Unbeknown to many Elder Scrolls fans, there is a wealth of great mods for Skyrim on Xbox.
There can be hesitancy when using mods on console but don’t worry, installing the best Skyrim mods on Xbox One is actually easier than it is on PC!
With that said, here are the best Skyrim mods on Xbox.
16. Old Kingdom – Armor Overhaul
- Changes the appearances of armor sets present in vanilla Skyrim SE
- Download link: https://mods.bethesda.net/en/skyrim/mod-detail/4031168
Players who are after the aesthetics of their characters will surely love this mod.
Armor Overhaul mod improves the look of common armors, as well as some of the unique ones, such as those from the Dawnguard and Dragonborn DLCs.
Be mindful of your remaining storage since this armor overhaul requires more memory than other mods with similar effects.
15. Rich Merchants of Skyrim
- Gives the merchants 10,000 gold.
- Download link: https://mods.bethesda.net/en/skyrim/mod-detail/2958369
Buying and selling odd items in Skyrim is not a lucrative career, as the merchants living in its towns and holds usually have very little money to trade with anyone.
While having poor merchants in the game is understandable, selling valuable items like Dragon Bones and Dragon Scales will take you more time, since one merchant can only buy a few of them.
With the Rich Merchants of Skyrim, you don’t have to fast-travel from one hold to another to sell your goods as this mod sets the merchants’ money to 10,000 gold.
14. Enhanced Blood Textures
- Creates bloodier visual effects during combat
- Download link: https://mods.bethesda.net/en/skyrim/mod-detail/3032117
Blood isn’t exactly nice to look at in real life, but things work differently when you want to best your adversaries as Tamriel’s last Dragonborn.
Hurting your foes with slashes and destructive spells may look quite bland and unconvincing if you don’t see them bleed to death.
Installing Enhanced Blood Textures will enable you to feel more of your enemies’ sufferings with high-resolution blood spatters as you hack their bodies apart.
13. More Kill Moves and Decapitations
- Increases the odds of kill/decapitation moves and adds new kill animations for other creatures.
- Download link: https://mods.bethesda.net/en/skyrim/mod-detail/3172898
Depending on various factors such as your positioning in combat, you always have the chance to trigger a cinematic scene known as kill moves or kill camera.
Kill moves capture the final moments of your enemies as you deliver the fatal strike, which sometimes end in decapitation if you’re using a blade.
This special mod makes it more frequent for your character to initiate a kill or decapitation move, which helps save you time when fighting tougher enemies.
12. Levitate Spell – Morrowind Edition
- Enables an expert-level alteration spell that gives you the ability to levitate.
- Download link: https://mods.bethesda.net/en/skyrim/mod-detail/4093703
With the existence of magic in Skyrim, you can do basically anything. You can manipulate fire and thunder, reanimate the dead, heal injuries, or even become invisible.
But ironically, there’s no way for you to fly or levitate.
Levitating was once possible in Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and also in Skyrim as long as you install this mod that allows you to learn the Levitate Spell.
11. Immersive Citizens – AI Overhaul
- Improves NPC behavior and responses so they act more human-like
- Download link: https://mods.bethesda.net/en/skyrim/mod-detail/3018268
The Immersive Citizens mod provides a more immersive Skyrim society where people around cities won’t wander aimlessly and will be more responsive to their surroundings.
This mod also changes the way they behave under specific weather conditions and when they are under attack, adding more realism to your gaming experience.
10. Odin Skyrim Magic Overhaul
- Fixes spell bugs and adds a new set of spells.
- Download link: https://mods.bethesda.net/en/skyrim/mod-detail/4202452
While Odin is specially designed for players with magic-based builds, all players can still download this mod as it also works as a patch that removes some of the game’s spell-related bugs.
Moreover, Odin introduces new spells that are lore-friendly and reminiscent of the previous Elder Scrolls games.
Examples of unique spells in Odin are Taldam’s Scorcher, Simulacrum, Black Hand, and Shield of Daybreak.
9. Kontrol
- Enables access to eight new hotkeys instead of two.
- Download link: https://mods.bethesda.net/en/skyrim/mod-detail/4106099
Performing certain actions, such as casting multiple spells and switching weapons can be more difficult for Xbox players due to the limited number of buttons in a console controller.
You can optimize your controls using this Kontrol mod on the Xbox One platform.
Kontrol tweaks Skyrim SE’s default hotkeys so you can utilize a total of eight hotkeys for quick access to your saving options, favorite spells, shouts, items, and powers.
8. Enhanced Night
- Spruces up Skyrim’s already beautiful night sky.
- Download link: https://mods.bethesda.net/en/skyrim/mod-detail/3201305
Traveling in Skyrim at night is truly an exhilarating experience, as it allows you to gaze at the stars and moons surrounding Nirn (the planet containing the continent of Tamriel).
But if you want to see more than just stars and moons, the Enhanced Night mod will further improve Skyrim’s majestic sceneries by adding beautiful nebulas and northern lights to the Nordic region’s night sky.
7. Alternate Start – Live Another Life
- Skips the vanilla scene at Helgen at the start of the game and adds new choices on your character’s situation before becoming the last Dragonborn.
- Download link: https://mods.bethesda.net/en/skyrim/mod-detail/2918744
Are you tired of being accused as a Stormcloak at the beginning?
Instead of being an innocent person sentenced to die at Helgen, the Alternate Start mod will give you lots of options on who you want to be in every playthrough.
Be selective of what life you’ll have because your choice may affect your character’s identity and destiny.
6. A Quality World Map
- Adds more detail to Skyrim’s vanilla map.
- Download link: https://mods.bethesda.net/en/skyrim/mod-detail/3268241
Skyrim is filled with crossroads and trails that often lead to nowhere.
So, to prevent getting lost, the Dragonborn needs a map as a staple tool to explore and discover various locations.
The vanilla version’s map looks fine, but the Quality World Map mod can provide you with a vivid-looking one that shows the main roads and weather conditions of some areas.
The mod also tweaks the map of Solstheim, making it more detailed and clearer as well.
5. The Forgotten City
- Introduces a new area and questline for vanilla Skyrim.
- Download link: https://mods.bethesda.net/en/skyrim/mod-detail/2950588
Apart from Dawnguard, Dragonborn, and Hearthfire, you can also add more quests to Skyrim through expansion mods created by seasoned game developers.
One notable example is The Forgotten City, a critically acclaimed mod featuring an ancient underground city where you will unravel mysteries about the disappearance of a certain explorer.
Other highly recommended quest mods for Skyrim are Falskaar and Beyond Skyrim: Bruma.
4. Climates of Tamriel for Xbox One
- Improves Skyrim’s weather effects and adds new weather variations such as blizzards and rain storms.
- Download link: https://mods.bethesda.net/en/skyrim/mod-detail/3021736
Climates of Tamriel is one of the most downloaded weather-based mods for Skyrim across all available platforms.
New weather in this mod also affects the sky’s appearance as well as the light intensity of every location in Skyrim.
If the weather sounds affect your gameplay, you can always adjust its volume in the in-game menu.
3. Uncap FPS Xbox
- Boosts the FPS on Xbox while running Skyrim
- Download link: https://mods.bethesda.net/en/skyrim/mod-detail/4056888
Xbox players rarely encounter any performance issues when playing Skyrim, but there’s nothing wrong if you want to squeeze more FPS out of the game.
Through the Uncap FPS mod, you can disable Skyrim’s 30 FPS cap and make it occasionally as high as 60 FPS.
It’s a simple mod, but easily one of the most important. 60 frames a second is a far more enjoyable experience than 30.
It should be noted that on newer Xbox systems (the Series S and Series X) that this mod isn’t necessary as the game will run at 60 FPS natively.
2. Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch
- Fixes hundreds of quests, gameplay, text, object, and placement-related bugs in the game.
- Download link: https://mods.bethesda.net/en/skyrim/mod-detail/2947804
With Skyrim’s extensive environment, countless quests, and detailed combat mechanics, it is no surprise that the game is known for having an incredible number of annoying bugs.
If you’re new to Skyrim modding, you better start with this mod that removes almost every bug in the vanilla game.
The team behind the Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch regularly releases updates for the mod, especially upon the discovery of a new bug.
1. Graphics Pack
- Improves the overall graphics of the game.
- Download link: https://mods.bethesda.net/en/skyrim/mod-detail/4024070
The Graphics Pack mod is the by far most comprehensive graphics overhaul that you can add to your Skyrim on Xbox.
This mod adds a more realistic touch to the majority of the game’s assets including buildings, houses, forests, and even objects.
For a specific list of this mod’s graphical improvements, check the Graphic Pack’s Bethesda download link above.
