SkyRE vs Requiem vs Perkus Maximus

[TakeThisL]

This playthrough will be my 1st on pc and ive palyed the ♥♥♥♥ out of it on the 360 before i became i swtiched to the master race and im makeing this a VERY VERY VERY hard playthrough for my self and i wanted to know what the best mod that overhauls the game in general and makes it harder but thats also fun.

[Nazenn]

Do yourself a favor and don't become one of those people who believes in the whole 'master race' thing as far as gaming hardware.

Now, onto your actual question ! :)

Firstly, modding you have to understand is not just click and play. Its more complicated and requires a lot of testing and a LOT of reading as you MUST read the ENTIRE description of every mod you want to install and at least one full page of comments and the stickied comments to check for any vital bugs or updated info. You also CANNOT safely uninstall mods from the middle of a playthrough, so whatever you start your character with is what you are stuck with.
You also have to set up your essential tools first, I would suggest using MO as your mod manager if youre going to be using overhauls. More on tools here : Guide : Modding Tools, Tips and Resources
You should also start off with your essential patch mods, including the Unofficial Skyrim Patches : Small list of little big mods for Skyrim (patch and tweak mods)
Also take some time and go and watch Gophers Beginners Guide to Modding Skyrim on youtube, which will give you some basic knowledge you need.
All the mods listed below have a somewhat complicated installation proceedure so don't be worried if its a bit overwhelming.

Now... onto the overhauls...
SkyRe, PerMa and Requiem, despite all being overhauls, all have very different goals and very different designs as far as what they try to accomplish. PerMa and SkyRe are the most similar, but they are by the same author so thats to be expected. I'll give you a very brief overview of them below, along with a couple of extra mods you can use with a couple of the options to improve the game as well.
All three of the major overhauls listed here have been covered extensively by the mod reviewer Brodual on youtube, so also check that out (PerMa was covered the least extensively, but still gives a pretty good look at what it adds)

Requiem:
If youre looking for difficulty in one pack, this is your overhaul. It not only changes around all of the perk trees and skill systems, as well as damage values etc. However, most of its difficulty comes from the fact that it delevels the world. This means that instead of all the areas being doable at level 1, because enemies are all very low level for the entire world (The highest level enemy when youre at level 1 in the world is 10, I think), the world now doesn't revolve around you.
This means that each area now stays the same as you play through the game. This also means you don't want to touch morthal unless youre level 30, and some areas need you to be even higher, before you even come close to matching the enemies. It also delevels loot and gear as well so what armor you find depends on the difficulty of the dungeon etc. This also applies to things like locks, traps, quest rewards etc.
Armor and Weapons have both had their effectiveness buffed, and enemies have had their skill buffed so its much easier and quicker to die if you arent paying attention in combat. Archers specifically can take you down quickly if youre not aware of them. They do actually use arrows now though, instead of it being unlimited, which is nice.
Speechcraft now also works on shouts, and magic requires not having armor for the most effectiveness, but magic grows in power very quickly as well, so its a balencing act there. Money is more scarce, crafting is significantly harder, coins and arrows have weight, and stamina now plays a much greater role in your agility.
Theres A LOT more that the mod touches on, you can find the manual on their nexus page if you want to read about it, but this is the start. This is also the least compatable mod, although fairly smooth installation wise.

SkyRe (Skyrim Redone):
I have never used SkyRe, but I have looked into it a lot and occasionally used one of its various modules so excuse me if I'm a little off on this info.
Similar to Requiem this is a total game overhaul, and while still much more challenging then the base game, not as hard as requiem. It is also modular though, so you can opt in or out of most of its features, while Requiem is a complete package and only configurable for a few things via its MCM.
SkyRe's main module and its core focus is the perks. It overhauls the entire perk system so that there no pointless perks that only buff damage or time reduction. All perks now have a use, a point, and actually give you some sort of skill. You will notice this most in the Light and Heavy Weaponry trees (formerly One and Two handed) where there is a skill branch for every type of weapon, and SkyRe adds in A LOT of new weapon types. I personally think that this looks a bit messy, but it does allow for a lot of specialisation. It also has modules for Races (very vanilla like skills), Standing stones, Combat (similar stamina requirements to Requiem), and also Enemy Scaling and Encounter Zones modules.
The last two don't TOTALLY delevel the world like Requiem does, but instead what it does is it buffs certain areas, so the minimum level for most areas is higher although not as high as requiem, but they also continue to scale with you once you get over that.
SkyRe is the second least compatable, but the most complicated installation wise.

PerMa (Perkus Maximus):
PerMa, as you might have guessed, is mostly focused on perks and related skills. While its not a complete overhaul like Requiem, and doesn't have the optional modules like SkyRe, what it does I personally think it does best and it is by far the most unique perk wise compared to the others.
Similarly to SkyRe, it overhauls the perks so that they are all useful and all actually have a reason to get them, however the perk trees are much more focused and refined then in SkyRe, and the trees a lot neater and a lot more interconnected as well.
PerMa also comes with a completely unique system of specialty perks. In each of the perk trees, there is a 'master' perk, of which you can only take ONE perk type. So ONE focus perk can be taken out of all the magic focused trees, ONE mastery perk can be taken across all the warrior trees, and ONE prodigy perk can be taken out of all the thief trees.
The mage and warrior specality perks require you to be a master in the skill you want before you can access it, while the thief ones can be accessed quickly and effectively make you a prodigy in that particular skill by auotmatically unlocking two other high level perks for you from that tree.
It also adds in the new weapon types, some new combat mechanics, shouts give speechcraft, and like SkyRe, theres a perk tree specifically for exploration and stuff which means you get skills for more of the world you see which is great.
While it doesnt have the Races etc that SkyRe does, it does come with an expansion module which adds in new enchantments which are all really unique, and it works REALLY well alongside the mods of another author, Enaisiain. He already has some really unique and really good mods for spells, races, standing stones etc that you can use alongside Perma.
This is the most compatable mod, and also has the simplest installation.

All three overhauls require a dynamic patcher to be run as well, and have patches hosted on other mod pages, so be aware of that

Other mods that can be run with these:
With PerMa and SkyRe, if you want a harder levelled world then there is a mod out called PERMAzones which does this.
MorrowLoot Ultimate also delevells the loot, but I dont think its compatable with PerMa or SkyRe yet.
Combat Evolved is a mod that makes all enemies a bit smarter and more intelligent that can be used with all three overhauls.
Enaisiains mods can be used with Perma, or with Skyre if you DONT use the appropriate modules that you are replacing,
Apollodowns mods also fill in gaps in not touching dragons etc that SkyRe and Perma dont, but I'm not sure if its compatable with Requiem

[SpeedFreak1972]

If you want to try PerMa I would suggest you'd look first in the bugs section of the page it's now at version 1.3 however it's still quite buggy ... had a few experiences myself. Every new version has new bugs.

As for the comparison itself Nazenn sums it up nicely. |My personal favorite is still SkyRe I tried Perma however the buggy nature bothers me till now also although the perks are more unique then SkyRe I don't like them that much (personal taste) As for Requiem I still have to try it.

[Nazenn]

I should mention as well, there are two other perk overhauls avalible S.P.E.R.G which is self contained and ACE Combat Skills combined with Empowered Magic.
However both of those set ups are closer to vanilla and not so difficulty enhancing but far more compatable. I personally use ACE and Empowered Magic for my general playthroughs and love it.

And yes, SpeedFreak brings up a good point, PerMa still can be a little buggy although its been getting progressively better as it goes along.

[Ilja]

About SkyRe. The one of main features not mentioned here is stagger. It is quite unique for SkyRe and constantly there. Spells cause it, weapons cause it and it goes both ways.

Getting bombarded by spells really hurts, because it is much harder to answer to attack. Your character is shaking and aim is off.

Personally I like this feature. It brings the landscape part of the combat, as it should. Standing there calm and aiming your spells\weapons, when enemy is roasting you with fire never made any sense to me. When spells or well aimed missiles hit, you won't be just standing there, but searching for a cover.

Stagger isn't even near 100% and only appears on direct hits and shockwaves, so it does not lock any characters, you or the enemy. But, it does make pain from being hit with weapons, spells or shockwaves part of the game.

If you want to add some extra spice to your enemies, add this to the soup. I am using it, with SkyRe and enemy modules.

Enemy AI OverHaul---Revenge Of the Enemies---No Scripts Version by MyEvergreenHometown
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/40491/?

https://youtu.be/6eOtn9Ur6YY

The video recommends older mod for water behavior. Try this instead. It is not locked to race, so you are more freely to mod your game.

NPC Smarter Water AI - Full Compatibility by John Jarvis
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/50902/?

[Nazenn]

Oh, yes, I knew I was forgetting something. Thanks Ilja.

[Sir Raum]

Originally posted by Nazenn:

MESSAGE REDUCED

How can I run SkyRe with Requiem?

[Delta 1038]

Originally posted by Räum:

Originally posted by Nazenn:

MESSAGE REDUCED

How can I run SkyRe with Requiem?

You can't.

[BraKev2511]

Originally posted by Delta 1038:

Originally posted by Räum:

How can I run SkyRe with Requiem?

You can't.

lel

[ayrtep]

Apart from a few nitpicks, I really like Requiem, and it's the reason I am here not in SkyrimSE.

Still I have not tried SkyRE or Perkus Maximus, so I can only say I preferred the look of Requiem on reading the Nexus entries and have not looked back. I am also not familiar with what the 'The master race' is so can't comment on that.

[Ozymandias]

Originally posted by BraKev2511:

lel

Is that all you had to say, your sole excuse for necro'ing this thread?
Then it's quiet pathetic, wouldn't you agree?