Part 2: Making Skyrim Real Pretty
Skyrim looked good when it was released in 2011. Sure, some textures were muddy, humans had faces like potatoes, and elves looked more like Goblins, but the scope of the world was second to none. A few years on, Skyrim needs some help to look its best. Fortunately, intrepid modders have been hard at work improving all technical aspects of Skyrim, making a fully modded Skyrim incredibly lifelike. Searching around online you’ll likely see the term ENB tossed around liberally – this is one method of altering how the game looks, but has a massive performance cost, so I typically avoid using such modifications. So without further ado, onto the mods!
Lighting Mods:
A relatively new mod, Pure Weather has replaced Climates of Tamriel in my load order. The weather changes feel natural, and the exterior lighting is much more realistic, bordering on an ENB type look without the performance impacts. I’d recommend the brighter nights version if you want to walk around in the dark, but overall this is a stellar mod.
Because Pure Weather only alters exterior lighting, we need a mod to handle interiors, dungeons, and light sources in general. Why? Vanilla Skyrim tends to have ambient light that has no real source – lighting mods solve that. Enhanced Lights and FX is a great option, as it makes spaces feel more moody without making it impossible to get around. Another great option is Realistic Lighting Overhaul if you fancy a bit brighter environment.
Claralux OR Lanterns of Skyrim
These two mods do essentially the same thing, adding lanterns to major roads and towns. This A) makes Skyrim feel more alive, and B) helps counteract the darker nights lighting mods introduce to the game.
Completely optional, but this mod allows a lantern to be attached to your belt for ambient light in dark areas.
Texture Mods:
Although other mods might look slightly nicer in very specific circumstances, Skyrim HD is makes almost all surfaces look WAY better than even Bethesda’s hi res textures. Expect to lost a few frames per second, but the optional lite version makes this mod accessible for all but the most feeble of systems.
Does what Skyrim HD does, but for weapons, armour, and creatures. Definitely makes playing more pleasant.
Provides more detailed models for incidental world items such as chains, apples, and logs. This mod brings Skyrim to absolute life. Choose your version carefully, as the more detailed files will push your system pretty hard.
Vanilla Skyrim makes distant terrain look like garbage, by and large. This mod does a particularly good job of making the view enjoyable.
Amazing fire effects. Enough said. A must have.
For those with particularly brutish system specs, this mod turns all of Skyrim into a dense and diverse wilderness, adding new plants, trees, and models. It looks stunning, but makes even powerful systems huff and puff.
Skyrim’s rivers and lakes look terrible. You may not have noticed, but you will once you’ve installed a water mod like this – it’s lightweight, but makes a massive difference to the look of the world.
Audio Mods:
Sounds of Skyrim OR Audio Overhaul for Skyrim 2
These two mods turn Skyrim into a much more diverse aural experience, adding new and improved sound effects for practically everything. Both are excellent, so your choice boils down to personal preference. Note: Sounds of Skyrim has 3 separate modules to install.
The fantasy soundtrack project adds nearly 200 new tracks to Skyrim in all situations, with all content composed by community members. The quality is on par with Bethesda’s tracks, and keeps you from hearing the same dang exploring Skyrim tune all the time.
These mods barely scratch the surface of Skyrim’s unbelievable selection of technical mods – I’ve just picked the ones that I prefer to keep installed on my system most of the time. Once you’re comfortable with installing and testing mods, the Skyrim Nexus is your rabbit hole to head down if you so choose.
Part 1: Interface & Overhaul Mods
Part 3: Character & Equipment Mods
Part 4: Gameplay Mods
Part 5: Quest & Follower Mods