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Ultimate Skyrim

Table of Contents

Table of contents
  1. Before we begin
  2. Step ONE: running the game
  3. Step TWO: download & installation
  4. STEP THREE: known issues
  5. STEP FOUR: in-game configuration
    1. Save Advice
    2. Need help surviving your first few days?
    3. Encountering issues, or have questions?
    4. Want to add mods / customize?

Welcome to Ultimate Skyrim, and thank you for your interest in the project! This page will guide you through the install process.

Ultimate Skyrim requires Skyrim Classic Edition with all DLC’s, otherwise known as Skyrim Legendary Edition. You can find links to purchase this edition here

Ultimate Skyrim is no longer supported or under development, if the list breaks (E.G due to skyrim Updating), this guide will disappear.

The Support channels on discord Only exist for you to search for guidance on previous issues. No installation support will be offered unless one of the support team is very very bored.

Recommended Specs:

Purple GPU icon GeForce GTX 970 or higher
Purple CPU icon Intel Core i5-7500 or higher
Purple RAM icon 8gb or more RAM

Minimum Specs:

Grey GPU icon GeForce GTX 660 or equivalent
Grey CPU icon AMD Ryzen 3 2200G or equivalent
Grey RAM icon 4gb or more RAM

Before we begin

There are a few things you’ll need before we begin. Please ensure that you have:

  1. At least 40gb of free space.
  2. An archive tool, such as 7-Zip or WinRAR.
  3. The latest version of Microsoft’s Visual C++. (You’ll need both the 32-bit and the 64-bit versions.)
  4. The latest version of the .NET Framework Runtime.
  5. No Skyrim mod subscriptions on the Steam Workshop
  6. A clean, ENGLISH 1.3.22 version of Skyrim installed through Steam, as shown here. (Non-English versions unfortunately crash the game.)
  7. The GamePass version of Skyrim is unfortunately not compatible at this time.

We also highly recommend a Nexus Premium membership for automating the download process. This feature is controlled by NexusMods - Ultimate Skyrim is not affiliated.

You can view the modlist here

Edit: 06/09/24 - last night Bethesda pushed a update via steam to Skyrim. As such you may need to downgrade your skyrim to complete installation. The steam download depot you need is download_depot 72850 72853 3817241784354177437 you can find instructions of how to depot downgrade here

Once that’s squared away, we can begin!

Step ONE: running the game

The first task is to run Skyrim through Steam, which will prepare your install for Ultimate Skyrim.

  1. Launch “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” from your Steam library.
  2. When the launcher offers to auto-detect your settings, click “OK” and then dismiss the follow-up window. (These settings do not matter, and will be replaced.)
  3. Click “Play” to launch the game.
  4. Once the main menu has loaded, select “Quit” to return to desktop.

Running the game generates files that Ultimate Skyrim needs to function. Now it’s time to download & install!

Step TWO: download & installation

Next, we’ll download & install Ultimate Skyrim using the Wabbajack modlist installer.
If you encounter any issues with the Wabbajack install, please visit the Wabbajack Discord server (channel: “ultimate-skyrim-support”).

  1. Click this link to download the install package.

  2. Open the download and then place the “UltSky” folder in the location you’d like for your Ultimate Skyrim install.

    Warning: There are some restrictions on install location. ‍You CANNOT place the folder in:
         • Program Files or Program Files (x86), or their subfolders;
         • the Users folder, or its subfolders;
         • the Steam folder, or its subfolders;
         • the Skyrim folder, or its subfolders;
         • the Desktop folder, or its subfolders;
         • the Documents folder, or its subfolders;
         • any folders with non-English characters;
         • any cloud storage folders (e.g. Dropbox, OneDrive, etc.).

  3. Download Manually the Wabbajack File from here

  4. Within your “UltSky” folder, navigate to the “installer” folder and then delete “Wabbajack.exe” then download the latest version from Wabbajack.org and place it in this folder. Double-click to run Wabbajack.

  5. When Wabbajack opens, click “Install From Disk” NOT browse modlists - as this list is no longer available on Wabbajack itself and then Locate the Wabbajack file you downloaded earlier
  6. Click this box to select the installation location, and then select your “content” folder from within the “UltSky” folder.
    WARNING: Make sure to select your “content” folder, and NOT the “Skyrim” folder containing TESV.exe. The latter will break your install!
  7. (Optional) If you have a pre-existing Ultimate Skyrim installation, click this box & manually select your old Downloads folder to utilize any pre-existing downloads. (If this is a new Ultimate Skyrim install, you can skip this step.)
  8. We’ll now begin the Wabbajack installation. Click this button to begin the install, and if you’re asked to accept the Nexus API, click “Accept”.
  9. (Optional) If you are not a Nexus Premium member, this gif will guide you through the manual install. (If you’re a Premium member, you can skip this step.)
  10. When installation completes, click “Install Folder” to open up the install.
  11. Open “Game Folder Files”, and then copy all files within the folder.
  12. Navigate to your root “Skyrim” folder & paste the files you copied.
  13. One of the files you pasted is called “enblocal.ini”. Open the file, and then configure it according to this guide.

Next up, we’ll move through the “Known Issues” guide to fix some remaining bugs with the current build.

STEP THREE: known issues

There are some small issues with the current build that you can fix with the “Known Issues” guide.

  1. Click here for the “Known Issues” guide.
  2. Look through the guide. If you desire, follow its instructions to make changes.

STEP FOUR: in-game configuration

Congratulations - Ultimate Skyrim is now successfully installed! Next we’ll configure the in-game settings, and then you’ll be ready to play.

Before you can play, Ultimate Skyrim requires the configuration of several in-game settings. We’ll configure these now.

  1. Navigate to your “content” folder, and double-click “Launch Ultimate Skyrim.bat”.
    (Note: If this does not launch your game, refer back to the Known Issues guide for a fix.)
  2. Select a performance profile within the launcher.
  3. (Optional) Click “Create Desktop Shortcut” to generate a desktop shortcut for the preset you selected. (This will also create a shortcut for the launcher.)
  4. Click “Launch Ultimate Skyrim” to start the game.
  5. From Skyrim’_s main menu, start a new game. (Note: _Ultimate Skyrim requires a new game, and is not compatible with old saves.)
  6. At this point, you will see many messages appear in the corner, indicating the initialization of mods and features. Please wait until all of these messages have cleared, and you see a blank screen like this.
  7. When the screen has cleared, press Esc/Start to open the game menu & select “Mod Configuration”.
  8. Click this link for the Mod Configuration guide, and adjust your settings accordingly.
    (Note: It’s highly recommended to open this guide in a second monitor or on your phone for easy side-by-side reference.)

Pat yourself on the back, buckaroo - Ultimate Skyrim is ready to play! Thanks for your patience, and we hope you enjoy your time in Tamriel.

Save Advice

When you load your save file, wait at least a minute before saving again. Some scripts will break if you save too soon after loading.

Avoid saving during combat or other conditions of heavy script load.

Never save more than once a minute.

Never save within 30 seconds of entering a building / cell / dungeon.

Need help surviving your first few days?

Check out our gameplay guide for new players!

Encountering issues, or have questions?

Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

A reminder: This List is no longer supported.

Want to add mods / customize?

Ultimate Skyrim - Modding Guides are now Consolidated here

If you plan on modding your game - Make sure you read the Modding Basics first!

THESE GUIDES ARE NOT FOR WILDLANDER

Table of contents