SKYRIM : SPECIAL EDITION 2021 GRAPHICS TUTORIAL
THE 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION!
The 10 year anniversary edition of Skyrim ultimate graphics tutorial!
2021. A very special year for Skyrim (SE) modding, since Skyrim was released in 2011!
This means we now have the 10 year anniversary edition of Skyrim! For this, I wanted to do something special regarding this modding tutorial. For this guide, I am trying to get the best visuals from all the current mods/ENB's created so far, but also trying to stick to the original Skyrim graphics in terms of feel and realism.
I would like to point out that Skyrim:SE modding is also very subjective, some people like mods/ENB's better than others. So install only what YOU want, its YOUR Skyrim:SE! Only be careful for mods which require master mods in that case. This guide is mostly focused on visuals!
End Result Videos
Example showcase video of the end result once you are done.
A stable foundation to start with? What do we use this year?
I checked out many mods and modlist pages that might have a good foundation, and ended up with Skyrim 2021 Modding Guide by Dlizzio as base reference! Thanks a lot to Dlizzio for his great 2021 ready modlist which we are going to use as a stable foundation! This modlist will cover approximately 80% of this tutorial, but as always I have a wide selection of mods which I also do really recommend, and you should not miss out on. I will make sure to explain where and when to install these mods on top of the base 2021 foundation.
Is there an all in one autoInstaller for all the mods?
Because mod authors do set their mods (and patch files!) to hidden occasionally, this is a very big problem when using something like a Wabbajack auto-installer. Also updated files might not be compatible anymore with other mods. Because of that, I do offer an other alternative. An all in one mod pack from the mods I am currently using for my game. All files/patches have been perfectly optimized, and the only thing you have to do is add the files to MO2 1 by 1, and activate them. My advise is to still use the tutorials to make sure you are installing everything in the correct way, and to make sure you dont forget critical steps!
Download link for the AIO pack:
Update 03/May/2021:
Ununfortunately I had to take down the AIO file.
Not because of modders, but it seems people are
getting (false) copyrighted claims from their ISP.
You can ask around at Discord, but I can not offer a direct
link on my website for an AIO pack anymore. Sorry!
Everything that has a beginning has an end.
This tutorial will most likely be my last Skyrim modding tutorial. (If no new huge graphics changing mods will be released that is) After 10 years of playing and modding Skyrim, I think this is a good year to end the tutorial series and 'retire' from it. So I really hope this tutorial will give you the best Skyrim graphics you had so far!
Liked my Skyrim Tutorials over the years? Then please consider a small donation! :)
I will always make sure to keep my content top quality but also always free! I think everyone should be able to enjoy the world of modding without ever having to pay for this
Expansion parts. Make sure you follow the original tutorial first!
Photorealistic forests with:
Origins Of Forest - 3D Forest Grass Download the mod here
Expansion Parts After The Tutorial
Tutorial Parts
The 2021 Tutorial
Make sure to open the Skyrim 2021 Modding Guide as our main reference. We are going to use 80% from this great list.
**Update Sept 2021** This website has been pulled offline by Dlizzio for some reason, but the good folks at Reddit were able to create a backup. I did update the link. (PS the auto-start music can be disabled right upper corner of the website)
- Start clean. The best way to do this is by uninstalling everything, and start all over. You can also check out this guide. (see video for all the steps) Also make sure to create shortcuts to your Skyrim:SE Steam folder, and create a folder where you will save all the downloaded mods.
- After installing MO2, Clean masterfiles with SSEedit. With the release of xEdit 4.0, the process of cleaning your ESMs has been simplified quite a bit. We are going to use this guide as a reference.
- After the main Skyrim 2021 Modding Guide , the other 20% mods I do recommend installing:
fff
System:
01: Alternate Start - Live Another Life - SSE - To test SKSE and create a new (test) game, its easier to install this mod already at the start.
02: Skyrim:SE Weather control - For easy use of forcing weather effects instead of having to use the 'FW' commands
03: Immersive HUD - iHUD Special Edition
Texture overhauls:
01: Underground - A Dungeon Texture Overhaul
02: Gecko's Nordic Ruins Textures
03: Gecko's Dwarven Ruins Textures
04: CC's HQ Mines Redone
05: Farmhouse Door 3D
06: Farmhouse Floor 4K retexture
07: Archery Target Retexture 2k and 4k added
08: Training Dummies Retexture 4k and 2k
09: Vanilla Weapon Replacer SSE - Make sure to install/drag and drop any other weapon mods after this mod.
NPC's and Hair:
No body or animation mods in this tutorial since I personally dont care too much about it, and a vanilla body offers the best compatibility with clothing/armor mods. Of course feel free to install any body / animation mods you like! That said, I however absolutely recommend the below mods to be installed, since they are just too good not to install.
02: Bijin NPCs SE
03: Bijin Wives SE
04: Seranaholic by rxkx22 - Ported to SSE by bchick3 and elrizzo
05: KS Hairdos SSE and/or ApachiiSkyHair (we will use this instead of the vanilla hair replacer. These hair mods are just way better looking)
Done for now! Have fun!
Experimental:
Looking for a cool overhaul to experiment with? I would suggest you try these 2 big overhaul packs once you are really used to the current modlist. All the mods above here are for sure a very stable modlist and will look great, but if you just want an extra touch, these big all in one packs might be just for you! Just add them at the bottom of the load order, and see the difference they make and if you like it. Its not perfect regarding meshes/textures overwrite, but its the easiest way to do it, and you are able to check/uncheck them with a single mouse click.
So Warning! Could cause graphic glitches at certain spots when conflicting with other meshes, be careful with them! Experimental use only in combination with the mod list!
01: CleverCharff's All In One 4k Pack - Very HQ texture mod. Covers virtually all of Skyrim's towns and locations. Available in 4K, 2K and 1K.
02: Folkvangr - Grass and Landscape Overhaul - Very HQ Experimental Grass and Landscape Overhaul.
Done! Have fun!