Skyrim Special Edition: best mods on PS4 and Xbox One
Skyrim Special Edition: best mods on PS4 and Xbox One
Skyrim Special Edition has finally landed on consoles and PC and with it brings mods to both PS4 and Xbox One. If you need a quick refresh on how to get those mods, it's fairly easy, just hit up the official site and filter by your platform of choice. From there you can download to you console (proivded you have a Bethesda.net ID).
But what mods to choose? We've trawled through the 150-plus available mods for consoles and found a wide range of additions to improve the base game. Some fix problems, others introduce new magic and weapons or make life just that little bit more convenient for the adventurer. A few introduce entirely new locations and quests.
Let us know if you're enjoying other mods and we'll check them out and update as we discover more.
First things first: fix those bugs
Format: Xbox One
We're not saying Bethesda games are notorious for being buggy, but Bethesda games are notorious for being buggy. Which is why you need the Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition patch.
Updated regularly, this mod aims to fix as many bugs and glitches in Skyrim Special Edition as possible, from text and NPC bugs to quest and gameplay problems. You can read a full changelog here and it's huge, which is why the authors are asking you to help them by reporting any bugs to them. They're doing you a massive favour with this patch, so let's all get involved and spread the love.
Visit the award-winning Forgotten City
Format: Xbox One
Returning to Skyrim isn't just about returning to familiar places. In fact, if you've trampled around Skyrim for hours in a previous console life, why not visit an entirely new area and try original quests?
The Forgotten City mod is an award-winning expansion to Skyrim offering up 8 hours worth of new adventures. Full of puzzles, dilemas, great storytelling, an original score and multiple endings, it's a fantastic and worthy addition to The Elder Scrolls world. You only need to be level 5 or above to experience it, so we recommend checking it out at the very least to see what a dedicated modding community can build.
Craft all 85 scrolls in the game
Format: PS4, Xbox One
The problem with magic in Skyrim is that it takes an age to level up and get the best spells, and it uses an absolute wedge of magika for the really cool high level spells.
Well, this Scroll Crafting mod is the only thing budding Gandalfs need, empowering players to create pure magic build characters from the off.
It caters to 85 craftable scrolls and creates a player dungeon in the College of Winterhold, which brings with it a new perk system, complete with inscription table and chest to keep your scrolls and materials safe. Oh, and there's a the ability to create paper rolls for scroll crafting and a crafting book to ensure you have everything you need to cook up a batch of magic for your adventures.
Use new Elemental Destruction magic
Format: Xbox One
Destruction magic is the main damage-dealer for mages in Skyrim, but the base game only comes with three different types: fire, frost and shock. If you're building out a pure magic character for your adventures, you're going to want a little more oomph to your open palms.
Which is where the Elemental Destruction Magic mod comes in. It adds 30 Earth, Water and Wind Destruction spells to the game, along with three weapon and three armour enhancements and a Dragon Priest mask for each element.
You don't get all of this for free though. Just like the regular game you'll need to level up your destruction skill to get the better magic, and all spells need to be bought or found. Faralda at the College of Winterhold sells all the spells but there's also a chance you'll find enchanted weapons with these new spells as loot. Be warned though; enemies will also have the ability to use these spells too – they're not strictly for the player.
Claim these lethal Power Greatswords
Format: Xbox One
Surprises are cool so let's not spoil anything here. The Power Greatswords mod adds four new two-handed blades to the game for you to use, and it's fair to say they are pretty damn lethal.
As well as not saying exactly what they do in terms of damage, you're also going to have to find them in Skyrim (although if you know the game it's not that tricky). The Big Blue Greatsword, BloodNord Blade, and Blue Night Greatsword are found near an NPC witch, and the Dragon Greatsword… well, the clue's in the name. Good luck hunting them down.
Fight for your life with hardcore difficulty and mortal wounds
Format: PS4, Xbox One
Difficulty in Skyrim is a bit warped. Higher level enemies are deadly, but they can also take an absolute age to kill. Whacking a hagraven 50 times just isn't fun.
This Hardcore Difficulty mod adjusts the unfair Legendary, Master and Expert settings. At Legendary difficulty you'll be dealing 4 times the normal damage – but so will your enemies – meaning fights are a lot more tense and deadly. Combine this with the Mortal Wounds mod, meaning you won't regenerate health, and combat becomes a much more thrilling experience in Skyrim.
Visit Conan and hear the lamentation of the women
Format: Xbox One
This is perfect for all the Conan fans out there. The Conan Hyborian Age mod adds an entire new dungeon and quest to Skyrim, based on the 1982 movie and featuring replica movie props and the big man himself – although you can't play as Conan, he's just an NPC.
It's a great package, with the quest featuring original battle music, Conan lore on the loading screens, new bosses and enemies and the kind of attention to detail that shows a real love for modding and the source material.
Calm down annoying animals
Format: PS4, Xbox One
You know how it is. You're on a quest, fully focused on reaching your objective, adjusting your plan of attack in your mind, when out of the blue a bunch of friggin' mudcrabs start giving it large. I'm not starting any trouble, so what's up with these aggressive little sods having a pop at me?
The Less Aggressive Animals mod calms everyone down. It neuters some of the most annoying creatures in Skyrim; mudcrabs, skeevers, wolves and spriggans. And it also makes bears, horkers, giants, mammoths and sabre cats more cautious. They won't attack on sight, but they will defend themselves if you get too close. Now you can go about your dungeon raiding business without sneak attacks from the local wildlife.
Carry more loot
Format: PS4, Xbox One
Fact: there is never enough space to carry everything you want in any RPG. You start off with good intentions. “I'll only carry what I need and my favourite weapons,” you tell yourself. But within half an hour you carry everything on the off chance some old biddy in the next town will gift you an amazing weapon if you give her a mundane item. And you're paranoid about anything you leave behind incase you need it 67 hours later. The next thing you know you're walking like a slug and sifting through your backpack throwing out all kinds of junk.
Which his where the Ring of Increased Carry Weight comes in. It actually give you two rings; one with an extra 1,000 carry weight capacity, and another offering an extra million. Yeah, that should do it. Buy the ring from Belethor's place in Whiterun and horde away like the little magpie you are.
Find your way more easily
Format: PS4, Xbox One
Sure, you've got a map, but that doesn't list a lot of the smaller places in Skyrim. And lots of roads, paths and intersections are just completely unmarked. How are you meant to find your way around?
Enter the Point The Way mod, which litters the world with signposts and directions, making your travels a damn-sight less frustrating. Simple, and incredibly useful.
Let's talk about our feelings
Format: Xbox One
If you're going to be spending hours in Skyrim you're going to want to hear more varied conversation. The inhabitants of Whiterun aren't that chatty and you'll soon hear the same dialogue repeated over and over again.
The Relationship Dialogue Overhaul is here to save your sanity. It adds over 5,000 new lines of dialogue from 42 different voice types, for friends, spouses, rivals and followers – the people you overhear all the time, basically. Friends will recognise you more often and have more to say, followers will comment during combat, and the mod corrects mistakes with the original dialogue as well as using speech that has been hidden away in-game. It's one big social mod and you should use it to make the world of Skyrim come alive.
