Can Skyrim Mods Have Viruses? Is Modding Safe?

valentina kraljik game horizonByValentina Kraljik Published on
Can Skyrim Mods Have Viruses Is Modding Safe
Share:

Modding Skyrim is one of the main reasons why the game is still played today. From adding different assets to the game to improving graphics and fixing bugs, modding opens up a whole world of possibilities for improving the game and making it better. In recent years, modding Skyrim has also become available to players on consoles, further expanding the modding community. Players new to modding are not as confident when it comes to modifying their games, and due to that, one question is often asked, can Skyrim mods have viruses, and is modding even safe? 

Skyrim modding is completely safe if you get mods from trusted and reputable sites. In theory, mods can have viruses, but getting them from trusted and official sites lowers the chances of you getting a virus nearly to zero. The same goes for installing mods on consoles as well. It’s even harder to get a virus on a console than on a PC, so you have to be extremely unlucky to get a virus through this route, as it’s almost impossible for a casual user. 

Now that we’ve covered that modding is generally safe, it’s time to analyze why and what are the best places to get mods. If you’re interested in more, stay with us and keep reading! 

Nothing online is completely safe from viruses, but mods are pretty close to being completely safe 

As you all know, every time you download something from the internet, you run the risk of getting your PC infected with malware. Viruses are everywhere, be it some serious threats or annoying bloatware that targets you with ads. 

Most people will do everything in their limited power to avoid getting a virus since getting rid of it can be lengthy and exhausting and might even cost you some files. That being said, mods are not necessary to play the game, and if it is too much of a risk that your PC (or console ) will get infected, people would most likely avoid it altogether. But you can rest easy. Modding is completely safe as long as you do it right. 

Mods are rarely infected with malware, and this is not just “luck.” Most people tend to download mods from official sources and highly reputable sites. So no, if you’re wondering whether you should drop modding because of safety concerns, don’t do it. And in the rest of the article, we will cover why. 

Nexus Mods is a reputable site that is completely safe and one of the best sources of community-made mods 

Every avid modder or connoisseur of mods has heard of Nexus Mods. It’s one of the oldest mods aggregators around, and the site has built quite a reputation for itself. Mods you get on Nexus Mods are completely safe because the site has several checks in place in order to provide the users with the possible service. To upload (and even download bigger mods), you need to create an account and verfy your info. Also, mods are screened just in case they contain some malware.

Nexus mods virus scan

Nexus Mods also has its mod manager, which comes in handy for players new to modding that does 90 % of the job for you. With the introduction of mod managers, modding has never been easier and safer, and now fan-made content is accessible to everybody. In short, if you want to stay safe while modding Skyrim, Nexus Mods is a perfect place to start. It’s not an official site by any means, but it’s pretty close to being exactly that due to the amount of support you’re getting. Nexus Mods is completely free. You only need to create an account, but there are paid plans for faster download speeds. 

RELATED:

Skyrim on Console vs. PC: Which Version Should You Get?

Skyrim’s Creation Club is an official place to download curated content 

If you’re looking for a more “official” place to get mods on both PCs and Consoles, you have Skyrim Creation Club at your disposal. Creation Club is Bethesda’s official marketplace that aggregates highly-curated content, meaning only top-of-the-line mods will be included. Creation Club is also a good place to monetize your mods if you want more than forum recognition. 

Creation Club is completely safe as every uploaded mod is checked for malware, and like is the case with Nexus Mods; you need an account to both download and upload mods. 

Skyrim Creation Club

There aren’t as many mods available on Creation Club as at Nexus Mods, but still, there’s plenty to choose from. From textures packs, additional items, and storylines, there’s something for everybody. Generally, Creation Club is not free to use, however, as you will need “credits” to purchase mods, both on PC and consoles. Through those credits, content creators are rewarded for their hard work and dedication.

Skyrim Steam Workshop is still available for people who are still playing Oldrim 

If you’ve never made the jump to Skyrim Special Edition, you can still use Steam Workshop to get Skyrim mods. Steam Workshop is completely safe as they check files as well, and added convenience is you don’t have to install additional software as everything is in your Steam launcher. Steam Workshop has plenty of mods to choose from, and it’s completely free to use, just like Nexus Mods.

Skyrim Steam Workshop

Is modding Skyrim safe on consoles? 

Modding Skyrim is absolutely safe on consoles as your means of getting mods are extremely limited, and basically, you can only get them from the official Creation Club, and the odds of you getting malware from official Bethesda sites are practically 0. Console players are limited when it comes to mods compared to PC players, as console mods are limited only to existing game assets. This adds an extra layer of security, especially for players looking forward to modding their PS installation of Skyrim.

So if anything, modding Skyrim on consoles is even safer than on PC. 

RELATED:

Skyrim: How to Set Up Your Load Order Correctly on PS4 & PS5?

To sum everything up, modding is extremely safe if you get mods from reputable and official sites. You should be good if you avoid downloading random files from the internet and stick to Nexus Mods, Creation Club, or Steam Workshop. The odds of getting malware from those sites are practically nonexistent. 

valentina kraljik game horizon

Valentina Kraljik is a writer and editor at Game Horizon with a deep love for everything related to video games. With a degree in Information Sciences, she brings a well-informed and unique perspective to her work. Valentina's writing is known for covering a wide range of video game genres, but she truly shines in her expertise in open-world RPGs. From offbeat euro-jank games like "Gothic" to critically acclaimed titles like "The Witcher," Valentina is well-versed in this exciting genre. Her passion for imaginative storytelling is reflected in the topics she writes about, with favorites like "Disco Elysium," "Elder Scrolls: Morrowind," "World of Warcraft," and "Mass Effect" influencing her tastes in games. Even though nothing beats a good high-fantasy setting, she often wanders into the realm of first-person shooters, occasionally even hitting the target. With a commitment to objectivity and insightful analysis, Valentina strives to bring a fresh perspective to the subjects she covers, even when exploring genres that may be unfamiliar to her. Her blend of academic rigor and creative flair sets her apart in the world of media writing.

Starfield Beats Skyrim’s “Concurrent Players Record,” but the Numbers Don’t Tell the Whole Story

valentina kraljik game horizonByValentina Kraljik Published on
Starfield surpasses Skyrims concurrent player count
Share:

Bethesda’s most recent launch of Starfield promised to be the largest in the company’s history, just like the massive game itself. Even though the developers were criticized for some exploration aspects of the game, to put it plainly, lack of things to do on some planets and lack of diversity on the planets in general, the launch did manage to surpass another legendary game from Bethesda’s repertoire, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. 

Skyrim turns 12 years old in just a few short months, and around 12 years ago, it registered the peak concurrent players count of 287,411, according to SteamDB. Starfield managed to surpass that number a few times now, as 13 hours ago, the game registered a peak concurrent player count of 330,723 players in the game. 

Starfield playercount

Although the peak seems humble when compared to some other games, it’s important to note that Steam is not the only platform on which the game was released on. Due to lucrative deals, many players instead opted out to try out the game on Microsoft’s Game Pass, so what we’re seeing on Steam is a far cry from the real number of players. 

Starfield also hadn’t managed to dethrone Bethesda’s other giant, Fallout 4. At one point 8 years ago, the game registered an all-time peak of 472,962 concurrent players, as the interest in the game was enormous.

Starfield’s number look humble, at least on Steam, but it’s important to take into account that the franchise is also rather new, and players really don’t know what to expect considering an overwhelming amount of both positive reviews and criticism of some of the game aspect’s that were supposedly overhyped. 

RELATED:

15 Best Two-Handed Weapon Mods for Skyrim Barbarians

In any case, we don’t expect Starfield to fall off the radar anytime soon. The developers have announced the release of modding tools, scheduled to launch sometime in 2024. Even in the absence of official modding tools, its modding community is thriving, with thousands of mods already uploaded and ready to improve the game in several aspects that the players found lacking.

One thing that ensures the longevity of most Bethesda games is its modding fanbase, and we have no doubt that Starfield will see some drastic unofficial upgrades in the next several months and, due to them, perhaps even dethrone Fallout 4. 

valentina kraljik game horizon

Valentina Kraljik is a writer and editor at Game Horizon with a deep love for everything related to video games. With a degree in Information Sciences, she brings a well-informed and unique perspective to her work. Valentina's writing is known for covering a wide range of video game genres, but she truly shines in her expertise in open-world RPGs. From offbeat euro-jank games like "Gothic" to critically acclaimed titles like "The Witcher," Valentina is well-versed in this exciting genre. Her passion for imaginative storytelling is reflected in the topics she writes about, with favorites like "Disco Elysium," "Elder Scrolls: Morrowind," "World of Warcraft," and "Mass Effect" influencing her tastes in games. Even though nothing beats a good high-fantasy setting, she often wanders into the realm of first-person shooters, occasionally even hitting the target. With a commitment to objectivity and insightful analysis, Valentina strives to bring a fresh perspective to the subjects she covers, even when exploring genres that may be unfamiliar to her. Her blend of academic rigor and creative flair sets her apart in the world of media writing.

The Elder Scrolls VI Is Still 5+ Years Away & Might Not Be Available on PlayStation, Says Microsoft’s Mike Spencer

valentina kraljik game horizonByValentina Kraljik Published on
The Elder Scrolls VI Is Still 5 Years Away Might Not Be Available on PlayStation Says Microsofots Mike Spencer
Share:

It’s been 11 and a half years since The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was released, and despite the game being re-released numerous times and content being added both officially and through the modding community, fans are eagerly awaiting tidbits of news regarding the so-far unnamed sixth installment in the franchise.

Bad news came last week when during the Activision Blizzard FTC Trial, Microsoft’s Mike Spencer announced that the game might still be 5+ years away. 

In December of last year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its intention to block Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, a deal worth $68.7 billion. Recently, a federal court in California issued a temporary restraining order, as requested by the FTC, which effectively halts the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal for the time being.

Last week, the FTC was seeking a preliminary injunction against Microsoft and Activision Blizzard. If successful, it would prevent the completion of the acquisition while the FTC conducts its review of the transaction’s compliance with U.S. antitrust laws.

RELATED:

Skyrim on Console vs. PC: Which Version Should You Get?

The granting of a preliminary injunction would have a significant impact on Microsoft and Activision Blizzard’s plans, potentially even jeopardizing the deal. The acquisition was initially expected to close by July 18, 2023. If the injunction is imposed, the parties would either have to renegotiate or face the possibility of the deal falling through.

An evidentiary hearing between Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, and the FTC is scheduled for August 2, which is after the upcoming deadline in July.

During the hearing, Mike Spencer mentioned the probable Elder Scrolls VI release window 

“It’s many years away, but it’s a game we have announced we would begin working on. “I think we’ve been a little unclear on what platforms it will launch on, given how far out the game is. It’s difficult for us right now to nail down exactly what platforms that game will launch on.”

IGN

“As I said with Elder Scrolls 6, it’s so far out it’s hard to understand what the platforms will even be at this point. It’s the same team that’s finishing Starfield, which comes out this September. So we’re talking about it being likely five-plus years away.”

Spencer’s words did little to quell the worry that Bethesda’s most famous franchise won’t be available on Play Station, and the fans that once welcomed healthy competition in the form of PS exclusives are now calling for fairer release practices. 

In any case, considering everything we’ve heard, there’s going to be quite some time before we hear & see anything solid related to Elder Scrolls VI. 

Bethesda is usually delaying its flagship IP as long as possible to ensure the best experience possible for fans, and considering the probable scope of the game and technologies involved in making it; it’s not surprising that the game is taking so long. 

valentina kraljik game horizon

Valentina Kraljik is a writer and editor at Game Horizon with a deep love for everything related to video games. With a degree in Information Sciences, she brings a well-informed and unique perspective to her work. Valentina's writing is known for covering a wide range of video game genres, but she truly shines in her expertise in open-world RPGs. From offbeat euro-jank games like "Gothic" to critically acclaimed titles like "The Witcher," Valentina is well-versed in this exciting genre. Her passion for imaginative storytelling is reflected in the topics she writes about, with favorites like "Disco Elysium," "Elder Scrolls: Morrowind," "World of Warcraft," and "Mass Effect" influencing her tastes in games. Even though nothing beats a good high-fantasy setting, she often wanders into the realm of first-person shooters, occasionally even hitting the target. With a commitment to objectivity and insightful analysis, Valentina strives to bring a fresh perspective to the subjects she covers, even when exploring genres that may be unfamiliar to her. Her blend of academic rigor and creative flair sets her apart in the world of media writing.

How Do You Use the Investor Perk in Skyrim?

valentina kraljik game horizonByValentina Kraljik Published on
how to use investor perk in Skyrim
Share:

A significant part of Skyrim’s gameplay revolves around its economy, and economy, in turn, is mostly influenced by your speech skill that can, when raised enough, help you accumulate quite the wealth. One of the most important speechcraft perks you can acquire is the so-called “Investor” perk, but some players have trouble utilizing this perk to the fullest due to the various bugs. So, we created this guide to explain how to use the “Investor” perk effectively in Skyrim. 

Investor perk will allow you to invest 500 gold in merchants to raise their overall gold available for bartering by 500 gold. All you need to do is navigate to the “I want to invest in your business” option while you are navigating through the dialogue options. However, You should consider that some merchants are affected by a bug that allows you to invest in their store for an infinite amount of times without ever remembering that you already invested in them. Their overall gold, however, will never increase. 

Now that we’ve covered how to use the investor perks, it’s time to analyze it in a bit more detail. If you’re interested in how to unlock the perk and how to utilize it the best, stay with us and keep reading!

What speech level do you need to be to unlock Investor perk? 

Generally, you will level speech every time you trade with the merchants or interact with other NPCs via special dialogue options such as bribe, threaten, etc., and it shouldn’t be too hard to max out speech in the mid-game, as there are various effective guides on how to do it. But luckily for you, you don’t have to be a master level in speech to unlock the Investor Perk. You just need to spend a lot of points in the skill tree and be fairly proficient at it. 

investor perk skyrim

RELATED:

Which Merchant Has the Most Gold in Skyrim? Top 5 Revealed

You can unlock the Investor perk as soon as you hit level 70 in speech, and if you’ve previously unlocked the “Merchant” perk, that allows you to sell any type of item to any kind of merchant. This is among the most useful perks in the tree, so generally, everybody who decides to orient their character to, well, the speech will strive to get this perk as soon as possible. It makes flipping goods faster than usual, but it also causes your “go-to” merchants to be drained of funds relatively quickly, and this is where the Investor perk comes on. 

What does Investor perk do & how to use it? 

Investor perk allows you to invest 500 gold in merchants that can be found all over Skyrim. The perk is not limited to a type of merchant since you can invest in alchemists, smiths, or general merchants. It really doesn’t matter as long as the merchant in question is not affected by a bug. You can find a list of all investable merchants here, but keep in mind that the bugs that affect various merchants can be fixed with the Unofficial Skyrim Patch at any given time.

As soon as you activate the perk, the first time you wander into a shop and activate the dialogue with the merchant, you will get the following choice “I would like to invest in your business.” As soon as you click on that line, the money will be subtracted from your inventory immediately, and the merchant’s gold will be raised by that amount (500 gold). 

It’s a pretty useful perk to have, but most people are just not willing to invest in it early on in the game. Luckily the legendary skills allow you to acquire all perks eventually if you’re persistent enough and willing to grind. 

You can invest only once in any given merchant.

Bugs that affect the Investor perk 

Most of the players get confused by the perk since the option to invest is not present for at least 1/3 of the game’s merchants, and it’s mostly due to random bugs affecting them. So if the option to invest is missing, there is a really large chance that the merchant in question is simply “un-investable” due to a bug and not by design. You can resolve most of those issues by using various unofficial patches. 

Some bugs are more bizarre in nature, like the one affecting Angeline Morrard in Angeline’s Aromatics. This apothecary will allow you to invest in its store endlessly; as long as you have the funds, the merchant seemingly forgets about it, but, there’s a catch, her base gold will never rise. It will always stay at the pre-investment levels, which results in all your investments being lost forever.

RELATED:

Most Valuable Enchantments in Skyrim (Ranked)

It’s probably best to avoid investing in Angeline if you don’t plan on installing the Unofficial Patch. 

Ghorza gra-Bagol, an orc smith that can be found near Understone Keep, has the option to invest in her, but the only dialogue option is to refuse the investment making it impossible to raise her standard gold by 500. 

You can install Unofficial Skyrim Legendary Edition Patch to fix this bug, or you can simply “dispose” of Ghorza and wait for her apprentice, Tacitus Sallustius, to take over the store. In this case, you should be able to invest in the store without any issues. 

What is the difference between the Investor perk and Master Trader perk? 

Both the Investor perk and Master Trader perk allow you to raise the standard gold of merchants in Skyrim by 500 and 1000 gold, respectively, but there are some differences between the two perks. Namely, the Master Trader perk is significantly harder to acquire because it requires you to be level 100 in speech and it requires you to have almost all other prior perks activated. 

master trader perk skyrim

Master Trader perk will also add 1000 gold to all merchants, but it doesn’t require you to invest your own gold in traders. The game does it automatically, meaning it doesn’t cost you anything. It’s a useful perk to have, and it will allow you to accumulate wealth rapidly, but it might take some time for you to get there, and most players don’t want to prioritize speech in early or mid-game.

And by the time you are ready to invest all those points in speech, you might already be rich beyond your wildest dreams, so the perk might appear to be useless. 

valentina kraljik game horizon

Valentina Kraljik is a writer and editor at Game Horizon with a deep love for everything related to video games. With a degree in Information Sciences, she brings a well-informed and unique perspective to her work. Valentina's writing is known for covering a wide range of video game genres, but she truly shines in her expertise in open-world RPGs. From offbeat euro-jank games like "Gothic" to critically acclaimed titles like "The Witcher," Valentina is well-versed in this exciting genre. Her passion for imaginative storytelling is reflected in the topics she writes about, with favorites like "Disco Elysium," "Elder Scrolls: Morrowind," "World of Warcraft," and "Mass Effect" influencing her tastes in games. Even though nothing beats a good high-fantasy setting, she often wanders into the realm of first-person shooters, occasionally even hitting the target. With a commitment to objectivity and insightful analysis, Valentina strives to bring a fresh perspective to the subjects she covers, even when exploring genres that may be unfamiliar to her. Her blend of academic rigor and creative flair sets her apart in the world of media writing.