Should I downgrade game version to 1.5.97 in 2025?

[BlackRoseOfThorns]

Long story short. I have upgraded my pc and took opportunity to set up a new modlist from scratch. I have Steam Skyrim SE with freebee CC (survival, fishing, etc but without the AE armour and weapon CC). Previously I've run 1.5.97 with Backported Extended ESL Support without survival and fishing CC installed.

 

I've noticed some mods like Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch - USSEP require version 1.6.1130+. If I remember correctly in the past someone compiled a list of mods that required v1.5.97 and kept in updated. Does anyone have an up to date link? A list of mods that work only with v1.6.xxx+ would also be helpful.

 

I will be setting up my own mod list, so I won't be limited to specific version, however I will most likely use survival and fishing CC this time around. Since I've redownloaded Skyrim it's the newest version. I have v1.5.97 .exe backup. Is it enough to swap the exe file and get skse for v1.5.97 or do I have to run the patcher uploaded on nexus? Or should I settle for different game version?

[scorrp10]

IMHO, these days, maintaining a 1.5.97 version is a whole lot more trouble that it is worth.   I am presently sitting on a 1.6.1130, since I can't be bothered to go through the motions of updating to 1170.   But if I were to do a clean install today, it would be 1.6.1170.    Unless there are some 1.5.97-only mods that are absolutely necessary for you and have no viable alternatives, I see no reason to stick with that version.

[7531Leonidas]

For SKSE64 mod compatibility/alternates, a recent list/spreadsheet is here on the Nexus ( https://modding.wiki/en/skyrim/users/skse-plugins ).  Not sure how well it is maintained at this time.

[BlackRoseOfThorns]

4 hours ago, scorrp10 said:

IMHO, these days, maintaining a 1.5.97 version is a whole lot more trouble that it is worth.   I am presently sitting on a 1.6.1130, since I can't be bothered to go through the motions of updating to 1170.   But if I were to do a clean install today, it would be 1.6.1170.    Unless there are some 1.5.97-only mods that are absolutely necessary for you and have no viable alternatives, I see no reason to stick with that version.

Do you own AE upgrade or just SE? Which RaceMenu version did you install? Latest updates state REQUIRES SKSE64 Anniversary Edition 2.2.6. I feel that SKSE naming is a bit misleading. SKSE Anniversary Edition build 2.2.6 (game version 1.6.1170) is the SE 1.6.1170, am I right?

[BlackRoseOfThorns]

4 hours ago, 7531Leonidas said:

For SKSE64 mod compatibility/alternates, a recent list/spreadsheet is here on the Nexus ( https://modding.wiki/en/skyrim/users/skse-plugins ).  Not sure how well it is maintained at this time.

That's pretty useful. I like the mod alternative section. Thanks.

[Gunslinger808]

Probably wrong here, but downgrading was really only a viable option during all the mod breaking upgrades Bugthesda and Steam was doing, by downgrading you could still use the old SKSE and other things like Papyrus.

Pretty much any mod for SE and Anniversary will work with 1.6.whatever.

Since all of those issues have been fixed, it doesn’t really make much sense.

[scorrp10]

26 minutes ago, BlackRoseOfThorns said:

Do you own AE upgrade or just SE? Which RaceMenu version did you install? Latest updates state REQUIRES SKSE64 Anniversary Edition 2.2.6. I feel that SKSE naming is a bit misleading. SKSE Anniversary Edition build 2.2.6 (game version 1.6.1170) is the SE 1.6.1170, am I right?

Ok, look.   There is a bit of a naming disconnect between Bethesda/Steam and the modding community.

On Steam, it is called "Skyrim Special Edition" (SSE).   On November 11 of 2021, exactly 10 years since original Skyrim release, Bethesda updated this game.   Four Creation Club mods (Survival, Fishing, Curios and Relics, Saints and Seducers) were made part of the base game, and at this time also, 'Anniversary Upgrade Pack' was released on Steam.   In order to support all of the above, the base game was updated from version 1.5.97 to 1.6.    Also on Steam, an "Anniversary Edition" was made available which was a Skyrim Special Edition + Anniversary Upgrade Pack bundle.  Since then, the game has seen a number of further updates, the latest one being to version 1.6.1170  on January 17 2024.

The update was a bit cataclysmic and it sent the modding community scrambling as 1.5.97 was in place for nearly two years.  All .dll SKSE plugins stopped working and a lot of their authors were no longer in the modding scene to fix them.    A lot of people (me included) opted at the time to downgrade back to 1.5.97 so that their modding setup would work again.    It took some time for the dust to settle, for the critical mods to get updated or replaced, and mod community took to calling 1.6 and any past version "Anniversary Edition" (AE) and 1.5.97 the "Special Edition" (SE)  

And no, I do not own the 'AE Upgrade'.   I looked through the mods included in it, and I find them useless.   I own Skyrim Special Edition, presently kept at version 1.6.1130, but in mod community terms, it is an 'AE' version.   I stuck with 1.5.97 till mid-2022, at which point I assembled a new PC and installed SSE version 1.6.353 (latest at the time).   Then around end of 2023, I updated to 1.6.1130, mostly due to a Creation Kit update.

So, at present, I run:
Skyrim SE 1.6.1130
SKSE64  0.2.2.5 AE
RaceMenu 0.4.19.15 AE

There are generally 4 versions of SKSE64 readily available:
2.0.20 SE (for SSE 1.5.97)
2.2.6 AE (for SSE 1.6.1170)
2.2.6 GOG (for SSE 1.6.1179 GOG)
2.0.12 VR (for SSE 1.4.15 VR)
Plus the 1.7.3 'classic' version for original 32-bit Skyrim.

[BlackRoseOfThorns]

3 hours ago, scorrp10 said:

Ok, look.   There is a bit of a naming disconnect between Bethesda/Steam and the modding community.

On Steam, it is called "Skyrim Special Edition" (SSE).   On November 11 of 2021, exactly 10 years since original Skyrim release, Bethesda updated this game.   Four Creation Club mods (Survival, Fishing, Curios and Relics, Saints and Seducers) were made part of the base game, and at this time also, 'Anniversary Upgrade Pack' was released on Steam.   In order to support all of the above, the base game was updated from version 1.5.97 to 1.6.    Also on Steam, an "Anniversary Edition" was made available which was a Skyrim Special Edition + Anniversary Upgrade Pack bundle.  Since then, the game has seen a number of further updates, the latest one being to version 1.6.1170  on January 17 2024.

The update was a bit cataclysmic and it sent the modding community scrambling as 1.5.97 was in place for nearly two years.  All .dll SKSE plugins stopped working and a lot of their authors were no longer in the modding scene to fix them.    A lot of people (me included) opted at the time to downgrade back to 1.5.97 so that their modding setup would work again.    It took some time for the dust to settle, for the critical mods to get updated or replaced, and mod community took to calling 1.6 and any past version "Anniversary Edition" (AE) and 1.5.97 the "Special Edition" (SE)  

And no, I do not own the 'AE Upgrade'.   I looked through the mods included in it, and I find them useless.   I own Skyrim Special Edition, presently kept at version 1.6.1130, but in mod community terms, it is an 'AE' version.   I stuck with 1.5.97 till mid-2022, at which point I assembled a new PC and installed SSE version 1.6.353 (latest at the time).   Then around end of 2023, I updated to 1.6.1130, mostly due to a Creation Kit update.

So, at present, I run:
Skyrim SE 1.6.1130
SKSE64  0.2.2.5 AE
RaceMenu 0.4.19.15 AE

There are generally 4 versions of SKSE64 readily available:
2.0.20 SE (for SSE 1.5.97)
2.2.6 AE (for SSE 1.6.1170)
2.2.6 GOG (for SSE 1.6.1179 GOG)
2.0.12 VR (for SSE 1.4.15 VR)
Plus the 1.7.3 'classic' version for original 32-bit Skyrim.

Thanks. I know it was a mess. When I saw the abysmal compatibility page, no DAR support (OAR didn't exist yet), I decided to wait it out. Later there wasn't any compelling reason to upgrade or replace all the mods so I just let it be. I was just mainly concerned if Bethesda made any shenanigans with AE edition to make it "more compatible" with CC shop. If the scripts and records are identical then all is good.