Skyrim’s Best Xbox Mods

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Skyrim is a game that just never ends. It's been released more times than anyone cares to remember, and is on about as many platforms as Doom. One thing that keeps the game alive is mods. Mods are made by dedicated fans and range from little bug fixes and UI improvements to full-scale game system overhauls and DLC-sized quests, one is even due to become a full game. Thanks to the magic of technology, you can get mods for Skyrim on consoles now too. However, Sony consoles don't allow script-changing mods, which are the most fun. So, Xbox One and Series X|S are the consoles to go for if you want to unlock the most potential in Skyrim without an expensive gaming PC.

Now, these mods still aren't quite as expansive as those available to you on PC, but they're still perfect for immersion, roleplaying, performance, graphics, and game system overhauls. You're limited to about 5GB of mods, so you have to choose carefully. We've got you covered with some of the most essential mods you should be using. While many of the mods listed below have Xbox One or some variation in their title, they're all compatible with Xbox Series X|S.

Note: Playing Skyrim with mods will disable all achievements. Even patch mods or small graphics mods will prevent you from hearing that serotonin-releasing ding, so only use mods if you've already gotten all the achievements or if you don't care about them. You can, of course, disable mods and use a vanilla save file to get achievements whenever you want, though.

How To Start Modding On Xbox

How To Get Started

Modding Skyrim on an Xbox is way easier than modding it on PC. All you have to do is scroll down to the 'Mods' option on the start screen, sign in to a Bethesda account, and you can start searching for and downloading mods.

Load Order

Once you download a mod, it will automatically be added to your load order and turned on. The load order is fairly self-explanatory — it shows the order in which your mods will be activated and prioritised. Mods at the top are loaded first, and ones at the bottom are loaded later. Mods at the bottom overwrite those at the top, so it's important to note if you have several graphics mods that retexture walls, the last one will overwrite all that were placed above it. Don't worry, as we go through the list, we'll recommend where in the load order your mods should go.

What To Do If The Game Keeps Crashing

The mods outlined below should all work well together, but the whole point of modding is to add more in order to tailor your experience. The best advice is to add one mod at a time and test your game to make sure everything is working as it should. This may seem tedious, but it's a lot better than adding 50 mods and having no idea which one is bricking your console.

Essential Skyrim Mods For Xbox

Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch

If you get no other mods at all, do yourself a favour and get this one. USSEP fixes hundreds of various bugs and issues left in the Vanilla game. From Brand-Shei getting locked in jail forever even though he's only supposed to be there for a week or two, to weapons not upgrading correctly, and even broken quests, this patch turns Skyrim into what the developers intended it to be, without adding any extra bells or whistles. This mod should ALWAYS be placed at the VERY TOP of your load order.

Khajiit Speak – Complete Dialogue Overhaul (XB1)

This mod is essential for anyone playing as a Khajiit, or if you're roleplaying as a character born and raised in Elsewyr. It overhauls all of the dialogue so that your character has the syntax and vocabulary of a Khajiit, as well as their famously witty personality. It's a fantastic mod that really adds some depth to any Khajiit playthrough.

Skyrim Game Overhaul Mods For Xbox

Aetherius – A Race Overhaul

Aetherius changes the boons and powers of all the different races in Skyrim. Now, instead of having a power that you can use once per day, all races will have more useful passives that are constantly active. This makes your choice of race at the beginning of the game carry far more weight as you go through.

Ordinator – Perks of Skyrim

Ordinator revamps the perk system to make each perk tree more interesting. Instead of just boosting numbers, each perk tree now has far more skills and powers available to use. This makes Skyrim a very different game to play and is great if you're getting bored of the Vanilla perks.

Apocalypse – Magic of Skyrim

Apocalypse adds over 30 new spells per school of magic. The Vanilla spells are alright, but after ten years of Skyrim, they're a bit dull now. Apocalypse adds loads of lore-friendly spells that will make a mage playthrough far more exciting.

Mundus – A Standing Stone Overhaul

This mod updates all of the 13 Standing Stones so that they now feature passive boosts instead of active powers. It also disables the experience boost on the Guardian Stones so that you're more encouraged to switch Stones to match your playstyle. This is a fun mod that makes the Standing Stones far more impactful.

Mortal Enemies SE

No longer will enemies be perfect aimbots, tracking your every move and hitting you with stabbing attacks even though you've clearly strafed to the left. All enemy attacks are reconfigured to be a bit more realistic in how they can hit you. Sweeping attacks have a wider damage radius, and slicing and stabbing attacks have a smaller one.

Skyrim Immersion Mods For Xbox

iNeed – Food, Water and Sleep (XB1)

If you want food in Skyrim to actually have some sort of value, then this is the mod for you. Now you'll need to manage your character's hunger, thirst, and energy levels by eating, drinking, and sleeping regularly. If you get a full eight hours in, you won't need to sleep for the rest of the day, so this mod is relatively unintrusive. You won't need to eat or drink constantly either, just enough to get you through. This is definitely a mod you need if you like to add a survival element to your games.

Immersive Movement

Ever wondered why you can move weirdly quickly in Skyrim? Well, wonder no longer. This mod changes your movement speed based on what you're doing and what weapon you're holding. Sneaking while brandishing a two-handed battle axe? Slow. Sprinting with a bow holstered? Fast. Mages will also suffer less of a movement penalty while casting spells, so you can be a bit more nimble in combat. All of these changes also affect NPCs, so this should make combat more dynamic.

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JK's Skyrim – All in One by jkrojmal & Teabag86

This mod vastly improves many of Skyrim's towns and cities. Initially, they may have appeared impressive, but over the course of a playthrough, they all start to feel a bit hollow and lifeless. This mod overhauls many of the cities, towns, and villages to be more immersive and lore-friendly, adding vendors, banners that signify allegiance, and much more. Place any graphics mods after this in the load order.

Sounds of Skyrim – Complete Edition

This mod adds loads of sounds to the world of Skyrim that make the soundscape feel a lot more textured than in Vanilla Skyrim.

NAT – Natural and Atmospheric Tamriel

Adds more dynamic weather with the option to change it on a whim. This is an RPG where you'll be telling yourself a story as you play. Want your character to emerge from a tavern into a storm, well now they can. Place ABOVE Wonders of Weather in load order.

Wonders of Weather| by isoku

This mod adds some great rain effects — you'll see it splashing on uncovered surfaces and also hear an ambient rain sound when you're indoors during a downpour. It also adds the chance for shooting stars and rainbows. This is a deeply soothing mod, get it to add some ambience to Skyrim. Place this BELOW NAT in load order.

Skyrim Graphics Mods For Xbox

High Poly Project by LucidAps

Instead of many items having rough, jagged edges, High Poly Project smooths them out by adding more polygons. Many items have their looks drastically improved by this mod, and it barely affects performance. Place BELOW other mods that alter meshes.

Graphics Pack, Graphics Pack – Assets 1, Graphics Pack – Assets 2

This trio of mods retextures many of the game's assets and will make your Skyrim look more gorgeous without being garish. Place these mods in this order: from top to bottom — Graphics Pack, then Graphics Pack – Assets 1, then Graphics Pack – Assets 2.

Enhanced Night Skyrim

The Vanilla game has some nice skies, but this mod turns nighttime in Skyrim into something truly spectacular. The stars, dual moons, and constellations are more visible than ever thanks to this mod.

Lush Overhaul

Sure, Skyrim is meant to be a harsh place, but when you're spending hundreds of hours there, this can make it a little too miserable. The lush overhaul makes Skyrim a far more vibrant place by changing the look of the flora in the game. This will not work in conjunction with other flora overhauls.

Skyrim Performance Mods For Xbox

Falling Leaves Remove (XBOX1)

This mod does exactly what it says, removes falling leaves whenever you're near trees. Sure, it looks pretty sometimes, but it also slows the game down and can tank your framerate in a forest. You won't even notice the leaves are gone.

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Increase Game Stability (XBOX1)

This reduces lag upon entering caves and dungeons by removing some of the smoke particle effects. It doesn't make dungeons completely barren and lifeless, just changes them enough so you don't see a massive fps drop when you enter a cave.

TLS Crash Preventer

Apparently, the sound of your footsteps causes Skyrim to crash a lot, so this mod just removes that sound entirely. It can feel odd not hearing them, but the more mods you add, the more likely your game is to crash, generally, so this is worth including just for the stability.

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22 July 2021

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