Blood’s Honor

Blood’s Honor is the first ‘add-on’ to Dragon Rising. It is designed to seamlessly fit in with a full Dragon Rising install – simply add the new mods to your list in the relevant sections, recreate your Bashed Patch, and go. My intention is to create a series of add-ons to effectively create a modular mod guide – install the base, then add ‘packs’ based on the kind of playthrough you’re intending to do.

Blood’s Honor is named after a quest in the Companions’ storyline, which should tell you everything you need to know about it. This pack is all about combat. My intention is not to overhaul Skyrim’s combat completely – however hard people try, you just can’t recreate a system like Dark Souls or The Witcher 3 in Skyrim’s engine. So, as with Dragon Rising, the idea behind Blood’s Honor is to enhance what’s already there, not try to change or replace it.

With these mods installed, combat will be quicker, more dynamic, more rewarding of both skilled play and prior preparation, and a lot more lethal. You’ll deal and take more damage, but you’ll have tools to deal with that – timed blocking, the ability to actually get out of the way of a big power attack, being able to block while dual wielding, and the possibility of limited, cost-free training to get you going. But you will still have to think about your opponent. Draugr, undead, and dragons are now the feared creatures they always should have been, and you won’t want to venture into one of Skyrim’s many Nordic tombs without the right equipment, or at least some magical knowledge.

In addition, Blood’s Honor contains a two entirely optional sections. The first is my recommendations for the best weapons and armor mods, giving you more things to kill your enemies with, and more ways to look cool doing it. The second is a small collection of mods to enhance your experience with the Companions in-game – because if you’ve installed Blood’s Honor, you might well find yourself taking up residence in the halls of Jorrvaskr.

So pick up your weapon of choice, Dragonborn. Can you live up the legends of Ysgramor?

Note: Blood’s Honor assumes that the user has already followed the Dragon Rising guide. Of course, you can simply look at the below mods and install them onto any load order, but they have been selected with Dragon Rising in mind. If you have not already done so, please consider reading and completing a Dragon Rising install.

Last Update: December 10th, 2017 (History)

Place the installed mods at the bottom of their relevant sections in Mod Organizer’s left pane, unless otherwise noted.

Weapons

ABT SE – Arrows and Bolt Tweaks – Download main file

• Installer:
  • Next
  • Kevkas All-in-One
  • Next
  • Install

Combat

Bring Your Silver Lite – Download main file + Alternate Skeleton Resistances

• Install main file, then Alternate Skeleton Resistances. When prompted, click ‘merge’.

Dual Wield Blocking for Idiots

• The version of this mod you download depends on how you want to play the game. This guide recommends either version C or D. Warriors or rogues should choose version D, where standing still or moving backwards and pressing the block button will trigger blocking. This is the most reliable way of timing your blocks. Magic users, who will want the full freedom to cast spells in their left hand, should choose version C, where standing still and blocking will block, allowing the player to still kite enemies or cast healing spells on the retreat. 

Mortal Enemies – Download Rival Remix – No Walk Run Changes main file

No BS AI Projectile Dodge – Download main file

Simply Stronger Dragons – Manually download main file

• Note: Mod Organizer is not currently able to install this mod normally. Download it manually to a separate location. Open the .zip file and delete the fomod folder. Manually install the mod in Mod Organizer – select Health x2 – Melee x2 – Breath x2 – Alduin Apply x2.

Wildcat – Download main file

Perks & Magic

Training Dummies and Targets – Download main file

The weapon and armor mods listed below are entirely optional, but will add to your experience with Blood’s Honor.

New Items

Colovian Fur Outfit – Download main file

Faction Crossbows – Download main file

Hunter Archer Armor – Download main file

Immersive Armors – Download main file

• Installer:
  • None

Lore Weapon Expansion SE – Download main file

Nordic Ranger Outfit – Download main file

Regent Armory SE – Download main file

Regent Armory – Lore Edition – Download main file

Wanderer Cuirass – Download main file

Wayfarer’s Coat – Download main file

If you intend to join the Companions, these optional mods will make your time in Jorrvaskr much more engaging and dynamic.

Quests & Adventures

The Companions – Earn Your Stripes – Download main file

 

Armor

Skyforge Wolf Armor – Improved Stats – Download main file

Weapons

Skyforge Weapons SSE – Download main file

New Items

Armor of Yngol – Download main file

Perks & Magic

Moonlight Tales Special Edition – Download main file

Post Installtion

Run LOOT.

Create your Bashed Patch. If you are unsure of how to create a Bashed Patch, please see the Hitting The Books guide.

Run LOOT again, just to make sure.

Play.

I know that combat in particular can be very individual to the player – what some enjoy, others don’t, some things don’t work for everyone, some find it frustrating, while others find the same set-up too easy. Blood’s Honor works for me, but I am of course open to suggestions on balancing and additional/replacement mods.

Enjoy Blood’s Honor, and check back again in the future for more mod guides aimed at different playstyles.