Skyrim modder overhauls the game’s combat to be like Elden Ring

Life in Skyrim is generally pretty chill, with the means to make money never being too far away, especially if you’re good at alchemy or know which NPCs carry the most pocket change.

However, whether it’s via introducing a Shadow of Mordor-esque nemesis system, making dragon priest masks demonically possess their characters, or adding lore-friendly deathclaws, Skyrim modders are always looking for ways to make the fight to survive in Skyrim a little harder.

While the latest big mod to arrive on the game’s Nexus doesn’t explicitly cite making your life harder as its goal, it will force you to work a little harder to become a master in combat.

Ever wanted to take your Skyrim swordsmanship to the next level?

Called ‘Valhalla Combat’, the mod in question is the work of modder dTry, whose previous work has brought an Elden Ring-style counter mechanic to the game, along with an Assassin’s Creed Valhalla-inspired camera preset.

Now, though, they’ve brought a huge raft of improvements to Skyrim’s pretty barebones combat system, aiming to bring it up to date with titles like Elden Ring and God of War.

The mod does this in several configurable ways, the first of which is a massive change to how stamina works, with some attacks and blocks now regenerating it and becoming exhausted being much more of a penalty for both you and your NPC enemies.

Second on the list is the introduction of a Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice-esque timed blocking system, which ensures that players who block at the right moments can avoid taking damage from incoming hits and even direct some back towards their attacker, as well as having the option to block projectiles like arrows, provided they have enough magicka.

Finally, the mod introduces a God of War-eqsue stun system, which works with Ershin’s ‘TrueHUD - HUD Additions’ to give enemies a stun value based on their health and stamina, which can be worn down to leave the enemy in an executable state, at which point they can be taken out in killer style via a press of the dedicated execution key.

That’s all you’ve got to delve into for now, though dTry currently plans to try and add a poise system and some integration for perk overhauls in future updates.

So, grab your weapon of choice, take a few practice swings, and make sure to follow us for more updates on The Elder Scrolls 6 and the wacky world of Skyrim modding.