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IMPORTANT:
Most of the following mods will require behavior patching. This is a process that, essentially, allows mods to modify aspects of the animation system without trying to edit the same file. Pandora is a behavior patcher that can be used to apply these changes, instructions on how to use it will come later.

For this reason, unlike the rest of the guide, it is recommended that you follow this section in its entirety or not at all. Quite a few of these mods will not work without the rest.

Animations

Creating a Separator in MO2

  1. Right-click the empty space in the left pane of MO2 and select Create separator.
  2. Name the separator Animations.

Animation Queue Fix

Fixes the queue getting overloaded when a lot of animations are queued for loading at the same time.

Installation instructions

  • Main Files - Animation Queue Fix

Paired Animation Improvements

Lets annotated events in paired animations work like in normal animations. Also causes the game to create synchronized animation bindings on demand, freeing up a few hundred animation slots for use by animation replacers.

Installation instructions

  • Main Files - Paired Animation Improvements
  • Main Files - Horse Mount and Dismount Double Sound Fix

Open Animation Replacer

Replaces animations depending on configurable conditions.

Installation instructions

  • Main Files - Open Animation Replacer

USSEP Nemesis or Pandora Patch

Allows merging the USSEP animation fixes into the Pandora output.

Installation instructions

  • Main Files - USSEP Behaviour Patch

Pristine Vanilla Movement

Updated run, walk, and sprint animations edited from vanilla. Removes jitters, makes movement bouncier, smoother, and more casual looking.

Installation instructions

  • Main Files - Pristine Vanilla Movement

Assorted Animation Fixes

Fixes minor issues with vanilla animations.

Installation instructions

  • Main Files - Assorted Animation Fixes
    • You will be prompted with a FOMOD installer:
      1. Two-Handed Female Alignment Fix
      2. Install

Weapon switch animation Fix

Fixes a bug where switching weapons while sprinting would keep the previous weapon's sprinting animation.

Installation instructions

  • Main Files - Weapon switch animation Fix 1.4

True Directional Movement - Modernized Third Person Gameplay

  • Lets you move and attack in any direction.
  • Adds target lock and animated reticle.
  • Supports headtracking and aiming projectiles while locked on.
  • Works while riding mounts.
  • Highly customizable with MCM.

Installation instructions

  • Main Files - True Directional Movement

For balance reasons, it's recommended to switch the target lock from Predictive to Free Aim in the MCM's Target Lock settings. You can do this later, once done with the guide.

Horse Behaviour Improvements

Adds leaning to horse riding based on slope angle, and does minor pose adjustments.

Installation instructions

  • Main Files - Horse Riding Improvements
  • Main Files - Horse Pose Improvements

Animated Interactions SKSE

Adds 3rd person interaction animations for looting, interacting with doors, and picking up items from a variety of heights. Grabbed items are rendered directly from the world into your hand during the animation, with support for procedural leaning and rotation.

Installation instructions

  • Main Files - Animated Interactions SKSE

Pandora Behaviour Engine Plus

Behaviour engine tool for patching Nemesis/FNIS behaviour mods, with full creature support.

Installation instructions

  • Main Files - Pandora Behaviour Engine
  • Update Files - Pandora Skeleton and Draugr Hotfix
    1. When prompted with the "The content of <data> does not look valid" warning, simply press OK to continue.

Pre-Generated Pandora Output

If you use all of the mods above (without extra ones), you can skip manual behavior patching by using this files.

Simply install it as a normal mod in MO2 and put it under the previous mods (which you still need).

Behavior Patching

Running Pandora

As mentioned earlier, Pandora is needed in order to bring together all of the mods' changes.
  1. Install .NET 8.0, then restart your computer.
  2. In MO2, head to the right pane's Data tab, then filter Pandora. You will see a number of files, right-click Pandora Behaviour Engine+.exe and Add as Executable.
  3. In MO2, click the tiny wrench icon at the top, next to the mod counter, then click Create empty mod.
  4. Title the mod Pandora Output
  5. Right-click on your Pandora Output mod and select Open in Explorer.
  6. From from newly opened window, copy the file path.
  7. Press CTRL + E and then select Pandora Behaviour Engine+.
  8. In the Arguments box in the right pane, enter -O:"Copied path goes here"
  9. Close the Modify Executables menu and run Pandora from the drop-down.
  10. Select and order the following patches as shown:
    11. Pandors Patches

Do NOT enable the XPMSE Patch For Pandora! It will cause crashes during the game's intro. None of the mods in DBF require it, and XPMSE is not generally recommended.

Additionally, you may not see some of these patches if you skipped the corresponding mods. This is normal, and you can safely ignore them.

  1. Click the Patch button.
  2. Once the patching is done, close Pandora.
  3. In MO2, make sure your Pandora Output mod is enabled. If you did everything correctly, you should see it conflicting with a few other mods in the list (bolt icons).