Legacy of the Dragonborn Full Guide (required reading) (2024)

• CAREFULLY READ THE Compatibility and Integrated mods List!
  

• Review the Best Practices for Modding and Playing Skyrim.
  

• Download the mod (manually is REQUIRED, downloading massive mods from inside your mod management program can damage the ZIP or BSA).
  

• Download the Patch FOMOD installer from Legacy Patch Central and read the patches FAQ. You may also wish to read review the Patch List for more details.
• Download. If you use any Creation Club content (including those 4 CC packages included for free in the Skyrim SE 1.6 upgrade), you need to download the Creation Club Patches FOMOD installer as well.
• Download. If you use The Curator's Companion (TCC), you will need to download that FOMOD installer as well.
  

• Install Legacy’s core package using your mod management program, like MO2 or Vortex. Do NOT unzip the archive to install it; either drag it into the manager or use the File menu option "Install From File" and navigate to where you downloaded the zip file. (NMM, WyreBash, or manual installs are neither supported nor recommended).
  

• Install ALL your other mods (exception: TCC, which comes in a few steps) and make sure they are activated in your load order BEFORE running the official Legacy FOMOD patch pack. This includes any mods that (erroneously) say to install after starting a game.
  

• Install the Legacy Patch FOMOD through your mod manager, it will auto detect almost all activated supported mods (see the patches docs for more information) and recommend patches to install. Note: Patches are to get individual mods to work with Legacy and they do not address any potential issues with one another. You may still need other patches provided by other mod pages to resolve issues between those mods. You may also need to resolve conflicts between various Legacy patches, depending on the content you install. Always double-check your patches after installation to make sure they are present and activated!
• Install. If you are using any CC content, run the Legacy-CC FOMOD installer. Make sure to run it after installing and activating Legacy patches. After installation double-check the installed patches and activate any that aren't.
• Install. If you are using TCC, run it after all the other pieces are installed and activated. After installation double-check the installed patches and activate any that aren't.
  

• DO NOT use any Legacy patch provided from another mod page unless it was built after 12/16/19 and there is no official Legacy patch for it.
  

• Create any leveled list (bash) patch and/or custom conflict resolution patch you may need (technically optional, but pretty much essential on most load orders).
  

• Start a NEW GAME using the NEW GAME button (not an "early post character creation save"). Your game MUST be new with your new load order; no previous save games.
• Should you wish to add or remove mods from your load order, do new conflict resolution and start another NEW GAME. Otherwise, save such changes for the next game!
  

There is also a widespread misconception that making a save right after character creation is a "clean save" (it isn't) and is the same thing as a new game.

Legacy has the following versioning convention: (Generational version).(Major patch).(Minor Patch) ex: 6.1.6

All updates for Legacy of the Dragonborn will be provided as complete core packages and we will not be providing any updates in the form of patches on the official page. Some optional add-ons and 3rd party fix patches may be available on their own page but for ease of installation and preventing any mistakes and confusion with upgrading, we are only providing full package updates. So remove completely your existing version of Legacy and install the version you are updating to (one step regardless of how many versions might lie in between), then follow any instructions below. We realize this can be difficult for people with slow, poor, or metered internet service, but repeated occurrences of people failing to follow upgrade directions properly has resulted in this measure and we will not entertain any appeal to host torrents, or incremental update patches of any kind. We appreciate your understanding.

Generational Versions: These CANNOT be upgraded to from previous generations of the mod. These updates REQUIRE a new game and have security measures to prevent users from trying to update a save in progress since upgrading to these new versions will break saves. (ex: V5.16 to V6.0.24)

Major Patches: These versions may require some script cleaning (see below) or special console commands after updating a game in progress from another major version. Download the new version and replace the old one, then follow any instructions in the changelogs. (ex: Upgrading from 6.1.2 to 6.2)

Minor Patches: You can update to these minor version changes within the same major version number without any special actions in most cases. Just download and install (ex: upgrading from 6.1.4 to 6.1.7). Review the changelogs for any special instructions (rare cases).

Note: In all instances, please review the changelogs of ALL versions that have been released after your current version up to and including the new version you are updating to. You should follow any instructions for EACH changelog in ascending order to ensure a proper upgrade, as all updates to the mod are cumulative. As you are working through the ascending order, if a given version has no instructions listed, it means there are no further actions required for that version.

If you are starting a new game after an update, obviously all update instructions can be ignored since you're starting fresh.

• Run ReSaver.exe
• Open your save game
• Click "clear filters" button
• Enter the name of the script or the form ID for the script instance needing to be cleaned into the top left box. (Instances will be labeled as XX893A85 for example where XX is the load index of Legacy. When in doubt open the console in game and click on the museum building to see it's reference ID, the first two numbers will be what you enter in place of XX).
• If cleaning an instance, open the "Script Instances", find the entry that matches the search, click it and press DELETE on your keyboard.
• If cleaning a base script (ex: DBM_DisplayScript) open the "Scripts" tree, find the listed entry that matches the search, click it and press DELETE on your keyboard.
• Note that if your instruction is to clean a script or script instance that is not present in your save game, it means you have not triggered the conditions that would populate that entry in your save - you can safely ignore that particular item.
• Save the changes and exit.
• When you launch the game, do NOT select 'Continue' from the main menu, since this will load the old save and not the one you just edited. Select 'Load' and pick the save you just created.
  

Uninstalling
Simply uninstall using your mod program and/or delete the Legacy ESM and BSA files as well as the LegacyCredits.bik file from the Data/Video folder. DO NOT uninstall and continue your existing save. Your save will break. This is modding rule #1.

Support Guide
Support given by the Legacy team will be limited so that we can focus on development. We ask that the community work together to solve their issues using this guide and the linked resources at the start of this guide as tools. We will try and help when able and address new concerns, but for our own sanity and maximization of our time, we ask that you help one another as much as possible.

We offer support on the Legacy of the Dragonborn Nexus page comments section and via our Discord server. We provide channels on the Discord for Legacy LE and Legacy SE as well as a general community operated general modding help channel. If your issues relate to another mod or modding tool, please limit your posts to the general support channel or visit the mod page or discord for the other mods/tools (some links provided below).

Support has a few simple requirements:

• Be polite. Believe me, I know it gets frustrating when things don't work, but remember that hundreds of thousands of people have played this mod with relatively few issues, so most problems are either user error or conflict issues and we're MUCH more willing to help people who are sincere. Coming off as entitled or accusatory is a fast pass to the exit.
  

• Thoroughly read through this Legacy Full Guide (which should happen before you even download and install the mod) and freshly review the FAQ to ensure your question is not already addressed before posting/commenting. (Skimming through the comment forum on Nexus or searching for terms related to your issue is also recommended but not required.)
  

• All your mod content is hosted on Nexus. We do not offer support for mods (or versions of mods) hosted on other sites.
• You started a new game after installing Legacy.
  

• All supported mods in your load order were all installed and activated then patched (and activated) prior to starting your game (this includes Helgen Reborn).
  

• You have NOT added or removed any mods, or resorted your load order, during play.
  

• You have not used console commands other than for troubleshooting issues and then have reverted to a previous save or have only used them when advised by the dev team.
  

• Check the stickies on the Legacy Nexus comment page. Notable issues posted here and links to the FAQ are your first line of support before asking for help.
  

• We do not offer support for versions of Legacy prior to V5. Feel free to post in the proper ICA Discord channel (Legacy-LE-Support) asking help from the community, but the developers will offer no support for Legacy LE since the SSE version has been out for over 6 years at the time of this editing.
• We DO NOT offer support for any load order that contains LoversLab/Sexlab content due to the proprietary nature of their setups which are very system intensive and cause more variables of conflict than we are willing to look into.
• BE AWARE: If your question is addressed in the FAQ or the mod page sticky the dev team will not respond to your question. Only if it's obvious that you have seen these and tried the fixes and are still having issues will we chime in and try to help. No longer will we hold hands and point out the trees in the forest.
  
  

• Use the Discord search function. It's very possible someone has had this issue before (or maybe several people even!). Take a quick gander through some keyword searches and see if we've already answered your question/resolved your issue.
  

• Take a few minutes to think about how you write up your issue so it's easy for someone without the context of your entire game to understand. If you've read these guidelines, it would really help to indicate that you've done so at the start so we can save a lot of pointless questions you've already looked at.
  

• If the issue is visual, have one or two screenshots handy.
  

• If the issue is with a specific item try installing More Informative Console and getting the Base ID of the item. This will also let you check out which plugin last modified that item and may be helpful for tracking down conflicts.
  

• Be patient. The team provides help in their free time, for free. We're not always around. Feel free to state your question again if you feel like it was missed, but try to remember we're doing the best we can here. Out of courtesy, please do not ping or DM anyone with a color-tagged role about support issues unless they have asked you to do so.
  

• Follow instructions. It's really frustrating when we ask for specific information and can't get it. Take a deep breath, read documentation twice and ask questions if you're not sure. Better to be safe than sorry.
  

• If your post has not been answered within a day or two, make sure you are looking back up to 3 pages on the comments since they can get buried on a busy day to make sure you didn't just miss the response or we didn't miss seeing it initially.
  

• Look for your original comment on the Posts tab and reply there. Do not make another post to re-state the issue if you have not gotten an answer the first time around.
  

• Please do not contact the author for support questions unless asked to in the comments by the author or another support person.
  

General Troubleshooting Guide:

This portion of the guide is primarily for informational purposes and education and not necessarily required (though suggested) to get the most out of technical support. We may ask you to do these things anyways, so it's better if you do them beforehand and potentially solve your problem, or have the resulting data to share with us when you do seek assistance.

When you experience problems with your game, the first thing to do is to thoroughly review the description page, this Full Guide, the FAQ page and any updates in the comment section main sticky. You can also use the Nexus forum search to try and find answers from previous posts. Many times, your issue will have been discussed and solutions provided. If you still haven't found an answer, the following process can help you narrow down the issue and produce more meaningful data. It will not work for every kind of issue, but it is a good sequence to undertake for many common problems, which in turn will help the support staff if you are still stumped.

A few reminders before we begin:

• Console usage here is for testing purposes only. Please do not use the console on your regular game unless directed to by a Dev.
• The Legacy Dev team does not support manual installations or any version of NMM, so these steps are geared for Mod Organizer 2 or Vortex.
• Quit the game and restart to see if the issue is resolved. If it is not, try rebooting the computer.
• Try stepping back several saves to see if the problem still exists. If it goes away, you may wish to revert to this earlier save.
• All isolation testing is intended to be done on a new test profile, which should be a clone of the profile you have been playing under. That way you can leave your load order and installed mods intact for your regular game.
• Do NOT simply uninstall/install mods during testing as this will break your regular game. Just deactivate/activate them (the whole mod, not just the plugin) on the test profile.
• Always use an alternate start mod, both in play and testing. This will allow the script-heavy part of creating a new save to settle down. The most common one, and most recommended, is "Alternate Start - Live Another Life". This will be referred to as LAL going forward.
• Any time you discover during your testing that you will need to update/add/remove/reorder mods (including patches) during a game, you will need to start a new game – from the New button. The exception to this is the Legacy mod and patches updates for minor revisions (unless told otherwise).
• For test on the test profile, do NOT have a save in-game that you use each time, ALWAYS start a new game. There is no such thing as a clean save!
• It’s assumed when you ran LOOT that you paid attention to any warnings and resolved them as need be. If you do run it again to see the messages, do so on the test profile.
• It is also assumed and expected that you have at least run SSEEdit (xEdit) with the quickautoclean parameter on your mods, one at time, to clean them while you were building your load order.
• ALWAYS use a smashed/bashed patch unless you are very experienced at patching your own conflicts and leveled lists.
• SKSE may not be required, but there is no good reason for not using it, so the assumption is that you are using it. Make sure the version, and the version of the address library, match the SkyrimSE.exe version you are running.
• For purposes of brevity, DynDOLOD will refer to DynDOLOD and/or SSELODGen. Similarly bashed patch will refer to smashed and/or bashed patches. If you don't use LOD generation, just ignore where it's mentioned.
• Official DLCs is shorthand for the official expansions: Dawnguard, Dragonborn, and Hearthfires. Update will be considered part of this group but not the creation club content.
• If directed to re-download the game, do not forget to reinstall any ENBs, Creation Kit and ini files (if you use the CK), and SKSE. Note: it is a very bad idea to install Steam and any of it's games in C:\Program Files (x86), due to Windows UAC. If this applies to you, and if you do have to re-download the game, consider uninstalling Steam and reinstalling to a different location (preferably a different drive) before re-downloading the game. Since any other Steam games you have would also have to be reinstalled, use discretion.
• If directed to start a new (non-test) game, take the time to do the things you would do before any new play-through: check for updates, remove mods (and their patches) you no longer desire, add mods (and their patches) you had flagged for the next game, generate your bashed patch, check for errors in xEdit and do conflict resolution, etc.
  

• If you are no longer having the problem, and did not add any new patches (only updated existing ones), you are done and can return to your game. Note: if you added new patches, you may have to start a new game, use discretion.
• If you are up-to-date and still having the issue, continue on.
  

• If you cannot reproduce the problem, the issue is with your save and you will most likely need to start over, since your save is already experiencing corruption.
• If the problem persists, continue on.
  

• If there are still problems with this minimal load order, make sure SKSE is installed correctly, that the game and SKSE version are in synch, and that the USSEP, SkyUI, and LAL files are not corrupt (re-download). If this doesn't help, you may need to delete the game folder and chose verify on Steam to have it cleanly install. Don’t forget to reinstall SKSE. If that was the problem but now it’s fixed, retest with your full load order on first your test profile, then your regular profile. If the problem does not occur on a new game but does on your save game, then the issues you fixed are unfortunately baked into your save game. You are done but you will need to start a new game. If the problem does not occur on either profile, you are finished and can return to your game. If the problem still happens with your full order, switch back to your test profile and continue on.
• If no issues occurred on this minimal load order at all, re-enable all your mods on the test profile and continue on.
  

• If the problem goes away, move back to your playing profile, resolve the issues, and start a new game. You are done.
• If the problem persists, re-enable all the mods in your test profile (including any flagged earlier) and continue on. Note: if there winds up being a reason to start over from further troubleshooting, take the time to resolve any mods/patches identified as having deleted navmeshes at that time.
  

• If this was your issue, since you will have altered your load order by moving/removing/patching a mod, start a new game. You are done.
• If this is not your issue, continue on.
  

• If your problem is still happening, download Legacy again (large downloads like Legacy can occasionally corrupt). Retest to see if the problem is gone. If the problem is not gone, and if you did not follow step 3, delete the Skyrim Special Edition game folder and chose verify on Steam to have it cleanly install. Don’t forget to reinstall SKSE. Test again. If the problem persists, post in the comments with as many details about the steps you took and the issue as you can.
• If there is no problem, continue on.
  

• If the problem is gone, skip to Step 10.
• If the issue is still happening, continue on.
  

• If your problem doesn’t happen, switch to the other half – being mindful you may need to activate some of the mods from the first half to work with patches in the second half – and test again.
• If the problem does happen, use the 'divide and conquer' technique by halving down until you have identified the culprit(s), each time starting a new game. In case its simple file corruption try re-downloading the mod(s), choosing replace, for the existing mod(s), and test again to see if the problem is gone. Since you are using the test profile, you may sort with LOOT. If the problem persists, you may have file corruption in those downloads, or leftover/conflicting files in your game folder. First, try re-downloading again to see if it resolves the issue. If you still have the problem, delete the game directory and use Steam’s function Verify to re-download the game. Remember to reinstall SKSE. Make sure to test the problem mod(s) with both Legacy active and not active.
  
  • If it only happens with Legacy active, post the abbreviated list of mods you narrowed down to the conflict in spoiler tags or a modwatch link, with any extra details, in the Legacy posts section.
  • If the problem happens with Legacy not active, then there is a problem with the mod(s) which you will need to fix or delete. Then retest.
  • If the problem is gone, continue on.
    

• If the problem is not gone, you will need to repeat step 8 again (using different testing batches, or going one-by-one, to try and catch any interactions you may have missed before) to look for other conflicts.
• If the problem is gone, continue on.
  

• If you have made no changes to anything in your load order from the preceding steps to this point, and the problem doesn't happen, skip to step 11.
• If the problem does happen, or you made changes from the preceding steps, sort with LOOT, rebuild the bashed patch and test again. If the problem persists after re-making the bashed patch, open xEdit (SSEEdit) with your whole load order and check the bashed patch for errors (note: you may have to edit the bashed patch or make your own conflict resolution patch to load after the bashed patch at this point). Retest. If the problem is gone, continue on.
  

• If the problem is not gone, re-download the latest version of DynDOLOD (and/or SSELODGen if you use it) and make sure it is installed correctly. Regenerate LOD(s) and retest.
• If the problem is gone, you are ready to start a new game. You should have a more stable load order.
  

The following information is for testing purposes ONLY and should never be used to advance your game progress or manipulate things with console. It is here for perspective, troubleshooting purpose and should only be applied with the help of the development staff. Any use of this information in your save game is at your own risk and we highly recommend making backup saves before utilizing any of this content for testing purposes.

Story Manager controlled quests:The following quests start via Story Manager as long as the conditions are met.
Much Ado About Snow Elves (DBM_MuchAdoAboutSnowElves)

• Quest not completed - DBM_MuchAdoAboutSnowElves
• Quest completed - dunNchuandZelQst (Lost Expedition)
  

• Global Value HauntBlock = 0 (Set in MCM)
• Global Value DBM_DisplayMax >= 300 (Display Count)
• Player is not in interior
• Player has not moved into Location "Museum Exterior"
• Player has not moved into a Location that you can teleport to with the Curator's Guide
• Quest not completed DBM_HauntedMuseumQuest
• DBM_ExplorerGuildHouse (A Room with a View) is not at stage 15 or 20
• DBM_MuseumHeist is not currently running or is completed
  

• Global Value DBM_DisplayMax >= 400 (Display Count)
• Player is not in interior
• Player has not moved into Location "Museum Exterior"
• Player has not moved into a Location that you can teleport to with the Curator's Guide
• Quest not completed DBM_MuseumHeist
• DBM_ExplorerGuildHouse (A Room with a View) is not at stage 15 or 20
• DBM_HauntedMuseum is not currently running or is completed
  

• Quest completed - DBM_ExplorerGuildHouse (A Room with a View)
• Quest completed - DBM_MuseumIndarysQuest (The Staff of Indarys)
• DBM_AirshipQuest is not currently running
• Player is in the Tamriel worldspace (main Skyrim world)
  

• Quest completed - DBM_MuchAdoAboutSnowElves
• Quest completed - DBM_Excavation02
• DBM_Excavation02Cleanup is not running
• Player is in a village or city
  

• Global Safehouse access = 0
• Global Value DBM_DisplayCount >= 50 (Display Count)
• Quest not running DBM_RelicHunterQST (Solitude docks start)
• Player has not moved into a Location that you can teleport to with the Curator's Guide
• Player is not in Solitude
• Player is not indoors