The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition

[h1]Quick Review: Skyrim is Awesome[/h1] I did a playthrough a long time ago on the Xbox 360 which was just the Vanilla game and already then I thought it was one of the best open world games ever. Today, Skyrim mods take things to another level. Anything you don't like about the base game can be changed. You can add tons of extra content. There is almost anything you can imagine. It's that insane. Skyrim is awesome because with mods you can turn it into the best game ever made, whatever you think that should be. I don't think there is any other game that can be modded this extensively. --- [h1]Special Edition (SE) and Anniversary Edition (AE) Confusion[/h1] I included this section because I've seen people claim that you need the AE edition to install mods. This used to be kind of true for some mods, but isn't true anymore. You do not need the AE version for modding. The AE and SE used to be different versions of the game that needed specific mods for each. Some mods worked for AE, others for SE. Now AE and SE on Steam are the same game version: 1.6.1170. The difference is that AE has some extra DLC and some mods from Bethesda, like a backpack for extra space and whatever. You don't need the AE edition anymore for modding (except for very few mods that specifically change the DLC stuff from the AE edition). Getting this Special Edition on Steam is totally fine for installing mods. It is better to look at what exact version of the game a mod is for, than relying on the AE/SE description, otherwise it's confusing. People usually refer to the incompatible, seperate old SE versions as "Oldrim". This helps clear up some confusion. Basically for modding there is AE/SE and Oldrim. Those are the relevant different versions. [b]Note on the GOG Version - TLDR: Steam version is better for mods[/b] I also got the GOG, DRM-free version of Skyrim and it's a different version of the game: 1.6.1179 This is seperate from the Steam version for modding purposes (very annoying from Bethesda). Mods have to be made specifically for that version of the game. There are many popular mods and modlists that are only made for the Steam version of Skyrim and will not work on the GOG version. GOG version also has a Memory Leak bug that can lead to poor performance during a long play session. This can be fixed with a mod, but is still annoying that you have to mod it to even make it work properly. My suggestion is to only get the GOG version if you want to play vanilla Skyrim with some mod fixes. If you want to really mod Skyrim, get the Steam version, because it is easisest. GOG version can be very difficult, maybe even impossible to use with some mods. --- [h1]Modding Skyrim - How to get started[/h1] Skyrim modding can be difficult. Take your time to understand what you are doing, take breaks, expect it to be tricky and don't think you will do everything in one sitting. I will describe how to get started with it. The basic foundation for most mods is Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE) which you need to install manually by placing the .dll, .exe and 'Data' Folder into your Skyrim install's root folder. Here's the link to SKSE: [url=https://skse.silverlock.org/]SKSE Download Page[/url] Once you have installed SKSE (along with other mods), you start the game with skse64_loader.exe or with the SKSE button in your mod manager. Mods will not work if you start the game with the regular SkyrimSE.exe. Before you install more mods, you should start the game at least once without any other mods installed (besides skse), so that all necessary config files for the game get created. It's also a good idea to back that stuff up. Have at least one backed up save of the game, from after you are done with the cart ride in the beginning. Then you can start from there when you install mods. You can usually continue a save, after installing mods, but you shouldn't uninstall mods and then continue a save (because some mods put stuff in your save files and if the mod is then gone, the save breaks). There are also save cleaners to fix save files if you mess this up. If you only plan on playing the base game, you can mod things manually by moving files around; you can get a couple essential enhancements (like unlocked fps which is capped to 60 fps by default and maybe some other fixes), but if you really want to make significant changes to the game, you will need to use a Mod Manager or things will turn into an impossible mess. Some good mod managers to pick from: (only pick one, moving between mod managers can get messy, it's easier to wipe and reinstall) - [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/vortex]Vortex (by Nexus Mods)[/url] - It's easy to start with and if you get Nexus premium, you can install a collection/modlist from Nexus with hundreds of mods very quickly in an hour or so. Without premium this will take many hours, possibly days. The integration with the site and UI is nice, but sometimes it can take more clicks to do something than I would like. - [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/6194]Mod Organizer 2[/url] - This one is also good, but installing Nexus collections isn't quite as easy. You need to to some more fiddling, but I do prefer the UI over Nexus because it's a bit easier to do things, in other words, it's the more powerful tool, once you know what you're doing. It's a little more difficult to understand in the beginning. - Amethyst Mod Manager - It's a mod manager for Linux, so if you're on Linux or a Steam Deck, this is what you should use. I wouldn't bother using Vortex or Mod Manager 2 on Linux. [url=https://github.com/ChrisDKN/Amethyst-Mod-Manager]Amethyst on Github[/url] and here it is on [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/1714?file_id=7274]Nexus Mods[/url] (maybe some helpful tips in the comments there). Using any of these mod managers will make it possible to install hundreds, even thousands of different mods, then create "Profiles" for different mod lists, so you can easily switch between completely different modded versions of the game. If you plan on installing a modlist/collection with hundreds of mods, I would recommend getting Nexus premium because it will make it much easier and faster and also that supports the site and mod creators a little bit. Just remember to cancel the subscription. You can always resub, if you want to try a new Collection. Which mods to install? For a first time modder, I would suggest browsing the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/games/skyrimspecialedition/collections?sort=downloads]Collections on Nexus mods[/url], picking one that sounds good to you and then installing it with Vortex. If you want to start your own modlist, first make a new profile in Vortex, then start installing what you want from [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/games/skyrimspecialedition/mods?sort=uniqueDownloads]popular mods on Nexus[/url]. If you want to actually create your own mods... good luck! You will need to look up a different guide for that and I'm sure there's a lot to learn.