Fans of Skyrim know visuals aren't always the game's strong suit. While it does boast a few stunning features, like the vast picturesque wilderness, its animations tend to fall short compared to modern games. Animations breathe life into everything you encounter, so clunky and rigid ones (like what you often see in Skyrim) are extremely immersion-breaking.
If you're looking to upgrade your game's animations, you’re in the right place. Read on for 15 of the best animation mods available for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition in 2023.
15. Dynamic Animation Replacer
DAR Guide.
For those who are unfamiliar with Dynamic Animation Replacer, it’s a tool that allows players to change and customize character animations in Skyrim. Instead of using the same fixed animations for every action, the game can assign conditional animations based on various factors, like the type of weapon equipped or the current location. In doing so, DAR enables modders to create more responsive animation packs.
While DAR is more of a resource than an animation mod, it lays the basis for many other mods, so this is a great place to start.
Key Features:
- Dynamically replaces character and creature animations based on multiple conditions.
- Supports mod-added actors and animations
- Able to track a long list of different conditions, from equipped items to weather, and can even pinpoint specific NPCs.
14. Take a Seat - New Sitting Animations For OAR or DAR
Sitting with Style in Skyrim.
This is the first mod on this list that uses Dynamic Animation Replacer. Take a Seat makes NPC idle behaviours look more natural by adding over a dozen alternate sitting animations, chosen at random when someone sits down or meditates on the ground. No longer will the citizens of Skyrim conform to its unyielding sitting laws.
Key Features:
- 14 new sitting and meditating animations for NPCs to use—13 unisex and 1 female-only.
- Whenever an NPC sits on the ground or a cliff, the animation they use is randomly selected for more lifelike behaviour.
- Players can use these animations as well with a sitting mod downloaded.
13. Animated Clutter
Skyrim Mod: Animated Clutter.
Animated Clutter brings life to Skyrim’s interactive objects by giving them animations. Previously unmoving chests, trap doors, and even spider sacs will now open when you click on them. It also improves certain static objects, like ships, with custom idle animations, elevating the level of realism in the game.
Key Features:
- Over 30 new mesh animations for static objects.
- Things like satchels, doors, barrels, and knapsacks have custom animations for being opened and closed.
- Idle animations for certain objects(e.g. ships will bob in the water).
- The installer allows you to select which animations you want to see in-game.
12. Weapon Styles - Draw-Sheathe Animations For IED
Weapon Styles animations for IED.
If you use Immersive Equipment Displays, you’ll love this animation set designed for it. Weapon Styles adds an array of new sheathing and unsheathing animations for all types of weapons, even accommodating dual-wielding with different weapon combinations. These expressive animations will immerse you in the anticipation of battle every time you draw your blade.
Key Features:
- Unique sheathing and unsheathing animations for all types of weapons.
- Designed for the weapon placements included in Immersive Equipment Displays.
- Allows for randomized styles for extra variety.
11. Unarmed Warfare - New Animations For Hand to Hand Combat
Skyrim Mod - Unarmed Warfare.
Introducing the perfect mod for any player looking to fight hand-to-hand like a master: Unarmed Warfare. It improves unarmed combat in Skyrim with new attack animations—most notably, several styles of kicks. Unarmed Warfare will add excitement and variety to your brawls, whether you’re playing as a hand-to-hand warrior or settling a dispute in the tavern.
Key Features:
- Adds multiple kicks to hand-to-hand combat with custom animations.
- New animations for vanilla punches.
- The new attacks replace vanilla unarmed power attacks for ease of use.
10. Lively Children Animations
Lively Children Animations (DAR) - animation mod for Skyrim SE and AE.
Just like it says on the tin, Lively Children Animations introduces new animations for child characters to make them appear more energetic and playful. Using DAR, the new idles and dialogue gestures are applied with careful consideration to personality. It adds animations for lively non-child characters like Narfi and Cicero, but not for characters like Babette.
Key Features:
- Adds expressive new idles and dialogue gestures to child characters.
- Reintroduces unused vanilla animations.
- Can be customized at any time during a playthrough.
9. Expressive Facial Animation
Load Disorder #19: [SKYRIM Mod Review] Expressive Facial Animations.
Say goodbye to Skyrim’s rigid expressions. Expressive Facial Animation brings more lifelike emotions to the faces of NPCs, modifying everything from mouths to eye movements and beyond. This mod is a must-have for immersive conversations and interactions.
Key Features:
- Gives characters more natural expression animations.
- Fixes teeth positioning.
- Male and female versions.
8. Pretty Combat Animations - Spell Master
mag cast overhual preview.
Don’t settle for dull magic animations–unleash your inner mage with finesse using Pretty Combat Animations. PCA - Spell Master revamps magic casting animations, giving them fluidity and realism to elevate your mystical abilities. With this mod, the arcane arts look truly magical.
Key Features:
- Uses DAR to assign new animations for magic casting.
- Covers almost all combat animations for magic, including running, sneaking, using a staff, and more.
- New animations for both males and females.
7. FSMP - Faster HDT-SMP
SKYRIM MOD INFO I Faster HDT SMP 1.47 I FPS Improvement.
Once upon a time, there was a mod called HDT-SMP… until Skyrim updated and broke it entirely. Now we have FSMP—the newer, faster, functional replacement.
This tool allows for mesh physics that makes objects like hair and capes respond to gravity and movement, bringing realism to your game. It also helps modders give character meshes proper collisions, which means long hair will fall over your shoulders rather than clip through them.
Key Features:
- Allows for more advanced mesh physics for characters and creatures.
- More efficient than the original HDT-SMP, with significant performance improvements.
- Forms the foundation for many physics/animation mods.
6. First Person Combat Animations Overhaul
Skyrim Combat 2022 | First Person Combat Animations Overhaul 2.0 - SIZE MATTERS. Start at 2:25.
If your character’s incompetent weapon handling is bringing you down, prepare for a visual transformation with First Person Combat Animations Overhaul. This replacer’s dynamic weapon animations will bring your battles to life. Thanks to DAR’s conditional animations, you’ll feel the finesse of a dagger and the might of a warhammer like never before.
Key Features:
- 60+ custom player animations for first-person combat.
- Appropriate animations for different weapon types.
- Compatible with all weapons recognized by the vanilla system, so it'll still work with mod-added items as long as they have the right flags.
5. Skill Based Dynamic Animations
5 NEW Amazing Skyrim Mods! (Gameplay, Overhaul, Armors, and more). Start At 0:15.
What does a level 100 archer do differently from a level 15 archer? Nothing, apparently. Time to change that.
Skill Based Dynamic Animations makes skilled characters look more confident and powerful by giving them new animations for a skill when they reach a certain level in it. With this mod, all your progress finally shows. Leave the vanilla archery animations to the novices—a master should loose an arrow like one.
Key Features:
- Characters with higher levels in sneaking, magic, and archery will have more experienced animations for those skills.
- Covers both third-person and first-person animations.
- Many of the animations can be replaced with your choice of animation mods.
4. Gesture Animation Remix
Sheogorath with vanilla animations and Gesture Animation Remix mod compared side by side.
Bring believability to NPC interactions with Gesture Animation Remix. This mod introduces fresh dialogue animations tailored to NPCs’ personalities, jobs, and clothing. These animations not only look more natural and flow more seamlessly but also enrich the game with a wider range of gestures, making NPCs appear more lifelike during conversations.
Key Features:
- Uses DAR to dynamically assign over 50 new gesture animations.
- Certain characters have unique animations to make them stand out.
- Compatible with virtually all other gesture mods.
3. JH Combat Animation Pack
JH Combat Animation Pack (SkySA Movesets).
The JH Combat Animation Pack is a complete overhaul of Skyrim’s combat visuals, offering over 200 animations. Enhance your battles with new idles, equips, blocks, and recoils for a dynamic combat experience. The mod also includes animations for several different move sets to make chains of attacks look more fluid and cohesive.
Key Features:
- 260+ animations for every category of weapon in the game.
- Uses DAR to dynamically assign new animations.
- Adds a variety of move sets for smoother chains of attacks.
2. EVG Animation Variance
Skyrim Mod - EVG Animation Variance.
Another DAR mod? Yes please!
Everglaid's Animation Variance makes for an unobtrusive yet transformative addition to your load order, infusing Skyrim's idles with diversity. It introduces a variety of alternate animations based on conditions like location and role or simply random chance, making characters feel alive. With options like personality-based animations, different takes on walking and running, and much more, this mod allows you to customize and enhance your gameplay the way you like it with fluid and unique character animations.
Key Features:
- Adds many alternate conditional animations to bring variety to Skyrim’s idles and walks.
- Optional modules for personality-dependent animations, repurposed vanilla animations, and more.
- A FOMOD to enable or disable certain animations to tailor the mod to your liking.
1. Movement Behaviour Overhaul
Skyrim Moving ANIMATIONS are ... but these are ... | Movement Behavior Overhaul Mod Showcase.
After you’ve modded the game beyond recognition, you’ll want to spend a lot of time walking around and admiring your masterpiece. Why not turn your movements into a work of art as well?
This mod completely transforms the way characters walk, run, and sprint, adding fluid animations that respond naturally to your every step. No more changing directions with uncanny haste—you’ll smoothly slide to a stop after sprinting and lean into turns in this next-gen animation overhaul. Characters now move more like people and less like mannequins, making your journey so captivating you may never use fast travel again.
Key Features:
- A set of improved running, walking, and sprinting animations.
- Smooth new transitions between animations and a realistic sprinting stop.
- Replaces the silent roll perk with a slide.
- Compatibility patches for other movement mods.
