Easy Guide To Mod Skyrim With Amazing Graphics In 45 Minutes

Notably, Skyrim has been re-released again and this guide is perfect for the first time beginner modder in 2022 and 2023. This new release of Skyrim is something that a lot of people have been waiting for... a version with zero DRM because Skyrim is now on GOG! In my experience, Bethesda games are just better when you can install them anywhere you like without having to deal with a launcher. Whether you're just not a fan of Steam or you're an avid modder looking for more freedom, Skyrim being on GOG is probably what you've been waiting for.

I'm going to take you through modding Skyrim step-by-step with few cuts or skips, so you can follow along and do exactly what I do to get the exact same results quickly. Importantly, I'll take you through installing 10 mods that focus on graphics. I don't want to focus on gameplay changes at first as those get really subjective to your preferences and we're looking for a quick start, BUT if you want more mods after the 10, I'll show you some bonus favourites and there are more recommendations below here in the description.

Timecodes
0:00 | Important Information
2:14 | Installing Skyrim
8:51 | Installing Skyrim Anniversary Upgrade
10:43 | Downloading Mod Organizer 2
14:11 | Installing Mod Organizer 2
18:06 | Downloading Mods
31:52 | Setting up Mod Organizer 2
36:21 | Installing Mods
52:26 | Launching Skyrim
53:45 | How to use IMAGINATOR
55:26 | Check Description for More Mods!

*REQUIRED SOFTWARE*
A) Install #Skyrim

B) Launch Skyrim once to make sure everything does a first time setup

C) Install Mod Organizer 2

Program to open the MO2 patch zip file

Download #Mods
*MODELS*
1. Static Mesh Improvement Mod - SMIM

*WORLD*
2. Simply Bigger Trees

3. Simply Bigger Trees - Floating Tree Moss Fix

4. JK's Skyrim

5. Cathedral Weathers and Seasons

*TEXTURES*
6. Skyland AIO

7. Cathedral Landscapes

8. Embers XD

*LIGHTING*
9. Enhanced Lights and FX (ELFX)

10. Saturation Increase by Simtar123 (SSE)

-

*Extra Mods* to go BEYOND!
11. IMAGINATOR - Visual Control Device for Skyrim (personal preference is to boost saturation by 10)

12. Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch

13. SkyUI

14. Immersive Citizens

15. Interesting NPCs

16. Sounds of Skyrim

17. A Quality World Map

18. Wet and Cold

19. Alternate Start

20. An ENB

21. DynDOLOD

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[GamerZakh]

1. On some systems, you might crash when entering big cities. This is likely to do with JK's Skyrim, so what you can do is save before entering the city that's crashing and quit the game. Disable JK's Skyrim and load back into that save. Enter the city and make a new save. Quit, re-enable JK's Skyrim, and load into the city. Now the city should stop crashing when you enter or exit it.

[gaeladeen]

your modding guides are still the absolute best. so easy to follow and perfect for those of us who haven't done much modding before but want to play our old favorites! thanks so much for putting these out! :)

[CymaticEarth]

If one thing content creators have learned, it's that the viewers can't get enough of beautifully modded skyrim, love it 🙌🏾

[stephenjones]

I've been playing Skyrim with mods many times over, but these easy to follow guides are always very useful.

[mitchellcupp]

You have answered the questions nobody could and I learned more than the videos I’ve been watching for the past week with lots of frustration. 🤘🏼

[igavinwood]

I've subscribed as there are very few people that are so clear with the instructions. You have done a great job here in not assuming too much with the viewers knowledge. Nice pacing and clear language.

[charlesbaldrick]

me before watching your guide: "This is exactly what I need! Just a few mods so I can start my playthrough asap"
after finishing your guide: "hmmm.. Maybe I can add more" and then I end up braking the game

[MichaelLiu-fi]

I like this very detailed introduction on every single step of how to install the game, the anniversary upgrade and the Mod tools, excellent work!

[adityasahore]

I have been waiting for you to release this video for ages!!! Your Daggerfall Unity and 45 minute Morrowind modding videos were amazing. Thank you for this. Hope we get 45 minute guide for Oblivion too.

[JeanPaulB]

These modding Skyrim vids never get old... unlike the game... lol

[darrensoldan]

Excellent tutorial! Following was easy to follow and get the game modded up and running, thank you! I unzipped the files from the start which confused me when first downloading the mods and trying to add them to mod manager. Once they were zipped again it worked fine. Love to see more modding guides like this in the future going deeper into modding a bit.

Happy Holiday's Zakh

[serahjane]

wow ty, i spent hours on another youtube vid installing different mods with hardly any direction and i wrecked my game :/ finally someone that explains it saves me all the stress im a pc noob and have no clue what im doing so ty!! :)

[coachcharlie]

wow my first time ever modding skyrim and you made this very easy to follow. I understand that modding can look super confusing but having your guide was a godsend. thank you!

[abdulahmad]

Very easy to follow and game looks so great now. Just one thing to add for anyone using the GOG version. Make sure to download the older version of the Mod organizer version 2.4.4 as someone else has said. This is because the newest version of MO2 is not compatible with the GOG patch that is also downloaded in the files.

[FlippingNinjaFtw]

Don't forget to Endorse the mods after downloading to support the Mod Makers!

Great seeing modding tutorials like this that are easy to follow, I don't need it myself but even in the Skyrim community you'll find a lot of people who just play Vanilla and are completely unfamiliar with mods.

And 100% agree with trying to avoid launchers. I already have the game on steam since before but if you can I would try to avoid any extra launcher (even if it's Steam).

Imo the most important Skyrim "mod" is SKSE (Skyrim Script Extender) and I remember when Skyrim came out (it wasn't Special Edition at the time) I had both Skyrim and SKSE on Steam, but SKSE needs to run Skyrim but steam only allows one game to run at a time, so Steam made it impossible to use without some workarounds to trick steam.

[knumbchuck]

I cannot thank you enough for this video. It has helped me to learn how to mod for the first time using Skyrim, and in turn Starfield going forward. Your video is clear, concise and very easy to follow. Great content as ever! 😊

[carsonpriest]

Thank you so much i have recently been doing a playthrough with new weapons and graphic mods and its so fun. you made modding this game very easy😊

[Triads]

I did your 30 minute morrowind guide of modding and thanks to you i've finally been able to replay and enjoy it. I've got 90 hours so far but im ready to try some skyrim hopefully it's not as bad as i remember lol

[stewiegrffin]

Hey Zakh, please do more elder scrolls, particularly skyrim play throughs. Maybe with different character builds or mods etc. I don't have time to play them myself so much anymore, so I listen(and sometimes watch) youtube play throughs while I work. I have big Nostalgia for skyrim since I played it loads as a student, so just hearing the music and ambience of someone playing it is oddly relaxing. Even if you 100% the game, I'll likely watch all of them, likely multiple times. Especially during winter. :D

[alaskacpu]

Awesome ❤ The very best tutorial for Skyrim 🎉 my hats off to you.