Modders have put an awful lot of effort into making sure Skyrim has continually evolved and expanded in the years since it was first released into the world.
Many have focused on changing the game by adding new challenges, tougher bandits, and revamped buildings to it, with a few even going as far as giving the Dragonborn the chance to wear some exotic Maomer armour or watch an NPC gradually restore a ruined house.
If you’re someone who loves playing as a powerful mage and wielding the Staff of Magnus, a new mod might be worth taking a look at.
Fancy unleashing some of the intense magical power contained within the Eye of Magnus next time you drop into Skyrim?
The mod in question is called ‘Arcane’, and is the latest work of prolific modder Darenii, formerly known as Norive. Many of their previous projects have added an array of new incantations to the game aimed at all kinds of different magical characters, including sinister necromancers and astronomers who can’t stop staring towards the cosmos while they wait for Starfield.
This time, they’ve decided to put together an arsenal of spells that share the ethereal effects and pale blue hue characteristic of the stream of energy emitted by the artefacts of Magnus, the magically potent ancient God that, according to myth, created Tamriel’s sun by fleeing the mortal plane when the world was first being created.
While you might expect that, with a provenance that grandiose, the litany of destruction, alteration, and conjuration spells contained within the pack will be completely overpowered, Darenii has actually made sure to balance them so they won’t put the game’s vanilla spells completely to shame.
In terms of effects, the mod’s incantations are ideal for using in mage-on-mage duels, with its destructive elements like Arcane Blast, Arcane Wall, and Arcane Eye all dishing out damage to health and magicka, while its alteration spells can be used to pull enemies towards you to set up devastating attacks, and its conjuration hexes will summon arcane atronachs to fight at your side.
In order to get your hands on any of these abilities, which can optionally be distributed to Draugr and Ghost enemies, you’ll need to head to either Dawnstar’s Windpeak Inn or Riften’s Bee and Barb to seek out NPCs named Mirailde and Dryore, respectively.
If you want some fresh magic-themed perks to complement your new powers, you can also check out Darenii’s ‘Ascension 2’, which adds a bunch of fresh boons to the destruction perk tree.
Regardless of whether you’re now unleashing the kind of magical barrage that might concern the good folks at the College of Winterhold, make sure to follow us for more updates on The Elder Scrolls 6 and the interesting world of Skyrim modding, including our top mods of the month.