Your game starts here
Modding doesn’t have to be difficult. Learn how to create your perfect Logical Load Order in under an hour.From beginner primers to in-depth information, everything you need to know is here.Each of these pages is sectioned into bite sized information for you to consume as time allows, giving you the information you need at hand.The original Logical Load Order was created by Tarshana on the Bethesda forums (before they were closed) back in 2017. Doc Alva was the mastermind behind the Spreadsheet and Vexonar has kept up the document.While the document was plagerised by others and information stolen without permission, it stands as a testament to how well it's worked for all these years. It's useable for any platform.Ready to begin your LLO journey?
Part 1
Come on in, grab a Jazbay Mead and enjoy learning a bit of gaming terminology. It's the perfect way to start your journey into creating your personal Logical Load Order document and learning how to mod Skyrim.
Part 2
General Skyrim modding terms, how to choose your mods, what the LLO Spreadsheet is and how it works, how mods are loaded and the section definitions of the Logical Load Order document.
Part 3
Documentation
Join us here and learn how to place your mods and key phrases to look for when reading mod pages.
Part 4
Now that you are armed with all the information you need for building your Load Order; let's start! Get ready to grab a copy of your Logical Load Order and begin to build your world.
Part 5
Now that your Load Order document is filled out, let's get ready to test. The beauty of our testing method is that it can be applied to any type of play-through whether you're a mage, an archer, a warrior or jack of all trades.
More Help
If you're still feeling a bit stumped you can join the Armored Reptile Modding (ARM) Discord for free help!
Armored Reptile Gaming
This website maintained by Vexonar of Vex Modding and the Armored Reptile Gaming Community.
© Vex Modding. All rights reserved.
Arm yourself with knowledge
Basic and learner information is contained in this post as a primer for learning how games, and mods, work and interact with each other.
General Gaming Terms
Game EngineThe “engine” is the system in which a game is compiled to work all its parts together. Some engines are open, like the Unreal Engine, or closed such as the Creation Engine for Bethesda games. A “closed” engine is meant to work for one studio, but “open” engines can be used by anyone.
MeshA mesh, or model, is the shape of every object in a game, from flowers to trees to people to butterflies, those are what gives the 3D experience for a game. This also includes the ground you walk on and even the sky above.
HavokHavok provides a physics engine component and related functions to video games.It allows for opening of chests, collision and general movement, like when a bottle “flings” after you kick it.It’s also where the animations are stored.The performance impact of Havok is thus: the game has to calculate the collision detection for all moving items per frame. This is why the game was capped at 60 FPS for PC and 30 FPS for Xbox and Playstation. More on that below.
TextureTextures are the colors applied to meshes so they display as an object your brain can process. For instance; a barrel mesh would be a white or purple blob in game but if there is a texture applied then it would show wood. This is similar to wearing a shirt with a print on it in your every day life.
RenderingThis means that the engine gives commands to your GPU to compute the image. At their heart games are all math. Even textures are stored as computations.The CE can only render so fast. Bethesda set it to 30FPS. Think of each frame as a heartbeat. In one second it beats 30 times. If it beats more than that it’s having a heart attack.If it beats less it’s stressed and is working harder to catch up.
Scripts/CodeEvery game has a scripting language that tells the game what to do and when. Some games run on the language C++, some run on Python and Skyrim runs on Papyrus. Note: “Script heavy” is an outdated term and should not longer be used.
EffectsAlso called “FX” is movement you find in game, such as fire or waterfalls. It is an effect of movement.
Sound/MusicMusic is the overall sound of what you will hear in a game, voices are part of the sound system along with sound effects, or Sound FX/SFX, for things like the draw of a bowstring or footsteps.
System on a ChipSoC. This is used often to describe the inner workings of a console. This is a combination of several components you’d find in a PC. Mainly the CPU and GPU.But pressing it all on one chip you save manufacturing costs. Microsoft is a business and wants to make money so they want the Xbox to be cost effective.
Load on DistanceLOD or as some call it “Level of Detail” just says when an object switches from a low quality mesh/texture to a high quality one. Note I said; “low quality”.Yes that means you don’t need High Definition LODs. LODs aren’t “high def” they are very low def. We can use these to soften the blow of an object popping up as you approach, but they are set by Bethesda and there isn’t a lot that can be done with them.There are two types of load files- meshes and textures. Both are needed. In some rare cases “draw distance” is a term used however, “draw distance” is a buzz word and shouldn’t be used with Skyrim.
Frames Per SecondThe CE is capped to 60FPS on 1X/XS, 30 FPS on Original and S
Capped means, doesn’t go past.
There is no such thing as a FPS boost.In 2024 Bethesda updated their own engine which fixed many issues plaguing the X/1X version of the XBox.Unless something is very wrong with your console or game this will rarely drop to 28FPS.Havok is tied to FPS. FPS that tries to go higher than 30 would cause all moveable meshes to explode regularly and cause the game to consistently crash.Please stop thinking your game instability is because you need more FPS - you probably have a poorly made mod or are trying to summon 500 eldrich horrors in The Sleeping Giant Inn. Funny, but not very conducive.The latest updates to the Skyrim game have lessened a lot of these issues, but it's still something to be aware of.
If you want to read more about gaming development, I highly suggest the Unreal Development documentation or developer notes. Some really cool tidbits exist in those places.Let's head over to the Primer when you're ready.
Skyrim Modding Terms
Learn what the basic terms are to take your Load Order to the next level.
Logical Load OrderCreated by Tarshana in 2017, original Spreadsheet by Doc Alva, more spreadsheet development by Ish and finalized version by Vexon. It was the first load order created by a mod author for console users that even PC and PS4 users can follow and use.
Creation EngineThe Creation Engine is the engine on which Skyrim was created. It was also used for Morrowwind, Oblivion and Fallout 3.
Creation KitThe Creation Kit is the software used by mod authors to create mods. It’s the same technology that Bethesda devs use. However, their use and edits are given a Version Control which is handled by the Skyrim execution file whereas a mod author’s version control is not.
ESMAn ESM file is “Elder Scrolls Master” file which automatically loads at the top of your load order. Mods with the ESM flag will let you know if it is an ESM. You cannot move them below normal mods.
ESLThe “ESL” is the lite type of mod file for Creation Club mods. These mods are loaded behind the scenes before your ESM files. Anniversary Edition (AE) will download all of them once you upgrade and install AE on your console.
ESP
The “ESP” is also called an “Elder Scrolls Patch” (which sounds funny, but ultimately a Skyrim mod is just a patch of information to alter the base game into something else.) While some ESPs are patches of two or more mods, the standard ESP is used for a mod in and of itself.
Patch/PatchingA “patch” mod stitches together, or patches, conflicting information so two mods can be used at once.
ConflictA conflict between two mods means that they are trying to edit the same thing and whichever is loaded lower will be the mod that shows in the game. If you have one mod that edits the model of a weapon but other that edits the enchantment, only one can be used unless you create a patch to show the new model and new enchantment.Not all conflicts result in crashes!
CrashingA crash is when the game stops running and sends you to the Dashboard, or Desktop, also known as a CTD – crash to desktop/dashboard. The common cause of crashing is broken or deleted references in a mod, or the base game file itself.
Dirty Edits/Dirty ModsA dirty mod is a mod that hasn’t been cleaned of deleted references, broken navmesh, “identical to master” (ITM) or edits that are not intended for the mod. All mods should be cleaned and ready for use by console users and it is of the highest priority that all mod authors, or a porter, does this.
Wild EditsA “wild edit” happens when a mod author is creating a mod and the Creation Kit makes a random edit that we don’t need. Generally these result in ITM, or Identical to Master file records, which can cause stability problems or crashing.
Choosing Mods
Skyrim mods require a particular load order in which to read each file. The game doesn’t care in the order of downloading, only the order of organizing.
Creation Club ModsCreation Club mods are listed as “ESL” and won’t appear on your mod screen. They are loaded at the top before your master files. If you haven’t upgraded to the Anniversary (AE) edition, it’s a good idea to list them just in case you have questions.
Rule of OneAs with all other games out there the Rule of One states that if you like two mods that change the same record, pick one and save the other one for another game. In some cases there can be a patch (one game edits the armour colour while another changes the weight but because they’re on the same record they need a patch to make both changes show up).
Last One StandingMods are injected into the game from TOP to BOTTOM. Which means if you have two mods that edit a rock, the rock will be moved to the position of the LOWEST placed mod. Last Loaded Mod Wins the Prize. Keep this in mind!
PlanningLoad Orders should be pre-planned using the Logical Load Order document. By going through each mod and reading the description, it’ll be easy to tell which mods won’t conflict and the document also gives you a mod count and mod size column. Console is limited to 150 mods and 4.95 gigabytes of data. There is 40 mb of space partitioned by Microsoft to allow for a buffer in downloading files and mods and updating them. This is space you cannot use.
Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets are a powerful tool that allows for a lot of information organized into cells. Cells read top to bottom (columns) and right to left (rows). The Logical Load Order was first created by Tarshana in 2017 and the first spreadsheet was created by Doc Alva. A further revision was created by Ish and then finalized by Vexonar.
This document was always intended to empower the user to make wise decisions, plan their game and know at a glance how much space and how many mods their Load Order was taking up.It also has a handy guide for the technical side of mod downloading and a Section Definition to help understand how the game reads mods.
Using the Logical Load Order Document in Google Sheets is only a 3 step process:
First log-in into your Google account.
Open up the LLO sheet and select File – Save a Copy.
Open that copy and rename it to your Discord handle or nickname. Never use your real life name!
Once you have your own copy, you can scroll down to the variety of tabs that have labelled information.There are several blank Load Orders for you to edit, along with several templates for mod ideas and play-throughs.
How Mods are Ordered
When Skyrim loads into your console, it will also read any mods added. When loaded, your mods are injected starting from the top to the bottom. Which means any mod loaded last will have the final say in how anything in the game is modified. This is why we go by the Rule of 1.
Mod A edits a bush in Dawnstar
Mod B edits the same bush in Dawnstar
Mod C edits yet the same bush in Dawnstar
Mod C’s position of the bush will show up in your game.
While this won’t mean your game will crash because so many mods move the same bush, that bush might be in the way of something another mod added near it.
Mod Section DefinitionsEach section definition gives you an idea of what mods should be entered into your spreadsheet.
We order the mods with the least invasive mods at the top, such as font styles, because most people will only pick one of those and very rarely needs any conflict resolution.
We then introduce perks and magic overhauls, of which there’s only one perk overhaul and magic overhaul you’ll use, but perhaps two or three magic additions to the world.
Then we put our meshes and textures together in a block in the middle because it’s usually the longest list and our brains tend to process larger bits of info much more easily when placed between smaller blocks of info.
After the basic “rule of one” mod picks we then introduce the more complex of load ordering: area edits.
There are several types of area edits that can compound a situation because of Navmesh.
We very much want to smooth out any issues that might arise with mods that edit areas and the navmesh.
Remember! Load Orders are not static ! Sometimes you have to move a few things around to conflict resolve.
© Vex Modding. All rights reserved.
Tips and Tricks
Knowledge if PowerIf you’ve read the primer already then you’re a step in the right direction. Picking and choosing mods is all about knowing what kind of character you’re going to play. If you’re interested in archery, then archery based mods should be your primary focus.
Reading Mod DescriptionsEvery mod description should tell you what the mod is doing.If you are reading about a mod that adds a house, it should tell you the location. In the LLO document you will notice a “minor” or “single area edit” section which is what a housing mod does- edits one location. You can write down the mod into that section and make a note which area it edits and cross-reference on your sheet for other edits in the same location and test to make sure they play together nicely.
Mod TestingA basic setup for testing mods is the Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch (USSEP)
, Alternate Start: Live Another Life and Divine Interventions.USSEP fixes broken quests and other issues that causes instability with the game itself.Alt Start will allow you to jump start and bypass the intro scene so you can test your mods quickly and effectively with little fuss. It also has the vanilla start and smooths it out to reduce hiccups.Divine Interventions gives you powerful tools to test the stability of your game and the mods you pick. You can ask OldMansBeard for money, level up boost and have access to the Bat Cave which includes every single item in the game, items from other mods and all crafting stations.
Load Orders are not static ! Sometimes you have to move a few things around to conflict resolve.When you are selecting full overhauls, such as weapons or armor, only pick one. In another play through you can try another set of textures to change the way the game looks which increases your re-playability of Skyrim.
PatchesPatches are always loaded below the mods they edit. Make sure you have ordered the mods in accordance with the patch directions.
Creation ClubCreation Club mods will load at the top before your ESMs, or Master Files.
RemovingModsDo not remove a mod mid-play. The game will crash when it can no longer access the information the mod places into your game.Imagine if you had a chair you were sitting on and the Great Thor yeeted that chair from under you as you were sitting down - you crash. The Creation Engine is the same way.
Adding ModsWhen adding a mod mid-game be mindful! There are persistent references which are hard-baked into your game and will not move to the position it should be. Always plan and test your game before you start.It would be as though you had a chair next to a table and then Thor put a table on your table without making sure the first table was gone. Now you have tables in tables.
Remember! Load Orders are not static ! Sometimes you have to move a few things around to conflict resolve.Yes, I said it twice! And I'll be saying it again just in case - I think it bears repeating.One thing I learned over the years is that people can sometimes panic over their options when filling out the LLO document and this can help.So breathe in and exhale. You got this.
Definitions in Order
I've broken up the LLO document in the 6 main sections:
The first section of your LLO which are the "one and done" mods, like Font Choices in which only one can ever be picked simply because if you had 100 font files, the lowest one wins so there's no point in adding more.
The second section is about how you interact with your game mechanics like camera adjustments, perks and magic. Sometimes these work together or need patching or adjustment so we place them here for ease of use.
The third section is all about how you interact with the world in regards to levelled lists, audio and weather visuals. These mods might require extra adjustment or patching so we place it here to be easy to visualize.
The fourth section is all about your mesh and texture changes. There might be some movement of your mods based on selections you want. Because it's usually the largest selection we want it in the middle to make it easier for you to read. You're free to always break down the textures into Architecture, Animals, Clutter and Flora if you want to tailor your mod sections even further (which I've done in the past).
The fifth section is all about the NPCs you engage with the world. How they act, what they look like and also character creation edits, which are usually tied to NPC edits (but not always).
The six section is all about those area placement mods, your map textures and anything that might require being placed at the bottom of your LO - it's extremely rare that any mod has to be placed there but just in case, we have it in this section.
Now let's read about these sections in-depth. Or if you're good with this, head over to How-To and start placing your mods.
Section Definitions 1
The section definitions on this tab will guide you about the top, or basic, mod selections and what they do. Most are self-explanatory and are included in mod descriptions and require little guess work.
Master FilesMods that are Master Files always load at the top. These include mods such as the Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch (USSEP) or Campfire. If you download a mod that you can’t move from the top, then chances are it’s a “master file.”
Foundations
Standalone mods that are rarely affected by other mods. Mods such as Frostfall or Ars Metallica would fall into this category.
Menus, User Interface and Font Changes
Mods that edit the basic game elements to enhance your gameplay rather than disrupt it. This includes mods such as Sovngarde or Lore-Based Loading Screens.
Menus, User Interface and Font Changes
Mods that edit and adjust vanilla quests. This includes editing vanilla quest objectives by giving you more map compass pointers.
Pure Crafting Items
Mods that give you purely crafted items to make yourself. Even if the mod includes a “cheat chest” somewhere, place the mod here. The primary objective is a crafting item, not the cheat chest that edits an interior.
Section Definitions 2
These are the mods for how you interact with the game mechanics such as camera adjustments. These mods might require some place changing depending on the description and interaction with other mods.
Game Mechanic ChangesGame mechanics are basic overhauls that adjust the way you interact with the gameplay mechanics like kill moves. If you are reading a mod and it doesn’t fall into pure combat changes or NPC facial edits, chances are it’s a foundation or gameplay edit and can be placed here.
Level Progression Changes
Mods that edit how a player levels.Leveling and perks are the same edits behind the scenes. When you level to a certain number you gain a Perk so editing one, edits the other.
Perk Overhauls
Mods that edit the perk trees directly. If you are using a mod that edits level progression as well you will need a patch to make both work.
Magic Additions and Overhauls
Any mod that overhauls the magic system, shouts, and adds new spells or shouts should be placed here. Some mods that edit magic also adjust perk trees so make sure your perk and magic overhauls are properly patched when necessary. The mod description page will tell you if you need these.
Section Definitions 3
These are mods about how you interact with the world in regards to levelled lists, audio and weather visuals. These mods might require some place changing depending on the description and interaction with other mods. In general they should work as standalone.
Item and Loot Leveled ListsItems from a vendor, in a boss chest or even from enemies are based on Leveled Loot Lists. The Rule of 1 still stands here. If you have two mods that edit MagicList001 then whichever mod is loaded lower will display the items found there.
Some loot mods only touch vendor inventories while other loot mods focus on dungeon loot. These mods should have proper documentation and necessary patches. In some cases, it can take up to 3 days for inventories to reset before you know if they are working, or 30 days for dungeons.
Enemy or Actor Leveled ListsMuch like inventories, the enemies you encounter are also attached to a list. The rules that apply for item lists also apply for enemy lists. The only thing that changes is what’s in the list; the first one are tradeable objects and the second are actors.
Item Attributes and Effect Changes
Item attributes are things like weight, cost, damage or enchantments.
Audio – Sound/Music Changes and Overhauls
Mods that adds, modifies or disables sound effects or music files. Many outdoor sounds are affected by Regions which Weather overhauls need in order to display properly. As such you should always place music and sound files before weather mods. Many weather mods come with their own sounds and/or patches to sound overhauls when necessary.
Weather and AtmosphereMods that adds, modifies or overhauls the world space weather system. All weathers are on a “playlist” and there are ways that can disrupt a playlist. Forcing too many sunny or rainy weathers will do this along with edits to the timescale. Timescale should never be set lower than 12, although even that’s pushing for issues. Timescale is not just weather or time; it’s how the game times animations, too.Just remember - if you lower that Timescale, it'll still be light out when you travel from one edge of Skyrim to the other and that's probably more immersion breaking than having to eat food more often when using Survival.
Section Definitions 4
This section is all about your mesh and texture changes.These mods might require some place changing depending on the description and interaction with other mods.Some people organize their meshes and textures by Architecture, Animals, Clutter and Flora to keep it easy to read.
Grass Mods
Mods that adjust vanilla grasses textures and growth. Do not confused this with landscape! Grass is the non-collision meshes you see sprout through the ground, landscape are the hard painted textures under your feet.
Landscape and Grass Fixes
This section was created for Landscape Fixes for Grass Mods so it would be easy to spot in your LO and not miss out if you forgot to grab it.
Idles and Animations
Mods that modifies NPC/Player idle and/or combat animations. Animations are use at your own risk. They are meshes with timed animation attached and as such can bake into your save and cause problems.
Skin Meshes and Textures and SkeletonsTo be perfectly honest, these mods can go into general mesh and textures but far too often people would put 3 or 4 of these together and get confused as to why they didn’t work. This section was created to help people remember Rule of 1 and to keep organized.Meshes and textures for bodies are how skin is displayed for the NPCs and player. You can only have 1 affecting Human/Mer, Khajiit and Argonian Races.
General Mesh and Texture Fixes and Overhauls
Mods that change the mesh and textures of anything you see in Skyrim; whether it’s barrels or chickens. Read the descriptions carefully. When making a list start with the larger overhauls like architecture and armors first and work your way down.
Section Definitions 5
This section is about how the NPCs interact in the world and how they look with character edits. There can be heavy mod placement and patch use so it's wise to really pay attention to the mod descriptions.
NPC AI Mods
Mods that adds, modifies or disables aspects of the AI gameplay for NPCs. This includes human or beast actors.
NPC/PC Immersion Mods
Mods in this section are mods that expand on role play, or immersion, of Skyrim. Mods that add value to the way you interact in the world such as Relationship Dialogue Overhaul (RDO) or Cutting Room Floor (CRF).
NPC/PC Facial Modifications, Presets and Race Edits
The mods under this section encompass the way NPCs and PC look which includes presets, hair color, skin color, makeup colors, and racial edits. Mods that add hairs should not be editing the racial data so make sure you load those first, same with extra eye colors.
NPC/PC Combat AI MechanicsMods that change the way NPCs and PC interact during combat. Read carefully the description as some overhauls incorporate little tweaks like “no projectile dodge” mechanics.
Section Definitions 6
This part of your LLO is all about interior and exterior edits with a nod to your map mods and specialized bottom placement mods. The most important part about your area edits is not only how you place those mods, but if they require navmesh patching.
Interior Lighting and/or Decorating Mods
Mods that edit any interior, including placing random chests. You should always place mods that add one or two items first, then decoration mods and lighting mods last.Lighting mods are dependant on templates to reduce flickering and unwanted attention and any mod that edits an interior will carry over vanilla values. Make sure they don’t overwrite your lighting choice.
Minor Exterior Area EditsMods with one or many area edits that do not require the use of Location Data. Location data is important for quests to work and many exterior edit mods don’t need this data so can be safely loaded above those that do need the data. Mods included in this section include hand placed weapons, followers, enemies or even lanterns.
Unique Exterior Edits
Mods that adds or modifies, a specific area in the world space that has not touched navmesh. Something like a mod that edits a Mundas/Standing Stone would be here
Unique Follower ModsUnique and standalone followers that are placed about the world. This does not include specialized Follower mods like Inigo that have a quest and area edits attached. See below for those.
City Overhauls or Multi-Edits to Exterior
Mods that adds, modifies or overhauls multiple cities in the world space within the same mod.
Quest Mods or NPC Additions with Area Edits/Overhauls and NavmeshMods that add new quests along with adding multiple NPCs to the world. This is also where you place heavily navmeshed overhauls like Divine Cities.
Housing or Singular City/Town ModsIf you are using big overhauls and find a weird conflict because you've decided to use a house mod in the middle of it, you can try to place the mod under the larger area edits and hope for a conflict resolution but if there has been navmesh edits, a patch needs to be created for the NPCs to use the doors and navigate. Note: mods with poorly made navmesh are almost impossible to patch and might end up causing crashing.
Map Mods
Mods that edit the textures of the world map or adjust the color the map markers themselves. Please note A Quality World Map needs patches to run smoothly on the console.
Bottom LO and Specialized ModsSpecific mods that require the lowest possible position in your LO due to specific zone edits or special fixes in your game. Please note: “low as possible” in a mod description means the lowest in its section
, not here and even that's debatable based on your personal load order and conflict resolution.
Unfortunately, due to poor mismanagement of early mod engagement, many mod authors would have to tell people just to place their mods at the bottom of the LO to work. Which probably isn't wrong, but if that mod is overwriting something the player is needing, it should be documented at the very least.Sometimes, if you want two mods that simply have conflict issues and no patching, you'll have to either sacrifice one for the other, switch them for different playthroughs or simply deal with it.
But now that you've read all about how mods are placed and which mods will go where, let's head to the How-To section and start placing your mods.
© Vex Modding. All rights reserved.
How-To: Create your Load Order
Getting Started
Step OneYou will need a Google account to access the sheet. Signup is free!For mobile users the correct Application to use is Google Sheets. Once you are logged into your account, pull up the sheet on your device.Now point yourself to The Logical Load Order Document
On PC, Notebook, etc:
Select File
Save a Copy
Rename it to your Discord handle or nickname.
On Mobile Device:
Select your Menu (3 dots)
Share
Export
Rename it to your Discord handle or nickname
Now you can open the document on your own account and edit it. You cannot edit the public copy.
Step TwoRead the section definitions if you haven’t already. Click the tabs at the bottom of the document; they are labeled for the information it contains.Check the empty tab, there are 3 total. Two you can use to make lists of mods and the first one is for you to use for your play-through. You can always make more copies of the blank template by selecting the tab and making a copy. It will add itself to the last of the tabs.
Step ThreeGo down the list of each section of your blank document. USSEP should be added at the top with Alternate Start at the bottom so you can test your load order when you are finished.Fill in the mods you want to use. For myself, I start with my texture packs because I know the ones I want to use. Then I pick out what quest or area edits I want and then further tailor my game with perks or combat overhauls.Cross check for any conflict information.If you are still lost, you can join us on Discord where we offer a friendly, inclusive atmosphere to help people with their LO.
Step FourOnce you have finished your LO, you can now download your mods.- Download your mods one at a time.
- Then download any patches that might be required.
When you are finished, go into your mod screen and adjust the mods in the same order that you have on your LLO document.Now before you start testing, you can look at the sections here about Downloading, Updating, Deleting and Adding mods if you want more in-depth information, or head over to the Testing Page.
Downloading Mods
When you are ready for your first, or new, play through, your system should be clean and ready to go.Make sure you have cleared out old saves and your game cache. In rare cases, the data between Microsoft and Bethesda can interact with each other and cause problems. So a clean slate is always the best way to go.
Download your mods one at a time.
Make a note on your LLO document with each one you download (you’ll find out why in a moment).Once you are done downloading each mods, go into your Load Order and arrange the mods exactly as you see on your document.
Operation Error “Operation Could Not Be Completed.”There are three reasons for this error.Reason 1: There’s a server issue with Bethesda and until it’s resolved, you can’t do anything with the mod itself.Reason 2: You already downloaded or deleted the mod with the same ESP or ESM name and now the BSA is stuck.If you download the original mod name when that happened, you should be able to delete it.However, it’s not fool-proof and might require you to reset your cache and start again.Reason 3. To piggy back on Reason 2, if you are downloading over wi-fi this might have disrupted the process and only part of the mod was downloaded.You can try to re-download and delete, but chances are it’s stuck until you clear your cache.
Updating Mods
When a mod has been updated, check to see if it requires a new game. If not then grab your LLO document, make a note of the mod, or mods, you are updating.Go into your mods screen on the console and delete them first. When you are done deleting, reinstall and then put them back into the right position on your load order.Bethesda usually deletes and re-downloads to “update” which causes the mods to be ordered low on the load order.Sometimes their delete service is disrupted causing “ghost space” and you are unable to “complete the operation.”By deleting and reinstalling manually you can usually prevent ghost space.
Deleting Mods
Only delete mods you are not longer going to use.Do not delete a mod mid play or you will encounter crashing.Imagine if you have a sofa in your house that the Right Hand of Talos removes. When you sit down you will crash to the ground. Your load order is no different.The ONLY type of mod you can safely remove mid-game are mods that contain ONLY meshes and/or textures without ANY other edits.If you delete a mod, you do so at your own risk and no one can be held accountable to your decision.
Adding Mods Mid-Game
Bethesda has stated you can add mods midgame.There is a huge caveat here– adding a broken mod will break your game.Adding a mod that moves a chair from point A to point B and removes reference data another NPC from another mod was using will cause problems, too, such as the chair hanging in mid-air or the NPC to stand around and not know what to do.Adding a mod that’s moving stuff already persistent might not move until the cell reset. It is highly, highly, suggested you make your LO first and wait to add mods in another game.If you insist on adding a mod, please make sure you are outside and create two saves. Add the mod and adjust your Logical Load Order for the placement.You'll have to wait 30 in-game days in order for the cells to reset and this is how we do it safely:Load your game.Go inside an interior and exit again so the game can update itself.So you'll need to wait outside for 24 hours, enter an interior and exit. Wait another 24 hours, etc, until the cells are purged of old data.
© Vex Modding. All rights reserved.
Getting Started
Test 001
A Standardized Shakedown Test as Written by OldMansBeard – OMBYour LO should at least include USSEP and Alt Start -LAL
Fix your LLO sheet to be 100% right
Fix the LO on your XBox to correspond 100% to the sheet
Delete all of your saves
Hard Reset
Start a new character in somewhere like Riverwood (for example, as a patron of the Sleeping Giant)
Turn off Autosaves (save on Rest, Save on Wait, Save on Travel)
Walk (don’t run or teleport) to Whiterun. AKA: Don’t fast travel, don’t teleport, don’t use cheating ways to get to Whiterun. Head there on foot like you would as though it’s your very first game.
Save
Enter Whiterun
Save again
Quit to Dashboard, restart the game and load that last save
Do the Whiterun Loop (that is, walking to all the Districts and listening to conversations)
Save again
This should let you know if your game is more or less stable at the start. There's no way to fully test the entire game until you actually play. Always have a save handy!
Whiterun Loop
The loop does not assume what mods you are using. Any mods making alterations to Whiterun will effect not only the performance but also how you may need to approach the loop.For example: When using Cutting Room Floor (CRF) you’ll need to stop outside the city to see the dialogue for Uthgerd and allow her to re-enter the city.Mods are your responsibility and the loop is just for a general stability check. If a mod changes something you will need to check those changes and in many cases come up with alterations to the loop to compensate.
Be sure it’s daytime when first entering Whiterun, watch the conversation between the Battle-Born and Blacksmith.
Then go left up the stairs and walk around to Braith bullying Lars and listen to that. Then on toward the big tree for Armen getting chewed out by his wife, listen to that.
Now go down the steps into the market and enter the Bannered Mare. Leave and watch the Battle-Borns pester the old Gray-Mane Lady. Head back up the stairs and go into Jorrvaskr. Watch the fight, you’ll need to get close to them for it to finish, and then leave.
Head up to the Skyforge, then go into Dragonsreach. It is best to save before entering each location. This will “initialize” Whiterun to run smoother and be less crashy.
Troubleshooting
If you are in a position where you keep crashing over and over at a particular location it’s time to dig into your Load Order and see what’s going on.Note: If you are already in the Armored Reptile Gaming Discord we have a wide variety of mods that are already scanned and checked. Make sure none of the mods on your list is in the dirty mod section.Finding the issueFirst disable all of your mods except USSEP and Alt Start. You will want to enable the highest probable cause of the issue you’re experiencing and test that mod first. Go down your list of mods one by one.Sometimes an “innocent” mod, such as one that adds armor to a location, is the actual cause. In some rare cases we’ve had mod authors delete objects in the world to place their chest of goodies. Never rule out any mod that could be the source of crashing.If a mod that deleted a reference is being used by another mod that's a dirty mod. I've seen too many times people pull out the clean mod, they won't crash, and swear by Thor that it was the clean mod.It once took me 4 hours showing the technical issues behind the scene to someone about why that happens and I never want to repeat that again. Literally a dirty mod can cause good mods to crash - don't be fooled by only removing mods one at a time, you test by adding in your mods one by one
© Vex Modding. All rights reserved.
I hope you've enjoyed the Logical Load Order website. The aim of this website is to give power to the user in a manner that makes sense and is easily accessible.If you have any further questions, please head to the Armored Reptile Gaming Discord for further assistance.