New to game, do you think I should play unmodded first?

[lofgren]

Think of the vanilla game as just another mod. I personally find that I like many elements of the vanilla game much more than what some modders have done with them. Skyrim is a good middle-of-the-road experience designed to appeal just enough to most players' palettes. But most players also have quirkier desires that would be impossible to implement in a mass-market game of Skyrim's breadth. You'll want to know which elements of the game you like, which you would like if they were implemented differently, and which you want to do away with altogether in order to choose the unique set of mods that are just right for you.

 

That said, there were some mods that I knew right away appealed to my sensibilities, and sure enough I was downloading mods before my first character hit level 20.

[CherryBelle]

I agree with everyone that suggested doing a vanilla run, and have decided to go through the game one time at least with no mods. (knowing me it'll take a while, I'm slow at games.) I've decided that unless I run through it at least for a while unmodded, I won't really get a taste for what the mods are changing, which is always a big plus for me. It's really hard to decide if I want to play it as it was intended or as I end up reshaping it... But I also tend to go into berserk mode like KingKnight, later, when it comes to customization. I'm a huge sucker for it and if I find a way I can customize something, anything, I end up doing it. hah.

I also think I might be having a bug because there's no.... menu in the game. I thought it was just the style, but after realizing how stupid that would be because I also didn't find a way to use my hotkeys.. I realized something must be wrong. lol. So now I'm off to figure out where my menu went.

Thanks for all the advice! I'll be sure to have the unofficial patches installed. Thanks for the mod recs too, like the ones that just replace textures and others people recommended. At the moment, the unofficial patches are the only ones I am going to use, just so I can see how it looks unmodded and un... er, retextureized.

 

Thanks again!

[wtfnonamesleft]

In my opinion, the answer to this question depends on the mods in question. Mods that change content in some substantial manner might be undesirable to start with. On the other hand, mods that improve the UI or "look and feel" of the game are benign.

 

The mods I'm currently using are: A Quality World Map, Categorized Favorites Menu, Improved Skill Books, Item Sorting, Real Rain, Skyrim Flora Overhaul, SkyUI, and Quick Reflexes Bug Fix. Of these mods, only the 'Improved Skill Books' mod alters gameplay. I consider it a minor and desirable alteration, but your mileage may vary. The 'Quick Reflexes Bug Fix', on the other hand, is a no brainer if you're planning on taking tht perk. The other mods just make the vanilla UI more bearable.

 

Personally, I would hate to play an totally unmodded game, mostly because the default UI really sucks for a PC with mouse and KB.

[documn]

I always suggest playing unmodded the first time. Believe it or not, I think Skyrim is a good game all on its own. I've had experience with other Elder Scrolls and Fallout games so I could deal with the occasional bug, but I don't recall having to actually use the console except to use tcl to unstick me from terrain.

 

That being said, the UI was my biggest gripe on my first playthrough. The UI only got more annoying as my list of recipes/ingredients/spells/inventory/etc. got bigger. If the UI bugs you, I would suggest installing SkyUI.

[CherryBelle]

Yeah, I caved and did install some mods... but nothing super fancy I think. lol. Thanks for all the help, guys!

[Cowgoesmoo3]

IT TOTALLY DEPENDS...

 

If you're the kind into the sex mods... Which sometimes I have to say uh........ to

 

Which isn't really much of gameplay, but is pretty much predominant culture here on NMM.

 

But otherwise, I suggest modding up.

Really the least is a few essentials, such as SKYUI.

You have to have that one, and maybe CFM. (You'd need a slightly older version of SKYUI that doesn't have its own favorites menu for it to not get in your way in a very slightly annoying manner)

You only need a few that are really amazing, because it still fits vanilla quite nicely.

Edited May 13, 2014 by Cowgoesmoo3

[Matth85]

I actually suggest not modding. For starters, you get more "worth" out of the game. You can easily expand the life of the game by a couple hundred houres.

Secondly, you avoid any kind of modding-issues that can cause game-breaking problems.

Lastly, you get to enjoy the game as it was made, then you get to enjoy all the extra content modders make.

 

The only thing I would suggest you to add, is SKyUI. Otherwise, you are rushing things unnecessarily.

[Marth77]

Like everyone says, I'd suggest SKYUI, SKSE, The Unofficial Patches for Update, Dawnguard, Dragonborn and the High res textures (if you're using any of them, i.e) [they are very very very useful and makes your life playing skyrim a bit easier]

Other than that, just play the game normally, after that it's just personal taste, if you think you're done playing the vanilla, proceed to modding.

[Dhegonus]

for a first run through, make sure you atleast have the unofficial patches, they fix most of the game.

[sailtheplains]

I would---because how can you know what mods you'd like if you don't know how the original game plays.