The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - MODS & TWEAKS

[Bone9]

I decided to go ahead and install Warzones.

I hadn't done a lot with Skyrim recently - hadn't even installed an ENB, so I started from scratch and followed the guidance on the Warzones site.

After updating everything, running the edits etc, I installed the RealVision ENB with the Particle and Subsurface scattering patches. I also installed Realistic Lighting and updated Climates of Tamriel.

The result is stunning - it is a completely different game and I feel like I'm getting value out of my G751/GTX 980M. Coupled with the visual differences, I also added/updated Deadly Combat, Dragon Combat Overhaul, Random Encounters, Extra Encounters, Immersive Patrols and Deadly Dragons as well as Warzones.

Not only does it look great now but Skyrim feels alive, I've been testing on the area to the south west of Whiterun up to and around Fort Greymoor, and I pass numerous travellers on the road, witness battles between bandits and soldiers and have been attacked by up to 3 dragons at once. Dragon fighting alone takes on a whole new dimension - they are actually difficult and my character is Level 44 with high level armour and weapons.

The only issue I have is that I usually run with 12 followers - all with body and hair mods, carrying modded weapons and armour. The game freezes when all 12 are in heavy combat - at one point I had Imperial Soldiers, bandits, skeletons and 3 dragons attacking in the same zone against my followers (I sat back and watched) and I experienced a freeze. I've been experimenting with how many followers will allow the game to run OK, and I'm up to 6 at the moment with no issues.

This has completely renewed my enthusiasm for Skyrim (after 1300 hours invested) and it seems like a whole new game. I'm having issues with taking screenshots (won't work with the keyboard or F12) so once I fix that I'll post some screens.

I'll also add that I had 2 other issues - an infinite load screen that I fixed by disabling the Quality World Map - with Roads mod, and the Climates of Tamriel Weather patch caused a CTD at the load screen.

Cheers,

Get some screens/vids man!

 

[No1newts]

I know this isn't a mod comment but I don't want to start a new thread for one in game question.

Do sny of you guys have issues with perma dying followers? I've managed to kill 3 in 3 missions including Aela who I blinking liked wondering if I'm doing anything wrong or have I just had some bad luck? More annoying was my last one I had kitted out in good gear ad he changed into a werewolf before he died so I couldn't loot my stuff back

 

[Dr.Fate]

I know this isn't a mod comment but I don't want to start a new thread for one in game question.

Do sny of you guys have issues with perma dying followers? I've managed to kill 3 in 3 missions including Aela who I blinking liked wondering if I'm doing anything wrong or have I just had some bad luck? More annoying was my last one I had kitted out in good gear ad he changed into a werewolf before he died so I couldn't loot my stuff back

The three options I can think of to stop your follower dying would be (1) to use a companion mod where you can set the followers 'status' if you like, to essential. That stops them from dying - they get knocked out of the combat for a few seconds then get back up again. I use Extensible Follower Framework (XFL) (http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/12933/?) and I have never had an issue with it. XFL has a wide range of options included for the follower, including what sleeping attire they wear! You can also set their fighting style, aggression etc so it may help to keep them out of the front line, and alive, if you didn't want to set them to essential.

(2) The other option would be to open the Creation Kit (CK), and set the follower to essential. An easy change to make - literally one check box. There are quite a few tutorials on the web as to how to work the CK.

(3) 3rd option would be to use the console command. Open using the tilde key (below escape on most keyboards), find out the ID# of the follower by clicking on them and noting the number in the console, and then type:

setessential <BaseID> <#> Make NPC mortal (0) / immortal(1).

Edit: Forgot about the console command.

Cheers,

Cheers,

 

[Dr.Fate]

I have finally reached a stage where everything works again.

I was still getting freezing and the occasional CTD, even after following all of the Warzones instruction guide, except for one critical point..

The instructions state to modify or create the skse.ini with the memory info. However, I had read that SKSE greater than 1.7.0 had the memory patch installed, so since I had the most up to date SKSE I didn't follow this step.

Turned out that this was incorrect and after installing the Memory Block Log I could see that I was running out of memory at almost every Warzone location, even with it on Spawn 1 and just my character. I installed the SKSE ini and everything is now working fine. I haven't had a single freeze, with Warzones on spawn 2 and 13 followers, all heavily modded with face, hair, armour and weapons. I've also been able to get Immersive Armours to work as well.

In addition , the game looks great so I'm a happy Skyrim camper!

I had the most epic battle ever. I have Deadly Dragons and Dragon Combat Overhaul also installed and cranked up - with 13 x Level 44 followers plus myself, why not? Well, we were spanked by two elder and a legendary dragon. Seven followers went down and I was killed twice before we eventually beat them. It went on for quite a while, and even a Stormcloak patrol and some bandits joining in.

Some screenshots of the battle:

Spoiler

Incoming

Spoiler

Mods: Templar Armour, Dreadweave Axe

Spoiler

One of my followers being blasted:

Spoiler

Good view of the Templar Shield from Abimod

Spoiler

Two followers are down, the two behind went down soon after

Spoiler

Dual blasts

Spoiler

Dragon fire rains down. Note follower thrown into the air.

Spoiler

Spoiler

The end, the team regroups...

Cheers,

 

[Bone9]

Awesome!

 

[Michaeljcox24]

@ DrFate

Glad you solved the issue, I've been there with that sense of 'Ahhhhhhh' when you have the eureka moment of solving Skyrim crashes.

Incidently, can I suggest a mod?

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/11954/?

Did you encounter the Tempus fugit dragon yet? Seems to be nigh on impossible to kill unless your kitted up to the max and a level 150 mage with nuclear powers.

 

[Dr.Fate]

@ DrFate

Glad you solved the issue, I've been there with that sense of 'Ahhhhhhh' when you have the eureka moment of solving Skyrim crashes.

Incidently, can I suggest a mod?

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/11954/?

Did you encounter the Tempus fugit dragon yet? Seems to be nigh on impossible to kill unless your kitted up to the max and a level 150 mage with nuclear powers.

Thanks for the link to the mod, I'll take a look at it.

Haven't encountered a Tempus fugit dragon yet - I have increased the frequency chance for encounter so it may come soon.

Some more from my game which is still running smooth.

I am walking from Whiterun to Riften, and if all goes well I will increase the Warzones spawn rate and the spawn rate for Dragons and other encounters. An example encounter:

Spoiler

25 Skeletons

Spoiler

Dragons decide to drop in on the fight

Spoiler

When it all goes wrong

Cheers,

 

[Neil79]

LOL

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/71394/?

 

[Dr.Fate]

LOL

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/71394/?

Skyrim modding, something for everyone.

Thanks for sharing, not sure I'll use it though.

Cheers,

 

[ossieclap]

I've started a new playthrough as a dumb greatsword wielding Conan barbarian type and I'm starting to get bored already.

Any suggestions on how to jazz it up a bit? I already have the following immersive mods: Frostfall, Wet and Cold, Deadly Mutilation and Duel - Combat Realism.

 

[Michaeljcox24]

I thought about trying that, a Conan type character but without archery and magic I could see it getting very boring very quickly.

 

[Dr.Fate]

I've started a new playthrough as a dumb greatsword wielding Conan barbarian type and I'm starting to get bored already.

Any suggestions on how to jazz it up a bit? I already have the following immersive mods: Frostfall, Wet and Cold, Deadly Mutilation and Duel - Combat Realism.

With that type of character what you want to be doing is sticking your sword into a lot of things a lot of the time. There are many mods that will let you do that, and those that I use include:

- Warzones 2015 (I will eventually add Assault Attack)
- Dragon Combat Overhaul
- Deadly Dragons
- Immersive Patrols

These will give you as many encounters as you can handle, all tweakable as to difficulty & size that will test your character.

I also recommend Immersive Armour and Immersive Weapons not only to give you more variety to choose from, but your enemies also.

If you have just started a build, two mods that I have not tried but would if I were starting again are Requiem and Sands of Time (also known as Ultimate Deadly Encounters). They overhaul the whole role-playing and difficulty aspect.

Cheers,

 

[ossieclap]

I thought about trying that, a Conan type character but without archery and magic I could see it getting very boring very quickly.

Indeed. I am running 2 concurrent games: One with an emphasis on stealth/archery where I'm avoiding the main quest completely with "You are not the Dragonborn" mod. I'll just focus on the guild quests.

The second was exclusively main quest.....Conan the Dragonborn basically.

I keep defaulting to the former build though.

 

[ossieclap]

With that type of character what you want to be doing is sticking your sword into a lot of things a lot of the time. There are many mods that will let you do that, and those that I use include:

- Warzones 2015 (I will eventually add Assault Attack)
- Dragon Combat Overhaul
- Deadly Dragons
- Immersive Patrols

These will give you as many encounters as you can handle, all tweakable as to difficulty & size that will test your character.

I also recommend Immersive Armour and Immersive Weapons not only to give you more variety to choose from, but your enemies also.

If you have just started a build, two mods that I have not tried but would if I were starting again are Requiem and Sands of Time (also known as Ultimate Deadly Encounters). They overhaul the whole role-playing and difficulty aspect.

Cheers,

Thanks, I'll try these at some point.

I've only just unlocked the shouting so I'll wait until a few more dragon fights before I start modding the dragon AI.

I've heard that Warzones and Immersive Patrols are quite taxing on the system though? I'll like to keep as close to 60fps as I can (I'm running an enb and loads of texture mods).

 

[Dr.Fate]

I understand the conventional wisdom regarding Skyrim modding is that you can mod it to get photograph quality graphics or you can run the script heavy "immersive" type mods. I lean toward the action/immersive mods, try to up the encounters in quantity and difficulty as much as I can. I think I've reached a nice balance between the two - still have a good looking game with a high level of encounters.

I run a few texture mods - the HD 2k textures being the main one, as well as the CBBE skin textures and Apachii Hair, and some for the night sky - Enhanced Night, Skygazers Constellations HD and Skygazer Moons. Also have Climates of Tamriel and Realistic Lighting Overhaul.

Apart from those mentioned above, in the immersive/overhaul category I also use Deadly Combat, Overpower (good for 2 hand or dual wield), Random Encounters and Extra Encounters.

I can usually achieve 60+ fps but of course when the going gets tough it can dip into the 30s-40s. I've never really done a thorough analysis of my fps.

I also use the Real Vision ENB and one of the major improvements to my game was adding the skse.ini for the memory boost and using the Memory Blocks Log. Essential to run the mods like Warzones and the Encounters mods.

I have a bunch of screenshots below just as an indication, I take 100's of screenshots and have them as a screensaver on my gaming PC and this is a small sample.

Locations

Spoiler

Half Moon Mill

Falkreath

Oakwood at dawn

Moons

Riften

Whiterun

Encounters

Spoiler

Bandits, spiders and bears

Troll and Sabre Cats

When it all goes right

The Battle of Oakwood

This was another epic dragon battle that lasted around 7 hours of gametime. Note where the sun is as the dragons come in and then where it is toward the end. At one stage most of my followers had gone down a couple of times, those with bows were out of arrows (as was I) and I had random Nords, hunters, mercenaries and villagers joining in.

Spoiler

This is the Lustmord crossbow from the Lustmord vampire weapons/armour set. I haven't built the armour yet, but one of my followers will get it. I'm a big fan of the Black Sacrament armour, this is by the same author.

Note Saadia, one of my followers on the dragons head, and the colour of the sky - the sun is setting. This battle lasted the whole day.

It doesn't always go to plan...been thrown about like a rag doll!

One of my followers still down after the attacks had been beaten (in this case Illia, one of my mages.

Cheers,

 

[Daytrader]

Is all this modding possible with the steam skyrim legendary version, and is there not just one big mod patch out there that adds all the graphical loveliness in one hit.

 

[Neil79]

Is all this modding possible with the steam skyrim legendary version, and is there not just one big mod patch out there that adds all the graphical loveliness in one hit.

1) Yes, the legendary version is actually recommended to own
2) There was a big graphical all in one overhaul download at some point in this thread, but it's very very out of date now.

 

[Daytrader]

Ok thx.

 

[maj]

Bought the GOTY edition yesterday. Installed some of the recommended mods using nexus mod manager but game still looks like it's using default textures I've ticked to use data files on the main menu too.

 

[Flubble]

if you're running through steam then you need to log into steam first before clicking play on the nexus manager so it skips past the steam mod menu thing which seems to stop nexus mods from working