SKYRIM : SPECIAL EDITION 2019 GRAPHICS TUTORIAL
100 Mods Edition
2019, a very special year for Skyrim:SE modding. This is because this tutorial will be the 5 year anniversary, and 50k Youtube subscribers edition! So, a very, very special edition!
My Youtube channel did become famous because of these modding tutorials, and I am very happy to release this 5th edition already, and with that celebrating this with you guys!
The funny thing is that every year I always think that no new mods will be interesting enough to create a new guide, but also every I am always amazed how many great and new mods are released to create a brand new tutorial with!
For this 2019 anniversary edition, I will create 2 tutorials this time. Not only the full tutorial with hundreds of mods and files, but also because a 100 mods edition because of it was requested a lot!
While I like the NORDIC Skyrim:SE guide, and I think the load order is great, I don't agree with all things in that guide, and I also think there are way too many mods listed there as well. Especially for the under 50 mods list! Nevertheless I used the Nordic guide as a guideline for this mod list, because thats where it is still a great modlist for. So a big thanks to nordic0cold for his guide.
I would like to point out that Skyrim:SE modding is also very subjective, some people like mods better then 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 only!
Screenshots
There are 2 different ENB's and weather mods being used. You can decide later.
PART 1: Preparation and Tools
In this part, we will start with the basics and preparation.
1: 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.
2: Install Mod Organiser 2, and make sure you set a specific folder for your mods. (To avoid your primary drive being used for all the mod installations. This folder can become quite large.)
3: 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.
4: Install SSELODGEN or DynDOLOD in your MO2. We need it later for LOD generation
5: Download and install SKSE 64. Make sure to add it in MO2, since you want to launch SkyrimSE with SKSE64 from now on.
PART 2: Essential Core Mods
Mods that you really want in this part.
1: Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch
4: SkyUI
6: RASR - Random Alternate Start Reborn SE
Always make sure to have the Random Alternate Start esp at the bottom of the load order.
PART 3: Large Texture Packs
Mods that provide a good foundation with HQ texture packs
I borrow some of the NORDIC guide mod suggestions , because I think the author did a good job filtering out double and unwanted textures. Thanks to nordic0cold for the nice descriptions in his NORDIC guide.
2: Skyrim particle patch for ENB
3: Enhanced Textures Detail UV
4: Static Mesh Improvement Mod
7: Skyland - A Landscape Texture Overhaul
8: Tamriel Retextured - HD Texture Pack
9: Skyrim 3D Landscapes - Groundcovers
10: MystiriousDawn's HD Skyrim
12: Just Ice
13: Soul Cairn HD
14: Sovngarde HD
15: Skyrim 4K/ 2K Landscape Pack 2019
16: Indistinguishable Billboards for Skyrim SE - We will use these later for LOD generation
Always make sure to have the Random Alternate Start esp at the bottom of the load order.
PART 4: Minor Texture Packs
Mods that provide additional foundation with HQ texture packs.
1: Underground - A Dungeon Texture Overhaul
2: Gecko's Nordic Ruins Textures
3: Gecko's Dwarven Ruins Textures
5: Skyland - Imperial Forts and Dungeons
6: Arri's Snow Elf Ruins Retexture
7: Fluffy Snow
8: Mossy Bridge
9: Astral Aspect - 4K standing Stones
10: Stunning Statues of Skyrim
11: Mara 2K - 4K
Always make sure to have the Random Alternate Start esp at the bottom of the load order.
PART 5: Weather And Skyrim Environment Mods
Alright, now it is time to make a choice for a weather mod. My personal choice in 2019 would either be Cathedral Weathers or Obsidian weathers. While it is important to know this because you want to have a matching ENB later, (I would go for Ominous ENB with Obsidian Weathers, or Semirealis ENB with Cathedral Weathers.) you can simply switch between weather mods with Mod Organiser. (See video tutorial how to do this.) I once created 2 showcase videos with both presets. Check the videos to get an idea of both weather/ENB combinations.
Cathedral Weathers + Semirealis ENB
Obsidian weathers + Ominous ENB
1: So either pick Cathedral Weathers and Seasons or Obsidian Weathers (or something else of course, its your game ;))
3: Skyrim textures Redone - Enhanced Night Sky
6: Red Rocks 4k - This mod seems to be offline. No idea why, but for me it was the best rock texture pick. Check out my Discord or pick another mod.
7: Veydosebrom
8: Enhanced Vanilla Trees - download EVT Billboards from the same mod page
10: Skyrim 3D Trees and Plants - Plants Only + patch
13: Landscape Fixes for Grass Mods
Always make sure to have the Random Alternate Start esp at the bottom of the load order.
PART 6: Towns/Buildings
Mods that alter towns, farms, and other buildings in Skyrim
1: JK's Skyrim
2: R's Farmhouse and Handcarts
8: Farmhouse Floor 4K Re-texture
11: Training Dummies Retexture 4K and 2K
14: Ennead Banners - The Winds of War
Always make sure to have the Random Alternate Start esp at the bottom of the load order.
PART 7: PC/NPC/Armor/Weapons
Mods that will change the looks and add new NPC's, armors, and weapons.
3: Dragonbone Armour and Weapons HD
5: Ancient Falmer Armor HD retext and redone
7: Frankly HD Nightingale Armour and Weapons
8: Frankly HD Dawnguard Armour and Weapons
9: Frankly HD Thieves Guild Armours
10: Frankly HD Shrouded Armour
12: Frankly HD Imperial Armor and Weapons
13: Frankly HD Stormcloak and City Guards
14: ApachiiSkyHair
15: KS Hairdos SSE and Immersive KS Hairdos
16: Hott Interesting NPC's - This option covers over 200 of the NPC's. Check screenshots if you like the NPC's.
19: Improved Bards
21: Bijin NPCs SE
22: Bijin Wives SE
23: Seranaholic by rxkx22 - Ported to SSE by bchick3 and elrizzo
25: Toccata Follower SE (With Elisif Replacer Option)
26: XP32 Maximum Skeleton - A great mod, but dont install the MCM options because it requires a lot of extra work.
27: Caliente's beautiful body Enhancer - CBBE
30: The Eyes of Beauty - Vampire Eyes SSE
Always make sure to have the Random Alternate Start esp at the bottom of the load order.
PART 8: Animals And Creatures
Mods that will overhaul animals and creatures. Most of them are retextures. Because I wanted this guide not to be too long, I only have a couple of these mods from creatures we see more often than others.
1: Bellyaches Animal and Creature Pack SSE
2: Bellyaches HD Dragon Replacer
4: Realistic Horse Breeds by KrittKitty
6: Archet's Dark Brotherhood - Improved Shadowmere
Always make sure to have the Random Alternate Start esp at the bottom of the load order.
PART 9: Effects/Lighting/ENB
The last part in this tutorial already! The finishing touch with special effects, lighting, and installing the ENB. Also we are going to generate terrain with SSELODGEN
2: ELFX - ASLAL Patch - Hide meshes/architecture/farmhouse/interior/farmint2hearth02.nif.
3: Unofficial ELFX - SMIM FPS Patch - It needs to be after the main ELFX ESP, but before the Enhancer/Hardcore ESP's.
4: Webs S.E. - also download the ELFX patch
5: Realistic Water Two - Hide these files: meshes/effects/fxrapidsrocks01.nif; meshes/effects/fxcreekflatlong01.nif; meshes/effects/fxcreekflatlarge.nif
7: Volcanic Tundra - Heat Wave Effects
9: Skyrim:SE Weather control - Since I like to create showcases, I really use this mod a lot. It allows you to simpy change the weather instead of having to use the FW commands. I would suggest you check out the ''clear'' and ''cloudy'' weather for your Weather/ENB presets to see how your game looks.
LOD generation:
It is now time to run SSELODGEN to generate distant terrain. Check all the checkboxes, and use the settings as in here.
ENB Section
Test your game before we are going to install the ENB. If it crashes afterwards you know something is wrong with the ENB section of this
tutorial.
First download the ENB Dev files
Next download ENB Helper SE
If you did download Cathedral Weathers , make sure to download Semirealis ENB.
If you did download Obsidian weathers, make sure to download Ominous ENB.
Follow the instructions in the video if you dont know how to install the ENB.
Extra Part 10: Fixes and missing mods during the tutorial
This part I did not intend to create, but during recording we need to fix and add some mods in order to make the landscape awesome :)
1: Drag blended roads under Skyland - A Landscape Texture Overhaul Else Skyland overrides the blended roads mod.
2: It seems I forgot to install the actual Skyrim 3D Landscapes mod,and did only install the billboards. Oops..... See video for the fix.
3: Also I forgot 3D Plants - Yashed Cut patch. Install it after 3D plants.
4: For an even better outdoor terrain, install Skyrim 3d rocks under 3D landscapes.
5: We are missing great looking stone walls! Install this mod after 3d walls : Ultimate Stonewall
That will be all for this tutorial, enjoy the game!