We’ve all heard the saying, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” That’s very true in Skyrim, and it’s always more fun to win a battle against an enemy that’s difficult to defeat. These mods make some parts of battle easier, but even more-so, they make you earn your victories.

10. Dual Wield Parrying

Dual wielding is great - twice the weapons; twice the attack ability. But blocking enemy attacks is still important. How do you do that with both hands full? Well, you use this mod.

Improves Combat:

• block attacks while dual wielding
• mod works when dual wielding weapons, spells, bare fists, and most other combinations
• simple but effective

Get the mod here.

9. Wards Functionalities Extended

Improves Combat:

• break opponents’ wards
• customize magnitude, cost, charge rate,, and absorption rate 
• new types of wards

Get the mod here.

8. Archery Gameplay Overhaul

Improves Combat:

• draw a bow in half the time
• adds “arm fatigue” so you will become more shaky the longer you hold a drawn bow (like in real life)
• adds bashing attack options

Get the mod here.

7. Lock-On

It’s already enough to focus on taking down an enemy in battle, you don’t want to have to move the camera around to keep the enemy in focus, too. This mod will take care of keeping the enemy in your sights so you can focus on defeating them.

Improves Combat:

• automatically keeps the camera focused on a specific target
• if there are multiple enemies, you can choose which to look at
• simple but effective

Get the mod here.

6. ASIS

The intelligence level of NPCs in Skyrim is sad, and it makes the gameplay unrealistic. It’d be much more interesting if the NPCs could do things like use magic and heal themselves. 

Improves Combat:

• NPCs have access to all the spells you do (including spells from mods installed at a later time)
• NPCs also have access to all the perks you do
• Enemy AI is improved

Get the mod here.

5. Mortal Enemies

This doesn’t allow enemies to mirror you during a battle. Without this mod, your PC can’t dodge attacks to the left or right since it doesn’t do anything for you as the enemy is following you 1-for-1.

Improves Combat:

• character can doge left/right
• allows a player to “fake left/right” effectively
• “locks” attacks to a specific target - you won’t attack the air by accident - the air didn’t do anything to you

Get the mod here.

4. Wildcat 

This makes battles in Skyrim feel like you’re fighting for your life. Your PC is fighting for their life, so why not have you feel the same way?

Improves Combat:

• increases the damage dealt with different attacks
• adds injuries that affect abilities later on (ie. get stabbed in the leg and limp the rest of the day)
• speeds up combat to put more emphasis on decision-making

Get the mod here.

3. TK Dodge

This mod allows a player to dodge during a battle, which is actually quite useful.

Improves Combat:

• lets a player dodge attacks from both short and long range
• makes dodge animation seem more realistic
• another simple but effective mod

Get the mod here.

2. Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim

This mod creates hundreds of perks. With this mod, how you battle is just as important as landing hits. For instance, a quick hit with an arrow from close-range won’t deal the same damage as an arrow hit from long-range that you take your time with.

Improves Combat:

• how a character plays affects outcomes
• opens up new character options
• adds new crafting skills
• these are some of the major points, but there’s so much more.

Get the mod here.

1. Ultimate Combat

This gives NPCs many new attacks to choose from. You could potentially go through an entire battle with an NPC and not see the same attack twice. This mod throws predictability out the window.

Improves Combat:

• gives NPCs new attack actions
• allows NPCs to dodge your attacks
• makes battles more realistic by making NPCs “smarter”

Get the mod here.

You may also be interested in:

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• [Top 10] Skyrim Mods That Add More Enemies
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• [Top 10] Skyrim Best Builds of All Time
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• Skyrim Best Light Armors And How To Get Them
• [Top 25] Best Skyrim Mods For a Brand New Experience
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• [Top 10] Skyrim Best Swords and How to Get Them
• [Top 10] Best Skyrim Horror Mods For a Brand New Experience