Skyrim Special Edition

[janior]

requiem is shit

 

[cretin]

requiem is shit

do tell why you lazy cunt

 

[gurugeorge]

I haven't played Skyrim since idk, 2013...

Can you tell me what's up with the mods? Is there a manager that deals with installation order, and what are the basics mods that anyone would want anyway?

Thanks, I appreciate.

Edit: I think I figured it out. Just one question. Is loverslab not necessary now? I'm seeing a lot of sex stuff on nexusmods.

Mod Organizer 2. Accept no substitutes (they're all trash).

Mods are largely overrated. After all these years the only thing id recommend is YASH (yet another skyrim hardcore) or Requiem. Skyrim SE looks perfectly fine, so the only visual mods you "need" IMO is Static Mesh Improvement Mod, and possibly the ruins clutter thing + using dyndolod and texgenlod or whatever to make better LODs.

Don't fall down the rabbit hole of trying to replace every asset in the game, thats where you spend 200 hours modding and half an hour playing only to realize the only actual eyesore parts of the game can't be saved by mods (such as distant cell rendering). Besides: a lot of the work the autistic community insists you must have is actually markedly worse looking than vanilla - as lazy as bethesda is, these modders clearly aren't professional artists and it shows when you see the whole thing in motion/play.

Other than that, just stick to modding things only if they bother the hell out of you. A lot of mods sound cool on paper, but don't play so well. Things like Frostfall come to mind - ends up being little more than a tedious bar management minigame because skyrim is ironically too small for survival elements to every truly matter beyond LARPing, and actually you are better off LARPing without the mod because at least then you'll be "immersed" instead of looking at a HUD element every 10 seconds.

lol, so true that about the art design. You can get a decently realistic Skyrim out of visuals modding, but you have to pick and choose, not everything that's recommended is good (or is just someone's personal taste), and really it's best to leave most of it alone. The standard SE graphics, with as you say some mesh improvements and distance tweaks, have a very nice fairytale look to them.

The thing about modding is that the modding in your head when you anticipate a session of modding is always much more exciting than the modding you can actually do (sex mods, I'm looking at you). Though people try because autistes be autistes, and it's the least-worst option available (and ofc it's great that Bethesda have always allowed and encouraged it, one of their strongest points).

Also great point about the survival mods. They're all actually pretty good and work well, and it's kinda fun for a while LARPing with setting up a tent and campfire at night, making sure you've got the right gear, etc., but it's a case of "all dressed up with nowhere to go" - the world of Skyrim is effectively tiny, with one "event" crammed in after another, no actual just empty countryside that would make the survival stuff meaningful. And also, none of the way the world is set up (in terms of lore and art design) makes for a good background for a survival story really. The game is designed for fast, loopy gameplay, and if you try to make it feel more realistic, the realism just gets in the way of enjoying Skyrim for being Skyrim.

I always do feel that there's a demand for semi-realistic survivalism in open world games, but a game world built for survival would have to be at least 3 times as big as Skyrim, with less crap jammed together on it.

I'm surprised nobody's done like a Ranger or Hunter game where you're a ranger, or a normally skilled hunter drawn into events beyond his ken, but you're also a survivalist, and you need the skills so you can go and get the bad guys. Then you could have the desired mix of fantasy and realism.

 

[Bester]

I installed a bunch of mods through Vortex. But when I open Skyrim and go to "Mods", most of them aren't enabled.

Should I enable them manually or is Vortex taking care of it, and fiddling with this menu will only break things?

Answer is not googlable.

 

[racofer]

requiem is shit

do tell why you lazy cunt

It's Skyrim. What else needs to be said?

 

[Bester]

Ugh. Absolutely no explanations for people new to Skyrim modding. Took me a while to figure out I have to enable the "mods" in the "plugins" tab after installing. Not intuitive UX.

Installed 51 mods with no prior experience, this will go splendidly, obviously. Let's go.

 

[gurugeorge]

Ugh. Absolutely no explanations for people new to Skyrim modding. Took me a while to figure out I have to enable the "mods" in the "plugins" tab after installing. Not intuitive UX.

Installed 51 mods with no prior experience, this will go splendidly, obviously. Let's go.

*cringes* should have gone with MO2

I'd recommend one of the step-by-step guides if you're totally new to it, that way you'll learn a lot as you go - it's a bit of a potential rabbit hole, but nevertheless a fun pastime, even though you end up not playing much of Skyrim

Lexy's is the current big one (the way STEP used to be), but it's a bit "pro." You want something mid-level like The Phoenix Flavour or Aylis' guide at Loverslab. They guy who does TPF is genuinely quite nerdy, and does make an effort to test combinations (the guide is regularly revised and upgraded to cope with new developments in Skyrim modding), so the instructions are to the point. His aesthetic picks stick closely to the spirit of the original too.

It's funny because the big selling point of MO2 is that because you have profiles you can be modding Skyrim while playing Skyrim (i.e. you can piss about with, or even totally break, a build in one profile while continuing to play the game you're invested in in another). But this works only once you really understand MO2.

For future reference, and as a PSA, I've found the most important things to bear in mind with MO2 in order to have that promise fulfilled (of being able to play the game while modding it), are

1) to strictly follow the override rule. Never leave stuff in there. Always make a mod out of whatever's in there, or merge it with the appropriate mod, and set up "output" mods to take the output of things like FNIS, Bodyslide slider changes, and things like Nemesis and SkyRE, as well as the output of some "finalising" thing that mooshes it all together (Wrye Bash or Mator Smash). Because (for example with FNIS) if you add different animation mods, they all have to be FNIS-ed after installation to get them playing nice with each other (same with Nemesis, the new animation engine thing).

2) Often you will need to have different versions of a mod per profile - for example, water mods often have different setups depending on whatever other mods you're using, so you always want to have an individual water mod named accordingly per profile. And the same goes for a few other things. Always keep an eye out for that.

3) Don't overlook the "Data" tab in MO2, it has a very handy functionality. What the Data tab shows you is the "virtual Skyrim" the game engine will see when you fire up that profile. So for each component of the game, you will see there the thing that's virtually overwritten everything else to become the thing the game sees. Occasionally you think in your mind that what the game is seeing is one thing (you think you've got your ducks in a row in the left pane), when actually it's another. (This also happens quite often when you start playing around with body mods, body-specific armor mods and physics mods.) Spending a few minutes just hovering over items there (which shows you a micro report of what's going on with what's overwriting what for that component of the game), especially the items in red (which are the ones where the final result has overwritten an earlier mod in the left pane).

You'll find that there's a phase with MO2 modding where you think you're in the saddle and then you start being more ambitious and larding mod on top of mod just as you did when you were a newbie. And then you get a mysterious CTD. At that point, the question of "what just went wrong" gets even more mysterious than it was when you were just a schlub haphazardly adding mods to your base game. But once you get through that phase, it's plain sailing from there and modding becomes really easy. The only thing that gets tedious at that point is the fact that you'll likely have to re-run FNIS, etc., after any major changes - which from one point of view is perfectly reasonable, but from an other point of view is a PITA that gets boring after a while. That's actually the best thing about the guides, because they're so comprehensive they mean that you can actually just get into playing Skyrim quicker than you would if you just start haphazardly, because usually there's been no stone unturned, so there's not much left for you to play about with after that other than flavours (like different ENBs, etc.).

The number one rule in modding, which is actually really hard to follow because you get so absorbed and curious to see what will happen, is to do mods one at a time and carefully read through its foibles and problems. As soon as you get into a "rush" where you add a whole bunch of things at once, that's bound to be when you get a CTD.

 

[Bester]

Is there something that makes combat challenging?

At level 1 I fried 4 frost spiders like they're rats. I don't find that fun. I would've preferred to get my ass kicked and having to run away.

 

[Butter]

Is there something that makes combat challenging?

At level 1 I fried 4 frost spiders like they're rats. I don't find that fun. I would've preferred to get my ass kicked and having to run away.

The game isn't mechanically deep enough to have a challenge. There are mods that make enemies more dangerous, but it's mostly just giving them more damage. It makes no difference if you shoot them with an arrow or a fire spell.

 

[Old Hans]

Is there something that makes combat challenging?

At level 1 I fried 4 frost spiders like they're rats. I don't find that fun. I would've preferred to get my ass kicked and having to run away.

yea but it's a dumb loser spider. not even a MAGIC spider.

 

[Bester]

Is there anything to remove level scaling? I remember playing back in 2013 or something and at high level, bandits would be all wear glass or adamantium or whatever, some expensive shit. Made no sense to me.

 

[Funposter]

Is there anything to remove level scaling? I remember playing back in 2013 or something and at high level, bandits would be all wear glass or adamantium or whatever, some expensive shit. Made no sense to me.

Morrowloot does this + has more handplaced loot, but it also includes some un-needed changes to equipment balance.

 

[cretin]

Is there something that makes combat challenging?

At level 1 I fried 4 frost spiders like they're rats. I don't find that fun. I would've preferred to get my ass kicked and having to run away.

YASH or requiem.

Is there anything to remove level scaling? I remember playing back in 2013 or something and at high level, bandits would be all wear glass or adamantium or whatever, some expensive shit. Made no sense to me.

YASH or requiem.

 

[typical user]

Has anyone tried any of the mods which change the combat to more soulsborne-like? Y'know rolling, disabling enemy tracking, nerfing their attack radius + that mod which allows you to hold 2handers with one hand (use greataxe like halberd and wield shield in offhand)?

I remember some mods did make enemies more intelligent in combat - they would gang-up on you, block, bash and do everything to stagger you instead of pinata-whacking.

Also can't go wrong with Open Cities - I think with dragon riding mechanic it is a must-have. Most of cities overhauls are shit anyway like turning Whiterun into huge pine forest or glueing more houses in every empty spot. Another must-have mods for me are quick-loot from Fo4 and Skyrim-Souls which disables pause while going into inventory - can't heal up from 0 to 100 by chugging every single potion. Also thieving gets more realistic as you need to scope out area before lockpicking or pickpocketing - previously you just had to make sure you are unseen before activating the object not for the entire process.

For graphics, it's Static Mesh Improvement, a mod to replace water, some overhaul to weather system, different rocks/cliffs textures, new vegetation (trees and grass) and dynamic LOD to wrap everything up.

 

[Bester]

Has anyone tried any of the mods which change the combat to more soulsborne-like? Y'know rolling, disabling enemy tracking, nerfing their attack radius + that mod which allows you to hold 2handers with one hand (use greataxe like halberd and wield shield in offhand)?

I don't think DS-like mechanics would work well in a first person game. Making it Chivalry-like is the goal here. No rolling. There's a mod for timed blocks, and I have it, but eh, because shields only block like 25% damage or something like that? Feints should be a thing too, but I'm not aware of a mod that does it. But ultimately, if you have feints, it's a mind game. And you can't have a mind game with a simple algorithm.

Morrowloot does this

Thank you.

 

[Poseidon00]

Has anyone tried any of the mods which change the combat to more soulsborne-like? Y'know rolling, disabling enemy tracking, nerfing their attack radius + that mod which allows you to hold 2handers with one hand (use greataxe like halberd and wield shield in offhand)?

No, no, no, but for the last one yes. Well, sorta. I use True Spear Combat and that allows shield + one handed spear combos, or throwing javelins, with new animations with em, along with a few mods that add new weapons, and some of them are large one-handed weapons. Haven't played it in years though.

 

[gurugeorge]

Haha, well speaking of needing to have larger, sparser maps to make the realism/survival stuff more meaningful, I just found this: Chanterelle - a savage world to explore.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

These arachnids are of the giant variety, very poisonous, and extremely fast. They often inhabit places underground where the moist depth can keep their chitinous skin pliable. They are highly carnivorous, and will attack without provocation, using their paralyzing venom to incapacitate their intended victims until they can be fed upon.

Spiders are creatures in The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall. They can be hit with any material, and their attacks can paralyze their targets.

Habitats
They can be found in dungeons or wandering the wilds.

Spiders are enemies found in The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey. They are found in most dungeons, and may drop a spider heart upon death. Spiders are generally found in large groups and attempt to swarm their enemies.[1]

Variants
Cave Spider LEVEL 3
Spider Guardian LEVEL 8
Spider Savager LEVEL 6
Diamond Spider Queen LEVEL 9

Frostbite Spider
Four sub-types of standard Frostbite Spiders exist, each with different amounts of health. They stand roughly as tall as a wolf, and commonly appear in small groups.

Wounded Frostbite Spider
A single wounded Frostbite Spider appears in Bleak Falls Barrow. Its size and abilities are both slightly less than those of Giant Frostbite Spiders. Another one may be found in Ysgramor's Tomb, along with one in Dimhollow Crypt once Dawnguard is installed. Although rare, they may appear when fast traveling to Riverwood.

Giant Frostbite Spider
Giant Frostbite Spiders are a considerably larger, more fearsome type of Frostbite Spider. Standing slightly taller than the Dragonborn, they are most commonly found in caves. While Giant Frostbite Spiders do not live together, they are often accompanied by several minor Frostbite Spiders. When the Dragonborn reaches higher levels (around level 40), they become more common inside dungeons, especially those occupied by witches and hagravens, and it is not impossible to find two in the same room. At higher levels (mostly above 80), they are frequently found in the wild. Ironically, however, they do not become more common inside spider nests at higher levels. Two sub-types exist, with differing amounts of health.

Blades

Dragonborne

Battlespire

Morrowind centurion spider

Oblivion

gotta say.... Daggerfall spiders freaked the fuck outta me in gameplay. The rest... meh looking.

 

[purupuru]

bandits would be all wear glass or adamantium or whatever

Nope. That's Oblivion. In unmodded Skyrim the best light armor a bandit can have is scaled/scaled horn, and best heavy armor (very rare outside of bandit chiefs) counterpart is steel plate or nordic carved (with DLC). The only armor that looks kind of fancy is nordic carved, but those are basically bandit chief exclusives and don't really spawn anywhere else. And no common bandits will wear Dwarven or Orcish armor despite those being of lower tiers than steel plate. Long story short Skyrim bandits only wear leather/iron/steel/nord-themed armors.
Also the enemy spawn points are tagged with fleveledactormult of different difficulty levels, which acts as a modifier for spawned enemy levels (Easy 0.33, Medium 0.67, Hard 1.0, and Very Hard 1.25), so unless your PC is very high level (>50 more or less), only Hard and Very Hard spawn points should have the highest tier of equipment and those spawn points are definitely few and far between in vanilla dungeons.

 

[ADL]

 

[Ivan]

Wrapping up my Enderal playthrough. I don't see myself testing Bethesda's characters/quest design

 

[d1r]

Absolutely ridiculous at this point. I do wonder if this will fuck up every mod that is out there.

 

[Drowed]

So, it's Skyrim SE + some paid mods? Wow. I hope one of those MODs is the unofficial patch, because by now the joke of Bethesda releasing the same game with the same bugs isn't funny anymore.

 

[racofer]

 

[Yoomazir]

The real question is, are our NSFW mods safe with the Anniversary Edition?