Skyrimwas released nearly ten years ago. While the developers at Bethesda have made sure to improve the game incrementally through re-releases,Skyrimhas also grown thanks to the efforts of what is likely the largest modding community in the industry. Whether players just want to make the game prettier, go fishing, or are curious how draugr stack up to a lightsaber, there are thousands of mods available for just about anything players could imagine.
The game eventually supported mods on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 throughSkyrim: Special Edition, and the upcomingSkyrim: Anniversary Editionwill include 500 mods in the game’s files. However, some of the most exciting mods forSkyrimare ones that transform the game and offer something entirely new for fans to experience. There are a lot of options that players have for mods that transform the experience of playingSkyrim, but there are some that rise above the rest and are good enough that they could have been official content by Bethesda itself.
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Helgen Reborn
The introduction ofSkyrimhas become an iconic sequence. However, many players may find it a bit weird that the city of Helgen is never rebuilt after the dragon attack, and it is just left as a blank space on the map that players don’t have a reason to return to. Helgen Reborn addresses this by introducing an entirely new questline that rebuilds the city. It includes dungeons, full voice acting, a new player home, and players can even decidewhich ofSkyrim’s factionsHelgen ends up siding with.
Phenderix Magic World
Phenderix Magic World is a must-download mod for any players who enjoy wielding magic inSkyrimbut wish there were more options to choose from. The mod includes 170 new spells that can also be mixed and combined to create crazy abilities. It also introduces a new player home, quest, region, andgear that is perfect for mages inSkyrim. The mod does include some non-lore friendly descriptions and references throughout, but if that is a deal breaker there is also a patch available that removes them.
Enderal: The Shards of Order
Enderal is one of the biggest mods available forSkyrim, and it is an entirely original game that has been built usingSkyrim’s engine and assets. The game is so big that it even received its very own expansion and a release on Steam. The game also changesSkyrim’s leveling and character-building system to be a bit more traditional, on top of having an entirely new world, lore, and story for players to experience in either English or German.
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Interesting NPCs
Interesting NPCs overhaulsSkyrim’s population of AI NPCs to help the game feel more alive and varied. It adds more than 250 fully realized NPCs that each have their own personalities, voiced lines, schedules, and quests. Some of them can also be recruited as followers married by the player. Some of the followers have well over 1,000 lines of dialogue recorded, and will comment on every major quest and interaction in the game. The mod is great for adding some new character to the game, and its followers are often better than evenSkyrim’s best followers.
Immersive Creatures
While playing throughSkyrim,players kill enough Draugr, trolls, and wolves to make them never want to see a single one ever again. For players looking for more variety, Immersive Creatures is a great mod that adds dozens of new creatures and variants to the game. The mod completely changes how it feels to go exploring inSkyrim, and has some monsters that are very exciting to see inSkyrim. It does not include any cheese mammoths, butSkyrimhas a mod for that toojust in case.
Wildcat and Smilodon
Wildcat and Smilodon are two versions of the same mod that completely overhaul the game’s combat system, with Wildcat working for the originalSkyrimand Smilodon for the Special Edition. They are some of thebest combat mods forSkyrim, and make everything more deadly and tense. Weapons deal more damage, players and enemies can perform more moves, and it adds attacks of opportunity to punish players who aren’t careful. The mods can also be tweaked via an in-game menu, so players can tailor the mods for the exact experience they are looking for.
Ordinator
Ordinator is a mod that completely changesSkyrim’s perk system to include more options. The mod introduces a total of 469 new perks fto unlock, and attempts to make more builds inSkyrimviable while also introducing unique ways to play. The mod is a great option for any fans who have playedSkyrima lot and are looking for something new to spice the game up, or for players who just want a more detailed levelling system for their next playthrough. The mod also removes some ofSkyrim’s most worthless perksso players know every skill point they spend will be useful.
Frostfall
Frostfall is one of the most comprehensivesurvival mods forSkyrim. Not only does it introduce having to manage hunger, thirst, and sleep, but it also includes a full camping system, temperature control, and a lot of other smaller features that can be tweaked and adjusted by the player. The mod can make the game extremely challenging, but it also adds some more depth toSkyrimand forces players to interact with its systems more to ensure their character is well cared for.
Skyrim: Anniversary Editionreleases for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on June 30, 2025.
