Low effort modding for outcast/vampire roleplay possible?

[Psykrom]

I invested hundreds of hours in the past on modding Skyrim and fried one of my gpu's in the process (enb and ini tweaks overkill), now I can play it on 4k but want to make a comeback with the least modding effort possible.

Back then I never achieved a stable loadout, ran around 100-150 mods (randomized enemy spawns (monster skins), mechanic, crafting, skill tree, sneaking and combat overhauls, tons of character and weapon cosmetic changes, kill cam mod, hideouts, you know the temptations.

I remember cleaning up the game and mods with the creation tool, optimizing my load order with some third party program, nexus modmanager and so forth. It took a bunch of effort but pretty much amounted to little, even when I felt getting better at it with time.
I forgot most of my knowledge and do not know about the changes that have been made.
I want to focus on just playing without stretching the limits of my hardware, time or the game engine. I quit playing Skyrim prior the special edition was released.

I care for game stability and immersion above all else (not top tier graphics but things like sounds, lighting and shadows). I want improved playability as a vampire with improved magic, some buffs and unarmed or spellsword combat.
Improved enemy AI is welcome with more frequent enemy encounters (if possible without causing instability), crafting and character development with challenges on the way are also interesting, but ultimatively the goal is to evolve into some sort of elder vampire, by consuming a great amount of victims.

I also enjoy survival elements, if not too tedious (not a fan of freezing or bleeding out).
I want to play some sort of outcast, trying to stay away from cities as much as possible, enjoy wild and dungeon exploration, looting, crafting and combat with a proper hideout to return with my spoils.

I don't like to do errands or quests for common folk, but enjoy anything that has to do with evil deeds, stealing, killing bandits or monsters. I enjoy gathering materials for crafting, the thrill of sneaking into a city at night to steal them. while avoiding or silently killing the guards, or exploring dark dungeons guarded by hideous creatures or the undead protecting treasures.

I am somewhat interested in the DLC's but not so much about replaying the main campaign. Don't like dragons pooping on my roleplay.

Is it possible to achieve such an experience without investing silly amounts of time?
How and where do I start? Any advice or help would be much appreciated.
Thanks for your consideration and time :)

[ladyeternity]

Experience has shown me that the quality of outcome from any endeavor one undergoes is directly related to the amount of careful consideration and time one is willing to invest in said endeavor.

[fauxpas]

Nope, either mod or don't, but doing a half assed job will just end with frustration and tears.

[dvdbillen]

Use a mod manager and LOOT. I use MO2, and currently have 131 active mods with no particular issues. it is a little weird to figure out, but nothing on a par with manual modding.

[Psykrom]

引用自 dvdbillen：

Use a mod manager and LOOT. I use MO2, and currently have 131 active mods with no particular issues. it is a little weird to figure out, but nothing on a par with manual modding.

I remember some stuff from the past still holding true, skyui, skse, sseedit, going through this right now, then I will grab MO2 and start getting into it further. Fortunately I was working with LOOT in the past, so things shouldn't be as hard as I had feared at first.

As people said, it will take some time but fortunately I found a guideline on the nexus:
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/38334

I think this will help me getting started with a stable game to take modding it from there.
If you have any doubts or tipps, feel free to share them. :)

[Psykrom]

Thanks for the recommendations.
I have one question though, is wyrebash still a thing? I don't remember when I had to create a bashed patch, but I remember doing so in the past, lol!

[dvdbillen]

引用自 Psykrom：

Thanks for the recommendations.
I have one question though, is wyrebash still a thing? I don't remember when I had to create a bashed patch, but I remember doing so in the past, lol!

it's not really a thing for Skyrim SE anymore.

[Tiberius]

First and foremost, download MO2 and use it to handle your mods. Then download and install USSEP. For the mod list:

Lightweight camping mod
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/2370

The best vampire overhaul mod
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/3928

Combat tweak. Download the realistic damage mod for more exciting fights
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/2824

Vampire-theme player housing
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/14762

Cosmetic upgrade for vampires
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/15910

Lighting overhaul. Use the hardcore option
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/2424

And finally, my fave enb (for darker nights). Dont forget to download the corresponding weather
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/21543


Regarding "needs" mod, it usually has some conflicts with vampire mods. I myself use a very light needs addon from CACO, but you may want to try vitality or vitality mode for your needs mod. Sunhelm is also a very nice needs mod, but im not sure if it'll work well with vampire mods

[dvdbillen]

引用自 Tiberius：

The best vampire overhaul mod
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/3928

I've only used Better Vampires and have had no problems with it. Why is this one better?

[Tiberius]

引用自 dvdbillen：

引用自 Tiberius：

The best vampire overhaul mod
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/3928

I've only used Better Vampires and have had no problems with it. Why is this one better?

A lot more spells and skills. Vampire also gets better progression/penalty.

[Psykrom]

Using mod organizer 2.0 right now. Let's say I have a mod, I install it, easy. But what if I have to use a compatibility patch for said mod, do I merge the files, or install each mod seperate? MO2 also wants to create sub folders for it and I don't know what the consequences are.

I see opinions drifting on this all over the place with no real feedback on how to do it right. Let's say I have better vampires 8.5, sacrosanct vampires and the compatibility patch to make both work together (as they use same scripts, I will use the core of better vampires, with the spells from sacrosanct vampires only).

My thought was to merge the compatibility patch with better vampires, but is this correct?
Do I install each mod on its own without merging or overwriting anything?

What about texture updates. Let's say I install a texture pack mod, then I have a seperate file to change only a few textures (for static mesh improvement or something). Do I merge them in this case?

Any guides on this?

[dvdbillen]

引用自 Psykrom：

Using mod organizer 2.0 right now. Let's say I have a mod, I install it, easy. But what if I have to use a compatibility patch for said mod, do I merge the files, or install each mod seperate? MO2 also wants to create sub folders for it and I don't know what the consequences are.

I see opinions drifting on this all over the place with no real feedback on how to do it right. Let's say I have better vampires 8.5, sacrosanct vampires and the compatibility patch to make both work together (as they use same scripts, I will use the core of better vampires, with the spells from sacrosanct vampires only).

My thought was to merge the compatibility patch with better vampires, but is this correct?
Do I install each mod on its own without merging or overwriting anything?

What about texture updates. Let's say I install a texture pack mod, then I have a seperate file to change only a few textures (for static mesh improvement or something). Do I merge them in this case?

Any guides on this?

I am afraid your goals have left the realm of "low effort".

[Vlad 254]

Welcome back to Skyrim modding Pyskrom,

Whatever you do start slow and continue taking your time every step of the way. Also modding is reading, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. And I'm not simply talking about reading on the basics of modding because although you need to do that once you start to get the hang of that you will always have to read each mod page for things like installation instructions, requirements, compatibilities, etc.

You'll of course need a Mod manager and I highly recommend Vortex or MO2.

I personally use Vortex for the past 2 1/2 years since it's Beta. First of all Vortex comes with Loot built right into it out of the box. Vortex will also install SKSE64 for you in it's entirety (usually a manual install), yep from A-z and that includes going out and getting the correct version for Skyrim SE. I usually run around 600 or so mods and Vortex handles it all flawlessly.

Many say the learning curve is less with Vortex than MO2 but I'm not sure MO2 is any harder to learn. Important thing is get one you're comfortable with. Both are outstanding mod managers so you can't go wrong with either one.

Of course there is no Workshop for SSE and no mods on Steam except for recently they added Enderal which is dlc size. Do not get SKSE64 from Steam and it's highly recommended to get your mods from Nexusmods.com as you may already know. Heck you may already know much of what I'm saying.

I did put together a modding guide for SSE based on my personal experience modding and from helping in these forums and understanding what users ask most often.

So I'll post it here for you to use as you may (or not). The Pinned Topics are also a great resource.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1986067552

there are many of us ready to answer questions.

[Tiberius]

引用自 Psykrom：

Using mod organizer 2.0 right now. Let's say I have a mod, I install it, easy. But what if I have to use a compatibility patch for said mod, do I merge the files, or install each mod seperate? MO2 also wants to create sub folders for it and I don't know what the consequences are.

I see opinions drifting on this all over the place with no real feedback on how to do it right. Let's say I have better vampires 8.5, sacrosanct vampires and the compatibility patch to make both work together (as they use same scripts, I will use the core of better vampires, with the spells from sacrosanct vampires only).

My thought was to merge the compatibility patch with better vampires, but is this correct?
Do I install each mod on its own without merging or overwriting anything?

What about texture updates. Let's say I install a texture pack mod, then I have a seperate file to change only a few textures (for static mesh improvement or something). Do I merge them in this case?

Any guides on this?

Using multiple mods that cover the same area of gameplay usually leads to mod conflict. It's a pita to solve, especially if it's a gameplay overhaul

Just pick either sacrosanct or better vampire

[Psykrom]

Thanks for your replies, I think figured some more things out. Realized how awesome LOOT now is, already found a few conflicts and corrected mistakes before trying to play.

[Uncle64]

引用自 dvdbillen：

引用自 Psykrom：

Thanks for the recommendations.
I have one question though, is wyrebash still a thing? I don't remember when I had to create a bashed patch, but I remember doing so in the past, lol!

it's not really a thing for Skyrim SE anymore.

When did that happen?