It’s been a little
while since they came out, but mods for the PS4 edition of Skyrim are
an interesting addition to an already immense game. However, as is
known, there are limitations compared to not only the PC but the Xbox
One (which has a clear advantage), namely total file size (only 1GB)
and the total absence of new assets. There’s also a 100 mod limit.
So, given all that, are
mods still worth bothering with if you’re on the PS4?
In a word: yes.
As well as nice little
additions, some offer substantially changed weather effects, tweaks
to gameplay, or even a full-blown overhaul (more on that later). The
file size isn’t a problem because the absence of new assets
(including scripts) means that you’re almost certain to never reach
the limit.
So, are there any
downsides to mods? Well, sometimes they conflict, although this will
often be obvious. I’ve had a few more crashes (not loads, maybe one
every 10 hours or so) when playing as The Red Panther. And the
greyface bug is irksome (new NPCs can have freaky faces). But they
add a lot to the game, so if you’ve sunk a lot of time into Skyrim
and want something a little different, mods can really add to the
experience.
Below is a list of mods
I’ve particularly enjoyed. Do remember (I keep forgetting...) to
like/rate mods that improve your game. These are all free,
remember.
Darkness Falls, by
Grumpy-Gazz
Since Dragon’s Dogma
introduced totally black nights (save for your lantern’s
limited light) I’ve really liked this approach. Nights are miles
darker, practically impossible to see unless you’ve got a torch,
magical light or are Khajiit. The only downside is this is
incompatible with Dolomite Weathers (see below). It dovetails very
nicely with the two mods bracketed together below.
Lanterns/Lampposts of
Skyrim, by MannyGT and Micahghost (respectively)
The first of these mods
adds little lanterns to settlements. In the newly darkened world,
these really help make the villages and cities a spot of illuminated
civilisation in the middle of the wilderness. The lampposts work much
the same, providing lighting for the roads. Neither overdoes it,
instead managing to get the balance of light just right. They work
perfectly with Darkness Falls, and also fit the darker (although not
as dark) nights of Dolomite Weathers.
Simple Survival, by
Worlds
Now, I’ve only played
with this a little bit because it’s not compatible with the Great
Realism Overhaul, and when I made two new characters to see which I
preferred I went for the latter. That said, this simple survival mod
seemed to work very nicely. It adds a requirement to eat, drink and
sleep regularly. Fail to do so and you take penalties, including your
health, magic or stamina (or multiple) not regenerating. The mod’s
author increased the frequency of finding salt to enable more
cooking. I liked this a lot, and the only reason I didn’t stick
with it is because I liked the other mod even more.
The Great Realism Overhaul,
by Simtar123
This mod changes a
colossal amount. The perks, especially those for warriors, have been
reworked massively, and mostly for the better. One-handed, for
example, has various multi-tiered perks to improve your skills with
daggers, swords, axes or maces. Backstabbing perks are now located in
one-handed, for daggers, and archery, for bows. Crafting replaces
smithing and includes perks to improve cooking (curtailed options
initially), create pottery as well as the armour/weapons you’d
expect (tip: to improve rapidly, focus on arrows).
Combat is utterly
reworked. On the recommended Legendary setting, damage both dealt and
received is x2 normal, and you can’t shift mid-swing. So, enemies
can be side-stepped and whacked, wolves are suddenly a bit dangerous
(early on), and fighting multiple enemies is much harder.
Correspondingly, a good follower is worth a lot, and summon spells
are much more powerful. Stealth is also more valuable because of the
enhanced damage, balanced out by enemies searching for you for much
longer.
Carry weight has been
utterly nerfed (100 initially) and fast travel is verboten, so this
will put off some players, and I completely understand that. It’s
particularly irksome when you kill a dragon (which is much harder
than it was) only to find its valuable bones and scales weigh so much
you can barely carry any of it. Travel by carriage is a lot more
useful, but you can’t use it when you’re over-encumbered. Perks
to make your armour (when worn) weigh less are also really helpful.
One discrepancy I found
(I briefly played with a Breton mage to see how magic worked) is that
my Khajiit, The Red Panther, had more or less the starting skill
numbers I’d expect whereas my Breton, Laura de Mirgnac, had 1 for
everything. Incidentally, the Breton starting spell (conjure
familiar) is actually of some use.
It also has two
supplementary mods for enemies and looting I recommend getting.
The Great Realism
Overhaul really does change an awful lot. For me, it’s
reinvigorated a game I’ve already (on the PS3) sunk hundreds of
hours into.
All Armour Lootable and
Wearable, by Bear
A great little mod that
does what it says on the tin. If you get attacked by a Dark
Brotherhood minion, why shouldn’t you be able to steal his snazzy
masked cowl? Also good for getting a load of cash from selling looted
stuff. Not compatible with the Great Realism Overhaul (but you
wouldn’t be able to carry all the extra armour in any case).
Dolomite Weathers, by
Megaloblast
An all-in-one weather
mod (there are a few varieties, I just went for the original) which
improves things a lot. In particular the higher intensity and sound
effects of rain gave me goosebumps, it’s very good. Fog is
denser, and the sky (clouds, aurora) just seems a lot better. I think
that the distance you can see has been dramatically increased,
although before this I was using the weather mods below so I can’t
swear to it. Nights are darker, although not as black as Darkness
Falls. The only downside is that the aforementioned mod is
incompatible with Dolomite Weathers, but, generally, this is really
good.
Supreme Storms, by
MannyGT
A weather mod that
turns rain showers into torrential downpours. It’s even more
intense than the Dolomite version, and works very well (obviously
incompatible with Dolomite, though).
Supreme and Volumetric
Fog, by MannyGT
Similarly, dense fog
for those who don’t want to go down the Dolomite route. Before I
had the all-in-one mod, I used this, Supreme Storms and Darkness
Falls, which all meshed nicely together.
Master the Summit, by
SpaceGoats
We’ve all been there.
Heading for Ivarstead. Discovering you’ve got to go all round the
houses. Master the Summit adds bridges, steps and so forth to various
places in Skyrim, making it easier to get around on foot. Especially
useful for those going without fast travel, and fits in perfectly
with the game.
Rich Merchants, by
Jason069
Pretty simple. Stops
merchants running out of money when you want to flog them stuff.
Straightforward and very useful.
Smooth Human Female
Faces, by FiNwolf
At the risk of sounding
shallow, wrinkly foreheads don’t do it for me. This simple mod
gives them (particularly Bretons) smooth foreheads so you can have a
character who isn’t looking inexplicably old.
Phenderix Magic World
DLC, by Phenderix
I’ve not played
extensively as a mage, but had to include this mod. It includes
several new locations (not visited them) and hundreds of new spells,
some of which I’ve messed around with. There’s a vastly increased
range of summons, and the destruction magic is improved with new
spells too. New bosses, followers, loading screens and the mod bundles
together a number of previously released, smaller mods. If you’re
playing as a mage or part-time magic user, this is well worth a look.
Immersive Patrols, by
Ameermohamedtt
Adds patrols from the
various factions (Imperials, Stormcloaks, Thalmor etc) throughout the
roads. These can, and will, encounter one another. They can also be
very handy if a dragon shows up. I happened upon a fort that’s
usually bandit-held (in the vanilla game) and instead found a massive
Imperial-Stormcloak battle, which was pretty cool. It’s a nice
touch that makes the world feel more alive.
Immersive and Levelled
Items, by Gehirnmutant
There’s a problem
with finding cool items early, which is that you get lumbered with a
basic level of enchantment. However, this nifty mod means you can
then level it up to improved versions, if you have the right
material. So, if you get Chillrend early on, you’re not stuck with
the n00blet level effect forever. Pretty simple, and a nice addition.
Late addition:
Fix: Restore Vanilla
Settings, by DylanJames
After writing the
above, I wanted to check to make sure I wasn’t over-egging the cake
with certain things (particularly to see whether I was misremembering
how far you can see the landscape without mods). So I started a new
save, without mods. However, my character had far lower skills (1 for
most) than she should’ve. Lakraz Ogre-Killer was not amused. I
tried making another new save, but Gryzelda also had the same
problem. Mostly, this didn’t change a lot, but I couldn’t
actually sharpen the iron dagger in Riverwood because I lacked the
skill (my smithing was only about 6 or 7).
Happily, the above mod
fixed things, although I did have
to make a new character.
This isn’t an
exhaustive list by any means, but there’s a fair range of good mods
that players both hardcore and casual might enjoy.
Thaddeus
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