Must-have Mods?

[jeezloxxy]

Hello everyone, as you might have known from the title, I want to ask you which mods do you personally think are the best /which will boost and upgrade my general Skyrim experience/. I have a couple mods installed ,but I was curious if there were some really good ones which escaped my sight.

 

P.S I don't really know if that's relevant, but I am constantly watching the Skyrim G.E.M.S site so I can find good mods.

[Gremxula]

Gems is a good place to look. Also File of the Month. All time Most and Recently Endorsed files.

The top Mod around for me at the moment has to be Vilja. GBut in the end it has to be your decision.

[ilikecheese1337]

Must Haves:

Graphics: (if your computer isn't up to it, don't bother with Skyrim HD, but Realistic Lighting has 0 performance impact and SMIM has very little)

Skyrim HD

Massive texture upgrade, comes in LITE and FULL versions. I recommend the LITE version as it has little effect on performance for me and is still I think 2x the resolution of Bethesda's Official HD Texture Pack.

 

Static Mesh Improvement Mod

Makes small objects (statics) have a much better and less angular shape, e.g. things like apples, potatoes and door handles are now round instead of horrible angular things.

 

Realistic Lighting with Customisation

Makes lighting look realistic. And awesome. Use with Enhanced Night Skyrim, which adds loads of stars and galaxies.

 

aMidianBorn Book of Silence

HD armour.

 

Better Females

Makes female faces look better.

 

W.A.T.E.R Water and Terrain Enhancement Redux:

Makes water look like water.

 

Gameplay/Quests:

Deadly Dragons and Deadly Dragons - Armory

For being apocalyptic Aedra(?) born of Akatosh himself, vanilla dragons are weak as hell, especially at high levels. With Deadly Dragons, you can modify their strength to suit you, so that on almost any setting they are terrifying monsters capable of killing an unprepared player in seconds. Deadly Dragons - Armory makes them drop cool stuff.

 

The Paarthurnax Dilemma:

A mod that allows you to make a better moral choice for a quest. HERE BE SPOILERS:

A dragon helps you save the world, and the Blades (dragonslayers sworn to your service) demand you kill him. This mod lets you refuse and carry on with the Blades questline without killing Paarthurnax - after all, the Blades weren't the ones who saved the world twice.

HERE END SPOILERS.

 

Faster Vanilla Horses:

Vanilla horses are very slow. FVH makes them faster.

 

Ultimate Follower Overhaul:

Allows you to have more than one follower and adds some other options.

 

Phenderix Magic Evolved AND Apocalypse Spell Package

Two mods to make magic better, allowing you to make enemies' lives hell.

 

Misc:

SkyUI:

Skyrim's user interface is horrible, as the UI was designed for consoles and left that way.. This is, arguably, the most important mod to get. It requires SKSE, which requires you to launch Skyrim through a different launcher, but it's worth it to avoid RSI from having to use the down arrow key to manually scroll down through a single list of what's in a chest. And to be able to search for items with a search bar. Seriously, just get this mod.

 

Guard Dialogue Overhaul:

Makes guards treat you with respect.

 

Castle Grey:

Not technically a must-have, but come on, it's a massive, well-made, player-owned castle. Sadly, it's almost certainly a dead mod, so don't expect any updates.

 

Happy modding.

Edited November 11, 2012 by ilikecheese1337

[DatDudeDB]

Hello everyone, as you might have known from the title, I want to ask you which mods do you personally think are the best /which will boost and upgrade my general Skyrim experience/. I have a couple mods installed ,but I was curious if there were some really good ones which escaped my sight.

 

P.S I don't really know if that's relevant, but I am constantly watching the Skyrim G.E.M.S site so I can find good mods.

 

So many mods..so, so many..

 

Skyrim Enhanced Night: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/85

 

Inside the Nebula Mod: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/6178

 

Project Reality Weather Mod: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/17802

 

Realistic Lighting Mods: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/20292

 

Floral Overhaul: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/141

 

Towns and Villages Enhanced http://steamcommunity.com/id/aplestormy/myworkshopfiles/?appid=72850

(adds a lot of trees, and other small things to the towns and villages. really livens the dull areas up a lot, especially whiterun. my fave mod out of the bunch tbh)

 

Unique Taverns: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/21553

 

Livelier Inns and Taverns: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/19841

(really cool mod IMO)

 

Skyrim Places Collection Mod: http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=97512100

(adds small tiny villages and ruins, they were things that bethesda should've/could've added since they were actual locations of skyrim in older games)

 

Unique Places: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/15310

(it's a neat little mod, that add unique structures, areas that you can find if you choose to travel the offbeathen path. It's not abrasive, or huge. It's small, and it's another tiny thing that just adds a bit more flavor and depth to your world)

 

Camping Mod: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o40qiMrkuoY

(if starting a fire in the snowy woods while looking at the stars above is a thing of your than you'll love this mod. adds simple depth, but depth none the less)

 

Bard College Uncut Mod: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=18518

(the vanilla version is cut, and this contains the uncut version which is much more extensive, and allows you to learn instuments and take classes)

 

Expanded Winterhold Ruins Mod: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/8333

(the original ruins are so weak, compared to how they are described. It's an enhancer, that really gives you a indepth feel compared to the vanilla ver.)

 

Solitude Docks Expansion: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/22821

(expands the woefully small docks in the vanilla version and makes it feel more grander, how it should be)

 

Guarded Borders Mods: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/18106

(something that should've been there in the 1st place)

 

 

These are my allstar mods I guess you could say. But honestly, there are so-so-so-so many mods that drastically change your experience in a good way. Without mods skyrim is just good. With mods it's probably the best gaming experience you can have.

 

I'd recomend for further atmospheric mods, look at mods that deal with upgrading wildlife, and upgrading flocks of birds, and insects as well. Also look out for minor mods like shooting comets, and rainbow mods that just adds a little big more flavor to your world.

 

Honestly, there are so many great mods i haven't touched upon simply because it would take me a whole day to write this post lol.

 

Enjoy!

Edited November 11, 2012 by DatDudeDB

[jeezloxxy]

WOW!

I am really grateful guys, I didn't even think you'd take your time and show me so much mods. Thank you so very very much.

@Gremxula, thanks for the 'File of the Month' suggestion, I found some really good mods.

 

Thank you guys again, you were unbelievably helpful.

[DatDudeDB]

WOW!

I am really grateful guys, I didn't even think you'd take your time and show me so much mods. Thank you so very very much.

@Gremxula, thanks for the 'File of the Month' suggestion, I found some really good mods.

 

Thank you guys again, you were unbelievably helpful.

 

No problem mate!

 

Are you playing skyrim for the first time?

[jeezloxxy]

Not really, but this is my first time playing it with a bunch of mods.

[Grimoa]

DatDudeDB, nice list! Now I have to go check out a bunch of mods. I hope my Skyrim can take some more^^.

[jeezloxxy]

I gotta ask though, I suppose too many mods will make the game run slower?

[JanusForbeare]

I gotta ask though, I suppose too many mods will make the game run slower?

 

That depends on the mods. Too many scripts running at once (especially badly-written scripts) will impact your performance and likely contribute to save game bloating. Too many detailed, high-res textures will also hurt your FPS if they're in the same location. A lot of it, however, depends on the capabilities of your rig and the game settings you decide to use.