Any recommended mods for a new Skyrim player?

[Dalos]

SkyUI (requires SKSE)
Immersive Weapons
Immersive Armors
Unofficial Patches (there is one of each version of the game [Skyrim, Dawnguard, Hearthfire, Dragonborn])

I think those mods can be added without changing the gameplay at all. I don't disagree with playing a bit without mods at first, but I'd say these mods don't change gameplay at all, so you wouldn't know the difference.

I'd add aMidianBorn Book of Silence to that.

[VirtualWeasel]

SkyUI (requires SKSE)
Immersive Weapons
Immersive Armors
Unofficial Patches (there is one of each version of the game [Skyrim, Dawnguard, Hearthfire, Dragonborn])

I think those mods can be added without changing the gameplay at all. I don't disagree with playing a bit without mods at first, but I'd say these mods don't change gameplay at all, so you wouldn't know the difference.

I'd add aMidianBorn Book of Silence to that.

If you can run 2K textures, then definitely.
Some people can't, but honestly, it's not worth playing Skyrim if you can't play it at its fullest.

[dzio]

Did you mean "at its prettiest" then? As someone who's been happily playing it on low/medium, I will have to strongly disagree on that last post, Weasel. It would have been a rather [&@%!] game if the only way to enjoy it was by admiring amazing visuals. Not to mention the fact that in my opinion what I see on my screen is gorgeous enough, even with low-resolution textures...

[Blackbird]

My advice: don't
- Drink Eat Sleep - Simple eat/drink/sleep mod that requires you to do those things. GOod if you're into roleplaying. Unlike some other similar mods like Imp's, this one is very simple yet fun, in my opinion.

This one looks really interesting. Going to try it out .

I can recommend this one:
Freckles for females
It is not essential, will not improve your life and does not enhance gameplay, but really nice if you are into tiny details and character creation.

Speaking about character creation, here are some mods I use as well:
Coverwomen at Skyrim
Natural Eyes at Skyrim
Superior Lore-Friendly Hair - HD Textures

[NyarlathotepJr]

Here are a few I have liked:
- HiAlgo Boost: Vastly improves the efficiency of the graphics. I literally can't play Skyrim on my lame PC without it.
- Immersive Armors/Weapons: Very nice.
- Populated Cities: There are a few mods like this, and they make the cities feel more like cities.
- Amazing Follower Tweaks: Make them change from armor to clothes at home, and many others, without needing to make a bunch of batch files to run. Make sure that it is at the bottom of your Data Files list in the startup menu, or face the wrath of the FooBars!
- Many of the clothing/armor mods are high quality, many are not. Just search Nexus and see what you like.
FWIW I always install mods manually, except those from Steam. I have had poor luck with SKSE, and it caused many CTD joys until removed. This means no SkyUI, but the vanilla menus are good enough, really. As for followers, there are not many that look as good as those in the game. The artists at Bethesda are professionals, and it literally shows.

Coming to the PC from the Xbox, an appealing part of the PC is surfing for mods and checking them out. It is like playing another parallel game, and makes you appreciate those random skilled people who put in the hours to create those good mods.

[dzio]

Anyone new to Skyrim modding should check out Gopher's Beginner's Guide to Skyrim Modding (or something like that, can't recall the name of the series exactly). It's 9 videos, I think, and they cover all the basics in a very clear and accessible way, even if you know nothing at all about modding. I'm on my mobile now, so can't post the link, just go to YT and search for gopher.

[SM-Dreamer]

Anyone new to Skyrim modding should check out Gopher's Beginner's Guide to Skyrim Modding (or something like that, can't recall the name of the series exactly). It's 9 videos, I think, and they cover all the basics in a very clear and accessible way, even if you know nothing at all about modding. I'm on my mobile now, so can't post the link, just go to YT and search for gopher.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxQ1JN_X ... KP&index=1

And thank you so much for mentioning it; I've never used ANY mods before and hadn't the first clue how to get started. Watched/listened to Gopher's videos, and he is very thorough (I think, anyways). Got me set up nicely, I think, following his instructions.

[dzio]

You're welcome. Keep an eye on the series, he's going to go over some popular mods in the next videos.

[noobishlord]

A mod I've come to love the past couple of days is called Alpha Horses, you can get it on the steam workshop. Since I've modded out fast-travel, just to avoid the temptation, I use horses a lot for traveling, and Alpha Horses improves that. All horses are faster and have better stamina reserves, with Frost being at the top, then Shadowmere, then your nameless horses. Best of all, all horses are made Essential, so you won't keep wasting coin on them because of a random bear popping out of a rock as you walk by.

[Regin]

Mod sugestion needed for full enviromental pack.

Found this stuff and satisfied with it but now wish to compleate the list.

Green water fix
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/14007
Whiterun trees
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/9424
Realistic pinetrees
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/43677

[dantoshou]

please go to the reddit homepage and add this to the url bar! /r/skyrim/comments/1ikhrs

I followed this list to get the majority of my mods, some of them I don't even use but have installed anyway, the optional ones I skimped on due to not really needing or wanting them.

they are all compatible which is a plus! I recently used the RealENB as well, which tweaks the game to make it look better, its author lists the essential, recommended and optional graphics overhauls and the order to install them in, not that the game didn't look good already, I just like to see the game in look the best it can, like morrowind with the graphical overhaul mods!

Thats about it from me, skyrim nexus is best for mods but some little gems on steam workshop too!

[lmstearn]

Lotta good mods out there. Always check incompatibilities before embarking.
The health of your save_game is paramount, so whatever mods you choose, they will be there for the rest of the game. Uninstalling mods mid-game is not recommended. Adding them is fine, but keep an eye on save_game bloat.

[Orz]

The one mod I would highly recommend that I have not seen recommended so far is Weapons of the Third Era MoS edition. It adds a large variety of lore-friendly weapon types (Katanas, staves, etc.) to each material as well as different variants of the base weapons. All of the weapons in the pack have high quality models that are mostly designed after weapons in Morrowind.

[digitalcleaner]

If you have the Dawnguard DLC try "Castle Volkihar Redux" on the steam workshop. It is amazing. It makes the castle the size of a city with tons of perks, npc followers, displays, armor, weapons, quests, three new towers. It's a must see.

[jackaroo]

You will probably need a Mod Manager, like Nexus Mod Manager. It organizes your mods so it doesn't screw up your game.

[Marelo]

Kind of. Mod managers like NMM keep track of what files belong to what mods, so you don't have to manually dig them out when you uninstall and upgrade and whatever. Which is really, really good and useful on its own. Of course, it's also only necessary if you use mods that don't come from the Workshop, which also does this (because it only ever installs two files at most, an .esp and an optional .bsa that can contain other files).

I think only BOSS will actually sort your load order to reduce incompatibility, though. I personally don't bother with that. Load order is such a touchy thing that I'd rather just micromanage it myself according to author instructions, and, when needed, make or request patches for problems.