Finally the Skyrim Together Reborn co-op mod is available for download via Nexus Mods. As you might have guessed, it aims to achieve a very specific goal: introducing cooperative multiplayer to Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, tested with up to 30 players.
If you’re feeling deja vu, it’s completely normal. We first covered Skyrim Together over three years ago when the mod was about to enter closed beta status. However, the ambitious project was abruptly halted by a scandal when the public learned how the modders had used stolen Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE) code.
As confirmed in the official FAQ, Skyrim Together Reborn has been rebuilt from the ground up by a new team, who also insist that this version be vastly improved. For example, there is now full synchronization of NPCs, monsters (including dragons), quests, inventories and equipment, projectiles, magic, camouflage, locks, mounts and transformations (into vampires or werewolves).
Dialogues are dubbed by the party leader. Whenever the party leader talks to an NPC or makes a dialogue choice, the others hear and see the same thing.
Of course, one of the most important changes is that the game no longer loads a save file on death. Instead, the nearby player character will respawn. If the player character dies in a dungeon or indoor area, they will be revived at the beginning of the dungeon/indoor area. Additionally, characters will automatically pay any pending crime bounties upon death, ensuring they are not attacked by guards upon respawn. There is also an option in the server settings where it costs a bit of gold to respawn.
Skyrim Together Reborn’s default difficulty setting is Expert. The developers recommend keeping it as high as possible since the game was never designed to be played with more than one player. For the same reason, using NPC followers is not recommended.
PvP is disabled by default, although there is a server setting that can enable it. However, keep in mind that PvP will not be balanced in any way.
Skyrim Together Reborn can only be installed on Steam’s Skyrim Special Edition version 1.6, released last year with the 10th Anniversary Upgrade. However, the mod creators advise against using the accompanying mod pack or any other mod if you can help it. This is because they are not synced and could potentially cause stability issues. Graphics mods should generally be fine though, and if you really want to install mods there is also a server setting that enforces a mod policy so everyone must have the same mods installed in the same order.
While the mod is considered a 1.0 release, the team would also like to implement additional features such as player markers/waypoints on the map, synced weather, and a scripting API. However, the team is hoping more contributors will join to help now that Skyrim Together Reborn is open source.