Best Mods For Mage Gameplay

Who needs mythical swords and oversized warhammers when shooting fire from one’s palms is just as satisfying? In The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, players have a lot of options when it comes to slaying someone. Beefing up Skyrim‘s magic system with mods easily makes a mage playthrough even more fun to experience.

By this point, Skyrim‘s collection of arcane spells and abilities have become somewhat stale. To help freshen things up, there’s no shortage of mods available that are geared specifically toward mages. Before donning those enchanted robes for one more adventure, consider giving these interesting add-ons a try.

Updated December 5, 2024, by Hamza Haq: To say that no player base is more doggedly resilient and loyal than Skyrim’s is an understatement. The game has been out for over 13 years at this point and despite its age, Skyrim players continue to play the same game over and over again. It’s not because the original game is infinitely replayable, but because it functions as a blank canvas for modders to paint on, giving fans more content on the Nexus than they could ever play. It’s understandable, then, that one of the core systems of Skyrim, magic, can be modded to become unrecognizable from its base form. There are plenty of excellent magic mods for Skyrim out there; players only need to find them. A downside of the longevity of the game’s modding scene, however, is that it’s often hard to identify mods that have become outdated and no longer work with the current version of the game.

15 Magicka Surge – A Magicka Spell Mod

Downloads: 94,823

A common problem all mages face, especially at lower levels, is the lack of ways to quickly recover magicka after using spells. A mage could have mastered all the spells in the world but if they don’t have the magicka to cast anything, they’re nothing but sitting ducks.

The Magicka Surge mod solves this problem by giving mages five different lore-friendly ways to recover magicka when they run out. Magicka Bite, Magicka Bolt, and Magicka Hunger are all Destruction spells of different tiers that drain Magicka from enemies, allowing mages to use others as batteries. Circle of Magicka and Life Tap, on the other hand, are Alteration spells that drastically increase magicka regen for a short duration of time.

14 Magic Duel – Reborn

Downloads: 164,802

Most magic mods for Skyrim focus on adding more spells with new effects to Skyrim, a worthy endeavor, but a common one. Magic Duel – Reborn attempts to add a whole new facet to how magical combat works in the game by introducing one-on-one duels between mages.

The idea is to create a scenario where the Dragonborn and an enemy mage become locked in a quick-time event that directly pits their magic against each other. Like the finale of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, two beams of Magicka meet in the middle to create a stalemate that only ends when one overpowers the other. For magic, this mod not only works for elemental spells from the Destruction skill tree but can also allow players to lock horns with a Dragon in a battle of Thu’um, to truly embody the title of Dovahkiin.

13 Arcanum – A New Age Of Magic

Downloads: 710,043

It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to assume that most veterans of Skyrim can probably recite many of the major spells in the game. When the spells themselves become boring, so does playing as a mage. Fortunately, there are plenty of mods to choose from to help fix that problem.

One of the best and most extensive spell mods is Arcanum – A New Age of Magic. This mod adds over 200 spells to the game across all the various schools of magic. Players will possess an immense amount of options when it comes to their offensive and defensive repertoires. Any type of mage build will certainly benefit from Arcanum.

12 Skyrim Revamped – Complete Enemy Overhaul

Downloads: 844,292

It’s all well and good for the player to possess newfound magical knowledge. Taken together, these additional spells tend to make the player character a bit too powerful. The solution, of course, is to make Skyrim‘s myriad enemies just as dangerous.

Skyrim Revamped – Complete Enemy Overhaul is a good choice for ramping up the game’s difficulty in a manner that makes sense. Enemy mages, for instance, will utilize the same perks and spells the player possesses from mods like Ordinator and Apocalypse. It’s an interesting way to keep players on their toes, to be sure.

11 Obscure’s College Of Winterhold

Downloads: 1,518,339

Once again, the College of Winterhold tends to play a central role in any kind of mage playthrough. If players are thirsting for more immersion in this department, Obscure’s College of Winterhold mod may be just the ticket.

A lot of the finer details of the College are revamped in this mod. Chief among its features is the addition of two new towers, the Halls of Acumen and Diligence. Like Immersive College of Winterhold, this mod strives to make the institution feel more like an actual university, where learning is at the forefront of its mission.

10 Immersive College Of Winterhold

Downloads: 1,617,548

When playing as a mage in Skyrim, the obvious guild to join is the College of Winterhold. However, for an institution of its caliber, the College itself doesn’t seem very impressive. There’s plenty of work that can be done to spruce things up from an immersion standpoint.

For that, there’s no need to look much further than Immersive College of Winterhold. With this mod, the College actually begins to function like a real place of learning. Regular classes are now held while students and faculty are more active in conducting research and experiments, to name just a few changes. Don’t join the College again without this mod!

9 Andromeda – Unique Standing Stones Of Skyrim

Downloads: 1,942,527

Longtime veterans of Skyrim surely know about the game’s Standing Stones and their associated blessings. Although it’s a good idea to accept a blessing, the effects aren’t terribly significant. As such, there’s certainly room for improvement when it comes to overhauling these magical stones.

Andromeda – Unique Standing Stones of Skyrim gives each Standing Stone two blessings per stone. These new blessings open up new possibilities for character builds, including mages. Many of the new Standing Stone blessings directly impact mages, so giving this mod a shot is definitely worth it from a gameplay perspective.

8 Strange Runes

Downloads: 2,018,720

Speaking of new spells, why not try something a little different? Instead of casting the same old fire, frost, and shock spells, consider the Strange Runes mod. Rather than casting runes at the ground like in the vanilla game, Strange Runes offers a more diverse set of capabilities to this type of spell.

Over 55 rune spells are included in the mod. From a visual standpoint, casting these magical anomalies are impressive. Best of all, Strange Runes is compatible with many of the other mods featured on this list, making it a worthwhile addition to any sort of mage overhaul.

7 Imperious – Races Of Skyrim

Downloads: 2,375,087

Adding new spells and abilities isn’t the only way to enrich one’s mage-oriented gameplay. Tamriel is a land of diverse races. Each one possesses its own strengths and weaknesses, but the choice of a race has only a slight impact on gameplay. Players aren’t barred from achieving something by picking one race over another.

Imperious – Races of Skyrim makes choosing a race a little more interesting. It overhauls the vanilla system from the ground up, giving each race an enhanced collection of stats, bonuses, and powers. Even NPCs can use these additions, which makes incorporating the mod feel seamless throughout a playthrough.

6 Frozen Electrocuted Combustion

Downloads: 2,526,233

Many of the offensive spells in Skyrim conform to an element. As far as Destruction magic is concerned, these elements consist primarily of fire, frost, and shock. Zapping enemies with any of these spells are useful, yet their effects could be a bit more satisfying to behold.

Players who enjoy witnessing the fruits of their work may be interested in Frozen Electrocuted Combustion. This simple mod applies more visual effects to a player’s spells. For example, enemies set ablaze with a fire spell may burn up until nothing is left but a skeleton. Thus, the mod provides some much-needed variety when employing different magical abilities.

5 Triumvirate – Mage Archetypes

Downloads: 3,157,909

Like Apocalypse, Triumvirate – Mage Archetypes is a mod that adds 75 brand-new spells to the world of Skyrim, giving mage characters new ways to overpower their enemies. Instead of just adding spells for the sake of it, Triumvirate’s spells are based on Mage Archetypes, which function as loose classes.

There are five (5) archetypes in total: Druid, Shadow Mage, Warlock, Cleric, and Shaman. There are 15 spells for each of the five archetypes, ranging from Novice to Master level spells to give players a way to roleplay as an archetype from the start of a playthrough all the way to the end. The spells are also concentrated in three skill trees for each archetype. For example, roleplaying a Druid with Triumvirate only requires investing in Conjuration, Restoration, and Alteration.

4 Deadly Spell Impacts

Downloads: 3,206,619

It’s only natural for a mage to enjoy their handiwork. Skyrim is full of destructive spells that can burn, freeze, or electrocute the player’s enemies with ease. However, the visual effects these spells employ are a bit underwhelming.

When looking to spice up a mage playthrough, players may want to consider Deadly Spell Impacts. The textures for the game’s many spells are given an upgrade, along with a few other small additions. For example, nearby snow can melt when using fire and lightning spells. It’s not a huge mod, but it helps with immersion during a mage playthrough.

3 Mysticism – A Magic Overhaul

Downloads: 3,329,110

The final spell mod that players may find intriguing is Mysticism – A Magic Overhaul. Similar to its counterparts on the list, Mysticism adds over 200 spells to the game world. It also fixes many of the bugs still present in the vanilla version regarding the magic system.

Longtime fans of the Elder Scrolls series should be pleased to find various spells from previous titles in the franchise. The mod also incorporates its own custom visuals so that everything fits smoothly within the wider experience. Mysticism is assuredly worth a shot if any of the above mods fail to impress.

2 Apocalypse – Magic Of Skyrim

Downloads: 10,735,584

A mage can never have too many spells at his disposal where Skyrim is concerned. For mages, more spells generally translate into a richer as well as layered playthrough. If Arcanum fails to meet expectations, an admirable alternative is Apocalypse – Magic of Skyrim.

Apocalypse incorporates over 155 new spells into the game, including scrolls and staves. The mod authors emphasize being lore-friendly, so there isn’t too much that breaks a player’s Elder Scrolls immersion. It’s also compatible with Ordinator, so the two mods work quite well together.

1 Ordinator – Perks of Skyrim

Downloads: 11,812,229

Much like the game’s spells, Skyrim‘s perks have also become a bit stale. The freedom to roleplay is a tad hampered by the all too familiar set of perks. There are quite a few worthwhile skill/perk mods on offer, but one that players can’t go wrong with is Ordinator – Perks of Skyrim.

This mod institutes a massive overhaul of the game’s perk system in a way that allows for deeper roleplaying. Pure mages have the potential to be even more powerful with the added abilities of this mod. It’s difficult for any build to be boring while experimenting with Ordinator.