Some of the best Skyrim mods about are those that put a different spin on the RPG game’s combat. Fans have made Skyrim’s combat Sekiro-like, more like The Witcher and Dark Souls, and – heck! – even let you craft “choreographed violence” so far. Now, a new mod aims to “enhance your first-person combat experience” with more than 60 new animations that make melee a whole lot meatier.
“It’s 2021 and you are supposedly the swolest being [i]n Tamriel but you swing a sword like you have back problems,” modder ShoryukenBruh says. “In fact, you swing every weapon like you have back problems. No more. You are a demi-god. Chosen of Akatosh. Dovahkin strong. Dovahkin smash.” Their solution? A mod that overhauls your Dragonborn’s first-person combat experience, with the result that “weapons will feel chunkier, swords will slice and cut, axes will hack, maces will crush, and daggers will stab”.
These animation changes reach across the open-world game’s various damage-dealing implements, changing core aspects like the light power, block, bash, idle, equip, and “unique two-hit power attack” animations.
The mod uses an existing Dynamic Animation Replacer tool (a requirement to get it to run, by the by) which allows all weapon types recognised by the base game to get their own custom animations. A bonus is that these animations match the base game’s combat timing, so you won’t have to relearn how to wield your weapons. Sweet.
If you’re keen to check out the mod in action or grab it for yourself, you can find it at Nexus Mods here. As ever, mod with caution, and be sure to check out the creator’s installation requirements to get it up and running smoothly.
We’ve also covered some other treats from the Skyrim modding community recently, such as a Skyrim mod that makes it a Super Mario 64-style Chaos Edition with unpredictable effects and a creation that blends two overhauls to create the “ultimate College of Winterhold”, which you can check out at those links.