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Hello Captain, Let me start by saying I'm new at modding, but work in tech support helping out the 'special ones'. Some of the stuff you're going over is general rather than modding Skyrim, but you're probably closer than you think. First - let's not worry about WYRE which would be using the bash tags in BOSS. Just focus on not installing conflicting mods i.e. mods that alter the same thing (so if you want abc and mod one does a&b, mod 2 a&c, you install both to get abc and your game might crash to desktop, or CTD, when fighting over who has the better 'a'). For now, let's focus on the basics and forget WYRE bash tags and patching. 1. Nexus Modd Manager - can activate and deactivate mods rather than just the data files such as .esp (useful if you want to say re-install a texture pack that another mod screwed up - just deactivate and re-activate) - A lot of mods ask you if you're updating when installing main files and then update files. Usually you choose no, but if you are updating a mod and choose yes, all it does is de-activate the old version. - The latest version number is screwy, usually pointing to a main file version. 2. BOSS - You've already got this. Just run it anytime you install or remove a Mod. It will take care of the load order automatically when you run it, which is the number one cause of CTDs. Download BOSS Userlist Manager to help sort your unrecognised Mods in BOSS (you may need to refer to their page for a recommended load order). 3. Tes5Edit - This program fixes dirty edits found in BOSS. You work top-down, load Tes5Edit, right click select none, select the top-most data file with dirty edits reported by BOSS, press OK. On the top-left, right click the data file and Apply filter for cleaning - then right click the file again and Remove identical master records... (big warning, click yes) and then right click again (last time!) and Undelete and Disable References. That's it - you've cleaned the file and when you run BOSS again it'll show clean. Go through the data files with dirty edits found by BOSS until you get to the bottom. Luckily, this process isn't an everyday thing. 4. SKSE - download this and simply copy the files to your Skyrim folder (I'd recommend opening Skyrim folder to the left SKSE to the right, and by selecting all but the src folder you can just drag and drop the files into the Skyim folder) and you're good to go. Like mentioned, always use skse_loader.exe 5. You can make the game look better with ENB, SweetFX, or both. I personally just use SweetFX because it's less demanding on my 1440p monitor with AA settings maxed out and ONLY 2GB of graphics card RAM. It's basically just adding a direct X file to the Skyrim directory. I can point you in the right direction if you're interested. 6. If you are experiencing random CTDs, install Skyrim Performance Moniter, point it to skse_loader.exe, and install Cleanmem per the instructions in STEP (to clean memory every 2 minutes). Also, choose lite versions of texture mods. CleanMem and video Ram shortages are basically because the game's engine is not optimized for today's machines in a nutshell - otherwise I'd not be writing this #6 when 8GB of ram costs $50. Oh well. 7. When you get the game running beautifully using the above, you can fine tune everything with a bash patch to prevent CTDs. There is a Mod that is basically a bunch of pictures showing how to do this. 8. This number is because I think I have too many steps. This step is just a FYI / my opinion - the reason why this stuff seems so un-user friendly is because Modding consists of a bunch of tinkering with little to no standards in place. It's just a hobby like suping up an engine. Most people don't need the extra 50hp but we all need hobbys. Happy modding Hope this helps some

This idea seems great. I find that so many different mods and tweaks can make this game very touchy. How hard would it be to get together a pack together of several Mods, include skyrim and skyrimprefs, an ENB, and give credit to the original authors of the mods? i.e. would this be stepping on anyone's toes? My system uses an i5 3570k overclocked and 2 660 GTX OC in SLI mode. With only 2GB of VRAM, I've had trouble with texture packs in Skyrim. It would be fantastic if instead of the 'MOD' guides that give instructions to setup and combine several MODs and settings, the process could be simplified.