Why is my combat so difficult on SSE?

[xXFoxXx]

I have about 100 mods, but as far as I'm aware, really only 3 which affect combat. Those being wildcat, simildon, and combat evolved. I have a few other mods which affect distance of swings and bow mechanics, but they shouldn't affect damage as far as I'm aware. I really just want a realistic fight, but what I've encountered is nothing but frustration. I decimate regular bandits in 1-3 hits even at level 1, while bandit outlaws take 15 or so hits, regardless of their armor, making it incredibly difficult to take on multiple enemies. I just made a new save and couldn't get past the beginning escape run where you have to kill the spiders without cheating in console. It was literally impossible, they just did too much damage and I did too little. I've tried disabling some of these mods while keeping others enabled and haven't had any success, infact nothing really seems to change.

I've used LOOT to make sure they're arranged properly and based off the descriptions for the aforementioned 3 combat mods, I've come to believe that I have some other mod that ruins combat or something. The idea of wildcat is awesome to me, my opponent and me take huge damage and everything is realistic and people die in just a few hits, unfortunately I don't have that, I have some wonky feature where any enemy who isn't the lowest of the low is some huge sponge and it's literally impossible for me to beat creatures like spiders without cheating.

Here's my mod list, any help would be much appreciated. I play on SSE, if you know of any mods that might fix this, I'll definitely try them, thanks in advance.

GameMode=SkyrimSE

Skyrim.esm=1

Update.esm=1

Dawnguard.esm=1

HearthFires.esm=1

Dragonborn.esm=1

Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch.esp=1

ApachiiHair.esm=1

ApachiiHairFemales.esm=1

RSkyrimChildren.esm=1

SMIM-SE-Merged-All.esp=1

Immersive Sounds - Compendium.esp=1

Reverb and Ambiance Overhaul - Skyrim.esp=1

Helgen Reborn.esp=1

TrueBrows.esp=1

True Eyes SE.esp=1

Nouserhere Ears.esp=1

FNIS.esp=1

VioLens SE.esp=1

VioLens SE - Book Menu.esp=1

Hothtrooper44_Armor_Ecksstra.esp=1

Visible Favorited Gear.esp=1

Unique Uniques.esp=1

Vivid WeathersSE.esp=1

TrueStormsSE.esp=1

dD - Realistic Ragdoll Force - Realistic.esp=1

Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim.esp=1

Practice Dummies.esp=1

NoBSAIProjectileDodge.esp=1

Lethal Traps - Smilodon Patch.esp=1

Combat Evolved.esp=1

Animal Tweaks.esp=1

Smilodon - Combat of Skyrim.esp=1

Wildcat - Combat of Skyrim.esp=1

Realistic Melee Range.esp=1

dD - Enhanced Blood Main.esp=1

Hidden Hideouts of Skyrim - Merged.esp=1

Hothtrooper44_ArmorCompilation.esp=1

Run For Your Lives.esp=1

AnnaDruidConjuration.esp=1

Phenderix Dead Thrall Overhaul.esp=1

IcePenguinWorldMap.esp=1

AMB Glass Variants Lore.esp=1

Differently Ebony.esp=1

aMidianborn_Skyforge_Weapons.esp=1

skyforgedWeapons.esp=1

BarenziahQuestMarkers.esp=1

Footprints.esp=1

RSChildren - Complete.esp=1

RSChildren_PatchUSSEP.esp=1

Cloaks.esp=1

Immersive Wenches.esp=1

Immersive Patrols II.esp=1

Phenderix's Magic Evolved.esp=1

Cloaks - Dawnguard.esp=1

Faction Crossbows.esp=1

Cloaks - USSEP Patch.esp=1

1nivWICCloaks.esp=1

WetandCold.esp=1

1nivWICSkyCloaksPatch.esp=1

Vivid Weathers - Extended Snow.esp=1

Vivid Weathers - Extended Rain.esp=1

AmazingFollowerTweaks.esp=1

Chivalry - Bandit.esp=1

Diverse Horses SE Lite.esp=1

Skyrim Flora Overhaul.esp=1

RiftTreehouse.esp=1

Cozy Lakeside Cabin.esp=1

EoW_ShadowgreenRefuge.esp=1

Apocalypse - Magic of Skyrim.esp=1

Cowardly horses.esp=1

LrsamwaysExpandedSkyrimWeaponry.esp=1

Dr_Bandolier.esp=1

360WalkandRunPlus-RunBackwardSpeedAdjust.esp=1

BijinAIO_SSE-3.1.1-SV.esp=1

Bijin Warmaidens.esp=1

skyforgedShields.esp=1

Serana.esp=1

Valerica.esp=1

Bijin NPCs.esp=1

Bijin Wives.esp=1

Immersive Citizens - AI Overhaul.esp=1

RealisticWaterTwo.esp=1

RealisticWaterTwo - Watercolor.esp=1

Alternate Start - Live Another Life.esp=1

Relationship Dialogue Overhaul.esp=1

RAO - Alternate Start Patch.esp=1

Populated Skyrim Civil War.esp=1

[Deleted3897072User]

What level of difficulty do you play on?

[xXFoxXx]

What level of difficulty do you play on?

I'm changing it constantly. Against things like bandits I pop it on adept, but if I'm fighting an enemy of any difficulty at all I keep it on novice, it honestly seems to change almost nothing when I fiddle with the difficulty anyways.

[KaHn13]

 

I have about 100 mods, but as far as I'm aware, really only 3 which affect combat. Those being wildcat, simildon, and combat evolved. I have a few other mods which affect distance of swings and bow mechanics, but they shouldn't affect damage as far as I'm aware. I really just want a realistic fight, but what I've encountered is nothing but frustration. I decimate regular bandits in 1-3 hits even at level 1, while bandit outlaws take 15 or so hits, regardless of their armor, making it incredibly difficult to take on multiple enemies. I just made a new save and couldn't get past the beginning escape run where you have to kill the spiders without cheating in console. It was literally impossible, they just did too much damage and I did too little. I've tried disabling some of these mods while keeping others enabled and haven't had any success, infact nothing really seems to change. <SNIP>

 

 

Well for starters, you say you have both Smilodon and Wildcat installed. Enai made both mods. You need to use one or the other. Smilodon would have been Wildcat 6.00 and I believe that the only thing that Smilodon lacks is the injuries part of Wildcat. (See the first post on the Skyrim SE Smilodon posts page for confirmation and where I got this from) You need to use one or the other.

 

You also state that you are using Combat Evolved. Depending on which is first in your load order, parts of one may be overwritten by the corresponding parts of the other, and what isn't overwritten will be added on top of what is left.

 

Do not correct this on any current save game. Start a new game. (Console your level and perks up to what you have now) Choose either Smilodon or Wildcat and test your combat. Adjust Smilodons combat settings to your liking . Then if it is still too easy for you then reinstall or reactivate Combat Evolved. Test again to see if both mods activated is to your liking. Bear in mind that Smilodon has a default combat setting and an optional "Realistic" setting that changes based on your game difficulty settings.

 

If you don't understand what I've said here, then I encourage you to read each mods Skyrim SE Nexus mod description page and at the very least the first post page of the posts tab for each mod.

[Transient3292]

I had the same issue with wildcat or smilodon active with combat evolved. personally I find vanilla combat way too easy, but I also like my battles to feel like battles, as in I don't like them ending with one or 2 hits from either side. what fixed this for me was just leaving in Combat Evolved only. I usually end up having to play on adept, sometimes even lowering it for particular enemies. my fights all feel nice, when I'm fighting multiple enemies I have to move around a lot and swith spells cpnstantly, I'm also only level 20 right now though. once I get to a higher level I will probably have to add Wildcat , I didn't spend much time with it but it seemed to feel better than smilodon, which seemed to makd the damage increase too much for my liking.

 

as the last poster said, you should read the first page of posts on both mods, he explains the difference in detail. Sometimes in my eagerness to play I skim over those things and miss out on details of a mod

[xXFoxXx]

 

 

I have about 100 mods, but as far as I'm aware, really only 3 which affect combat. Those being wildcat, simildon, and combat evolved. I have a few other mods which affect distance of swings and bow mechanics, but they shouldn't affect damage as far as I'm aware. I really just want a realistic fight, but what I've encountered is nothing but frustration. I decimate regular bandits in 1-3 hits even at level 1, while bandit outlaws take 15 or so hits, regardless of their armor, making it incredibly difficult to take on multiple enemies. I just made a new save and couldn't get past the beginning escape run where you have to kill the spiders without cheating in console. It was literally impossible, they just did too much damage and I did too little. I've tried disabling some of these mods while keeping others enabled and haven't had any success, infact nothing really seems to change. <SNIP>

 

 

Well for starters, you say you have both Smilodon and Wildcat installed. Enai made both mods. You need to use one or the other. Smilodon would have been Wildcat 6.00 and I believe that the only thing that Smilodon lacks is the injuries part of Wildcat. (See the first post on the Skyrim SE Smilodon posts page for confirmation and where I got this from) You need to use one or the other.

 

You also state that you are using Combat Evolved. Depending on which is first in your load order, parts of one may be overwritten by the corresponding parts of the other, and what isn't overwritten will be added on top of what is left.

 

Do not correct this on any current save game. Start a new game. (Console your level and perks up to what you have now) Choose either Smilodon or Wildcat and test your combat. Adjust Smilodons combat settings to your liking . Then if it is still too easy for you then reinstall or reactivate Combat Evolved. Test again to see if both mods activated is to your liking. Bear in mind that Smilodon has a default combat setting and an optional "Realistic" setting that changes based on your game difficulty settings.

 

If you don't understand what I've said here, then I encourage you to read each mods Skyrim SE Nexus mod description page and at the very least the first post page of the posts tab for each mod.

 

Thanks for the response. Will I ever be able to fix any of my current saves or am I stuck having to start a completely new game?

[KaHn13]

xXFoxXx Like wanderer3292 said above you could also just play with Combat Evolved only, I forgot to list that as an option. Sadly it is not wise to remove mods in the middle of a playthrough. It screws up the saves down the road and unless you are familiar with Save Game Cleaners I would highly recommend not removing mods in a playthrough. Believe me you will be happier and saner if you start over with a new game, and chalk this one up to a learning experience.

[KaHn13]

xXFoxXX Your load order is a mess. Did you use LOOT on it? Also are you on PC or Xbox or PS? If you are on PC, you need to download LOOT, google for instructions on how to set it up for Skyrim. Your game will be much improved. I can help some if you are on PC, but if you are on one of the other gaming platforms, I can't help with those.

[drcloak880]

Hey Fox, I don't see a bashed patch at the end of your load order; definitely look into getting Wrye Bash and making a Bashed patch. It takes less than 3 minutes.

[redneck1st]

Heck I'm playing it on Master currently and loving it. Just wish I didn't have to recharge my weapons so much