New to SKYRIM

[Anomaly1964]

Op, unless you have the 2.5gb 570 or you're using another card not in your sig, you'll have to really pick and choose your mods carefully.

Should you choose to upgrade you don't need to spend $350 to get a GPU replacement either.

So are you saying I should just play it Vanilla?

What if I only add the 2k Textures...?

 

[tential]

So are you saying I should just play it Vanilla?

What if I only add the 2k Textures...?

I mean if you didn't add at least that I'd feel bad for you.

 

[norseamd]

Install Skyrim.
Get the mods that piqued my interest enough to re-install it.
Get all the other mods I've liked.
And then a few more I found while getting the others.
Game is now unstable and broken.
Remove some mods.
Wasn't those.
Remove some more, trying to nail down which mods don't like each other.
Keep at it until I give up and play something else.
Repeat above steps until I'm totally bored with it and uninstall.

This is why I have not been playing much of skyrim for months and crap.

 

[norseamd]

I do, believe it or not. And that's despite having played every game since Arena at release and multiple times since. Modded up Skyrim can be much, much more immersive. Vanilla it's pretty but hollow. Modded it's much prettier, and a little less hollow. It's just enough to make it fun if only for the exploring and combat, for a time.

This. Morrowind is considered the superior base game due to at least sufficient story and gameplay. And I have yet to get much into Daggerfall although the problematic game controls especially in the timed situation of fighting does make it very difficult so far.

 

[ImpulsE69]

There are mods that cause issues, but if you read the descriptions you can bypass those.

If you choose to install a bunch of mods, there are other programs that will check for issues.

I have around 180 mods installed, all running smoothly.

 

[tential]

There are mods that cause issues, but if you read the descriptions you can bypass those.

If you choose to install a bunch of mods, there are other programs that will check for issues.

I have around 180 mods installed, all running smoothly.

You lost 95% of the human population with that phrase alone buddy.

 

[Bateluer]

Cripes guys, if you're having issues with your mods making the game unstable, use LOOT. It'll solve the bulk of those issues.

https://loot.github.io/

 

[norseamd]

Already use LOOT, TES5edit, and MO

 

[shortylickens]

I think the game is unpleasant without SkyUI.
And that requires the Script Extender.
Nexus Mod Manager makes it easier to get stuff.
The Categorized Favorites Menu also helps a LOT.


Nothing else is really needed, its all just gravy on top of a really nice glob of potatoes.


As for me:

Achieve That!
Additional Invisibility Spells
Armored Sprint
Better Sorting (also kind of essential along with SkyUI)
Bound Dagger
Bound Pickaxe
Cloaks of Skyrim (something that really should have been there from the beginning)
Conjuration Madness v 1_6
Conjure Slaughterfish
Dovakhin Perks
Dragon Priest Quest Markers (also should have been there to begin with)
Draugr Summons
EzE's Artifact disenchanting
Gemstone Recovery 1_1
Glowing Ore Veins 300
Immersive Armors v6
Immersive Conjuration Spells
Immersive Weapons
JaySuS Swords
Legendary Smithing Upgrades
Mine Faster
No Furniture Activation When Sneaking
Perk Point Potion v 1_3
PerQ
Project Reality - Climates of Tamriel V3
Proudspire Manor - Dragonborn Edition
Puffs Sniper
Read and Learn Speechcraft
Skyrim Flora Overhaul
Static Mesh Improvement Mod
Stones of Barenziah Quest Markers
Training Dummies and Targets
Tribunal Robes and Masks
W.A.T.E.R.
Weapons and Armor Fixes




My recommendation is just look at the Most Popular section on the Nexus to get an idea of where you should start.

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/topalltime/?adult=0

 

[schmuckley]

SweetFX and Hi-res Texture packs.
SweetFX makes a big diff with Skyrim.

 

[Sulaco]

Let's talk ENBs.

Anybody have any personal recommendations?

 

[Anomaly1964]

TOTALLY new at this, can someone point me to the MODDING SKYRIM FOR DUMMIES thread...?

EDIT - Looks like I don't need the Script Editor to add the texture pack...

 

[futurefields]

yes, by all means, MOD the game before you even play it for the first time.

 

[mikeymikec]

I think I've completed most of the important quests in Skyrim (legendary ed) without any mods, except for the high-resolution official texture pack I heard about recently (which I can't say I noticed much difference, some things look different but mainly it seems to add to the level load times), and my wife and I have enjoyed Skyrim quite a bit. Aside from XCOM: Enemy Unknown and StarCraft 2 (including multiplayer), this game is the one I've spent the most hours on in a long time.

I've just reached level 100 in smithing so the next time I level up, I'll try making some dragon bone apparel and weapons!

 

[schmuckley]

I think I've completed most of the important quests in Skyrim (legendary ed) without any mods, except for the high-resolution official texture pack I heard about recently (which I can't say I noticed much difference, some things look different but mainly it seems to add to the level load times), and my wife and I have enjoyed Skyrim quite a bit. Aside from XCOM: Enemy Unknown and StarCraft 2 (including multiplayer), this game is the one I've spent the most hours on in a long time.

I've just reached level 100 in smithing so the next time I level up, I'll try making some dragon bone apparel and weapons!

You can be invincible in Skyrim if you do the potion/smithing/potionmaking thing.

 

[mikeymikec]

You can be invincible in Skyrim if you do the potion/smithing/potionmaking thing.

I'm not bad at alchemy, I'd guess my character is level 60-70 ish. At one point I was thinking "if I keep levelling up in light armour, my alchemy skills are going to fall by the wayside".

 

[schmuckley]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0I9gVNiehU

 

[Blanky]

Requiem. The must have mod for any beginner.

Just looked this up. They de-level the world. One of my greatest complaints about skyrim was the very asinine and shameful thing they built in of monsters leveling up with you so that you can more or less go to whatever dungeon you want to and they scale their difficulty. I find that fundamentally stupid about an RPG and glad these guys ripped that crap out.

 

[Cerb]

As the title says, JUST got Skyrim off STEAM. I keep hearing about mods...

Which ones are a MUST have and how do I apply them?

The only must haves are the unofficial patches. Plus, you want SKSE+SkyUI, even with no added mods.

Use Nexus Mod Manager, Wrye Bash (if you're an old school Morrowind or Oblivion player only), or Mod Organizer.

Join the Nexus to DL larger files. You can use NMM as a download manager and organizer, even if you don't use it to handle the game's state. Mods not DLed with it can be added into it.

S.T.E.P. is where you should start. It's a mod itself, and a vetted list of other quality mods, with a basic guide for their installation and use (you can use the wiki just for INI changes and a list of other mods, never using the STEP files, if you want, which is exactly how I started last time). STEP Core is basically all better aesthetics and interface, with either no gameplay changes, or extremely minor ones, all very lore-friendly. No need to delve into giant lists of random mods (instead, one giant list of very non-random mods). Then, to move on from that, check out GEMS (basically STEP for gameplay changing mods).

1K textures all-around, with 2K for clutter, NPCs, weapons, etc., works comfortably with 1GB VRAM. So, if your 570 is a typical 1280MB one, that will end up a major improvement over even Bethesda's hi-res DLC. You might be able to handle 2K across the board, but remember that this is Gamebryo, and you will get stuttering when you run out of VRAM.

ENBs look cool, but can be a nightmare to get and keep running, so don't jump in to that until you're ready, if at all. Forcing on SSAO in the control panel, and then doing INI tweaks for shadows (bigger shadow maps, and higher deferred blur mask), will take care of the most grievous visual problems of the stock game.

Gameplay-wise, Frostfall and Wearable Lanterns are both godly. If you are going to get any gameplay changing mods, start with them. One of the reasons to start down the road of gameplay changing mods, though, is that, being a wide audience multiplatform game (IE, kids with worn out controllers need to be able to beat it), even the highest difficulty can get really easy as you get higher in levels, with the vanilla game. So, play vanilla, but know that you can get mods to help keep large animals, bandit groups, dragons, etc. dangerous, as time goes on, should that be a problem.

If you want to play as an archer, definitely get some related gameplay mods, including a tweaked or disabled aimbot (INI tweaks). Stock archery is sad, as a seasoned PC FPS player. Since each has different characteristics, including compatibility with other mods, and that some larger-scale mods, like Perkus Maximus (formerly SkyRe) and Requiem, roll in beneficial archery changes, you'll have to navigate that yourself.

OP you can also use Steam Workshop for mods. I'm sure people will tell you that Nexus is so much better but I never had any problems with the workshop mods.

It's integrated with Steam, rather than being decoupled. It's easier to manage mods from multiple sources when they have to be gotten and updated manually, since updating a mod low in the mod order can cause problems. The Nexus has 95% of mods you'd want to use (unless you are visiting LL for more than the hair files currently missing from the Nexus...), so it is awesome, but in the end, they are 7z or rar files stored in a folder, and it's just nice to get as many as possible from one place.

Neither. Play it vanilla first. I never understood the fascination with substandard buggy additions bolted on to an even buggier GameBryo engine.

Not using them, of course you don't understand it. Most addons with any substantial amount of DLs and endorsements are far from substandard, and a good number make the game less buggy than as originally installed. The engine is still fairly fragile, but a merged or bashed patch is all that's needed, 99% of the time, when someone has major issues from mods. That, or they failed to read instructions.

TOTALLY new at this, can someone point me to the MODDING SKYRIM FOR DUMMIES thread...?

You'll have to read and follow directions, but a short version:
1/2. Get Skyrim to accept unofficial files (archiveinvalidation)
1/2. Get SKSE and SkyUI, because they are required by many mods. These go in the program folder.
3. Install unofficial mod files into Data. Loose files take precedence over ESPs/BSAs, should conlficts between the two kinds come up.
4. Some mods necessarily conflict with one another. Some come with patches for notable other mods, or have them available. For many, you'll need to use Wrye Bash or TES5Edit to make a patch for your specific set. This will be a non-issue or very minor one, for the duration that you are going for vanilla gameplay, though.

Mod Organizer keeps your program folder clean, but only by things not working will you find what mods get broken by that, sometimes. I find it more trouble than it's worth, since some mods don't play nice with the directory virtualization tricks, and it only takes a few minutes to back up the whole game + mods, but I get the appeal.

Nexus Mod Manager is a neat but buggy mod manager tool, that works much like FOMM did, with the ability to install and uninstall mods from a GUI. So, you register the mod (automatically done if downloaded via NMM, otherwise you have to browse to the file), then enabling it installs it, including making copies of files the mod may replace. So, disabling it puts those files back. Nice. But, it likes to crash, a lot, and when they come out with a new point version (like .4x->.5x), the new one likes to not see the old one's list. They excuse it being in beta, but that's just shit design, and it should be built to make sure that does not happen, or that it can be recovered from. If you use more than maybe 20 mods, NMM is best used as a download manager and mod sorter, not a mod manager for the game. Not existing outside the Nexus, and being many-game, rather than per-game, move it from being a good tool to a risky one, IME.

Wrye Bash is kind of old, and feels it, but it's got a history, and dammit, it works. It can be used portably, so it can sit in your Skyrim folder structure, and you can back up everything by copying the program directory and the My games subdirectory. But, it has a bit more of a learning curve than the other two, and many mods with options will need manual extraction of options, where basically all of those have NMM GUI installers.

For mods that cause CTDs when together, but aren't really conflicting in any meaningful way (like different item stats for the same thing in same location, etc.), using TES5Edit to make a merged patch usually fixes things, but so should a bashed patch.

 

[tential]

One recommendation I have to OP is to not undertake this Skyrim thing unless you have the time. I'd start with some other games, and read up on Skyrim mods and compile a list of the interesting ones (with links). Then get through to the open part of the game (should take like 30 minutes or so), and save. Then start testing the mods (visual ones) til you get the feel you want.

As for non visual mods (gameplay mods), that's going to be hit or miss. Read up on them, but you may want to play with the original gameplay first, then make a new class/race and play through that with the new gameplay.

 

[Markbnj]

Let's talk ENBs.

Anybody have any personal recommendations?

Last time I used Purevision because it works really well with pure waters and pure weather. It ran like silk at high settings on my GTX 660. I think the only thing I cranked back was grass shadows.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Play through vanilla first. It's a great game without mods. Then on the repeat play throughs mod it up.

 

[Majcric]

TOTALLY new at this, can someone point me to the MODDING SKYRIM FOR DUMMIES thread...?

EDIT - Looks like I don't need the Script Editor to add the texture pack...

To start things off, I would use Steam Workshop for mods. From there you can pick and choose certain mods and test your performance on the fly. Once you become more familiar with modding or if something isn't in the shop, then maybe try Nexus or another moding community.

For me personally Steam had more than enough mods.

 

[MrA79]

I don't think any mod is must-have until you've at least played through the base game. Definitely grab the hi-res texture pack if you can run it, though.

 

[TheVrolok]

Marked for reference whenever I decide to actually play skyrim which bought many steam sales ago