The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Special Edition Modding Guide

I have been playing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on and off ever since its launch in 2011. Despite its age, the game continues to be loved by many fans, including a very large and active modding community. Although I upgraded to the Special Edition (SE) in 2020, which includes improved textures and graphics, the game has started to feel a bit dated. Along with starting a battlemage playthrough (a departure from my typical sneak archer playstyle), I decided to mod the game’s visuals.

Modding adds new character to the various landscapes of Skyrim.

Modding the game visually has really enhanced my gaming experience. Though I have been playing with a self-imposed no fast-travel rule, the enhanced lighting, textures, and weather mechanics makes it really enjoyable to walk through the different climates of Skyrim, and I find myself taking countless screenshots of the game. Especially on a 4K OLED screen and controller, the game becomes a relaxing couch game.

Interior lighting gets a huge facelift and is more realistic (and dark; bring a torch or Magelight spell).

While there are also many mods to drastically change the gameplay and feel of the game, my mods focus on making the game visually impressive and immersive. I can easily run these at 60 FPS on an AMD RX 6950 XT at 1440p, and can also achieve a solid 55-60 FPS depending on the landscape (grass seems to tank FPS) on an Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti at 4K.

Cities also get a boost of character; some mods do complete overhauls. I decided to stick with a vanilla feel.

Initial Setup

1. Download and install Mod Organizer 2 (MO2). On first startup, create a new global instance and browse to the Skyrim SE executable folder (by default on Steam, C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition). Select the Steam game edition. Click Next through the following dialogs and link your Nexus account, if desired. Select “yes” to the dialogs which ask to import Nexus mod categories and associating .nxm links.

2. Download the Anniversary Edition build of Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE). (Unless the version of Skyrim SE that you are using is specifically downgraded to 1.5.97, use the AE build. You can confirm the game version by hovering the mouse cursor over the Skyrim.exe game executable.) Extract the contents containing skse64_loader.exe and associated folders/files into the Skyrim SE executable folder as mentioned in step 1.

3. Add a new executable in MO2 to launch SKSE. On the right hand side, click the dropdown with Skyrim Special Edition, then <Edit...>. On the left hand side of the new dialog, click the plus icon, then Add from file.... Select skse64_loader.exe. Change the title as you wish. Under Start in, select the Skyrim SE executable folder, then click OK to apply these settings. Try launching SKSE to confirm the install works.

Skyrim is now set up to be modded. For the following steps, I like to install the mods in the following order. At various points you may want to try launching the game to make sure that nothing is broken.

User Interface Mods

• SkyUI
  • Difficulty Persistence Fix
  • SkyUI 5.2 SE Plugin with Master
  • Fix Note Icon
  • Ghost Item Bug Fix
• Immersive HUD: I install this to protect my OLED from burn-in and add immersion.

Patches

• Address Library: required for other mods listed below. Use the all in one 1.6.X version.
• SSE Engine Fixes: install part 1 through MO2; install part 2 by copying the contents into the Skyrim SE executable folder.
  • SSE Bug FIxes
• Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch: patches lots of bugs still not patched in the many, many updates to the game.

ENB Setup

• Particle Patch: stick with default settings.
• Less Distracting Blowing Snow
• Improved Sky Mesh
• ENB Light Inventory Fix
• ENB Helper SE
• Community Shaders
• Auto Parallax
• ENB Terrain Blending Fix
• ENBSeries. In the archive’s WrapperVersion folder, copy d3d11.dll, d3dcompiler_46e.dll, and enblocal.ini into the Skyrim SE executable folder.

Lighting

• Static Mesh Improvement Mod
• Obsidian Weathers and Seasons
• Moon and Stars
• ENB Light: check Full install.
• Storm Lightning: for the halos, check the Halo Dim (Level 2) settings.
• Splashes of Storms
• Enhanced Volumetric Lighting and Shadows: also install the optional underside mod.
• Enhanced Lights and FX: check SMIM Meshes.
  • Enhanced Lights and FX Shadows: check Parallax meshes. The Rudy ENB preset technically “requires” the additional ELFX Enhancer plugin checked, but I found that this setting leads to crushed blacks and caves that are too dark on my color-calibrated monitor.
  • ELFX Enhancer - Brighter Living Spaces: optional, if the ELFX Enhancer plugin was installed.
  • ELFX Consistency Fix
  • ELFX Dwemer Floor Footsteps Fix
• Embers XD: per Rudy ENB preset, select Embers XD Flames (Burnt Orange) flame style and Optimized particle light quality. Check Reduced Fake Glow, uncheck Solitude Braziers. Check ELFX, ENB Light - Magic Hand FX, and Survival Mode.
• Water for ENB: can keep the default checked options (Shades of Skyrim).
• Rudy ENB for Obsidian Weathers, Lux, ELFX: in the FOMOD installer for MO2, check Rudy ENB Vanilla Clouds 4K, Rudy ENB Water for ENB FIX, Rudy ENB Night Sky Textures, and Rudy ENB ELFX FIX. Make sure to download the other archive and copy the contents into the Skyrim SE executable folder.
  • Rudy Fix for Splashes of Storms and ENB

Textures

• Skyland AIO: check all cities. Under night skies, check None.
• Skyland Bits and Bobs
• Skyland Landscapes Complex Parallax
• Skyland LODs
• Skyrim Flora Overhaul SE: install the no grass version. The only gripe I have about this mod is the random redwood trees that seem to be on the tops of mountains which makes no sense. There doesn’t seem to be an option to disable this.
• Northern Grass SE
  • Northern Grass Aliased Grass Fix

Quality of Life

• A Quality World Map