A different combat overhaul: universally compatible Vanilla +, no frameworks. See your hero growing from a baseball-bat swinger to a true Dragonborn while you unlock new moves with just your natural progression!
READ ARTICLES: Step by Step guide - Basic and Advanced
Permissions and credits
Author's instructions
Yeah, like usual, do what you want with my mods. If you like credit me, or don't is fine. But give credits and a heads up to the people that gave me inspiration
File credits
Inspirators for this mod: Dr Monops for IAA SirDoodicus for OARGanic skills JaySerpa for the Skill Based Sneak and Archery
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ACS mod overhauls Skyrim combat in an alternative way: No perks, No combat frameworks, No scripting, No weapons and armor tweaks:
Your Dragonborn improves naturally by gradually replacing your Combat Animation Sets. As you become more experienced you organically learn more effective, precise and lethal movesets.
The catch? 100% vanilla friendly, fully customizable to your personal flavor! Just replace the basic animation for the weapon style you want to learn. It will just work! (like usual Skyrim).
Why ACS?
I like skyrim, every few odd years is calling back and getting installed. Has a great charme despite its flaws, and it's so easy to get lost into it that those flaws become irrelevant.
However with all its majesty there is 2 things that never satisfied me: 1st - levelling combat that transforms fights into bullets sponge slug fests. 2nd- the vanilla combat is just ugly after a while.
Problem 1 is fixed by mods like Skyvalor, unlevelling the world and making it way more dangerous and challenging. Problem 2 is much more nuanced: there are many awesome animation mods that make the combat feel real, engaging and competent. But A) they are self exclusionary for the most part - pick one, stick with it - and B) you start as level 1 combat grandmaster that does not really reflect your poor skill of a scruffy prisoner, and C) most of times you need combat frameworks that come with their own problem and incompatibilities.
I wanted them All. And I also wanted a sense of progression, seeing my Dragonborn starting as incompetent and slowly getting visually better as you progress and grow.
That's why I created ACS, to resolve A) B) and C) in one fell swoop:
You can now hake All your favourite animation and USE THEM ALL at once, without compatibility issues
Now you start Vanilla combat and magic, perfectly incompetent
Now you see your Dragonborn visually improving (and also becoming more deadly and effective) as you progress through the game
Is still 100% Vanilla, no plugins, no scripts, no framework. Tried and tested, Vanilla + for universal compatibility
Recommended Additions (all optional, but strongly suggested for the best ACS Experience, how it was designed)
Recommended Animation Packs (Most are Self Explanatory, Recommend 'Posta breve' for mid level greatsword and 'King of swords' for high level greatwsord
Simple: you know the Vanilla fortify restoration exploit? Yeah same thing: we found an exploit to the game engine just a Todd Intended!
Thanks to Ershin with Precision the fake 'cone-like projection attack' of vanilla skyrim has been fixed long time ago: if your weapon connects you deal damage, if it doesn't you catch butterflies. Today with Core Impact Framework by Seb263 possibilities are expanded even more and ramped up to 11! Now a new Combat overhaul like ACS is finally possible!.
When a weapon / armor physically connect within the in game engine, vanilla attributes are applied (damage - armor, recoils, glances, parry, etc)
Precision / Cif attributes in addition to it, with next to zero impact on the game engine load.
The better your animations are in not wasting movements, the faster and harder you will hit, the more effective you will be in piercing through enemy's parry / shield.
Animation sets reducing telegraphs, timing attacks, will speed up the output of swings by just being a better animation will land 30-50% more reliably where you aim and will give the enemy a smaller window to raise the shield/ weapon and block it
The in game effect? roughly 30-50% more DPS. Your 10 damage vanilla iron sword in the hand of a master swordman will have better damage output than an ebony sword in the hand of a vanilla swinger!
Same goes for enemies: unskilled enemies will wild swing and be easier to dodge, better skilled ones will be a nasty cookie even for an experienced Dragonborn. See a bandit with a competent stance? Better don't underestimate it just because wields an iron spear, your ribs will thank you!
Recommended mods for the best Immersive Experience: Skyvalor- an unleveled and brutal Skyrim, the world does not revolve around you, you may be the Hero, but you are part of the food chain. Say goodbye to bullet sponges: your gear, skills and prep matter more than your Health Points.
No other spoilers, just think it starts you with 300 Health at level 1... and with ACS you are going to need every bit of it. - Can't recommend it enough. I discourage to set Difficulty above Adept though (you've been warned)
How is ACS different from all the awesome combat mods out there?
- There is Zero frameworks, Zero scripts, Zero tweaks, Zero perks. Combat is 100% Vanilla, with a twist:
Spoiler:
Show
You start as a Noobonborn, fight using every object you can put your grabby little hands swinging it as a baseball bat (the classic vanilla animation). If you hit stuff it works, but you'll be a dnager for both bad guys and friends, hit walls and object in narrow places, telegraph your attacks like an action movie and be inefficient like Todd Intended.
But then while you learn skills and acquire perk you start get the hang of it, maybe instead of swinging like a baseball bat if you just use that spear in a stabby stabby way, you will poke hole into enemy lines much faster. Then you learn that pikes have even a longer reach.
That shield? Why you just discovered that you can swing a sword WITHOUT putting it behind your back and by some strange arcane magic that reduces the amount of blows and arrows you eat as the shield gets them instead of your belly! who would have thought such magic existed?
That long 2 handed sword you kept using like a broom? You now learned to keep it in front and cut twice as fast than when you were swinging for the stands!
That dagger you used like a very short sword-baseball bat? Oh y, it can stab very fast if you just use it like a dagger, your spider - thief sense is tingling!
The crossbow also can cock and fire faster if you pull it properly and not like a truck, and polish your movements minimizing telegraphing and scenic efforts (anyway those badits are not interested)
Sneak attacks? Well if you stay lower instead of slightly crouching you can reach vital spots and be less visible behind low objects.
You get the gist. You can have your level 1 weapon doing 10 damage, but when you gained expertise you just move so much better that you will out DPS an Ebony or Daedric blade, as your hits will actually land and be harder to block for a change!
Can I use ACS in combination with other combat overhaul?
Yes, most likely as it is Vanilla + (in fact, I do use it in combination with other combat overhauls). Only catch, read at the bottom how to integrate different-from-vanilla animation sets. You'll be good to go, ACS will boost the combat, leveraging whatever system you have.
In Game Preview:
This is your How you begin: (skyrim vanilla combat)
This is how you become when you Master a Weapon
Believe me I did go for quality. But if you don't like my recommended packs, just put your own favorite animation and go for it!
Few Clips how the level up looks in Beta:
Dagger
Quarterstaff
Rapier
Greatsword
IMPORTANT
How to install the animation packs, about custom modded weapons etc. - GUIDE -
At the moment only IAA weapon pack works out of the box: you already have Maces, Halberds, Quarterstaves, Daggers, Pikes and Spears (if you installed spear mods, ACS is compatible with Spears of Skyrim and other vanilla spear mods, you only need the models, animations are added by ACS) -
[Note, no Claws or Whips simply because: 1) I don't like them, 2) They only one animation set exists, so no point now - however they still work with their basic IAA animation, just no Basic/ Expert/ Master option]. - If animations will be added / there is demand in the future, I will include them in ACS.
The process is super simple, only 2 skills Required:
Ability to Read
Ability to click through folders
So here we go:
Using Greatsword Example (from the video) for this guide, the process is identical for each weapon pack:
- Install King of Sword - Install ACS (this mod) - You will be asked to resolve a conflict, make sure ACS wins the conflict (it disables the DAR conditions of KoS) Step 1- In your mod manager click to open the folder of King of Swords animation, navigate through this folder path C: ..."your modmanager"\Meshes\actors\character\animations\DynamicAnimationReplacer\_CustomConditions\999991
Step 2- Select ALL files files marked .hkx (the animation files) and copy them in the next Step (warning DO NOT select any condition .json or .txt, ONLY .hkx files)
Step 3 - open ACS folder navigate through the folder path C:\...Animated Combat Skyrim\meshes\actors\character\animations\OpenAnimationReplacer\OARganic Skill Based Animationsthis is the folder where you put all your animations. Now select \High Level Greatsword and paste the .hkx files you copied in Step 2.
Step 4 - You are done! Deploy, now when you reach the condition for "Master Swordsman" your animation will change from whatever it was earlier to King of Swords. Enjoy!
Step 5 + Repeat the same process for each animation weapon set you want, folders are self explanatory (eg: Archery - Low Level/ - Mid Level / - High Level, Sword - Low Level / - Mid Level/ - High Level, etc)
ADDITIONAL NOTE:
- I Already disabled the animation packs that come with my recommendation (you will know because you are asked to overwrite those), those are already replaced. Mind that each author makes their own conditions I could not possibly neutralize all the mods out there.
This is what you need to do if you pick a different animation pack:
After you copied the .hkx files in the folder delete the original animation condition.txt / json
Alternatively you can delete the DAR/OAR animation folder of the animation mod
If you need to save Disk space you can also disable/uninstall the original mod.
The animations are already loaded into ACS so they will work. WARNING: If you leave active both the original mod DAR/OAR conditions, they WILL compete for Priority and you will experience funny/unexpected behaviors. DON'T DO THAT. If you are unsure what you are doing, just disable the mod after you copied its animations in ACS.
So you have to do nothing to get better: play, learn your skills/get your perks as usual and each weapon will start to feel better and better, more precise, more deadly and you will turn from a DragonNoob to Dragonmoto Musashi in Skyrim!
Fully customizable:
Want flashy ninja with laser beams anime jumps and colored lights? No problem.
Want a heavier and more telegraphed combat? Suit yourself! Want to turn your skill in dark souls combat? Yeah you can do that
Select tiers of progress: 3 Tiers -> Low Level (1) -> Mid Level (2) -> High Level (3). Load the animation in the folder with the the same name and will work. (if you put the greatsword in the crossbow folder, funny things may happen, obviously! But you may also WANT a cursed game, so do it if you like, more Power to You!)
Compatibility
Universally compatible with everything. Only conflict if you duplicate the installation of animation packs / do not overwrite conflict (read below and the guides in Article).
ACS is Designed to be either your Vanilla + standalone combat overhaul or to boost and spice up whatever existing Combat Framework you have with more realism. It does not change the game files, leverages what you already have, Vanilla or Modded, all are fine.
Plug and Play - No need to run Nemesis / Pandora / FNIS
List of Weapons / Combat Covered:
Dagger
Sword one Hand (w/ shield, one hand only, spellsword)
Axe one handed (w/ shield, one hand only, spellsword)
Mace (w/ shield, one hand only, spellsword)
Warhammer
Greatsword
Halberd
Katana (w/ shield, one hand only, spellsword)
Pike
Spear
Quarterstaff
Rapier (w/ shield, one hand only, spellsword)
Crossbow
Magic casting
Magic Staff Casting
Sneaking
Sneak Archery / Crossbow / Daggers / Axes / etc - all the sneak versions of a weapon are there, if you have animations for them -
Spoiler:
Show
Skilled tier JSONs for all weapon types with the following conditions: Reference for testing with Console Commands
Master Fencer Swordsman (Folder 3): One-Handed ≥50 (priority 6782, out of combat, not attacking, standing still, excludes shields, excludes rapiers).
Master Fencer Swordsman (Folder 4): One-Handed ≥50 (priority 7771, same as Folder 3, excludes shields, excludes rapiers).
- Note - Magic, Magic Staff - Sneaking - Archery - Sneak archery - are already included if you install OARganic skill based animation. Put the animations in the magic / archery / staff/ sneak folder.
If you use Jayserpa's Skill Based dynamic Animation AIO, is compatible out of the box, simply skip the mid - level archery / sneak folders. You can still add animations to High-level sneak / archery / etc
This mod was a true hell to make work properly but I am truly amazed how simple and fun is and how refreshes the combat. If you like to test this beta and help me confirm the above are fine I will add the missing ones, then tweak it to match perks and other funny things, so I can release the full version that is in the works.
Just let me know in bug / comments, I tend to check regularly.
Thanks I hope you enjoy cutting and stabby-stab stuff (instead of swinging differently skinned baseball bats) and seeing your hero develop into a true warrior as much as I do!
Q&A: - Safe to install, uninstall, Update, mess around mid game?Yes, it's on the fly modification does not touch your save - game files at all.
- Do I need Precision / Core impact Framework? Technically no, ACS works without. Though I have no idea why you would not use it. Vanilla combat is an invisible cone in front of you that hits anything in range, no matter if you connect or flail in the void -> click + range = hit. If you want to fully enjoy ACS, precision / CIF are a must have. I guess if your goal is to just look cool with no impact on gameplay you still can though.
- Is it compatible with....animation? Yes 100% if vanilla (follow the guide)
- Compatible with other Combat overhauls? Yes, if they use vanilla animation frameworks 100% compatible. (Read below for those who touch Vanilla animation Frameworks like MCO) - Compatible with MCO ADXP etc?Very Likely Yes, from MCO ADXP but with a caveat: the moveset of your framework should absolutely work, however it may come with additional behavioral condition files. If this is the case you have 2 scenarios: Scenario 1) your moveset is OAR - Based - if this is the case you just need to open the OAR condition.json file, copy the condition text below the header and paste it above/below (does not matter) my conditions in the correct ACS weapon folder .json. If there is no skill based or keyword conditions in that moveset but pure behavior, then it should work fine. Scenario 2) your moveset uses DAR - in this case it will still work if there is no special behavioral condition txt files (like special key combination attacks etc), so simply copy and paste the animations if that's the case and MCO will take it from there. If there is special behavioral conditions... well you will need to convert it to OAR format and paste it in the OAR JSON of ACS for the specific weapon folder. It can be done but you need to know what you are doing with those files.
- Compatible with conditional animation mods? Absolutely. It was designed upon and expanded on those. You can use both conditional skill based mods from JaySerpa and OARganic skill based animations (already included in ACS so works in synergy), you just need to move the .hkx files from DAR to ACS folders and deploy.
- Support for modded weapons?Yeah, they are all supported as long that they follow "conventional" vanilla templates: ACS uses KID to flag weapons into their correct vanilla family, then hooks into frameworks like IAA to recognize non-standard weapons like polearms and spears and filters the keywords distribution for the correct animations to play for each weapon. As long as your modded weapon uses these template you will be fine. Even if they have different templates but in the base name they are called 'Sword', Zweihander, 'dagger', 'mace', etc, you will still be fine, ACS will pick it up and put it in the correct weapon type.
- Why my UltradragonNose 3 Handed Dagger-gun of Rocket bigfoot od Doom Slayer Flowry Mayhem does not play the correct animation and is still vanilla???When I said "all supported if they follow 'conventional' vanilla templates" I meant it! that means they must have WeaponType (number) and correct vanilla keywords.
If your "Rocket-Propelled-Big-Nose-Foot-Doom-Dagger-of-Flower-Slayer-Thing" that is let's say a Great Sword, does not have the correct basic keywords in xEdit and nowhere in the name, KID will NOT pick it up even with Wildcards [there is a limit just how wild something can get!]
You will need need to add the basic vanilla keyword in xEdit, WeapTypeGreatsword and save, then it will work. If you are not familiar with xEdit keywords and you still want to integrate, just edit the "Full Name" field, add 'Sword' or 'Greatsword' somewhere in that chapter-like name, save , deploy, now it will work.
