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The game offers a balanced experience for its players, and while challenging at times, does not seem unfair to the players. However, some players who wish to test themselves may feel the game to be lacking at times. They may wish to have an unforgiving experience such as the one offered in the Dark Souls series. As the vanilla game may not be challenging enough, these players can download and install some mods that transformSkyrim into a Dark Souls game.
10 Ominous ENB And Parallax
The Dark Souls series features an ominous and gloomy atmosphere that matches the theme of the game. To transform Skyrim into something resembling a Dark Souls game, players will need a few graphical mods. They will need to download and install the Ominous ENB by firemanaf that gives the land of Skyrim a grim and somber feel. They need to meet some prerequisites before they can install the ENB, which are listed on the mod page. ENBs in general are resource-intensive mods and players need to ensure that their systems can handle the extra strain.
If players want to go the extra mile and make their Skyrim look even better, they can also install the Parallax 2020 by Pfuscher mod that replaces many of the game world’s textures with higher resolution variants. Using just the ENB will be enough to create the required atmosphere, however, using Parallax along with it will make the game look better and aesthetically pleasing overall.
9 Obsidian Weathers
As the name suggests, Obsidian Weathers by Dr Mega Arindel overhauls the weather system for Skyrim, giving it a sharp, ominous, and atmospheric feel. The mod also overhauls the vanilla seasons into something more dynamic and realistic that changes as time passes in-game. Different regions of the landscape will have unique weather patterns that can be configured via an in-game menu.
Obsidian Weathers is best enjoyed paired with an ENB that adds a gloomy atmosphere as the fog effects added by the mod enhance the lighting effects true to the Dark Souls essence. Most ENBs will have optional files configured for a particular weather mod, so players only need to download the file made for Obsidian Weathers.
8 Creatures By Mihailmods
Having a wide variety of creatures and monsters to fight against is crucial for the Dark Souls experience. While Skyrim has a respectable number of enemies to fight, they lack the number and challenge that is required. A series of creature mods made by mihailmods adds a number of enemies that players can test their mettle against. Players can browse the author’s works at their leisure and download creatures they feel work best.
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However, as a bare minimum, they will need to download and install Iron Golems, Ancient Skeletons, and Mimics by mihailmods to add some of the creatures commonly faced in the Dark Souls games. They can also add Gravelords, War Revenants, Crystal Golems, Ancient Nordic Sentinel, and the Bone Colossus to further increase the number of adversaries to face against.
7 True Directional Movement And The Ultimate Dodge Mod
Skyrim’s movements in third person mode can be stiff and choppy, a far cry from the fluidity observed in Dark Souls. For that reason, players will need to install the True Directional Movement by Ershin mod that gives players fully unlocked directional movement when in combat. This mod also adds the ability to lock on to a target and focus on one enemy at a time along with giving them floating health bars. The mod pairs best with The Ultimate Dodge Mod by distar66, allowing players to dodge incoming attacks. Players will need to install some prerequisites, however, which are listed on the mod page in the requirements section.
6 Elder Souls, Parry And Backstab
Elder Souls by miken1ke adds over a hundred animations to Skyrimââââââ, overhauling the vanilla animations to resemble the Dark Souls attack movesets. The mod adds unique animations for daggers, swords, maces, axes, and dual-wielded weapons in both one-handed and two-handed variety.
Players will be able to see these animations at work in third person mode as the first person animations are left untouched. This mod will work in conjunction with the Backstab and Parry mod by zxlice. allowing players to do massive damage to their enemies by performing some well time parries and backstabs as done in Dark Souls.
5 Dark Souls - Estus By Distar66
Skyrim allows players to heal up after taking damage in a variety of ways. Players can use potions, healing spells, let themselves regenerate slowly, or use weapons with a health leeching enchantment that heals them with every hit. In Dark Souls, players can heal using their Estus flask which has limited use, causing players to ration its uses between bonfires.
The Dark Souls - Estus mod by distar66 brings the Estus mechanic into Skyrim so that players can heal up in a similar manner to Dark Souls. The mod makes use of vanilla potions allowing it to remain somewhat lore-friendly while implementing the Estus healing mechanic. It adds an MCM menu via which players can tweak the mod settings according to their preferences.
4 Dark Souls - Death And Experience By Distar66
Dark Souls - Death and Dark Souls - Experience are two mods made by distar66 that work in tandem to bring the death and leveling mechanics from Dark Souls into Skyrim. In Dark Souls, players use ‘souls’ with a particular NPC at their home base, to level up their stats and skills which they gain from killing enemies. In the event the players die, they lose all souls they have accumulated up to that point which must then be reclaimed by picking them up at the place of death. The Dark Souls - Death mod replicates this mechanic replacing Souls with Gold which players drop upon death, and must pick it up after resurrecting to reclaim it.
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In a similar fashion to Dark Souls, the Experience mod makes players level up their skills only when they sleep at a bed, replacing the need for a leveling NPC with the sleeping mechanic from the base Skyrim game.
3 Dark Souls Main Menu And Font Replacer By Solastyre
The Dark Souls series is well known for its iconic menu and theme which plays as soon as players boot up the game. Skyrim has its own distinct opening but it lacks the dark and ominous feel that players get from a Dark Souls game. The mod Dark Souls Main Menu and Font Replacer by Solastyre changes the default Skyrim opening screen and main menu to resemble that of a Dark Souls game. Moreover, the mod also changes the default game font to the one seen in Dark Souls games.
The mod comes with several options from which the players can choose according to their tastes and needs. For their ease, it is recommended that players install the mod using a mod organizer.
2 Dark Souls Remastered Pack And Animated Armory
To enjoy the full Dark Souls experience in Skyrim, players will need to equip themselves appropriately. While Skyrim has an excellent selection of weapons and armor, they seem ill-matched for a Dark Souls game. The Dark Souls Remastered Pack by DKnight13 aims to rectify that problem by adding dozens of armor sets from the Dark Souls games into Skyrim. Players will be able to craft and upgrade them at the corresponding crafting stations. However, the best way to acquire them is via console commands which players can find out using the “help” command or using a mod that lets players add items to their inventory directly.
For the weapons, players will need the Animated Armory mod by NickaNak that adds several weapons from Dark Souls into the game and are distributed throughout the world. These weapons can also be crafted at a forge and improved at a grindstone and feature custom animates as well. Players must be advised that the Dark Souls Remastered Pack uses some custom bodies that may have some adult content in the mod. They will need to confirm their age on the mod pages in order to download it.
1 Darkend By Jkrojmal
Darkend by jkrojmal adds an entire island named Pharos, which is heavily inspired by the Dark Souls series, into the world of Skyrim that players can visit and explore. True to the series, there is no apparent quest and the game will not tell players what to do and where to go. They will have to make these choices on their own as they explore the landscape and encounter various enemies reminiscent of the Dark Souls series.
The mod is built for mid to high-level players in mind. To get to Pharos, players will need to find a shipwreck named Voyager’s End in the Sea of Ghosts, located Northwest of Winterhold.
Skyrim is available on PS5, PS4, PS3, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
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