In April we released a list of our favorite The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim mods. Five months have passed and we here at Elder-Geek feel it’s high time we add some more stellar creations to that list. Like the last list, this compilation won’t contain any immersion breaking mods. So if you’re looking for godlike weapons, vulgar armor, or crazy anime hair you’ve come to the wrong place. If however, you’re looking for mods that add to or improve the existing Skyrim experience without altering the overall feel of the game and its environments, then look no further.
Realistic Lighting
The one mod we recommend to everyone we meet, whether they play Skyrim or not; is Realistic Lighting. We always felt like the graphical potential in Skyrim was held back a little by the console versions of the game, the Realistic Lighting mod fixes this almost entirely. Rather than going into more detail, we’re just going to let the footage speak for itself.
Lanterns of Skyrim
With night-time in Skyrim now actually dark, Lanterns of Skyrim will come in handy. This mod scatters lanterns across every road and village in Skyrim. Not only will these lanterns help guide you through the dark abyss, but they also add a great deal to the immersion of the game.
Skyrim Flora Overhaul
Skyrim Flora Overhaul is another mod that solely adds to the immersion of the game, it increases the texture quality of every bush, grass, root or tree in the game, while also increasing the density of the overall vegetation. At first glance you might not think it makes much of a difference, after all how much time do you really spend looking at grass? But trust us when we tell you that it will make every conceivable environment infinitely more vivid and interesting to explore.
Footprints and Better Dynamic Snow
When you’re not wading through dense forests, chances are you’re climbing some tall snowy mountain. We love exploring the peaks of Skyrim, but there is one thing that was always bugging us, namely the snow. In vanilla Skyrim the snow just looks flat and boring. Two mods rectify this. First Better Dynamic Snow makes the snow texture much more detailed and believable. Second the mod Footprints adds, you guessed it; Footprints! Humanoids and creatures alike now leave nice looking footprints in their wake as they walk across the snowy landscapes.
Skyrim Monster Mod
Ever feel like the endless horde of Draugur found in Skyrim’s dungeons could use a bit more variety? Skyrim Monster Mod adds over 100 new lore-friendly creatures to the world of Skyrim. Not only are these creatures visually impressive, but they also add to the challenge of game as many are extremely difficult to kill. Most of these new creatures are interesting variations of existing monsters, though some are completely new. Some of these new creatures might seem a little far fetched, even for Skyrim, to remedy this you can fully customize the mod, removing any monsters that aren’t to your liking.
Black Mage Armor
It wouldn’t be a proper mod compilation video without some fancy new armor. We use a lot of different armor mods in our game, but the one that stands out the most is definitely Black Mage Armor. This armor comes in three different variations, one caster friendly cloth set, one light armor set, and one heavy armor set. While all three variations look similar, there are little visual differences that set them apart. Black Mage Armor is great for high level players looking for some lore-friendly yet badass alternatives to the Dragon Armor sets.
Bandolier
Lastly we want to mention Bandolier. It adds utility belts, bags, pouches and more craftable accessories to the game in a variety of colors and styles, adding up to 200 points to your inventory space. Some hardcore players might consider this a cheat, but to the rest of us who simply can’t help but hoard every single enchantable weapon we find, this mod is a great help. Besides, walking around with a bunch of extra bags, books, vials and pouches hanging off your armor looks really cool.
These are our favorite Skyrim mods as of right now, if you want to see which mods we highlighted in our last video, click the annotation or the link in the description below. We eagerly await the next brilliant creations to come out of the incredible Skyrim modding community, and once we’ve assembled a new list of our favorite mods, we’ll be sure to share them with you.
Realistic Lighting: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/7654
Lanterns of Skyrim: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/18916
Skyrim Flora Overhaul: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/141
Footprints: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/22745
Better Dynamic Snow: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/10383
Skyrim Monster Mod: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/9694
Black Mage Armor: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/9645
Bandolier: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/16438