The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is as much a platform for mods as it is an open-world RPG about dumb dragons and dumber Vikings. Over the last seven years, an inconceivable number of them have been crafted, and while plenty have fallen by the wayside, others have become essential mainstays in anyone’s mod library.

With Skyrim Special Edition, things got a bit more complicated. Some old mods worked, some exploded, some sort of worked and then exploded – they were unpredictable. Now, though, things have calmed down. Most of the big mods have been ported over, and there are alternatives in those cases where they haven’t been. Regardless of which version you have, your biggest obstacle will be setting aside the time required to sift through them all. That’s where this list comes in.

Best Skyrim mods

Almost every mod here is available for both versions of Skyrim, with some exceptions where I’ve dug out something pretty similar. Check at the bottom of each entry for the Special Edition link. If you’ve got any suggestions, be sure to pop them in the comments. Since it’s a dense list, we’ve split it up into sections that you can search below.