Remaster SKYRIM With Only 10 Mods! - Simple Modlist

Modding Skyrim can be a daunting task so I wanted to challenge myself and provide a good foundation for beginners to visually overall Skyrim using just 10 mods, here's how it went! All mod links below.
Static Mesh Improvement Mod - SMIM by Brumbek
www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspeci...
Skoglendi - A Grass Mod by JPSteel2
www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspeci...
Traverse the Ulvenwald - 3.3 by Wigfrid
www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspeci...
Skyland AIO by Skyking2020
www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspeci...
Skyland Bits and Bobs by Skyking2020
www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspeci...
Fantasia Landscapes by Skyking2020
www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspeci...
Northern Farmhouses
www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspeci...
(you will need to install this manually, just drag the downloaded archive into the download section of MO2 or mods section of Vortex)
Skyrim is Luminous by DrJacopo and Mator
www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspeci...
Simplicity of Sea by wSkeever
www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspeci...
NAT.ENB III - Natural and Atmospheric Tamriel by L00ping
www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspeci...
(This one is optional you can use any weather or ENB you want or neither)
Load Order used in video:
SMIM
Skoglendi
Traverse the Ulvenwald
Skyland Bits and Bobs
Skyland AIO
Fantasia Landscapes
Northern Farmhouses
(Optional) NAT.ENB III
Skyrim is Luminous
Simplicity of Sea
ENB: www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspeci...
MODLIST: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
DISCORD: / discord
PATREON: / softgaming
Specs:
GPU - RTX 3070
CPU - AMD Ryzen 7 5800x
vRAM - 8gb
RAM - 16gb
Thanks for watching :)
#skyrim #skyrimmods #bestskyrimmods
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:35 SMIM
01:13 Flora
02:54 Textures
04:28 Landscapes
05:21 Farmhouses
05:59 Lighting
06:44 Water
07:17 Weather and ENB
Skyrim SE
Skyrim AE

[@falcoman99]

you should make this a series with doing 10 mods or under in different categories like combat, quests, npcs, etc

[@thehubbleton]

+1

[@manoayeet1070]

hell yeah

[@ikeharrison1]

Yes please keep going!!

[@finnlawrence6591]

Agreed

[@TheSixoul]

Just 10 mods. Then 10 mods to enhance these mods. Then 10 mods to enhance those.... suddenly we're at 500 mod list again. At least that's how it goes for me

[@quarterpaul5712]

"I sometimes find myself just admiring the dirt." - SoftGaming 2024

[@JasonFerguson-su6fv]

@@quarterpaul5712 I do the same with the forest and mountains like instead of ulvenwald I did nature of the wilds the smaller one with cg4 trees and woodland

[@Acoto]

Never in my life did I think I'd say the sentence "That dirt look good!", but here we are.

[@JasonFerguson-su6fv]

@@Acoto it's the little things hahaha

[@TitanSubZero15]

@@Acoto "That look good!!!" -AngryJoe

[@PotatoePC]

You know an add on is good if you admire the dirt

[@lelciones]

I have to confess... After 13 years I'm still not tired of Skyrim... but at the same time I'm very tired of Bethesda... TES6 it's a dark horizon for me

[@tronam]

They adopted Fallout, but Elder Scrolls is their heart and soul. If they screw up TES6 then we'll know the studio has truly lost its way, but I'm not yet ready to be a completely cynical doomer about it. I'm still rooting for them.

[@KvltKommando]

To be fair, I HATED fallout 3 and new Vegas when they came out. I thought they were so shitty looking and playing for the time they came out and now New Vegas might be my new favorite Fallout , (unless they do a fallout 2 overhaul) which is crazy because I could not believe how shitty it seemed on release. I would've told you it was unplayable back then. I hope that eventually the Bethesda games I don't even have 1% interest in like starfield can eventually be made into something I actually want to play

[@albertovieira4844]

@@KvltKommando Fallout 3 is incredible, both in terms of gameplay and story. I loved that environment created with that green filter. The game itself is a work of art, it was one of the first to create an open world. I never played Fallout 4, I had no interest until today. It was only surpassed by Fallout New Vegas which is wonderful and I loved it too and I've played it several times and there are always new discoveries with each game. Fallout is just as amazing as Skyrim.

[@packdog70]

It's a crapshoot. Hopefully they learned that proc gen is not something their fanbase wants as a major part of future games, and they stick to what made Skyrim such a hit....handcrafted content. Let's also hope they kick it up a notch with their graphics. Starfield has Skyrim-level graphics, but was made 12 years later.

[@tronam]

@@packdog70 You clearly haven't played vanilla Skyrim in a while.

[@domoallcaps]

Didnt even know that bits and bobs mod existed, deleting 80 texture overhauls in favor of just one is such a nice feeling, cheers for the continued videos soft

[@miggyluv]

It's amazing how much just these 10 mods can change the visuals. We tend to install way too many (well...I do! LOL)

[@modernerdadaismus8430]

Yes, to have these visuals everywhere. Aswell to polish the compatibility.

[@lilpain1997]

Having 10mods will make it so that a lot of things will simply never get touched, and it will look out of place next to your next gen textures and meshes. I remember building my own mod list and going in game to constantly check what's vanilla or not by using a texture pack that removes all vanilla textures.

[@modernerdadaismus8430]

@@lilpain1997 exactly

[@jackmuken]

​@@lilpain1997 Yep, alot of small things that most mods do not touch, such as Werewolf totems.

[@bestopinion9257]

This is what I ever said. You do not really need 2000+ mods. You can achieve something visually close with only 7 to 10 mods. And then come the rest, if you want. These videos leave you to believe that thousands of mods are required for the game to look like that. But in fact, most of the mods are for many small details related to items, NPCs, and so on. You can have a mod for making regular low level NPCs to flee instead of involving in combat with powerful vampires or dragons. And this has nothing to do with graphics. And so on.

[@CozyFamiliar]

The gasp I geesped when I saw the footage in this video. That is the most simple, yet gorgeous, visual update to the game I've ever seen with such few mods. Thank you for the showcase! I'm off to melt my PC to see if I can get a setup like this running with Skyrim VR!

[@SoH2024]

Thank you Soft.These guide really cuts down my mod list in sense of the visual side.Thank you brother 😀

[@SoftGamingOfficial]

Enjoy!

[@albertovieira4844]

@@SoftGamingOfficial Hello my friend! Thank you very much for the tips! I'll follow your suggestions when I play Skyrim again. Could you also help with Fallout New Vegas mods?

[@Adialas]

Short,simple and to the point. I am glad i found your channel. Thank you.

[@BearForceOneNCR]

Nice we need more of these simple mod lists

[@madmike0064]

10 mods making such a huge change! I'd love to see more "10 Mods for..." combat, npc's etc!

[@yukshee]

Excellent, straightforward guide to updating your game. Solid upvote for a clear and informative video.

[@dittmerg]

finally!!! a no nonsense "simple" understandable list of mods.... Thank you!!!

[@Axurias]

This modlist is also perfect to keep the game lore-friendly. Thanks a lot for sharing. :)

[@TheImperialSenate]

Every time I want to get back to Skyrim modding I get discouraged because even my modlists that are genuinely minimalist and don't change the game significantly end up huge, and I never playing in the end. Coincidentally, the last couple days I've been itching to play Skyrim again for the first time in years and I just stumbled on this video by chance. I'm really tempted to go through with it now, this group of mods (with a couple adjustments) might make for an excellent starting base for the graphical side of my modlist. Thank you!

[@theamazingbatboy]

These, skyUI, the community patch (and maybe cutting room floor) and you're good to start playing I reckon. Every other 'essential' mod, like powerofthree's QOL and bugfixes, tend to be script extender mods you can install harmlessly any time during your playthrough. Armour/weapon sets, item and quest mods are generally fine to add later as well.

[@entityunknown2]

Same i want to play again but moding takes so long

[@peep2kCS]

@@entityunknown2 no it doesnt ?

[@ivansoto9723]

@@peep2kCS It does though. It takes me weeks. I even use the Nolvus modlist guide as a base. Ontop of the usual endless texture and models mods, there's keeping compatibility, troubleshooting, performance, tools like DynDoLod, Bodyslide, Nemesis etc. and some tools actively change, come and go overtime so you have to learn new ones.

[@wuestenfuchsxy]

@@ivansoto9723 It depends on what you want to achieve. I modded Skyrim again within 3 days, this week. I ditched every bodyslide and animation mod on purpose because its the biggest pain of all. Just pick a good texture mod and some nice gameplay mods for a fresh feeling and you are good to go.

[@odinskiodinski9624]

So simple, it is to be admired. Complete overhaul with ten mods! Chapeau!

[@yaymaker2023]

Nice, i really like your choice of mods. It makes me want to start modding Skyrim again.

[@Stig69]

Great video! This might be my favorite format for a mod video I've seen in ages.

[@Socks-and-Dave]

That's a good, concise list. Thanks!

[@Verchiel_]

This is a lot more up my alley. Been playing and modding skyrim for many years though most of that time i wasn't able to use most graphics mods due to performance issues. Once i did get the opportunity to use graphics mods, i focused on just using big all encompassing overhauls to cover as much of the game in as little mod count as i could. Might end up referencing this when i next make a modlist

[@SuperWildYoshi]

Beautifully Well put together! Your Videos are amazing! Keep it up!

[@IntooleranceRieg]

Exactly what i was looking for. Thanks

[@MetaPixel7]

Appreciate this video so much man!

[@ramireza6904]

What a good Skyrim Modding Video! Perfect! Thx. Liked and subbed.

[@theamazingbatboy]

This is for me. I've only about 30 odd mods activated-mostly QOL, UI, and performance/bugfixes-with no graphics mods aside from SMIM and I'm mostly happy with it. But it's very nice to get a list of recommendations like this for a quick and easy glow-up that won't take ages to set up or require another 15 requirements and a bunch of tweaking, thanks!

[@JonIceInternational]

I never finished this game. Gonna pop these mods and play it to the end. Thank you for making it simple.

[@F3ARL388]

Same. Enjoy the journey, dragonborn.

[@pututu8861]

gonna start my journey after I am done installing these mods. might even try the survival mode

[@kimb1943]

Dude! you just SAVED my life lol I just hit the mark I only can use esl 's so fair to say Im kinde lost in my own modlist and I didnt liked the look of my game so I was like Nooooo .. And then you poped up and saved the day I can now easy start over :D Thanks a Million!! (It looks freaking amazing)

[@jessterman21]

Awesome recommendations - I love simplicity

[@user-uz4zq5fd5z]

Started playing Skyrim again after finishing it multiple times in Vanilla, now I am trying modded skyrim for the first time, thanks for this guide! Simple. Onpoint. Direct. SUBBED!

[@monkeydlui6071]

bruh you have help me with these mods. I was trying to play the AE and want it to feel like new visually... Thanks so much!!!

[@pun15h3r.]

Damn man, just the armour from the start looks awesome!

[@zero13z34]

I'll save this list for my yearly ish playthrough, thanks

[@thehubbleton]

Great video, man.

[@HekaWaset]

Hey mate, thank the algorithm for making me come across this. I wanted to mod skyrim for the longest time for another playthrough, but i always felt there was this barrier of entry for properly modding the game. Im gonna give these 10 a shot and tell you how i went. Thank you very much.

[@JerryChanR]

Just wanted to express how inspiring this video is. I've been using Ember XD and Lux for a long time, and I've had headaches due to compatibility issues or lighting that doesn't fit actual gameplay. I've also spent a lot of time searching for hundreds of texture mods and been frustrated by their inconsistency. Everything could have been so simple...

[@kujakolli833]

Quality video and quality modlist, thanks

[@Justathought81]

Great video, you should make a series of this for other types of mods

[@jinfuushen5471]

As always, perfect.

[@neorztormeno7938]

This is the best, thanks you very much for this!!!

[@JasonFerguson-su6fv]

This is amazing and I got the four legged game of thrones dragons done with no clips and it looks amazing your legend

[@zy956]

After 2 weeks i Just finished building my modlist for my gameplay then i saw your video. 'Oh boy here we go again'

[@cleverfox4413]

Trying this right now, if this works then these are my top 10 visual mods from now on

[@roihan6192]

Thank you very much. I am currently using this modlist. But I change the ENB to Cabbage and replace Skyrim is Luminous to LUX series. It's the first time I even able to run Skyrim with graphical mods. I've been playing Skyrim with potato laptop these whole years. And now since I can afford a medium-specs PC, it's the time to install these kind of mods. Thank you for your in-depth explanation!

[@David_Banner]

Gonna give this list a go for sure.

[@ConfidenceGold]

Wow, amazing, thanks ❤

[@silent.blackcat8515]

Thank you so much!🤩

[@RobbieB2606]

This is an excellent video - I just got a Quest 3 / 4070ti and am setting up Skyrim VR for the first time - will be using this mod list today

[@bwloawesome]

Great video. Would live to see a sort of "Stage II" where you build up from this list.

[@ErMarietto]

In my next modlist i'll definetly get rid of all the patches nightmares like Northern Roads, Lux and JK Skyrim.

[@legionevo1137]

I got rid of JK’s Skyrim and am going to stop with Northern Roads myself.

[@GoddamnILoveBison]

Seriously, it's a shame because Northern Roads really is a great mod, but I think I've ignored bugs (even after patches) for too long.

[@BladefullySwift]

I just installed Northern Roads for my soon-to-be run as I've never tried it before 😅 I was on Lux Via before. I like to spend a lot of time slow-traveling the wilds with my followers and thought it might make things more interesting (along with some new encounter mods). Lux got ditched this time though for Skyrim is Luminous.

[@a1racer441]

jk's Skyrim doesn't require a lot of patching if used by itself same for northern roads and lux but when you combine them along with other mods it gets crazy. a good portion of my personal list is patches for lux, but it looks so great when done.

[@kemaldundar76]

@@a1racer441 Use elfx shadows, get rid of your troubles and patches

[@kakaneto8570]

THANK YOU! keep it up

[@Pro-Sag]

This is amazing You should make only 40 mods next

[@sstone6417]

Thanks. I'm going to try this batch. The last batch I tried stopped my game completely and did some funky things like needing more magika than I had to use candle light. So I had to go backwards and uninstall mods as some were not compatible with my version (1.6.1170.0) I love the way your game looks and would like to have mine look the same. It's like going to school as I watch the "how to" vids. and take copious notes. Again, many thanks.

[@justiciar1964]

I think the best lighting mod is ELFX. There really is nothing quite like entering a nordic ruin and it's completely unplayable without a torch but you press onward because maybe there's a brazier further in, and then you fall down a hole and hear "Blargh! ZUUUN HAALVIIK" CLANK!

[@wuestenfuchsxy]

so true

[@jrockerlindberg]

You are the best

[@ElioAurum]

this is exactly what i needed, as someone who doesn't have much storage space on their computer

[@stevefromlondon4949]

I love Skoglendi and Fantasia Landscapes. I've just switched from Fabled Forests to a combo of Happy Little Trees and Nature of the Wild Lands so I'll see how that goes. I was using Nat III enb until a week or two ago but my PC was finding it quite taxing and I had a few CTDs (probably due to user error) but I switched to Cabbage and it's run perfectly so far. My one essential mod that I would add to this is the Arachnophobia - Spiders are Wolves one. Totally saved the game for me, that one 😅

[@jla_thinks_that_handles_suck]

I tried Nature of the Wild Lands but that mod caused so much lag and stuttering in the Falkreath and Morthal areas :(

[@db6842]

This is awesome thanks

[@michaelwoffindin]

What a great video. After playing Dark and Darker and wishing it had a PvE mode, I've been eager to get back into Skyrim. But I always spend too much time installing mods and then never playing, like many of us. This video has shown me how to get my game looking exactly how I want it too, without wasting hours. I'd love for you to do a similar video for sound effects, combat mods, weapons and armour. A lot to ask, I know. But this video was really helpful.

[@thegamer-fq1wx]

great video.

[@sakalarts4861]

Thank you so much🙏

[@andreasherg]

Jeez, i just used a shader before and thought it changed a lot, but that ENB is making quite the difference.

[@chrisanders713]

I wish I could get my perfect look for Skyrim. I have been trying for months and months and have gotten barely anywhere. I might try to see if this combo works for me as a good starting base at least. Thanks for the video.

[@igavinwood]

Nice list SG. I recently moved from NAT III, to a reshade (Silent Horizons 2) and use NAT I for the weather base. It looks so crisp I can hear the air crackle with the frost. L00ping has done a great job with the NAT series over the years. It's such a solid base and works with so many other mods.

[@LKeyYT]

thank you so much for your comment! I installed all the mods listed in the video but was getting horrible performance. Changed from NAT III to SH2 and installed NAT I, and it works great for gameplay while still looking awesome! May I ask if you have any more recommendations?

[@deltawavesstudio]

I'm definitely using all these when I next install Skyrim again! I already had a planned replay with that one mod that adds the collectibles museum that I can fill throughout the gameplay and this collection will definitely compliment that run! Do you have any mod recommendations for skies, especially nightsky and the moon?

[@Timmy51m]

Nice list mate. Wouldn't you need to generate LOD's to use that tree and flora mod. An easy to use alternative is still Skyrim Flora Overhaul, no need for dyndolod, and there's always Terrain LOD redone to help a little bit. Still a big improvement over vanilla. Ruins clutter improved is just as essential as SMIM as well I reckon ;)

[@hypernoxxy2421]

what armor was your character wearing? looks beautiful

[@samus7602]

have a great friday guys

[@wiosna4]

You too man

[@chrisanders713]

Same to you

[@legionevo1137]

I have been waiting for the right time to mod Skyrim again but I want to make sure I always have them installed correctly. I use MO2 over Vortex now that I have a bit more understanding of it. What mods would you consider as essential/requirement/mandatory mods?

[@UnclePockets]

aliasing is horrible with this mod pack, anyone got a solution?

[@kniefi]

Very well done modlist -minimalistic, yet such a change in the graphic fidelity! One thing thouh - I amnot sure, you explicetly said this or not - does this offer parallax mapping? I REALLY dig Pfuschers parallax Textures - but it was a pain in the ass, to get it running without missing or messed up textures in between my 243 mods installed - always conflicts! So if you have an EASY solution for parallax I would be very happy - I do not need hundreds of mods - this here should suffice, if it offers parallax mapping. O h and what about the LODs ? do they change accordingly? Also do reflextions show the updated flora?

[@thatrandomguycommenting1261]

How is AIO compared to parallax? I have always used parallax.

[@grungehog]

I'll have to check out simplicity of sea and compare it to realistic water 2 which has been my go to water mod for the last 6 or so years.

[@ansonfluck2372]

That with en ENB i not understud how does it work? Do i need e Program first? Like what u said net3D or somthing els?

[@siyzerix]

To offset ENB's performance hit, use the fsr 3 fg mod or dlss fg mod depending on your gpu. Should double your fps. So even 30fps will feel like 60fps. To reduce the latency hit just get the nvidia reflex mod

[@h_san_korr]

Is there a proper guide to install ENB you would recommend to watch? Great job with these mods!

[@perfectcell_21]

ADHDecent has a fantastic guide for installing ENB, and other mods on his channel. I installed an EMB for the first time ever watching his tutorial, and everything turned out perfectly.

[@nicholasstarks3008]

some of the mods are conflicting nexus mods says. do I just use the recommended nexus mods load order?

[@im_Dafox]

Skyrim overall mod video without triple Z, breast sized gyal, gotta appreciate that. Really amazing what only ten mods can do, thanks a lot for sharing:]

[@muttleyboom4011]

hello! I want to try modding my skyrim but I dont have any idea on how to start. can you make a step by step video on how to install your mods?

[@XeonX__ASMR__METAL-experiments]

THANK YOU

[@Extreme4085]

Great modlist! I have problem with 3rd person camera,camera is to slow up/down can help me :D

[@yaso7357]

Is there anyone who can recommend on minimalistic mod lists for Skyrim,somewhere between 5GB-25GB?

[@Fancy_PotHead]

Holy shit it's been 12 years and a half and i'm still modding Skyrim

[@AlphaGamer1981]

I would love to, but i just reinstalled all 450 mods i was using last summer, and now because of that official update we had a few months ago, my game crashes to desktop 6 seconds after starting a new game and i have no idea where to start on getting it working

[@BlenderisedMind]

Thank you so much for this. Which mod manager should I use? Its daunting. There are so many 😅 and which npc graphical upgrade/overhaul and animations mod would you recommend? Thanks for any info!

[@SoftGamingOfficial]

Mod organizer 2 is the best manager in my opinion

[@LionMob]

NPC overhaul I prefer a vanilla friendly look, so I use Vanilla Hair Remake for NPCs. Clemdiddly fashion mods looks good too but I didn't try it myself.

[@stever7061]

Is this just mods for pc,or will this work for my ps5,or do you have 10 recommendations for my ps5 version which is these anniversary edition

[@peteblabla9684]

it is impossible to download with the mod manager, it just stops to download ? can someone help ?

[@albertovieira4844]

I really liked your tips! I'm always a bit lost on which mods to install, most are very unstable and end in the game crashing. I'm wanting to play Fallout New Vegas again, could you give any suggestions on which Mods to install? Thank you very much!

[@Ostarrichi996]

Origins of Forest sir

[@YtAccountFr]

everytime i use nat enb something is always off. idk if its the contrast or smth but it just never looks like it does in these videos

[@alyctro8158]

For which version of the game?

[@johnralphbone8092]

Question, how do you make all these work? Do you use Enb?

[@arthurbroad8893]

So I have a low end pc would I be able to run these as all the modlists are too much for my pc

[@AnonyMous-dc6ly]

what armor is that in the video?

[@facetubetwit1444]

Yeah so none of these work on my steam Skyrim, Any suggestion as to why? Do i need Special edition?

[@theflood24]

I still haven’t found an ENB combo better than Rudy ENB for cathedral weathers(Zangdar edit). It’s so sharp and close to the original Skyrim LE enbs.

[@sturmblizzard780]

i have never played skyrim but want to play it on the steam deck - which skyrim version do i need to install these mods?

[@Kintorasi20]

i have an issue im trying to download a mod with the mod menager download and for some reason its not working

[@ForkZandKniveZ7]

Is there a difference between fantasia that is downloadable from the nexus page vs the creation page of Skyrim? Cause I downloaded fantasia once in creation and it didn’t really do… anything.. at all

[@PrecariousHusk]

These mod showcase videos always make the game look so good, I have spent so many hours trying to mod it but I can't get anything to work. I follow the guides, mods don't register any issues in Vortex, and no matter what it looks like I am playing a janky N64 game.

[@elrincondemarco9592]

Great video any chance of doing this on a Xbox with 10 mods?

[@Drayden_]

I love your water! What are the enb settings?

[@gregoryparker2771]

I would also like to know. Those reflections are ridiculous!