Tabular array Of Contents

Modding Nuts
Why Mod Skyrim?
Modding Terms
Where To Become Mods
Installing Mods
Console PC
Managing Mods Mod Managers
ENBs
Troubleshooting
Modding The Anniversary Edition
Mod Troubleshooting
Useful Modding Tools
The Best Skyrim Mods
Essential Gameplay Graphics Content

Bethesda games are known for many things: groovy open-worlds, accessible design, and a plethora of bugs. Always since the Special Edition of Skyrim was released, ane more addition tin be added to that list: modding.

PC players have modded Bethesda games e'er since Morrowind was released dorsum in 2002, but now console players can experience that same degree of freedom. User-created modifications, usually chosen mods, can radically change a game to suit your preferences. With how many mods be for Skyrim, learning how to mod tin can plow Skyrim into a whole new game. Whether you play on a console or PC, this guide will cover near of the basics. This guide will not cover Creation Club addons.

Updated Dec 25, 2021, by Charles Burgar: The Anniversary Edition has introduced even more than content into Skyrim with the Creation Lodge. Those that own the Anniversary Edition tin enjoy dozens of new creations, some of which are new questlines. This too marks the perfect opportunity to become into modding for your starting time or hundredth fourth dimension, altering the game to include new content or fixing critical bugs. Nosotros've updated this article with better formatting and added a dedicated section that highlights some of our favorite mods y'all'll find on Bethesda.internet and the Nexus.

MODDING BASICS

Why Mod Skyrim?

Skyrim Visual Mods

User-created mods are much more than armor packs or silly texture replacements. Some mods fix disquisitional bugs that Bethesda never had the chance to patch, while others add every bit much content equally an official DLC. If at that place's something most Skyrim you want to change, there's commonly a modern for that.

Does magic not feel exciting enough? Install a spell pack. Do you desire to roleplay every bit a non-Dragonborn character? In that location are mods bachelor just for that. Do yous want to supervene upon every dragon with Thomas the Tank Engine trains? Well, a mod exists for that too. Mods allow yous to bend and pause Skyrim in any way you meet fit.

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Modding Terms

Skyrim Black Book

Modding a video game for the first fourth dimension can seem rather confusing. Virtually Skyrim modders use short-mitt terminology to discuss certain aspects of modding. Here are some common terms:

Cleaning Refers to removing indistinguishable and unused entries from sure files
CC Cosmos Club
CTD Crash to desktop
Directory The identify Skyrim is installed to. Your "root" Skyrim directory is where your Skyrim.exe file is located.
ENB Short for "Enhanced Natural Dazzler," these mods implement post-processing effects and other graphical tweaks to Skyrim.
Load Society The guild in which your mods load.
MO2 Modernistic Organizer two, a popular mod managing director used by PC players.
Modernistic Manager A slice of software that installs, maintains, and manages mods for you lot. These are covered in more detail in the "Mod Managers" section.
Oldrim The 2011 edition of Skyrim.
Root Directory Where Skyrim installed to.
SKSE Short for Skyrim Script Extender. Explained in the "Useful Modding Tools" section.
SSE Brusk for Skyrim: Special Edition.
Vortex A popular mod director used by PC players.

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Where To Get Mods

Skyrim Nexus Mods

While there are hundreds of websites that provide mods for Skyrim, only a few of them are used past most modders. Here are two websites most fans get their mods from:

  1. Nexus Mods: The definitive space to find mods for PC Skyrim fans. Both the original and Special Edition versions of Skyrim have mods on this website.
  2. Bethesda.internet: Panel players go their mods from here, although PC players can employ it as well. Skyrim: Special Edition'due south in-game mod menu pulls its content from here.

More websites than these 2 provide Skyrim mods, just these two are the most popular. Both websites accept search confined and tags yous can utilize to find mods that interest you.

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INSTALLING MODS

How To Install Mods On Console

Skyrim Mod Menu

Installing mods on a panel is extremely easy. Once yous detect a modern yous wish to install, select the "install" push button. If washed in-game, Skyrim volition automatically download and install the mod for you. Should you use the website, you can click on "add to library" to install the mod on whatever panel linked to your Bethesda.cyberspace account.

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How To Install Mods On PC

Skyrim Nightingale
Via: Wccftech.com

PC users have multiple means they tin can install mods:

  1. Utilise Bethesda.net: the same process console players employ.
  2. Use Nexus Mods: download mods from the Nexus to a modern director. The mod manager will install and manage mods for you lot.
  3. Use Wabbajack: this installs unabridged modernistic lists created past the customs while minimizing compatibility issues. You can download it hither.
  4. Manual installation: placing mod files into your Skyrim directory by hand. This is not recommended.

Well-nigh PC users selection the 2nd option. Before you lot continue an installing spree, permit's get over how to manage your mods and why that'due south so of import.

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Managing Mods

Skyrim Load Order

When you install a modernistic for Skyrim, information technology gets added to a list of data the game needs to load. This is typically referred to as your "load lodge." Skyrim'southward engine has a hard limit of 255 master and plugin files information technology can load at in one case. Modders have found ways effectually this limit, something we'll go over in the "Useful Modding Tools" department. For at present, continue this limit in mind.

Load orders go of import when multiple mods are existence used. Skyrim loads its data sequentially, pregnant mods lower on your load society have precedence over files placed college on your list. This tin can be problematic if you lot have two mods that override the aforementioned affair. For instance, if y'all take two mods that modify a town, the boondocks mod lowest in your load order volition always exist practical. This conflict could issue in quests breaking, objects clipping through each other, or crashing.

To make sure your mods are working as intended, it'due south important to make sure your modernistic load guild is right. There are three common ways to adjust your load guild:

  1. Apply Skyrim: Special Edition's built-in load order manager.
  2. Utilize Loot.
  3. Apply a modern manager (covered in the adjacent section).

Built-In Manager

This tin be accessed from the main carte du jour. While browsing mods, an option will exist present to display your load lodge. You lot tin can movement mods up or down on this list every bit you see fit, disable mods you don't wish to uninstall, or uninstall mods in their entirety.

Boodle

LOOT is a gratis awarding that will automatically manage your load order. This is merely available for PC. A tutorial on how to use Loot can be found here.

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Mod Managers

Skyrim Mod Organizer 2

PC players volition want to install a mod manager every bit presently as possible. Mod managers can install and maintain mods for you. More importantly, nigh modern managers use a virtual file arrangement to apply their changes. This means compatibility errors and modding mishaps won't pause your Skyrim installation.

The two near pop Mod Managers are:

  1. Modern Organizer 2: The gold standard. It'due south highly stable, uses a profile organization to permit for multiple mod configurations, and has well-documented tutorials on using information technology.
  2. Vortex: Nexus' take on a modern director. It is easier to use than Mod Organizer two, but it is nonetheless in evolution.

We recommend using Mod Organizer 2 for your modding needs. YouTuber GamerPoets has excellent tutorials on how to use MO2 that you can watch hither.

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ENBs

Skyrim Caffeine ENB

Note: ENBs are for PCs only. Console players should skip this section.

ENBs, curt for Enhanced Natural Dazzler, is a graphical suite that aims to meliorate the visual fidelity of Skyrim with post-processing effects and other features. These mods crave manual installation, significant only PC users can use them. Some ENBs are incredibly performance-intensive, although the visual improvements they offering is nothing brusque of incredible, making Skyrim look like a modernistic gen title. If y'all tin can spare quite a few frames for the sake of improve visuals, consider installing an ENB.

How To Install An ENB

Skyrim ENB Binaries

An ENB requires a set of binary files that can exist constitute at enbdev.com. Each version of Skyrim has a dissimilar set of ENB files yous'll need to download. The Anniversary edition uses the same ENB files as the Special Edition. Download the ENB files you need based on the version of Skyrim yous own:

  • Oldrim ENB Files
  • Skyrim SE ENB FIles

Download the latest version. Once downloaded, you'll want to caput to your Skyrim's root directory folder (where the .exe file is located). In one case in in that location, you'll want to drop the following files into your directory:

  • d3d11.dll
  • d3dcompiler_46e.dll

You lot can paste every file in your root directory if y'all want, only these are the merely two files you need for an ENB to part. With the binaries installed, it'south time to await for an actual ENB mod. Head to your mod site of choice and look for any ENB modern. Once yous've found an ENB you like, manually download its files—don't download to your mod manager. Drop the contents of the ENB mod into your root directory. If you need to override any files, say "yeah."

Your ENB is ready. Boot upwardly Skyrim to check out your new mod.

Configuring ENBs

Whenever you lot launch Skyrim with an ENB enabled, yous'll be able to manually change the furnishings of your installed ENB past hitting "shift" and "enter" together. This volition open up an ENB carte du jour that will allow you to tweak but about everything the ENB does. If you lot dislike anything about your installed ENB, you can alter it with this carte du jour—provided you know what the setting is.

One common tweak players look upwardly is how to remove blackness bar effects on their ENB. If y'all install 1 with this result and wish to remove it, expect for the "LETTERBOX_BARS" setting and set information technology to "0". This volition remove the bars around your screen.

Annotation: If you're having difficulty navigating the carte in-game, you can besides modify these settings in the enbeffect.fx file.

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TROUBLESHOOTING

Modding The Anniversary Edition

Skyrim 10 Anniversary

The Anniversary Edition of Skyrim has caused some confusion among the modding community. There are a few things to keep in mind with this version:

  • The Anniversary Edition is merely the Special Edition with Creation Club content. Information technology isn't a proper new port of Skyrim, meaning your SE mods will work with this version.
    • SE mods that rely on Skyrim Script Extender are a different story (covered below).
  • The Ceremony Edition update affects all Special Edition PC owners, even if yous don't buy the Anniversary upgrade.
  • Xbox One 10|S and PlayStation 5 users will see a performance comeback with the Anniversary Edition update.

If you're a console player or a PC user that doesn't utilize SKSE, this update shouldn't touch your modded playthroughs any. Continue in mind that any mods that add content to regions that Creation Order mods alter—for example, Solitude's sewers—will cause compatibility problems. But for those worried about stability, Creation Club add together-ons shouldn't cause any issues for your modded playthrough.

The Anniversary Update Broke My Mods. How Do I Set It?

If you lot are a PC user that had their modded playthrough break with the release of this update, you lot accept two means of fixing it:

  1. Update your SKSE version.
    1. A download link can exist found on the SKSE website (link).
  2. Revert your Skyrim executable to an earlier version.
    1. This can be washed with halgari'due south "Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Downgrade Patcher" mod

Comport in listen that all Creation Club updates to Skyrim SE will break SKSE. We recommend you lot keep a fill-in of your SkyrimSE executable file at all times. This will let you revert a recently-released patch to foreclose your mods from breaking. You lot could besides use the downgrade patcher mod linked above to revert whatsoever patches that release.

Alternatively, y'all tin can launch Skyrim through a mod manager and forcefulness Steam to only update your game when it launches. Since you'll be using a mod manager, you technically never launch the game through Steam, resulting in your game never updating. Here'southward the process:

  1. Navigate to Skyrim: Special Edition on your Steam library.
  2. Correct-click on information technology.
  3. Select "Properties."
  4. Select "Updates."
  5. In the "Automatic Updates" drop-down menu, select "Simply update this game when I launch it."
  6. Use your mod managing director of choice to launch Skyrim from now on.

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Mod Troubleshooting

Skyrim Missing Clothes Bug

Some mods have incompatibilities with other mods or require tweaking to work. Since mod compatibility problems vary wildly, it is critical to read mod page descriptions. Mod authors will state which mods are incompatible with theirs. A little bit of reading ahead of time can save hours of tinkering.

If no such information exists, consider the following technique:

  1. Disable one-half of your currently enabled mods.
  2. Boot Skyrim upward.
  3. See if the issue persists.
  4. If then, echo this process until the problem goes away.

This will aid y'all quickly narrow downwardly which mod is causing issues. Checking for compatibility patches between mods is besides a good idea.

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Skyrim Player at forge

This section is for PC modders.

Once you beginning getting more comfy modding your game, there are a few avant-garde modding concepts and programs you can get-go using. Nosotros won't go into detail on how to use each program in this guide, only these tools are worth looking into.

  • BethINI: Optimizes your Skyrim .ini files for y'all. This can dramatically better functioning and game stability.
  • Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE): A modified executable that'due south needed to run most Skyrim mods.
  • xEdit: This allows you to create bashed patches, merging multiple mods into a unmarried file. This bypasses Skyrim's 255 plugin limit. Information technology can too "clean" mods with duplicate information entries, increasing game stability.

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THE All-time SKYRIM MODS

The All-time Skyrim Mods

Folkvangr Skyrim Mod

What good is all of this information if you lot don't have any mods to install? Finding mods for Skyrim might be easy, only the sheer number of mods available to install can bear witness daunting if you lot've never modded a Bethesda game before. Fortunately, we accept plenty of articles dedicated to showcasing some of the all-time mods you tin discover on Bethesda.net or the Nexus. You can find a diversity of modernistic recommendations beneath.

Essential Mods For Newcomers

Skyrim Special Edition Riverwood
Mod Author(due south) Notes
Unofficial Skyrim Patch Unofficial Patch Project Squad Fixes thousands of bugs, drastically improving the stability of your game.
*SkyUI SkyUI Team Mandatory for PC users. It redesigns Skyrim'south UI menus to be more intuitive for PC users, and it comes bundled with a mod configuration bill of fare.
Achievements Mods Enabler xSHADOWMANx Skyrim disables achievements by default while mods are installed. This mod reenables them.
Better Dialogue Controls ecirbaf This modern makes dialogue menus much easier to apply on mouse and keyboard.
A Quality World Map IcePenguin This is a great modernistic to test if your modern director works. Information technology also makes Skyrim's map much easier to read by calculation roads and/or removing clouds.

*Should you wish to retain Skyrim's default UI just have SkyUI's config bill of fare, install the Hide SkyUI mod from Tomycins

Additionally, we have a few articles that encompass some fantastic mods for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. In one case you've gotten comfortable with modding Skyrim, consider giving these mods a await:

  • Mods Everyone Should Effort – We highlight some incredible mods that add together hours of content, prepare Skyrim's clunky combat organization, and much, much more than.
  • The Best Skyrim Mods On Xbox – Those that play Skyrim on the Xbox One or Series S|X should give these mods a look.
  • The Best PS4 Mods – Even with stricter mod requirements, the PlayStation has plenty of adept Skyrim mods you can install.

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Modernistic Recommendations: Gameplay

Skyrim Combat Gameplay Overhaul Mod
  • Best Mods For Improving Combat – Update Skyrim's combat to not feel so dated.
  • Best Mods For Realistic Gameplay – From visual overhauls to combat changes, these mods will make Skyrim feels far more realistic.
  • The Best Mods For Magic And Spellcasting – Bring Skyrim's magic system upwards to par with past TES entries.
  • Best Modded Followers In Skyrim – These followers can do more than than carry your burdens.
  • Best Crafting Mods – Brand crafting easier to level, create custom spells, and much more.
  • How To Play Coop Through Modding – It's possible to add co-op to Skyrim with a certain mod.

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Mod Recommendations: Visuals And Immersion

Skyrim Anniversary Edition Upscale
  • Best Graphics Mods And then Far – Install a few of these mods to modernize Skyrim's outdated visuals.
  • All-time Immersion Mods So Far – Enhance your connexion to the Dragonborn with these simple withal immersive mods.
  • The Best Quality-Of-Life Mods – We recommend a number of quality-of-life mods that range from immersive changes to UI overhauls.

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Mod Recommendations: Boosted Content

Skyrim Falskaar
  • Best Quest Mods – Showcases some of Skyrim'due south all-time quest mods, ranging from small quests to new landscapes.
  • Best Mods That Add New Dungeons – If you tire of Skyrim's vanilla dungeons, check out these fan-made creations.
  • The Biggest Skyrim Mods E'er Made – Feel new lands or a fundamentally different experience.

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Next: Skyrim: Must Accept Mods For Better Gameplay

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