If you are into video games at all, especially PC gaming, mods have become a must-have for every game. In fact, for many of us it is hard to imagine life without mods. Except, of course, if you use a console and don’t get to experience them.
Enter Skyrim: Special Edition, which brings mods to gamers on both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles. Here are the 10 best mods available for both Xbox One and the PS4 (in no particular order):
Lore-Based Loading Screens
Brought to us by Chesko with help from the lovely (and nerdy) minds at /r/teslore, this mod turns the usual boring loading screens into messages focused on the lore surrounding Skyrim. The player can now immerse themselves deeper into the history of Tamriel instead of learning the same useless game tidbits every time you enter a new building.
Less Aggressive Animals
This one might make me sound like a bit of a milkdrinker here, but hear me out. There is nothing more annoying that the time-wasting moments when a bunch of mudcraps randomly attack you despite your full Deadric armor. Sure, you kill them easily and it’s no big deal, but I like to cut out some of that wasted time and spend it on more useful things like killing dragons.
Arcadia’s Farm
Arcadia’s Farm gives you a nice working farm right across the road from the stable in Whiterun with 25 spots to grow your own plants. It also gifts you a female merchant/gardener named Olive who has a nice custom list of items for sale. There is also plenty of storage which is a plus.
Supreme Storms
Ever felt like the storms in Skyrim were weak? Yeah, well, that’s fixed here. Visibility is greatly reduced during strong storms and you can almost feel the cold during the snowstorms. It’s one of those things that just makes the world of Skyrim feel so real.
Reverb and Ambience Overhaul
If you have a great pair of headphones or excellent speakers, I cannot recommend this mod enough. It truly immerses you in Skyrim, with incredibly realistic sounds at every turn. Seriously, just get this one.
Cloud Storage
It’s like the iCloud, except I don’t store my nudes there. But seriously, this mod lets you store supplies in a “stash” chest that you can access from numerous points on the map. There is a crate at every in as well as at each market and a few other spots across Skyrim to make your gear easily accessible.
Realistic Conversations
Tired of NPCs being so incredibly boring and unrealistic? Well, this won’t entirely fix that. I mean, c’mon, not even Talos could fix that. What this mod does do, however, is attempt to make them as realistic as possible in their interaction with each other. This is definitely a mod worth getting if you play with your sound on (and who doesn’t?).
Cheat Mod
Yeah. I know. Cheats. I should probably hide before the hardcore gamers come out to crucify me, but this one is really helpful to players who don’t want to spend countless hours searching for the right crafting parts. It places almost every crafting ingredient imaginable in containers right near the Warmaiden’s forge in Whiterun and it also adds a trapdoor which allows you to enter Qasmoke (where you can find quite literally every item in the game). If you are playing this game just for the lolz, this is a good one to get.
Phenderix Magic Evolved
Like magic? Of course you do. How about over 370 new spells? Sound fun? Well, PME gives you that, revolutionizing the magic experience in Skyrim. There are numerous ways to learn the new spells, but if you are lazy you can always go to the cheat chest next to Farengar in Whiterun’s Dragonreach.
Rich Merchants of Skyrim: Special Edition
Finally, no more having to travel from merchant to merchant to sell off those precious items you have collected. Grinding for gold can be a struggle, especially at the beginning of the game, so this mod helps out with that. It’s incredibly simple but also incredibly helpful, especially for new players.
