First Skyrim Playthrough, Recommended Mods?

[RhumGoggles]

I am playing Skyrim for the first time and would be grateful if you guys could recommend me a list of Mods to make the experience great. I think i would prefer mainly visual mods because i would like to keep the essential core gamplay of Skyrim.

Thanks in advance :3

[Riprock]

Not sure I understand. Many mods that are more than visual enhancements do not impact game play.

 

For example, there are mods that overhaul Guard dialogue, and add interesting NPCs, or make townsfolk take shelter during a dragon attack.

 

There are however some mods that can negatively impact gameplay. For example I use a city expansion mod that does screw up a quest in certain situations. I knew about this beforehand, and I 'disabled' the problematic object via the console. Things like that, you'd definitely like to avoid at least for now!

 

I'd recommend Armored Skeletons, Weapon variant expansion, Jaysus Swords, Guard dialogue overhaul, and Hothtrooper44's Armor compilation; these things should not impact gameplay

 

Also I like Moon Deathstar Build Secunda, it makes one of the moons look like the unfinished Deathstar, that's definitely a harmless one

Edited December 2, 2014 by Riprock

[RhumGoggles]

Thank you :) what i meant is like What mods should i get so that the game looks beautiful or that help alot(UI) ? without like changing idk Combat? i dont know anything yet, i was just assuming there were mods that could change combat

[Riprock]

Oh there are. The great thing about the mods though is that there's almost always a good description for them

[RhumGoggles]

Thats why im asking which one would people recommend to make the game look real nice :)?

[marat569]

SkyRe -- Best combat/perk overhaul; love it.

 

SkyUI -- a must to play on PC.

[RhumGoggles]

Will do, Thanks marat

Edited December 2, 2014 by RhumGoggles

[VolkiharFiend]

I'd try the Populated series of mods. They are I believe 4 of them: Populated lands roads paths, Populated forts towers places, Populated ruins caves and dungeons, and populated towns villages and cities. There are also a couple that populate the civil war but I haven' tried them yet. I have not had any issues with these mods as they use the vanilla system to disperse the NPCs. There is a scripted version of the lands roads and paths version that lets you hire the random mercenaries that wander about.

 

These mods make Skyrim feel more lively as you will come to know the emptiness of the land in the vanilla version soon enough haha.

 

You can't get them on the nexus anymore but you can find them at the modders' website (google it). Perfectly safe I assure you.

[MightyZ0G]

you will probably need SkyUI and SKSE for some of these

use Wrye Bash and BOSS to make sure your mods load in the correct order and create a patch to make mods as compatible as possible.

these mods make the game look great without changing the gameplay

360 Walk and Run plus

Winter is Coming

Cloaks of Skyrim

Northborn Fur Hoods

Wet and Cold

Footprints

Vurts Flora Overhaul

Credo

Jaysus Swords

relevent Unofficial Patches (Skyrim, Dawn Guard, Heartfire, Dragonborn)

Brigandage

Witcher 2 Models

an ENB that suits your visual preference and PC

Point the Way

lanterns of skyrim

Equipping Overhaul

run for your lives

when vampires attack

Book Covers Skyrim

CleanArrowPlayer

DiversePriests

SkyFalls

Better Towns Textures

Better Mills Textures

Realistic Ragdoll Force

[TeofaTsavo]

While technically not "mods" I would suggest all of the Unofficial Patches for Skyrim and whatever DLC you have. Be sure you follow the install directions. They address a lot of maddening unresolved bugs Bethesda never fixed.

 

Prior to starting a new game I would install one of the female animation fixes so that Lydia and others don't move like gorillas with a rash. For some reason these fixes have to be installed prior to meeting those NPCs in game. It may not matter to you.

 

I would suggest trying one of the single NPC follower Custom Voiced/Dialog mods. Inigo, Sophia, Arissa as examples. There are more complex custom followers, Vilja, Anna NPCs for example, but perhaps more complex than a first play through needs. I'm sure I left some out. Followers like these are so superior to Vanilla cardboard followers and add a lot to a game without going OP.

 

 

Convenient Horses are a must for me. So is "When Vampires Attack" or similar. "Spouses Can live Anywhere" is another.

 

I differ from most in that I see no need for MCM or SkyUI so far, for me. Same for the many follower tweak mods like UFO. I use Arissa and Sophia, both separate from the vanilla system, and can hire one Vanilla. 3 followers are plenty, for me. One is honestly enough.

 

Beautify Skyrim. Can't suggest, there are so many, dependent on your taste, not mine. ApacheSkyHair is one that is almost a must because of the number of mods with dependency on it. I use CBBE with bodyslide 2, but there are many bodies. Any mod that washes part of the dirt and wrinkles off Vanilla is good, to me. Beth overdid "gritty" for my taste. I also use a mod called The Hairdresser to spot apply new hair to NPCs rather than an overall replacer.

 

I do not use any ENBs or world/town enhancing texture mods. I'll trade a bit of performance for high rez armor/weapons, not for hi rez grass. I actually use lower rez world textures, as my focus tends to be on my Characters.

Edited December 2, 2014 by TeofaTsavo