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 overhauling iconic quests, revamping menus, and adding interesting player homes to it, with a few even going as far as turning the province into a maze of mysterious doors or adding Pong to its loading screens.
For those who’re sick of ending up as a generic stealth archer every time, sometimes all it takes to spark a fresh playthrough is the opportunity to pick up some interesting-looking weaponry, with a new mod offering some visual tweaks that might help you to do just that.
Sick of spending your hard-earned soul gems on muted glows that don’t intimidate anyone?
The mod in question is called ‘Visual Animated Enchants 2-023 AKA VAE2’, and is the work of modder L3st4t. Some of their previous work has revamped the animations surrounding master-level rune spells and made Skyrim feel a lot more like real-world Scandinavia.
This time, they’ve decided to build on their massively popular mod ‘Visual Animated Enchants - VAE’, which gives enchanted weapons much more striking animations based on what they’ve been infused with, by releasing a new version.
As you can see in the clip below, this fresh edition features a number of animations and patterns that are different from its predecessor, helping make different weapon/enchantment combos feel more unique.
From billowing flames coating your war axe, to blinding beams of light surrounding the warhammer you use to send undead back to their crypts and purple smoke billowing from your fear-infused crossbow, there’s bound to be an effect that’ll match your Dragonborn’s aesthetic.
Plus, some artefacts and unique weapons seemingly have their own animations that are different to those you can apply at an arcane enchanter, ensuring that your desire to explore won’t be dulled.
That said, the animations will also apply to the armaments wielded by some enemies, so you might want to bring along a plentiful supply of healing potions or practise your restoration magic.
Regardless of whether your Dragonborn has just jumped in a river to cool off following an encounter with a bandit wielding a burning bow, make sure to follow us for more updates on The Elder Scrolls 6 and the interesting world of Skyrim modding. You can also check out our mods of the month for December 2022 and what we want from Starfield’s eventual modding scene.