The Best Beginner Console Mods For Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is a modern gaming classic that set a new standard for RPGs when it launched over a decade ago. In the intervening years, every square inch of Tamriel’s northernmost nation has been explored, every line of dialogue heard, and every random encounter experienced.

With so many gamers having spent so much time in the world of Nirn, a modding scene unprecedented in its scale has grown around it, and Bethesda’s game has become a self-sustaining machine with a dedicated community working tirelessly to change and improve it. Bethesda then brought this community to consoles in 2016, giving you a chance to experience fan-made content usually limited to PC gaming.

Updated on December 15, 2024, by Roland Martinez: Skyrim’s modding scene has largely expanded since this article’s latest publication. The mods have only grown in creativity and ambition. That being said, this update aims to reflect all the new and up-to-date Creations and mods available for your playing pleasure.

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Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch

The Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch will ensure that many of the game-breaking glitches and bugs in the game are patched and taken care of. This ensures an optimal experience, since Skyrim is home to maybe hundreds of ways to break the quests and NPCs alike.

It’s a hefty size, so it’s best to download first to maximize playtime instead of spending three hours downloading mods. It’ll need to be high in the load order per author Arthmoor’s instructions. Thankfully, this mod is compatible with most of the more popular mods you’ll likely be enticed by.

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Alternate Start: Live Another Life

Skyrim’s intro sequence is timeless, but on your 18th replay, it may grow a little tedious. If you can recite every line from the execution from memory, then it may be time to install Alternate Start – Live Another Life. Through this mod, your role-playing experience will flourish as it seamlessly integrates new options for how to begin your journey through the land.

Alternate Start postpones the main questline depending on your selected beginning. To start the Dragonborn’s story, simply head to Helgen, and you’ll be prompted to recover an adventurer’s journal, beginning you on the path of the Last Dragonborn.

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Ordinator: Perks Of Skyrim

One of the biggest parts of Skyrim comes as you level up. Progressing through levels not only rewards you with perks but also increases to your Health, Magicka, or Stamina. The vanilla perk trees are all good and well, but lack the depth of a traditional RPG.

The mod makes Skyrim feel like a true RPG and gives Skyrim that tabletop feeling of absolute freedom to play however you like, without worrying about the restrictions. Mages, warriors, assassins, and everything in between all get new abilities to play and experiment with. Ordinator is an absolute must have if you’re bored of replaying Skyrim with the same build every time.

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Apocalypse: Magic Of Skyrim

For further depth, there’s Apocalypse: Magic of Skyrim, an enormous overhaul that adds 155 new spells total, many of which include high-quality custom animations. This mod has the same author as Ordinator: Perks of Skyrim.

The new additions have spells that increase movement speed, passives that automatically activate beneficial spells when entering combat, and shotgun-style destruction spells that prove deadly at close range. Apocalypse takes a bold approach to overhauling a neglected portion of Skyrim’s combat and will be welcomed by mages of all calibers.

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Imperious: Races Of Skyrim

Imperious: Races of Skyrim is an overhaul that aims to make the experience of each race in Skyrim more unique. Each race receives more extensive bonuses, including three passive abilities each and new powers unlocked through quests. These apply to both you and NPCs in the world, making the changes feel as if they were always there from the start.

For example, as a high elf, you’ll be physically weaker than many other races and may be prone to physical damage, but increased magicka and stamina regeneration when low on health will counteract your negative traits. Imperious enables your origin to feel more significant beyond far more than just your appearance.

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Immersive Citizens: AI Overhaul

Immersive Citizens: AI Overhaul is a mod that massively improves NPC AI to further your experience. One of the most notable portions of this mod is how alive the NPCs feel after installing. You’ll no longer feel like the only person in Tamriel who has anything going on, as the citizens of Skyrim go about their days in greatly increased detail.

The changes feel natural without being overbearing to the point of being forced. For role-playing value alone, Immersive Citizens is a fine addition to any new modder’s library.

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Open Cities Skyrim

Loading screens are becoming a relic of a bygone era in gaming, and Bethesda has historically been chief among the offenders. In Skyrim, the larger hold cities are the main culprits, with loading screens required to enter the main gates. The result of this is that these cities, which should be hubs of trade, feel smaller and more insular rather than being grand beacons of civilization.

Open Cities Skyrim solves all these problems by allowing seamless travel between Whiterun and the plains that surround it, or Riften and the autumnal landscape of the reach. What seems initially like a small change makes a big difference in immersion, and you’ll be amazed if you ever bothered with those lengthy load times.

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Old Kingdom: Armor Overhaul

Skyrim and its default armor looks can feel dated, especially considering that some unique items aren’t exactly looking unique. If you’d like to give your game a bit of a facelift, Old Kingdom provides over 1,300 new textures and meshes to the game, with almost every piece across the base game and DLC covered.

Each of the meshes and textures has been crafted with thought and care put into them, and it shows. Each of the sets of armor looks fantastic and brand new, as they originally should have. Everything in this mod comes together to deliver an experience that elevates your game a little further and makes previously stale designs exciting.

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Old Kingdom: Weapon Overhaul

Old Kingdom: Weapon Overhaul does exactly what the previous mod did, this time for the weapons of Skyrim. With meshes and textures from over 50 mod authors, this overhaul shows how large of a modding scene Skyrim has still.

Covering every weapon across both DLCs as well as the base game, Old Kingdom contains new models for over 60 unique weapons, alongside corresponding lore. Some changes are more subtle than others, but the combined effect of every author’s work on this mod makes it a must-have, which justifies its large file size.

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Convenient Horses

Skyrim’s horses are fairly useless means of travel, unless you happen to be playing on Survival mode. With Convenient Horses installed, however, you’ll be able to level your horse dynamically and choose skill improvements to strength, speed and endurance to match your play style.

The additional ability to whistle for your horse or summon them by blowing a horn brings an end to trekking across Skyrim’s countryside, attempting to locate where your horse fled during a heroic battle with a mudcrab. Options for changing behavior in and out of battle are also included, so you can turn your lowly steed into a fearsome armored stallion.

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Inigo

If you’re in the market for follower mods, Inigo is the one for you. Inigo is a Khajiit follower who levels indefinitely alongside you and is incredibly useful in combat. He has over 7,000 lines of unique dialogue as well as unique interactions with you and other companions.

As you adventure with Inigo, he can also make remarks about the world around you which only adds to the immersion. He’s at his best when using one-handed weapons and archery, and he’s also an expert at sneaking when the need arises. Inigo makes for an excellent travel companion and is sure to add a lot of character to your adventures.

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A Quality World Map

If you ever feel like the world map is lackluster or just straight-up hard to navigate, this Quality World Map mod is for you. It replaces the dated and dreary map of Skyrim with a much higher quality and colorful world map.

The new map is very easy to navigate and does away with the clouds covering the map so you can see landmarks and the places you’ve visited instead of just seeing the icons. The new world map also makes it easy to draw out a path you can take, since you can see roads on the map screen. All in all, it’s an amazing quality-of-life mod that makes Skyrim a much more enjoyable experience.

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Obsidian Weathers And Seasons

If Skyrim’s weather isn’t immersive enough for you, you should download Obsidian Weathers and Seasons. This mod comes with new sounds, new weathers, and a slew of climate changes depending on the region.

Seasonal changes are also introduced, and much like the real-life ones, they change slowly over time. It’s a fantastic mod that makes the game come to life in subtle ways, but it’s certain to keep you reeled in.