The 29 Best Skyrim Mods, Ranked (2024)

Bethesda might not have the most stellar reputation right now — given their track record in modern times — but there's no denying the fact that they still have a bunch of brilliant and imaginative titles under their belt to this day. One need only look at the sheer enduring popularity of Skyrim to understand why this is the case. The handcrafted world and amazing sense of exploration were a huge reason why players loved Skyrim to bits, and it's a shame that this was abandoned for Starfield in favor of bland procedurally generated planets that felt like a waste of time to explore.

The fifth entry in the popular Elder Scrolls series is still going strong to this day as one of the most played games around, mainly due to its incredible modding support. The game might've been released in 2011, but the sheer number of mods that tweak — if not completely improve — the overall experience is so immense that most people will never notice the age of this game. Players who want to revisit the magic of this title should do themselves a favor and download the best Skyrim mods around to modernize the experience and make it more palatable, especially since a lot of this game's mechanics haven't aged all that well.

Updated on July 26, 2024, by Ritwik Mitra: Skyrim is a video game that needs no introduction. No amount of Bethesda's self-sabotage will take away from the pristine legacy of this title. It captured the minds and hearts of fans when it came out in 2011, allowing an entire generation of RPG fans to experience some of the best open-world exploration ever seen in a video game. However, as the years have passed, some of Skyrim's systems have become pretty dated. The familiarity that most people have with this game doesn't help things either, but there's a solution to these problems. All players need to do is download some of the best Skyrim mods around and watch this game transform into a different beast altogether.

32 Forgotten Creatures

Downloads: 271,185

• Creator: Phlunder
• Download Link

Not all mods need to add wild and unique inclusions of their own to make the game more engaging. After all, some players still treasure the vanilla experience and only want to improve this feel with mods instead of completely overhauling it.

This is where the Forgotten Creatures mod comes into the picture. It provides a re-texture of many enemies in the game without compromising too much on the vanilla design, which is exactly what many players want with their mods.

31 Show Player In Menus

Downloads: 1,241,711

• Creator: myztikrice
• Download Link

Sometimes, it's the simplest of Skyrim mods that end up making the game feel as modern as possible. Such is the case with the Show Player in Menus mod, which is pretty self-explanatory.

It lets players look at the Dragonborn whenever the inventory is opened, which is helpful for obvious reasons. Suffice it to say, that players will have a great time checking out what the Dragonborn looks like in real-time as they switch and swap their equipment.

30 Combat Gameplay Overhaul SE

Downloads: 1,275,308

• Creator: DServant
• Download Link

There's no denying that Skyrim's combat is pretty bare bones and serviceable at best. There aren't any combos to speak of, hits don't feel weighty, and weapons aren't balanced properly. Most people gave this gameplay pillar's shortcomings a pass back in the day because of how enjoyable the overall package was. However, in recent years, it has become harder and harder to ignore what is objectively a poor combat system.

Thankfully, modders have come to save the day yet again. One of the best Skyrim mods, Combat Gameplay Overhaul SE, adds everything from combos to dodge rolls into the game to make this aspect of gameplay more exciting than ever before. Players will love whipping out their skills and avoiding damage with great finesse after they download this mod and figure out how things work.

29 Skyrim Together Reborn

Downloads: 1,461,837

• Creator: The Together Team
• Download Link

Skyrim Together Reborn is easily one of the most impressive achievements in the modding community. It deserves a spot on this list simply because of the technical expertise required to integrate such a massive change in the first place.

This mod adds co-op into the world of Skyrim, which is amazing for obvious reasons. However, this mod isn't very compatible with others and is pretty buggy, which is why it doesn't rank higher.

28 Vanargand Animations - Crossbows

Downloads: 1,530,231

• Creator: Verolevi
• Download Link

Crossbows were added in the Dawnguard expansion and are fun to use in the game. Of course, modders have no problems with overhauling the animations of this weapon and improving some gameplay systems too.

Vanargand Animations does this exact task and makes the act of using crossbows more fun. Players who want to focus on this weapon for their playthrough should check this mod out.

27 Sofia — The Funny Fully Voiced Follower

Downloads: 1,861,019

• Creator: John Jarvis and Christine Slagman
• Download Link

Various fan-made mods of Skyrim add new and unique followers to spice up one's experience with the game. However, out of all these followers, one has to admit that Sofia is easily the most popular and well-developed one of the lot.

Featuring excellent voice acting and some truly well-written dialogue — almost overshadowing Bethesda's character writing in many aspects — Sofia is a great companion mod to add to the game if the base game's companions end up being rather boring and one-note.

26 Animation Queue Fix

Downloads: 1,979,395

• Creator: Ersh
• Download Link

Skyrim is a pretty old game, so it's only a given that some of its mechanics are going to be pretty dated as well. The animations in this game are a great example of the same, with bugs occurring if too many animations are queued up at once.

To take care of these issues, players can download the Animation Queue Fix. It's a must-have mod for players who have downloaded a bunch of custom animations and don't want NPCs to glitch out every single time multiple complex processes are being executed at once.

25 EVG Conditional Idles

Downloads: 1,985,983

• Creator: Everglaid
• Download Link

Skyrim's wooden NPCs had an odd charm to them back in the day that added to the novelty of playing this game. However, more than a decade has passed since players were charmed by Bethesda's magnum opus. Now, players who want to get immersed in a video game like Skyrim need tweaks to ensure that the lifeless residents of this world don't take them out of the experience.

This makes it easy to see why so many people consider EVG Conditional Idles to be one of the best Skyrim mods around. It is highly valuable for players who want to preserve the sense of immersion as they walk around in towns. It may be a simple change, but watching NPCs organically react to things around them instead of standing around cluelessly does wonders for the game's overall presentation.

24 Valhalla Combat

Downloads: 2,107,164

• Creator: dTry
• Download Link

Modern combat systems have evolved quite a bit, and it can be pretty challenging for new Skyrim players to enjoy the rudimentary combat mechanics of Skyrim. Thankfully, some mods have taken up the responsibility of modernizing the combat system.

Valhalla Combat strives to integrate modern fast-paced combat mechanics into Skyrim, including parrying, timed blocks, a better stamina system, and other changes. It's a pretty impressive mod that Skyrim players should check out.

23 Precision - Accurate Melee Collisions

Downloads: 2,386,279

• Creator: Ersh
• Download Link

Melee combat in Skyrim is pretty serviceable but can get rather boring and monotonous after a point. Thankfully, many mods for Skyrim change the combat, and players will be spoiled with the sheer number of options at their behest.

One of the simpler combat mods that change the mechanical aspects of combat in Skyrim is the Precision mod. Now, hitboxes in the game are more accurate and won't frustrate players who feel like they avoided an attack only to receive damage instead.

22 Gesture Animation Remix (DAR)

Downloads: 2,455,929

• Creator: CHIMgarden
• Download Link

NPCs in Skyrim can feel pretty lifeless and similar, which can hamper immersion a bit. Players who want the people in this game to emote realistically and in a unique manner can enjoy the same with the Gesture Animation Remix mod.

It's a simple yet great mod that does a great job of injecting more life into the world of Skyrim and its residents. Players who prioritize immersion over everything else in the game will love the changes brought about by this mod.

21 Wyrmstooth

Downloads: 2,562,826

• Creator: Jonx0r
• Download Link

There are many expansion mods present in Skyrim, with Wyrmstooth being pretty notable in its own right. It tasks the Dragonborn with hunting down a particularly aggressive dragon to a whole new domain made painstakingly by modders!

Wyrmstooth is a massive technical achievement in its own right, which is enough for players to download and check out the mod for itself. Players who remember the areas of Skyrim and its expansions by heart will be quite well-serviced with this mod that will reinvigorate the magic of exploration in them once again.

20 Carriage And Ferry Travel Overhaul

Downloads: 2,768,269

• Creator: Kinaga
• Download Link

Fast travel may be convenient for players, but there was a time when the Silt Striders and boats in Morrowind were the only viable way to explore large distances. They also did wonders for players who wanted to get immersed in these rich fantasy settings, letting them take logical in-game transport methods instead of just opening their map and magically teleporting to a settlement they'd already explored.

Players who want to enjoy the same kind of immersive fast travel in Skyrim can use a mod to do so. Carriage and Ferry Travel Overhaul is one of the best Skyrim mods for players who want to explore the world organically without relying on a mechanic that reminds them that they're playing a video game. It's simple to install and goes a long way in making a player's exploration in Skyrim an even bigger highlight of this magical experience.

19 Falskaar

Downloads: 3,122,180

• Creator: AlexanderJVelicky
• Download Link

Skyrim's modding community has gone above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to integrating a ton of total conversion mods that allow for a fresh and unique experience, with Falskaar being one such mod that easily stands in a class of its own as an excellent fully-voice conversion mod for fans of Skyrim.

Any player who's tired of making the same old trek through the land of Skyrim over and over again would enjoy playing through a new world with more than 20 hours of gameplay, supplemented by voiced dialogue and great level design.

18 Bandit Lines Expansion

Downloads: 3,277,986

• Creator: JaySerpa
• Download Link

There are many enemies that players will encounter in Skyrim. While most of these are towering and intimidating fantasy creatures that can flatten the player at a moment's notice, there are several human enemies that players can encounter in the game as well.

Bandits are the most common human enemies in the game, and players might get irritated listening to the same voice lines playing over and over again. With the Bandit Lines Expansion mod, these issues will quickly become a thing of the past with the whole host of additional lines that are added to the pool for these annoying enemies in the game.

17 aMidianBorn Book of Silence

Downloads: 4,304,819

• Creator: CaBaL - the AMB team
• Download Link

There's no denying that Skyrim is a game that shows its age in more ways than one. Despite the release of a Special Edition that enhanced the visuals of the game, most people would agree that the title's graphics can be a bit hard to get into, especially for those who prefer their video games as visually impressive as possible.

Thankfully, there are several Skyrim mods worth checking out for players who want to make the game look as good as ever, with aMidianBorn Book of Silence being a great highlight in this regard. Players will love exploring the land of Skyrim and looking upon familiar creatures, items, locations, and everything else, but with a new, modernized visual improvement, one that enhances the game without feeling like the original design has been sacrificed.

16 Serana Dialogue Add-On

Downloads: 5,135,666

• Creator: Martimius
• Download Link

Several companions in Skyrim are all pretty memorable in their own right. With the advent of the Dawnguard expansion, players were introduced to one of the best and most fleshed-out companions in the entire game, Serana.

This vampire is a force to be reckoned with, and her narrative plays a key role in the events of Dawnguard as well. With this mod, her dialogue and NPC behavior are both expanded upon and improved considerably, leading to a player's experience with her as a companion being enhanced in a satisfying manner.

15 Dynamic Animation Replacer

Downloads: 5,178,110

• Creator: Felisky
• Download Link

It's easy for Skyrim's world to feel static at times, especially given how wooden some of the NPCs are. In the real world, people perform different actions depending on the context, while the majority of residents in Skyrim just stand around without really showing any life. Immersion can take a huge hit for players who are more used to the modern trappings of this genre that try to make their open world both look and feel alive.

The Dynamic Animation Replacer mod can be a game-changer here. With this simple mod, the residents of Skyrim feel more alive. NPCs move around and perform contextually sensitive actions, making it seem like they have a life outside the Dragonborn coming by to interact with them every once in a while.

14 Apothecary - An Alchemy Overhaul

Downloads: 5,297,407

• Creator: Simon Magus, DeltaRider, Oreo
• Download Link

There's no denying that Skyrim has a wealth of gameplay systems to engage with, encouraging build variety and ensuring that players experience something different every single time they start another playthrough. One aspect of the game that most people don't check out until much later on is alchemy, especially since the Dragonborn is bombarded with potions the very moment they start exploring.

Players who decide to concoct their potions may find the system to be a bit too limiting for their tastes. This is where this overhaul mod does a great job of rewarding the time players spend making potions. The fact that this mod adds new decoctions for players to mess around with is another huge bonus.

13 Apocalypse — Magic Of Skyrim

Downloads: 6,423,867

• Creator: Enai Siaion
• Download Link

Skyrim's magic might be the most robust magic system in the series, but some players would inevitably be unsatisfied with the limitations of these skill trees.

Thankfully, with the Apocalypse mod, around 155 new spells and incantations are introduced into the main game, allowing players to role-play exactly like the kind of character they wish to be.