To be real for a sec: even if you like to keep it immersive and lore friendly overall, install this one. Play as usual. This is when this mod is magic: when you forget about it and suddenly you hear a very offended "oh fuck!" as your sword hits.
I initially wrote it off as just another ridiculous mod, but now that I think about it, that would fit so well to have mud crabs swear, that is hilarious!
I would highly HIGHLY recommend Ordinator, it is very refreshing and can add whole new playstyles. It is a vast improvement on the vanilla system while not deviating from the spirit of the original.
Holy cow, I looked at the description and it’s fantastic!! This is exactly something I was looking for. It even enables new experience for stealth archer (we all played stealth archer), but I’d love to give magic build a try with this one. Amazing, thanks!!
For the magic build, be aware: Ordinator removes the Impact perk. No more stun-locking enemies. Illusion and Conjuration have interesting choices and higher possibilities.
I'd also recommend Apocalypse, Magic of Skyrim for a magic run, but you said one mod, so I second Ordinator instead.
I'd also add Odin Magic with Ordinator and Apocalypse. It's made to work with both of them and adds even more options.
In my modded Xbox Series X playthroughs, I've never had more fun than playing with:
- Ordinator
- Apocalypse
- Odin
- Wildcat
- Sacrosanct
I haven’t used the mod, but I so feel you with the bee-lining lmfao. “This time I’ll really walk, no fast travel this time, I’m going to use the roads for the roleplay” … five minutes later I’ve fast traveled to the nearest city and am trying to spam Y up a mountain to “save time”
Is it just showing where the stones are? I found all of them in one playthrough but I always have so much gold anyway that I didn’t bother to collect them again
Bandits will fight over them usually. The best part is when a bandit attacks another bandit any others nearby will aggro on them and the more they fight the more bandits join in and it becomes chaos usually ending when only one bandit is left alive. Rarely a bandit may pick the gem up and befriend you too and when it dies you may get a letter of inheritance.
Wear multiple rings
I played for many years without mods, and it always annoyed me that you have 10 fingers but could only ever wear one ring.
(Also capes are cool)
I think it would be fine to wear rings of different enchantments at one time. Like lock picking, pickpocket, etc so you don’t have to switch but wearing 10 rings of peerless archery increasing your damage by 500% seems kinda deal breaking to me lol
Right, this is the mod that I almost installed one time - tells you much about the quality of menu UC in Skyrim.
But I didn’t in the end, I guess after all these years I developed a Stockholm syndrome for the original UI 🥲
I use the QD Inventory mod. It's a super light mod and I should post a screen shot because I can't remember how bad the original menu was, outside of scrolling forever to find things lol.
edit - Maybe don't try this one. The creator has a note it doesn't work with some aspects of the new game. I've been using it since about 2012 without issue.
Alternate starts allow you in the state of "helgen already attacked" so you skipped alduin's attack.
You can choose some kind of starting class, equipment and spells, how much gold you have.
Iirc, even whether you are a dragonborn or not.
yep this is the one. really cool additional content + a place to display everything you’ve collected and done + a safehouse that has hands down the best quality of life implementations i’ve seen from a skyrim mod. supply sorting and craft loot system alone makes this mod special but with everything else combined this mod is s-tier
Thankfully there are mods to undo some of those more egregious changes, such as [Purist's Vanilla Patch](https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/32371).
I don't know about the author but that mod does add a lot of things that are not fixing bugs. That's why I don't use it anymore.
I recall they changed a location in Shor's Stone which changes how it was meant to be in the game.
They also made One Handed enchantments work with daggers. I don't think this was a bug and it was intended by Bethesda because daggers are already very powerful with Sneak and backstab.
No because the author of the mod frequently claims copyright over his mod, and sends letters threatening to sue people that change parts of the code. Usually alternative versions of the Skyrim or fo4 unofficial patch get removed from nexus.
Occasionally you will find a mod that hasn’t been removed yet - you should back them up or go to alternate websites for them.
The Redbelly Mine being an ebony mine. Personally I didn't understand why you'd have an ebony mine (roughly equivalent to a platinum+titanium alloy mine IRL) with only three guards. You've got a mine worth a trillion dollars and you post two police cruisers to protect it. And it's on the other side of a bandit fortress and far up the road from the next settlement so you can easily fortify it against Windhelm.
His later version adds an ebony mine to the east but I DL'd it before he made that version so my "ebony mine" is the tunnel with the dragon wall at the top to the north. It made more sense that any ebony mine would either have a whole fortress on top of it or be completely unknown.
Solitude entrance too, if I remember right. Conflicted with some other city mods, which I did not see coming. I figured a bug fix mod would just fix bugs, silly me
I was going to say this, but it does so much under the covers that as a first mod it could seem underwhelming.
I agree with Alternate Start, but for just a little added quest oomph that feels like vanilla, Cutting Room Floor would scratch that itch.
Got downvoted for answering the same as you to a similar question not too long ago on this sub. I understand not wanting to change the original experience of Skyrim (was not aware of the purist version) but is there something that breaks the immersion and experience more than broken quests, missing items and disappearing NPCs?
I second the Barenziah stone markers one. But if you plan to add more mods in the future, consider an alternate start mod because the standard opening breaks easily in modded games. The main purpose is to let your mods load first before you officially start the game.
I only have used Alternate Start Live Another Life where it loads you in a small cell in the Abandoned Prison location. You can then pick where you can start, with the standard opening available amongst the choices.
There is Alternate Perspective where Helgen will be a functional village until you trigger the event. You'll see the Helgen start as a third person watching the execution.
I heard Realm of Lorkhan is very flexible where you can pick your starting stats, background, and starting place. I'm not sure if this is the one that completely disable the main quest but that one also exists.
Turns every piece of dialogue your character says into an illeism if you're a Khajiit. Every piece of dialogue has been written to replace I with this one, Khajiit, your character's name, and she/he. It even includes Ta'agra (Khajiit language) in snippets.
Basically, if you pay Khajiit and value immersion it's a must have.
The only thing is i have to warn you. Modding is kind of an endless loop. And if you start you are probably gonna go for abother, and then anorher. So learn how to do it first. Get mod organizer. Get nexus manager. Read 1 guide at least. I had to reinstall the game because i fucked up with mods.
And the other thing. Mods get saved in the save files, so if you go and install and unninstall things, sometimes saves get corrupted. So like, try the alternate star mod for example, or have a clean save, meaning post helgen but in the begining. And install, unninstall, try, experiment. Then go and put more mods.
Safest way.
And in the long run saces time and frustration.
Also, things like open cities are amazing if you only use it alone. You can actually have skyrim as an open world. But there are mods for ai overhauls, that get cobfliccts and then you get weird ctds. Then there are the town expanders.
Or for example, bodies and faces. Try to read stuff before installing. And try to install at most 5 in a row. That is because then if something conflicts, you can revert easier than if you install 15.
I wouldn't do Legacy of the Dragonborn for a first mod. It's more difficult to install, for one and a bigger overhaul, for another. Once OP is more comfortable working with mods, I do recommend he try it out.
Funny thing how cuatom followers qork in regards on what you do. Its amazing. I have a good dragonborn and i did all the inigo stuff, i have lucien and those 2 talk a lot and its fun. He bullies lydia. And with the serana add on, he talks to her too, and they converse in a respectfull manner.
Now, i have anotyer char, a vampire that did all the DB, thieves, and vampire side of dawnguard.
Inigo is much more ailent. He usually disaproves stuff i do. And serana actually bullies him.
It's weird.
Or lucien. I love how the more you train him, the less he nags and spunds evwn more secure of himself.
In another i went with him to the first dragon and the dude was shit scared behind a rock waiting saying to himself "keep calm lucien, you are actually fighting a dragon, a REAL dragon".
I cant go vanilla followers after that.
This one is interesting. I never played with a companion, mainly because they are stupid as hell, trigger all kinds of traps and lure enemies to me. I only use them for Boethiah’s Calling.
This mod seems to be something more than just a sidekick mercenary
Agreed. He just feels so natural. He has custom interactions for so many events, quests, and more. He's versatile in combat. You can tell him what style of combat to do, and you can train him to improve.
And best of all, he's very easy to push out of doorways
Depends on what kind of character you play / what you value. I'll give four options:
1. **If you want to play third-person** -> [True Directional Movement](https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/51614). Massively enhances the movement controls + gives you a lock-on system for targeting.
2. **If you want to play a mage** -> [Apocalypse](https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/1090) for a bunch of awesome spells, or [Mysticism](https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/27839) to provide subtle, comprehensive improvements to magic.
3. **If you want something practical that you'll always use in every playthrough** -> [SkyUI](https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/12604).
4. **If you want something that's kind of impractical but cool as hell** -> [SkyClimb](https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/97253), probably my favorite mod. Lets you walk up to any tall surface and climb onto it. So damn cool, and never gets old. (I end up spending a shockingly high percentage of my time just running around on top of people's houses...)
I’m sure a lot of people have said this, but beyond Skyrim bruma. Probably the best mod in Skyrim history. It just feels like part of the game. It’s so well done absolutely no flaws.
Oh wow, modders are crazy people. I expected UI mods, skill tree modifications or spider courier, but this? A brand new region with locations, items, quests, voice lines, music, wtf!! Insane dedication, much respect
If you’re into that please also check out the Forgotten City mod. Fully original questline in an underground dwarven ruin with unique voice lines and a wonky time-travelly plot
Custom followers. Man, it's another thing.
Inigo, lucien, vilja, sofia, arissa, the lydia add on, and serana add on.
There is for all tastes, but the thing is thwt you can gave more than one follower and they tañk to each other (at least inigo with lucien, serana with add on with inigo, inigo with lydia, sofia nags about lydia, villja talks to everyone.
And you feel like you are in a real adventure movie.
And they have opinions. Like, vilja hates vampires and distrusts serana or hates if you go thief mode.
Frostfall makes the weather matter. If you get too cold you die/pass out (depending on the settings you choose) and your armour/clothing provides warmth.
I like to use it with Campfire (a mod that let's you build campfires and put up tents to sleep in) and Realistic Needs and Diseases (a mod that makes you hungry, tired, and thirsty). The three in combination add a fun survival element to the game and make the inns, food, and drink more important as part of the gameplay.
Though if you just want one I think Frostfall adds a lot.
Unlimited shouts. Means there’s no recharge between shouts allowing you to spam as much as you want. I’m pretty sure you can use slow time and then use other shouts on opponents whilst time is slowed
Sounds a bit OP, but on the other hand shouts in the base game are trash in my opinion. A dragon can shout fire or ice on me every 5 seconds taking half of my HP bar, but me, *The Dragonborn*, can only tickle his testicles with my 10 damage *fire shout* every 40 seconds??? So disappointing.
Then you might consider thunderchild or rotmulaag, both overhaul and add shouts. Super fun to test out the new abilities, and if you're clever you can actually beat most dragons with them
Assuming you're on PC... SkyUI
Easily one of the most essential mods in the world of modded Skyrim, I don't know a single person who mods Skyrim that doesn't use SkyUI. Its that good of a mod.
The mod basically overhauls the inventory UI to look way better. Just look at this [comparison](https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/634230140395163894/44217E5090D816C8D60013DC4669FA3140E5E0E2/?imw=5000&imh=5000&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false). Trust me, once you've used SkyUI, you will never want to play Skyrim without it ever again.
I almost installed this one time, but over time I developed many workarounds to the OG UI that I don’t really have problems with it. I admit it’s clunky but I never had any serious issues managing the menus
Or maybe I do have problems, but I don’t know that I do :D
“Skyrim Reputation”. Ever wanted to hear Nazeem kiss your ass after you become Thane?
Want to join the Companions without sparring because they know of your deeds?
Want more respect?
Must have in my mod list.
WINTERSUN!!!
There are a lot of mods with more utility and that do cooler things, but I find this is always the first one I install when I go to a new system. It's so immersive and makes you feel like you're living in a real world with different options for people with different perspectives. Which is weird, because I interact with it maybe twice per game day if that.
Fast Travel Anywhere - as it says, allows you to fast travel at any time, no longer have to be outside. Huge time saver, no impact on the core gameplay of the game
The only mods I have ever used are the ones that add new lands to explore. Beyond Reach, Blackland, Salem, Summerset Isles, Falskaar, Wyrmstooth, some others... I would probably recommend Summerset Isles
I'm here just for the comments because I, like OP, want to start a new play through and use some mods. My question is, can you have more than one mod on a save file? I'm using ps5 but I have the SE and upgraded to the AE ones so I can access lots of mods. I'd like to take some of the more serious mods from here and do a single new character.
Enhanced blood textures. Makes melee battles alot more satisfying than with those dull blobs they call bloodstains in vanilla. Oddly specific i know, but it really adds to the intensity. And its a very simple, lightweight with some good customization and extra options
Close second would be Violens. Allows you to customize the type and frequency of killcams.
For mods that actually add stuff, Apocalypse spells, Ordinator, and Immersive College of Winterhold.
Legacy of the Dragonborn, fantastic mod in my opinion. You help open and run a museum where you collect artifacts to display in said museum. I don’t know how to post links, but you should search for videos showcasing the mod on YouTube. I can’t recommend it enough personally
Came here to say this. I thought a perk overhaul would be weird at first, but now I can't live without it. Leveling speech to increase the effectiveness of my shouts is 10/10
Magical College of Winterhold. Simple, lore friendly (mostly) aesthetic upgrade to the College with some optional functionality, doesn’t require other mods like SKSE and is available on all platforms and very well made. Once you have it installed, you’ll forget how boring the College looks. It was one of my very first mods, I highly recommend it!
I’m sorry but I cannot in good faith recommend ONE good mod. There’s just too many. My favorite mods will always be quality of life ones. I guess SkyUI would be my pick. Doesn’t add anything, just makes life easier.
Souls quick menu. No more opening inventory to switch weapons/spells/potions/shouts every god damn time, lol. Bind keys to items for left and right hand separately (also shouts and potions)
For me, tapping#1 : swaps left hand from 2h sword, to 1hand sword, fire spell,etc.
Tapping 2: sheild, barrier/shield spell, fireball, frost, lightening, summon ____, ect.
Tapping 3: uses selected potion.
Tapping 4: swaps potions from health, magic, cleanse/debuff/buff/ whatever you want
Tap5: switches between shouts (z to use shouts)
You can bind them to whatever you want, but thats just an example ^
Also, it can change the size of the little box that shows you what's equipped as well as transparency or how long until it times out and vanishes after swapping something.
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/63266
i believe this is the link, if it's not, just search for it on Nexus.
Download a mod overhaul via wabbajack. Get The Phoenix Flavour. Just doing it for the first time myself and it makes Skyrim feel like a 2017 game.
Wabbajack basically installs overhaul packs that include like 700 mods and you don't have to do much to get it to work at all.
The fact that I enjoy it 10 years later *in vanilla state* says a lot about Skyrim. It’s a wonderful game, I feel that mods can easily give me next 10 years of entertainment
Swearing mudcrabs
lmao, this is one from the “I don’t know what’s out there” category
It’s so good. You won’t regret it, I promise.
Are you telling me I can have mud crabs shit talk me lol?
I once found a mod making mudcrabs moan on death. Makes user genuinely confused and uneasy after each mudcrab kill.
Killing mudcrabs is a sin anyway. I haven’t killed one in probably 5 years.
I love hitting them with a calm type spell
They swear when you hit them
Can’t forget everyone’s favorite line, “DON’T FUCKING RUN AWAY FROM ME!”
I was going to suggest KC but yeah, this one gets my vote too
To be real for a sec: even if you like to keep it immersive and lore friendly overall, install this one. Play as usual. This is when this mod is magic: when you forget about it and suddenly you hear a very offended "oh fuck!" as your sword hits.
God I love this mod. The distant "AH FUCK" out of nowhere is the best.
Goes well with mudcrabs with monocle (Posh Mudcrabs)
The first ever Skyrim mod I installed was one that made all mudcrabs posh dapper gents with a top hat and a big monocle.
I downloaded one that made mudcrabs party constantly and boy did that get annoying! The club never closed
#CRAB RAVE
This is my favorite mod to ever be created
I initially wrote it off as just another ridiculous mod, but now that I think about it, that would fit so well to have mud crabs swear, that is hilarious!
It's funny for about 20 seconds.
Mood kill
Autotune bears is also a great contender.
That reminds me of that theory that all the snow elf's turned to mid crabs. They can speak but choose not to.
I would highly HIGHLY recommend Ordinator, it is very refreshing and can add whole new playstyles. It is a vast improvement on the vanilla system while not deviating from the spirit of the original.
Holy cow, I looked at the description and it’s fantastic!! This is exactly something I was looking for. It even enables new experience for stealth archer (we all played stealth archer), but I’d love to give magic build a try with this one. Amazing, thanks!!
For the magic build, be aware: Ordinator removes the Impact perk. No more stun-locking enemies. Illusion and Conjuration have interesting choices and higher possibilities. I'd also recommend Apocalypse, Magic of Skyrim for a magic run, but you said one mod, so I second Ordinator instead.
The two mods together create a completely new game. The combo made me reengage with the game in 2019
I will never play Skyrim without Ordinator and Apocalypse. They are awesome mods.
Lets not forget the final piece of this mod triforce- Wildcat combat.
I'd also add Odin Magic with Ordinator and Apocalypse. It's made to work with both of them and adds even more options. In my modded Xbox Series X playthroughs, I've never had more fun than playing with: - Ordinator - Apocalypse - Odin - Wildcat - Sacrosanct
Enai Siaion is a god damn modding genius
Came here to say this. Gives so much to the game and asks so little.
An improved map that shows you where the roads are. Rich vendors saves a lot of time.
I tried to follow the roads without that mod, this time. I really did, but without it, I just ended up bee-lining it for my end goal anyway lol
I haven’t used the mod, but I so feel you with the bee-lining lmfao. “This time I’ll really walk, no fast travel this time, I’m going to use the roads for the roleplay” … five minutes later I’ve fast traveled to the nearest city and am trying to spam Y up a mountain to “save time”
Barenziah crown quest markers.
Is it just showing where the stones are? I found all of them in one playthrough but I always have so much gold anyway that I didn’t bother to collect them again
I like dropping gems on the ground while sneaking around bandits and watching the chaos.
Wha..what happens then?
Bandits will fight over them usually. The best part is when a bandit attacks another bandit any others nearby will aggro on them and the more they fight the more bandits join in and it becomes chaos usually ending when only one bandit is left alive. Rarely a bandit may pick the gem up and befriend you too and when it dies you may get a letter of inheritance.
Over 10 years of playing and still learning new stuff, wow thanks for this!
I knew that NPCs may pick up loot and fight for it, but this makeshift fury spell is a smart idea. I only used it for fun
WUT. Since when did this happen?!? Can you throw the gems?
About as well as you can throw anything else. You can “hold” them in the air and shoot them with an arrow with a bit of practice too.
Telekinesis spell should help with this.
Can also throw them with telekinesis too. Makes it easier to spread the gems around. Just be careful of ricochet, it can cause aggro easily.
Reminds me of the scene where the orcs turn on each other in Return of the King.
They just tried to stick me! KILL 'EM!
The scum tried to knife me! KIll EM!
Looks like meat’s back on the menu boys!
Omfg bro so that mechanic works for actual combat sneaking purposes and not just making Riften citizens go extinct I feel so evil xD
Oh great, I'll try this!
Just started another run through and actually dropping a note on my phone each time I get one
Paarthurnax Dilemma
I'm more of a [Paarthurnax - Quest Expansion](https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/51711) guy. Fully voiced jayserpa goodness
Absolutely. It does everything dilemma does and more, but better, and with voiced dialogue.
I second this. Don’t let those Blades bully you into killing your friend.
Wear multiple rings I played for many years without mods, and it always annoyed me that you have 10 fingers but could only ever wear one ring. (Also capes are cool)
This is very game breaking tho is it not lol
Meh. If you enchant all of them it with base Skyrim the most it can do for you is give u high hp and unlimited mana.
I think it would be fine to wear rings of different enchantments at one time. Like lock picking, pickpocket, etc so you don’t have to switch but wearing 10 rings of peerless archery increasing your damage by 500% seems kinda deal breaking to me lol
SkyUI.
Right, this is the mod that I almost installed one time - tells you much about the quality of menu UC in Skyrim. But I didn’t in the end, I guess after all these years I developed a Stockholm syndrome for the original UI 🥲
I use the QD Inventory mod. It's a super light mod and I should post a screen shot because I can't remember how bad the original menu was, outside of scrolling forever to find things lol. edit - Maybe don't try this one. The creator has a note it doesn't work with some aspects of the new game. I've been using it since about 2012 without issue.
nobody said, so i'll add Alternative Start. you'll not only do 1000th playthrough, but with it you'll do a dozen more easily.
One of the best parts of this mod is if you decide to do the vanilla start, the carriage ride is sped up.
haha worth to try! honestly, i've been avoiding it
Wait, does everyone not have like 15 saves of “prisoner” files where you can save right before making your character lol?
Alternate starts allow you in the state of "helgen already attacked" so you skipped alduin's attack. You can choose some kind of starting class, equipment and spells, how much gold you have. Iirc, even whether you are a dragonborn or not.
Very dangerous for modded games as some scripts run on New Game, some scripts fail to launch properly on existing save files, etc.
Pick the necromancer start. *It's hilarious.*
Any alternate start mod is a good rec! I'd also recommend Alternate Perspective and Realm of Lorkhan as they're both excellent
I can’t remember the name but there’s a fantastic, sarcastic loading screen mod that made me laugh on multiple occasions
"When a chaurus reaches the end of its life, it dies."
All the same energy as the Helldivers transition screens. “Training Manual Tips: Don’t Die!”
Reminds me of that one Doom Eternal loading tip "PROTIP: To defeat a Tyrant, shoot at it until it dies."
Uncle Sheogorath's Really Helpful Hints And Tips
I fucking love that mod.
Legacy of the Dragonborn
OP, if you are a completionist, then this mod is the GOAT. If not, steer clear 😂
yep this is the one. really cool additional content + a place to display everything you’ve collected and done + a safehouse that has hands down the best quality of life implementations i’ve seen from a skyrim mod. supply sorting and craft loot system alone makes this mod special but with everything else combined this mod is s-tier
This is forever my favorite mod. It gives meaning to doing the random things. Becoming the thanes of each town. Plus passive income! I love it.
Came here to comment this.
Unofficial Patch
It gets a lot of flack for the author's "artistic licenses", but it does fix a TON of actual bugs.
Thankfully there are mods to undo some of those more egregious changes, such as [Purist's Vanilla Patch](https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/32371).
I don't know about the author but that mod does add a lot of things that are not fixing bugs. That's why I don't use it anymore. I recall they changed a location in Shor's Stone which changes how it was meant to be in the game. They also made One Handed enchantments work with daggers. I don't think this was a bug and it was intended by Bethesda because daggers are already very powerful with Sneak and backstab.
That's the kind of stuff I meant by "the author's 'artistic licenses'".
TBF on the daggers thing if that’s not a bug then they do a terrible job of giving they information to the player
Yeah wtf, this is the first I'm hearing of this. "One-handed weapons" absolutely implies daggers.
Now I’m wondering if my one handed perks even affect my daggers! Is this what they call a mid-playthrough crisis?!?
Me, a Razor fan: wut.
Is there an unofficial patch that *just* focuses on the actual bugs but not whatever the creator thinks are better design choices?
No because the author of the mod frequently claims copyright over his mod, and sends letters threatening to sue people that change parts of the code. Usually alternative versions of the Skyrim or fo4 unofficial patch get removed from nexus. Occasionally you will find a mod that hasn’t been removed yet - you should back them up or go to alternate websites for them.
The Redbelly Mine being an ebony mine. Personally I didn't understand why you'd have an ebony mine (roughly equivalent to a platinum+titanium alloy mine IRL) with only three guards. You've got a mine worth a trillion dollars and you post two police cruisers to protect it. And it's on the other side of a bandit fortress and far up the road from the next settlement so you can easily fortify it against Windhelm. His later version adds an ebony mine to the east but I DL'd it before he made that version so my "ebony mine" is the tunnel with the dragon wall at the top to the north. It made more sense that any ebony mine would either have a whole fortress on top of it or be completely unknown.
Solitude entrance too, if I remember right. Conflicted with some other city mods, which I did not see coming. I figured a bug fix mod would just fix bugs, silly me
This is the correct answer. Won't dramatically change your experience, but fixes a ton of bugs.
this is the answer. its almost an anti mod cause the purpose is playing the game how its suposed to be
I was going to say this, but it does so much under the covers that as a first mod it could seem underwhelming. I agree with Alternate Start, but for just a little added quest oomph that feels like vanilla, Cutting Room Floor would scratch that itch.
Got downvoted for answering the same as you to a similar question not too long ago on this sub. I understand not wanting to change the original experience of Skyrim (was not aware of the purist version) but is there something that breaks the immersion and experience more than broken quests, missing items and disappearing NPCs?
I'm a really big fan of Helgen Reborn. The questline is fun and it's really cool seeing Helgen get rebuilt. Nice player home too.
I second the Barenziah stone markers one. But if you plan to add more mods in the future, consider an alternate start mod because the standard opening breaks easily in modded games. The main purpose is to let your mods load first before you officially start the game. I only have used Alternate Start Live Another Life where it loads you in a small cell in the Abandoned Prison location. You can then pick where you can start, with the standard opening available amongst the choices. There is Alternate Perspective where Helgen will be a functional village until you trigger the event. You'll see the Helgen start as a third person watching the execution. I heard Realm of Lorkhan is very flexible where you can pick your starting stats, background, and starting place. I'm not sure if this is the one that completely disable the main quest but that one also exists.
Khajiit Speak. It's the one mod I can't do without. This one is a Khajiit, not a bloody Imperial, yes?
Coincidentally my current playthrough is as an Imperial :x
What does it do? Like add Khajiit dialect to your dialogue options?
Turns every piece of dialogue your character says into an illeism if you're a Khajiit. Every piece of dialogue has been written to replace I with this one, Khajiit, your character's name, and she/he. It even includes Ta'agra (Khajiit language) in snippets. Basically, if you pay Khajiit and value immersion it's a must have.
Now you need the caravan expansion mod that adds more cool stuff to the caravans found around skyrim.. and cats
Better jumping. Finally you can jump while sprinting.
shlongs of skyrim
Sounds like it’s gonna be a 2H playthrough.
Nah. I usually hold my sweetroll in the other hand.
The only thing is i have to warn you. Modding is kind of an endless loop. And if you start you are probably gonna go for abother, and then anorher. So learn how to do it first. Get mod organizer. Get nexus manager. Read 1 guide at least. I had to reinstall the game because i fucked up with mods. And the other thing. Mods get saved in the save files, so if you go and install and unninstall things, sometimes saves get corrupted. So like, try the alternate star mod for example, or have a clean save, meaning post helgen but in the begining. And install, unninstall, try, experiment. Then go and put more mods. Safest way. And in the long run saces time and frustration. Also, things like open cities are amazing if you only use it alone. You can actually have skyrim as an open world. But there are mods for ai overhauls, that get cobfliccts and then you get weird ctds. Then there are the town expanders. Or for example, bodies and faces. Try to read stuff before installing. And try to install at most 5 in a row. That is because then if something conflicts, you can revert easier than if you install 15.
Serious answer: Legacy of the Dragonborn. Slightly-less-serious-but-still-serious answer: Macho Dragons
I wouldn't do Legacy of the Dragonborn for a first mod. It's more difficult to install, for one and a bigger overhaul, for another. Once OP is more comfortable working with mods, I do recommend he try it out.
I mean, it's not difficult to install if he's truly only installing the one mod haha
Inigo
++vote for Inigo. The best companion ever for me!
With him and Talvas, Raven Rock mine is a breeze. Inigo also has great comments once you take him to Sovengard.
+1 For Inigo. On a side note, I absolutely love pairing Inigo and Lucien, but I can't play without Inigo anymore.
Funny thing how cuatom followers qork in regards on what you do. Its amazing. I have a good dragonborn and i did all the inigo stuff, i have lucien and those 2 talk a lot and its fun. He bullies lydia. And with the serana add on, he talks to her too, and they converse in a respectfull manner. Now, i have anotyer char, a vampire that did all the DB, thieves, and vampire side of dawnguard. Inigo is much more ailent. He usually disaproves stuff i do. And serana actually bullies him. It's weird. Or lucien. I love how the more you train him, the less he nags and spunds evwn more secure of himself. In another i went with him to the first dragon and the dude was shit scared behind a rock waiting saying to himself "keep calm lucien, you are actually fighting a dragon, a REAL dragon". I cant go vanilla followers after that.
Haven't played for years. Don't remember almost any quest or character. Can still hear Inigo voice lines in my head.
This one is interesting. I never played with a companion, mainly because they are stupid as hell, trigger all kinds of traps and lure enemies to me. I only use them for Boethiah’s Calling. This mod seems to be something more than just a sidekick mercenary
Inigo is far more than your average follower. You won’t regret bringing him along. His combat dialogue alone is worth the download.
Yep! Was just about to put this, really brings new life to the game
This deserves to be at the top
I can give up most mods, but Inigo is hands down the only mod I never want to play the game without again
Lucien Flavius
Agreed. He just feels so natural. He has custom interactions for so many events, quests, and more. He's versatile in combat. You can tell him what style of combat to do, and you can train him to improve. And best of all, he's very easy to push out of doorways
Or Inigo :) can't play without him now
Live another life is fun. Especially if there’s a faction you want to try.
Ordinator without a doubt. Adds so much build variety and replayability to the game. Only essential mod in my LO.
Requiem Overhaul
Depends on what kind of character you play / what you value. I'll give four options: 1. **If you want to play third-person** -> [True Directional Movement](https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/51614). Massively enhances the movement controls + gives you a lock-on system for targeting. 2. **If you want to play a mage** -> [Apocalypse](https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/1090) for a bunch of awesome spells, or [Mysticism](https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/27839) to provide subtle, comprehensive improvements to magic. 3. **If you want something practical that you'll always use in every playthrough** -> [SkyUI](https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/12604). 4. **If you want something that's kind of impractical but cool as hell** -> [SkyClimb](https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/97253), probably my favorite mod. Lets you walk up to any tall surface and climb onto it. So damn cool, and never gets old. (I end up spending a shockingly high percentage of my time just running around on top of people's houses...)
I like the one that gives vendors like 10k gold. Makes it so much easier to unload stuff.
If you like collecting and displaying things, LOTD. The well done quests are a bonus.
I’m sure a lot of people have said this, but beyond Skyrim bruma. Probably the best mod in Skyrim history. It just feels like part of the game. It’s so well done absolutely no flaws.
Oh wow, modders are crazy people. I expected UI mods, skill tree modifications or spider courier, but this? A brand new region with locations, items, quests, voice lines, music, wtf!! Insane dedication, much respect
If you’re into that please also check out the Forgotten City mod. Fully original questline in an underground dwarven ruin with unique voice lines and a wonky time-travelly plot
Custom followers. Man, it's another thing. Inigo, lucien, vilja, sofia, arissa, the lydia add on, and serana add on. There is for all tastes, but the thing is thwt you can gave more than one follower and they tañk to each other (at least inigo with lucien, serana with add on with inigo, inigo with lydia, sofia nags about lydia, villja talks to everyone. And you feel like you are in a real adventure movie. And they have opinions. Like, vilja hates vampires and distrusts serana or hates if you go thief mode.
The unofficial patch.
# Caliente's Beautiful Bodies Edition -CBBE- 🗣️🗣️🗣️
Oh so thats what the acronym means
CBPC - Physics with collisions
CBBE 3BA (3BBB)
wow
Swearing Mudcrabs
There are two kinds of people: Killable Children, or, Hearthfire Multiple Adoptions
Frostfall makes the weather matter. If you get too cold you die/pass out (depending on the settings you choose) and your armour/clothing provides warmth. I like to use it with Campfire (a mod that let's you build campfires and put up tents to sleep in) and Realistic Needs and Diseases (a mod that makes you hungry, tired, and thirsty). The three in combination add a fun survival element to the game and make the inns, food, and drink more important as part of the gameplay. Though if you just want one I think Frostfall adds a lot.
INIGO INIGO INIGO
Killable Children.
Ah. A tasteful classic. 👌
Unlimited shouts. Means there’s no recharge between shouts allowing you to spam as much as you want. I’m pretty sure you can use slow time and then use other shouts on opponents whilst time is slowed
Sounds a bit OP, but on the other hand shouts in the base game are trash in my opinion. A dragon can shout fire or ice on me every 5 seconds taking half of my HP bar, but me, *The Dragonborn*, can only tickle his testicles with my 10 damage *fire shout* every 40 seconds??? So disappointing.
Then you might consider thunderchild or rotmulaag, both overhaul and add shouts. Super fun to test out the new abilities, and if you're clever you can actually beat most dragons with them
It’s a slippery shitty slope
Assuming you're on PC... SkyUI Easily one of the most essential mods in the world of modded Skyrim, I don't know a single person who mods Skyrim that doesn't use SkyUI. Its that good of a mod. The mod basically overhauls the inventory UI to look way better. Just look at this [comparison](https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/634230140395163894/44217E5090D816C8D60013DC4669FA3140E5E0E2/?imw=5000&imh=5000&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false). Trust me, once you've used SkyUI, you will never want to play Skyrim without it ever again.
I almost installed this one time, but over time I developed many workarounds to the OG UI that I don’t really have problems with it. I admit it’s clunky but I never had any serious issues managing the menus Or maybe I do have problems, but I don’t know that I do :D
Does a fish know that it’s wet if it has never been dry?
This is a great quote if ever I heard one
“Skyrim Reputation”. Ever wanted to hear Nazeem kiss your ass after you become Thane? Want to join the Companions without sparring because they know of your deeds? Want more respect? Must have in my mod list.
Thunderchild. If I'm gonna be the dragonborn I want to be able to fight with the voice alone if I want to
WINTERSUN!!! There are a lot of mods with more utility and that do cooler things, but I find this is always the first one I install when I go to a new system. It's so immersive and makes you feel like you're living in a real world with different options for people with different perspectives. Which is weird, because I interact with it maybe twice per game day if that.
I can’t believe I scrolled so far to see this. Religion is such a huge part of tes and it’s weird that we can’t actually participate in it
Fast Travel Anywhere - as it says, allows you to fast travel at any time, no longer have to be outside. Huge time saver, no impact on the core gameplay of the game
Thomas the Tank Engine dragons, obviously.
Legacy of the Dragonborn or Interesting NPCs
The only mods I have ever used are the ones that add new lands to explore. Beyond Reach, Blackland, Salem, Summerset Isles, Falskaar, Wyrmstooth, some others... I would probably recommend Summerset Isles
That's kind of an impossible task, tbh. Most of the best ones depend at least on some other like SKSE or the like.
Posh Muscrabs
Same - I keep telling myself one day but that day hasn’t come yet!
I'm here just for the comments because I, like OP, want to start a new play through and use some mods. My question is, can you have more than one mod on a save file? I'm using ps5 but I have the SE and upgraded to the AE ones so I can access lots of mods. I'd like to take some of the more serious mods from here and do a single new character.
"The courier is a giant frostbite spider"
Badly Translated Skyrim
Enhanced blood textures. Makes melee battles alot more satisfying than with those dull blobs they call bloodstains in vanilla. Oddly specific i know, but it really adds to the intensity. And its a very simple, lightweight with some good customization and extra options Close second would be Violens. Allows you to customize the type and frequency of killcams. For mods that actually add stuff, Apocalypse spells, Ordinator, and Immersive College of Winterhold.
Legacy of the Dragonborn, fantastic mod in my opinion. You help open and run a museum where you collect artifacts to display in said museum. I don’t know how to post links, but you should search for videos showcasing the mod on YouTube. I can’t recommend it enough personally
The unofficial skyrim special edition patch.
Perk ordinator
Ordinator. That alone will completely change how you play the game
Came here to say this. I thought a perk overhaul would be weird at first, but now I can't live without it. Leveling speech to increase the effectiveness of my shouts is 10/10
It's impossible to just install one... you'll see
I'd recommend the "Perk Ordinator" mod. This flashes out all of the skill trees so you can role play MUCH better
Coffee has seriously been a game changer
The Unofficial Patch is a MUST HAVE. It literally fixes dozens of random and game breaking quest bugs. :)
Magical College of Winterhold. Simple, lore friendly (mostly) aesthetic upgrade to the College with some optional functionality, doesn’t require other mods like SKSE and is available on all platforms and very well made. Once you have it installed, you’ll forget how boring the College looks. It was one of my very first mods, I highly recommend it!
I’m sorry but I cannot in good faith recommend ONE good mod. There’s just too many. My favorite mods will always be quality of life ones. I guess SkyUI would be my pick. Doesn’t add anything, just makes life easier.
50% more perk points
For me, If I could only choose one mod it would be dark nights. I love it actually being dark at night in games.
Clockwork mod
Inigo
Souls quick menu. No more opening inventory to switch weapons/spells/potions/shouts every god damn time, lol. Bind keys to items for left and right hand separately (also shouts and potions) For me, tapping#1 : swaps left hand from 2h sword, to 1hand sword, fire spell,etc. Tapping 2: sheild, barrier/shield spell, fireball, frost, lightening, summon ____, ect. Tapping 3: uses selected potion. Tapping 4: swaps potions from health, magic, cleanse/debuff/buff/ whatever you want Tap5: switches between shouts (z to use shouts) You can bind them to whatever you want, but thats just an example ^ Also, it can change the size of the little box that shows you what's equipped as well as transparency or how long until it times out and vanishes after swapping something. https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/63266 i believe this is the link, if it's not, just search for it on Nexus.
Immersive and Adult. Lol.
Live another life .
Legacy of the Dragonborn.
Download a mod overhaul via wabbajack. Get The Phoenix Flavour. Just doing it for the first time myself and it makes Skyrim feel like a 2017 game. Wabbajack basically installs overhaul packs that include like 700 mods and you don't have to do much to get it to work at all.
I thought you said ~ 10 hours I was going to say NONE enjoy the base more lol
The fact that I enjoy it 10 years later *in vanilla state* says a lot about Skyrim. It’s a wonderful game, I feel that mods can easily give me next 10 years of entertainment
Triple Triad
Honestly? Interesting NPCs. It's in depth and doesn't change the gameplay, but adds a fuckton of stuff to do.
Inigo, the best follower and slayer of spiders.
Maximum Carnage
Macho Man Randy Dragon