- - Nexus Mods Account - -

Firstly you will need an account at NexusMods[www.nexusmods.com] set that up go premium or don't you can get all the mods for free but downloads will be slower for non-premium accounts.

- - Vortex - -

Vortex is your mod manager I use this as i find it the fastest and easiest way to install most mods automatically without having to manually drag and drop tons of files. A must have at least for my guide. You download this from Nexus Mods. Download Vortex[www.nexusmods.com] then add your Skyrim SE to Vortex.

- - Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE64) - -

This is a must have and also a requirement for many mods basically it allows mods to do more complex things within Skyrim using scripts. You can download this from the Skyrim SE Dashboard page on Vortex once you have it and have added Skyrim SE to your list. Or Download Here[www.nexusmods.com] follow instructions on that Nexus page. You will run your game from the SKSE64.exe from now on.

- - Download the mods! - -

You can now start downloading and adding all the awesome mods that make Skyrim the best it can be by simply finding the mods you want on NexusMods and downloading them with the Vortex mod manager. Or If you want to get your Skyrim SE looking like mine check out my entire modlist below for everything that i use - it's also a good base to use then download all your own mods that you want, all my mods work perfectly with each other and will not bug/crash your game.

*VERY IMPORTANT: Always remember to launch your game with the SKSE64.exe or some mods may not work at all.*

- - *Optional* - -

So what's an ENB for Skyrim SE?
ENB is a graphic mod that enhances post processing effects to make games look better graphically. An ENB can add effects like realistic sun rays, much more realistic water reflections even make lighting effects work on the rain and snow also make textures appear more 3d looking and more.

It’s kind of hard to describe ENB but you can go look at them on Nexus Mods and see for yourself in the screenshots. They make a BIG difference to how your game looks but also require some half decent hardware to run so if your pc is not at least an entry level gaming pc I would suggest not getting an ENB.
Also ENB mods need to be installed manually video linked below will show you how its not very hard to do.

Here is two screenshots of my game one with ENB off the other with it turned on.

ENB off

ENB on


Minimum pc specs to run this modlist with the ENB would be around: 16gb ram - intel i5 cpu - nvidia gtx 1070. That or higher will run it no worries at all. Lower specs then this I would recommend using the mods without the ENB and you should be fine. Also storage needed for the entire modlist is approx 50gb.

You can still use all of the mods without an ENB.

- - Re-Engaged ENB for Obsidian (ENB Weathers Supported) V9.2 - -

This is the ENB I an currently using on Skyrim just my personal choice as I think it looks great and not too overdone. Re-Engaged for Obsidian[www.nexusmods.com] you will need to take a few other steps first before you can install it watch the video below for a guide.
It honestly doesn't take long to do.

- - ENB Install Guide Video - -

I am using the exact same ENB mod in this video now. I find Re-Engaged Obsidian to be far superior to any other ENB you really should use this with the Obsidian weather mod it is below in my modlist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k_Pa3eZT6M

IMPORTANT please read and view example pics below: the mod lists below are in no particular order nor do you need to download them in any kind of order if using the Vortex Mod Manager just make sure you read the *Bold text like this* (in my mod list) and when Vortex gives you a notification that any mod has a conflict with another go to that notification click the "more" tab to then choose how they load by clicking the small drop down menus and load AFTER or BEFORE as I have.

Example of when file conflicts happen:




Don't Forget:
After selecting how to load the mods hit SAVE then vortex will give you a notification that your mods need to be re-deployed click DEPLOY and it's done.

- - *Some mods will overwrite other mods* - -

This is because some mods cover some parts of the game that others don't and it's best to just use all of them together but let the best ones load AFTER other mods for the best look when this happens Vortex will give you a notification there are file conflicts and you will have to chose what mods load BEFORE and what mods load AFTER, the mods that load AFTER will be the ones that you see in game this mostly is only the case for texture mods.
Not to worry I will tell you what mods need to load AFTER (or before) as I list them below :)


These are mods that are either essential for certain mods in my lists to work, or mods I think improve overall gameplay experience.

• Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch[www.nexusmods.com] a must have mod that fixes ALOT of bugs in the vanilla game.
  
  
• SkyUI[www.nexusmods.com] a much better/faster user interface for the pc a must have in my opinion.
  
  
• SkyHUD[www.nexusmods.com] gives a much better looking hud. Dynamically shows you the parts of the hud you need to see while you play and hides them when you don't. I use the oblivion preset. *Will not conflict with anything in my modlist.*
  
  
• Obsidian Weathers and Seasons[www.nexusmods.com] this can be any weather mod of your choice, this mod is especially important if you are using an ENB that supports weathers as I do.
  
  
• Enhanced Lights and FX[www.nexusmods.com] adds even more great lighting FX and nice smokey effects for candles and torches/fires/inns. *If this mod conflicts with Obsidian Weathers and Seasons (or your own weather mod) let this mod load AFTER it.*
  
  
• ENB Helper SE[www.nexusmods.com] this one is actually pretty important because it allows your ENB to work properly with your weather mod adding unique lighting effects for different weathers they provide if said ENB supports weathers. You can also open this helper up in-game by hitting shift+enter to mess around with your ENBs settings, possibly freeing up some FPS if you need to. Just remember to hit save then apply :)
  
  
• RaceMenu[www.nexusmods.com] a much better character creation menu for editing your player-characters you can create your own presets and save them and much much more.
  
  
• Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim[www.nexusmods.com] gives Skyrim a completely overhauled perk system much better then vanilla in my opinion.
  
  
• Apocalypse - Magic of Skyrim[www.nexusmods.com] adds many new spells that are just awesome this mod is a must have if your going to be casting spells.
  
  
• Alternate Start - Live Another Life - SSE[www.nexusmods.com] lets you start a new game in many different ways so you don't always have to be the dragonborn if you don't want to.

Now for the textures these are going to be the biggest mods in file size, but they will get rid of the old, outdated and ugly looking vanilla Skyrim textures with something much more eye pleasing.

• Noble Skyrim Mod HD-2K[www.nexusmods.com] this one is a great texture replacement mod for Skyrim makes just about everything look good there are however better ones in this list that will overwrite this but its still needed for other textures that said better ones miss or don't include. *Basically any other texture/mesh mods should load AFTER this and put this mod BEFORE.*
  
  
• Static Mesh Improvement Mod - SMIM[www.nexusmods.com] this mod makes almost everything look better improves meshs/textures/3d models. *This one will load AFTER the Noble Skyrim Mod HD-2K mod. Noble Skyrim Mod HD-2K needs to load BEFORE this*
  
  
• Book Covers Skyrim[www.nexusmods.com] makes every book in the game look unique and simply a lot better. *If this has conflicts with any other mod make this mod load AFTER everything.*
  
  
• Blended Roads[www.nexusmods.com] makes roads alot less ugly in many places also this mod is required if you use all my texture pack mods. *This one will load BEFORE anything so let all other mods load AFTER this.*
  
  
• JS Purses and Septims SE[www.nexusmods.com] makes septims (gold) look way better also very nice looking coin purses. *If any conflicts always load this AFTER everything.*
  
  
• Realistic Water Two SE[www.nexusmods.com] does exactly as it says and makes your water look more realistic. *If any conflicts this loads BEFORE all others.*
  
  
• Skyrim 2020 Parallax by Pfuscher[www.nexusmods.com] this here is the BIG one. This texture pack gives you really good looking... well almost everything. ONLY download this one if you think your machine can handle it (needs a decent amount of VRAM). *IMPORTANT This mod WILL conflict and needs to be loaded AFTER every other mod in this list. In FILES[www.nexusmods.com] on that mods page you will need:
  
• 1 Skyrim 2020 6.6
  
• 2 Skyrim 2020 6.6.3 - let this load AFTER 1 Skyrim 2020 6.6
  
• Blended Roads Retexture - let this load AFTER anything from the original blended roads mod
  I also use the mountain textures from here if you want them make sure they load after everything.
  Let anything in this load AFTER all other texture mods.*
  
  
• JS Shrines of the Divines SE[www.nexusmods.com] the best shrine texture/mesh replacer mod out there and most texture pack mods don't include shrines so this gets what they miss, the shrines look SO detailed :) *Won't conflict with anything in my mod lists.*
  
  
• Enhanced Blood Textures SE[www.nexusmods.com] this adds MUCH better looking blood effects/textures npcs will spurt blood from heavy attacks better looking wounds on npcs etc.

This part of the modlist will focus on the details of the player-characters, npcs and creatures.

• Caliente's Beautiful Bodies Enhancer -CBBE-[www.nexusmods.com] this mod is great for improving the look of female characters, when installing I chose the curvy preset.
  
  
• BodySlide and Outfit Studio[www.nexusmods.com] you will need this it works with Caliente's Beautiful Bodies Enhancer -CBBE- to make all the armors and outfits work and look great with that mod and others.
  
  
• Total Character Makeover[www.nexusmods.com] I mainly use this mod for the much better looking male characters/npcs in my game. *Other mods will overwrite this (load AFTER) so make sure this one loads BEFORE any other mods in the list, it will still keep the better looking males.*
  
  
• KS Hairdos SSE[www.nexusmods.com] simply hugely improved hair for males and female needed for some mods in this list. *If this conflicts it loads AFTER everything.*
  
  
• Botox for Skyrim[www.nexusmods.com] this replaces ALL the female npcs in the game with much better looking versions. Yes even bandits, raiders all the bad girls and good ones. *If any conflicts let this load AFTER any others. It will conflict with Total Character Makeover make sure this mod load AFTER that.*
  
  
• Demoniac- High Quality Glossy Female Body Texture - SE[www.nexusmods.com] Warning: this page contains NSFW content. I use this one for better looking female skin using the 4k "sweaty" version on the installer. *Let this load AFTER everything else and make sure it loads AFTER Botox for Skyrim SE.*
  
  
• RS Children Overhaul[www.nexusmods.com] this mod will make all npc children look miles better then vanilla, also improves childrens clothing. *Should not have any conflicts with my mods.*
  
  
• Bellyaches HD Dragon Replacer Pack (SE)[www.nexusmods.com] simply much better looking dragons and who wouldn't want that?
  
  
• Mammoth/Giant/Hagraven/Wispmother/Draugr/Falmer/Dragon Priest/Troll/Sabrecat 4k[www.nexusmods.com] the link will take you to the mammoth 4k textures but links to all the others are there if you scroll down the page improves these creatures alot. *Allow any of these to load AFTER everything if they conflict.*
  
  
• Amazing Follower Tweaks SE[www.nexusmods.com] allows you to do a lot more with your followers (freely change their worn gear make them do animations and much more) also allows you to have up to 5 followers at one time if your into that. *This should not conflict with anything in my mod lists.*
  
  
• Immersive Citizens - AI Overhaul SE[www.nexusmods.com] this mod is great basically it increases players in-game immersion by greatly improving Artificial Intelligence (AI) of friendly NPCs (citizens) in order to make them act and react like true humans in relation to their environment or to an aggressor. *This should not conflict with anything in my mod lists.*
  
  
• Immersive Patrols SE[www.nexusmods.com] Immersive Patrols adds a reasonable amount of Stormcloak, Thalmor, Imperial and Dawnguard patrols to Skyrim and a few Skaal, Reaver and Riekling "patrols" to Solstheim. These patrols often cross paths with each other or the player creating new encounters or unexpected aid. It also includes small Civil War battles and some non-Khajiit Caravans. Works with Immersive Citizens - AI Overhaul SE to add even more encounters and immersion. *This should not conflict with anything in my mod lists.*
  
  
• Open Faced Guard Helmets - Special Edition[www.nexusmods.com] enables you to see the faces of guards with the full helmets on. *If conflicts load AFTER everything.*

Here I will list all of the mods I am currently using to add lots of new lore-friendly weapons and armor to the game and also improve on the existing vanilla ones.

• Immersive Weapons[www.nexusmods.com] gives Skyrim a much more diverse range of weapons all lore-friendly of course. Adds alot of new weapons all the npcs use them, you can find them in loot, does not replace the games vanilla weapons, it's a great weapon mod. *Because it's only adding new things it should not conflict with anything.*
  
  
• Immersive Armors[www.nexusmods.com] the same as immersive weapons but for armor adds a lot of variety to the armors in Skyrim, npcs will use it and it's added into loot great mod. *Because it's only adding new things it should not conflict with anything.*
  
  
• Cathedral - Armory[www.nexusmods.com] this mod is amazing it replaces all the vanilla armor AND weapons with MUCH better looking hi-rez textures its simply a must have. Basically all the armor and weapons keep the original vanilla look but are just a way better looking version of the original. *Let this mod load AFTER everything and you will need the CBBE BodySlide Patch located in the FILES[www.nexusmods.com] on that mod page.*
  
  If you are going to use the Immersive weapon and armor mods you won't be able to use any other mods that modify leveled lists (add the armor/weapons into games loot) unless they are compatible.

This part of my modlist will cover the flora of Skyrim, adding new things and making the old look much better.

• Skyrim Flora Overhaul SE[www.nexusmods.com] this one is optional as there are better ones and if you want to use them don't install this one. I only include it here because if you experience too much fps loss with the others this is still a great mod for grass, trees and plants.
  
  
• Skyrim 3D Landscapes[www.nexusmods.com] this mod adds some really nice new trees and shrub/bush plants to the game. *It's only adding new things so it should not conflict with anything, if it does load this BEFORE everything it conflicts with.*
  
  
• Verdant - A Skyrim Grass Plugin[www.nexusmods.com] Just about the best looking grass mod you can get in Skyrim. It can give you a bit of an FPS drop but it's definitely worth it. It provides a huge variety of grasses and adds alot of extra grasses as well. *If this mod has any conflicts load this AFTER everything.*
  
  
• Skyrim 3D Trees and Plants[www.nexusmods.com] best mod on Nexus for trees. This mod adds insanely detailed high-poly trees to the game not only replaces but also adds a lot more trees and small trees to make more realistic looking dense forests. It also replaces shrubs/bushes and ingredient plants with much higher quality models. It will likely give you an fps drop but this one is certainly worth it. I would recommend sticking with Flora Overhaul trees if you think your machine wouldn't handle this.
  *However if you want this mod simply remove/don't install Flora Overhaul and install this one, it will conflict with 2 of Skyrim 2020 mods textures they are landscape texture so just allow Skyrim 2020 to load AFTER those.* Just as a warning if you try this mod you will likely never want to play Skyrim without it again (yes it's that good).

You may find some of these mods handy, these are just some random other mods I use as my own personal preference.

• Open Cities Skyrim - SSE[www.nexusmods.com] this mod transfers all cities in the game to the exterior world just open the gate and walk on in, no more loading screens :)
  *Some mods will conflict and do strange things with this but most will have a patch to fix any problems.* (Compatibility patches in mods files on Nexus)
  
  
• Enderal Font for Skyrim SE[www.nexusmods.com] changes all the font in game. I think this font looks great in Skyrim. Looks great with SkyHud mod. Will not conflict with anything in my modlist.
  
  
• A Quality World Map[www.nexusmods.com] this mod provides a new set of highly-detailed 3D or paper world map textures, complete with roads! Also adds a detailed Solsteim map.
  
  
• Dawnguard Map Markers[www.nexusmods.com] places map markers in the Soul Cairn and enables fast travel while on that map to any marker you've discovered. So handy for that place.
  
  
• The Notice Board SE[www.nexusmods.com] this mod adds a bounty/notice board to all the inns in the game with a bunch of highly repeatable random quests you can do this gives you plenty more optional quests to do especially useful when you're starting a new game. If you ever run out of things to do this will keep you occupied for hours on end.
  
  
• Immersive Music[www.nexusmods.com] when you've played Skyrim as much as I have the original music gets tiresome this mod adds a ton (16 hours+) of really nice new music for every different area like dungeons, caves, cities and much more.
  
  
• TESG Loadscreen Replacer - SSE Port[www.nexusmods.com] the mod I use for loading screens give a nice "painting" kind of look and adds some different lore text on the screen.
  
  
• Instant Mining[www.nexusmods.com] do you hate that really long mining animation too? Then this mod is for you instantly mine all ore out of a node saves a lot of time just my personal preference.
  
  
• Simple Actions[www.nexusmods.com] allows your player-character to do some simple animations such as sitting and laying down.

Massive thank you to ALL authors of these mods, you do amazing work.
If you found this guide helpful please rate it up and give 5 stars it will help others to find it :)

As with any screenshots the image quality in game is always MUCH better then this.

These are mods that I will continue to add to my list, as I play the game to cover even more parts of Skyrim to make it look even better.
All of these mods will be compatible with the others in my list, some texture replacers will conflict but as these will only be ones that make things look better they will all load AFTER anything else.

• SkyHaven HD by CleverCharff[www.nexusmods.com] as I was going through the main quest I noticed Sky Haven Temple looked a lot lower quality then everything else (it was using vanilla Skyrim textures) this makes it fit in with everything else, looks great.
  
  
• Skyrim Textures Redone - High Hrothgar[www.nexusmods.com] basically same as Sky Haven. This mod makes Hrothgar look much higher quality so it fits in.
  
  
• JS Dragon Claws SE[www.nexusmods.com] one thing you will notice (especially if you play main quests) is that the dragon claws look really bad this mod fixes that up. *Won't conflict with anything unless you had another mod that replaced the dragon claws as they were still original textures.*
  
  
• CC's Enhanced Ore Veins SSE Edition[www.nexusmods.com] much better looking ore veins also does the ores themselves and the ingots.
  
  
• Rustic Windows[www.nexusmods.com] this mod replaces all the windows of Skyrim with much higher quality textures then any of my previous mods, they look great and fit right in with the other textures. *Load this AFTER all others.*
  
  
• JK's Skyrim - All in one[www.nexusmods.com] enhances all of the towns, villages and cities in Skyrim, makes them even more lore-friendly then the vanilla game. The best part is it's a tiny download (about 10mb) but adds so much goodness. *If you have issues with this mod there are compatibility patches for a lot of mods in the files list. Specifically for my modlist anyway, you will need the patch for Open cities and 3D trees and if you notice any "floating" lanterns and such the No lights patch.*
  
  
• Ruins Puzzle Pillar Retexture[www.nexusmods.com] those pillars with the snake, bird and whale/fish letting you down? Here's an upgrade. You're welcome.
  
  
• Skyrim 3D Rocks[www.nexusmods.com] replaces textures of small - medium size rocks around Skyrim with a much better looking version, these really do look great. *Load AFTER all others.*
  
  
• Rudy HQ - Nordic Ruins SE[www.nexusmods.com] now with this one I got only a few from the files in here, namely "4K textures for the ruins chests urns and a wood" way better looking large urns and wood textures in nordic ruins, "Pots addon SE version" and "Ruin Levers addon SE version" to replace those damn ugly nordic ruin levers. *Load any of these AFTER all others.*
  
  
• Rudy HQ - Miscellaneous SE[www.nexusmods.com] this one replaces all the textures of goblets, plates, pitchers, (silverware) and the glazed pottery just a whole bunch of things like that also this mod provides some very nice looking candles. *Just load AFTER everything.*
  
  
• Tamrielic Textures SE 1 - Landscapes[www.nexusmods.com] the story with this one is I can't stand SOME of the landscape textures in the Skyrim 2020 texture mod they just look really repetitive (mostly some ice textures and dirt roads) and this mod fixes that with some really natural looking ground textures and dirt road textures.. oh and the mountain textures look way better in this mod in my opinion :) *Just load AFTER everything.*
  
  
• SD's Horn Candles SE[www.nexusmods.com] these horn candle textures look insanely awesome very highly detailed, a great mod. *Load AFTER.*
  
  
• Better than Nando's[www.nexusmods.com] lets face it the vanilla chickens look terrible, this mod gives you some much nicer looking chooks and more realistic sized eggs with a custom nest texture.
  
  
• The Notice Board Redefined[www.nexusmods.com] adds beautiful new textures to the mod The Notice Board (required).