Is the unofficial patch worth it?

[Zombie Slayer]

I've had the game for a few months now but haven't really played that much. I'd like to start playing more, but should I install the unofficial patch first? I'm not interested in using any other mods right now, I just want to make sure I have a good experience with the vanilla game, and avoid various bugs and save bloat that I've been reading about.

AFAIK there are 2 main ways to get the mod, either through Bethesda.net or nexus. Which of these is better to use? I've also read that mods have to be loaded in a certain order, but this shouldn't be a problem if I'm only using one mod, right?

Finally, can I install the patch and continue my current playthrough as normal? I'm only level 2 and haven't really explored much.

[smr1957]

It is just about absolutely essential - and getting it from either site makes no difference (though as a general rule, it is usually better to get mods off of Nexus if you have a choice). The reason why the patch is necessary is explained in the following thread:

New Players : You must install the Unofficial Skyrim Patches by Nazenn - http://steamcommunity.com/app/72850/discussions/0/613956964579064476/

Although this was written for original Skyrim, the basic principles apply to SSE as well
If you refuse to install the patch, then there is little anyone can do to help, and further efforts to do so are pointless, as so many fixes are dependent upon it.

[Zsrai]

If you use the patch (and you should, there is almost no reason not to) AND if you want achievements, you'll need the achievement enabler through Nexus too. Those are the only two mods you need, and only if achievements matter to you.

[Zombie Slayer]

Thanks, I'll have a look at both of them. Will the unofficial patch prevent things like save bloat? Game is running perfectly at the moment but don't want it to become unplayable over time. Haven't had any issues yet but after reading about it I'm a bit worried.

[Sinsling]

Save bloat is going to eventually happen as your character discovers stuff and accumulates items. All of should really affect is your load times at this point. Data overflow would of been a bigger problem on the original due to 32bit limitations.

[Bomb Bloke]

Originally posted by Sinsling:

Originally posted by Zombieslayer115:

TWill the unofficial patch prevent things like save bloat?

Save bloat is going to eventually happen as your character discovers stuff and accumulates items.

Your save files will go up in size, true, but "save bloat" generally refers to instances where they increase unnecessarily - for example, because the game decides to respawn the special glowing cloud that appears around nirnroots over and over, eventually making them look like a supernova.

The unofficial patch fixes various causes of save bloat (such as the afforementioned nirnroot issue), but if other mods are installed in the future which happen to introduce new ones, it can't do a thing about that.

Originally posted by Sinsling:

Data overflow would of been a bigger problem on the original due to 32bit limitations.

The formIDs used to track these records are still 32bit. You seem to have the idea that compiling for a 64bit CPU architecture magically converts all the data types you're using - this isn't the case.

[DrNewcenstein]

The Unofficial Patches are certainly not essential, and anyone who refuses to offer help with bugs simply because you don't use the Unofficial Patches is a worthless and ignorant dooshbag.

I've played Skyrim since it was first released in 2011 without the Unofficial Patches, though I did try them for like 3 hours and removed them due to the author's audacity at removing the Restoration Loop which was not a game-breaking glitch and affected nothing else in the game.

Save Bloat is a self-inflicted condition; if you had it, you did something to earn it, like installing the game to your C:\ drive where Windows UAC and other "security controls" flipped out as the save file was updated.

[Zsrai]

Originally posted by DrNewcenstein:

The Unofficial Patches are certainly not essential, and anyone who refuses to offer help with bugs simply because you don't use the Unofficial Patches is a worthless and ignorant dooshbag.

If you have the power to do something to avoid those bugs, and actively ignore that option because you want to abuse glitches, then well... you're being worthless and ignorant and I'm not going to help you.

[Wirrling]

Is the unofficial patch still keeping the survival dlc from working? As some mods interfered with the CC Content i stoped using them alltogether.

[TehSpoopyKitteh]

Originally posted by Wirrling:

Is the unofficial patch still keeping the survival dlc from working? As some mods interfered with the CC Content i stoped using them alltogether.

To my knowledge, it really hasn't kept CC content from working.

[Scheneighnay]

I've never seen any of the glitches that it's there to fix, so I wouldn't call it essential.

[Bomb Bloke]

Originally posted by DrNewcenstein:

The Unofficial Patches are certainly not essential, and anyone who refuses to offer help with bugs simply because you don't use the Unofficial Patches is a worthless and ignorant dooshbag.

Nobody here owes anybody else support in the first place. To claim otherwise is just a tad arrogant.

Originally posted by DrNewcenstein:

I've played Skyrim since it was first released in 2011 without the Unofficial Patches, though I did try them for like 3 hours and removed them due to the author's audacity at removing the Restoration Loop which was not a game-breaking glitch and affected nothing else in the game.

Wouldn't've been faster and easier to do your cheating through the console instead?

Originally posted by DrNewcenstein:

Save Bloat is a self-inflicted condition; if you had it, you did something to earn it, like installing the game to your C:\ drive where Windows UAC and other "security controls" flipped out as the save file was updated.

You have no idea what you're talking about.

[DPMR]

Look I have been playing for a long time and the patch is an option. If you find that weird things are happening then think about it. But remmeber the patch has to been installed before you make a player not after.

I must be on player 200 by now. For Me I don't use it.

[MysticMalevolence]

Read through the bugs it fixes[afkmods.iguanadons.net] and decide for yourself if you want to use it.
Sure, there are a few things that arguably aren't bugs that it has tweaked, but those things normally have their own patches on the nexus as well.

[Ilja]

Originally posted by Bomb Bloke:

Originally posted by DrNewcenstein:

Save Bloat is a self-inflicted condition; if you had it, you did something to earn it, like installing the game to your C:\ drive where Windows UAC and other "security controls" flipped out as the save file was updated.

You have no idea what you're talking about.

Obviously. That has nothing to do with save bloat.

Save bloat is most often related to entires that are spawning (or respawning), but not cleaned in your game.

For example, some Companion quests in Skyrim are not cleaned. Every time you visit Whiterun - even if you wouldn't continue forward with Companion quest line - those entries will cause bloat. Vanilla game does not clean them properly.

This is what I mean, when I say that most problems in Skyrim are conditional. Most problems (like save bloat) are usually minor problems alone, but they pile up depending on your game style and quest choices. Being a member of Companions, practicing alchemy by picking Nirnroots and refusing quests from Vex in Thieves Guild will all pile up.

These are just examples. Don't hang on to them as "I don't do all those things." There are plenty of other problems, including script loops and missing alias checks, in vanilla game. Together they can cause a situation, where save files become unstable.

This is where USSEP comes in. Team has fixed scripts, so that entries are properly cleared and cleanup scripts run as they should. This is just among other things they have done, as seen from here:

Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch: Version History
https://afkmods.iguanadons.net/Unofficial%20Skyrim%20Special%20Edition%20Patch%20Version%20History.html

[GunMonk3y]

Hi. At the risk of a bit of a necro, I've tried a couple of times to use USSEP with SSE, using two different mod managers (seperately of course) and I don't seem to be able to use it without it causing sound glitches in places. Like I'm running through water where there is none. These disappear without the mod. It doesn't seem to be a known issue. I haven't experienced anything I'd call a game breaking bug without USSEP so far. I'm not much of a lore player and intend to play it pretty much like a farcry game - in this regard am I really going to suffer without USSEP at this point in time?