Why does Skyrim have such a huge modding community?

[Flinsberg]

I'm new to the game (currently under 20hrs total) and I noticed that most people playing Skyrim are really into modding. I even heard some people go as far as to say that Skyrim isn't worth playing unless you download mods, which is a bit off-putting to hear as a newcomer.

Is there a reason for why everyone is obsessed with mods here?

[Morgan Fun Gamer]

The Elder Scrolls community has loved modding since I think Morrowind but I don't think people modded daggerfall and arena much but I do know that the modding community for daggerfall is growing and its a big community now and people say that the game is great for modding and also the developers help modders like adding steam workshop and main menu mods option and releasing mod helping tools.

[mikk011]

-Mod shopping and rebuilding this nifty game world to suit my tastes is fun.
Also:
-Bethesda's games are popular and people replay them a lot. After a while, players nevertheless want to fix irritating problems or freshen up overly-familiar dialog, graphics, or game mechanics.
-Bethesda gave proper support to modding by releasing the design tools for the game, and the Creation Kits are also relatively easy to learn.
-If you stick with mods created with the official tools, Bethesda games are trivially easy to mod. Even the third-party stuff with advanced scripting or third-party utilities and frameworks isn't too hard to understand as long as you read instructions carefully and go slow.

[withered]

Originally posted by Flinsberg:

I'm new to the game (currently under 20hrs total) and I noticed that most people playing Skyrim are really into modding. I even heard some people go as far as to say that Skyrim isn't worth playing unless you download mods, which is a bit off-putting to hear as a newcomer.

Is there a reason for why everyone is obsessed with mods here?

Bethesdas spokesman - Fantastic - made a comment about that: https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxrW2CgMeUw7EyQxUd7oLs0GwAg-wNkClC?feature=shared

[Flinsberg]

Originally posted by withered:

Bethesdas spokesman - Fantastic - made a comment about that: https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxrW2CgMeUw7EyQxUd7oLs0GwAg-wNkClC?feature=shared

Skyrim is my first Bethesda game, so forgive me for not getting the reference xD

[Ffabbia]

The fact that the game is a modder's paradise does not mean that the vanilla, unmodded game is a bad game - far from it. Skyrim is a classic title that you can fully enjoy without installing a single mod.

People like to mod the game so much because it was released with a developer's toolkit, which means that people are able to create amazing new things for the game, or modify existing things in a manner that suits their tastes. This makes Skyrim extremely flexible - you can pretty much mould the game into whatever you wish.

Consequently the modding scene has greatly extended Skyrim's life, making it a very popular game even now, so many years after release.

[Outlander]

I think of it like Quake and Doom. Those games are still super active and popular today because of the custom mapping and modding community.

I just got into Skyrim, too. And it's completely playable without the mods. I added a few like one to make the inventory/UI system a little better and another one that fixed some bugs (unofficial patch) or something like that.

I agree that it can seem off putting, like "Am I going to have to hunt down stuff on the internet and install ♥♥♥♥ I don't understand to play this game?" but it's not the case. Install and play, it's an awesome game.

[Zero McDol]

I put 240 hours of playtime into this game before installing mods. Mods aren't needed, but definitely a great way to flesh out the world more, if you so wish.

[mikk011]

Originally posted by Zero McDol:

I put 240 hours of playtime into this game before installing mods. Mods aren't needed, but definitely a great way to flesh out the world more, if you so wish.

Everybody who uses mods got hooked by the base game first.

[Eat3n]

I think you’re asking the wrong question. Instead of “why does Skyrim have so many mods etc” you should be asking “why don’t other games have such communities?”

I don’t think Skyrim has anything special that sets it apart. It was a popular game, so people did mods, and that has helped to keep the game popular and introduce more people to the game…who then do their own mods.

[Skumboni]

OP for your first time playing mods are not important. The large selection of mods will help you later when you want to do a second or a third game. It is the mods that make this replayable and why it is still so popular.

[Terrorize Exercise]

What you consider "huge" is just a small pebble in the road compared to the true kingdom of modding that is classic doom.

[The Main Man]

For me, a lot of my mods are bug fixes and patches. Then some different animations, more armor sets, more weapon sets, some extra quests. Textures and enb. I think that everyone that has played skyrim, fell in love with the base game first. Me, like most others, that put thousands of hours in, just want to keep it fresh. It's like a blank canvas after you clear the game the first time.

[Zero McDol]

Originally posted by mikk011:

Originally posted by Zero McDol:

I put 240 hours of playtime into this game before installing mods. Mods aren't needed, but definitely a great way to flesh out the world more, if you so wish.

Everybody who uses mods got hooked by the base game first.

Indeed .

[secretlemur]

Vanilla Skyrim is indeed awesome. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
As a game that came out in 2011, the visuals fall behind a bit, but you get used to that.

I put in many many many hours before modding was realistically available. Did all the main quests, sides, DLC, etc.

But....after 200 or 400 hours or more....you still want to play skyrim....but you want the experience to change a little. Maybe you want the perks to be more aligned with your play style. Maybe you want sexier or less sexy armors. Maybe you want to adopt a whole herd of children. or get married somewhere other than the temple of Mara.

May you're a freak, like me, and want to collect EVERY THING EVER and put it all in a museum.

Or maybe you just want it to look better,

We all (as previously mentioned) got hooked on Vanilla first. We just don't want to give it up.

[Joe Mama's Ghost Stories (Dub)]

mods are fun. the base game is great, but theres room for improvement. niche/overlooked bugfixes, QoL features, expanding upon existing systems, chaos and ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ - whatever your heart desires. it also comes with the modding program so you can make your own mods and share them easily.

i do recommend going vanilla first time around, get the feel for the game as it was intended before you start tweaking, overhauling or totally destroying things.