Mod Lists

[Denotic]

I was curious if anyone here would be willing to share their mod list with the community. There certainly seems to be a more calm and evidence based approach to modding Skyrim within this community. I feel as some of your mod lists would give me a better starting point for my own. To anyone willing to share, thank you in advance.

[Scythe Bearer]

I am one of those suspicious souls who trusts few and suspects everyone else, so I gotta ask.  You wouldn't be fishing for a collection for Nexus or Wabberjack, now would you?

[Denotic]

26 minutes ago, Scythe Bearer said:

I am one of those suspicious souls who trusts few and suspects everyone else, so I gotta ask.  You wouldn't be fishing for a collection for Nexus or Wabberjack, now would you?

I am not fishing, but your comment does perhaps explain why there were no results when I did a search for mod lists in these forums. I'm looking to start anew since AE has now released, but I can understand if my request is not welcome or at the very least suspicious. And now that I think about it, It probably wasn't particularly cordial for my very first post to be a request of the community.

[Pseron Wyrd]

I can post my last mod list for Special Edition if you want.  But my current game is Anniversary Edition using only Creation Club content.  I couldn't guarantee that the entirety of my old mod list would work.

[Arthmoor]

Nothing wrong with requesting something like that, but yes, what Nexus has done of late has left a lot of us on alert due to a feature we don't approve of.

[phatbassanchor]

With the advent of "Collections" I too am hesitant to share.  I've recommended hundreds, possibly thousands of mods to friends in the past yet never my full mod list.  It's just too many mods... well over four hundred in my last LO and about to grow yet again on my new tower.  So, if you let me know what type of mods you are seeking, I'm happy to target some favorites that have worked well for me.  You should also know that all of my LO's are SKSE dependant and won't work on the new AE just yet.  I know there has been some kind of update already due to BGS releasing the update to some key modders early.  However, all of the mods that utilize SKSE will also need updated as well.  So, I'm still running the SSE from before the AE updated and will continue to do so for some time to come.  If you've already allowed the update then you will need to wait on many of the mods I highly recommend. 

I do use a plethora of mods that do not require SKSE.  Those should still work in the AE update version.  My main focus has always been on character creation, followers, npc textures, weapons, apparel, quest mods with quite a few gameplay changes and cheats.  So, if you want some recommendations they I'm happy to provide them.  However, I'm not typing up well over 400 mods in a list for anyone.  That is just too much like actual work.  Phat is retired!  Hahaha   I hope that didn't come across as rude.  It was not intended that way.  Just Phat being honest.  I won't even try to make a full list of my LO for myself!  I have my DL history in Nexus for that. 

I've play tested, reviewed and provided feedback on over two thousand mods over the past four years that I've been using mods.  I'm currently not using any mods.  I'm taking a well earned break from LO management while enjoying unmodded titles like Horizon Zero Dawn and Outer Worlds.  I needed a break and took one.  So, there's nothing in my Vortex to export either... just SSE with SKSE at present with Steam set to not accept the update to preserve the SKSE.  But, all the mods I've loved and used are still right there in my Nexus DL history.  So, I am happy to get you some links.  But, if anyone is going to use my LO as a "Collection" it will be me.  Peace... Phat out.

Adventure ever on, Phat

[Denotic]

51 minutes ago, phatbassanchor said:

So, if you let me know what type of mods you are seeking, I'm happy to target some favorites that have worked well for me. 

This would have perhaps been the better approach in creating this topic. So, to respond to this directly, for my return to Skyrim, I prefer a "Vanilla+" style setup. I've decided on using EnaiSiaon and Arthmoor's mods as a base, any opinions on building out from there would be interesting to hear.

[phatbassanchor]

On 11/13/2021 at 2:32 PM, Denotic said:

This would have perhaps been the better approach in creating this topic. So, to respond to this directly, for my return to Skyrim, I prefer a "Vanilla+" style setup. I've decided on using EnaiSiaon and Arthmoor's mods as a base, any opinions on building out from there would be interesting to hear.

Depending on your personal preferences and available video ram, I always start with npc textures.  My play style is role play intensive.  Meaning, I spend a lot of time interacting with NPC's in game.  So, I want them to look good.  There is a veritable plethora of options to make your npc's look better.  However, there are many potential conflicts from overlapping character models and gaps in coverage as well.  There are a few good mods that can give you a great basic appearance to a wide variety of NPC's all in one mod, like one I saw in George's new Modded Skyrim video on Zero Period Productions called, Windsong Immersive Character Overhaul or WICO for short at:  https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/2136?tab=files  This mod is intended for the UNP female body and would need a conversion for other bodies...  UNP is the easiest to use, has tons of custom apparel available for it yet is comes in dead last for custom options.  Character weight is the only variation, other than using different skin.  I swear by my Bijin Skin for all body types.  But, it really all depends on what look you prefer.  It's your game and should reflect your specific tastes. 

In fact, George's mod list is published and public.  So, you can check out his videos and see what you like.  He just started a new series on modded Skyrim and he generally plays a vanilla plus type of game, having some visual improvements, some mods that require SKSE but on the lighter side and does not require next gen gear to run it.  https://www.youtube.com/c/0periodproductions/videos  George's modlist:  https://www.zeroperiodproductions.com/skyrim-se-modded/

Now if you are really wanting to have amazing looking npc's and vanilla followers, then read on...   Phat knows the goods.  There are a few good options to do an all in one mod coverage of a range of npc's and look good.  But, I have labored over these for several years now and finally found the ultimate collection to make the NPC's beautiful with zero overlap, no conflicts and flawless beauty.  

What I use is...

Bijin Warmaidens, Bijin NPC's, Bijin Wives and one of the All in One files included in all of those mods but only one AIO file. 

I then move to Pandorable's NPC's and both Pandorable's Dawnguard and Dragonborn NPC's.  Pandorable also has two male npc mods as well.  I had an issue with the first one due to my using the female version of Cicero.  Pandorable's NPC males 1 has a male Cicero that caused me no end of grief.  However, once is figure out how to fix that issue, both are going back into my LO.  I generally have no conflicts with Pandorable's mods.  I love her work.  I just need to fix Males volume 1 to work with MY Cicero!  Haha

  This is female Cicero with my Khajiit, Nightshade. 

Finally, to fill in nearly all of the remaining gaps I employ Kalilies NPC's.  The coolest part of using that combination of mods is that it covers nearly ever named NPC in the entire base game with zero overlap and zero conflicts.  Bijin has been the gold standard for NPC's since it was created.  So, Pandorable took over from where Bijin left off without duplicating efforts.  Then Kalilies did the same by picking up where the other two authors left off.  Pandorable came back in later with the males and that pretty much covers the entire game.  Now I do replace some others that are already covered by those three authors, like Mjoll, Illia, Pandorable's Black Briar Ladies for that witch Maven and my dark and lovely lass Ingun  I use Cynthia the Spell Lady as Elisif, a new Hroki and a few others.  I also plan to convert my expertise in creating cool character models in Racemenu into my own NPC replacements and follower mods.  But, those plans are still in their infancy...  Coming soon... 

There are some essential mods that I recommend to all my friends because they have brought a lot of joy to my game like SkyUI, Racemenu, Bodyslide and Outfit Studio, XPMSE skeleton, install and create a custom body (that's a whole series of lessons in itself...) and the Arthmoor mods you previously mentioned.  I can't play without those tried and true Arthmoor favorites like USSEP, Paarthurnax Dilemma, Cutting Room Floor and my all time favorite, Alternate Start!  Huzzah!  Ha ha

Followers, apparel and player homes are each their own separate topic for me.  I use far too many of each to start recanting all of those this late at night.

If you want an easy place to get a grand pile of weapons in one source, Nicoroshi.  I've worked with the man on several mods now.  I poured out 45 years worth of IRL archery experience on him and dug up whatever I didn't yet know in my research.  The result was I Want Better Arrows and Bowgasm.  Two mods that completely redefine archery as we know it in Skyrim.  He also makes other fine weapons as well.  I can't say enough good things about Nico, he's like a brother to me.  I basically use all of Nico's creations.  He's even made a few just because I asked, like the iron and steel replacers, I Want Better Weapons Iron and Steel... he even remade the shields.  Nicoroshi's Creations, the latest blades and more shields...  Love that stuff! 

I hope this helps, my friend.  If you need help, I am happy to assist.  I've learned a lot through trial and error... lots of error... but also with the help of many dear friends in the community.  So, I try to pay that forward at every opportunity.  I use a lot of mods in my game... a lot of mods.  I had over 400 installed running on my old laptop and moving to a tower now, it's about to grow yet again... Yep... Phat is a mod junkie alright!  Hahahahahahaha  

If you like any of these suggestion, want to see images, need links or still saying, "wtf, phat?" then just let me know.  I tend to ramble on about the things I love with friends.  I guess I'm saying, don't let me confuse you.  If I can help, I will. 

Adventure ever on my friend, Phat

PS:  It was Bijin's Lydia and the Asteria Dwemer Airship player home that initially inspired me to start using mods in Skyrim... I still love them both  

 

[Denotic]

phatbassanchor, thank you for the great response; I'll take a look at everything you cited.

[Scythe Bearer]

Okay, tentative trust granted.  Here is my list. 

Besides my own mods (you can find them on this site or Bethesda.net), I have four mods which I consider essential. 

First, the Unofficial Patch.  I did a vanilla play-through once.  To quote Poe's raven "Nevermore". 

Then, Run for Your Lives, by Arthmoor.   I tired of getting letters from the Jarl telling me that my friends had died.  Now my friends exercise good sense and hide in their houses, letting the guards take care of the dragons.  If only this burst of good sense applied to the good folks in Riften when the guards are chasing after a thief. 

Next, The Paarthunax Dilemma, also by Arthmoor.  I refuse to kill Paarthunax just because Delphine want vengeance.  Now I can tell Delphine "NO"!, in a way that will cause her to soil her knickers.

And finally, After the Civil War, Siege Damage Repair by tarlazo.  Pay some septims and the cities and towns get repaired after you finish the Civil War.  No more tripping over damaged gazebo parts or smashed vendor stalls.  

 

[Woorloog]

I have some baseline mods i use, for my barely vanilla+ setup:

Fixes:
Unofficial Patch (duh)
Garthand's Unofficial Creation Club Patches (well, not right now but once updated for AE)
Better Dialogue Controls
Better Message Box Controls
FloraRespawnFix
Modern Brawl Bug fix (need this because of Footprints at least)
That mod that fixes Vampire Lord vampiric drain while having Serana as a companion (i believe the unofficial patch never "fixed" this because this is technically not a bug nor even an error)

"Improvements" (subjective stuff that can be seen as fixes or additions, depending):
Realistic Ragdolls and Force
No Spinning Death Animation (the "merged" variant, that includes dragon and riekling changes)
Multiple Floor Sandboxing (i'm not sure if this has practical effect in mostly vanilla Skyrim but can't hurt)
Septim Texture Replacer (while having old coins around would make sense, more recently minted money is probably more common ultimately)
Space Pickaxe (it sounds way funnier than Notched Pickaxe)

Additions, balance changes:
Footprints (a minor but incredibly immersive thing)
Simple Two-Handed Rebalance (Not used if i happen to use a perk overhaul mod)
Dual Cast Cost (adjusts values to 250% increased damage and 250% increased cost)
Shout Cooldowns That Make Sense (i regard this a borderline fix mod, because three word shouts should be better always but they aren't in the base game)
Hearthfire Multiple Adoptions
Wearable Lanterns
Bee Hives
Dawnguard Map Markers
Gildergreen Regrown
Manor Roads
Cutting Room Floor
Live Another Life

That's all of them, i think.
I may throw something on top of these, sometimes if i feel i need something more for the specific type of character i'm playing, sometimes i just want to spice things up.

I don't bother with graphical mods, i don't trust them to be comprehensive or have additions for everything else i use. I prefer consistency to absolute quality. Though i do admit some things people have created are quite impressive and attractive because of that.
I don't bother with character cosmetic mods, only looks alteration i may do is to switch hair and hair-color and eye color at most. I miss Morrowind's super simple character customization. I did use some when i tried body mods and armors and stuff, but ultimately i've decided not to use any due to getting everything play nice and work (eg adjust armors not pre-adjusted for particular body) to take way too much time.

Since i'm just restarting (played a character for a day and decided i didn't like it), i'm doing some alterations. Had to drop ESO Skyshards because i know some locations and i my internal compulsive min-maxer wants to really go collect all i know first for extra perks.
I'd like to use Vokrii perhaps, but it seems it would need patches for various staves added by Creation Club stuff but i can't find any.
Pondering about adding Oakwood, because Falkreath really feels like it needs something more and it plays really nice with the Lakeview Manor. But a bit uncertain because i don't use any other town additions or extensions at the moment.

EDIT Turns out i've forgotten to install Run for Your Lives. Idiot NPCs...

EDIT2 I've strong feel i want something more on top of my current list but i'm not quite sure what.
Of big mods, i'm considering Wyrmstooth, it seems good. Is it good?

EDIT3 One consideration i forgot to add to my base list is "Easy Lockpicking". The problem with the game's lockpicking is that it is too easy, i can unlock a master lock easily enough without Lockpicking skill or perks. So i might as well do away with minigame entirely for all practical purposes.
But a better system would be something that replaces it with something that is completely reliant on character skill, with no player skill input at all.

[phatbassanchor]

5 hours ago, Woorloog said:

Turns out i've forgotten to install Run for Your Lives. Idiot NPCs...

Thanks, Woorloog, I  swear by Run For Your Lives.  I pair it with Dawnguard Sentries for added community security in towns, villages and on major roadways.  Both are rather lightweight and performance friendly.  Nicoroshi recently published a patch for Sentries and Great Cities for folks who use both mods.  Since installing RFYL and Sentries, I no longer have any issues with NPC deaths in town.  Since I installed those two mods, I've only lost one shop keeper, poor Lucan...  It was my own fault too... No, I didn't kill him but my actions did lead to his demise... 

I was in Riverwood when a dragon began circling low above the town, drawing arrow shot from the guards and sentries alike.  My followers and I also engaged, yet the drake refused to land.  All damned night it circled...  We loosed volley upon volley of arrows to no avail...  Then, as dawn approached and having exhausted all other shouts and being absent of Dragonrend or Bend Will, I summoned Durnehviir... 

Durnehviir made short work of the feral wyrm that plagued us throughout the dark night and made his way westward up the mountain to feast upon bandits and troll... However, in the fray with the dragon I had overlooked a new intruder that crept in, thinking he yet had time for a quick meal before escaping back into the darkness... A master vampire!  I loosed an arrow straight at his head from my crouched perch near Lod's forge, mais non... it was too late... Lucan already lay dead in the street.  My arrow had found it's mark a moment too late to save him... more's the pity.  RIP Lucan. 

And, that is the story of the only NPC I have lost since employing Run For Your Lives and Dawnguard Sentries.  Using these two mods does not guarantee that NPC's will not die.  But, they certainly keep the usual flood of inheritance letters at bay. Hahaha 

Adventure ever on dear friends, Phat

PS:  Links below...

Run For Your Lives by Arthmoor... https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/2272

Dawnguard Sentries by ms827...https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/13547

Patch for Dawnguard Sentries and Great Cities by Nicoroshi... https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/58431

I've been curious to try Great Cities myself.  Now that I'm moving from my old laptop to a tower I may have to try it on for size... 

[phatbassanchor]

7 hours ago, Woorloog said:

Dawnguard Map Markers

Dawnguard Map Markers!  Huzzah! 

Here's another great mod that I won't play without.  If I'm going for the Thieves' Guild I also employ the Stones of Barenziah Quest Marker mod as well  

Speaking of quests...  I've tried quite a few quest mods as well.  My favorites are...

Helgen Reborn by Mike Hancho...  https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/5673

Moonpath to Elsweyr by MuppetPuppet and An_Old_Sock...  https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/4341

Midwood Isle by Will Evans...  https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/28120

I also run some other quest mods that would be considered "adult content" that are inappropriate to share in this forum.  A Nexus PM or forum would be a more appropriate site to discuss those kinds of options.  But, as I said before, I'm happy to share what I've used and enjoyed. 

Denotic... let me know once you decide which of the body variations you choose.  That choice will have everything to do with my recommendations for armor and other outfit options.  I started with Seraphim and found far too few outfits for it, then moved to UNP, UNPB, UUNP, tried and failed with 7BB and currently use CBBE SE.  The BHUNP looks pretty amazing too.  I've been considering converting to that body for a while now. 

More to come... Adventure ever on dear friends, Phat

PS:  George of ZeroPeriodProductions on youtube is an excellent way to see what quest mods will look like before installing them.  George plays a lot of quest mods...  I mean a lot of quest mods! haha   If was George who turned me onto Midwood Isles as well as another I want to try, the Second Great War.  He's also saved me bucket loads of time and effort by showing me the ones that I ultimately passed on for one reason or another.  Huzzah for George!

[Pseron Wyrd]

I dismantle and rebuild my mod lists for each character.  Most of the mods I use are specific to one character.  But these are the mods I use in every game,  for every character:

Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch
Sky UI  (only to get the Mod Configuration Menu feature)
Hide Sky UI
Skyrim Community Uncapper
Engine Fixes
Stay At System Page
No Map Markers on Compass
No NPC Greetings
Merchants Reply Only With Take A Look
Quick Bed Rental
Flora Respawn Fix
Silent Combat Music
PC Head Tracking
Walk Faster
3rd Person Walk Fix
No More Redshirts
Alternate Start - Live Another Life  (I use this even with vanilla starts)
A Quality World Map
Timing is Everything
Trade and Barter
Ordinator  (I use Path of Sorcery instead of Ordinator if I play a mage)
Wintersun - Faiths of Skyrim
SOT Ultimate Deadly Encounters
SOT Genesis - Dynamically Increased Enemy Spawns and Enhanced Loot
SOT Sleeping Encounters Standalone Module
Simple Actions - The floor is as good a place to sleep (or sit) as any
Death Alternative - Your Money Or Your Life