Summary
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 ofSkyrimto understand why this is the case. The handcrafted world and amazing sense of exploration were a huge reason why players lovedSkyrimto bits, and it’s a shame that this was abandoned forStarfieldin favor of bland, procedurally generated planets that felt like a waste of time to explore.
The fifth entry in the popularElder Scrollsseries 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, butthe sheer number of modsthat 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 thebestSkyrimmodsaround 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 May 29, 2025, by Mati Kent-Nye:Despite being released well over a decade ago, Skyrim is still going strong. The modding community around this game is among the best out there, offering countless mods that improve and completely overhaul gameplay. From the simple to the complex, there’s a mod out there for everyone. With the release of The Elder Scrolls 6 still some years away, there’s no better time for players to jump into the modded action. Players still eager to immerse themselves in the beautiful land of Skyrim will be thrilled to know even more fan favorites have been added to this list.
37Fluted Armor
Adds Fluted Armor
There are lots of armor types to find, craft, and use inSkyrim. Fans of heavy armor sets may want to take a look at the Fluted Armor mod. This mod brings in a new heavy armor type: Fluted Armor. This armor looks stunning.It’s incredibly well-made and contains lots of intricate details.
While this armor set can’t be crafted, it can easily be found in Weynon Stones. This mod is perfect for those players who want to give their character a more medieval look.
36Skytactics
80 New NPC Combat Styles
Skytactics is a relatively new modthat is gaining a lot of attention for all the right reasons.This mod adds over 80 dynamic combat styles to NPCs.For this mod to work, players will also need to download SkyPatcher. However, all of the details regarding that are provided in the link above.
One thing that gets a bit stale inSkyrimafter a while is combat. It doesn’t take long for players to begin knowing what an NPC is about to do before they do it. This mod brings in a lot of great styles that bring a fresh feel to combat inSkyrim.
35NPC Lookup
Spawn & Teleport Every NPC
As players progress through the game, traveling back and forth to various NPCs or finding certain NPCs can get a little tedious and time-consuming. This mod takes out the hassle involved with tracking down NPCs by providing the player withan in-game menu that allows them to teleport and spawn every NPC in the game.
While this mod isn’t great for those who don’t want to break immersion, for those who want an easier ride, this mod is a great choice. Players can also mark up to 16 reference points on the map, making finding and traveling to lesser-known areas much easier.
34Forgotten Creatures
Retextures Enemies
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.
33Show Player In Menus
View Your Character Through The Inventory
Sometimes, it’sthe simplest ofSkyrimmodsthat 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.
32Combat Gameplay Overhaul SE
Overhauls Combat
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 thebestSkyrimmods,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.
31Skyrim Together Reborn
Play With Friends
SkyrimTogether 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 ofSkyrim, 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.
30Vanargand Animations - Crossbows
Crossbow Overhaul
Crossbows were added in theDawnguardexpansion 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.
29Sofia — The Funny Fully Voiced Follower
Adds A Fully Voice Acted Companion
Various fan-made mods ofSkyrimadd new and unique followers to spice up one’s experience with the game. However, out of all these followers, one has to admit thatSofia 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.
28Animation Queue Fix
Reduces Bugs
Skyrimis 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 this, 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.
