It can be difficult to choose from hundreds of graphics mods for Skyrim on the Nexus website.
Skyrim is a decade-old game, and while it has endured the test of time to this day, there are plenty of ways to modernize it and update its graphics to make it closer to a triple-A title of the new decade.
The aesthetics of a game go beyond high-quality textures, which is why I decided to compile a list of mods that cover everything from minor tweaks to weather changes to high-res textures and even character makeovers.
Static Mesh Improvement Mod
Let’s start with the basics. Static Mesh Improvement Mod, or SMIM for short, is a simple mod that adds better textures and high-quality 3D models to make the world of Skyrim seem much closer to real life.
SMIM provides a complete overhaul on the appearance of low polygon static meshes comprising architectural elements and clutter, furniture, and landscape objects. These improvements in the visuals are small yet noticeable changes that make the game look ten times better.
You’ll find that most graphics mods are compatible with this mod or are downright created with SMIM in mind. So, do yourself a favor and download SMIM so you can improve those PS3/Xbox 360 era meshes into something closer to high definition.
Noble Skyrim Mod HD-2K
Noble Skyrim Mod HD-2K is a complete retexture of vanilla Skyrim with its own unique yet subtle art style. This mod not only sets out to make Skyrim look more detailed but also adds a bit more flavor to it.
The changes made to the world of Skyrim can be seen especially in the architecture, giving it a more noble and crisper-looking aesthetic. Other changes can also be seen in landscapes, clutter, small objects, dungeons, ships, and many more textures.
This Skyrim graphics mod comes in two versions: Standard and Performance. The standard edition is good if you have more than 4 GBs of VRAM. However, if you’re planning to install more texture mods to suit your preferences, then consider using the Performance Pack.
Enhanced Lights and FX
Enhanced Lights and FX is a graphics mod for Skyrim that sets a realistic tone and dramatic visuals to the world of Elder Scrolls V solely with the use of lights. It enhances the already existing sources of light in vanilla Skyrim and removes lights that don’t have a source.
Enhanced Lights and FX also adds many effects like smoke and volumic lights with a few tweaks in design to get a more consistent look overall.
There are also a few different versions of this mod to suit your needs. The Enhancer version darkens interiors and dungeons and adds dynamic lighting templates depending on the place’s lighting. Hardcore has everything Enhancer does, as well as making any uninhabited places extremely dark.
There are also enhancements to the exteriors with new shaders and added shadows to bodies over the water. Weathers adds tweaks to weathers’ lighting and colors with bright sunny days, denser rains, and darker nights.
Vivid Weathers
Vivid Weathers is an in-depth graphics mod for Skyrim that completely overhauls the visuals of the weather. It revamps the colors and adds stunning effects to achieve a more crisp and immersive world.
With over five hundred custom effects that revamp snowstorms, blizzards, fogs, rains, and more, Vivid Weather is a complete weather overhaul that also adds color grading and lighting effects for a more cohesive ambiance.
Skyrim Flora Overhaul SE
Skyrim Flora Overhaul SE is a must-have for those who enjoy the views of Skyrim while strolling between quests. The added grasses look greener and thicker.
The forests now look lush and full of life. There are new tree models much taller than the vanilla ones.
Even the sections of the map covered in snow have a notorious improvement with this mod installed. The snowy trees now look more detailed and even burdened by snow.
While this mod can be a bit heavy on performance depending on the area, it is totally worth it for those who don’t mind a few less FPS for added beauty to the landscape.
Realistic Water Two
Realistic Water Two accomplishes what it sets out to do. As the name implies, Realistic Water Two is the second and updated version of a Skyrim graphics mod that upgrades the game’s water physics and visuals.
The new water flow system behaves more fluidly, adding turns and changes of speed according to the environment. All bodies of water see an improvement.
Lakes, creeks, marshes, ponds, rivers, and ocean water all have different characteristics that set them apart from each other. The colors, the movement, retextures, and the effects make the world feel more immersive and alive.
Majestic Mountains
If you thought that the landscapes of vanilla Skyrim were breathtaking, wait until you try Majestic Mountains.
The creator of this graphics mod reworked the mountain textures of Skyrim to make them look more detailed and closer to reality while also giving them a geologic look.
The addition of moss and transitions from snow-colored meshes with the rest also helped create more engaging visuals of the mountains. This mod has three different versions that differ in the types of lighting, texture setups, and weather.
Total Character Makeover
Total Character Makeover is an extreme makeover of NPCs of all races. It has detailed and performance-friendly textures, with a more natural look for the people of Skyrim, along with improved textures of skin, teeth, eyebrows, beards, eyes, and makeups such as warpaint, freckles, scars, and dirt.
If you play Skyrim mostly in first-person, you may notice that characters in Skyrim don’t look very polished. The faces and demeanors of the NPCs often don’t look too natural compared to their environment.
This is understandable considering that Bethesda made Skyrim with the mentality of providing a fun, addictive gameplay loop along with a huge immersive world rather than a real life simulator. But it’s easy to see how they cut corners in places like the clunky combat or, you know, plastic-looking character models.
Thankfully, the creator of this mod has a cure for our sore eyes with amazing and natural looking people in the world of the Elder Scrolls V.
Skyland
Skyland is a landscape texture overhaul that consists of handcrafted materials generated from photogrammetry textures. This offers incredibly realistic, accurate high-resolution textures.
Skyland covers various areas such as Whiterun, The Rift, The Reach, mountains, caves, bridges, roads, and more. The landscapes look as beautiful as ever to the point where you’ll feel like playing a current-gen title.
This graphics mod for Skyrim is often used in conjunction with other mods to significantly improve the visuals of the game, and it does a great job at it.
eVx ENB
It’s unbelievable how much a change of lighting and colors can do for the overall look of a game.
eVx ENB allows you to experience the full potential of ENB, where you can plug in and play with the predetermined set, or you can create your very own and unique presets accompanied by your choice of weather/lighting mod.
This ENB mod has highly customizable AGCC, PCC, and latest ENB effects. It also comes with several tools in the settings that can affect the lens, character skins, eyes, underwater effects, weather system, and Day, Night, and Interiors sets. Not only that, but it also has a variety of post-fx effects such as vignette, film grain, glitch fx, and more, along with the sublime (and totally optional) depth of field.
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