At this point inThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim’s life cycle, those still playing can practically craft their own experience with mods, making the exact game they want to play set in Tamriel’s northernmost country. Some have made cozy life sims, others soulslike, gothic experiences, but there tend to be some mods always at the top of a load order. Of course, general improvement mods, likeThe Unofficial Skyrim PatchandSkyUI,usually end up in almost everyone’s load order. Still, a few are vital to the specific experience modders are looking to create.
These often tend to be quite technical, like installingENBs, which require some manual folder work to get that sweet, modded lighting to try and makeSkyrimlook like it was released by Bethesda today. Other things need to be taken into account to makeSkyrima modern experience too, and popular adjustments to combat could, or rather should, inspireElder Scrolls 6. Things like AI improvements, dodge mechanics, and locking on to foes will all improveSkyrim, but themost vital to making the game feel like a modern action isMCO, the Modern Combat Overhaul mod.
Skyrim’s MCO Mod Is Vital For Great Modern Combat
It Makes Attacks Feel Deliberate
The Elder Scrollshas never been known for its great combat, and although it still holds a special place in my heart,vanillaSkyrimsometimes feels like swinging a baguette at an enemy until they fall over.The somewhat awkward animations feel dated in 2025, something thatOblivion Remasteredacknowledged andimproved with a few key mechanics. Still, both titles lack the mechanics ofMCO, nowrebranded asAttack - MCO|DXP, which helps combat feel deliberate by having players commit to their attacks. This applies to enemies, too, allowing players to avoid attacks more easily.
This is done with a few changes toSkyrim’s combat. The most obvious isstopping characters from moving when they commit to an attack, meaning that players can’t move back and forth once the attack button is pressed. This applies to enemies, too, meaning players can bait an attack, take a step back, and strike back. Another is the change to the animations, making attacks more obvious and adding combos, which have variation thanks to being able to chain power attacks into these combos. Players can read enemy combos, making combat feel more involved than before.
MCOrequires some kind of separate button mod for power attacks for combos to work properly, but the website suggests three.
Although adjustments, this requires a lot of work from the mod andthe installation process isn’t the most convenient, withMCOrequiring behavior frameworks likeNemesis. This alone will not complete the modern gaming experience either, although the creator ofMCO,Distar, features many more mods on their page to go withMCO, such as dodging, although something likeTKdodgewill work just as well.YouTuber Mern’s guideon installingMCOis featured on Distar’s website, and is a reliable way to install it despite the many complications involved, especially for those who are relatively new to the modding scene.
Elder Scrolls 6 Needs To Add More Complexity To Combat
Oblivion Remastered Is A Step In The Right Direction
AlthoughES6doesn’t needMCO’s level of complexity, with that being inspired by Soulsborne combat specifically,adding more complexity to combat is needed, considering that many modders make some change toSkyrim’s fighting mechanics. Bethesda clearly understands this to some degree, thinking thatOblivion Remasteredadds some neat featuresto make combat more layered. Players can finally dodge in anElder Scrollsgame, and there are combos of a kind, such as one-handed swords using a slash, slash, stab combo in first person. Still, the Remaster cannot stray too far from the original.
Combat inOblivion Remasteredstill feels floaty and not deliberate, which is ironically deliberate,since it is remastering a game from 2006 with some marked improvements. If Bethesda takes what Virtuos has done withOblivion Remastered’s combat and pushes it to the nth degree with true combos, stopping characters from moving when committing attacks, and more intelligent AI,ES6’s combat could be something to write home about.MCOhas already shown that these changes improveSkyrim’s combat substantially and provide the framework for more combat variation, allowing weapons to feel vastly different.
Virtuos developedOblivion Remasteredusing Unreal Engine 5 and it is expected that the studio will also make the upcomingFallout 3remaster.
Acriticism ofSkyrim’s combatis that the animations for many weapons are the same, butMCO, and additional moveset animation mods paired withMCO, change this,allowing each weapon to play completely differently. A greatsword can start feeling more elegant, while a warhammer can be a brutal, heavy weapon for crushing skulls. There are even stance mods that allow for different movesets per weapon, meaning that players can switch to a wide-swiping moveset to deal with hordes of enemies, or a precise, quick one when dealing with a boss, such as those pesky giants sending Dragonborns to space.
ES6 Has A Lot To Learn From Skyrim’s Mod Community
And The Modding Community Will Have A Lot To Do When ES6 Launches#
Bethesda has the most exceptional modding community in the gaming industry. While this is sometimes a source of controversy,there is a lot to learn from the community, especiallyMCO.WhileMCOand many of its accompanying mods often make the game feel a bit too Soulsborne for most, its highly versatile nature makes combat customizable. I personally take advantage of the stances and power attack combos in my modlist to make the game feel like a hack-and-slash. However, players can choose less extreme animations for a more vanilla plus experience.
Making deliberate attacks by rooting characters when they commit to a strike completely changes the dynamic of combat, and adding combos makes choices in combat feel more engaging. With foes unable to move when they attack too, movement becomes more vital than ever, and these small changes introduced byMCOcould bethe perfect adjustments forES6. It isn’t as though Bethesda doesn’t like leaning on the modding community,given the mod support for consoles and adding controversial paid mods. Doing the same withES6’s mechanics is a gold deposit waiting to be mined.
In the meantime, players can craft the exact combat experience they want withMCO.Accompanying mods can make this feel like an enhanced version ofThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, a hack and slash, as is my case, or something Soulsborne-esque. The customization options are what make the mod a must-have in many modlists. AlthoughElder Scrolls 6doesn’t have to offer this level of customization, it should make an effort to create a deliberate combat system that is more involved, especially ifES6is to live up to the loft expectations set for it.
