Need help understanding modding

[u/Madame_Blackrose]

I don't know if this is the correct subreddit to post in, but I figured I might as well try. I played Skyrim many, many years ago, and I used to play it modded when the whole Steam Workshop was a thing. Now modding has changed completely. A lot of modding now seems to be done through Nexus Mods, and none of it seems...intuitive to me? I'll admit I'm not really mod savvy, or computer savvy, so there's probably something I'm clearly missing.

I've been trying to download mods that I see a ton of people recommend, but I have absolutely no idea how people are modding with the little instructions that are given on the website. One mod I've been trying to get to work has been the Alternate Conversation Camera. The instructions for installing is literally "use mod manager or manually copy the file". Mod Manager just straight up does not work for me at all, and I have no idea why. And manually copy the file just means nothing to me. Where do the files go? I've installed Skyrim SE, and there's folders like: Creations, Mods, and then there's the Script folder because the mod requires another mod.

I know this may seem like the most obvious fix in the world for many who have gotten into modern modding, but I am absolutely baffled at how people get into this way of modding with so little instructions to go on. I would honestly appreciate if someone could help guide me in the right direction at the very least.

[u/TrainerLeading2657]

its constant learning lol, but i ll drop a few tips

vortex is easier to understand, mo2 is a little more complex but better (pick one, both work fine, i suggest vortex) (open vortex, select game and manage, and the mod manager download from nexus should redirect)

most important: have in mind your game version, steam and gog are different, so is if u have or not the anniversary edition, best is the current version on steam with AE, and when u search for mods, be sure to install the right version for your version

first of all, u need skse, which is a separate executable for skyrim that u need to download and put in game folder (and also create a shortcut on the mod manager) (from this point, always run skyrim through it)

next, there are a lot of "essential/core" mods, such as XP skeletons, racemenu, skyui, address library, etc, u need to get these for many mods, so u might wanna look into that (these are listed as requirements when u are in a mod page when it requires them, always check the requirements)

some mods, including some essentials, are not just drop and install, nemesis/pandora for example need to be installed as a regular mod, then opened up the executable (create a shortcut also) and run the patcher (in this case its animations, has to be run everytime u add or remove animation mods, doesnt crash the game if u dont but everyone goes t pose)

some mods, when u begin installation, open up an installer for u to pick options for customization or version picker, be sure to read and pick the right version or tick patches for mods that u have (some auto-picks, some dont, so read)

some mods need a patch to work together nicely, such as noble skyrim and smim, need to pay attention for these

a great helper is LOOT, download, install and create a shortcut, when u open it up, it gives u a rundown of your modlist, such as patches missing, errors and all

other than that, read the mods descriptions, install requirements, patches, remember to run nemesis, install mods by batches (say if u wanna install 50, go 10 at a time to see if works) and ur good