Highly Regarded, But Overrated Mods

[Fear2288]

Just for fun and some inevitable debate/disagreement.

What are some mods you feel are a bit overrated or just plain bad despite the fact that they have high endorsement/download numbers on Nexus and/or get spoken highly of and why?

My first two contributions:

1. Helgen Reborn

The idea of this mod is nice - a questline that results in Helgen being rebuilt into a functioning fortress town again - but the experience isn’t all that enjoyable.

A storyline that just isn’t very exciting or engaging, an unnecessarily long section where you have entirely generic guards accompany you on six different dungeon clearing missions, a lack of new unique assets (weapons, armor, clothing, spells, items, etc), some poorly designed new locations, a few unimaginatively named areas (“Fight Cave”, “Personal Tower”), and the realization that another town between Riverwood and Falkreath just isn’t as helpful as it seems…

It was just a “meh” experience that was interesting to go through once but I have no desire or need to keep this one in my mod list.


2. Taunt Your Enemies and that other one where you can call to NPCs at a distance.

I like jayserpa, and I like nearly all of his mods for the minor immersion or gameplay additions they introduce. He’s one of those mod makers that when he releases something - it rockets to the Hot Files page and gets endorsed and downloaded into oblivion within hours.

But I just couldn’t see the point in these two.

TYE seems like it would be useful but it’s kind of not. The benefit it gives you is minimal, it uses your power/shout slot, and the reality is that you don’t even need another boost like it to dispatch most enemies. The time it takes you to switch to the taunt, activate it, and then switch back to your preferred power/shout could just be better used to strike your enemy.

The name of the second mod escapes me but it allows you to get an NPCs attention from afar by calling out to them.

I can’t think of one instance where this feature would be truly beneficial or have a practical purpose in this game other than to make an NPC walking away from you stop so you can catch up to them to speak, or coaxing an enemy to come running at you.

[peppermint hollows]

A lot of combat mods. I've tried a lot of times to overhaul the combat with various mods but was never that happy with the result. Either it's too janky or it just doesn't feel...right? I dunno. It feels like a lot of them try to turn the game into dark souls, but I've realized I don't actually want Dark Souls combat when I'm trying to play an RPG where the character's skill should be what determines their strength and not my actual skill as a player. If I want Dark Souls, I'll just play Dark Souls since I have all of them in my steam library.

It also just makes the game feel like a cheap Dark Souls knockoff you'd see in a YouTube ad or something to me. I guess the best way I can summarise how I feel about most combat mods is that it feels like putting lipstick on a pig.

[Liquid Inc]

Originally posted by Fear2288:

I can’t think of one instance where this feature would be truly beneficial or have a practical purpose in this game other than to make an NPC walking away from you stop so you can catch up to them to speak, or coaxing an enemy to come running at you.

Well, maybe use it to get them to follow you around a nearby corner, and then kill them out of sight of the guards?

I admit i've never used this mod, but i know the one you mean. TYE I tried. I tied the taunt key to my left D-pad, but i seldom used it....

[BEEN]

USSEP

[Fear2288]

Originally posted by BEEN:

USSEP

Going right for the “sacred lamb” huh? Some self-imposed “community leaders” here just collectively let out a REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Haha

But you’re not wrong.

The rise of other skilled and successful mod makers who tackle the game’s bugs and issues in alternative ways over the years has - in my opinion - lessened the need for the Unofficial Patch.

On top of this, the truth that Arthmoor and crew made various changes and alterations to things that WEREN’T actual bugs and issues based on their subjective desires doesn’t sit well with some people.

And I gotta admit that I’ve always resented the Unofficial Patch for claiming to fix the game’s major technical issues and flaws…but never fixed one of the most common, game breaking ones: the inability to report in after a Civil War capture mission - thus making the CW questline impossible to finish.


Here’s a “controversial” one:

Pulcharmsolis’ various armor sets.

Now, let me be clear: the QUALITY of the armors are fantastic, and their designs are creative and unique. In no way, shape, or form am I questioning or disparaging Pulcharmsolis in regards to his artistic abilities.

But these armors don’t fit at all into the game IMO and they look absolutely silly in it.

Yes, they are “lore-friendly”, but Pulcharmsolis is going off of the Michael Kirkbride/Morrowind era aesthetic…which TES largely left behind starting from Oblivion onwards.

In a game whose visual design mostly leans heavily into a more medieval-fantasy aesthetic, the goofy and alien looking Kirkbride designs just don’t look right. It gets the same reaction out of me as seeing modern clothing or anime-inspired weapons/armor in this game.

I know there’s a healthy population of players who would rather TES went back to that aesthetic and they’re the ones eating up Pulcharmsolis’ content, but I’d honestly like to see him put that kind of artistic skill towards creating armors that actually fit into Skyrim’s aesthetic.

[PL@YER]

I'm probably the only person who thought the Forgotten City was just ok and not a greatest of all time mod

will add the full game release fixes a lot of the narrative issues I had with the mod and improved it greatly

[Coffee]

alternate start live another life

its old, dumb and there are a ton better alternate start mods.

In AS, its considered no matter what start you do...gotta rush off to helgen and get the scripts rolling otherwise the game breaks. So every single start really ends up exactly the same

Dumb mod

[Freeman]

Never did like Inigo.

A combination of unfunny ''jokes'' and fourth-wall breaking lines that destroys any immersion you potentially had. Never got far into his little storyline before I ditched him, so maybe people like him for said storyline, but as a character? Can't stand him.

[Liquid Inc]

Originally posted by Espresso:

alternate start live another life

its old, dumb and there are a ton better alternate start mods.

In AS, its considered no matter what start you do...gotta rush off to helgen and get the scripts rolling otherwise the game breaks.

Huh?

In all the years i've used ASLAL, it's never broken Helgen if i didn't do it straight away...

I even started the MQ at level 60 (With .5xp overall modifier, and i had already defeated Harkon by this point) without issue....
Granted i never stayed the course, because i get bored after the Thalmor Embassy, but it worked as i would have expected it to.

[Fear2288]

@Espresso

I’ve used AS for years and have always appreciated the little bit of roleplay opportunity it gives you.

But I 100% see your point and agree.

You always end up going to Helgen and starting the MQ before long, or you accidentally “activate” it by choosing the wrong “got work/rumors?” Innkeeper dialogue or by getting too close to Helgen.

I also think some of the starts aren’t very well done.

I chose the Necromancer one once and found myself in the middle of Blackreach - at level 1, with hardly anything, surrounded by Falmer, Chaurus, and Dwemer automatons.

I got 10 feet before I was one-shotted by a Falmer poison arrow.

Any suggestions for better, more worthwhile alternate start mods?


@ Freeman

Never tried it, Khajiit annoy me endlessly and those who love Khajiit annoy me even more.

I felt like you do about Inigo in regards to Vilja though.

The audio quality is crap, and while I don’t have an issue with Vilja’s accent, the way she speaks and the moments of broken English got on my nerves.

I also didn’t find her first few quests all that interesting or well made.




Here’s another based on what I have heard rather than personal experience: Open Cities.

The mod that makes Whiterun, Windhelm, Riften, Solitude, and Markarth a part of the world map instead of being separate world spaces you need to transition into via load door.

The concept sounds great, but I’ve heard that it’s very taxing on performance, increases instability (more crashes), has limited compatibility, and leads to various issues like the AI getting wonky, creatures spawning inside the cities, and NPCs getting killed off quite easily/often.

[-={LG}=-]

Originally posted by Fear2288:

the truth that Arthmoor and crew made various changes and alterations to things that WEREN’T actual bugs and issues based on their subjective desires doesn’t sit well with some people.

Bingo. Back in the very beginning when we were all still playing Oldrim I had to start archiving all the little mods that fixed actual bugs that I was using because that gang started muscling everyone whose patch was included in USSEP to withdraw their own patch from Nexus. So you'd have no choice but to play their personalized idea of what Skyrim "should" be if you wanted legitimate bugfixes.

And then they started telling you to buy all the DLC too, or screw you.

Got into a few passionate debates with them back then, pretty sure it was with Arthmoor himself but can't be certain anymore. Getting old sucks, timelines get all mixed up ... twenty years ago seems like yesterday, yesterday seems like ancient history. Whoever it was even lost their cool once replying to me and got banned.

I can't comment on your actual topic, because I don't even know what the popular mods are. I never paid attention, I just used what I thought was cool and I like everything I settled on. It's all just beautification and QOL mods anyway, nothing that changed the game or added to it.

[Ffabbia]

Originally posted by Lily:

alternate start live another life

its old, dumb and there are a ton better alternate start mods.

In AS, its considered no matter what start you do...gotta rush off to helgen and get the scripts rolling otherwise the game breaks. So every single start really ends up exactly the same

Dumb mod

What?????

Sheesh, this is like someone casually dismissing Jimi Hendrix as 'an inept, incompetent musician who has clearly never bothered to learn his instrument.'

Live Another Life is one of the best things ever to come out of the Skyrim modding scene and I'd never want to play without it. I've never 'rushed off to Helgen' in my entire life, ,and the game has never 'broke.' I've done plenty of entire runs from one to 80 where I've gone nowhere near Helgen, never become Dragonborn, and never encountered a dragon in the game.

[Ffabbia]

My vote goes to the new version of Convenient Horses. The original for Oldrim was awesome, but the reworked version for the LE is missing many of the features that made the original such a useful mod. In this version your horse can't be used to store stuiff, it will, stay at your side forever if you use fast travel, it cannot be sent back to the stable..

[Ihateeverybody]

Originally posted by Fear2288:

Originally posted by BEEN:

USSEP

Going right for the “sacred lamb” huh? Some self-imposed “community leaders” here just collectively let out a REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Haha

But you’re not wrong.

The rise of other skilled and successful mod makers who tackle the game’s bugs and issues in alternative ways over the years has - in my opinion - lessened the need for the Unofficial Patch.

On top of this, the truth that Arthmoor and crew made various changes and alterations to things that WEREN’T actual bugs and issues based on their subjective desires doesn’t sit well with some people.

And I gotta admit that I’ve always resented the Unofficial Patch for claiming to fix the game’s major technical issues and flaws…but never fixed one of the most common, game breaking ones: the inability to report in after a Civil War capture mission - thus making the CW questline impossible to finish.


Here’s a “controversial” one:

Pulcharmsolis’ various armor sets.

Now, let me be clear: the QUALITY of the armors are fantastic, and their designs are ....

I know there’s a healthy population of players who would rather TES went back to that aesthetic and they’re the ones eating up Pulcharmsolis’ content, but I’d honestly like to see him put that kind of artistic skill towards creating armors that actually fit into Skyrim’s aesthetic.

I mean people like Nordwar already have that covered don't they? I wouldn't say we are losing anything. Rather some people are gaining something.

Being Connected to both High Rock, Morrowind and Hammerfell means you should see a good mix.

This is some of that Arguing that they OP said they wanted.

[Ihateeverybody]

Originally posted by Ffabbia:

My vote goes to the new version of Convenient Horses. The original for Oldrim was awesome, but the reworked version for the LE is missing many of the features that made the original such a useful mod. In this version your horse can't be used to store stuiff, it will, stay at your side forever if you use fast travel, it cannot be sent back to the stable..

Eh? Have you done the quest (or paid the 500 to skip)? I certainly store stuff on mine. and usually set it to stay and just use the whistle to keep it nearby.

Note I am still on 1.5.97 so have no idea about its current state post 1.6

Edit: You can also set its home at any time though I agree an option to dismiss it back there might be useful. Just a quick question, do you think you might have a mod conflict keeping you from seeing those options?

[Ihateeverybody]

Originally posted by Ffabbia:

Originally posted by Lily:

alternate start live another life

its old, dumb and there are a ton better alternate start mods.

In AS, its considered no matter what start you do...gotta rush off to helgen and get the scripts rolling otherwise the game breaks. So every single start really ends up exactly the same

Dumb mod

What?????

Sheesh, this is like someone casually dismissing Jimi Hendrix as 'an inept, incompetent musician who has clearly never bothered to learn his instrument.'

Live Another Life is one of the best things ever to come out of the Skyrim modding scene and I'd never want to play without it. I've never 'rushed off to Helgen' in my entire life, ,and the game has never 'broke.' I've done plenty of entire runs from one to 80 where I've gone nowhere near Helgen, never become Dragonborn, and never encountered a dragon in the game.

Have to agree with Ffabbia . Played Thousands of hours in many playthroughs without issue or Helgen. Not saying there CAN"T be issues but that would depend on other mods or game stability.