18 Best Skyrim Crafting Mods

Greetings traveller. Do you want to find the best Skyrim crafting mods?

Are you sick of the vanilla crafting systems, which, while not terrible, leave a lot to be desired?

Well, it’s time to check out some of the best Skyrim mods for crafting to make sure you don’t miss out on the great life of a master smith.

I think these mods do a lot to improve how crafting works in the game, and most of them change the way it feels.

Keep in mind that most of them are cool additions that should have been in the game from the start. But no matter what, there are also some small and big changes that will make things more interesting for you.

If you’re going to use some of these, you might want to start a new game, because it can be hard to do things when you don’t have a clean slate.

But I’ll stop babbling and get to the list!

18. Hunterborn

Sometimes the easiest way to have fun in Skyrim is to do something like pick up a bow and go hunting in the Whiterun hold fields.

But hunting in Skyrim gets old fast because animals don’t give you much in return. The Hunterborn mod helps with this.

Hunterborn is a mod that changes how hunting works in Skyrim in a few ways. You can now skin animals and cook the meat, and the mod even adds new hunting knives.

The Hunterborn mod also adds a few other things, such as new alchemy ingredients and recipes, so you’ll never get bored living the hunter life.

17. Ars Metallica

Many adventurers don’t bother with the Smithing skill in Skyrim because it’s hard to level up and doesn’t give you many rewards when you do.

But Ars Metallica fixes the Smithing skill by adding new ways to gain experience and a way to make useful things like lockpicks.

You can also melt down gear you’re not using to get materials for making other things. Ars Metallica is a great overhaul mod for Smithing.

Once you install it, you’ll wonder how you ever played Skyrim without it.

16. Ordinator

Perks are a big part of how you can improve your skills in Skyrim, but there are many ways that modders can make the perk system better.

Enter the Ordinator mod, which gives each skill a lot of new benefits.

Along with combat perks, you can also unlock new crafting perks for skill lines like Smithing, Alchemy, and Enchanting.

One of the best ways to improve the way crafting works in Skyrim is to install the Ordinator mod.

15. Craftmeister Gear

Alright, this is absurdly overpowered.

This mod is not meant to add a set of armor worn by legendary blacksmiths; it’s just meant to add a set of armor that will give you the skills you lack to create god-tier gear without having to code it into the game yourself.

Is it a cool mod? Yes.

Does it add useful things? Yes.

Is it fair to use? Absolutely not. But it’s super fun so give it a try!

14. Craftable Gifts For Children

Do you claim to be the best parent in Skyrim?

If you don’t have this mod installed, then I’m going to politely tell you that you aren’t – even if you think you are.

Get that crafting table ready and make some cool toys that you can then give to your adopted child (or to your own child if you modded the game to allow that to happen).

Look, I know that things like this won’t make your character look more like a macho-man.

If that’s what you’re after.

13. Soul Gem Crafting Recipes

Hear me out, this mod is not as overpowered as the title suggests.

Basically what you can do with it is craft big soul gems using smaller ones.

Grab those annoying little shards and turn them into useful, bigger soul gems by allowing your character to have the know-how by installing this mod.

A cool additional that truly adds a new layer of QOL to the game.

12. Map Tomes and Writing Table

Well, scrolls had to come from somewhere, so you might as well craft them yourself, right?

This mod allows you to create all of the vanilla scrolls if you’re a skilled enough person.

The mod adds a new crafting station to the game as well as potion recipe books and even map books.

You’ll be able to create your own scrolls as well as books, and there’s not much you’re not going to like about that.

I realize that this feature might’ve been a bit too overpowered for base-game Skyrim, but come on guys; its’ been like a decade since the game came out. Let’s spice things up a bit!

11. DeCrafty

You know all of that weaponry that you have no use for any more than you usually sell to any merchant that you find for a few extra septims?

Well, do that no more.

Those coins will be pointless when compared to the raw materials that you can get out of those items with DeCrafty.

You’ll be able to turn all of the weapons and armor that come in the base game into the components used to craft them. Gone are the days of selling to low-balling merchants.

10. Smelting Plus

This mod is also a de-crafting mod, but it has a bit of an elegant air to it.

With Smelting Plus you’ll be able to smelt all of those annoying weapons and weaponry into their basic ingot parts.

Keep in mind that this mod adds a staggering 296 new recipes to the game, so you’ll find yourself capable of smelting almost every single useless item in the game.

Get those ingots rolling and become a true craftsman without batting an eye. Use all of that crap you collect in your adventures and do something good with it.

9. Batch Crafting Recipes

Alright this is arguably the best QoL mod on this list.

Stop spamming that damn button to craft the same item over and over again – this mod solves this issue brilliantly.

It adds batch crafting recipes for the most frequently crafted items in the game.

And this is going to save you a TON of time and trouble in the long run.

In fact, I’d go as far as to say that you’ll end up saving yourself a decent chunk of time in one crafting session alone, not even on the long run. Try it – you won’t regret it if you spend your time crafting items in TES.

8. Solars Portable Crafting

Portable Crafting Stations!

Literally just crafting but on the go. That’s all that this mod adds.

And trust me, it’s completely worth it.

You won’t have to go around looking for a damned crafting station anymore. Simply head to your inventory and set up shop. As simple as that!

7. Smelting – A Way to Recycle

Yes, another smelting mod! Mods like this one are as useful as they get, so I’m adding to the list. So sue me.

Actually don’t do that please, just give any of these mods a try and enjoy them.

They will really improve the way your crafting experiences go in the Elder Scrolls!

Honestly this mods are a cry of users complaining about having the same useless items over and over again in their inventories.

Apart from being a cry for help, they’re extremely useful. I promise I won’t add any of these mods to the remaining points of this list, though.

6. Item Recycling

I lied. Item Recycling is another smelting mod that allows you to melt every metal in the game and turn it into ingots. I’m starting to notice a pattern here – do you too?

Anyhow this mod does make your life easier, and since it’s one of the most popular mods for the game, it’s getting a spot on my list.

It’s the most straightforward one to use so it gets one of the top spots, too!

5. Skyrim Scroll Crafting

Why does this scroll-crafting mod get a better spot on my list than the last one?

Well, simply because it’s far better.

I adore this mod. It adds a bunch of new scrolls to the game that can be crafted plus the ability to craft every single scroll that comes with the vanilla game.

Super useful, and even though crafting books is not a thing here, it still gets a higher spot on my list than the former mod.

4. Mystic Condenser

Imagine having another smelting mod on this list. Crazy right?

Well The Mystic Condenser mod is basically a way for you to dump all of your annoying and useless potions into a pot and combine them to create better potions by condensing the waste of all of those you carry in your inventory.

Well worth checking out if you think you’d use it on the regular.

3. Honeystrand Meadery

I don’t know if you came here looking for a mod like this one, but I can assure you that I wasn’t looking for this when I came across it.

Honeystrand Meadery allows you to have your own meadery in the world of Skyrim!

Create new consumables and become the best brewer that has ever lived in Tamriel (and maybe the only one that can actually craft items) with this amazing and unique mod.

2. Smithing Perks Overhaul

Do you feel like smithing in Skyrim is just a bit broken, or otherwise underwhelming?

You’ll want to check this mod out then.

Smithing Perks Overhaul completely changes the way perks work in Skyrim, allowing you to make far better use of your skills as a pro craftsman and your items per se.

1. Complete Crafting Overhaul – Remade

When it comes to overhaul mods this is my go-to option.

Smithing has a ton of issues in the vanilla game. And even though some of them were corrected in the Special Edition release, there’s still a lot to be desired.

This mod allows you to completely change that and have smithing as good as it was intended to be.

A complete and fantastic overhaul that will change your perception of how smithing works – in a very positive way!