Skyrim Alternate Start Live Another Life More Options For some people, this may be considered an unbalanced option since you get decked out in a full set of orcish armor and a nice big orcish battleaxe, but you're still level 1. There should be the imperial and the stormcloak you follow at the start of the game (suden memory loss -') in place of the bear. Each will ask you for a health potion as they are hurt. Choose the one you want to follow and give it to him. The cave will then collapse on the other (yeah, brutal) and the main quest should start. Live Another Life provides an alternative means to start the game for those who do not wish to go through the lengthy intro sequence at Helgen. You will be given the opportunity to choose your race and then choose a new life for your character to lead.

Now that Skyrim has been out for what feels like ages (and re-released dozens upon dozens of times), I think it’s time for some of us to up the difficulty of the game a bit.

Cause let’s face it: Skyrim’s combat feels dated, NPCs aren’t smart at all, and even animals seem a tad dumb.

If you’re like me and looking to push the limits of difficulty in your next run, then you’re going to love this list. I’ve collected some amazing mods that make Skyrim feel way harder, if you set them up right.

Not only that, but these mods also make the game feel even more realistic too. This is arguably the best list of mods to ramp up difficulty in Skyrim. Great to keep you busy if you can’t wait for Elder Scrolls VI to release!

10. Combat of Skyrim

It’s not really possible to turn Skyrim into Dark Souls.

But when it comes to making the combat more challenging and skill-based, this is the mod you’ll want.

Timed blocks, better AI, much more powerful attacks, and a higher price to pay for missing a hit.

Combat of Skyrim (also known as Smilodon) will make combat the newest of the most challenging features in the game.

It truly makes the game feel much more like a different title from the same franchise, albeit with the same storyline.

A Skyrim remake without actually being a remake, if you will.

9. Custom Difficulty UI

If you truly want to make the game feel more difficult, and no other mod offers what you’re after, this is the one you’ll want to try.

It allows you to tweak all damage inputs in the game and set them to whichever number you feel.

Impossibly hard, or dumb easy. Your choice.

This thing allows you to turn the game into an actual nightmare. I honestly thought I had already mastered Skyrim until I installed this mod.

Never have I felt so wrong and humiliated in my life. I strongly advise not to put the sliders to the max; holy hell.

8. High Level Enemies

Looking to kill more people while you’re in the higher levels of the game?

Of course, but maybe you simply feel there isn’t much of a challenge in doing so…

Well this mod adds a staggering number of NPCs to the game (over 800 in total).

Each NPC is leveled and makes the game feel more varied, while also making it far more challenging – especially if your character is over level 50 and you’re looking for a new challenge in some areas of the game.

7. Skytest – Realistic Animals and Predators

Tired of all animals in the game feeling the same?

Are you done with wolves behaving like deer?

Then download this mod. It changes the AI of all animals, so they actually act and move like their real-life counterparts (to those that actually have them, of course).

Even fantasy animals will behave in a much more realistic way with this mod installed.

I fully suggest giving it a go if you’ve been fighting animals since the game released – you’ll truly feel the difference.

6. Ordinator – Perks of Skyrim

Even though this one isn’t a difficulty mod per se, it does add dozens of new perks.

And it changes the way the skill trees work, which makes it much more challenging to choose where to spend your skill points.

It also makes the game feel newer, which is something I’m always going to recommend after so many years of playing it.

5. Morrowloot Ultimate

Well this one is quite a different mod to the ones I’ve been reviewing…

But given that it completely changes the way the game works, I’m adding it to my list.

It basically removes the “leveled” system of all enemies, and makes it way more challenging to fight certain enemies from the start of the game.

An amazing mod that makes your game an even more challenging experience – even if you’re starting over and you already know what to do.

4. Rebalanced Encounter Zones and Leveled Actors

This mod is basically a better version of Morrowloot.

It turns areas of the game into a weird hybrid that combines Morrowind with Skyrim.

So there will be a ton of areas that you won’t be able to overcome in the first levels of the game.

It makes Skyrim much more difficult. And makes every single one of your choices count.

Start the wrong quest at the wrong time and you’ll be dead meat in a couple seconds.

Save often, please. You’ll find out why.

3. Mortal Enemies

Mortal Enemies makes the game feel more realistic by removing the weird aimbot that ranged enemies seem to have.

But it also makes all NPC movement feel much more natural, a big plus.

You’ll have to get used to the new mechanics when you install this mod, but it’s a fantastic one to try.

2. Immersive Patrols

Skyrim is at war.

So it only makes sense for patrols to be more frequent than they are in the base game.

With this mod, you’ll see many more patrols that will make the game far more challenging. Not too challenging, maybe just the right amount.

It works with all of the DLCs, too!

1. Alternate Start – Live Another Life

Even though this mod could make the game feel easier, it’s also one that could turn your new game into hell on Earth.

Alternate Start gives you the ability to start as something other than a prisoner, be it a wealthy merchant, or a loser who just arrived to the land of Skyrim in search for a better life.

What will it be?

Well, that’s the challenge!

These mods make an already great game even better.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition became one of first games to support mods on console when it released on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in 2016. Ever since then, the game's dedicated community has created countless mods that alter, improve, or completely overhaul the base Skyrim experience in amazing ways, as also seen with the best Fallout 4 mods. Mod support is uncommon among the best Xbox One games today, which makes it crucial to experience the best Skyrim has to offer.

Due to the sheer number of mods available, though, it can be hard to figure out which mods are the best. We've compiled this extensive list of top-notch options, whether you want to make Skyrim run better, look better, or add new gameplay systems.

The game that keeps giving

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition

Fus-ro-dah!

Skyrim: Special Edition is the current-gen version of the legendary 2011 classic, featuring a more stable engine and some awesome visual enhancements like god rays and dynamic depth of field.

Note: You'll need to a make a Bethesda account to access mods, which you can do from within the game on your Xbox. Also, keep in mind that achievements are disabled while using mods. Lastly, check mod descriptions and follow the instructions on where to put each mod in your load order if they're there.

Quick menu

• Performance mods
• Graphics mods
• Gameplay mods
• Quest mods

Performance mods

These mods are designed to make Skyrim run smoother and with more stability overall, either by tweaking some graphics down or by fixing troublesome bugs. These mods will be helpful to Xbox One users in particular, as it's the weakest of the Xbox One consoles. It's important to note, though, that the bugfix mod in this section is something everyone should download.

Unofficial Skyrim: Special Edition Patch

This incredible mod squashes countless bugs that are present in vanilla Skyrim to this day. The Unofficial Skyrim: Special Edition Patch fixes everything from engine problems to issues with quest scripting, and everything between, too. It's highly recommended that you install this mod before any other, as it will provide you with the most stable and bug-free version of Skyrim available as a foundation.

FPS Boost

FPS Boost will considerably improve your framerate by reducing the resolution size of snow, rain, and leaf effects in-game. Since these effects are so small, most people won't even notice the quality reduction, too. Overall, this is an excellent mod if you want to boost your performance without sacrificing the game's visual appeal.

Disable God Rays

Disable God Rays does exactly what it sounds like: it removes the volumetric god rays that Bethesda added into the Special Edition version of Skyrim. This will give you a decent performance increase, although it will mean that sunlight in the environment won't be as pretty.

No Radial Blur

If you're looking for something that improves your performance in combat, No Radial Blur will help. It disables the radial blur effect that happens when you get hit by enemies or perform a killcam finishing move. This can save you valuable frames, especially in larger combat situations where you're getting hit frequently.

Graphics mods

These mods are geared towards folks who want to make their Skyrim look as modern as possible. Though graphics mods options aren't nearly as advanced as what you can get on PC, you can still make Skyrim look incredible on Xbox One. Be wary, however, that some of these mods may negatively impact your performance. If you have an Xbox One X (or are planning to own an Xbox Series X) this will be much less of a problem due to the stronger hardware.

Natural and Atmospheric Tamriel

Natural and Atmospheric Tamriel (NAT) is a weather, lighting, and effects overhaul, all in one complete package. You may not be able to use the advanced ENB lighting and post-processing mods you can find on PC on your console, what NAT provides is the next best thing. If you want one mod that will instantly make your game look better without any performance hits whatsoever, this is the mod for you.

Skyland

The all-in-one version of the Skyland mod massively improves the texture quality of nearly everything in Skyrim. From the game's vast earthy landscapes to the wood-and-stone structures that make up each city and nearly everything between, Skyland will make all of it look phenomenal.

Static Mesh Improvement Mod

The Static Mesh Improvement Mod overhauls the look of what Skyland does not, such as things like furniture, food items, and other miscellaneous objects. As a result, this mod's impact is mostly felt in interior spaces, although it covers plenty of outdoor objects as well.

Veydosbrom

For Xbox One users, Veydosbrom is the best overall grass mod since it adds beautiful, dense grass to Skyrim without hitting performance too hard. This is a great mod to pick up if you want your Skyrim to feel more lush. Make sure to pair it with Landscape Fixes for Grass Mods.

Skyrim Flora Overhaul (Trees Only)

The trees only version of Skyrim Flora Overhaul pairs excellently with Veydosbrom, as it significantly pretties up Skyrim's trees. After all, it would look weird for the grass to be incredibly detailed but the trees to look vanilla.

Realistic Water Two

The Realistic Water Two mod completely revamps Skyrim's water, making it look much more realistic thanks to new textures, colors, and visual effects. The performance cost isn't that bad, either, so this is a great pick for performance-focused players as well.

Gameplay mods

If you're looking to freshen up the Skyrim experience with some changes to the gameplay, these mods will be right up your alley. They add more depth to the game's mechanics and systems, and they bring more overall roleplaying potential to Skyrim.

Alternate Start - Live Another Life

Alternate Start - Live Another Life is perfect for people who want to quickly start new playthroughs without having to go through the Skyrim intro sequence every time. It allows you to pick a background for your character and then have them teleported to an fitting location in the world with the appropriate starting gear, which is awesome for roleplaying.

Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim

The Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim mod completely overhauls the game's skill trees, unlocking countless new perk options for players to experiment with in their builds. What's awesome about Ordinator is that it even revamps less popular skills like Speech or Pickpocketing in order to make them more viable and interesting, which is a great way to encourage build variety. None of the new perks are particularly overpowered, either, ensuring a balanced experience.

Apocalypse - Magic of Skyrim

Apocalypse - Magic of Skyrim is essentially the mage version of Ordinator in that it adds countless new spells to all of Skyrim's schools of magic. From raising magical stone walls to block enemies with Alteration to casting devastating tornadoes with Destruction, Apocalypse is chock-full of creative and fun spells to try out. The mod automatically distributes them throughout the world as well, so finding them won't be difficult (the best place to look is with a Jarl's court wizard).

Wildcat - Combat of Skyrim

Wildcat - Combat of Skyrim is a phenomenal combat mod that breathes new life into the Skyrim hack-and-slash experience we've all gotten used to by now. It makes enemy AI smarter, makes attacks deadlier (for both the player and enemies), adds in locational damage, and makes it so all attacks drain stamina instead of just power attacks. All of these changes make Skyrim more difficult, but they also make the combat system feel more skill-based. Additionally, overcoming foes with Wildcat combat is much more satisfying than it ever was with vanilla Skyrim. We can't recommend this mod enough.

Beasts of Tamriel

If you want some more variety in the ranks of Skyrim's creatures and critters, it doesn't get any better than Beasts of Tamriel. As you explore the lands, you'll start to see and encounter monsters you've never seen before, including female giants, massive whales, flaming wolf spirits, big bipedal frogs (you can ride them like horses!) and many more.

iNeed - Food, Water, and Sleep

iNeed - Food, Water, and Sleep turns Skyrim into somewhat of a survival game. As you play through the game, you'll need to make sure your character stays well-fed, hydrated, and rested. This is an excellent mod for people who are looking for an extra bit of challenge, and it also gives you more of a reason to stop by in Skyrim's smaller towns while on your travels.

Quest mods

Quests dictate nearly everything we do in Skyrim, and over the years talented modders have come up with some truly incredible quest mods that add in brand new stories with professional voice acting, new worldspaces, and more.

The Forgotten City

The Forgotten City is arguably the best quest mod in existence in terms of writing, as it won a National Writers' Guild award for its script. In this 8-hour long adventure, players will work to uncover the truth behind a murder mystery in an ancient underground city. The mod's voice acting is stellar, and the fact there are multiple endings means that the quest has lots of replayability as well.

Project AHO

Project AHO takes players to Sadrith Kegran, a hidden settlement owned by Great House Telvanni and built over the ruins of an ancient Dwarven city. As they play through this DLC-sized adventure, players will uncover the secrets of an extremely advanced Dwemeri invention: the Aetherium Hyperspace Observatory.

Carved Brink

Made by the same team behind Project AHO, Carved Brink is centered around exploring a Daedric plane of Oblivion controlled by goblins. Over the course of this quest mod, you'll find new treasures, meet new characters, and eventually you'll be tested by the trial of the Daedra.

The Notice Board

Skyrim Live Another Life Guide

Unlike the previous mods we mentioned, The Notice Board is aimed towards players looking for short, repeatable adventures. At every city or town you will find notice boards where NPCs have posted jobs for adventurers like you to complete. These jobs typically entail clearing out bandit camps, delivering secret messages, saving captured civilians, killing beasts, going hunting, and more.

Did we miss any of your favorite mods? Have you got one you think should be on the list? Let us know in the comments below!

Skyrim Se Live Another Life

The game that keeps giving

Skyrim: Special Edition

Fus-ro-dah!

Skyrim: Special Edition is the current-gen version of the legendary 2011 classic, featuring a more stable engine and some awesome visual enhancements like godrays and dynamic depth of field.