Mod Organizer 2 & Other tools

From zero to "Hey Sexlab is working!"

A guide written for

To get the most recent version of the guide head over to the
>>forum thread<< and check the information in the first post

[Index]

01. Steam settings and Skyrim SE installation 1

02. Mod Organizer 2 - The first look 4

03. Skyrim Script Extender 8

04. Minimal modlist 11

05. LOOT 19

06. FNIS 21

07. BodySlide 25

08. Into the game 32

09. Mod Organizer 2 - A second look 36

10. (Optional) Enhancing graphics - Post-processing effects 39

11. Updating Skyrim SE, SKSE and mods 45

12. Locating your files + Quick tool recap 48

13. Final words 50

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01. Steam settings and Skyrim SE installation

In this step you’ll do five foundational tasks. Identify (and possibly move) your game’s location,
prevent Steam updates, make a brand new Skyrim SE install, create a folder to store all your
mod related files and programs and finally, check which version of the game you have and which
one you want to mod.

01.1 Locating your Steam Library

If you don’t have Skyrim SE installed yet, you can check where Steam installs your games by
going to Steam>Settings>Downloads>STEAM LIBRARY FOLDERS. This will open the Storage
Manager window.

If you do have Skyrim SE already installed you can

check its location by going to your Steam Library,
finding “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special
Edition” and right clicking on it. Select
Manage>Browse local files.

With this you can confirm your game is not

installed in Program Files or similar folders
protected by the system. If you have an SSD with
enough space it’s recommended to install your
games in there. Here is an article about how to
change your Steam library. Follow carefully, keep in mind this can alter other Steam related
games and files. Remember this location (or better yet make a shortcut) since you’ll need to
place a few files in there in the next steps.

01.2 Preventing automatic updates

There are different methods to prevent an automatic update. The most common and easy to
implement one is configuring Steam to only update your game when you launch it (using the
default game executable or through Steam). Since you need to launch the game through the
SKSE loader any pending updates won’t be started (you’ll see them as unscheduled downloads).

1. In the same game list find "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition".
2. Right click on it and select “Properties”.
3. Go to the “Updates” tab and set Automatic updates to “Only update this game when I
launch it” and “Never allow background downloads”.

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Another method is to set the appmanifest of the game to read-only. This is a more aggressive
way of preventing Steam from applying changes to your game. Doing this will prevent you from
launching the game without the SKSE loader when there’s a pending update to be applied. This
shouldn't be a problem because you need to start the game using the SKSE launcher anyways.

1. Go to where your Steam is installed and find the …\Steam\steamapps folder.

2. Find the appmanifest_489830.acf file, right click on it and select Properties.
3. In the Properties window mark the Read-only checkbox, click Apply and Ok to close
Properties.
4. If and when you need to update your game (more on that later) you’ll need to uncheck
the Read-only setting from this file, then launch the game through Steam update it.

There are other ways (more aggressive or involved) to prevent automatic updates. But doing
either of the methods described above (even using both at the same time) should be enough to
deal with this (unless you’re really keen on trying to launch your game without the SKSE loader
for some reason).

01.3 Getting a clean copy of the game

If you don’t have Skyrim SE installed on your computer, install it now. Then do step F only. If
you already have Skyrim SE installed on your computer and have attempted to install mods in
the past:

A. Uninstall Skyrim SE from Steam (find the game on your Steam Library, right click on it
and select Manage>Uninstall).
B. Go to …\Steam\steamapps\common and delete the …\Skyrim Special Edition folder in
there.
C. On your …\Documents\My Games there is another …\Skyrim Special Edition folder
containing your old saves, configurations and other files. Old saves relying on your
previous install will likely not work with this setup. Delete this folder too.
D. Check if you have Steam Cloud, OneDrive or other similar sync software enabled for any
of the previous folders. Doing so may put back old files and interfere with your new install
or modded files in general.
E. Once you delete the aforementioned folders go back to Steam and install Skyrim SE
again.
F. After the install is done, launch the game once. If this is the first time you launch the
game on your computer, Steam will also install the required VC redistributables and
DirectX automatically. Then the Skyrim SE Launcher will detect your hardware and set a
preset of configuration files (the .ini files in …\Documents\My Games\Skyrim Special
Edition). It will also create other registry entries so your Operative System and other
software knows where Skyrim SE is located.

Once the launcher sets your video settings simply close it. It’s not recommended to use
SkyrimSELauncher.exe again as it can revert changes you make to the .ini files.

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01.4 Creating a working folder

This folder should contain all the necessary files and programs to mod your game. The location
and name is up to you, but some general recommendations are: avoid folders like …\Program
Files, …\Program Files(x86), …\Desktop and …\Documents, also don’t create it inside your game
install (usually …\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition). It’s recommended to
create this folder near the root of the partition (example C:\Skyrim SE MODS instead of
C:\very_long_folder_name\and_another_long_folder_name\yet_another_one\Amazing MODS
for Skyrim Special Edition I can’t wait to play this holy f). Prefer an SSD to benefit from its
increased speed.

If you have any antivirus software you should look into creating exclusions for your game install
and working folder. Windows Defender has been reported to cause occasional problems even
after creating said exclusion with programs like FNIS. As a last resort you can disable real-time
protection before using FNIS and enabling it right after you’re done. Note that MO2 comes with
an option in the installer (enabled by default) to automatically create exclusions for Windows
Defender.

01.5 Executable versions and you

One of the core requirements for several Skyrim mods is the Script Extender (SKSE). By
following this guide you will install it, and if you’re successful you will use its loader to launch the
game every time you want to play, or at least until you’re tired of playing a modded Skyrim. But
to ensure everything works correctly you must be absolutely sure you have the correct version
installed. This is because the SKSE must be compiled for a specific version of the game
executable (the SkyrimSE.exe you can find in your game install). On top of that, mods with a
.dll file (commonly referred as SKSE plugins) will usually require a specific version of SKSE. This
means knowing your version of the game and the matching version of SKSE is a vital step if you
want to install mods on your own and not worry about things not working or being incompatible.
The procedure is very simple and mechanical, you simply need to get a hold of some numbers
(your executable version, the corresponding SKSE released, etc.) and keep it in mind whenever
you’re installing mods (more specifically the ones containing SKSE plugins, but it’s always useful
to know your versions when reading the mod’s descriptions).

To check the version of your executable

1. Go to where your game is installed (by default

…\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition).
2. Find your SkyrimSE.exe, right click on it and select
Properties.
3. Go to the Details tab and check the “Product version”.

You need to know this information going forward.

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02. Mod Organizer 2 - The first look

Mod Organizer (MO from now on) was a mod manager originally made by Tannin. The updated
version (MO2) is maintained by a group of devs who release periodic updates with new features
and fixes. Since the first iteration of MO (“MO1”) is obsolete when people say "MO" it's implied
that they're talking about MO2.

The usual way of installing Skyrim mods is to place mod files directly into your
...\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition\Data folder. That way the game can
detect these files and use them. In time, you'll end up replacing original game files with the
ones provided by different mods. A common occurrence is also replacing mod files with files
from another mod. This can lead to some mods not working properly or your entire game failing
to work.

MO changes this by using a virtual folder system. This allows MO to add your mods into the
game without replacing the original game files. MO will install each mod into its own folder and
then dynamically create a …\Data folder whenever you launch the game. So no matter how
many mods you add or remove, your game will always be as good as new. Also, you’ll be able to
add or remove mods safely with a couple of clicks (given that you follow the mods instructions).
For this reason, MO has its own folder structure to manage your downloads, installed mods and
settings.

02.1 Installing MO

A. Download the main file called “Mod Organizer 2”.

B. In the installer options point the install path so the …\MO2 folder is inside the working
folder you created in step 01.4.
C. Recommended: In “Select Component” disable “Form 43 checker”* and “Tutorials”**.
D. Optional: add shortcuts to your Start menu and desktop for easy access.

*: this checks for .esp and .esm files from Skyrim (not Skyrim SE). The official statement is that
these files need to be ported to form 44 (SE format for plugins and master files). Thing is, most
mods in form 43 work fine in SE. By not installing this component you avoid a probably
permanent Notification that serves little to no purpose. Article with plenty of information about it
here.

**: these explain a couple of things also covered here and will appear the first time you try to
do certain things. So it could help to clarify some things, but also get in the way of you using the
program and follow this guide.

Once the install finishes you can launch MO for the first time. It will open the “Instance
manager”, for now click the “Create new instance” button. To keep things simple I recommend
using a portable instance. This means all the MO files and your mods will be inside the …\MO2
folder conveniently placed in your working folder.

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A. Select “Create a portable instance”.

B. Select your current Skyrim SE install.
C. Select the platform where you have the
game (Steam most likely).
D. Leave the profile settings as it is and press
“Next”.
E. Press “Next” and “Finish” to complete the
installation.

Start MO and if this is your first time it will likely ask you to link it to your nexusmods account:

A. Select “Connect to Nexus”, a new Nexus page will open in your browser.
B. If you’re already logged in you’ll see the “AUTHORISE” button, press it. If not, log in to
continue.
C. The page will reload, saying the process is completed.
D. You can close that page and go back to MO.
E. You can connect your account again at any time by going to MO Settings> Nexus>
“Connect to Nexus”.

You should also see a message about associating nxm links to MO, select “Yes”. This is useful to
connect the “MOD MANAGER DOWNLOAD” button from nexusmods to your MO.

Upnext you’ll find a reference image of the main MO interface with a quick explanation of some
of the buttons and sections to be used.

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● Install mod: mods downloaded from nexusmods using the “mod manager download”
button will be added automatically to MO. For other mods you need to manually download
the mod files (as a zipped file) and then use this button to select the zipped file and install
these mods into MO.
● Executables: Here you can add, remove and edit your executables. In later steps you’ll
learn how to configure and use the most common executables.
● Settings: here you can access the Settings menu to change plenty of things to your
liking. If you want to try a different color theme, change language or re-connect to your
nexusmods account, here is where you need to look.

Near the top-right corner there is the Run button. You’ll use it to start any selected executable.
You can access the list of executables in the field to the left of Run, which currently has the
default Skyrim Special Edition executable selected.

And then there are the two panels, occupying most of the MO interface. These panels will show
you everything you need to know and see about the folder structure MO uses to store your mod
files.

● The left pane contains a list of all your installed mods. At the moment it is almost empty,
only listing the official DLC and CC files. As you add mods to MO, you’ll see them listed
there. The left pane is often referred to as modlist. Each mod listed here is a folder
containing all the files from that mod. You can find these folders if you go into your
…\MO2\mods folder.
● The right pane can show different things. By default it shows your Plugins in what’s known
as your loadorder (it determines in which order the different .esp, .esl and .esm files are
loaded). The other tabs will display additional information about your game and mod files.
For the most part, you’ll be using the Plugins and the Downloads ones.

02.2 Basic settings

Before continuing I like to resize the MO window and change some settings to my liking. As a
reference, here is what I do:

A. Close the “Log” at the bottom of the window.

B. Remove the “Category” column of the left panel (right click on the part where it says “Mod
Name” and check/uncheck the columns you want to see/disable).
C. In Settings> General: enable “Show Meta Information” and “Compact List”.

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03. Skyrim Script Extender

As stated before, the Script Extender (SKSE from now on) is a core component for several mods
to work. This means installing it properly is crucial to get a working game ready for mods.

03.1 Downloading SKSE

A. Go to the official SKSE website.

B. Check the available releases and download the one that matches your SkyrimSE.exe
product version.
C. If for whatever reason you need an old SKSE version you can find them in the Archived
builds (link available in the same official website). This is only relevant if you’re trying to
mod a downgraded or old version of the game. In which case you should know the exact
version you need, or at least know where to find this information.

03.2 Installing SKSE

For this step you should keep MO closed until you need it to add the scripts files.

A. Download the current 7z file for the corresponding game version

from the official SKSE website.
B. Open the zipped file (skse64_<version>.7z) and find the following
files:
a. skse64_<version>.dll
b. skse64_loader.exe
C. Move these files into your Skyrim SE install
(…\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition).

Now you need to add the SKSE Scripts, which are still in the zipped file:

A. Open MO and press the Install mod button .

B. Navigate to the skse64_<version>.7z file and select it.
C. A window will open and you’ll see a warning in red
saying the content of the mod doesn’t seem to be valid.

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D. Expand the skse64_<version> folder and right click on the Data folder you see. Then
select “Set as <data> directory”.
E. The message should turn to green now, press OK to complete the install.

After doing this you should see your first entry in the left pane of MO. Enable it and to keep
things in order, rename the mod and add the proper version number to it:

● To enable any mod just click in the ☐ to mark it like this ☑.

● To quickly edit the name or version of any mod select the proper field and press F2.
● Most mods will come with a proper name and version, but for some cases where you
manually add a mod you’ll need to do it like this.

04.3 Installing SKSE.INI

Now to install a premade .ini file with some recommended settings.

A. Go to the download page for the mod.

B. Find the “SKSE64 INI PRE DOWNLOAD v1.2” file and press “MOD MANAGER
DOWNLOAD”.
C. In MO go to the “Downloads” tab, you should see the mod downloaded there (if you don’t,
make sure your nexusmods account is linked to your MO and that MO can manage nxm
links).
D. Double click in “SKSE64 INI PRE DOWNLOAD…” to start the install.

As this is a simple mod with a single file, MO will do a quick install. Simply press OK and it
should be added to your left pane near the previous “SKSE Scripts” mod. As usual, enable the
mod in your modlist.

04.4 Checking the SKSE install in game

This quick test will confirm if your SKSE has been properly installed. The first change you should
note is a new executable in the MO list of executables. Expand the list which until now was
showing the default game executable. There you’ll find a “SKSE” listed. This is the SKSE loader
and it’s the one you need to use from now on to start the game.

A. Select “SKSE” in the list and press “Run”.

B. Wait until you’re in the main menu, then open the console and write:

getskseversion

C. You should see a new line stating the SKSE64 version detected in the game.
D. At this point you can close the game and proceed to the next step.

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04. Minimal modlist

In this step you’ll install a set of mods to cover the requirement, as well as some optional
features, for Sexlab Framework. The list will mention the files you need to download, a short
description and install instructions or settings if needed. Nonetheless, I strongly recommend you
to actually read the descriptions of the mods in question. The best way to avoid problems is to
always check the available information for the mods you want to use.

04.1 Installing mods in MO

When you install mods in MO you’ll face two scenarios:

● Installer: some mods will come with an installer, which provides additional options and
information. Selecting the proper options is enough to get a valid installation.
● “Quick Install” window: with [ Manual – Ok – Cancel ] options.
○ If a mod has the proper folder structure (most mods do), MO won't have troubles
installing it. Like the SKSE INI previously installed. In this case, pressing OK will
complete the install process correctly.
○ Some mods contain additional folders or are packed in an unusual folder structure.
If this is the case, MO will let you know with a red warning (as you saw before
when installing the SKSE Scripts). You’ll need to fix the folder structure before
proceeding with the install.

Left image showcases an invalid install path. Right image shows the fixed version

In this example, “mod name” has a duplicated …\mod name folder inside the zipped file, as well
as additional files outside of the expected …\Data folder. You’ll need to expand all the folders
inside and check its content. Usually the files required for the mod will be inside the …\Data
folder (if it exists inside the zipped file), but it varies from mod to mod. In this example the valid
files are the …\meshes folder inside the …\Data, so to fix this install I right click in the Data
folder and select “Set as <data> directory”. This leaves only the valid folders in the install. The

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message in red changes to green confirming the install is valid now. So pressing OK to finish the
install is enough to complete the install now. Sounds complicated? maybe, but it’s only a minor
task you’ll need to do once in a while.

04.2 Spotting SKSE plugins

The list below includes several mods with SKSE plugins in them (.dll files). Remember the deal
with your executable version - SKSE version - SKSE plugins versions. Most SKSE plugins are
compatible with certain SKSE versions or a range of versions (some .dll files are compatible
regardless of versions). To know if a mod requires this extra care for compatibility you can
preview the files (on the Files tab of any Nexus mod) or open the zipped files and search for any
\SKSE\Plugins\*.dll files. Then double check the description or the file information in search of
any mention of executable or SKSE versions in particular, as well as terms like SE (Special
Edition), AE (Anniversary Edition), CLIB-NG (“universal” plugins that work in pretty much every
game version).

Other than this note on .dll compatibility, you should be fine installing the most recent version
of any of the mods listed.

04.3 The mods

Install the mods in the order listed here.

➔ (Required) Address Library for SKSE Plugins. Adds version references for other SKSE
plugins so it’s easier for authors to keep up with SKSE updates. Download the “All in one”
file for your version of the game and install as usual.
➔ (Optional) MFG Fix. Fixes some functions related to facial expressions. Download the
“MfgFix” file (not the VR one) that matches your game version into MO and install it.
➔ (Required) Fuz Ro Doh. Adds time to read unvoiced dialogue (subtitles only). As nearly
every adult mod uses non voiced dialogue this is a must. Get the file matching your game
version and install as usual.
➔ (Optional) CBPC. Implements physics and collisions for the female body (bouncing
boobs, butts and so on). Get the main file and pay attention to the installer to get the
correct version for your game.
◆ For the Body Shape you can pick whatever you like. Later on you’ll install CBBE, so
picking one of these presets now may be worth it. This doesn’t define the body
shape, it’s only a reference to calculate the physics and collisions.
◆ The Gravity Config is optional and you may need to re-install this mod to test
different body shapes as well as this setting enabled/disabled.
➔ (Optional) FSMP. Updated version of HDT-SMP, another framework for physics and
collisions. This can be used in addition to CBPC (there are different choices in its installer
for this). It’s recommended that you use a body mod that allows you to enable SMP for
individual actors (unless you really know how to use SMP and are comfortable writing

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your own config files for SMP). Below there is an option for such a body. Get the latest
version from the Main files.
◆ The installer should detect your game version automatically.
◆ Pick “NO CUDA” and “AVX” (your CPU likely has support for AVX, if not pick “No
AVX”). You can use a program such as CPU-Z to check if your CPU supports it or
not (in the “CPU” tab, should be listed in “Instructions”).
◆ Keep any other settings as default or recommended and finish the install.
➔ (Optional) Jcontainers. Extension for Papyrus, the scripting language used in the game.
It’s used by other mods like SL Anim Loader (which is also an optional mod a bit lower in
this list). Install the main file matching your executable version and install as usual.
➔ (Optional) Papyrus Extender. Another extension for the game scripting. And again, get
the Main file and in the installer pick the corresponding version for your game/SKSE.
➔ (Optional) Animation Limit Crash Fix SSE. This patch fixes an engine bug that causes
a frequent crash while loading with too many animations. Get the latest version or the
one that matches your executable version if needed.
➔ (Optional) Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch. You’ll probably need it for other
mods so it’s strongly recommended. Get the main file. If for whatever reason you need
older versions you’ll need a direct link (usually provided by people advocating for playing
in older versions).
➔ (Required) SkyUI. Remake of the entire User Interface for PC and access to the Mod
Configuration Menu (MCM). Get the main file and install it in MO as usual.
➔ (Required) Racemenu. Similar to the previous, this mod enhances the character
creation menu adding several sliders and options to create your character. It also adds
other functionality required by plenty of mods. Get the proper version and install it as
usual.
➔ (Required). FNIS. Tool to properly implement custom animations into the game. Get
“FNIS Behavior SE 7.6 XXL” from the optional files. Get “FNIS Creature Pack SE 7.6” also
from optional files, if you intend to use creature related mods in the future.
◆ When installing FNIS Behavior SE you’ll see the MO window telling you the install is
not valid. Expand the folders, then set the “Data” folder in there as <data>
directory as shown previously and complete the install once you see the message in
green.
◆ If you choose to install the Creature Pack, install as usual and MO will say “This
mod seems to be installed already…”. As both the FNIS XXL and Creature pack
share the same mod name in MO, they’ll end up in the same folder. As you want to
preserve the files from FNIS XXL and add the Creature Pack on top of that, select
“Merge”.
➔ (Optional) BodySlide. Tool used to generate new models for the female body and outfits
based on a Preset. Useful to make everything fits, and even required for some mod you
may want to install in the future. Get the main file and install as usual.
➔ (Required) a female body replacer. In order to get actual naked actors in the animations
you need to install replacers for the vanilla bodies.

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◆ Recommended: CBBE SE. CBBE is the most famous one for females, so it should
be an easy start. Get the main file and check the installer options:
● Base Options: Body shape to your liking, it can be changed later with
BodySlide. Underwear Options select “None”. Installing “Vanilla Outfits” is
optional (these are files for BodySlide). For the rest of the settings, pick what
you want.
● Optional Features: these are morph files used to further tweak the body
shape with a combination of Racemenu and BodySlide features. I
recommend you enable everything here, even if you don’t think you’ll use
them it’s better to have this installed just in case.
◆ Complement: On top of CBBE you could add CBBE 3BA, which adds additional
sliders and physics shenanigans. This is specially recommended if you plan to use
CBPC and SMP at the same time.
● CBBE 3BBB Advanced Main: keep “Pre-built body mesh” enabled, everything
else disabled (these are alternate races and support for ECE which is not
something covered here).
● Base CBPC: Pick “Performance (Balanced)”. You can also try Limited (if you
struggle with performance?) or Improved (if you don’t care about
performance and don’t want to see actors without physics near you).
● Physics Selecting: SMP and CBPC either Heavy or Lite. The difference is
which framework will do most of the work here, Heavy assigns more body
areas to SMP (which has more impact on performance than CBPC), while Lite
sets almost everything to CBPC.
● Then you have plenty of options for levels of jiggliness and gravity. Pick your
poison. When you see the CBPC-SOS option pick “CBPC - RegularSOS”.
● Extra Patches: verify “Replace CBBE… Morphs Sliders” is enabled and press
“Install”.
● Once the install finishes, find the CBBE 3BA mod in the left side of MO, move
it below CBBE SE and enable it.
● You can repeat the CBBE 3BA install later with different settings to test what
works best for you.
➔ (Optional) Fair Skin Complexion. Alternate textures for the female body. Completely
optional. If you’re familiar with other texture replacers for this you’re free to use them.
Just make sure it’s compatible with the body type (ex. CBBE) you installed previously. If
you decide to use it get the file made for CBBE and check the installer settings:
◆ Most settings here will depend on the body shape you want to use (different
textures give variations of shadow/light areas to accommodate different body parts
better). You’ll have to check them and test for yourself.
◆ You can re-install this mod later to test different settings, when MO asks you what
to do with the existing mod (they’ll have the same name, remember) pick
“Replace”, so the old install is removed before installing your newly chosen settings.
➔ (Required) a male body replacer. Same deal as the female one.
◆ Recommended: SOS SE.

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● As this is not a nexusmods download you’ll need to use the Install mod from
local files button in MO. In the installer options pick:
○ Body Type: Default Body.
○ Skin Texture: to your personal preference (this will be overwritten by
alternate textures which you may want to install later).
○ Schlongs Addons: pick at least one of the three.
○ Disable the “Install male skeletons'' setting.
● You will need an updated .dll file. The problem is the original user
maintaining SOS for SE isn’t active anymore. You can try the multi-edition
installer or a similar .dll replacer that matches your game version.
◆ Alternative: SOS Light. Stripped down version of SOS offering the core features
without extra settings. Works regardless of your game/SKSE version.
● Get Tempered Skins for Males - SOS Light Version - part 1 of 2.
○ Settings here are purely cosmetic, pick as you see fit.
● Get Tempered Skins for_Males - SOS Light Version - part 2 of 2
v2.051.
○ Use the Install mod button. First options are also cosmetic. When
asked for Body shape you can also select some options for the schlong
size. I recommend picking “G1” or “G1b”. Finally pick the schlong
shape you prefer.
➔ (Optional) Tempered Skin for Males. Alternate textures for male bodies. This set of
textures has a file for SOS in particular (“Tempered Skins for Males - SOS Full Version”).
Verify you’re getting that SOS file if you choose to use this mod. It comes with an
installer, all settings are cosmetic picks so choose based on what you want to see in
game. If you went for SOS Light you already have these skin textures, don’t download
other files.
➔ (Required) XPMSSE. This determines how an actor is animated. This skeleton is the
most widely used for humanoid actors, so you really want to use this one and not
obsolete ones. Get the main file and in the installer pick “Basic” (yes, this is enough to get
working animations).
➔ (Optional) Alternate Start - LAL. It’s highly recommended to use an alternate start
mod. Not only does it help to skip the slow Helgen introduction, but it also allows you to
set up some MCM settings before starting to play. If you’re familiar with other alternate
start mods (like Skyrim Unbound) you can use these, just make sure you’re also installing
any requirement.
➔ (Required) Sexlab Framework SE. The reason for all of this. Get the matching files for
your game version. Double check you meet any of the requirements.
◆ Install it in MO using the Install mod button. Edit the name/version fields to include
relevant information.
◆ If for whatever reason you need a previous version you’ll need to grab it from
github. Make sure you get the correct one.
➔ (Optional) Ammo Unequip. Automatically removes equipped arrows/bolts from actors
involved in a SL animation.

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➔ (Optional) Sexlab LightMeUp. Automatically adds light to animation scenes with poor
illumination. Requires Papyrus Extender (mentioned above in this list). Get the latest
version from the list of files available for download and install as usual.
➔ (Optional) SL Anim Loader. Framework to easily add animation packs and register
them in the Sexlab Framework. Requires Jcontainers (mentioned above in this list).
◆ To see the available packs go here and expand the spoiler below “Animations”. The
animation packs listed in green are ready to be used, the tags in the table will give
you an idea of the type of animations that pack contains.
◆ Always verify you’re getting animations compatible with SE (converted or made for
SE). Otherwise you’ll have problems when you get to the part of using FNIS.
◆ You can try one or two packs for now. You can add more or change the ones you
already have at any time.
➔ (Required). Finally, you need a mod to trigger the Sexlab scenes. As this is just for a
quick test and to keep things simple go ahead and pick Sexlab Matchmaker. Install
from archive as usual. You can remove this mod once you've explored the available LL
mods and have chosen a different mod to trigger Sexlab scenes and events.
◆ SL Matchmaker will add two spells to your character. One is casted on NPCs, the
other on your own character. Combine these to start animations between the actors
affected by these spells. Once you cast any of the spells you need to wait a bit until
the spell effect ends for the animations to properly start.

04.4 Inspecting mod files

At this point, you should have several mods installed in MO. As mentioned previously, the mods
installed through MO are stored in ...\MO2\mods, inside this ...\mods folder you'll find a folder
named after each installed mods. These are the entries you see in the left pane of MO. If you
double click over any mod in your left pane, a new window will open with several tabs. Each tab
shows different information and some allow you to change mod files. You don’t need to use most
of these features, but better to know where they’re from the start.

Reference image of MO after installing mods from step 4.2

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05. LOOT

The Load Order Optimisation Tool. It optimizes your loadorder. A good thing if you don’t want to
deal with that manually. It’s recommended for most users, as it can cover most loadorder
changes you need. There are cases where manual tweaks and changes may be necessary for
certain mods (and that means the mods in question will surely contain that information in the
description or install instructions).

05.1 Download and Installation

For this install you should close MO (so the LOOT executable is automatically added to MO when
you launch it later).

A. Go to the official LOOT website and press “DOWNLOAD LOOT”.

B. Then find and download the latest loot_<version>-win64.exe file under Assets.
C. Run the installer (default settings are fine, although I like to redirect the install path to be
inside the working folder created for Skyrim SE mods).
D. After it’s done installing you can open it for the first time, read the “First time tips” and
close that message.

As LOOT was open outside of MO it won’t detect any of your mods. It will list the DLCs/CC only.
That’s a constant for programs trying to find your mods and the reason you need to launch
these programs through MO.

You can close LOOT for now. Open MO again and check the executable list (to the left of the
“Run" button), you should see a new LOOT executable in there.

05.2 Sorting your Loadorder

Select the LOOT executable and press “Run”. This time you should see all your installed mods
listed in LOOT. By default it should automatically detect your game, if not you can select it in the
list on the top bar:

To sort your loadorder all you need to do is press the “Sort Plugins'' button and wait for a few
seconds. By default LOOT will automatically update the masterlist (set of sorting rules for known
plugins). After it finishes you’ll have two possible scenarios:

● LOOT sorted your loadorder, which means it changes your loadorder. If this is the case the
“Sort Plugins” button changed to “Apply Sorted Loadorder”, press it to save the changes
and exit the program to go back to MO to see the results.

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● LOOT didn’t find any changes to be made on your loadorder. In this case the “Sort
Plugins'' won't change and you’ll see a message at the bottom of the screen stating
“Sorting made no changes to the load order”. This usually happens when you try to sort a
loadorder without making any changes since the last time you used LOOT, or if the new
mods you added don’t have known sorting rules/don’t need to change your loadorder.

05.3 Adding Shortcut to MO toolbar

If searching for LOOT in the executable list and pressing Run isn’t for you, you can add an icon
above the executable list to quickly launch LOOT (any executable added to MO really, now we’ll
use LOOT as an example).

To do so simply keep LOOT selected in the list, press Shortcut and select “Toolbar and Menu”.

That will add the LOOT icon at the top bar near
the Run button. You can repeat this process for
any executable added to MO. I recommend doing
this for LOOT, FNIS and any other executable
frequently used.

That’s all about LOOT for now. You should use it whenever you add a mod that comes with
plugin or master files (.esp, .esl, .esm).

Note that LOOT is not an all mighty tool that will solve your every problem. Its usefulness relies
on lists of plugins and rules that dictate a general recommended order. In most cases (especially
if you’re using very few mods) it will get things right, or at least avoid the most common
mistakes. But if you’re serious about installing mods, or want to do a bigger project (think
hundreds of mods with custom plugins and patches for a lot of them) you will need to learn a
fair bit about conflict resolution and using SSE Edit. But that is way out of the scope of this
guide.

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06. FNIS

FNIS is already installed, but to get the full benefits from it you need to use it. In this step you’ll
have to add an executable manually and run FNIS for the first time. Up next you’ll find the
basics about using FNIS and managing the files it generates.

06.1 (Optional) Please don’t ask me to create desktop shortcuts, it’s not gonna happen

By default FNIS will ask you if you want a desktop shortcut the first time you finish using it. In a
regular setup that’s a one time message and having a desktop shortcut is probably useful. For
this case? Hell no. You won’t use the shortcut (remember, executables must be used through
MO) and it’s very likely you’ll see the message asking you this more than once.

In this completely optional step you’ll create a .txt file in the install folder of FNIS to prevent this
shortcut prompt and guarantee it’ll be there forever (or at least for the foreseeable future, I
don’t know, until you feel like reinstalling FNIS).

A. Find “Fores New Idles in Skyrim SE - FNIS SE” in your left pane.
B. Right click on it and select “Open in Explorer”.
C. It will open the folder of your FNIS install, go to …\tools\GenerateFNIS_for_Users.
D. In that folder right click in an empty space and select “New > Text Document”.
E. Name the new document:

DontAskAgainForLink.txt

That’s it, leave that empty text file in there. Just make sure you’re naming it exactly like that (if
you don’t have the setting to see extensions it shouldn’t have the .txt visible, and if you’re using
the setting to show extensions verify your file doesn’t have a double .txt.txt extension). Close
the folder and go back to MO. As long as that file is in there, FNIS won’t ask you if you want to
create desktop shortcuts you won’t use.

06.2 Adding GeneratedFNISforUsers to MO

Here you’ll manually add your first executable to MO. To do so:

A. Press the Executables button.

B. In the “Modify Executables” window find the button, press it and select “Add from
file…”.
C. In the “Select Executable” window you’ll need to navigate to your FNIS install, so go to
your working folder, find …\MO2\mods\Fores New Idles in Skyrim SE - FNIS
SE\tools\GenerateFNIS_for_Users.
D. In that folder you’ll find the GenerateFNISforUsers.exe file, select it.

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E. That’s all you need to do there. MO saved the executable location (detailed in the Binary
field) and gave it a name (in the Title field).
F. Back to the “Modify Executables” window, press Apply/OK to save your changes and go
back to MO.

06.3 Run, FNIS, run

You should have the GenerateFNISforUsers executable in the list now. As you did with LOOT you
can add a shortcut above the executable list for easy access.

Start GenerateFNISforUsers through MO. You should be seeing this now:

The white part of the window is where

you’ll see all the information FNIS gives
you after using it.

The “Update FNIS Behavior” is the button

you want to press to use FNIS, but first
you’ll need to enable some patches.

Below the buttons you’ll see the patches

FNIS has included. Here you’ll need to
check at least one, probably two:

● GENDER Specific Animations:

some mods include variations of
animations for females and males,
this option is required to use these
variations. Nothing bad happens if
you keep it enabled (even if you
don’t use this feature), so I
recommend enabling it always.
● SKELETON Arm Fix: fixes weird
arm position in some animations
when using custom skeletons.
Required as you’re using XMPSSE.
● HKX File Compatibility: this one
is mostly optional, although it can
be useful in certain situations. It
scans all the available animations
and checks if they’re compatible or not with Skyrim SE. Having incompatible animations
breaks the files FNIS is trying to generate, so the result is frozen characters, T-pose or
other similar issues where the animations don’t work in game. I recommend enabling it if

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you’re trying different animation mods, as it can catch some issues before you get in the
game and see the problems.

After enabling the proper patches go ahead and press “Update FNIS Behavior”. Give it a bit of
time, when it finishes you’ll see something like this:

The total amount of included animations is detailed at the end. That number will vary depending
on the amount of SLAL packs you added (if you installed SLAL + animation packs during step 4).
You’ll have to pay special attention if there are any errors or warning lines in there. If you have
any, FNIS should notify you at the bottom of the log. Nonetheless, it doesn’t hurt to do a quick
read of the whole thing.

If you do have errors or warnings you’ll need to fix them before moving on:

● If you have warnings about incompatible animations take note of the mod names
mentioned in these warnings, close FNIS and remove these mods from your modlist in MO
(right click in the mods and select “Remove mod…”). You’ll also need to delete the
generated files as these won’t be functional, to do this go to the Overwrite mod at the
bottom of the left pane, right click and select “Clear Overwrite…” and confirm the
message.
● If you have other warnings or errors it’s likely due to an incorrect install or skipping any of
the previous steps. You’ll have to repeat the install + this step 6 entirely. If FNIS is
complaining about not detecting a legal (Steam) install, try to launch the game from
Steam instead of MO (this will launch a game without mods), close the game and try to
run FNIS again (if you’re using GOG or a non-standard install filepath you can ignore that
warning since there is no way of removing it).

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If you don’t have errors or warnings you’re good to go. Close the FNIS window using the “Exit”
button and go back to MO.

At this point you may have noticed MO has a Notification for you. You can click the button
to read about it. And you should do this whenever you see a Notification in there.

06.4 Managing your FNIS output

Hopefully the only thing in there is a message about having files in your Overwrite directory. If
that’s the case, the files MO is referring to are the ones generated by FNIS when you used it just
now. You can close the Notifications window for now and check your left pane in MO.

At the very bottom of your modlist you’ll see an Overwrite entry. This is a folder located inside
your MO install (...\MO2\Overwrite to be precise). The function of this folder is to catch any file
generated by your mods or tools while you’re using MO. By default these files would simply go
into your actual game folder, but as you’re using MO that’s not going to happen.

To keep things in order, right click in Overwrite and select “Create Mod…''. This will put the files
from Overwrite in its own mod folder. Give it a descriptive name, like “FNIS Output” and you’ll
see a new mod in the left pane. Enable your “FNIS Output” and keep it near the bottom of your
modlist.

The next time you want to use FNIS you can delete that output before opening FNIS, then run
FNIS and repeat the “Create Mod…” thing. Or you can leave it there. By default MO will replace
the files in that “FNIS Output” mod with the newly generated ones by FNIS.

06.5 Nemesis

Note that more modern mods (in particular the ones related to combat or movement overhauls)
rely on a different tool to generate behavior/animation files named Nemesis. The caveat is that
Nemesis doesn’t support Sexlab animations with creatures.

In case you don’t intend to use these types of mods and prefer to look into combat or movement
overhauls requiring Nemesis, you can safely uninstall FNIS and delete any files generated with
it. Then install Nemesis as any other mod into MO, add the Nemesis executable (found in
\MO2\mods\Nemesis Unlimited Behavior Engine\Nemesis_Engine\Nemesis Unlimited Behavior
Engine.exe) and use that executable instead of FNIS for Users. Make sure to enable all the
relevant patches for the mods you want to use.

And if you really want to use both Sexlab animations with creatures and mods requiring Nemesis
there are ways to mix the output of both programs in a functional way. Examples 1, 2, 3. I’m
sure you can find more and you might need to try a couple of methods before finding the one
that works just right for your setup.

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07. BodySlide

You can skip this if you didn’t install BodySlide during step 4. And you can come back here later
if you need to set up BodySlide for other mods you want to use.

BodySlide is a very powerful tool to reshape (mainly) female bodies and outfits. A basic usage
involves applying a preset to the bodies and outfits files, changing its shapes to match said
preset. The end result should be a consistent look for naked and clothed bodies, using the
chosen preset shape.

07.1 Adding BodySlide to MO

A. Press the Executables button .

B. In the “Modify Executables” window select the button and “Add from file…”.
C. Navigate to your working folder, …\MO2\mods\BodySlide and Outfit
Studio\CalienteTools\BodySlide, in there you’ll see the BodySlide x64.exe file.
D. Select it, press Apply/OK and go back to MO.
E. Your BodySlide executable is now available in the list.

07.2 Basic usage of BodySlide

Launch your newly added BodySlide executable through MO. As this is the first time you open
this BodySlide install you’ll be presented with a window to select the game to manage. You
should see “Skyrim Special Edition” in the list with the install path already there. So press the
“Choose Game” button corresponding to Skyrim SE in that list. Once BodySlide properly start
you’ll see the following window:

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The highlighted parts of the interface contain most of the features you’ll be using.

● Outfit/Body: this field shows the currently selected set of body or outfit parts to build. If
you click in there you’ll see a list to switch to different sets. The amount and type of sets
you get depends on the mods you have installed. For this guide you should at least have
the CBBE sets (by default bodies and optionally the vanilla outfits).
● Preset: this field shows the Preset you have selected. This BodySlide Preset is what
defines the body shape for females. CBBE comes with a few to choose from, but you can
add others later on, or even create your own.
● Preview: opens a new window to preview the current set with the Preset applied. It has
a single slider at the top which you can use to see the differences between low weight (0)
and high weight (100).
● Build: if pressed, this button will generate the meshes (.nif files) for the current set (first
field explained) to fit the selected Preset (second field explained here). Useful if you want
to generate the meshes for a single outfit or body part.
● Batch Build…: this is the big coussin of the Build button. It allows you to build multiple
sets at the same time, using the selected Preset. After pressing it you get a list of all the
sets available and you can pick and choose which ones to build.
● Build Morphs: this is an additional feature provided by BodySlide. Morphs are used to
dynamically alter the shape of the body and outfits. If enabled, every set built by
BodySlide will also generate .tri files, which contains the necessary information for other
mods to use this feature. I recommend always enabling it, even if you don’t think you’ll
use this feature now, it could be required by a mod you add later on.

07.3 Managing your BodySlide output

As with other tools, the combination of BodySlide and MO will create files inside the MO folder
structure. You’ll have to choose how to manage said files. So here is a quick explanation of how
things normally work. MO will do the following with the files BodySlide generates (.nif and .tri):

● If the files already exist within your MO install: MO will replace the old files in each mod
folder (…\MO2\mods\<mod name>) with the newer ones. For example CBBE has some
pre-built files for the bodies and outfits, so MO will automatically replace these pre-built
files with the ones you generate using BodySlide.
● If the files don’t exist in your MO install: MO will place these new files in Overwrite. From
this point you can manage them in a similar way to how you moved the FNIS files into a
new mod. There is an additional setting you can enable (described below) to make this
process automatic. It’s also possible to manually move them from Overwrite into each
mod folder.

No matter which method you choose, the goal here is to keep a clean Overwrite folder. Keeping
files in Overwrite is fine if you know exactly what’s in there. But as time goes on and you add,
change and remove mods you’ll likely get way more files than you can keep track of.

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07.3.A If you want to create a dedicated mod to catch new files generated by BodySlide, you
need to:

A. Right click in the left pane of MO.

B. Select “All Mods”>”Create empty mod” and give it a name (ex. “BodySlide Output”).
C. Place this new mod near the bottom and enable it.
D. Open the “Executables” window.
E. Find the BodySlide x64 executable in the list.
F. Select it and enable the “Create files in mod instead of overwrite” setting.
G. Select the empty mod you just created in the list besides this setting.
H. Press Apply/OK to go back to MO.

With this, MO will replace existing BodySlide files in each mod folder, and new files will go into
your BodySlide Output instead of Overwrite.

At the beginning this BodySlide Output will be empty (MO will even flag it). This isn’t an
issue, it will stay empty until a new file is built in BodySlide. Then it will automatically go in that
output. If it remains empty nothing bad will happen, it just means everything you’re building is
already in your installed mods. The only concern I would have is if BodySlide files appear in
Overwrite instead of this output mod, in which case you’ll need to verify if the steps above were
properly applied.

07.3.B If you don’t feel like creating a new output and prefer to move files manually, you’ll have
to open Overwrite and inspect its content, then choose where to move said files. This isn’t so
straightforward and may require a bit more familiarity with the names of files and mods you’re
using.

If you need to move files from Overwrite to a single mod, you can open Overwrite (double click),
then drag and drop the folder (most likely named meshes) in the corresponding mod in the left
pane of MO. If you need to move files from Overwrite to multiple mods you’ll need to open them
in the Explorer (right click in Overwrite and select “Open in Explorer”) and inspect what’s in
there. Then move each file into your mods maintaining the folder structure you see (so don’t
simply move the .nif or .tri files into your …\MO2\mods\<mod name> folder, you need to keep
folders like ...\meshes\armor\... etc.).

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Like I said, not something I would recommend for someone new to mods. My recommendation
is to do the previous method and let MO and BodySlide handle the files.

07.4 Building your body and outfits sets

Now that you know a bit about BodySlide and have an idea of where your files will end, you
should be ready to use it. Launch the BodySlide executable as usual through MO.

A. Your first task here will be to pick a Preset, for this select the “CBBE Body Special” or
“CBBE 3BBB Body Amazing” (the later is available only if you installed CBBE 3BA
previously) set in the first field, then press “Preview”.
B. Now you can select different Presets and see their differences. Once you choose one you
like, close the Preview window.
C. Back in the main BodySlide window enable “Build Morphs”.
D. Press “Batch Build…”.

In the Batch Build window you’ll see a list of available sets. I recommend leaving everything
selected here:

Press Build and you may see a new window: “Choose output set”.

This selection appears if there are more than one set for the same
outfit or body part. You’ll need to select the proper body set and
perhaps choose between different sets for outfits (if you went for
the optional CBBE install of vanilla outfits).

● You’ll always get the body sets near the top of this list. For
this guide I recommend picking “CBBE Body Special” if you
went for the optional CBPC install during step 5. Or “CBBE

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3BBB Body Amazing” if you installed CBBE 3BA. If you didn’t install CBPC and don’t want
physics at all, pick “CBBE Body”.
● If you installed CBBE 3BA on top of CBBE, you need to build some additional sets, make
sure you enable and pick these: CBBE 3BBB Body Amazing, Feet, Arm (1st person),
Hands (+ beast ones and 1st person), as well as all the SMP ON Objects (Player, then
NPC cups A-D). Basically anything containing 3B in the name.
● The other sets in the list (if you have any) are likely outfit variations for the same in game
item. In the above image there are several outfits with a Physics and non-physics variant.
Pick whichever you want based on the mods you installed before.

Note that BodySlide will remember your selections here, so the next time you batch build the
same sets you should see the picks you made previously. This is also reflected in the main
BodySlide window when selecting individual sets as a checkmark and a file path near the bottom
of the window:

● Example of a clothing item that has a single set (no conflicts):

● Example of a set that is not selected as the active one (wasn’t built in BodySlide, won’t be
used in game):

● Example of a set that is selected (built in BodySlide, to be used in game):

So after using BodySlide a couple of times you should get most of the selections already done
with the sets you actually want to use. If you need to build a different set you can do it in the
second list you get when you batch build everything (the “Choose output set” shown above). Or
to do it individually by selecting the set in the “Outfit/Body” field and manually ticking the
checkmark beside the file path (which should turn the file path from yellow to light blue).

Once you’re confident in your selections press OK

and a new window will show you the progress of the
building process.

When it finishes you’ll get a message telling you “All sets were processed successfully”. If
BodySlide notifies of any errors at this point it means one of the mods you installed has broken
BodySlide files. You would need to check the files/mods in question and find a fix. For the mods
covered here, you shouldn’t have any problems.

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If everything went fine you can close BodySlide to go back to MO. It’s likely that you won’t
notice any change, no files in Overwrite nor in the output (if you decided to create it). As all the
files from CBBE should be already in your CBBE SE install. You’ll have to wait a bit until you go
into the game to check the results of this step.

That’s it for now. You’ll be using BodySlide in two scenarios:

A. When you add mods with new outfits that require/support BodySlide. To know when a
mod has BodySlide files there are two indicators: the description or title will likely mention
BodySlide, and the files you install will contain a …\CalienteTools\BodySlide folder. In this
case it’s possible to build only the new sets. There are different ways to accomplish this,
like selecting them one by one in the Outfit/Body field and then pressing Build, doing a
Batch build and only selecting the sets from this new mod, or using the Group filters:
a. Go to the Group Filter field and press the Magnifier
button, then select “Choose groups…”
b. A new window will appear with a list of all the
groups you currently have. If the mod adding the
outfits/body comes with a group you should see it in
there.
c. Selecting any Group will make it so BodySlide only displays sets from the selected
groups in the “Outfit/Body” field. The same goes for batch building sets, only sets
from the groups enabled will be in the batch build list.
d. To go back to BodySlide showing you all the sets you can disable the selected
groups, or press the X button in the “Group Filter” field.
B. When you switch to a new body Preset. In this case you’ll want to do a complete Batch
build of all your sets and repeat the pick and choose of the different sets variations. That
way you’re ensuring all your body parts and outfits will fit the shape of your new Preset.

When looking for new body and outfit mods to add, you need to take into account the body type
you’re using (ex. CBBE). As different body types have not only different proportions and sizes
-but also require different textures- mixing types can lead to visual glitches.

And ideally you want all your outfits to have support for BodySlide. That way things will fit your
selected Preset. If you add a new armor without BodySlide support you’ll see a mismatch
between the naked shape of the bodies and the shape of the outfits. So when your character or
other NPCs use said outfit you’ll lose your Preset shape. This can be more or less noticeable
depending on the actual Preset you want to use, because some presets are closer to the default
body shape. This is additional work, but it’s definitely worth keeping an eye out for the sake of
consistency.

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08. Into the game

With SKSE selected in your executable list press “Run” and wait for the game to launch. MO will
stay open in the background, don’t try to close it or interact with it while the game is open.

You may see a command prompt for half a second, that’s the SKSE loader starting along the
game, that’s normal. After a few seconds you should see the game and reach the main menu.

● If you do: good, things seem to be working as expected.

● If you don’t: something went wrong. To pinpoint the “something” and fix it you’ll need to
look around. Do you see any error message or Notification telling you something failed or
went wrong?
○ If you do, read it and verify the message. Take note of any mod or file names
mentioned in it as you’ll likely need to re-install or fix something related to it.
○ If you don’t see any message at first you’ll have to do some manual checks: verify
you indeed started the game with the SKSE executable, check that all your mods
are enabled in the left and right panels of MO, check if you have any pending MO

Notifications ( ). With the mods covered in this guide the amount of possible
problems is very small and it should be easy to spot (if you need additional help,
post in the thread where you found this guide).

08.1 A new game for a quick test

New game, it’s mandatory. If you still keep old saves in there I recommend you to abstain from
using them for this, you can try loading them later (but they’ll likely fail to load or be very bad if
you don’t reinstall all the mods you were using while playing with these saves).

If you went for the alternate start mod you should be in the starting spot with the character
creation menu open. For Alternate Start - LAL it’s a cell with a statue and a bed. Create a
character and then talk to the statue to choose your starting location. For a quick start I
recommend something like “I’m a patron at a local inn”. Before going into bed to start the game,
go into the MCM to configure some settings.

08.2 Installing Sexlab Framework and (optionally) SLAL animations

A. To get into the MCM you need to press “Esc”, find the “SYSTEM” tab in the pause menu.
B. There you’ll find the “MOD CONFIGURATION” option.
C. Press it and you’ll see some mods listed in there (not every mod comes with an MCM).
D. Select “Sexlab” and you should see something like this:

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The Prerequisite Checks should be all “OK”. If you have “?” in the Idles you need to close the
MCM, switch to 3rd person view and then open the Sexlab MCM again. You shouldn’t attempt the
in game installation with checks in “?”. Depending on the method you use to start the game
(vanilla start, Alternate Start - LAL, Skyrim Unbound or other mods, etc.) you’ll need to wait
until you can go into 3rd person view before starting the Sexlab install.

If your prerequisite list is empty (no “OK” nor “?”) it likely means you’re trying to use the wrong
version of the framework for your game/SKSE. Go back to checking your SkyrimSE.exe product
version, your SKSE and the SL Framework release. Remove all other installs of SL from MO and
try to install the correct one and start from a new game.

To start the in-game installation of SL press the line where it says “INSTALL/UPDATE SEXLAB
1…” in the right pane of the MCM. Then close the menu and wait for this message to appear in
the top-left corner of your screen:

Note that if you close the game without installing Sexlab manually, the next time you load that
save Sexlab will start automatically. So to prevent any issues make sure you’re installing Sexlab
after completing your character creation, while on 3rd person view and before you close the
game for the first time on that save.

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Once you see that ready message and if you installed SL Anim Loader, open the MCM again and
this time go to the SL Anim Loader menu. This menu in particular can take a bit of time to load
and do its thing, it depends on the amount of animation packs you have installed.

In the first tab (General Options) you’ll see these

settings:

A. First press the “Enable All CLICK HERE” line.

B. A message will tell you all the animations have been enabled and that you need to
register them now.
C. Now press “Register Animations CLICK HERE”. This can take a while from a couple of
seconds to about one or two minutes, depending on the amount of animations it needs to
add.
D. After a while you’ll receive a new message telling you the amount of new animations
registered.

That’s all for now. If you later add new SLAL packs you’ll have to repeat this process so Sexlab
can detect these animations and use them when the time comes.

Before moving on, take this moment to tweak other MCM settings.

08.3 Other recommended MCM settings

A. If you have SOS SE/AE (not SOS Light):

a. SOS MCM – General Settings: You may want to disable the following features:
i. Spells to control erections.
ii. SOS potions.
iii. Display SOS notifications.
b. SOS MCM – Player/NPC Setting: Increase the size of your character penis if you’re
playing male.
B. In Sexlab MCM – Animations Settings: You may want to enable:
a. Facial expressions.
b. Play Ending Orgasm Effects (and tweak related effects like screen shake to your
liking).
C. In Sexlab MCM – Voices & SFX: You can change the voice used by your character during
Sexlab animations.
D. In CBBE 3BA MCM: Check/rebind the hotkeys to switch between CBPC and SMP. Try to
keep SMP enabled only on a few actors (or your character if playing as female).

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09.4 Testing the waters

With all these configurations done you can go ahead and use the bed (or the equivalent of your
chosen mod to start playing) to appear at your starting location. Once in there open your Magic
menu and find the following spells from SL MatchMaker:

With both of these spells equipped, find a suitable actor for

your tests. Cast the Target spell in the NPC, then cast the other
(Self) to tag your own character. After a couple of seconds
you’ll see both actors will stop, undress and start a random
animation from the ones you have currently installed.

The animations have different stages, and each stage has a certain duration. So after a while
the animation should end on its own. Actors involved should automatically redress and resume
normal activities. If that’s what you saw: good. If you didn’t see any animation but instead the
characters were frozen or in T-pose you likely forgot to use FNIS, or you did but your FNIS had
warnings that you ignored, or you forgot to enable the FNIS Output. Close the game and check
these things.

Assuming things worked fine, you can keep trying the spells on different actors. You can try
different combinations: two actors affected by the Target spell, or a single actor affected by the
Target spell, casting only the Self spell on your character, etc. Sexlab offers some hotkeys to
tweak and control -to a certain degree- the progression of the animations. This is specially
useful since you’ll likely need to adjust the animations so they fit your actors better.

To know which hotkeys are available consult the Sexlab MCM, there is a “Player Hotkeys” tab.
There you can see the list of hotkeys, change and assign new hotkeys to your liking. As with
most settings in an MCM, when you put your mouse over these hotkeys you’ll see a description
of what that element is at the bottom of the menu. There are several hotkeys, but in practice
you’ll only use a handful of them.

If you want to start realigning the animations with the hotkeys, note that you need to press
them while the animation is happening. Any changes to the alignment will be saved in an
external file, so you’ll want to keep it in some place safe (see next step for this). Once you’re
done testing a couple of animations close the game and go back to MO for the next step.

You’ll need to repeat the in game install process and most of the MCM settings whenever you
start a new game. If you keep playing in the same save your settings should be preserved.
Some mods offer ways to save your settings so the next time you start a new game instead of
configuring everything manually you just load a preset. Other mods store that information in a
file and next time you create a new save the mod will pull the necessary information from that
file. That’s something that varies from mod to mod so you’ll need to check each mod description
and MCM to find these features.

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09. Mod Organizer 2 - A second look

So that was a quick test of the most basic features. After this you’ll want to add new mods to
enhance textures, fix bugs, improve gameplay, try different things and so on. But to do that
without breaking your game you need to do it properly. So first things first, check your
Overwrite in MO.

09.1 Managing files in Overwrite from now on

You’ll see there are some files in there. I mentioned before that keeping a clean Overwrite is
important, and that’s a constant for using MO properly. You’ve done some steps to manage files
in Overwrite. This is the same thing but from now on you’ll need to judge what to do with these
files. Up next there are two methods you can use to organize your files. You can even mix and
match different methods. The key here is to keep a clean Overwrite, but also know where these
files are (in case you need to remove/edit them later).

09.1A Make a new empty mod and store your files in there

Most files that go into your Overwrite at this point will be .ini, .log, .txt, .json and similar files for
the different mods you add to your game. For example Fuz Ro Doh created its .ini in
…\Overwrite\SKSE\Plugins, right? And if you did some animation alignments in Sexlab you may
have a SL profile .json file in there. So what I recommend here is:

1. Create a new empty mod, as usual give it a descriptive name like “Config and log files” or
“Mod cache”, etc.
2. Keep that mod enabled near the bottom of the modlist.
3. Whenever you see files in Overwrite (MO will give you a Notification about it) open
Overwrite, check its content and if it makes sense move these files into your assigned
mod.
4. The only caveat here is if some mod updates the way its files are named. In which case
you’ll probably see the config or log files for that mod in Overwrite again, and the
previous version in your mod should be obsolete. This is a rare occurrence and it should
be a quick task to move/remove files.

09.1B Move files from Overwrite into each mod folder

Again, this is a valid option. You can open Overwrite (ideally in Explorer) and check each file in
there, then move them to the corresponding mod folders (maintaining the required folder
structure). The drawback of this method is that if you choose to reinstall or update a mod and
select Replace while installing it, any files you moved in there will be lost.

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09.2 Handling MO conflicts

Since you’ll be adding different mods in the future, it would be wise to learn about file conflicts.
In the particular case of MO, conflict of files can be easily solved by moving the mods up or
down in the left pane. As commented previously, this left side of MO lists all the mods you have
installed and each mod listed represents a folder with all the mod files inside. This means if two
mods are providing the same texture for a piece of clothing or the same chair model, you can
decide at any time which mod will “win” the conflict and provide the files that you see in game.

MO will notify you when there are any conflicts using the following flags in the “Conflicts” column
of your modlist:

: files from this mod are being overwritten by other mods.

: this mod is overwriting files from other mods.
: this mod is both overwriting other mods and being overwritten by other mods.
: there is another mod completely overwriting this mod.

If you check your modlist you’ll see conflicts with , and flags. In the modlist built in
this guide, most of these conflicts appear between the body related mods. CBBE is being
overwritten by Fair Skin Complexion, SOS is being overwritten by Tempered Skins for Males, and
so on. And again, this is something you want, it means you’re actually using the alternate
textures you chose to install for these bodies. In other cases you’re ensuring a mod is being
fixed or updated by another mod.

You can inspect individual file conflicts by double clicking mods with any of the above Conflict
flags and going to the “Conflicts” tab. This can help you to determine more accurately why two
mods are conflicting and which mod should be the one winning the file conflict.

Each conflict you find will have its reason to be and a different solution. Perhaps you need to
move one mod below another, move a mod you had near the top to the bottom and so on.
That’s something you’ll have to judge and apply. There are no rules on how to do it easily or
automatically.

The flags and other UI clues in MO will help you to spot conflicts, how to solve them is up to
you. For example if you select a mod marked with a conflict flag you’ll see other mods will be
highlighted in green/red. These mods are the ones conflicting with the mod you selected.
Inspect the individual files conflicting or find what each mod does, try different orders for these
mods.

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For reference, here is a personal order I’ve developed for my modlist:

1. SKSE related mods (SKSE Scripts, SKSE INI pre-download, Fuz Ro D'oh, Better Jumping,
etc.)
2. Bug Fixes and Patches (Unofficial Skyrim SE Patch and other mods whose sole aim is to
fix a bug or inconvenience)
3. Major meshes and textures replacers (things like Static Mesh Improvement, Noble Skyrim
textures, any major project that replaces several meshes or textures)
4. Minor meshes and textures replacers (minor projects that contain only a few meshes or
textures to replace)
5. ENB / Environment stuff (ENB Helper, weather mods, lighting mods, also replacers for
grass, water, mountains or other terrain that may not fit into the above)
6. User Interface (SkyUI, A Quality World Map, iActivate, Better Dialogue/Messagebox
Controls, etc. anything related to the aspect or usage of the UI)
7. Appearance and Animations mods (Racemenu, CBBE, BodySlide, skin texture replacers,
hair mods, NPC replacers, FNIS, vanilla animation replacers, XPMSSE etc.)
8. Gameplay / Overhauls mods (mods that change races, perks, standing stones, combat,
magic, mods that add or modify any mechanic that affects gameplay in general)
9. LL mods (Sexlab Framework, SL Anim Loader and its anim packs, other frameworks like
DD, ZAZ, other mods like Defeat, Matchmaker, etc.)
10.Custom patches (Output mods for FNIS, BodySlide, xEdit patches, etc.)

But I repeat, the above list is not an universal rule to order your modlist. You’ll need to check
each conflict and adjust things accordingly.

09.3 Reminder your download files are still there

Unless you removed your downloads already, they’re still in MO if you ever need to reinstall a
mod. The files downloaded directly from nexusmods are located in …\MO2\downloads and you
can view them if you switch to the “Downloads” tab in the right panel in MO. From there you can
double click in the files to reinstall a mod.

If you want to remove these files to save space, simply right click anywhere and select “Delete
Installed Downloads…” or “Delete All Downloads…”

It’s safe to remove these files as the required files are already installed within MO. The same
applies to external downloads, like the skse64<version>.7z file, and other mods you had to
download manually. You can keep these zipped files around if you think you’ll need them later
for a reinstall. But there is no other reason to keep them.

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10. (Optional) Enhancing graphics - Post-processing effects

This section is optional as some people prefer to not use ENB or ReShade at all due to the
performance impact it may have. If you feel confident about your system specifications, give it a
try. If you later find you don't want to use ENB or ReShade the removal process is fairly easy to
perform and it shouldn’t pose any harm to your current save games.

● ENBSeries, or just ENB, is a library of post-process effects. Using ENB will alter the overall
look of Skyrim, usually for the better. In terms of files, ENB composes of the following
parts:
A. d3d11.dll: this and the next .dll are the magic files that make it possible to inject
these post-process effects in the game.
B. d3dcompiler_46e.dll: ^
C. enblocal.ini: configuration file containing settings like recommended fixes and
hotkeys to use.
D. enbseries.ini: another configuration file, this one contains the parameters for
effects and settings that modify the look of the game.
E. …\enbseries: contains all the files needed by the ENB preset to show the effects as
configured in the enbseries.ini file.
F. ReShade is another post-processing injector that uses a different set of shaders and
configurations. The files you’ll be using are the following:
G. dxgi.dll: the .dll ReShade requires to apply its effects to Skyrim SE.
H. ReShade.ini: configuration file for ReShade itself.
I. <preset name>.ini: defines how to apply the installed shaders and textures from
ReShade into the game, each preset has a different name and it’s possible to switch
between presets while playing (as long as you have the shaders and textures for all
the presets you intend to use).
J. …\reshade-shaders: folder containing all the required shaders and textures to show
things as configured by the selected preset.

ENBSeries and ReShade can be used separately or combined. There are some ReShade presets
made as an addition to a popular ENB preset, other times you’ll find presets requiring both ENB
and ReShade to properly work and so on. I’d recommend exploring each one on its own first,
unless you find a preset using both and you’re committed to trying it.

Both ENBSeries and ReShade files go directly in your game folder

(...\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition), not inside …\Data. And this means you
won’t be using MO to install these. The only -rare- exception is when some presets come with
…\Data\Textures or ...\Data\Meshes folders, in which case you can pack these files in a zipped

file and install it with MO using the Install mod button.

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10.1 ENB install part one - from the official website

The two .dll files can only be downloaded directly from the official ENBSeries website, while the
.ini files and …\enbseries folder can be freely packed and distributed in what’s known as an ENB
preset. So first thing to do is get the .dll files and set them in place:

A. Go to the official ENBSeries website (this site is a bit weird to navigate, so the link
should take you directly to the downloads for Skyrim SE).
B. Click the latest version number from the list near the bottom of the page.
C. In the next page scroll down and find the button to download the file (click only in
that icon, not the word “download”).
D. Once you have the zipped file open it and find the ...\WrapperVersion folder.
E. There you’ll need to find the d3d11.dll, d3dcompiler_46e.dll and if you want the
enblocal.ini files (most ENB presets also come with its own enblocal.ini, but it’s fine to use
the default one, the most noticeable difference is the hotkeys used which is something
explained later).
F. Move these files into your Skyrim SE install (…\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim
Special Edition).

10.2 ENB install part two - pick your poison

That’s it for the first part, now you need to choose the one among the hundreds of ENB presets
available. For starters you can go to the nexusmods category for ENB/ReShade presets and
check what’s available.

When looking for an ENB preset keep in mind:

● The final look of the game is the result of several factors: from textures used, weather
and lighting mods, to your display calibration and of course the ENB preset you intend to
use.
● Usually, ENB presets work best with the same ENB version they were created with. This
means in order to use the latest ENB versions you may prefer to use an ENB preset from
the past months, and not a preset that has not been updated since 2016.
● Check the description of the ENB preset and pay attention to the requirements and
instructions the author may mention.
○ Most presets are made for a specific combination of weather and lighting mods.
○ Some presets require certain edits to the skyrim.ini and skyrimprefs.ini files. For
this you can manually edit the ones in your ...\Documents\My Games\Skyrim
Special Edition or with MO open use the “INI Editor” (it's an option if you press the

icon).

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○ Some presets come with their own enblocal.ini file. If you want to keep your
hotkeys and default settings it's better to not use the one from the preset. You can
open both and compare the settings to see if the preset requires any particular
change to the default settings.
● Most presets will require the ENB Helper. Install it using MO as usual. Get the one for
your game/SKSE version.
● Nearly every ENB Preset will reduce your overall performance. After all, you're adding
effects. There are ways to get the most efficient implementation for some effects. But
chances are you'll lose a couple of FPS with any preset, and probably a lot of FPS with
some of the most intense ones.

Once you find a nice preset check the description and information available. See if there are any
special install instructions, although for the most part the process is really simple. Don’t use the
“mod manager download” button even if it’s available on the mod page, you want to manually
download the files.

A. After downloading the necessary files for the preset, unzip them somewhere to check its
content.
B. You should find the …\enbseries folder and enbseries.ini files, these are the main files
you’ll need to move into your Skyrim SE install (same as with the .dll files, this is your
actual game folder in …\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition).
C. Make sure you’re moving these files into the proper folder and that there are no additional
folders or files in there.
D. Verify you got the ENB Helper and any other mod the preset you choose requires.

Some presets contain additional folders with different versions of these …\enbseries and
enbseries.ini files for different configurations. Others contain instructions or images and so on,
you’ll need to check each preset description to know what to do with these files.

With all the above already done you’re ready to go into the game to check the new look, but
before doing so you may want to know about the hotkeys you can use to control ENB.

10.3 ENB hotkeys

To check which buttons are used to access the in-game config menu or enable/disable certain
features, take a look at the [INPUT] section in the enblocal.ini file. These are the default Hotkeys
(if you want to change these, find the keycodes and replace them in your enblocal.ini):

● KeyCombination=16 ; [Shift]
● KeyUseEffect=123 ; [F12]
● KeyFPSLimit=36 ; [Home]
● KeyShowFPS=106 ; [* in your numeric keyboard]
● KeyScreenshot=45 ; [Insert]
● KeyEditor=13 ; [Enter]
● KeyDof=118 ; [F7]

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The most used keys would be:

● * : to show/hide the FPS counter, this is useful to verify how your game performs with all
the mods and ENB effects you throw at it.
● Shift + F12: enables and disables the ENB effects so you can see how your game looks
with and without ENB, also useful to check how much performance you lose with ENB
enabled.
● Shift + Enter: this combination opens the ENB in the game Editor, which shows on top of
your game. It’s useful if you feel like tweaking a setting in particular, but for this you’ll
need to know which settings to edit. Some ENB presets contain short guides or more
instructions to adjust certain settings, that would be a good start. But perhaps this is
something you want to do later, not now that you’re just starting with ENB.

If you feel like your game doesn’t look as good as you want, your performance is way worse
with ENB enabled or you simply don’t want to use ENB at all the removal process is easy:

A. Go into your …\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition folder and delete the

ENB files
a. d3d11.dll, d3dcompiler_46e.dll, enblocal.ini, enbseries.ini and the ...\enbseries
folder
b. There may be an …\enbcache folder in there too, which you can safely delete if you
no longer want to use ENB (or that preset in specific, as changing presets will likely
generate new files inside that folder).
B. If you want to remove the preset part of ENB, keep the d3d11.dll, d3dcompiler_46e.dll
and enblocal.ini files.
a. You can go back to the ENB presets category and look for a different preset to use.
Just make sure you’re also getting all the required or recommended mods and
follow every bit of instruction.

10.4 Reshade install

As with ENB, you’ll get files from the official website and then additional files from the preset
you want to use. The main difference with the ENB install is that ReShade uses an executable to
manage its files and during the installation you can select which components (shaders and
textures) to install. So my recommendation is to first find a ReShade preset you want to use
and check its description. Similar to ENB, some Reshade presets are made for a specific weather
and lighting mods, or to accompany an ENB preset. Once you’re set on a preset, manually
download the file and inspect its content. In there you’ll likely find a single <preset name>.ini
file which you’ll need to place in your Skyrim SE folder (…\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim
Special Edition), not in …\Data or any other folder. After that’s done:

A. Download and install the ReShade Helper as a regular mod in MO.

B. Go to https://reshade.me/ and find the “Download Reshade <version> with full add-on
support” button.

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C. Launch the ReShade_Setup_<version>_Addon.

a. Press “Click here to select a game and manage its ReShade installation”.
b. Find and select Skyrim (SkyrimSE.exe) from the list.
c. Select “Direct3D 10/11/12” and press “Next”.
d. The following option will ask you to select a preset to install its shaders. Press
“Browse” and go to your Skyrim SE install and select the <preset name>.ini file
you previously placed in there.
D. ReShade will download the required shaders (…\reshade-shaders folder), after that’s done
you can finish the install.
E. Some presets come with their own …\reshade-shaders folder. If that’s the case you’ll want
to move said folder into your Skyrim SE folder after installing ReShade. That way the files
from the preset will overwrite the files from ReShade.

I recommend you to keep the ReShade_Setup_<version>.exe in a convenient place (like your

working folder). You can use it to reinstall or remove ReShade from your game at any time.

That’s it for the ReShade files, now you need to go into the game to confirm the installation was
successful. When you reach the main menu you should see a message in a new window at the
top of your screen. ReShade has a built-in tutorial which you can follow to get the gist of it. For
the most part you only need to open the configuration overlay once, select your preset and close
it.

To open and close the configuration overlay the default hotkey is Home. There you can use the
mouse and keyboard to select the different options.

● In the “Home” tab you can switch between presets using the and buttons, or
pressing in the currently selected file (“Nolvus Reshade” in the example below) to open
the list.
● In “Settings” you can configure the different hotkeys, enable an FPS counter and so on.

If you’re happy with your chosen preset you don’t need to do anything else at this point,
ReShade will load along your game at launch and the preset you choose should be applied. If
you want to tweak or change the effects your preset uses you can enable and disable individual
effects in the list you see in the “Home” tab.

If you ever see a message about a new version of ReShade available you should head up the
official ReShade site and get the new executable, then repeat the install process. Your preset
files should stay intact (unless it has its own …\reshade-shaders folder, in which case you’ll want
to repeat the preset installation also).

To completely remove ReShade use the ReShade_Setup_<version>.exe file, select the game,
“Direct3D 10/11/12” but this time select “Uninstall”. The executable should remove all ReShade
files, except the <preset name>.ini file which you can manually remove.

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11. Updating Skyrim SE, SKSE and mods

You should know by now some mods are version sensitive and you need to account for this when
installing and updating mods. And while the best practice is keeping your mods up to date
(updates in this context usually mean new features, fixes and so on), there are times where
you’ll need to hold on that update or ignore new releases entirely.

The best way to know what to do is as always: check the mod description or available
information (forum threads, readme files, descriptions, etc.) and the mod files you already have
installed or downloaded. Up next you’ll see a few tools to help you in this endeavor.

11.1 Checking for updates - from nexusmods

MO has an integrated update check for all the mods you get directly from nexusmods. With this
you’ll be able to check most of your mods with a couple of clicks.

A. Right click anywhere in the left panel of MO

and select “Check for updates” (if it’s in an
empty space you’ll get the general context
menu immediately, if not you’ll need to select
“All Mods> Check for updates”).
B. After a while you’ll see your left panel has a
red outline and is either empty or with only a
few mods listed there.
C. Any mods listed in there have a new update
available, to check it right click in each mod
and select “Visit on Nexus”, there you’ll have to check the description/changelog,
download the new file and install it as usual in MO.
D. As you’ll be installing an already installed mod in MO, it will ask you what you want to do
with the previous files. The best practice here is to pick “Replace”, that way all the files
from the previous version will be deleted before installing the new version. In some cases
you’ll want to select “Merge” (for example if you have other files you don’t want to lose in
the same mod folder). That’s something you’ll need to decide and apply as you see in
each case.
E. Sometimes mod authors don’t use a correct version scheme and you get false-positives
(ex. According to Nexusmods/MO there is a newer file than the one you have installed
when in reality that’s not true). If that’s the case you can right click on the mod in
question (in the left MO pane) and select “Ignore update”.

F. To remove the red outline and return to your regular modlist press the
button you’ll see at the very bottom of the MO window.

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13.2 Checking for updates - from other websites

For mods from other websites other than Nexus,

you'll have to do this manually. If you want to
know when a new update is done to LL mods
press the “Send me version updates” button,
alternatively you can “Follow” the mods you use.

Whenever you get a notification check if there is a new file to download, then read the
description/changelog in case there is additional information for installing or updating.

13.3 Other update tips

MO will check for updates whenever you launch it. If you see this button in color ( ) it
means there is an update available. Installing MO updates is safe. All your mods, downloads,
settings and so on are preserved. Simply click that button and the installer will open, it’ll get the
necessary files automatically and you can repeat the install process (just verify it’s installing in
the same folder your MO is currently installed). My only advice here would be to disable “Form
43 checker” and “Tutorials” if you did it during your first install.

13.4 SKSE plugin filter

Another MO feature you may need is a filter to show you mods with a .dll file. These are the
mods mentioning a specific game or SKSE versions as a requirement. So if the game ever
updates again (or a new SKSE version is released) you’ll need to keep an eye on these mods. To
apply the filter:

1. Press the button near the bottom-left corner of MO.

2. A list will appear on the left side of MO, find the
“<Contains Script Extender Plugin>” filter and enable it.
3. As when checking for updates, your modlist has
changed to show only a few mods. These are the ones containing a .dll file.

4. You can and press the button again to return to your usual MO
interface.

Just keep in mind that if in the future the game or SKSE is updated, you’ll need to update these
mods too. My recommendation is that in the event of a game update (usually discussed here)
you wait a few weeks to update your game, SKSE and mods (at least the ones listed with the
previous filter). In the meantime you can keep playing (remember automatic Steam updates
should be disabled). And once you’re 100% sure SKSE and all your mods have been updated for
the latest game version you can update everything at the same time.

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A. To update the game launch Skyrim SE from Steam (not with MO), that will start the
update download. Note that if you have the appmanifest as read-only you must undo this
change (showcased in step 01.2)
B. Then repeat the SKSE install (remove old .exe and .dll from SKSE in your game install,
remove old SKSE scripts from MO).
C. And finally update the rest of your mods, ensuring any SKSE plugin matches your
executable/SKSE versions.

Example of a mod providing different files for two different game and SKSE versions

To summarize:

1. Know which version of the game you have installed.

2. Prevent automatic updates in Steam.
3. Know which version of SKSE you have installed. It must match your game version.
4. Identify mods with a .dll file and always verify for compatibility with your game and SKSE
versions whenever you install or update such mods.
5. In case there is a new game update you’ll need to confirm SKSE and all your mods with
an SKSE plugin (.dll) are compatible for this new game update. Only when you’re sure
everything has been updated for this latest game update can you update SKSE and your
mods with a .dll file. All at the same time.

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12. Locating your files + Quick tool recap

This is a list of frequently used folders and a recap of the tools previously covered.

12.1 Frequently used folders and files

Skyrim SE folder: Contains the original game files and a few additional files (like SKSE and
ENB or ReShade files).

● ...\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition

Default save & ini files location: Located under your Documents folder by default. It contains
your saves, log files (from the game itself and some mods) and the skyrim.ini and
skyrimprefs.ini files generated with the SkyrimSELauncher.exe:

● ...\Documents\My Games\Skyrim Special Edition\

Working folder: The folder created and used to store all things mod-related during this guide.
The name and location is up to you, just remember: it must be outside of your game installation
(...\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition).

MO2: The folder where MO was installed. It should be inside your working folder and it contains
the following notable elements:

● ...\MO2\downloads: contains all the zipped files downloaded from Skyrim SE Nexus.
Remember you can delete the files here after installing them.
● ...\MO2\mods: contains all the mods you've installed in MO. Each folder will have the
same name as the mods listed in your left panel in MO.
● ...\MO2\overwrite: the actual folder of the Overwrite entry at the bottom of the left panel
in MO.
● ...\MO2\profiles: unless you used the profiles feature on your own, it should only contain
a single folder named …\Default.
● ...\MO2\profiles\Default: contains the following files:
○ loadorder.txt: contains the list of plugin and master files (.esp, .esl, .esm) in the
order shown in the right panel of MO.
○ modlist.txt: contains the list of mods shown in your left panel of MO.
○ other .txt files that you may not use, but that must be kept here (if you use the
Profile-specific ini files setting you'll also find the skyrim.ini and skyrimprefs.ini
used by MO here).

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12.2 Recap of previously mentioned tools

● LOOT.exe: sorts your loadorder with a given set of rules, should avoid most of the obvious
conflicts and give you a functional loadorder. Manual tweaks might be needed in rare
cases for some mods (should be specified in these mod descriptions).
○ How: use the LOOT executable that is automatically added to MO after installing
LOOT during step 7.
○ When: whenever you add mods that come with a plugin or master files (.esp, .esl,
.esm), as the newly added files will be placed at the bottom of your loadorder by
default and that might conflict badly.
● GenerateFNISforUsers.exe: this executable will update the behavior files so all the custom
animations from your various mods are used properly in game. Failing to generate valid
behavior files will cause the common T-pose or frozen characters issue.
○ How: using the GenerateFNISforUsers executable that was added to MO during
step 6.
○ When: whenever you add, change or remove a mod that comes with custom
animations. If you're not sure if a mod that you've recently added or removed
contains custom animations you can use it whenever you add, change or remove
any kind of mod.
● BodySlide x64.exe: allows the use of body presets (these define the body shape) and
generates new models for your body parts and compatible outfits, so everything fits
nicely.
○ How: using the Bodyslide x64 executable added to MO in step 7.
○ When: When switching to a different Preset or after installing a mod that provides
new outfits (armor, clothing and other wearable accessories) compatible with
BodySlide (it should be specified in the mod description, also the mod will come
with a ...\CalienteTools\BodySlide folder).

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13. Final words

If you've been following the steps up to this point you should be ready to delve into adding more
mods or follow other guides to achieve a modded game fitting to your preferences. In this final
step you’ll find links to different sources to get your mods and information about SE
compatibility. You’ll also find general recommendations to avoid problems and also a very rough
idea of how to troubleshoot problems if you ever find one.

13.1 Relevant resources to get your mods and information

● SE Compatibility Tracking - List of mods already ported to Skyrim SE and information

about its updates.
● Sexlab Index SE - List of mods for Skyrim SE sorted by categories. Listed mods have a
one line description so you can quickly get the gist of each mod.
● Remember there are two Nexus sites for Skyrim. Don't mix LE mods in your SE game,
unless you totally know what you're doing.
○ Skyrim SE https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition
○ Skyrim LE https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim
● There are also separate download sections for LL mods. But some LE mods have SE
versions under the LE download section (that's where threads like the SE Compatibility
Tracking and the Sexlab Index SE come into play, use them to get a general view of what
is available for SE).
○ Skyrim SE https://www.loverslab.com/files/category/163-skyrim-special-edition/
○ Skyrim LE https://www.loverslab.com/files/category/1-skyrim/
● If you're interested in creature stuff (which isn't covered in this guide) I strongly
recommend you to check the MNC Install Guide. Download the latest version, extract
the files and check the Install Guide Notes 64bitSE.txt file. It contains instructions and
links for all the requirements to make MNC work. Add the required mods as usual to your
MO and follow any additional advice about loadorder or settings.
● If you want to expand your mod list by a significant amount you should check the Skyrim
SE for Beginners. This is a solid modlist tested and tweaked by Aylis. If you're willing to
give it a try make sure you follow every bit of instruction. Notable mentions:
○ This modlist doesn't make use of LOOT. Instead, the install order will dictate the
loadorder. Make sure you're installing and enabling your mods in the same order as
they're mentioned in the guide. Then follow other instructions to adjust your
loadorder. Don't use LOOT.
○ Due to the above requirement, you’ll have to disable or remove your already
installed mods. If you choose to keep them, verify you place them in the proper
place (both in your modlist and loadorder). Starting from a clean MO would be
easier, although you’ll need to repeat some downloads and installations.
● Don't stop there, check the other forum sections for other mods and interesting threads.
Keep in mind you'll need to find mods compatible with SE. So try to stick to the SE forum

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sections and if you have doubts check the mod information or ask in the existing thread
for the mod in question.

13.2 General advice on how to avoid problems

● Know the mods you're installing to a minimum extent (why you're installing them, what
they do, what are its requirements, will it conflict or overlap with others mods you have
installed, etc.).
● Make good use of your tools' features. In the case of MO you should:
○ Keep a clean Overwrite (moving any created file to where you see fit).
○ Keep the name and version fields of your mods with the actual information.
○ Place newly added mods in the proper place (in both your left and right panel),
which means solving any active conflict and following the loadorder given by LOOT
or by mod authors.
● If you're planning to install new mods, do it a few at a time. Install one, double-check its
requirements, loadorder, re-run any tool if you need to. You should test the mod in game
and confirm things are working as you'd expect. Rinse and repeat with every mod you
want to add.
● If you ever need to update a mod in the middle of a game: remember to check the mod
description/changelog in case there are additional instructions to perform before/after
updating the mod. Remember there are some mods made for a specific game or SKSE
version, so keep that in mind when updating your game/SKSE/mods.
● If for any reason you want to remove a mod, also check if there are specific instructions
to do it.
○ Usually, removing a mod is a straightforward process where you uninstall it from
MO and load your last save and keep playing.
○ There are other cases where you need to disable the mod in game and then remove
it for good from your mod manager.
○ There are instances in which you'll also need to clean your saves after uninstalling a
mod (for these cases there is Fallrim Tools). Make sure you follow the instructions
to the letter and keep a copy of your save prior to any cleaning/uninstall procedure
just for safe measure.
● Avoid the "Light" version of known mods (examples: Sexlab light, Matchmaker light).
These "Light" versions were an early attempt to have a functional framework before we
had SKSE and MCM. Nowadays these mods are simply too limited and even obsolete.

13.3 And in case of problems

● Don't try to add mods until it works. Adding more mods is never the solution, unless your
issue is a missing requirement.
● Look around, do you see an error message? A Notification or similar clue that can tell you
exactly what’s wrong? If so, do a quick search in Google or your preferred searching
engine.
○ Try to focus on keywords and include the exact error or message you get.

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○ It’s very likely your current problem has happened to others before, so after a
quick search with the proper information you should find the solution.
● If you’re unsure about what’s the exact problem: try to isolate the issue.
○ Make a new game with just a few mods enabled at a time so you can pinpoint
which mod or mod combination is the source of the problem.
○ Determine what triggers the issue. Does it happen when you go to a certain place,
activate an item, use hotkey in particular, does it happen when you see enemy
actors or when you use a bed, etc. Finding exactly when or where the problem
happens is often a good lead to the solution.
● If you identify the mod causing the issue and are unsure of how to fix it: ask in the proper
forum or website.
○ For nexusmods: visit the mod page, check the comments/bug section to see if it’s a
known issue or if others are experiencing similar problems. If so there might be
workarounds or fixes you can try. If not you can leave a comment asking for help.
Or if you’re 100% sure the issue is the mod and not something else on your side,
report the bug if possible.
○ For loverslab mods: use the Support Thread of the mod in question. You can access
that post by pressing the "Get Support" button right under the green "Download"
button in every LL mod page. It's recommended to always check the last comments
in these threads to know the state of the mod.
● If you’re having a recurring crash and no idea what to check you can try getting a crash
log. Crash logs are implemented via SKSE plugins and are not something you can get
from the game, MO or other programs you already have. Check this crash logger and
this crash log tool to add labels.
○ Remember to also check and install their corresponding requirements and follow
every bit of instruction you can find in their description.
○ Once you have one of them properly installed and configured, launch the game and
try to replicate the crash a few times.
○ Then collect the log files and examine its content, or include them in a forum post if
you’re asking for help.
● Check the Technical Support for Skyrim SE, that's the support section for issues if
you're playing Skyrim SE. Take a look at the existing threads, you may find someone else
with a similar issue. You can even find the solution in one of these posts. As a last resort,
you can create a new thread there asking for help.
● When asking for help try to be as descriptive as possible. Include all the relevant
information you can gather. If you’re going to include multiple screenshots or large
portions of text use spoilers (the button in the bar above the space to write your
post) to hide them. That’s a little courtesy so people willing to go through your post can
navigate it a bit easier.

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