This page is for the Special Edition. For the original game, see The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. For the VR version, see The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR.
Key points
- Remastered version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Improvements include higher-quality textures, built-in modding, engine optimization, full 64-bit support and a variety of new graphical and lighting effects.
- Free to those who owned the original game and all its DLC on or before October 28, 2016.[1]
- A significant number of graphics options are missing from the launcher's graphics option menu. The number of tweakable options in the config files has also been significantly reduced.
General information
- Official forums
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
- All versions require Steam DRM.
Essential improvements
Skip intro videos
Modify configuration file[2]
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- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open
Skyrim.ini .
- Go to the
[General] section.
- Add the following line
sIntroSequence= .
- Save your changes.
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Mods
- Before installing any mods, SKSE64 and either Nexus Mod Manager or Mod Organizer should be installed.
- Community-created patches which fix many issues which otherwise remain unresolved in the official patches, such as quest bugs, rendering issues and subtitle coding errors.
- Powerful and easy to use mod manager with mod virtualization, in order to keep the installation folder clean.
- Features a configuration editor, the SKSE executable can also be set to be launched through the configurator.
- Required by most mods.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
Save game data location
- Save data from the original game can be copied and used with Special Edition;[3] however, save files that are using mods may not work.[4]
System |
Native |
Notes |
OneDrive |
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Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers. |
Steam Cloud |
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Syncs up to 953.67 MB of saves online. |
Video settings
Launcher graphics settings.
Launcher advanced graphics settings.
In-game general settings.
Template:Video settings
Manually set resolution in SkyrimPrefs.ini[5]
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- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open
SkyrimPrefs.ini .
- Change
iSize H and iSize W to the display resolution's height and width respectively.
Notes
- Changing options in the launcher may undo this edit.
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Manually set borderless fullscreen windowed in SkyrimPrefs.ini[citation needed]
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- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open
SkyrimPrefs.ini .
- Change
bBorderless=1 and make sure bFull Screen=0 .
- Save and close the file.
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Disable Vsync[citation needed]
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- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open
SkyrimPrefs.ini .
- Change
iVSyncPresentInterval=1 to iVSyncPresentInterval=0 to disable Vsync.
- Save and close the file.
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SMAA Anti-Aliasing with SweetFX[citation needed]
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- Download custom SweetFX
- Extract archive contents to executable location, and replace DLL's with one's from x64 folder
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- Havok physics do not function correctly past 60 FPS by default.[6]
Remove 60 FPS cap and correct physics[7][8]
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- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open
Skyrim.ini .
- Under section
[Display] add line bLockFrameRate=0 to remove 60 FPS cap.
- Add the section
[HAVOK] and under it add line fMaxTime=(1 / your monitor's refresh rate) to correct the physics, i.e. for a 144 Hz monitor you would add fMaxTime=0.0069 .
- See Run the game at screen refresh rate to run the game at above 60 Hz refresh rate.
- See Vertical sync (Vsync) to disable Vsync if you want FPS to exceed your monitor's refresh rate.
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Input settings
Template:Input settings
Audio settings
Template:Audio settings
Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
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Traditional Chinese |
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French |
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German |
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Italian |
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Japanese |
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Polish |
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Russian |
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Spanish |
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Mute on focus lost
Set mute in background[citation needed]
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- Install Special K by following the Special K Unofficial Guide.
- Start the game and press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+← Backspace to toggle Special K's Control Panel.
- Expand "Window Management" and "Input/Output Behavior".
- Enable "Mute Game" under "Background Behavior".
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VR support
Issues fixed
AMD frame rate stuttering/screen tearing
- Default Skyrim v-sync frequently causes frame rate stuttering. Disabling in-game v-sync causes physics glitches. Enabling frame rate limiting in Crimson causes tearing
Set iVSyncPresentInterval to 0[9]
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- See Vertical sync (Vsync) to disable Vsync.
- Download Fallout 4 ENB v0.307.
- Extract the "WrapperVersion" folder and copy
d3d11.dll , d3dcompiler_46e.dll and ENBlocal.ini into the Skyrim Special Edition installation folder.
- Open
ENBlocal.ini .
- Under LIMITER, change
EnableFPSLimit=true to EnableFPSLimit=false
- Under ENGINE, change
ForceVsync=false to ForceVsync=true .
- Save and close the file.
Notes
- Game will start with a black screen and may take a solid minute or two for the main menu screen to appear.
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G-Sync frame rate stuttering
- With Nvidia G-Sync enabled frame rate becomes unstable.
Game crashes every 10-15 minutes on Windows 10
Disable the Touch Keyboard and Handwriting Panel Service on Windows 10[5]
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- Open the Start menu.
- Type
services.msc and press ↵ Enter.
- Search for
Touch Keyboard and Handwriting Panel Service on the list of services, double-click on it.
- Make sure that the service name is
TabletInputService .
- Change
Startup type to Disabled and click the apply button to disable the service from auto-starting.
- Click the stop button.
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Run the game at screen refresh rate
- Fullscreen mode defaults to 60 Hz, even if the screen refresh rate is set higher than that.
Set screen refresh rate[citation needed]
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- Install Special K by following the Special K Unofficial Guide.
- Start the game once and close it to allow the configuration file of Special K to be created.
- Open
<path-to-game>\dxgi.ini or %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Mods\SpecialK\Profiles\SkyrimSE.exe\SpecialK.ini depending on the installation method you used.
- Change
RefreshRate=-1 to RefreshRate=0 under [Render.FrameRate] .
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Allow pressing Alt+F4 to close the game
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
11 |
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Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
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Middleware
|
Middleware |
Notes |
Physics |
Havok |
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Interface |
Scaleform |
3.3.92 |
Cutscenes |
Bink Video |
1.99f |
Continue rendering in the background
System requirements
- 64-bit OS is required
Windows |
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Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
7 |
8.1, 10 |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Core i5-750 AMD Phenom II X4 945 |
Intel Core i5-2400 AMD FX-8320 |
System memory (RAM) |
8 GB | |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
12 GB | |
Video card (GPU) |
Nvidia GeForce GTX 470 AMD Radeon HD 7870 1-2 GB of VRAM DirectX 11 compatible
| Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 AMD Radeon R9 290 3-4 GB of VRAM DirectX 11 compatible |
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
References