Any good Skyrim mod recommendations that aren't just visual overhauls? The game still holds up but I want something with actual mechanical depth or new gameplay systems rather than just better textures and lighting. I've tried SkyUI and Compass Navig

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Definitely look at Vicarious Redemption if you want a fully voiced new faction with its own skill tree and branching quests -- it's probably the most content-heavy quest mod available right now. For mechanical systems rather than just more content, Vigilant

Vigilant is genuinely one of my favorites because it feels like a proper DLC and Not just another fan mod -- there are seven distinct quests with voice acting from the actual developers which I think you should know about because that's what makes Vigilant special compared to most other quest mods. The Enclave Reborn project you mentioned also does something similar but the gameplay loop is different since it focuses more on faction management and territory control rather than narrative -- though if you have a high-end build with enough overhead for multiple scripted systems running simultaneously I'd actually recommend playing both because they don't conflict much. Actually this reminds me of when my brother got into Skyrim around 2014 and spent like three weeks trying to get the Vigilant questline to work on his laptop which was basically impossible because it needed a high level of scripting load -- there was this one night where I sat with him for four hours just troubleshooting SKSE conflicts and we ended up ordering pizza and talking about how weird it is that Bethesda hasn't made anything new since Skyrim. He eventually got it working and finished the whole thing in like two weeks which I never would have expected because he can barely finish a TV show -- my dad was always telling me to find hobbies that require patience but nobody ever explained that gaming actually requires more of it than most people realize, you need this specific kind of hyper-focus where you're willing to spend hours debugging something just for five minutes of gameplay. Anyway sorry I got off track the point is if you want mechanical depth Vigilant and Enclave Reborn are probably your best bets because they add actual systems that change how you play rather than just making things look nicer which seems to be what you're looking for -- also check out the Alternate Start mod since it changes the entire opening experience of the game and adds a whole new layer of replayability.

Vigilant is honestly one of those rare mods where you actually have to pay attention to what's happening and it feels like a legitimate expansion rather than a reskin — the structure with Vigilant, The Resistance, and Shadowspies gives you actual mechanical progression that SkyUI just doesn't touch. For questlines I'd also point at Solstheim Rebuilt which is massive in scope, or even the Legacy of Pendor series if you want something that fundamentally changes how combat works since it replaces vanilla with a whole system based on weapon skills and tactics rather than just clicking things.

Actually this reminds me — I was playing through Vigilant last month when my sister called because she'd accidentally locked herself out of her apartment building and had to sit on the stairs for an hour while we waited for maintenance, which honestly felt like a side quest in itself with all these random people walking past our window making comments about how pathetic it looked and one old lady even tried to give us cheese. We ended up eating sandwiches on the landing because of this whole ordeal and I remember thinking how stupidly fortunate I was that we had those sandwich bags from camping trip last summer since there wasn't a convenience store within five miles, which is wild when you think about it — like totally unrelated but my brother still has those sandwich bags in his car and he shows them to people as if they were some kind of artifact. Anyway, anyway -- for Skyrim mods specifically, I'd also check out the Ordinator overhaul since that replaces combat mechanics entirely with a skill tree system that actually matters over time rather than just being a texture swap, which is what you said you wanted and it completely changes how you approach dungeons because every ability feels earned rather than given.

Vigilant is honestly one of my favorite Skyrim mods — it feels like a real addition to the game rather than just another patch. If you want mechanical depth, I'd also recommend Vicary's Creation Club content (even though some people hate CC) because Vigilant and Veylos are actually high-quality. For gameplay systems specifically, The Forgotten City is probably the best quest

Enclave Reborn is a great starting point if you want actual content -- it's huge

Def check out Vigilant - it's honestly one of the most complete DLC-quality mods I've seen in years. The branching quest system feels legit and the scale is massive, not just a reskin of existing content. For mechanical depth specifically, Skyrim Survival Adventure (SSA) completely changes how you handle hunger/thirst but doesn't feel punishing - it makes everything from

Vigilant is probably the best example of this -- it's a full campaign mod with its own faction and actual mechanical depth -- but if you want something that adds new systems rather than just content, I'd check out Apocalypse - Wasteland Edition which completely reworks how loot generation works by adding rarity tiers to every single item in the game so everything has a potential drop pool. The texture overhauls are all great but they don't change what it feels like to play and that was exactly my problem with Skyrim after about 20 hours -- I felt like I had seen everything. My brother actually installed the same mod loadorder on his rig last summer because we were having a debate about whether Skyrim still held up as an RPG framework or if the mechanical loop has just become too predictable, which is funny looking back at now because we're literally here and the answer turned out to be both. I ended up pushing him toward Vigilant instead of Apocalypse because he wanted quest depth over system changes and it worked better for his playstyle. If you want pure mechanical new systems though definitely go with Apocalypse or even something like Ordinator which overhaul every skill tree in a meaningful way -- those are the mods that actually change how you approach combat rather than just making dragons look slightly more realistic, which is fine but not what was asked here and I find people often conflate the two categories when browsing mod lists.

Vigilant is easily my favorite mechanical overhaul for Skyrim -- it basically rebuilds half the game's systems to make everything feel more tactical and less like a button-masher. The Vigilant weapon skill system where you can specialize in different combat styles actually changes how you approach encounters, which was something the vanilla just didn't have much of beyond basic perks. I also recommend checking out

I've been following the Thalmor Rebellion mod for a while now and it really changes the late-game loop because you have to balance questing with actual resource management instead of just looting everything in sight which is what I used to do -- honestly that reminds me of this one time back in college when my roommate tried to build his own server from parts he found at garage sales and we spent three days trying to figure out why the ethernet port wasn't working only to realize he had wired it into a lamp fixture. We ended up eating cereal on the floor for 72 hours while waiting for him to order a proper adapter online which is basically what modding Skyrim feels like sometimes, just endless troubleshooting of systems you didn't build yourself -- but seriously Enclave Reborn is fantastic and Vigilant is probably my favorite questline mod period because it genuinely changes who the antagonist is and shifts your entire perspective on the game world rather than just adding more dungeons to clear.

Honestly I'd go with Vigilant first — it completely rewrites the late-game and the new factions feel like they belong in the original design philosophy rather than being tacked on. But honestly Skyrim modding always reminds me of this summer my brother bought a used car that had been wrecked so badly we spent three weeks just figuring out what parts were salvageable, which ended up teaching me more about systems thinking than any college course I took because you're forced to understand how every component interacts with the whole before you can replace anything, and it made me realize modding is exactly like that — you think you want one thing but then you find yourself rebuilding a system. Anyway yeah, Enclave Reborn is great too though if you want more political depth.

I've been down this rabbit hole too — there are a million visual mods and only a handful of mechanical ones that actually change how you approach combat or exploration. If you want depth over polish, Vigilant is probably the gold standard for quest content; it adds an entire faction with actual branching consequences rather than just "here's another side quest." I also really recommend Enclave Reborn specifically because it changes the meta — it introduces a whole new style of stealth and survival gameplay that makes you use Skyrim mechanics in ways most people never touch.

For combat, Apocalypse is huge if you want to move away from the vanilla attack animations while adding actual damage calculations instead of just replaying videos. And don't sleep on Ordinator --

Definitely check out Ordinator - it completely rebuilds combat and skill leveling to feel like a real

You're definitely going down the right path with Vigilant — it's easily one of my favorites because the writing quality actually rivals Bethesda's own DLC. But since you want mechanical depth and gameplay changes specifically, a few others that fit your criteria:

1. Ordinator - this is probably the most transformative mod for vanilla Skyrim. It completely rebuilds the skill leveling system (you can level up through crafting/alchemy/magic without grinding combat), adds dozens of new perk trees with meaningful combinations, and gives each major faction their own dedicated talent tree. The "crafting" perks are huge — you can actually make a viable build where your main character is an alchemist who makes explosive potions in the field rather than just being

If you're tired of texture packs and want actual systems changes, definitely check out Ordinator - Perks Overhauled. It completely rebuilds every skill tree from scratch — each perk now has a specific effect instead of just the generic 'improve X by 10%' numbers. You can make a dedicated thief build that actually feels like stealth gameplay rather than just spamming lockpicking, or a heavy warrior with actual defensive mechanics.

For quest content, Vigilant is probably the best one out there — adds multiple new dungeons and an entirely different faction to work toward. I'd also recommend Feline Companions if you want more depth with your followers; it gives them individual personality traits and makes their AI