Newbie with a few questions

[Blewstar]

Hi Everyone,

 

I played many years ago when original skyrim came out,but never got far. Now with a pro-long injury I have the time to truly enjoy the journey. Instead of the archer thief combo I will be choosing a pure caster destruction/conjuration/restoration as my primaries. I am looking for advice on several fronts to help this journey to be smooth and could use the communities help.

 

Mods

 

What mods would help me to have a better experience?

 

This could be a loaded question, but to be clear I would like to have mods that correct in game bugs for instance that do not make me a god as that would ruin the experience. Better textures for armor,weapons and dialogue with npcs would help. Keep in mind that I am starting out and need the basics as I continue to learn from forums and videos.

 

I heard something about perks being streamlined - was this in-game or a mod?

 

Character

 

As a pure caster was there a change to spells or staffs/staves? Meaning if you ran out of mana you could club it to death? I lack experience/knowledge so any pro-tips here appreciated.

 

 

 

Thanks!

[Moksha8088]

On the main Nexus Mods page there is a button at the top that says mods, If you drop down in this menu you will find an entry that is marked categories. You mentioned armors so I went to the armor category and sorted by most endorsed. Immersive Armors came up #1. That means it has met the stamp of approval for many game players here at the Nexus. However, everyone has personal preferences in the categories, so take a look at several and see what appeals most too you. I rather like the AmidianBorn armors that can be used straight from the Oldrim page.

 

To make things look nicer I use mods like Noble Skyrim 2K, Verdant, CBBE, Renthal's Flora, ELFX, Perception ReShade, Dolomite Weathers, etc...

 

For perks, there are probably mods like Ordinator, Perkinator, and the Terminator (the last one pumps you up!)

 

The mods that most concern me are the Quest mods and the advanced Companion mods with their own set of quests. They are what elevates the game from a rote shooter to a truly enjoyable experience. There are nearly a dozen well-crafted companion mods available, from Vilja with all the bells whistles to the bright newcomer Lucien, Skyrim has been blessed with many wonderful quest mods such as Interesting NPCs, Beyond Skyrim - Bruma, Falskaar, Wyrmstooth, Rigmor of Bruma, Beyond the Reach, Outlaws and Revolutionaries, Helgen Reborn, The Gray Cowl of Nocturnal, and Qaxes Questorium

[Algabar]

For a magic playthrough, I'd strongly recommend

 

Forgotten Magic Redone: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/12711

IMHO, one of the greatest, most immersive (and sadly most underrated) magic mods ever.

 

and

 

Apocalypse - Magic of Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/1090

A very comprehensive arsenal of cool (and perfectly working) spells. It really enhances the magic toolkit and opnes up a lot of different and interesting ways to be a magician.

 

Maybe you should also take a look at the other mods created by EnaiSiaion, the author of "Apocalypse". "Ordinator", that was recommended above, is also by him.

 

BTW, "Forgotten Magic" and "Apocalypse" can be used together without any issues. Both simply add great stuff, but don't change the basic magic system, so they don't conflict with each other or with other mods adding spells.

 

Since you asked about bugfixing: The Unofficial Patch is almost mandatory: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/266

 

For a mage playthrough, I'd also reommend "immersive College of Winterhold": https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/17004 Especially if you plan on making Winterhold some sort of base for your character, it's a really nice mod.

 

To get an idea of what is possible nowadays, you might also have a look at some general modding guides. I'm not saying "Pick one and follow its instructions to the letter". I always used these guides for inspiration rather, not to have a "to do list"...

SEPTIM: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/2846 (a bit outdated, but still worth looking at)

Nordic Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/12562

 

Unfortunately, I don't know much about staves. I prefer to enchant my gear with magicka regen and/or spell cost reduction and to not use staves. As a proud master of the arcane arts, in fact I don't use any "mundane" weapons at all in my mage playthroughs. But that's my approach..

[Blewstar]

This feels like christmas. Making a list and checking it twice. Appreciate the input of what works for you.

 

I completed the videos from gamerspoet which has helped with the MO2 understanding. I still can't get MO2 to communicate with nexus to use the mod manager so need to install the mods manually. Which brings up another question.

The downloads are zipped. Do they need to be extracted first then the file moved over to the download tab of MO2? While watching the video, I saw the zip files in the download tab that makes me think there not. I know I could drag and drop to test, but since I haven't played Skyrim SE yet not sure the differences to look for.

[thumbincubation]

Here's a mod that will allow magic damage to scale, as you progress, which may help you as a pure caster. In both the LE and SE games, vanilla destruction is the same, in that it gets cheaper but not usefully stronger. https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/14373

 

If you prefer something a bit smaller and simpler, I made this, which puts some destruction boosting rings in the game, which you can disenchant and apply to gear of your choice. It will scale with your normal enchanting level, like other skill enchantments do, so you're stronger but not too strong. It also adds a ludicrously strong armor set to the game, which gives you some options. If you want to be uber strong, just go find the armor. If not, stick to using the rings to enchant your favorite armor. The nice part about this is it's very small and doesn't affect many areas of the game. https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/4263

[Blewstar]

It has been several days of reading and watching as I just cleaned the DLCs after getting LOOT installed. Now, trying to figure how to install my first mod which is Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch (USSEP) and all types of confusion. I tried looking for installation videos after thinking I knew what I was doing and still not sure what to look for. Here is what I have done so my error can be pointed out.

 

1. Downloaded USSEP

2. Tried to drag and drop in download tab of MO2 - would not work.

3.I then extracted to a new folder and tried to drag that and still nothing.

 

Here are the names of what is in the folder:

 

Docs

Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch - Textures.bsa

Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch.bsa

Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch.esp

Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch

 

I am scratching my head. Only thing I can think of is that these go into the game folder. I searched and found a data folder in game directory that has BSA and ESM extensions. Could anyone set me straight?

 

Have one more question about extractions..... when you drag a mod to the download tab of MO2 does that download need to be extracted first? I have not installed any other mod at this time. My thoughts were USSEP, then SKYui, and SKSE then go from there.

 

Thanks for any help,

Blewstar

[QuagaarWarrior]

Im doing this from memory but...At the top of mod organizer there is a row of icons. The second from the left is something like Install Mod. Click it and it will bring up a Windows explorer box. Drag your zipped mod to this window. Make sure it is selected then click ok.

Mod organizer should then take you through the installation process. You will want to right click and 'Set data folder' on the folder that says Data during the installation process.

Mod should now be installed

[QuagaarWarrior]

Word of warning about aMidianborn armors...You cannot just use it straight from the oldrim page. For a start you will need the Blades patch from the Special Edition nexus.

Ive also not heard of some of the mods Moksha mentioned like Perkinator or Terminator. They could be Oldrim mods that may or may not work with Special Edition (or I simply havent heard of them - cant keep track of every mod!)

Dont mean to sound patronising but I would just use mods from the Special Edition nexus until you are a bit more confident with the nodding process

[Algabar]

I don't want to confuse a beginner (I know, getting used to all the tools, mods and stuff isn't easy at first), but... I'd suggest using Vortex (download button at the top of (almost) every Nexus page).

 

Meanwhile, it can do everything that MO does. And IMHO Vortex is much easier and way more intuitive to use than MO. It's a good idea to have an advanced mod organizer. But since you're basically just starting to build up a load order, you should really give Vortex a try.

 

BTW, installing in Vortex is really easy: On the Nexus pages, simply hit "mod manager download", then in Vortex "install", then "enable" the mod. That's it...

[Moksha8088]

Might as well go with Vortex as the manager for a new game since it will be the prime manager for years to come. As I understand it, Vortex is supposed to have the easy and intuitiveness of NMM and outguns MO for hardcore power gamers.