It’s been a whole decade since the original release of Skyrim, but the game continues to be one of the most popular open-world RPGs you can get on PC and consoles. A few years back, Bethesda updated it with the release of the Special Edition, and even now, the modding scene is still alive and well. Here are our picks for the best Skyrim mods from December 2020.
Grass and Ground Overhaul SE
If you’ve poked around Nexus Mods, you know just how many grass mod packs there are to choose from. There are several small ones that you can download, and you can use them simultaneously to make your game look even prettier.
The Grass and Ground Overhaul SE, however, is meant to be a convenient all-in-one solution for newer mod users who don’t necessarily want to go hunting for all the texture mods they need just to make the grass look nicer.
You can opt to only use the new grass textures, or use the full version of the mod that redoes both the grass and ground textures.
Weapons of the Genshin SSE
Best Skyrim Mods of December 2020
If you’ve been playing a ton of Genshin Impact lately and wanted some of that anime goodness in your Skyrim playthrough, this mod is for you.
Weapons of the Genshin SSE lets you make use of several beautiful glowing bows and swords in Skyrim itself. The only downside is that at the moment, the arrows in-game don’t particularly fit with the aesthetic of the bows. If you just want to carry a cool bow around, though, this is worth a look.
Valkyrja Estate SE Rebuilt
Valkyrja Estate is a new player home located near Solitude that you can claim for yourself, and it’s the perfect mod for anyone who wants a large estate that they can all their own, rather than a small house within a city.
The estate itself is located directly opposite Solitude Mill, and it features quite a lot of amenities. There’s the large main house itself, a museum, a quarters for followers, crafting area, garden, and a greenhouse. You can also download a Mine add-on, which allows you to mine ore veins regularly.
Akaviri Martial Arts
Best Skyrim Mods of December 2020
Skyrim features a predominantly western style of combat, with straight swords, greatswords, axes, and maces. However, if you wanted to add a bit of oriental or east Asian flair to your playthrough, the Akaviri Martial Arts mod is definitely worth a look.
This mod essentially changes the one-handed attack animations to make your character look more natural when attacking with a weapon like a katana. Do note that the mod also applies the animation changes to regular weapons like maces and axes, so the animations will probably look a bit weird if you have those equipped.
Project Clarity – Clutter Textures Redone
Another great textures mod that got dropped in December 2020, Project Clarity – Clutter Textures Redone is a good mod to check out if you’re still fairly new to the modding scene and want to get started on improving the visual fidelity of Skyrim.
The modder does state that these are still textures from Bethesda themselves, but they’ve been upscaled and touched-up to lend more clarity to the various items and clutter you’ll find in the open-world. The mod can be used as a base for other models and textures mods that you download, but even if you don’t, this is still a great one to check out for your game.
Alternative for Skyrim vanilla version
Jazbay by Mari
Best Skyrim Mods of December 2020
This is a very small texture mod, but it’s still a great one to use in tandem with other flora and fauna texture mods you might already have installed. Mari’s mod adds more flair and detail to the Jazbay of Skyrim, along with some of its other plants, flowers, and grass.
You can go for either the green or red variant; we’ve found that the green can be pretty indistinguishable, so we’d recommend going with the red instead, which is much more noticeable but still blends in well with the environment.
Skyrim vanilla version download
Armor of Intrigue SE
The Armor of Intrigue SE mod is a good one to check out for anyone who’s ever felt unsatisfied with the cosmetic offerings in base Skyrim. This mod adds an armor set for male characters that’s extremely detailed and very modifiable, which is probably the most impressive part.
It can be used as light or heavy armor, and it comes with various pouches, satchels, and tools for additional utility. The only downside is that it’s made specifically for male character models.
Northbourne NPCs of Winterhold
Best Skyrim Mods of December 2020
There are plenty of mods that already help to overhaul the facial expressions and looks of the Skyrim NPCs, including the very nice-looking and useful Total Character Makeover mod. However, if you want the NPCs to look even nicer and more detailed, there are other mods for that.
The Northbourne NPCs of Winterhold mod, for instance, is a high-poly face replacer/redesign for all of the named NPCs in Winterhold, excluding children and beast races. It might only cover a small region of the game, but the differences are certainly noticeable.
High Poly NPC Overhaul
Speaking of high poly face replacers, the High Poly NPC Overhaul mod is probably a good one to use together with the Northbourne NPCs mod as well. This one covers a majority of the vanilla Skyrim NPCs, though do check the requirements page as you’ll need to download a few resources in order to get this mod working properly.
This mod truly does make the NPCs look even more detailed than ever before, and can help to add an extra layer of immersion to your game.
JK’s The Winking Skeever
Best Skyrim Mods of December 2020
JK has released quite a few overhaul mods for various locations in Skyrim, and The Winking Skeever inn overhaul is the latest one. This is an enhanced overhaul of the inn in Solitude, making it look much prettier in general.
Not only that, the inn itself has been expanded to include a new third floor with a small player home that you can purchase from the innkeeper. The inn features new rooms on the second floor, along with various new decorations.
And those are our picks for the best Skyrim mods to download from December 2020. Be sure to search for Twinfinite for more tips and information on the game.
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