After a bit of back and forth and lots of deliberation, Sony and Bethesda finally agreed to the implementation of mods on PS4 releases. While we all know that Skyrim offers hours of adventure, you can expand your journey with a handful of amazing mods. Here are the best Skyrim: Special Edition mods available right now.
Ys Spell Tweaks
This mod is perfect for all of you mages out there. Thanks to a few tweaks to spell mechanics, you’ll be able to cast faster, have stronger abilities, and it removes any unnecessarily annoying animations from the casting experience.
Even Better Quest Objectives
This is a pretty straightforward mod that is actually very useful, especially for players journeying into Skyrim for the first time. Instead of just having to rely on the map, you’ll be given detailed descriptions of what to do so you don’t get lost following floating arrows.
Point the Way in Skyrim
Want to travel through Skyrim but don’t want to keep bringing up your map for fear of breaking the immersion? Sometimes that can be difficult since it’s very easy to get lost while walking around, thanks to the lack of signs. Point the Way fixes that by placing hundreds of road signs and even having them pointed in the right directions. No more pause menus for you.
God Gear
So you just want to run through cities killing everything and fearing nobody? Then you might want to throw on some God Gear which is just a set of armor and weapons that have some ridiculously powerful enchantments.
Mortal Wounds: No Health Regeneration & Hardcore Difficulty
If you’re the opposite of the players who want God Gear and want nothing more than a brutal, soul-crushing world, then you may want to check out the Mortal Wounds mod. All combat becomes fast and deadly, and the lack of health regen means you’ll have to be careful how you approach danger and keep a healthy supply of potions.
Disable Cinematic Kills
Cinematic Kills are jaw dropping when you first encounter them, but can start to weigh down on you as you start to pile on the hours. Eventually, they’ll just be an obstacle slowing you down as you carve your way through Skyrim leaving death in your wake, so this mod that disables them will certainly prove to be handy.
Go Away Map Clouds!
Looking at Skyrim’s map will become a constant activity, so it would be great if it was always clear and easy to see. Unfortunately, we have to deal with a thick swarm of clouds that likes to appear over the map making it impossible to discern certain roads and locations. This mod removes those pesky clouds so you can see clearly once more.
Dovahkiin Keep
This is a simple mod that grants you a huge manor full of mannequins and storage for all of your armor and weapons.
Scroll Crafting
The Scroll Crafting mod allows you to craft every scroll in the game giving you access to tons of spells without the need to grind for hours to get your magic up to snuff in Skyrim.
Get Seriously Overstocked And Rich Merchants
Despite all the gold and magical equipment being sold by the merchants of The Elder Scrolls, they always manage to be broke. This mod gives the merchants fives times the gold they usually stock and three times as many items to sell.
150% Jumping & Sprinting
Contrary to the name, this mod allows you to jump 50% higher and run for 50% longer. Just for the amazing hops you’ll now have alone, this download is definitely worth it.
HUNT: Dragon Skulls, A Hunters Of Unusual And New Trophies
HUNT: Dragon Skulls, A Hunters Of Unusual And New Trophies is a mouthful, but it’s worth it. It gives you something to do with all the dragon trinkets and items that you’ll find lots of throughout your adventures in Skyrim. It adds more drops from dragons, and let’s you keep things like skulls as trophies and uses other materials as crafting items.
Legendary Creatures
Think of this as a fan-made expansion that adds eight horrifying monsters for you to battle. Each challenging foe guards brand new armor, spells, and weapons for you to collect.
Stay Arrow Stay
Stay Arrow Stay for PS4 is a great mod for career archers as it makes your world, well, more archer friendly. With this mod, you’ll have an increased chance of picking up arrows from bodies, plus, it lets more arrows appear on screen at once, adding to Skyrim’s immersion and realism.
The Ring of God Mode
You can probably tell by the name of the mod that this is going to make you very powerful. It adds a ring you can find in Whiterun that increases Health, Magicka, Carry, and other stats to 99,999, making you an unstoppable killing machine.
Cauldian Race
Perhaps you don’t think there are enough races to choose from in Skyrim. If that’s the case this mod adds the Cauldians, complete with resistances to Fire and Spark damage, as well as new followers found in the world.
Nicer Children
Let’s be honest really quick, the children in Skyrim are downright rude. This mod makes them all a bit nicer by removing some of their less welcome dialogue.
Resurrect Everything
While the ability to resurrect defeated enemies already exists in Skyrim, you were very limited. This mod allows you to resurrect all of your foes, excluding dragons.
Skill Up Cheat Items
This is one of those mods for players who just want to do as they please in Skyrim, as it will remove the immersion that comes through challenge. You’ll find a set of books in Riverwood that will help you instantly max out your abilities and even go beyond Legendary. You’ll also get a ring to help you level up faster.
Think of EasierRider’s Dungeon Pack as a small, free DLC expansion that just adds a handful of cool dungeons. There’s a total of five dungeons that range from small to very long.
Unlimited Werewolf Transformations
You, my friend, are a powerful beast who shouldn’t be confined by the sun and moon, allowed to transform only once per day. Unlimited Werewolf Transformations lets you turn into a beast as often as you please.
Unlimited Shouts
One of the most fun actions in Skyrim is shouting people off of high ledges. This mod allows you to do it without waiting for a cooldown. Unlimited Fus Ro Dahs for the world.
The Gardens of Whiterun
The Gardens of Whiterun is exactly what it sounds like. It adds a lot of plants, insect life, fish, and just greenery all around Whiterun making it a much more beautiful city. You can download it for PS4 here.
Slow and Freeze Time Spells
As its simple name suggests, this mod will add time-freezing and slowing spells to the game, purchasable from a special spell vendor in Markarth.
Immersive Patrols
A lot of mods based around immersion sadly aren’t available on the PS4, but Immersive Patrols for PS4 luckily is. This mod makes all the various factions in Skyrim patrol around in groups together, making these factions in Skyrim feel more lifelike and impactful.
Necromany Overhaul
This mod makes raising the dead a little more fun, removing the level cap and allowing you to summon a permanent undead companion, among other tweaks to the spell school.
Easy Weather Change
Cause over a dozen weather types, including Nightmare Fog, using the spellbooks added by this mod.
Phenderix Magic World DLC
This massive mod goes all out, adding new areas, 400 new spells, tons of new items and more. Not everything will work on PS4, but it’s still a very comprehensive addition.
Easy Lockpicking for the PS4
Lockpicking loses its luster after you’ve done it for the 10 millionth time for some people. If you count yourself among those tired of having to pick locks, Easy Lockpicking for the PS4 makes it dramatically easier to pick any locks you come across.
Dark Water Home
Dark Water Home is a mod for the PS4 that adds a beautiful new livable home by Darkwater Pass. As the modder puts it: “The first time I came out of Darkwater Pass I knew I had to build my home there. A large secluded grounds surrounded by waterfalls centrally located between Windhelm, Whiterun, Ivars, and Riften the Darkwater Home has all the amenities you need without being absurdly large and empty.”
STAR: Triple Gold! A Superior Treasure and Rewards Mod
Get three times the gold from quests, bodies, pockets, chests, and more with this mod.
Believable Crime Radius
Believable Crime Radius for PS4 does exactly what the title hints it. It reduces the vanilla version’s insanely large crime report radius and turns it into something far more realistic. If you’re a career thief, this is one you’ll want to pick up.
Birds and Flocks
This mod is another one that focuses more on making Skyrim prettier, and more immersive. Birds and Flocks, adds detailed flocks of avian creatures all throughout the game.
Multiple Followers System
Keep five followers and five pet followers with you at all times thanks to this mod. Just remember to make a backup save file.
Bridges of Skyrim
Bridges of Skyrim is yet another mod that does exactly as described. It makes the bridges in Skyrim prettier, and reflect the region in which they were built.
Skyrim Restored
Skyrim Restored adds a bunch of cut content back into the game including some caves, weapons, a prison, camps and more.
Faster Leveling
If you’re having trouble raising those stats, this Faster Leveling mod will help you get all of those better perks for your character.
Immersive Citizens
This Immersive Citizens mod aims to revamp how the townspeople work by giving them better schedules, interactions, and even a new “survival instinct” feature.
All Map Locations Discovered
Sometimes you just want to see the complete map without having to travel to each and every location. This mod uncovers everything you need to see, so you can plan your trip ahead.
Marry Almost Anyone
Skyrim is one of those games where you can actually marry someone and start a family, although not with every NPC. This mod expands you marriage options and lets you pick more NPCs that were previously non-romanceable.
Ys Spell Tweaks
This mod is perfect for all of you mages out there. Thanks to a few tweaks to spell mechanics, you’ll be able to cast faster, have stronger abilities, and it removes any unnecessarily annoying animations from the casting experience.
Even Better Quest Objectives
This is a pretty straightforward mod that is actually very useful, especially for players journeying into Skyrim for the first time. Instead of just having to rely on the map, you’ll be given detailed descriptions of what to do so you don’t get lost following floating arrows.
Point the Way
Want to travel through Skyrim but don’t want to keep bringing up your map for fear of breaking the immersion? Sometimes that can be difficult since it’s very easy to get lost while walking around, thanks to the lack of signs. Point the Way fixes that by placing hundreds of road signs and even having them pointed in the right directions. No more pause menus for you.
God Gear
So you just want to run through cities killing everything and fearing nobody? Then you might want to throw on some God Gear which is just a set of armor and weapons that have some ridiculously powerful enchantments.
Mortal Wounds: No Health Regeneration & Hardcore Difficulty
If you’re the opposite of the players who want God Gear and want nothing more than a brutal, soul-crushing world, then you may want to check out the Mortal Wounds mod. All combat becomes fast and deadly, and the lack of health regen means you’ll have to be careful how you approach danger and keep a healthy supply of potions.
Disable Cinematic Kills
Cinematic Kills are jaw dropping when you first encounter them, but can start to weigh down on you as you start to pile on the hours. Eventually, they’ll just be an obstacle slowing you down as you carve your way through Skyrim leaving death in your wake, so this mod that disables them will certainly prove to be handy.
Go Away Map Clouds!
Looking at Skyrim’s map will become a constant activity, so it would be great if it was always clear and easy to see. Unfortunately, we have to deal with a thick swarm of clouds that likes to appear over the map making it impossible to discern certain roads and locations. This mod removes those pesky clouds so you can see clearly once more.
Dovahkiin Keep
This is a simple mod that grants you a huge manor full of mannequins and storage for all of your armor and weapons.
Scroll Crafting
The Scroll Crafting mod allows you to craft every scroll in the game giving you access to tons of spells without the need to grind for hours to get your magic up to snuff in Skyrim.
Get Seriously Overstocked and Rich Merchants
Despite all the gold and magical equipment being sold by the merchants of The Elder Scrolls, they always manage to be broke. This mod gives the merchants fives times the gold they usually stock and three times as many items to sell.
150% Jumping & Sprinting
Contrary to the name, this mod allows you to jump 50% higher and run for 50% longer. Just for the amazing hops you’ll now have alone, this download is definitely worth it.
HUNT: Dragon Skulls Mod
HUNT: Dragon Skulls, A Hunters Of Unusual And New Trophies is a mouthful, but it's worth it. It gives you something to do with all the dragon trinkets and items that you'll find lots of throughout your adventures in Skyrim. It adds more drops from dragons, and let's you keep things like skulls as trophies and uses other materials as crafting items.
Legendary Creatures
Think of this as a fan-made expansion that adds eight horrifying monsters for you to battle. Each challenging foe guards brand new armor, spells, and weapons for you to collect.
Stay Arrow Stay
Stay Arrow Stay for PS4 is a great mod for career archers as it makes your world, well, more archer friendly. With this mod, you'll have an increased chance of picking up arrows from bodies, plus, it lets more arrows appear on screen at once, adding to Skyrim's immersion and realism.
The Ring of God Mode
You can probably tell by the name of the mod that this is going to make you very powerful. It adds a ring you can find in Whiterun that increases Health, Magicka, Carry, and other stats to 99,999, making you an unstoppable killing machine.
Cauldian Race
Perhaps you don’t think there are enough races to choose from in Skyrim. If that’s the case this mod adds the Cauldians, complete with resistances to Fire and Spark damage, as well as new followers found in the world.
Nicer Children
Let’s be honest really quick, the children in Skyrim are downright rude. This mod makes them all a bit nicer by removing some of their less welcome dialogue.
Resurrect Everything
While the ability to resurrect defeated enemies already exists in Skyrim, you were very limited. This mod allows you ressurect all of your foes, excluding dragons.
Skill Up Cheat Items
This is one of those mods for players who just want to do as they please in Skyrim, as it will remove the immersion that comes through challenge. You’ll find a set of books in Riverwood that will help you instantly max out your abilities and even go beyond Legendary. You’ll also get a ring to help you level up faster.
EasierRider's Dungeon Pack
Think of EasierRider's Dungeon Pack as a small, free DLC expansion that just adds a handful of cool dungeons. There's a total of five dungeons that range from small to very long.
Unlimited Werewolf Transformations
You, my friend, are a powerful beast who shouldn’t be confined by the sun and moon, allowed to transform only once per day. Unlimited Werewolf Transformations lets you turn into a beast as often as you please.
Unlimited Shouts
One of the most fun actions in Skyrim is shouting people off of high ledges. This mod allows you to do it without waiting for a cooldown. Unlimited Fus Ro Dahs for the world.
Gardens of Whiterun
The Gardens of Whiterun is exactly what it sounds like. It adds a lot of plant, insect life, fish, and just greenery all around Whiterun making it a much more beautiful city. You can download it for PS4 here.
Slow and Freeze Time Spells
As its simple name suggests, this mod will add time-freezing and slowing spells to the game, purchasable from a special spell vendor in Markarth.
Immersive Patrols
A lot of mods based around immersion sadly aren't available on the PS4, but Immersive Patrols for PS4 luckily is. This mod makes all the various factions in Skyrim patrol around in groups together, making these factions in Skyrim feel more life like and impactful.
Necromancy Overhaul
This mod makes raising the dead a little more fun, removing the level cap and allowing you to summon a permanent undead companion, among other tweaks to the spell school.
Easy Weather Change
Cause over a dozen weather types, including Nightmare Fog, using the spellbooks added by this mod.
Phenderix Magic World DLC
This massive mod goes all out, adding new areas, 400 new spells, tons of new items and more. Not everything will work on PS4, but it's still a very comprehensive addition.
Easy Lockpicking
Lockpicking loses its luster after you've done it for the 10 millionth time for some people. If you count yourself among those tired of having to pick locks, Easy Lockpicking for the PS4 makes it dramatically easier to pick any locks you come across.
Dark Water Home
Dark Water Home is a mod for the PS4 that adds a beautiful new livable home by Darkwater Pass. As the modder puts it: 'The first time I came out of Darkwater Pass I knew I had to build my home there. A large secluded grounds surrounded by waterfalls centrally located between Windhelm, Whiterun, Ivarstead and Riften the Darkwater Home has all the amenities you need without being absurdly large and empty.'
STAR: Triple Gold! A Superior Treasure and Rewards Mod
Get three times the gold from quests, bodies, pockets, chests, and more with this mod.
Believable Crime Report Radius
Believable Crime Radius for PS4 does exactly what the title hints it. It reduces the vanilla version's insanely large crime report radius and turns it into something far more realistic. If you're a career thief, this is one you'll want to pick up.
Birds and Flocks
This mod is another one that focuses more on making Skyrim prettier, and more immersive. Birds and Flocks, adds detailed flocks of avian creatures all throughout the game.
Multiple Followers System
Keep five followers and five pet followers with you at all times thanks to this mod. Just remember to make a backup save file.
Bridges of Skyrim
Bridges of Skyrim is yet another mod that does exactly as described. It makes the bridges in Skyrim prettier, and reflect the region in which they were built.
Skyrim Restored
Skyrim Restored adds a bunch of cut content back into the game including some caves, weapons, a prison, camps and more.
Faster Leveling
If you're having trouble raising those stats, this Faster Leveling mod will help you get all of those better perks for your character.
Immersive Citizens
This Immersive Citizens mod aims to revamp how the townspeople work by giving them better schedules, interactions, and even a new 'survival instinct' feature.
All Map Locations Discovered
Sometimes you just want to see the complete map without having to travel to each and every location. This mod uncovers everything you need to see, so you can plan your trip ahead.
Marry Almost Anyone
Skyrim is one of those games where you can actually marry someone and start a family, although not with every NPC. This mod expands you marriage options and lets you pick more NPCs that were previously non-romanceable.
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So, you’re about to start an exciting new adventure in Tamriel. Maybe you’ve played Skyrim before. Maybe this is your first go-around. If you’re playing on console, a wealth of options are now available to you, all thanks to the power of mods.
Accessing mods is easy: there should be an option right on the main menu:
Once selected, you will be prompted to sign in to your Bethesda account. If you don’t have one, you can make on here. From there, you should be able to see the most popular mods, highly rated mods, and more:
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It’s literally just a matter of selecting your preferred mod, and downloading it. Easy. Do note that if you have mods active, your save file will disable achievements and trophies.
It’s also worth noting that, depending on what platform you are playing on, your options will greatly differ. Unfortunately, on PS4, mods are more limited—Bethesda says that PS4 mods will not be able to use “external assets,” which is a bummer. Some of the most famous, classic Skyrim mods, like the one that replaces Dragons with Thomas the Tank Engine, use all sorts of outside assets. Alas.
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You can see this limitation on display when you compare the mod offerings. PS4, as of this writing, only has 47 mods on day one. Xbox One, by contrast, has 122. Both will gain many more mods as the days go on, but if you have a choice between the two versions, I’d suggest going with Xbox One—no shade, but that platform has more options. Bethesda says that in terms of storage available, you get 5 GB of mods on Xbox One and 1 GB of mods on PS4 as well.
With all of that said, what should you download? While you can view mods through the in-game interface, you can also sort through them on the official Bethesda website. Online, if you are logged in, you can queue up mods to download on your console, which is handy.
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Here’s what you should get, ranging from serious mods to totally ridiculous tweaks. It’s not Skyrim unless it’s both hardcore yet absurd, after all.
Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch, by Arthmoor
“A comprehensive bugfixing mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Special Edition. The goal of the Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch (aka USSEP) is to eventually fix every bug with Skyrim Special Edition not officially resolved by the developers to the limits of the Creation Kit and community-developed tools, in one easy-to-install package. Features: - Hundreds of gameplay, quest, NPC, object, item, text and placement bugs fixed. - Created by the authors of the Unofficial Oblivion Patch series. - No unsafe changes (such as deletions of stock objects). - Designed to be compatible with as many other mods as possible.”
“People have often asked me “Trainwiz, if you are a wizard, and a train wizard, what train spells do you know?” So, to show those people, I created this mod. It adds a shout that, when used, will create an effect similar to Alduin’s meteor shower spell. Except instead of meteors, they’re trains. It will rain trains. You have read this correctly, and you have been warned. I take no responsibility for any damages sustained while it’s raining [censored] trains.”
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Download for Xbox One here.
Just Walk: No Fast Travel by DylanJames
“Just Walk” is a mod that disables Fast Travel and Fast Travel Messages in all of the vanilla worldspaces.
Download for Xbox One here, and for PS4 here.
Cutting Room Floor, by Arthmoor
“A content restoration mod for Skyrim and the official DLCs. From the depths of the ether, or just the cutting room floor, comes forth several NPCs, some quests, and other miscellaneous content which was created but never implemented in the game. If ever you had the feeling that Skyrim was missing something, you were probably right! This mod should relieve a bit of that. Villages that were supposed to exist have been brought back. Quests that were partially implemented have been completed. Various items have been restored that were still in the data files. NPCs have been brought back to the game and given homes where appropriate. Plus plenty of other random bits of stuff that was mentioned in the game but didn’t exist yet.”
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Immersive Poisoned Apples, by Bombchu
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“Purification of Skyrim is my love letter to Oblivion’s Dark Brotherhood questline. After finding the recipe, you’ll be able to craft Poisoned Apples at any cooking station if you have the ingredients. You can then offer the them to denizens of Skyrim in conversation, depending on your relationship with the individual and your speechcraft skill. Also, depending whom you ask, you might see surprising responses ;) You’ll also be able to sneak them into the pockets of unsuspecting victims to be discovered and consumed soon after. Note that this method does not work when used on members of the Thieve’s Guild.”
Elemental Destruction Magic, by reaperix
“Elemental Destruction Magic Adds earth, water, and wind as new types of destruction magic. Besides dealing the same amount of health damage as their vanilla counterparts, each new type of destruction magic has a unique secondary effect as well. Water spells stop enemy Magicka and Stamina regeneration for several seconds, earth spells stop Health regeneration and have a chance to stagger targets, and wind spells have a chance to blow targets away. This mod contains 30 new spells, including 24 destruction spells, 6 conjuration spells, 3 weapon enchantments, and 3 armor enchantments, and 6 new perks. New spell casting enemies that use these new spells have also been added. This mod also includes the spell Ash Cloak, to replace the vanilla Whirlwind Cloak spell and adds a new Dragon Priest masks for each element.”
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Download for Xbox One here. A similar mod, Phenderix Magic Evolved, adds 350 new magic spells on PS4, and can be downloaded here.
Campfire: Complete Camping System, by Chesko
“Campfire is the most feature-rich camping gameplay mod for Skyrim, and the foundation of Frostfall. You are immediately granted two new Survival Skills, found in your Magic menu: Resourcefulness, and Instincts. Build a campfire from a small, fragile spark to a roaring blaze, and use it to cook with a cooking pot (or just grill right over the flames). Sit with your followers, keep warm, and let the larger campfires uplift and inspire you (granting a small XP bonus). Create tents at any tanning rack. Stalk your prey using Instincts to see the sounds of nearby moving creatures, and be able to smell the dead (and undead!) from a long distance. Create and buy camping equipment using items in the world around you. Build 4 different kinds of tents, create tanning racks, a portable enchanting kit, and more. Use found deadwood to build hatchets, arrows, and other useful creations. You can create over a dozen useful items on-the-spot no matter where you are in Skyrim.”
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Frostfall: Hypothermia Camping Survival, by Chesko
“REQUIRES CAMPFIRE: COMPLETE CAMPING SYSTEM. 3.3 RELEASED. EXPECT UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT! ENJOY! You are now prepared to face a colder, harsher Skyrim. The three main components of Frostfall are hypothermia, cold water survival, and camping. Frostfall adds a deep, immersive level of gameplay to Skyrim, while keeping tedium to a minimum. An immersion mod should never get in the way of having fun. Frostfall tracks your location, weather, time of day, worn clothing, and more, to determine your current condition in a seamless way that feels easy to jump into and start playing. It is highly customizable, whether you’re looking for a lightweight immersion enhancement or a deeper challenge.”
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Beast Skeletons, by Prometheus
“The Elder scrolls world feature several races, but , don’t you find strange that in all dungeons and caves you only find human skeletons and skulls? This mod solves this little immersion problem by adding new skeletons for all races in a lore and non intrusive way . After all Skyrim is still a human dominated land so those beast skeletons will be rare, but yet , now will exhist in world.”
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Funny Followers, by Trainwiz
By now you’ve probably realized that there just aren’t any followers out there that really tickle your fancy! You’re disappointed, and expected followers that were a bit more.. well, funny.
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The Forgotten City, by The Modern Storyteller
The Forgotten City is an award-winning, critically acclaimed expansion mod offering a unique 6 - 8 hour experience: a murder mystery investigation set in an ancient underground city. You’ll need to solve it using your wits, and the ability to travel through time. It has a dark, non-linear story in which you’ll interrogate suspects, explore the city and its many secrets, and navigate challenging moral dilemmas. It features multiple endings, an original orchestral score, and professionally voiced dialogue.
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Rain and Snow FX, by Chesko
Rain and Snow FX allows your character to show frost and wetness (complete with dripping particle effects) when in the rain and in snowstorms. Your skin will also be wet during and just after swimming. When the weather clears or you walk into an interior, the effect will quickly go away. When in the snow, your skin and armor will ice over in a noticeable way. When in the rain, the effect is more subtle, but your skin will be shiny and dripping.
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Ars Metallica by Arthmoor
A simple mod to expand on the crafting system in Skyrim. The crafting system is one of Skyrim’s better features, but for thieves and archers, there’s not much use for the system. Light armor is dead easy to come by in already finished forms, but arrows can sometimes be scarce in the types you may want. Lockpicks have been known to be somewhat scarce too, yet are relatively basic to construct.
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Alternate Start - Live Another Life, by Arthmoor
Misery and despair have haunted you all your life. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, you’ve been arrested and thrown in the dungeons. Your trial was supposed to be weeks ago, only nobody has come for you. It’s been so long since seeing daylight you no longer know what month it is anymore. The dungeon is cold, damp, and worse still, you’re running out of food. At least you have that leak in the wall for water. It seems as though you’ve been forgotten, soon to rot away and die.
The eight have forsaken you! Or.. have they? Live Another Life provides an alternative means to start the game for those who do not wish to go through the lengthy intro sequence at Helgen. You will be given the opportunity to choose your race and then choose a new life for your character to lead. A wide variety of choices will be available. What you choose will have a lasting impact, so choose carefully or the gods may forsake you again!
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Relationship Dialogue Overhaul by Cloudedtruth
Adds over 5,000 lines of completely voiced dialogue for NPCs for more than 50 voice types, focusing mainly on friends, followers, spouses, and rivals. All dialogue is voiced using the original voices from the game, achieved through re-adding existing dialogue in new and suitable places, as well as editing together multiple lines to form brand new dialogue.
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Rich Merchants of Skryim, by Micah Ghost
This is a simple mod that increases the extremely low vinilla merchant gold level to 10,000 gold for every merchant in game.
Immersive Indigestion, by AlpineYJ
This mod adds some indigestion to most of the NPCs in Skyrim. In other words, they now burp and expel flatulence. This is especially so when they are eating, exerting large amounts of effort (swinging a weapon), or when they discuss parts of the civil war with you. Yes, some of the sounds I created myself using my own indigestion. I won’t tell you which ones. :)
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VioLens - A Killmove Mod by The-Reko
VioLens - A Killmove Mod SE gives you in-game control over both Ranged and Melee Killmoves.
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Ring Of Increased Carry Weight by Micah Ghost
A simple mod that adds a one ring that gives the wearer 1000 points of extra carry weight per ring, and another that adds 1000000 carry weight. It’s your choice.
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Katnip for Khajiits
This mod adds dried catnip to Skyrim, purchasable from the Khajiit caravans. If you are a Khajiit, the effects will be like that of a drug - similar to how catnip affects cats in the real world. First, you’ll get a hit from the initial intake - the world will seem as though it’s in overdrive for a few seconds (using the Slow effect). Once this has worn off, you’ll see through a drugged haze (using the Sleeping Tree Sap effect), but your power in illusion will increase, as your perception of other realities is boosted. You will also find that your hunting instincts are sharpened (one-handed skill fortified by 10%).
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P.S. Make sure to read the full description for these mods - in order for them to work, you will sometimes need additional files / other standalone mods.
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If you’ve got a recommendation to share, make sure to leave a comment!
Original Flavor
Looking for mods for the original version of Skyrim? We've selected over 100 of the best mods for improved visuals and optimization, new quests and locations, roleplaying and immersion, creatures and NPCs, and much more. Our list is here.
Since the last time we updated our list of the best Skyrim Special Edition mods the Skyrim Script Extender has been made compatible with it. You can download it here (it'll be labelled 'Current SE build'). Turn off automatic updates for Skyrim Special Edition once it's installed, as the creation club still receives patches which routinely break the Script Extender until modders update it.
Skyrim Vs Special Edition Mods 3
With the Script Extender modders can now alter this version of Bethesda's RPG as drastically as Oldrim. Near-essentials like SkyUI are now available in this slightly prettier (it does have nicer shadows), and more stable (you can alt-tab as much as you like) version of Skyrim. To be fair, there were other changes as well, like these.
If you're playing the Skyrim Special Edition and looking for the best mods available, look no further. Some of these mods can be found on Bethesda's site and downloaded while in-game, but the links we'll post all point to the repository at Nexus Mods. Mods added in the latest update of this list have been marked with a ⭐.
Vortex ⭐
For downloading, installing, and managing these mods and others, we recommend Vortex. Hearts of iron 4 leader portraits. It's an extremely useful utility, and it works with a number of other games like Fallout 3 and 4, The Witcher series, the Darks Souls games, XCOM 2, and lots more.
SkyUI ⭐
The heavens parted, golden saints sang, and SkyUI was finally supported by Skyrim Special Edition. This interface replacer makes Skyrim feel like it was designed for mouse controls, and lets you filter and sort inventory based on weight, value, damage and the like. Also adds an in-game mod configuration menu several other mods rely on.
A Quality World Map ⭐
Skyrim's map is functional but boring. A Quality World Map offers multiple ways to fix it. It can replace the map with a much more detailed world texture, with colors that help delineate the separate areas much more obviously, but there's also an option to have a paper map, with a more Oblivion look, if that's your thing.
Legacy of the Dragonborn ⭐
Adds a gallery you can fill with unique items, a museum to your achievements that is also a library, a storage facility, a questline of its own, and a place to learn archeology complete with its own perks. While the original version of this Skyrim mod has been adapted across from Oldrim, there's also an update in the works specifically for Special Edition which will remap the building to make it larger and more like a real museum. It won't be compatible with the current version, so it might be worth holding off until Legacy V5 comes out.
The Asteria Dwemer Airship ⭐
There are player home mods to suit all tastes, but the Asteria is a particularly nice one—a flying ship with all mod cons, by which I mean storage space and crafting tables. It's permanently docked, however, and can't be moved around, though it does have a teleporter for a more immersive alternative to fast-travel. Flyable skyship mods still haven't made the jump over from vanilla Skyrim, unfortunately.
Inigo ⭐
Maybe you don't think a blue Khajiit who follows you around commenting on everything and being sarcastic about Lydia is what Skyrim needs, but trust us on this. Inigo is a follower with tons of dialogue, some tied to his own questline and more that crops up at appropriate times depending on the location you're at. He can be told where to go and what to do by whistling, and will follow you even if you've got an existing companion, chatting away with them thanks to skilfully repurposed voice lines.
Unofficial Skyrim Patch
This mod is a compendium of hundreds of fixes for bugs, text, objects, items, quests, and gameplay elements assembled by prolific modder Arthmoor. The patch is designed to be as compatible as possible with other mods. If you've got a few hours, you can read through the patch notes.
Opening Scene Overhaul
This mod, by elderscrolliangamer, changes and enhances Skyrim's opening sequence by restoring dialogue that Bethesda chose to cut, but which is still present in the game files. With that content restored, you'll learn more about the world you're preparing to inhabit by listening in on additional conversations and seeing full sequences that were snipped before release. Best of all, if you choose to side with the Stormcloaks, you'll actually be able to escape Helgen with Ulfric himself at your side.
Open Cities
It's more than a little immersion-breaking in Skyrim to enter a city through a gate and encounter a loading screen. Open Cities, by Arthmoor, aims for more of a Morrowind feel: the cities aren't instances, they're part of the larger world. Stroll right in—or ride in on horseback—without a break in your experience, and these cities will feel more like real places than loaded-in maps.
Phenderix Magic World
This impressively robust magic mod adds new locations like The School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the magical town of Manantis, and even a new magical dimension to explore. It also adds hundreds of new spells from all schools of magic, plus lots of magic weapons, over a dozen new followers, and a quest to get you started.
Alternate Start—Live Another Life
If you're playing Special Edition, you're starting from scratch whether you're a newcomer to Skyrim or a veteran. Why not start your new game as someone other than the Dragonborn? Alternate Start—again, by Arthmoor—is a roleplaying mod that gives you choices on how you'd like to begin your next playthrough. Are you a patron at in inn, a visitor arriving by boat, a prisoner in a jail cell, or the member of a guild? You can start as a soldier, an outlaw, a hunter, or even a vampire. It's a great way to re-experience Skyrim from a different perspective.
Relationship Dialogue Overhaul
This mod by cloudedtruth adds thousands of lines of voiced dialogue for NPCs, directed at making you feel as if you have a closer and more personal relationship with followers and friends. Your spouse, if you have one, will no longer sound like a random follower, but address you in a more personal manner, and those you've angered will have a host of new insults to hurl your way.
Diverse Dragons Collection
Despite the Special Edition's visual overhaul, its dragons are still a bit ho-hum. This mod, contributed to by a large collection of modders, adds 28 new and unique dragons with different models and textures, and capable of over a dozen new breath attacks and abilities. The dragons come in different ranks as well, to ensure you have a challenge no matter what your level.
Achievements Mod Enabler
Just because you're modding doesn't mean you're cheating (necessarily). So why does the SSE disable achievements if you've got mods running? Stick it to 'em by using this plugin from xSHADOWMANx that allows you to earn achievements even while using mods.
Static Mesh Improvements
While the SSE adds plenty of enhanced visuals, it doesn't do a thing to improve the original game's low-poly meshes. This mod edits hundreds of 3D models placed in thousands of different locations for items like furniture, clutter, architectural elements, and landscape objects to make them look nicer and more realistic.
Total Character Makeover
Skyrim's NPCs already looked dated when the game was first released, and they certainly haven't aged well. The SSE might improve the looks of the world, but it doesn't touch its citizens, so this mod from Scaria should be on your list. It gives everyone in the game (including your avatar) a facelift with more detailed textures that won't kneecap your framerate, and without making characters look out of place.
True 3D Sound for Headphones
'This mod enables true 3D sound for Skyrim SE by using a so called HRTF to simulate binaural hearing using normal stereo headphones. You will hear exactly from which direction a sound is coming from.' I don't know exactly what that first sentence means, but I understand the second one. Make the SSE more realistic for your ears with this mod from CptYouaredead.
You also might want to check out Immersive Sounds.
Frostfall and Campfire
Download link (Frostfall) Download link (Campfire)
Looking to turn SSE into a survival experience? Then bundle up and look no further. These mods from Chesko make the frosty world of Skyrim more dangerous yet more immersive and enjoyable with a system that makes you manage your temperature in the cold climate. Hypothermia is an issue, especially if you swim through icy water, so you'll have to dress warmly, and camping elements include craftable tents, torches, and other gear. There's even a crafting skill system.
Also, check out Wet and Cold, which adds weather-dependent visual effects and sounds.
Cutting Room Floor
Another big mod from Arthmoor restores loads of content that exists in SSE's data files but wasn't implemented in the game. Numerous locations, NPCs, dialogue, quests, and items have been brought into the light, and the game is richer for it.
The Forgotten City
Skyrim's got lots of adventure, but here's about 10 hours more courtesy of writer and developer Nick Pearce. Play detective and solve a murder mystery while exploring a massive, ancient city. It's got excellent, award-winning writing, a non-linear story, fantastic voice acting by a large cast, an enjoyable original soundtrack, and even a touch of time travel. Here's our write-up of it.
Ars Metallica—Smithing Enhancement
Unless you're playing as a metal-plated tank who swings an enormous two-handed sword around, there's not a lot of use for smithing. Archers, thieves, and other stealthy characters have no issues finding light armor on their adventures, so there's never been much reason to make it themselves. This mod by Arthmoor gives slippery sorts reasons to learn smithing, by letting them forge arrows, lockpicks, and guild-specific armor, as well as melt down bulkier armor they'd never actually wear into ingots.
Bethesda Game Studio’s iconic fantasy epic is a great game with a ton of content on its own, but with the hard work of a tirelessly hard-working modding community, Skyrim becomes something truly unique.
In this article, we’re going to run down some of the best, most interesting, and most essential mods that Skyrim has to offer.
How do I install Skyrim mods?
There a few ways to install and manage your mods for Skyrim, and how you do it depends on which version of Skyrim you have. The Special Edition includes tools for searching for, installing and managing mods all built into the game. You can access it all from the main menu and it allows you to find and install new mods and update old ones without closing the game.
We have also compiled some of the best Minecraft mods of 2018 right now. Check this
If you have the original version of Skyrim, then your best bet is using a third party mod manager such as Nexus Mod Manager. This software allows you to easily install and update mods and handily keep them all in one place. Of course, you could always install mods manually into the game’s directory, but third-party managers make it quicker and simpler.
20 Best Skyrim Mods You Need To Check Out
1. SkyUI
SkyUI is an excellent mod that overhauls the game’s original cumbersome inventory. It makes the UI much easier to navigate and is much more appropriate for the many, many, many items, weapons and random objects you’ll be picking up. It may also be a good introduction to the Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE), a tool that expands the capabilities of mods and allows you to make more dramatic changes to the game.
2. Static Mesh Improvement Mod
The Static Mesh Improvement Mod is a graphical mod that simply makes the game’s static 3D models look nicer. It’s no secret that Skyrim’s graphics haven’t exactly aged well in the 7 years since its original release and this is one of countless mods that attempt to alleviate that problem one bit at a time. An essential mod for anyone trying to make Skyrim look as not-bad as possible.
3. Total Character Makeover
Total Character Makeover is a mod that aims to make the character models of Skyrim look a bit more aesthetically-pleasing and less muddy and rough. The faces of Skyrim have always been a little on the ugly side, and this mod gives the NPCs and the player avatar some improved resolutions without ruining your frame rate.
4. Skyrim Special Edition Unofficial Patch
The Unofficial Patch for Skyrim Special Edition is a comprehensive bug-fixing mod that intends to be your one-stop-shop for eliminating all those nasty bugs that can still be found in the Special Edition. Essential for the smoothest Skyrim experience.
5. Opening Scene Overhaul
The Opening Scene Overhaul mod restores some lines that were cut by Bethesda but can still be found in the game’s files. It adds additional carriage dialogue, and offers some deeper insight into the world you’re about to explore. It also gives you the option of escaping with Ulfric himself if you decide to side with the Stormcloaks.
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6. Open Cities
The Open Cities mod curbs the immersion-breaking loading screens that hit you whenever you enter a city, and aims to give the game a more Morrowind-like feel. Stroll through cities on horseback and come and go as you please. This mod helps to make the world of Skyrim more seamless and connected.
7. Alternative Start
The Alternative Start mod offers a different start for new characters. It’s the ideal mod for players who have experienced the original Skyrim opening more than enough times for one lifetime. A fun and unique role-playing mod, this mod is a great way to mix things up a bit if you have to start again with Special Edition, or simply want to make a new character.
8. Diverse Dragons Collection
This very cool mod overhauls the dragons you’ll encounter in Skyrim. The original game featured a small variety of dragon designs and the fights quickly become repetitive and underwhelming. The Diverse Dragons Collection adds a staggering 28 new dragons, each boasting their own big dicks. It also features a variety of new dragon breaths and abilities to make the fights more interesting, as well as new ranks for the dragons intended to make the encounters scale with your level.
9. Achievements Mod Enabler
This mod is pretty straightforward. It allows you to earn achievements when using mods. Using mods doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re cheating, so why shouldn’t you be able to earn achievements whilst modding the game? Who plays Skyrim without mods, anyway?
10. Skyrim Flora Overhaul
Another nice graphical overhaul mod, the Skyrim Flora Overhaul mod replaces most of the game’s trees, grass and plants with original models, including 16 new trees and more than 180 new textures for ground cover and plants. One more essential mod for players looking for the prettiest Skyrim possible.
11. Surreal Lighting
Surreal Lighting adds a bit of wonder to the landscapes of Skyrim, helping to make it feel more fantasy and less ordinary. Helps to make Skyrim more colourful and vibrant.
12. Interesting NPCs
Interesting NPCs adds some variety to Skyrim’s oft-bland and lifeless NPCs, most of which, if they don’t have a quest for you, will just spout generic lines that you’ll hear repeated over and over again. This mod adds a whole host of new characters, all with their own back stories, unique lines, and (most importantly) new voice acting that is (mostly) high quality.
13. The Forgotten City
This mod resembles something more akin to a Bethesda DLC expansion. The Forgotten City is a murder mystery set in the titular Forgotten City. It offers around 8 hours of gameplay and some high-quality writing that won a national Writer’s Guild award. It’s a very unique mod that’s well worth checking out.
14. Way of the Monk – Unarmed Overhaul
This Unarmed Overhaul mod does exactly that. It overhauls unarmed combat in an attempt to make it a viable play style. Featuring two new skill trees, Unarmed and Unarmoured, as well as a variety of related perks and equipment, it allows players to roll a Monk-like character and discover their inner zen.
15. Duel – Combat Realism
Duel is a mod that aims to fix the unrealistic combat system in Skyrim and completely change the way you play. It makes the player pay close attention to their stamina bar in order to survive, it ties in your weapons and armour to bring added realism, it changes how archery works, and more. If you’re looking for a dramatically different combat experience in Skyrim, Duel is your best bet.
16. Apocalypse – Magic of Skyrim
Apocalypse is a much-needed overhaul of the magic in Skyrim. Any fan of mages in RPGs is more than aware of how underwhelming magic is in Skyrim. This mod introduces 140 new spells that give you a large variety of new ways to tackle your enemies. These spells aren’t just the usual hold down spray of fire/cold/lightning until enemy dies and then rinse/repeat, this mod includes disables, summons, and a number of other cool surprises. Essential if you want to play a mage without getting bored.
17. Sneak Tools
Sneak Tools is a mod that aims to make the stealth more dynamic than simply staying in the shadows and getting bonus sneak attack damage. This mod allows you to slit throats, knock out enemies from behind, wear masks that hide your identity. Douse torches and lanterns to move through the shadows. Add an arsenal of trick arrows, including one that launches ropes that allows you to climb walls. Sneak Tools gives Skyrim a touch of Thief to make it’s stealth more interesting.
18. Falskaar
The Falskaar mod is one of the most impressive and comprehensive mods you’ll find for Skyrim. It’s essentially the size of an official expansion and introduces a new continent with an incredible 25 hours of new material. The creator of this mod took around 2000 hours to make it and now works at Bungie. The continent introduces a huge variety of new quests, wildlife, and a gorgeous landscape. Falskaar is an amazing achievement in modding and is a must-try for any Skyrim fan.
19. Skyrim Redone
Skyrim Redone is the mod of all mods for Skyrim. A true overhaul in the most literal sense, this monumental package of mods brings together a variety of different mods to give the game a massive makeover. It overhauls every aspect of the game, from perks and skills to the character stats and more, and even includes some more unique things like a grappling hook and disguises. It’s such a complex mod that it can be a bit of a pain to get working properly, but once you get it all up and running it’s the truly definitive modding experience for Skyrim.
20. Immersive Patrols
Immersive Patrols is a mod that creates a series of patrols for the factions of Skyrim: Stormcloak, Imperial, Thalmor, Dawnguard, Bandits, and so on. These routes will sometimes cross paths, leading to some violent clashes between the factions and offering more of the emergent chaos that we all love to watch.
21. The Gate of Solitude
A huge content mod that adds a whole new questline to Oblivion, playing off of the Oblivion gates from the main storyline. It recommends you be at least level 35, and the creator suggests playing on Master difficulty for the best experience. It’s a hard and challenging load of content that’s sure to be a fun and interesting experience for experienced Oblivion player who have tired out the rest of the game’s content and its expansions.
Download here.
Well, if you have heard about Skyrim VR, you can learn how to use mods with Skyrim VR at uploadvr.
Skyrim Special Edition Mods Kids
These are just some of the amazing mods available at your fingertips. Skyrim is the ultimate modding game. Its extreme flexibility and open-ended nature make it the perfect game to tweak and create new content for. Check out these best mods for Skyrim and see how it changes your Skyrim experience.