For the first time in quite a while, I’ve actually caved to my monthly urge to reinstall Bethesda’s beloved RPG The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and then mod the crap out of it. Typically, this endeavor ends with me sending it back to Oblivion once I remember it’s ultimately still the same game I’ve played through dozens of times now, but things are different this time. I found an extensive modlist that piqued my interest with its plethora of transformative gameplay changes, and after checking it out this week, I’ve fallen in love with Skyrim all over again.
That modpack is LoreRim, a mammoth project by YouTuber biggie_boss that completely reworks Skyrim into a modernized and hardcore experience while still remaining faithful to the game’s tone and visual aesthetic. The list includes thousands of the best Skyrim mods, along with tons of compatibility patches and custom tweaks that ensure everything works together smoothly. It also has options for both “Default” mid-level visuals and “Ultra” high-end ones to make it suitable for a wide range of PC gaming rigs, along with full widescreen support — something members of the ultrawide gang like me greatly appreciate.
At the heart of LoreRim is Requiem, a huge overhaul to Skyrim’s world that immersively rebalances loot placements, replaces level scaling with static, carefully thought out enemy stats and traits (undead, for example, are highly resistant to most forms of damage that aren’t done with silver weapons, elemental spells, or Restoration magic), elevates the overall lethality of combat, and more. In short, it’s a mod that forces you to approach encounters with significantly more preparation and caution, and makes your progression through them far more meaningful.
Rebalancing Skyrim in this way was enough to get me interested — as much as I enjoy the vanilla experience, I’ve always felt that it’s too easy and exploitable — but LoreRim builds on Requiem with tons of additional mods that tie leveling to combat and quests instead of skills, add countless new weapons, armors, spells, and skill tree options, implement mild survival mechanics, and revamp cooked foods and brewed potions to give more potent buffs.
All of these additions and adjustments complement Requiem and its dangers perfectly. Not only do they eliminate cheesy leveling tactics like the classic “forge a million iron daggers” strat and instead drive you to go out and engage with the open world, but they also give you fresh and exciting ways to prepare and build yourself for that world as you slowly grow stronger.
Right now, for example, I’m playing as a Wood Elf stealth archer that relies heavily on the modpack’s new Alteration and Restoration spells from mods like Apocalypse in melee range. On top of vanilla Alteration spells like the Ironflesh armor buff, I can crowd control groups of enemies with fields of thorns that slow and stagger them, knock them over with maelstroms of wind, or raise stone walls from the earth to cut them off entirely; my Restoration spells, meanwhile, allow me to tag targets with life-stealing leech seeds, create magic circles that siphon stamina and magicka from foes that walk in them, consecrate dead bodies for an instant full health and magicka heal, and even summon a radiant flaming mace that’s especially effective against undead like draugr or skeletons.
Magic like this is the most interesting part of my build so far, but my archery and one-handed skills will get pretty nifty too once I level up a few more times and get more perk points to invest. There are perks in the archery tree that let you shoot while dexterously leaping through the air like Legolas or allow you to loose a charged-up shot that bowls over your prey, and there’s a heavy sprinting attack in the one-handed one I’d have plenty of opportunities to use while my enemies are immobilized by Alteration.
This is just one way to develop a character; LoreRim takes Skyrim’s already diverse array of options and expands them even more, resulting in new ways to enjoy classic playstyles as well as the birth of entirely new ones like using one-handed weapons without anything in your off-hand that weren’t really viable in vanilla. This recent build guide from YouTuber ZEN, for instance, shows how you can utilize Illusion, Alteration, the sneak skill, and one-handed daggers to become a shadowy teleporting backstabber with insane critical damage bonuses (his review of the modlist is also embedded below, it’s a good watch).
Getting that powerful in LoreRim takes a long time — I’m Level 17, and I’m only just now starting to feel strong enough to clear out dungeons without having to periodically retreat to recuperate — but that progression feels meaningful and earned, and that’s one of the biggest reasons why I’m not getting my usual “this is just Skyrim again” feeling a week in. It may be the same world we’ve all adventured through countless times at the end of the day, but the process of making your way through it is so markedly different that it feels like an entirely new game.
Admittedly, it’s not without issues; the early game feels a little unnecessarily brutal, and despite all the great animation, movement, and bugfix mods in the list that significantly improve Skyrim’s dated jankiness, its 2011ness still persists in some ways. For example, you might get unreasonably stuck on something that stops you from being able to move as foes close in, guaranteeing your death unless you’re a heavy armor sword-and-board fighter.
Despite these problems, though, I’m having a great time getting my butt kicked, adapting to encounters I come across, and eventually overcoming them with smart play and preparation. And while no Requiem-based modlist will ever truly be friendly to those looking for a more casual experience, I will note that the in-game configuration menu has options to tone down the difficulty some if you want to.
LoreRim’s gameplay changes are definitely the modpack’s highlight, but I’d be remiss not to touch on the rest of what it has to offer as well. The latest and greatest mods for textures, lighting, visual effects, NPCs, music, sounds, and more elevate and modernize Skyrim’s atmosphere incredibly, with multiple different post-processing ENBs available to choose from (I prefer the Dawnfire ENB since I like the way it preserves the feel of Skyrim’s chilly climate). Each of Skyrim’s nine holds have also gotten lore-friendly makeovers that add lots of new structures and NPCs, with many encounterable people traveling between them frequently.
On top of that, many of Skyrim’s most popular DLC-style quest mods like Beyond Skyrim: Bruma and Project AHO have been integrated into the experience along with overhauls to Skyrim’s vanilla questlines. Mods like Missives also give you a never-ending source of simpler fetch or bounty-style quests to do, many of which are useful when you’re in the early game and need to level up.
It’s pretty much a colossal greatest hits collection of Skyrim mods in one cohesive package, and it runs better than any ultra-modded version of the game I’ve been able to put together before. That isn’t to say it’s potato-friendly — biggie_boss made the much simpler LoreTrim for that — but if you’ve got a capable, modern gaming PC, you should be able to play LoreRim without issues. Just make sure you’ve got plenty of SSD space, because the list has an eye-watering storage requirement of ~550GB.
Note that installing LoreRim is done entirely through Wabbajack, a community-made tool that can install modlists like this one with just a few clicks (having a Nexus Premium membership will make the download much faster). For full instructions and all the information you need to know, going through the Read Me page on the LoreRim website is a must. Also, there’s a LoreRim Discord server where you can chat with other players and get support for issues you run into.
Another thing to know is that LoreRim is only compatible with the English version of Skyrim Anniversary Edition on Steam. It’s normally $49.99 ($19.99 if upgrading from Special Edition), but thanks to some deals, you can get it for just $14.79 at CDKeys or upgrade your Special Edition for just $11.19 at CDKeys.
