[Megathread] Skyrim Discussion

[Orange Joe]

Finally done with Skyrim + Dawnguard/Dragonborn DLC after 505 hours of gameplay (yeah its pretty long, I took my time alright).
Have to say pretty awesome game, beautiful graphics, well thought out storyline & several quests/npcs really do stir your emotions.

But why does the game have to have so much hair pulling bugs?
If it wasn't for console commands I would have to save at almost every step or worst restart my game but even so some bugs still went through, I didn't get my Oblivion Walker achievement even after obtaining 15 Daedric artifacts

are you using any mods?

[Wrien]

Kountervibe




Kinematic

[Uncle Julian]

I played Skyrim for a while when it was released but haven't really touched it since and I experienced very little of the story. With TESO on the horizon and recently watching the new Hobbit movie, I have a new kindled desire to pick up this game once more and actually beat it before April.

I've never used mods before, and I only have the original Skyrim (not the dragonborn or dawnguard or any other expansion they have).

I get a cluster fuck of results when I search for good mods on google and I feel a bit overwhelmed. Could any of you recommend 10-15 basic mods that you feel are must-haves? Things I'm looking for is realism/graphics, a better user interface, more unique items/people/places/quests, a broader range of game-play music (I still like the celtic/norsk style of music that fits the theme of the game), optimizations that help smooth out animations, voice acting, and enable the game to run with a little less glitches. I literally have no starting point or experience so any tips would be awesome, thanks!

Any tips on how to actually install them would be sweet also, although I can probably youtube that stuff when the time comes.

[zealo]

www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/30450 - Realistic Lightning Overhaul ( if you set the lightning to be almost pitch black inside caves/buildings and at night torches and the likes actually gains a real use.)
www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/1111 - Pure waters
www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/8655 - Static mesh improvement
www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/60 - Enhanced Blood Textures
www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/607 - Real HD textures if you have the PC to support the vram increase.
www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/836 - Realistic smoke and embers mod
www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/17802 - Climate Overhaul
www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/30936 - RealVision ENB ( what enb to use is a bit more personal but i think this one goes well with the other mods )
www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/3863 - SkyUI, overhauls the UI system to fit keyboard play better.

There's also a few gameplay changing mods i can recommend but dunno if your interested in that but i would start with these. Most of them can be installed with the mod manager with the exception of the ENB package.

[Uncle Julian]

Awesome links! Many thanks Zealo. I use a i5-3750k at stock speeds, and a 670 factory overclocked with 8gb of 1600mhz ram. I'm going to assume thats plenty for these mods @1080p

[Hellravager]

I played Skyrim for a while when it was released but haven't really touched it since and I experienced very little of the story. With TESO on the horizon and recently watching the new Hobbit movie, I have a new kindled desire to pick up this game once more and actually beat it before April.

I've never used mods before, and I only have the original Skyrim (not the dragonborn or dawnguard or any other expansion they have).

I get a cluster fuck of results when I search for good mods on google and I feel a bit overwhelmed. Could any of you recommend 10-15 basic mods that you feel are must-haves? Things I'm looking for is realism/graphics, a better user interface, more unique items/people/places/quests, a broader range of game-play music (I still like the celtic/norsk style of music that fits the theme of the game), optimizations that help smooth out animations, voice acting, and enable the game to run with a little less glitches. I literally have no starting point or experience so any tips would be awesome, thanks!

Any tips on how to actually install them would be sweet also, although I can probably youtube that stuff when the time comes.

First thing you want to do is get Dawnguard AT LEAST if you can get both so you can get all the mods Sky RE requires Dragonborn for all the recent updates/changes

- - - Updated - - -

Forgot to mention this also if you have the HD texture packs installed from Bethesda get rid of them they cause lagg that shouldnt be there lagg as in fps drops that are random as hell

[Wrien]

www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/30450 - Realistic Lightning Overhaul ( if you set the lightning to be almost pitch black inside caves/buildings and at night torches and the likes actually gains a real use.)
www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/1111 - Pure waters
www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/8655 - Static mesh improvement
www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/60 - Enhanced Blood Textures
www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/607 - Real HD textures if you have the PC to support the vram increase.
www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/836 - Realistic smoke and embers mod
www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/17802 - Climate Overhaul
www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/30936 - RealVision ENB ( what enb to use is a bit more personal but i think this one goes well with the other mods )
www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/3863 - SkyUI, overhauls the UI system to fit keyboard play better.

There's also a few gameplay changing mods i can recommend but dunno if your interested in that but i would start with these. Most of them can be installed with the mod manager with the exception of the ENB package.

- Realistic Lighting Overhaul or Enhanced Lights and FX. My personal favorite is Enhanced Lights and FX
- I recommend Realistic Water Two
- Static Mesh Improvement mod is amazing
- Enhanced Blood textures or Crimson tide, i prefer enhanced blood
- Skyrim 2k is very good overall, but it doesn't cover all
- Realistic Smoke and Embers is quite alright
- I don't recommend using Climates of Tamriel
- Realvision enb is very overrated, there are much better enb's out there. Kinematic enb, Kountervibe enb, Project enb, Saraan Suum ENB to mention a few. Kinematic enb is my personal favorite, it's just a step over all other enb's when it comes to effects and realism.
- SkyUI is awesome, but you'll need SKSE as well.

ALso, all unofficial patches are must-haves

[Lora]

The first time I ever played through it was on master and I didn't realize until the end of the game. I thought it was rather easy. It's been bloody fun.

[WarpedAcorn]

So I have gotten re-addicted to Skyrim over the past month and have been delving down the twisting nethers of modding (something I had not looked into until recently), and that's turned Skyrim into a completely new game.

Anyways, I'm running into the same issue now that I did 2 years ago when last I played it...and that is the infamous "Power Creep". This happened about the same level as before, and its usually by this point that my Sneak is maxed, I have 2 devastating offense trees (3 in my current case), and have Enchanting/Smithing at 100. What are some ways that the community has dealt with becoming "too badass"? I love the hell out of the game, but when I can charge through a cave hacking away with a sword and never have to worry about chugging potions...the excitement lessens.

[Kelimbror]

So I have gotten re-addicted to Skyrim over the past month and have been delving down the twisting nethers of modding (something I had not looked into until recently), and that's turned Skyrim into a completely new game.

Anyways, I'm running into the same issue now that I did 2 years ago when last I played it...and that is the infamous "Power Creep". This happened about the same level as before, and its usually by this point that my Sneak is maxed, I have 2 devastating offense trees (3 in my current case), and have Enchanting/Smithing at 100. What are some ways that the community has dealt with becoming "too badass"? I love the hell out of the game, but when I can charge through a cave hacking away with a sword and never have to worry about chugging potions...the excitement lessens.

So I think there are a few mods that completely overhaul the skill system. You may want to check those out. There are a lot of people that wanted it to stay challenging so those mods reduce sneak effectiveness, etc.

Really just start looking at gameplay overhaul mods. It will change the game up like crazy. If you wanted to play archer, there are addons that make more realistic arrow physics plus allowing you to modify crit chance on specific body segments. For me, I wanted to play a super stealth archer class and didn't like that when I shoot someone in the head they don't die. I realize it makes the game easier (if I'm clever) but it's how I wanted to play the first go. You can use the same program to make archery super hard and also allow headshots to kill your player character.

Check out this thread for some mods http://steamcommunity.com/app/72850/...9057053483229/ SkyRE is the skill overhaul mod I was talking about and then deadly dragons + deadly monsters seems to allow you to tailor mob difficulty if you don't want to change gameplay. Lots of options really.

PS I'm with you on going nuts for Skyrim. Every time I take a break and then log back on it, I stare at wonder and think I should never stop playing this game.

[WarpedAcorn]

Thanks Kel. The only gameplay mod I DL'd that affects skills is the Mighty Magick Mod, simply because I was initially planning on focusing my current character as a SpellThief archetype. The only skills I see are really gamebreaking are the Enchanting and Smithing, but I also see them as a bit of a necessity (especially Smithing when considering the plethora of custom armor). I'm not quite sure how to proceed. I'll check the Nexus and see what's up with the SkyRE you mentioned.

[Deleted]

I concur, SkyRE is a really great mod, couldn't picture playing the game without it now.

[WarpedAcorn]

Just looked it up, and SkyRe sounds really interesting. It also fits in pretty well with my trend of finding these awesome mods as I play. Now I want to start over...again. >_>;;

[Kelimbror]

Just looked it up, and SkyRe sounds really interesting. It also fits in pretty well with my trend of finding these awesome mods as I play. Now I want to start over...again. >_>;;

There's an 'app' for that: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/9557

[derpkitteh]

so like, i've been messing around with skyrim again and reading ALL teh books and trying to get all of the shouts and stuff. but while i was looking for shout locations on the wiki, i noticed a lot of the word walls mention a decree of the "hoar father". so, anyone who is more versed in the elder scrolls lore know anything about this dude? i've seen "hoar" before in this thing about kyne, but i can't remember what that was.

is it just some atmoran belief or something? the world walls are old as the hills and written in draconic, so it's obvious they're made during and shortly after the first defeat of alduin.

[Exroyal]

Played Skyrim when it came out, finished it and then never picked it up (because of other games, i loved skyrim don't get me wrong.) Now, im getting all DLC and was wondering which mods do you recommend? Im interested in every type, immersion, weather, texture etc.

[Dezerte]

Played Skyrim when it came out, finished it and then never picked it up (because of other games, i loved skyrim don't get me wrong.) Now, im getting all DLC and was wondering which mods do you recommend? Im interested in every type, immersion, weather, texture etc.

http://wiki.step-project.com/Main_Page

I know, it can look intimidating, it did for me. But it was worth it.

[theredviola]

So, like many others, I've restarted Skyrim. I decided to do it because I'm going to find myself with out internet for possibly many weeks so I'm trying to get as many mods up and running as I can before my internet goes bye bye. This time, I've decided to focus on my Alchemy skill to rely on for potions (mainly for healing) and poisons (for extra goodies on my blades and arrows). There are many, MANY alchemy mods out there but I can't seem to find exactly one that does what I want. Does an alchemy mod exist where it'll tell you what you can make based on the current ingredients you have in your bag?

[Exroyal]

http://wiki.step-project.com/Main_Page

I know, it can look intimidating, it did for me. But it was worth it.

Thanks man, i think i got it all right even though the guide has an older version of NMM.

[WarpedAcorn]

There's an 'app' for that: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/9557

Yep, already got that one. =)

Personally my favorite is to choose the "Beginning" that involves you being left for dead on the side of the road. Basically its the one that start you with a tunic, pants, and boots and nothing else. Its kind of like my favorite starter path in Dark Souls, the Deprived. Start with nothing, end with the power of a demi-god. =)


Regarding Skyrim Redone (SkyRe), I did some reading and now I am wondering if I should disable/uninstall Mighty Magick before installing SkyRe? It looks like its the same group that did both, and SkyRe already has a Magic Overhaul in it (along with everything else).

- - - Updated - - -

Played Skyrim when it came out, finished it and then never picked it up (because of other games, i loved skyrim don't get me wrong.) Now, im getting all DLC and was wondering which mods do you recommend? Im interested in every type, immersion, weather, texture etc.

I have just gotten into this in the last month and am still finding out new mods to improve my game.

One thing I will say is that the Nexus Mod Manager makes things really easy. There are some other Mod Managers out there too that can do cool things like load different profiles than run different mods, but the NMM is probably the simplest I've seen to get started with.

SkyUI is pretty much required by a majority of the mods, so might as well get that. Its also pretty boss as a UI overhaul.

For textures I am running: Skyrim HD - 2K, Enhanced Lights and FX, Better Females, Better Males, Enhanced Blood Textures (makes it look like Dragon Age with blood splattering everywhere including the screen)

For immersion, I would recommend at least trying out: Darker Nights (makes you NEED to have a lightsource to see on anything other than a clear starry night), Realistic Needs and Diseases (You will need to eat, sleep, and drink), and Frostfall - Hypothermia (you can and will freeze to death).

Some others I would recommend looking at are: Dance of Death (kill move mod), My Home is Your Home, and Ultimate Follower Overhaul (UFO).