Despite how old the game is players are still playing Skyrim almost religiously. The game has a massive amount of content throughout all of its major quest lines, not to mention all of the other side quests that players have access to. In order to do everything that Skyrim has to offer would take players hundreds of hours of work, which makes the game near infinite. There is even more content for those who want to mess around with mods.
Skyrim has one of the largest modding communities out there, so players have so many different options at their disposal. There are almost 30,000 mods on the Steam Workshop alone, and countless more on Skyrim's Mod Nexus page. Those who really want to get into modding could potentially play Skryim for the rest of their lives and never run out of things to do. This guide is here to show players the best mods available and how to install them.
Skyrim: How to Download Mods
Depending on what platform and version of Skyrim that players are using their method for downloading and using mods will change considerably. Some of the mods are officially supported by Bethesda whereas others can only be obtained by using some clever workarounds.
Consoles: Players who are playing the special edition of Skyrim on the consoles will be able to download and use mods straight from the main menu. This allows them to pick from a large list of different options and immediately download them straight into the game. Modding with the console is extremely easy and streamlined, but players won't have as many options as they would if they were on PC.
PC with Steam Workshop: Using the Steam Workshop for installing PC mods is almost as simple as console. All players have to do is go to the Steam Workshop page for the mod they want and then download it. This automatically makes the mod available in the game with no hassle at all.
PC with Nexus Mods: Not all mods are available on Steam Workshop, but downloading mods from Nexus takes a little bit of extra work. The upside is that every mod on Nexus should come with instructions on exactly how to download and install the mod in Skyrim. There are a words of advice that players should keep in mind before installing Nexus mods at random. First, players should back up their version of Skyrim just in case something goes wrong. Second, don't just download a bunch of stuff simultaneously as this will most likely cause the game to crash. Instead download and test mods one at a time in order to make sure everything works.
Skyrim: Best Mods in 2020
Keep in mind that not all of these mods will be available for different versions of the game. If you are on PC and can't find a certain mod on Steam Workshop, you may have to check out Nexus for it.
- Unofficial Skyrim Patch- Even though Skyim has been available to the public for the better part of a decade, Bethesda still hasn't managed to fix all of the bugs and glitches that the game has. This mod decides to take on the task of fixing a lot of those random issues that still plague the game all these years later. It is also constantly being updated in order to keep track of all the different problems in Skyrim.
- Relighting Skyrim- This mod fixes another prominent issue in Skyrim. The lighting has always been a weird feature in the game because the light never seems to come from actual light sources in the game. The Relighting mod changes that by making light come off of places like fires or torches rather than random locations.
- Moonpath to Elsweyr- This wonderfully huge mod allows players to travel to the home of the Khajitt and explore the lush jungles and desert areas of this map. There are brand new creatures to hunt and fight against as well as an entirely new questline to explore. To top it off the new NPCs of this mod are even fully voice acted so it feels like an official DLC for the game.
- Wet and Cold- This is an interesting little mod that adds some extra details to water effects on the environment and character models. With this mod installed players will see snow and rain stick to characters' clothing and hair as well as seeing the breath of other characters when it is cold outside. These little details add a lot of realism to the world of Skyrim.
- Cutting Room Floor- While Skyrim already has hundreds of hours of content, there was a lot more that never made it into the final cut of the game. This mod goes through and allows players to play around with some of the cut quest lines and NPCs that are hidden in the game's code.
- Become High King of Skyrim- If players complete every available quest in Skyrim they will become the leader of the Thieves Guild, the heroic Dragonborn, Archmage of the Mage's College, and so much more. This may not be enough for some players though, so this mod lets them become the High King of Skyrim. As the High King players can have people executed, order them around, or even ask any person in the game to follow them around.
- Sneak Tools- Sneaking in Skyrim is sorely misused, and players really don't have many options at their disposal other than "crouch down and avoid enemies". This mod gives players a lot of other options while they are sneaking around like the ability to stealth kill enemies, putting on a mask to conceal their identity, or extinguishing candles and torches to hide better.
- Craftable Clothing- It can be very annoying for players who don't like armor to acquire some good clothing to use in Skyrim. Armor users can go to any crafting station to build themselves incredibly outfits, but clothing users are forced to buy or discover their own items. This mod allows players to craft their own clothes with different abilities.
- Pit Fighters- This mod adds in a whole new faction called the Pit Fighters that come with their own questline. Players will get to fight in gladiatorial style arena fights and try to become a champion fighter. This mod is perfect for players who miss the Arena from Oblivion.
- Legacy of the Dragonborn- This mod was built for those players who have collected a mountain of prized treasures on their journeys but have nowhere to store them. The mod gives players access to a massive museum that they can fill with different treasures, weapons, and armors. There is also an exploration-based guild added with the mod that adds some extra purpose to treasure hunting.
- Monster Mounts- While horses are pretty cool, this mod allows players to ride on the backs of all kinds of monstrous beasts. Players can climb on the shoulders of a frost troll, flop on the ground atop a great white shark, and more with 87 different monsters and beasts to choose from.
Skyrim can be played on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, and Nintendo Switch.