Next Gen Graphics for Skyrim LE 2024

Welcome to my Guide to the best graphics for Skyrim Legendary Edition in 2024!

Since I've been asked a lot about the mods I use for my Screenshots and Artworks, I decided to create this guide(/mod list) in which I list the in my opinion best visual mods for Skyrim. This is not a full mod list but rather the basis I use for almost all of my Screenshots.

In order to achieve the best-looking result while keeping the game stable, I heavily recommend installing the mods step-by-step in the given order and running LOOT[www.nexusmods.com] afterwards. The listed ENBs are just some examples for the huge variety of great ENBs out there - just choose whichever you like most.

As many have requested, I have now also created a full mod list for Next Gen Graphics in Skyrim SE. Feel free to check it out!

If you enjoy this guide, please make sure to endorse and leave a comment!

Static Mesh Improvement Mod - SMIM

SMIM is a massive project to greatly improve the appearance of countless 3D models in Skyrim and therefore makes Skyrim architecture, clutter, furniture, landscaping, and general visual quality much nicer: SMIM [www.nexusmods.com]

Skyrim HD - 2K Textures

Skyrim HD is providing HD textures for Skyrim, ranging from
1K resolution in Lite Version up to some 8K textures in the Full Version. It replaces over 600 textures and normal maps
all over the world of Skyrim and accumulated man-hours that go well into four-digit figures: Skyrim HD [www.nexusmods.com]

Noble Skyrim HD - 2K

Noble Skyrim is a texture overhaul of all of Skyrim's architecture as well as many other things to match Noble Skyrim's architecture and theme: Noble Skyrim [www.nexusmods.com]

Ruins Clutter Improved

Ruins Clutter Improved started as a retexturing project, with the main goal to improve some of the ugliest objects in the dungeons of Skyrim. It improves the visual experience of catacombs and ruins by adding more detail to common clutter objects like pots, sconces, candles, doors and many other ingame materials: Ruins Clutter Improved [www.nexusmods.com]

Realistic Water Two

This mod adds new water surface textures in an attempt to imitate the fluid motion of water. Lake, pond, river and ocean water are now visually and aurally distinct from each other. Various water effects have also been modified: Realistic Water Two [www.nexusmods.com]

Skyrim Flora Overhaul

Skyrim Flora Overhaul is a WIP mod project dedicated to overhauling the Skyrim landscape with more varied and better looking flora: Skyrim Flora Overhaul [www.nexusmods.com]

Enhanced Lights and FX

Enhanced Lights and FX has the goal to create a more dramatic and realistic mood to the Skyrim lights by adding lights to all light sources and removing any light without a source, as well as the addition many more effects like smoke, volumic lights, driples, etc. I made some friendly redesigns as needed too, and some redesigns for more dramatic looking: ELFX [www.nexusmods.com]

4K Parallax Skyrim by Pfuscher

This mod provides 4K parallax textures for Skyrim as well as meshes to activate the parallax effect: Download[www.nexusmods.com]

Majestic Mountains

This mod completely reworks mountain textures and lighting to have a very natural geological look: Download[www.nexusmods.com]

Real Roads for Skyrim

Real Roads for Skyrim aims to bring life to the dull roads by using 3D meshes. It covers all road meshes in all variations including the shiny Dwemer roads: Download[www.nexusmods.com]

Rustic Clothing

High resolution rustic clothing texture overhaul. Available in several resolution options: Download[www.nexusmods.com]

aMidianBorn Book of Silence

This project aims to provide high quality replacements for Skyrim textures, equipment, architecture and dungeons: aMidianBorn Book of Silence [www.nexusmods.com]

Rustic Soulgems

This mod provides high resolution textures and modified meshes for soulgems: Download[www.nexusmods.com]

Rudy HQ - More Lights for ENB

The Rudy HQ - More Lights for ENB mods are a series adding light sources to various animals, plants and objects:

• Torchbugs and Moths[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Deathbells and Nirnroots[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Bthardamz[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Soul Gems[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• Chaurus Eggs and Sacs[www.nexusmods.com]

Verdant

This mod aims to improve Skyrim's grass by adding a greater variety of different grass types and more grass density: Verdant [www.nexusmods.com]
Please make sure to add following lines to your Skyrim.ini settings under [GRASS]:
iMaxGrassTypesPerTexure=15
iMinGrassSize=70 (This is my personal setting, but for even more groundcover go as low as 60 for lots of grass density or as high as 100 for extra performance)

Vivid Landscapes - Rocking Stones and Mountains Parallax

This mod adds parallax-depth to most rocks and mountains so that they will come out much more vivid and "3D": Vivid Landscapes [www.nexusmods.com]

Ultimate HD Fire Effects

This mod improves the fire textures of Skyrim: Ultimate HD Fire Effects [www.nexusmods.com]

Enhanced Blood Textures

This mod aims to improve blood textures and offers features such as killmove animation spasms, blood drops when
low health, damage based blood amount, blood pools, and green blood for spiders and oil for machines: Enhanced Blood Textures [www.nexusmods.com]

K ENB 2021

K ENB 2021 pushes the limits of what an ENB can deliver and just recently got a major renewal:
K ENB 2021[www.nexusmods.com]

T.A.Z Visual Overhaul

T.A.Z Visual Overhaul provides a completely new weathersystem combined with a refined ENB preset to produce realistic and lore friendly visuals with a cinematic touch: T.A.Z Visual Overhaul [www.nexusmods.com]

Credits

All credits for the pictures used in this mod list go to the respective modders linked aside. Credits for all the videos go to the great youtuber Hodilton who is still uploading regular content for Skyrim, so please feel free to check him out, too!

[timbra]

I really love what Nolvus offers for SE/AE, but there's nothing NG-related for LE so far, I'm looking for more skse plugins that makes game better and UI overhauls as well ^.^

[Leon S. Kennedy]

Mostly a guide in regards to the "right" order, and which mods are best I guess, especially as a solid foundation that won't get into conflict with a lot of other mods. But yeah, it certainly isn't a guide on how to install mods in the first place since you can find a surplus of such already ^^

[timbra]

It's not a guide, it's just a modlist

[Dutch Boy]

Oldrim is best 'rim

[PenguinColada]

Great guide. Glad to see these mods still work for folks nowadays. Saving for a future play - I always come home to Skyrim.

[Leon S. Kennedy]

It's a screenshot taken in Riverwood buddy ^^

[The Overlord]

*makes guide for skyrim*

*uses a screenshot from the ds2 trailer as the main picture for the guide*

[Leon S. Kennedy]

I'm glad this still proves to be useful for so many people nowadays. Thanks a lot for the kind words!

[Adventurion]

Thank you so much for making this guide.
There are still some of us who play Skyrim in LE in 2021. Your modlist is succinct and effective. A solid foundation for more advanced mod builds. Solid work!

[Leon S. Kennedy]

Sorry for the late answer. Purely graphical mods should never cause such problems as far as I'm concerned. Unless the respective mod author would accidentally edit any additional files but I have never encountered something like that myself, so you shouldn't be worried there ^^