Top 10 Must Have Skyrim Mods!

Let’s go ahead and add another thousand hours to our playtime. Welcome to Watchmojo.com and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Skyrim Mods.

For this list, we’ll be looking at mods available for the PC version of the game and Skyrim: Special Edition on consoles. Any mod is eligible, whether it adds to the immersion, improves graphical and sound quality, adds new content or just messes with the game in the most delightfully bizarre way. Skyrim is already a fantastic game. These mods just add to the experience.

#10: Sounds of Skyrim

As dense as Skyrim is with quests and dungeons, it can’t help but feel a little… empty in the NPC department. This mod adds to the illusion that the land and towns are heavily populated with folk going about their business. Dogs bark, birds chirp, kids play around, and they can even be heard from indoors. It helps sell that you’re part of a living and breathing civilization. Just don’t try too hard to find where the source of these sounds come from, and you’ll have a good time.

#9: Realistic Needs and Diseases

If getting mauled by bears, stabbed in the back by bandits, or set alight by dragons weren’t enough ways to die for you, then try this mod. It’ll let you die in ways you’d always hoped for, such as dying of thirst, or being so hungry that you can’t replenish your health, resulting in a one hit kill from an enemy. A hard life aside, it’s like an unofficial hardcore mode, in which the most dedicated of role-players will enjoy. At least now, there’ll be a use to carry those potatoes around or use a cooking pot.

#8: Warzones - Civil Unrest Reborn

Skyrim’s in the middle of civil war, dragons are coming back to life, undead creatures plague the land… but you’ll never come across more than half a dozen enemies at a time. That’s where this mod comes in. It adds hundreds of dynamic, varying battles during your journey, dependent on whether you pick the Imperials or Stormcloaks, where you are, and what you’ve already completed. No two battles are ever the same, and the best part is that they actually feel like massive battles. You can watch as dozens from each side have at it, or you can choose to take part. Whatever you decide to do, there’s no doubt you’ll believe you’re really in the middle of a war.

#7: Open Cities Skyrim

This particular mod isn’t very complex, and it doesn’t add any new content. In fact, its effects are really subtle, but they are noticeable and appreciated it. We can all agree that loading screens suck, and this mod abolishes them when entering a city or town, as it makes them a natural part of the world. Dragon battles also become a lot cooler when you can lead it to a town and have everyone inside fight for their lives. Or maybe just fight it by yourself. You’re supposed to be the Dragonborn, remember.

#6: Really Useful Dragons

The idea of fire-breathing dragons coming back from the dead is a scary enough thought as it is. The idea of replacing every dragon with Thomas the Tank Engine characters, which is what this mod does, is funny in theory… until you hear the train whistle. Retreat in terror as Thomas slams down in front of you, beaming his horrific smile at you before honking his horn, aka breathing fire on you. Once you defeat the locomotive, everything carries on the same. Wait… does that say ‘Train’ soul absorbed? That’s just sad. No other mod can bring forth an array of emotions quite like this one.

#5 Alternate Start – Live Another Life

Who would want to be the Dragonborn when you can be a camper in the woods? Oh… most people? Well then, lucky for you, that isn’t the only option you have when starting this mod, which allows you to pick from a bunch of different start points and back-stories for your character. It allows flexibility for you to role-play your ideal character, and the decision you make at the start will have lasting effects on your playthrough. If you ever do decide to take part in the main quest, just talk to an innkeeper or visit Helgen. Just being a plain old tavern patron is good enough for us.

#4: Climates of Tamriel

Mainly affecting lighting, this mod adds realism and immersion to your playing experience. With realistic weather effects and customizable night options, it allows you to take control of the visual appeal and preferences you may have for your journey through Skyrim. Not only that, it affects lighting indoors, too. Skyrim is famed for being cold. Freezing, and this mod reinforces that fact. It’s welcome to have, especially since the vanilla lighting was far from remarkable. Don’t be surprised if you stop in your tracks every now and then to admire your surroundings. This mod is a must have.

#3: Helgen Reborn

This mod adds a quest to rebuild Helgen, and it’s not just any quest. It’s a big one. Spanning anywhere between four to six hours, it has you traveling across Skyrim in a bid to rebuild the great city of Helgen. It features new fully voiced NPCs, the ability to shape the way Helgen is rebuilt, and has multiple endings depending on whether or not you choose to ally the city with either of the factions, or remain independent. Not merely just a point A to B, complete said task quest, it has a layered story with great characters which will have you listening to them, rather than skipping their dialog.

#2: SkyUI

You know those times when you try something new, and find it so useful you can’t fathom how you managed to live your life without it? Well, this mod does just that… except for Skyrim. It reduces the clutter of the original menus, in favor of more list-friendly ones. You can filter items by type, search for things, and even maneuver through the world map more easily. Your active effects also show in the main HUD, which means you don’t have to go into the menus and scroll around to see if you’re slowly turning into a vampire or not.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few Honorable Mentions.

Immersive Armors, Immersive Weapons
A Quality World Map
Unread Books Glow

#1: Moonpath to Elsweyr

Most of the entries in the Elder Scrolls series takes place in one province in Tamriel, so you know a mod which takes you to another province is going to be a big one. This mod features custom textures, creatures and NPCs. It has a main questline, as well as many side quests, and even cut scenes. The fact that everything is made from scratch really takes us out of the Skyrim atmosphere, and it feels like we’re playing an entirely new game. Set in the Khajit homeland of Elsweyr, it features a warm and vibrant environment, unlike Skyrim’s cold and harsh one. This mod can be treated as an unofficial expansion pack, and it’s one you won’t want to miss.

Do you agree with our list? Which mod do you enjoy the most? For more creative Top 10’s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com