life easier.
In our list of the best Skyrim mods below, we've listed what platform each mod is available on, along with a respective link to either the NexusMods page for PC or the Bethesda mod site for consoles.
- Looking for help with the best Skyrim mods on consoles? Here's how to install Skyrim mods on PS4 and Xbox One
- Also check out our picks for the best MMORPGs to play right now, including Elder Scrolls Online
Quests
Read more
Elder Scrolls 6: release date, trailer, news, and everything else we know
Falskaar
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Those of you who have finished Skyrim should head immediately to Falskaar. Considering it's the size of a DLC and that it landed its creator a job at Bungie, the fact that it's on this list shouldn't be that surprising. As the harbinger of an ancient prophecy (minus any special powers), you have to bring peace back to Falskaar - but nothing is ever as simple as it seems..
Forgotten City
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Available on: Xbox One, PC
This is the best story mod out there, in my honest opinion. Stuck in an underground town overseen by old automated Dwemer moral police system, you just have to find a way out. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Oh, just you wait..
Clockwork
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Available on: Xbox One, PC
The Dwemer don't really get enough time dedicated to them in Skyrim, despite being the most enigmatic race to ever grace Nirn. Yet this strange mansion you stumble upon is run by two of their contraptions..and their master is missing. Guess you'd better find out what's gone on!
Moonpath to Elsweyr
Available on:Xbox One,PC
Available on:Xbox One,PC
Moonpath to Elsweyr connects Skyrim to the vast deserts of the feline Khajiit. Here, you can bask under azure skies and hunt ferocious raptors in wild tangles of bush and jungle. This was actually one of the first quest mods ever made for Skyrim, but has recently started receiving regular updates again, making it one of the best mods around at the moment.
Beyond Bruma
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Do you remember the days you spent wandering around Bruma back when Mehrunes Dagon threatened to destroy Tamriel in Oblivion? Well, now you can go back to Bruma from Skyrim. With over 70 residents, Bruma looks better and feels more alive than ever before.
Markers: No more wandering aimlessly
Stones of Barenziah Markers
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
The bloody Stones of Barenziah. This quest sat in my tray for the time it took me to complete all the major quests and a chunk of the sidequests, and I had only found about six. This mod is essential if you want to get all of the stones and find out what mysterious item they make in the end.
Impatience of a Saint Markers
Available on: PS4,Xbox One, PC (not on Nexus, so it's on Bethesda's mod website)
Available on: PS4,Xbox One, PC (not on Nexus, so it's on Bethesda's mod website)
I was running around the hellish Soul Cairn in circles for a good hour trying to find all of the pages to Jiub’s opus, and this mod cut that time down to about ten minutes. Completely worth it.
Travelling around Skyrim
A Quality World map and Solstheim map
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Available on: Xbox One, PC
My god, I cannot emphasise enough how much better this mod made Skyrim. If you’re like me and you don’t like to fast-travel the vanilla map, whilst pretty, is almost useless when you’re trying to find a road which will take you from Riften to Solitude. This mod overhauls the map so it’s easy to find routes between cities and picks out most of the paths you could easily miss otherwise.
Diverse Dragons Collection
Available on: Xbox One, PC, and try Splendor: Dragon Variants on PS4
Available on: Xbox One, PC, and try Splendor: Dragon Variants on PS4
As soon as you unlock your dragonborn blood, appearances of these winged reptiles will start becoming as regular as rain. So why not spice up the sight of them appearing on the horizon with this mod, which introduces 28 news dragons, each with a different model and texture. As well as the typical frost and fire breath, some even have a drain vitality attack, and thanks to their unmistakable appearances you'll be able to tell which one is swooping towards you on the horizon. Gnarly.
Rain and Snow FX
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
A small addition but one that makes a bucketload of difference: makes you look wet in rain, and frost tints you body when you’re walking through a blizzard.
Note: The PC link leads to the 'Wet and Cold' mod, which has a very similar effect.
Note: The PC link leads to the 'Wet and Cold' mod, which has a very similar effect.
Better Horses
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Among other things, this equine mod has a new horse AI so your mount will flee combat, more stamina (so more galloping), invulnerability (especially useful for me as I tend to Leeroy Jenkins in every fight), plus they’re faster.
Note: The PC link leads to the Bethesda.net website, as the NexusMods file is no longer supported.
Note: The PC link leads to the Bethesda.net website, as the NexusMods file is no longer supported.
Open Cities Skyrim
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Available on: Xbox One, PC
This means that you don’t have to endure loading screens when you enter cities, which makes for a beautifully seamless transition between shooting deer in the wilds and selling your haul from raiding dungeons to merchants.
Castle Volkihar Redux
Available on:PS4, Xbox One, PC
Available on:PS4, Xbox One, PC
For those bloodsuckers amongst you this mod is sure to be a favourite, as it turns Castle Volkihar into a small town, finally making it feel like you’re really part of the night-walking, bat-loving elite.
Note: The PC link leads to the Bethesda.net website.
Note: The PC link leads to the Bethesda.net website.
Really Useful Dragons
Available on: PC
Available on: PC
Have you ever gotten bored of dragons? Although the diverse dragons mod makes the colossal beasts far more interesting, they’re still the same serpentine monsters you’ve been slaying since 2011. Cue really useful dragons, which changes all the dragons in Skyrim into Thomas the Tank Engine trains. You’re welcome.
Improving gameplay
Skyrim Special Edition Unofficial Patch
Available on:PS4, Xbox One, PC
Available on:PS4, Xbox One, PC
I’ll keep this brief: download it. It fixes a ton of bugs and is compatible with the vast majority of mods. Win-win.
The Choice is Yours
Available on:Xbox One, PC
Available on:Xbox One, PC
Have you ever been seriously annoyed about the fact that unfinished quests just sit in your journal forever? Well, thanks to The Choice is Yours, you can just straight up reject quests. Sorry, I’m the Dragonborn. I haven’t got time to fetch you a mammoth’s tusk.
Static Mesh Improvement
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Available on: Xbox One, PC
This mod adds vast, very visible improvements to the 3D models for most objects in Skyrim. It replaces the low-polygon meshes for most banal objects in the game, and trust me - you'll notice the difference. If you're still unconvinced, head over to their page on Bethesda or Nexus and see the screenshots for yourself.
Skyrim Graphic Overhaul
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Available on: Xbox One, PC
It’s simple: this mod makes Skyrim look a ton better. It adds textures to objects in-game such as more plants and grasses, fur looks like fur and not sheets of grey, as well as smoke. Expect in-game immersion to shoot up after installing this mod.
Note: The PC link leads to Osmodius' SSE Texture pack, which livens up the textures to the same degree as the mod on Bethesda's site.
Note: The PC link leads to Osmodius' SSE Texture pack, which livens up the textures to the same degree as the mod on Bethesda's site.
Alternate Start - Live Another Life
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Fed up with being the Dragonborn? I don’t blame you, and this mod lets you start as almost anything from a necromancer’s assistant to a shipwrecked sailor. For those of you who love to replay Skyrim, it lets you roleplay to your heart’s content.
Become a Bard
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Available on: Xbox One, PC
As if the title wasn’t self-explanatory enough, I’ll spell it out for you: this mod lets you become a proper bard, not just a travelling Dragonborn who occasionally helps out the Bard College in Solitude. You can pick your preferred instrument, decide which songbooks you want to specialise in, choose bard followers, and play songs anywhere including in taverns where you’ll earn tips for your musical endeavours. Become a Bard gives the Bard’s College a purpose, letting it stand tall alongside the Thieves’ Guild, the Companions and the College of Winterhold.
Dragon Souls to Perks
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Available on: Xbox One, PC
By the time you’ve sunken about 50 hours into Skyrim, you’ve probably got a heap of dragon souls sitting beside your Thu’ums, useless. If you don’t use shouts particularly often, this mod makes sure the souls don’t go to waste. They let you ‘buy’ perks, with the ones higher up the skill trees costing more souls to purchase. Get out there and slay some dragons!
Ordinator - Perks Of Skyrim
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Available on: Xbox One, PC
An almighty overhaul of Skyrim's perk tree, this adds 400 new perks, bulking out each basic skill to give a ton more options to spend your precious perk points on. From 'Fog of War' in the stealth tree to 'Flee Fool' in the two-handed tree, there's plenty of new abilities to master!
Left Hand Rings
Available on:Xbox One, PC
Available on:Xbox One, PC
Pretty simple, but somehow overlooked by Bethesda - after all, rings aren’t restricted to your right hand in real life, so why should they be in Skyrim?
Cloaks & Capes
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Available on: Xbox One, PC
If you want to look good while exploring Tamriel then these craftable Fur Cloaks and Linen Capes are particularly stylish - you can also get them emblazoned with hold insignia by obtaining them from the appropriate locations.
Sounds of Skyrim: Civilisation; Dungeons; The Wilds
Available on:PC
Available on:PC
The immersion will jump once you install this mod, as it means that dungeons, towns, and the countryside will sound different each time you venture out. That means no more hearing the same birdsong no matter where you are, no more repetitive dripping from Ancient Norse obelisks, or certainly a rediction in that dratted clanging sound of the blacksmith’s hammer in every city you go to.
Unread Books Glow
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Available on: Xbox One, PC
The completionist in me loves this mod. Make sure to make this one of the first mods you download though, as if you download it mid-game all the books you’ve read to that point will be marked as unread. The feeling of reading the last glowing book before you add it to your collection is so satisfying.
Newmiller’s Spell Books Retextures 2
Available on: PC
Available on: PC
To build on that last mod, you can actually download a texture pack that turns Skyrim’s ordinary spell books into leather-bound tomes that look as if they’d smell musty. These are arcane texts, after all — they’ve probably been around for hundreds of years!
Useful Alteration
Available on:Xbox One, PC
Available on:Xbox One, PC
This mod will change your life. Although Alteration is often seen as the ugly duckling of the arcane arts, installing Useful Alteration will provide the College of Winterhold’s Tolfdir with a whole new range of Alteration tomes. Described by the modder as “annoyance removal” spells, these are generally used to make playing Skyrim less mundane. “Solve” solves a nearby pillar puzzle immediately, while “Unlock” automatically unlocks a locked chest or door. Who knew that Alteration was the best magic school?
Fixing NPCs
Realistic Conversation Overhaul
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Ever been walking through one of Skyrim's cities when five citizens are suddenly simultaneously clamouring for your attention? Of course you have. The people roaming through Windhelm, Riften, and Falkreath just love to chat and this mod lets them do it to their heart's content. Just, to other NPCs - not you. This means strolling through a village is suddenly much more immersive with its inhabitants having a chat outside the Inn or as a break from harvesting wheat. Small change, but a big difference.
Immersive Citizens AI Overhaul
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
NPCs in Skyrim are interesting beings to say the least, as they’ll try to pick a fight with any dragons swooping around their village. This mod means that they won’t try to fight you (or any other overpowered creature) if you’re a higher level than them; instead they’ll run and hide in a hideout, which will be assigned randomly and could be a home, temple, Jarl’s stronghold, or anything similar.
Immersive Patrols
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
If the sight of golden skin of the Thalmor looming over the horizon, or the sound of the self-righteous Stormcloaks as they tramp by deafens you, this mod is what you're looking for. No longer do just the two civil war factions patrol round Skyrim: Immersive Patrols adds scheduled Dawnguard, caravan, and guard patrols to Skyrim and Reaver, Skaal, Redoran, and Riekling patrols to Solstheim, as well as making existing patrols regular. It also adds moderately-sized civil war fort battles so you can sink your axe, arrow, or destruction magic of choice into even more heads.
Seriously Overstocked And Rich Merchants
Available on:PS4, Xbox One, PC
Available on:PS4, Xbox One, PC
If you're a serious hoarder of trinkets and treasure from your quests, then one issue you may run into is merchants and/or fences running out of gold to buy your many wares. This mod helps solve that by giving them five times the regular amount of gold to trade with, as well as three times as much merchandise to sell to you. Cashback!
Note: The PC link leads to the Bethesda.net website.
Note: The PC link leads to the Bethesda.net website.
Run For Your Lives
Available on:PC
Available on:PC
NPCs in Skyrim are surprisingly ballsy. They’ll take on bandits and even dragons. That’s fun to watch, but it will sometimes result in quest-givers getting roasted a bit too badly, and expiring before your very eyes. This mod changes that, and makes NPCs run for cover when enemies approach, which saves you the trouble of running around trying to save the brave, valiant idiots.
Relationship Dialogue Overhaul
Available on: PC
Available on: PC
No more hearing about arrows in knees. NPCs get more dialogue options with this mod, and they even address you with over 50 different voice times. There’s nothing like the thousandth hearing of not-Schwarzenegger’s ‘Let me guess. Somebody stole your sweetroll?’ for breaking immersion.
The Paarthurnax Dilemma
Available on:Xbox One, PC
Available on:Xbox One, PC
I got quite irritated at the quest Delphine gives you to kill Paarthurnax, as there’s no option to quite simply say no. If you decline, the quest has to litter your journal for eternity. That’s all changed in this mod, so you can spare your scaly friend and let him fly free.
Combat: make things more deader
Phenderix: Magic Evolved
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
For those who love the sight of lightning crackling from their fingertips, you’re spoilt for choice with this mod as it adds over 400 new spells. There are new spell archetypes, including bombs, growth, and plus you can summon any creature in Skyrim! Montblanc serial number database.
Immersive Mods For Skyrim Special Edition Pc Free
Better Combat AI
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
With this mod NPCs fighting styles drastically change. Now they’ll try to block, bash, and stagger, as well as disengage from melee combat when they get too far away from ranged characters. Genius!
Note: the PC link leads to 'Combat Evolved' mod, which does a very similar thing.
Note: the PC link leads to 'Combat Evolved' mod, which does a very similar thing.
Enhanced Blood Textures
Available on: Xbox One, PC, and try Increase Blood Amount on PS4
It’s simple and the title says it all. Gore never looked better.
Available on: Xbox One, PC, and try Increase Blood Amount on PS4
It’s simple and the title says it all. Gore never looked better.
VioLens: A Killmove mod
Available on:PS4, Xbox One, PC
Available on:PS4, Xbox One, PC
I love seeing my character execute a badass kill-move to take down enemies, and this mod makes fighting a joy. Flourishes when you’re about to kill somewhen while dual-wielding, brutal finishers, executions for dragons - it really has it all.
Wounds
Available on: PC
Available on: PC
So you’ve been absolutely wrecked by a Draugr Deathlord, barely escaping with your life. However, all you have to do is down a health potion or two before you’re back to normal. With Wounds, you can actually pick up debilitating injuries that take days, weeks, or even months to heal properly. Smashed femur? That’s going to be an issue for two whole months.
Voice of Madness: A Wabbajack Shout
Available on: PS4
Available on: PS4
Unfortunately, this mod is only on PS4 at the moment. However, if you’re lucky enough to own a copy of Skyrim on PS4, and unlucky enough to have yet to experience the wonder of this mod, you should download it immediately. Everybody knows Sheogorath is the Daedric Prince of Madness, but what happens when you harness his chaotic energy and channel it into your Thu’um? Prepare to Wabbajack enemies into Oblivion and rain explosive cheese from darkened skies!
Cross and Jab
Available on: PC
Available on: PC
In some games, hand-to-hand combat is a joy. Just think of all the Fists of Fury quests in The Witcher 3! However, it’s pretty mundane in Skyrim. Cross and Jab changes that by adding in faster, more diverse punching animations, to the extent that you’ll likely start taking on dungeons as a bare-knuckle boxer just because of how satisfying it feels. It’s time to become Skyrim’s world heavyweight champion.
Bonus Companion
Dovahbit of Caerbannog
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Dovahbit is a rabbit who carries your stuff, comes with its own little saddlebags, and can wear helmets. You haven’t enjoyed Skyrim at its fullest until you’ve looked behind you and seen a small brown bunny wearing a horned helmet hopping after you.
Note: The PC link takes you to Bethesda's mod page where you can find the fluffy, loyal companion. Aww.
Note: The PC link takes you to Bethesda's mod page where you can find the fluffy, loyal companion. Aww.
Dwemer Dogs companions
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Available on: Xbox One, PC
Although the Dwemer ruins of Skyrim are mostly abandoned, this mod adds three Dwemer doggos to Salvius Farm. They won’t actually fight for you, but they’ll follow you around and bark, which is incredibly wholesome and makes Skyrim about fifty times more enjoyable. You can also conjure these dwarven doggos if you buy the spell tome from Farengar in Whiterun. It’s amazing.
Vilja
Available on:PC
Available on:PC
Vilja is a Nord alchemist that’s been helping players fulfil their destinies since way back in the days of Oblivion. Now she’s made her way to Skyrim to help the Dragonborn on their quest to prevent the apocalypse at the hands of Alduin, the World-Eater. However, perhaps the most interesting thing about Vilja is that Sir Terry Pratchett himself helped to develop her character. Now all we need is a full-blown Discworld mod!
Bear Musician
Available on: PC
Available on: PC
This mod can only be downloaded directly from Steam. It’s pretty self-explanatory - it allows you to travel with a lute-bearing bear minstrel. Bring it to the Bard’s College so that it can fulfil its wildest dreams.
Skyrim cheats | Best Skyrim companions | Skyrim armor | Skyrim perks | Skyrim enchanting guide | Skyrim alchemy guide | Skyrim hidden chest locations | Skyrim hidden quest locations | Skyrim Black Books guide | Skyrim Daedric Quest guide
$59.99
- ProsOffers dozens of hours of open-world adventuring. Includes previously released DLC. Boasts improved stability and subtle graphics improvements. Satisfying RPG development systems. Lore-heavy universe is immersive and fascinating.
- ConsToo much handholding. Skyrim Special Edition doesn't offer anything PC players didn't already have via the modding community. 64-bit support limits mod accessibility, crippling the greatest appeal for playing Skyrim on PC.
- Bottom LineSkyrim is still a rock-solid RPG that's worth purchasing if you missed vanilla Skyrim. That said, if you already own and mod the original game, Skyrim Special Edition has nothing fresh to offer.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a sprawling open-world RPG to be reckoned with, even five years after its initial release. The world is overwhelmingly massive, and is chock full of monsters to slay, quests to undertake, dungeons to raid, and beautiful vistas to take in. Skyrim Special Edition improves the visuals, and makes the jump to 64-bit architecture, resulting in a slightly prettier and more stable video game than the original release. Unfortunately, Bethesda, the game's developer, made zero changes to the gameplay, interface, or presentation, so the same wonky AI, wooden NPCs, and laughable animations also appear in this game. To complicate matters, the 64-bit jump means that many of the complex, script-heavy mods created for the original release don't work in Skyrim Special Edition, leaving PC players with essentially a prettier version of the base game. Make no mistake: Skyrim is a great game, but it is probably not worth buying a second time; at least not until the mod community catches up.
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Dragon Slaying
Best Mods For Skyrim Special Edition
You are Dragonborn, a person born with the soul and power of a mythical dragon. The destructive dragon Alduin has returned to the mortal realm with a host of dragons in tow, and the realm of Skyrim finds itself in grave danger. This is the canvas on which you draw your adventures. After the introduction, you are free to explore the realm, slay dragons, raid crypts and dungeons, or take on more malevolent roles, as you so choose. Regardless of your path, you'll be fighting, exploring, and interacting with NPCs during your travels. Not only is Skyrim dauntingly massive on its own, but this Special Edition also incorporates the previously released DLC, so the vampire-hunting Dawnguard, home-crafting Hearthfire, and ashen wastes of Dragonborn are part of the package.
Skyrim Special Edition's combat is fairly simplistic, but offers just enough meat to sink your teeth into. Each weapon type has light and heavy attacks that you use to chip away at your opponent's health. You can block attacks to deflect incoming damage, or parry an incoming attack to open your opponent and deal critical damage. Magic is equipped much like weapons, and you can cast an array of destructive spells to destroy foes. Particular magic types, such as illusion and restoration spells, are used to supplement your offensive skills. The character-building RPG mechanics are what give the simple combat its depth, and it is through leveling that I had the most fun in Skyrim's realm.
Like the original game, Skyrim Special Edition lets you build your character based on your own play style. If you make liberal use of archery, for example, you earn levels toward that field, which in turn nets you proficiency points. You then use these points to purchase more perks and enhancements for that skill. Once you level archery to 20, for example, you can unlock a perk that lets your arrows do critical damage to enemies that are unaware of your presence. Skyrim Special Edition offers 18 skill types to develop, including Lock Picking, Two-Handed Weaponry, and Destructive Sorcery. Not all skill types are offensive; Blacksmithing, Equipment Enchanting, and Alchemy are essentially support skills that are used to create useful equipment or items. Nonetheless, Skyrim Special Edition lets you develop your character very naturally and accommodates a wide variety of play styles, so it's easy to immerse yourself and build your character in whatever way you see fit.
As you explore, hunt, and murder your way across the game world, you come across NPCs and guilds offering work that befits a draconic warrior. The quality of these quests runs the gamut, from enjoyable to utterly tedious, depending on how you play your game. You will, of course, fetch random items, slaughter wildlife, and kill targets, which is standard fare in open-world RPGs. Most campaign and guild quests usher you towards the game's many dungeons to explore. As I thoroughly enjoy dungeon crawling, I have no qualms with this. Dungeons in Skyrim are labyrinthine, and are filled with loot to snatch up and pawn off, or dangerous boss monsters to strike down. Skyrim's quests are varied enough that you can easily find a few to enjoy as you play through the game.
Perhaps the oddest abilities at your disposal are Dragon Shouts, unique draconic spells that only dragons and the Dragonborn can use. You earn these by learning Words of Power hidden in shrines within dungeons. Once you acquire one, you must slay a dragon and absorb its soul to unlock the skill. Many Shouts are unique and interesting, but many are not very practical.
For example, Slow Time is a great Shout, as it slows down times for about fifteen seconds. You can even extend the duration of this effect with the right potions and perks, making it doubly useful. And Marked for Death is grossly overpowered, as it cripples your opponent's defense and damages them over time. On the other hand, I never utilized the animal-taming Shouts much, or the Shout that makes your enemies flee. The fire and ice-breathing Shouts are also seemingly useless compared to the others. Unlike spells, Shouts have their own unique cool down gauge, so you can use them to supplement your normal offensive skills.
Simulation Vs. Convenience
My previous experience with the Elder Scrolls series was with The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, a title that's part of the delightful Elder Scrolls Anthology. I appreciated Morrowind's rich and alien realm, and how the developers sought to make it every bit as immersive and sim-like as possible. I loved that I had to follow directions to find key NPCs and learn where I needed to go. Reading road signs and getting lost was part of the experience. I had to make use of caravan transport to fast-travel between regions, which gave me a logical, in-game explanation for how NPCs and my own character got around. On the flip side, virtually every action in Morrowind is heavily stat dependent, so it plays more like a tabletop RPG presented in a first-person perspective. Basic combat became a chore, and my own ignorance on the leveling system compounded this until I couldn't bear to play the game anymore.
Curiously, Skyrim feels like a step away from the, at times, overwhelming RPG aspects of Morrowind. You can fight effectively with any weapon you pick up, and statistical dice rolls no longer determine enemy evasion: In Skyrim, if you swing at a rat, you're going to hit the rat. NPCs don't give you detailed directions any more; instead, a black and white marker highlights exactly where you need to travel. You can fast-travel to any place you've been to, which trumps any other method of in-game travel.
It's clear that these changes were made so that Skyrim would be more accessible to general audiences, but at the same time it feels like the more immersive RPG-elements were thrown on the chopping block to do so. I love that Skyrim's combat is not nearly as stat-driven as Morrowind's combat, but the streamlined quest directions and bold arrow markers make me wish that the game did a little less handholding.
Cracks in the Façade
Bethesda has made no real changes to the base game aside from the new visual flourish. Water is much prettier than the shimmering pools of snot in the original Skyrim, for example. Occlusion is more noticeable, so rain and snow won't fall through overhangs. Z-fighting, the ugly texture flickering that often affected distant mountains and surfaces in the original game, is no longer an issue, either.
These are all nice improvements, but I would have liked to see more beyond visual tweaks. Menu scrolling is still a tedious chore, so a better user interface would have been welcome. Likewise, improved animations would have enhanced the Skyrim experience, since characters and combat look rudimentary at best, especially when you shift into third-person view.
The stupid AI, and wooden voice work, which might have been charming five years back, is highly irritating today. Why do NPCs with families and businesses, armed with little more than a table knife, opt to fight a dragon rather than flee to their home? This is especially awkward because cities have guards meant to protect citizens. Likewise, why do the guards that revere my Dragonborn status at one moment, patronize me the next? Mods may have addressed many of the issues of the base game, but considering Bethesda's long-standing relationship with the mod community, I thought the company would duplicate the improvements made by said community, rather than just offering the same game again with a new coat of paint.
On a related note, Skyrim Special Edition offers mod support, but there is one key issue that needs to be addressed. The game's move to a 64-bit architecture means that the more complex, script-heavy mods that became popular with the original title are trickier to develop this time around. In fact, Skyrim Script Editor, a crucial program for creating advanced mods, has not yet been updated to accommodate Skyrim Special Edition—and it may be a long time before it is. This limits the mods to simpler graphical enhancements, so the lack of the useful game-altering mods from the original Skyrim release might be a deal breaker for some. For example, the SkyUI mod radically improved Skyrim's default user interface by rearranging gear and items, adding new icons, and even adding a search function. But because SkyUI requires the use of Skyrim Script Editor, this mod is incompatible with Skyrim Special Edition at the moment.
Performance and Fidelity
Skyrim Special Edition ran quite well on my Nvidia GeForce GTX 970-powered rig, although I have read on PC gaming forums that users are experiencing crippling performance related to the in-game Vsync option. Perhaps I lucked out in this regard, but I've played Skyrim Special edition at 1080p resolution—using a combination of Ultra and High settings—and enjoyed 60 frames-per-second sessions, with the occasional drop to 40 frames per second. The only performance issue I've experienced is the occasional stutter, but this doesn't happen often enough for me to be concerned.
The game offers numerous adjustable graphics settings, including shadow quality and distance, god rays quality, ambient occlusion, and various depth of field sliders, so you can tweak the game to run as optimally as possible. Bethesda also improved the water effects, snow shaders, and particle effects to make Skyrim Special Edition's environments pop. The move to 64-bit architecture results in a more stable and snappier game overall. The game makes heavier use of bloom and anti-aliasing, though Bethesda went overboard with these features; the in-game textures are better than the original game's, but they look much too soft, as if the game is being displayed through a Vaseline filter.
As a Steam game, Skyrim Special Edition supports Steam Cloud Saves and Steam Achievements.
A Grand Adventure for Newcomers
Skyrim Special Edition is basically the original Skyrim with a fresh coat of paint. If you already own the first release game, there isn't much incentive to make the jump, because in all likelihood you have already modified the original game to run as well, or better, than this game. But if you skipped out on the DLC, or missed the boat entirely, Skyrim SE is a great RPG that is well worth picking up.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition (for PC)
Bottom Line: Skyrim is still a rock-solid RPG that's worth purchasing if you missed vanilla Skyrim. That said, if you already own and mod the original game, Skyrim Special Edition has nothing fresh to offer.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.blog comments powered by DisqusThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is as much a platform for mods as it is an open-world RPG about dumb dragons and dumber Vikings. Over the last seven years, an inconceivable number of them have been crafted, and while plenty have fallen by the wayside, others have become essential mainstays in anyone’s mod library.
With Skyrim Special Edition, things got a bit more complicated. Some old mods worked, some exploded, some sort of worked and then exploded – they were unpredictable. Now, though, things have calmed down. Most of the big mods have been ported over, and there are alternatives in those cases where they haven’t been. Regardless of which version you have, your biggest obstacle will be setting aside the time required to sift through them all. That’s where this list comes in.
Best Skyrim mods
Almost every mod here is available for both versions of Skyrim, with some exceptions where I’ve dug out something pretty similar. Check at the bottom of each entry for the Special Edition link. If you’ve got any suggestions, be sure to pop them in the comments. Since it’s a dense list, we’ve split it up into sections that you can search below.
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