Skyrim HD — 2K Textures at Skyrim Nexus
The most downloaded high resolution texture mod for Skyrim.
- Requirements
- Permissions and credits
- Changelogs
Difference between SKYRIM HD and the HD DLC:
Click here for a comparison shot.
Description:
Since 2011, Skyrim HD is providing HD textures for ‘The Elder Scrolls V: 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.
Packages:
COMPLETE EDITION:
— FULL
— LITE
CUSTOM EDITION (FULL/LITE):
— Cities:This covers all the cities; Whiterun, Windhelm, Markarth, Solitude, Riften, Farmhouses and those of the Dragonborn DLC.
— Landscape: This covers all landscape textures.
— Dungeons: This covers all the dungeon textures (basic dungeon ground and dwemer ruins). r
— Misc:This covers the rest: reflections, water, sky, clutter, clothes, etc.
(The Dragonborn textures are included in each package, but don’t necessarily need the DLC to be installed)
Explanation FULL/LITE:
FULL — All the textures are at the maximum resolution. Average is around 4x the official HD DLC.
LITE — All the textures are at 50% of the FULL Version. Average is around 2x the official HD DLC.
What is covered?
Landscape (all textures)
Architecture
— Whiterun
— Windhelm
— Farmhouses
— Solitude
— Markarth
— Riften
Sky
— Stars
— Galaxy
— Sunglare
Water
— Water surface
— Rain Ripples
— Water fog
— Water streams
Clothes
— Barkeeper
— Blacksmith
Clutter
— Sellingbar
— Blacksmith Items
— Carts
— Dresser
— Firewood/Ash/Burned wood
— Stockades
— Alchemy workbench
— Enchanting workbench
— Barrels
— Furniturewood
Dungeons
— Baisc Ground Texture
— Dwemer Ruins
Misc
— Reflections
— LOD Textures
— Fixes texture Bugs from Beth’s HD DLC
Dragonborn DLC
System Requirements:
FULL version:
— 4GB RAM
— 2GB VRAM
LITE version:
If unmodded Skyrim runs smooth, LITE shouldn’t have an effect on performance.
Keep in mind that the FULL version can increase loading times. If you have an SSD,
this shouldn’t be a problem.
Installation:
Please use Nexus Mod Manager for ease of installation.
Just download one of the ‘COMPLETE’ packages using the ‘download with manager’ button.
If you want to customize your install, you can use the packages (cities, landscape, etc.) instead.
Mixing of LITE and FULL packages is possible. The installation order doesn’t matter.
Changelog:
Version 1.7
— Added textures for the Dragonborn DLC
— Fixes on many old textures
(By popular demand: Old textures were optimized/fixed/…, not remade. It’s under the hood and obviously doesn’t create a necessity for comparsion screenshots of 1.5 textures and 1.7 texutres.)
Version 1.6
— Added textures for Riften
Version 1.5
Major changes:
— Markarth redone
— …including Dwemer Ruins textures
— Fixed the texture bugs from the HD DLC
— HD reflections for armor/glass (including almost all potions/glass containers)
— New major LOD textures to match my textures
Minor changes:
— Whiterun: New 2nd city wall texture (You can see it behind the throne in dragonsreach)
— Whiterun: New slate floor texture in Dragonsreach
— Whiterun: New Housewood/Thatch normal map
— Windhelm: New Grave textures
— Landscape: New Glacier textures
— Landscape: New River Edge texture
— Sky: New Sunglare
Edits:
— Farmhouses: Doors redone
— Whiterun: Tiled Stone ground adjusted
— Whiterun: Stone mortar adjusted
— Whiterun: Wood Carvings enhanced
— Clutter: Adjusted Enchanting Workbench
— Landscape: Edited the beach sand texture
— Landscape: Fixed tiling issue of ocean floor texture
— Landscape: Adjusted marsh ice texture
— Windhelm: Several texture fixes
Version 1.
4
— Added textures for Solitude
Version 1.3
— new Farmhouse textures (affects Dawnstar, Riverwood and many other places)
— added 4K Barkeeper/Blacksmith clothes
— redone all the Blacksmith items (2K and 4K Textures)
— new furniture textures (2K and 4K)
— new 4K alchemy workbench
— many other new clutter textures
— adjusted the FULL version for better performance
— some minor fixes
Version 1.2
— ALL the Landscape textures have been completely remade
— 2K Roads, 4K Mountains, 2K Cliffs and some 8K Tree textures
— 4K Water texture
— 2K Rain Ripples
— 4K Stars
— 4K Galaxy
— 2K Sunglare
— 2K Foam texture
— 2K Whiterun textures
— 2K Windhelm textures
— 2K Dungeon ground
— 2K Selling Bar
Skyrim Best Graphics Mods
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is an amazing game, no doubt about it. However, Skyrim has been out for a decade now, and the graphics have certainly seen better days.
Luckily, thousands of mods are currently available to rectify the problem. With a little work, Skyrim has the potential to look absolutely stunning with the right mods installed.
RELATED: The Best Skyrim Mods, Ranked
These graphics mods serve as an excellent base to get the player started. Obviously, there exists a literal multitude of graphics mods. In fact, some only deal with the re-texturing of a single object! The mods on this list provide the broad strokes to get Skyrim to look its very best. More of them can always be added alongside these ten essential enhancements.
Updated September 29, 2022 by Mark Hospodar: It shouldn’t come as a surprise to veteran dragon-tamers that Skyrim’s modding community is immense. It’s easy to get sucked down into the rabbit hole, never to emerge. Conversely, many beginner modders have a tendency to go overboard, ending up with an unstable game. Modding is a process that needs to be taken slowly to get the best results.
Tinkering with some basic graphics mods is the perfect way to get one’s feet wet when trying to understand an admittedly formidable process. Implementing this collection of graphics mods will not only make Skyrim look better, but will also make learning the ropes of modding less of a headache. In addition, fans may find this guide useful when breaking into Skyrim’s wonderful world of mods for the first time. This list, once again, has been updated to include a few more graphics mods that fans would be remiss to ignore.
A Quality World Map
Players may not realize how much time they spend looking at Skyrim‘s world map. The map itself is vital for fast traveling and planning one’s future explorations. Unfortunately, the vanilla map isn’t as detailed as it could be.
One of the first (and simplest) mods a player should install is A Quality World Map. The mod adds a stunning level of detail and even depicts Skyrim‘s road system, which is a nice addition.
There’s also an option for a paper map aesthetic in the vein of The Lord of the Rings. Don’t leave home without this classic mod!
Enhanced Blood Textures
Skyrim certainly isn’t the most violent video game in existence. Nevertheless, enemies can still be dispatched in a variety of rather gruesome ways, including decapitation. The blood isn’t overdone and the textures, by this point, fail to impress. Luckily, an awesome mod exists that gives Skyrim‘s blood a much-needed update.
The appropriately titled Enhanced Blood Textures adds more visceral realism to the proceedings. Not only does the blood itself look better, but there’s also more of it. Players can also customize how much of it they want. An updated playthrough of Skyrim with better textures won’t be complete without this mod.
Skyrim Realistic Overhaul
One of the easiest ways to make Skyrim look better is to install an all-in-one texture pack.
Skyrim Realistic Overhaul gets the job done admirably without slowing down one’s system to a crawl. The mod itself is massive and covers a little bit of everything when it comes to re-texturing various objects.
RELATED: Skyrim: Every Named Dragon & Their Stories
The scope of the mod is so broad that this could conceivably be the only mod a beginner may need. Conversely, if a player wants a beefier load order, Skyrim Realistic Overhaul blends quite well with other graphics mods that focus on more individual areas of improvement. It’s a sort of «building block» mod no fan should overlook.
Skyrim 2020 Parallax
As far as retexture mods are concerned, the Skyrim 2020 Parallax mod by Pfuscher is still relevant in 2022. As an all-in-one package, this mod is a gargantuan texture pack composed of approximately 2,000 files. Fans who want to install everything the mod has to offer can expect several gigabytes worth of content.
However, the results are worth it.
Skyrim‘s architecture, landscapes, and everything else in between will look sharp and crisp in a way that’s hard to forget. The mod is also compatible with others on this list, such as Static Mesh Improvement, Blended Roads, and ELFX.
Forgotten Retex Project
It’s worth noting that even the largest retexture packs can’t cover every object in this massive game. Some of the less important items, such as junk and clutter, are often overlooked. Luckily, fans don’t have to hunt down a myriad of individual mods to satisfy their needs for enhanced clutter.
The Forgotten Retex Project is a really great mod for improving the more mundane items scattered throughout the world. It’s also worth noting, however, that even unique quest items, like the Crown of Barenziah, are given some love as well. From cookware to ancient diadems, this mod is one that surely shouldn’t be forgotten.
Veydosebrom Regions
Much of Skyrim‘s gameplay is experienced in the outside environment.
As such, the foliage must look its best. Veydosebrom Regions is a great choice as it diversifies and sharpens the game’s plentiful vegetation. Each region of Skyrim is given its own unique feel to it by expanding the variety of flora.
The mod is very lore-friendly in its approach, so nothing should feel unusual for an Elder Scrolls game. When installing, choosing «Standard Quality» is the best choice without making the environment too dense with grass and shrubbery.
Windsong Immersive Character Overhaul
Skyrim is teeming with NPCs. By now, these NPCs are really showing their age. For them, a great choice for an all-in-one graphics mod is Windsong Immersive Character Overhaul. This mod is quite impressive as it makes NPCs look more like actual humans without radically changing their overall vanilla appearance.
RELATED: The Most Downloaded Skyrim Mods (According To Nexusmods)
This mod works great with other small, cosmetic enhancements.
The Eyes of Beauty mod makes NPCs look less dead inside. Superior Lore-Friendly Hair complements WICO quite nicely by making hair look more natural. Just sign-up for a Nexus account to download WICO.
JS Dragon Claws AE
It’s inevitable that fans will come across dragon claws throughout their playthrough. A variety of claws, which are all made out of precious metals, exist in the game. Although their corresponding puzzles are extremely simplistic, they are at least striking to behold.
JS Dragon Claws AE revamps Skyrim‘s dragon claws in a major way. The vanilla textures are replaced with brand new ones that really make these key items pop in a manner that’s hard to ignore. Fans can install 1K, 2K, or 4K resolutions of the mod, depending on their setup. The work on this mod is truly impressive, so fans shouldn’t ignore it when upgrading Skyrim‘s visuals.
Realistic Water Two
The look of the water is one of those details that can sometimes be easy to overlook.
But water is plentiful in Skyrim, so it definitely deserves some attention. Arguably the best of the bunch is Realistic Water Two.
This mod adds some much-needed color and vibrancy to bodies of water. Ponds, marshes, streams, and rivers are all given some diversity. New sounds are added as well. Stunning shades of green and blue really make the overall landscape pop. Swimming in Skyrim‘s rivers and streams never looked so good!
Deadly Spell Impacts
Improving the overall look of the characters and environment is obviously important, but what about the more subtle details? More specifically, the impact of spells on their surroundings. The vanilla experience is by now, unsurprisingly, not very impressive.
RELATED: Best Pets In Skyrim, Ranked
A very simple, yet notable mod to consider is Deadly Spell Impacts. With this mod, the effects of magical attacks now appear as one would expect. Each element is given its own unique texture, along with a few added details, such as snow melting when a fire attack is unleashed.
It’s an immersive little addition that mages may find interesting.
Ruins Clutter Improved
Skyrim involves a lot of dungeon-delving. It’s fair to say that players will spend much of their time in various ruins and tombs. Ruins Clutter Improved is a rather large texture mod that focuses on the junk items found in dungeons.
Looking at the same ugly objects over and over again can become tiresome. Improved meshes and textures for objects that are seen almost constantly make them easier on the eyes. Combined with other mods on this list, dungeons will look better than ever.
Enhanced Night Sky
If Skyrim is going to look better, then the sky can’t be ignored. More specifically, the night sky deserves some attention. The aptly-titled Enhanced Night Sky mod makes stargazing a veritable feast for the eyes.
RELATED: Skyrim: Mods That Will Change The Way You Play
Stars, as well as nebula, are given high-resolution replacements, the effects of which are quite dazzling.
The mod includes some customization presets, although the «Colorful» option is arguably the best choice. Stopping periodically to enjoy the night sky is something that’s hard to resist with this mod.
The world depicted in Skyrim is filled with countless objects. Things the player sees all the time can definitely benefit from a visual upgrade. The Static Mesh Improvement Mod, or SMIM as it’s popularly known, gives the game’s more mundane objects a fresh coat of paint.
According to the mod author, the goal is «to make the Skyrim architecture, clutter, furniture, and landscaping much nicer.» The sheer breadth of this mod is impressive. Tens of thousands of improved meshes for various everyday objects are included.
Book Covers Skyrim
There’s no shortage of reading material when it comes to an Elder Scrolls game. There are hundreds of books, journals, and notes littered across Skyrim. It’s no stretch to say that players are likely to bump into a book of some sort every couple of feet.
For objects in the game as prolific as books, it’s important they also look their best.
One of the best and most impressive mods for this game, hands down, is Book Covers Skyrim. Every book, journal, and note is given a retexture that makes every one of these objects feel like a unique item. The covers on some of these books are so visually impressive, it’s hard not to examine them for a few seconds just to admire the craftsmanship.
Enhanced Lights & FX
Older games often possess poor lighting effects, especially when compared to today’s standards. Lighting, however, plays a critical role in how a game is presented. Enhanced Lights and FX adds some realism to Skyrim‘s lighting animations and effects.
RELATED: Skyrim: Quality Of Life Mods We Can’t Live Without
One of the most noticeable features of this mod is how light shines through windows and underneath doorways. Burning candles will emit smoke. Shadows and reflections are given more detail.
All of these things greatly affect the mood of the game. Inns are cozier. Dungeons are darker. It’s a mod that seriously improves the atmosphere in both large and small ways.
Underground — A Dungeon Texture Overhaul
Dungeons make up a large part of the exploring in Skyrim. Whereas Ruins Clutter Overhaul upgrades the textures of the miscellaneous items, Underground — A Dungeon Texture Overhaul improves almost everything else.
When the two mods are combined the player should immediately spot a noticeable difference. Floors, staircases, archways, rocks, and stones are given the high-definition treatment. Everything is more sharply detailed rather than blurry, which is always a plus.
Majestic Mountains
The mountains that dot Skyrim‘s landscape are certainly majestic. Enter the Majestic Mountains mod, an enhancement that truly brings out their beauty. Mountain textures look less like they were painted on and more like actual rocks, especially when viewed from a distance.
Another cool little detail is the improved look of the moss that adorns certain rocky outcrops. The manner in which the lighting is reflected off the sides of the mountain is also reworked, which gives the environment a more natural feel to it. It’s definitely a graphics mod that shouldn’t be neglected.
Blended Roads
If fans enjoy the Majestic Mountains mod, they’ll also love Blended Roads, made by the same author. Similar to the previous mod, Blended Roads makes Skyrim‘s thoroughfares into less of an afterthought and more of a natural feature of the landscape.
Rocks and cobblestones now actually appear as such. Roads no longer look like low-resolution blobs sinking into the ground. The road and the ground itself appear more natural, akin to something one may see in real life. This mod goes a long way toward making the overall environment feel more immersive.
A Note Concerning ENBs
Graphics mods are all well and good on their own.
But making the game really pop requires an ENB, or Enhanced Natural Beauty. ENBs are not graphics mods per se. Rather, they upgrade many of the game’s post-processing effects, such as Ambient Occlusion and Anti-Aliasing.
ENBs fit hand-in-glove with graphics mods, making details sharper and colors more vibrant. A player is really cheating himself by only having one without the other. A good choice that works well is Natural and Atmospheric Tamriel. This particular ENB gives things a photorealistic quality to them, which makes the overall environment look awesome when paired with the above mods.
Skyrim is currently available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch.
MORE: Mods That Were Even Better Than The Original Game
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Good old Skyrim is still relevant. True, you can’t say the same about his schedule.
The picture is noticeably outdated, but with the help of traditional Bethesda game mods, you can bring the game to life.
Below are 13 graphics mods that will significantly change the world of Elder Scrolls.
In fact, there are much more good graphic modifications, but to try to tell about each of them is to embrace the immensity.
If this is not enough for you, then in my blog I made a selection of more than a hundred of the best graphics mods.
The links in this article are for Skyrim SE versions of mods, but many of these mods are available for LE as well.
Textures
Skyrim HD SE
HD textures in 1K to 4K resolution. Replaces thousands of textures throughout Skyrim.
Link
Skyrim 2020 Parallax by Pfuscher
High resolution textures with Parallax effect for landscape, cities, dungeons and more. Install over Skyrim HD SE .
Link
Majestic Mountains – Cathedral Concept
Mountains are visible from almost anywhere in Skyrim, and to be honest, they look pretty ugly.
This mod slightly improves their appearance.
Link
Skyrim 3D Trees and Plants
New vegetation models and textures.
Reference
Skyrim 3D Landscapes
High quality landscapes from the same author.
Link
Verdant — A Skyrim Grass Plugin
New and lush grass.
Link
aMidianBorn Book of Silence
New textures for most types of armor, weapons and creatures.
Link
HD LODs Textures SE
Enhances the view of distant objects.
Reference
Dust Effects by HHaleyy
Improves airborne particles.
Link
Weather and lighting
Rudy ENB
One of the best ENB for Skyrim.
Link
Enhanced Lights and FX
Improves lighting, shadows, reflections, fog and sun rays.
Especially noticeable in the interiors.
Link
Weather
Skyrim weather mods are plentiful, but I recommend picking one of these: Vivid Weathers, Climates Of Tamriel, or Obsidian Weathers and Seasons.
Take your pick.
Characters
Bijin All in One 2019
Makes women more beautiful. For some, it’s a matter of taste, but many like it.
Reference
This is the first in a series of articles about mods for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The next ones will affect the interface, quests, locations, and new types of weapons and armor.
Write in the comments which modifications you use yourself and which ones you would add to this article.
The best graphics mods for Skyrim in 2022 type. Thanks to this, Skyrim was quickly flooded with many modders who set about creating new content for the legendary game. Even after 10 years, work on mods does not stop, fans of the game continue to create new and new modifications designed to improve graphics, fix developers’ shortcomings, or expand the gameplay.
At the moment, the total number of mods for Skyrim is over 60 thousand — it won’t take long to get lost in such a variety. We have tried many different options and are ready to present you with a selection of the best graphics mods at the moment.
Important: we recommend that you familiarize yourself with our Vortex and NexusMods guide if you plan to install mods from our selection.
Contents
- SkyrimSE Re-Engaged ENB
- SMIM — Static Mesh Improvement Mod
- Realistic Water Two SE
- Skyrim HD SE
- Skyrim 2020 Parallax by Pfuscher
- Skyrim Flora Overhaul SE
- Amidianborn Book of Silence SE RU
- Enhanced Blood Textures
- HD LODS Textures SE
- Ethereal Cosmos — Special Edition
SkyrimSE Re-Engaged ENB
ENB is a powerful toolkit that improves the visual component of Skyrim — rich lighting, depth of field, high-quality anti-aliasing, shaders and much more.
Based on this tool, many graphic mods have been created, which are specially configured ENB presets. According to our assessment, the SkyrimSE Re-Engaged ENB mod looks the most successful and beautiful.
First you need to install ENB itself. Download the archive with the latest available version on the developer’s website, and then from the WrapperVersion folder in the archive, copy the d3d11.dll and d3dcompiler_46e.dll files to the Skyrim root folder. If you wish, you can install only ENB, and customize the picture to your taste right in the game by calling the configurator using the Shift-Enter keys, but there are a lot of settings here, and it will take a lot of time to achieve the desired result.
After installing ENB, download the mod preset you are interested in SkyrimSE Re-Engaged ENB , you can see a visual comparison of the picture in this video: