Spellsword Gameplay Overhaul Load Order Suggestions

[Deleted62467376User]

I put this Guide here for those who seek to make a working Spellsword build and need a mod setup with no conflicts, robustness and a much more unique experience with Skyrim.

 

(The use of Loot and a Mod Manager is Highly Advised)

 

1. Overall Gameplay Perks/ Classes/ Skills/ Spells setup:

 

-Morningstar - Minimalistic Races of Skyrim
-Summermyst - Enchantments of Skyrim (Really unique enchantments)
-Smilodon - Combat of Skyrim
-Andromeda - Unique Standing Stones of Skyrim
-Wards Functionalities Extended (Gives also 2x high cost surrounding Master lvl Wards that are balanced to cast with the Hotkey setup from the mod Battlemage if you prefer to be a 2H Knight Spellsword).
-Arcanum (Aside from giving some immersive ''Force field protection bubble casts'' and an even smarter Restoration gameplay for both Holy types and Necromages, it really expands Illusion magic and makes you a viable Anti-Caster).
-Real Bosses (Makes Vampires especially and Main Quest Bosses challenging)
-Battlemage (Makes 1H and 2H weapon spellwielder gameplay very versatile).
-Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim
-Apocalypse - Magic of Skyrim (A nice expansion for Alteration combat start buffs and manipulation of the Physical world, very good for Necromages when combined with Arcanum mod plus nice offensive Restoration ''Vigilant/ Priest/ Crusader'' anti-Undead capabilities).

 

(This is how they are sorted with Loot independent of other mods)

 

2. Combat Realism Overhaul setup:

 

-Vigor Enhanced Combat (There is 2 versions. One features extended Injuries and bleeding mechanics)
-Ultimate Combat (Some may prefer Wildcat instead)

-SmoothCam (For 3rd Person fightingstyle)
-TKDodge (You may prefer TK - HitStop as well)

-Movement Behaviour Overhaul

-360 Movement Behaviour

-Weapon Speed Fix by Myst42 (There is also Attack Speed Framework but caused some issues with my Setup not sure why. Some say it's Ordinator Incompatibility)

-Disable Cinematic Kills (Ultimate Combat does disable Killmoves for NPCs via MCM but your PC will still do them and i prefer immersion instead)

 

(This is how they are sorted with Loot independent of other mods)

 

3. Hud/ UI/ Menu setup for not spending alot of time in Paused menus during combat etc.

 

-SkyUI_SE
-SkyHUD (More customizations)
-MoreHUD (Visual Health/ Stamina/ Mana bar of the target)

-iEquip (Fast transitioning between combat modes. Just watch the MCM Tutorial and mod introduction video and see for yourself. It's a gamechanger and scripting is clean and works flawlessly). Sorry. Words just can't describe. You have to see it it's awesome!

 

-LozLock (A lock on target hotkey mod with no bugs. If you use a SmoothCam preset either manually set it via MCM or download a ready to use one. I Use Leviathan's SmoothCam Preset).

 

(This is how they are sorted with Loot independent of other mods)

 

4. Build recommendations:

 

- Witcher Playstyle: Get Witchery Skill -Vanilla Alchemy Extended, it affects combat and Witcher Swords and combine with Complete Alchemy and Cooking Overhaul plus Ordinator. (Don't forget the Patches and running Loot afterwards) Also highly customizable Witcher armor mod (The armor of intrigue)

 

- Vampire Playstyle: Sacroscant will do. As for Vampiric Thirst, you might encounter bugs, especially against Master Vampires not loosing health after a while. So Sacroscant or it's minimalistic version is a good option in terms of Balance and Immersion.

Also recommending DX Dark Knight Armor for Vampire Spellsword/ Knights.

 

Dread Knight playstyles will benefit alot from Ordinators Perk and Spell setups especially Conjuration/ Bound Weapons and features added by the Mod Arcanum. I do recommend Dreaded Relics armor mod as well.

(It will awake Age of Conan Dark Templar Nostalgia for anyone who has experience it, especially with some of Arcanums spell features).

 

- Knight of Arkay/ Vigilant of Stendarr/ Divine Crusader playstyles: If you use both Ordinator and Arcanum - Apocalypse and Battlemage you will get the maximum out of it and this playstyle is highly Dark Souls compatible as well. Vigilant & Darkend are recommended and any quest/ adventure mod that makes you fight the Undead.

Also a recommended grim and somber ''Knight of Arkay'' armour (Revenants of the Forbidden Order).

 

Check out also ''Rest By Campfire'' which turns every Campfire into a Dark Souls/ Witcher style ''Field Resting'' place and Wintersun Faiths of Skyrim to make your Crusader or Dark character Immerse him/herself with the Aedra/ Daedra and perform even the Funeral Rites of Arkay on Corpses to protect them from being raised.

 

5. Final Load Order reference:

 

-Morningstar - Minimalistic Races of Skyrim.esl
-SkyUI_SE.esp
-Summermyst - Enchantments of Skyrim.esp
-Smilodon - Combat of Skyrim.esp
-Andromeda - Unique Standing Stones of Skyrim.esp
-VigorEnhancedCombat.esp
-UltimateCombat.esp
-SmoothCam.esp
-TKDodge.esp
-MBO.esp
-DSer360MovementBehavior.esp
-MystWeaponSpeedFix.esp
-DisableCinematicKills.esp
-SkyHUD.esp
-AHZmoreHUD.esp
-WardsFunctionalitiesExtended.esp
-iEquip.esp
-Arcanum.esp
-RealBossesLight.esp
-Battlemage.esp
-Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim.esp
-Apocalypse - Magic of Skyrim.esp

 

This is how they are sorted with Loot independent of other mods. Make sure to never forget their additional Patches.

 

6. Combat Animation setup:

 

Check out, Project New Reign - Nemesis PCEA and replace FNIS with it.

Check out, Dynamic Animation Replacer, Combo Animation Framework, Stances Dynamic Animation Sets, Stances Addon.

Check out, SkySA and generally Dark Souls style Combat Animations etc.

 

7. Visuals & Combat FPS:

 

Check out BethINI and ReShade and for fine GPU/ RAM but Outdated CPU setups or even Medium overall setups you can still get good Combat FPS with Ultra modded non-Vanilla visuals. I use this setup without stuttering or lags in Ultra settings:

 

-TNT ENB

-Obsidian Weathers

-Nolvus Reshade

-HD Lods

-Noble Skyrim

-Realistic Water Two

-Better Dynamic Snow

-Inferno/Arctic - Fire/Frost effects Redux

-Lush Vanilla Trees

-HD Armor/ Weapon Retextures

(And i run every texture option in 2K)

 

You can also try Skyrim Flora Overhaul, Realistic Aspen Trees (These gave me a bit of a Performance drop because it's simply ''More trees and more dense'' or the 3D Landscape/ Grass textures which are heavier).

I run an I3 CPU still so if you have something better and stick with the guides of installing and setting up your ENB/ Weather overhauls and ''Test-Run & Tweak'' with BethINI you are guaranteed to get great performance.

 

Edited March 29, 2021 by Guest