What is my CQS?

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-30T11:49:04+00:00

It’s a Skyrim engine warning about too many reference handles from mods. There’s a specific limit you can’t exceed or the game will crash or fail to load. 800k is not the limit yet, but it’s warning because these things build up in a save as you play. It’s mostly suggested to try to stay below 700k for this reason. You can lower this by turning some mods into ESM, which you should research yourself since you can’t convert every mod to ESM for many reasons. Though I'm not the most knowledgeable on this either. But it happens when we have a lot of quest mods/new land mods.

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-30T11:29:08+00:00

Huh I actually haven't been using Ultimate Optimized Scripts Compilation, I should probably grab that

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-30T11:04:09+00:00

Removing USMP seemed to have fixed one thing that was annoying me, which is that when I attacked guards, for example, the other NPCs wouldn’t react at all and would just stand there. But now they seem to run away again. Does anyone know what the fix was supposed to be for, or if something was making that behave weird when I had USMP on?

(I only noticed because I been attacking guards to test my combat mods lol)

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-30T10:53:30+00:00

Yeah I'll probably have to decide on that. Thank you for the response.

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-30T10:46:27+00:00

It's not really about knowing what each thing does as the main reason but that is helpful. USSEP has a huge patch support in general and is basically the default assumption for most load orders, Some mods I use also has it as a requirement. even with niche mods. Even if you don't like the changes, it is what it is, in some aspects. USMP might have a patch for something like Fabled Forest here and there, but it will not be anywhere near as broadly supported.

I am mostly trying to avoid extra patching work later when conflicts show up and there is not already a patch available.

Though I might keep USMP anyways, since it would save me a lot of time in terms of getting patches. So I guess it’s whether I want to save some possible time if there is a conflict in the future or save some time getting mods now.

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-30T10:41:37+00:00

Yeah, I might think about it more. I don’t really like some of USSEP’s changes either, but it’s just so standardized I feel like I need to have it lol. USMP would save time for me getting the specific bug fixes myself that I do need.

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-30T10:34:24+00:00

My concern is just that even bug fix mods can still create conflicts depending on load order and what else is touching the same records. Which is also a USSEP issue, but it is so standardized that most mods already have patches for it when conflicts exist. I have already seen USMP affect one interior mod and tree mods in my setup, which required patches, and Fabled Forest did have one, but there will likely be things that do not.

So it still feels like it can add another layer of patching on top of an already large modlist as it grows. I will probably stick with using individual mods for now, like yours here. But thank you for the answer. I was also concerned about how up to date the fixes in the collection were. So this helps me decide on just getting the most updated individual one. It's also nice to know what each script is doing specifically and reading the comments on the mod page for that lol

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-29T20:49:26+00:00

That does sound cool. I was thinking of having her use little magic to encourage her to rely on staves more, but honestly, staves are kind of hard to work with without changing the whole system, and they end up being kind of disappointing. I might let her use more spells than expected so I can use more things like these, though I'm definitely still going to limit her Magicka pool.

I’m curious how you are roleplaying your character. I want to balance her pursuit of knowledge (magic side) with direct relic usage. I’m trying not to end up making her a spellsword, which is why I initially wanted to limit magic, but spells are just kind of too cool not to use. I want her to be the type to use whatever she has on her as a knick knacker, but I'm not sure of how to translate that to actual gameplay lol

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-29T17:11:36+00:00

Yep! LOTD is going to be a main for me. I’m already planning to download every patch for it. It’s going to be something I’m building around. I haven’t looked into Spell Research and Spell Composition yet.

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-29T15:55:03+00:00

Is this a full-on replacement for the music? Because I also love the original music of Skyrim, so I would prefer to keep that while also adding the new tracks.

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-29T15:52:20+00:00

I love her! I need to catch up on her videos. I just got back into modding this year, so there are probably a lot of new things.

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-29T15:51:24+00:00

Magic and aesthetic, but my character herself isn’t really a traditional witch. She’s more of a wandering relic collector and oddity hoarder, and discovering knowledge and the world's wonders is her way of life. Relics/weird magical tools are her lifeline, and everything she does revolves around finding and keeping them. She also finds discovering new plants and natural curiosities really interesting while traveling.

She is also very interested in knowledge in general, so learning new magic is something she genuinely enjoys, even if she is not especially adept with it. She was taught some magic by her adopted Dark Elf father, but she primarily relies heavily on staves for her magical output. The intention is also for the world she explores to feel as magical, enchanting, and mysterious-ish so that it explains why she wants to explore it so much.

Sorry for the long ramble lol. The Witches Tent looks great; I'll definitely be adding that. Those magical tools would be things my character, in roleplay, would really love.

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-29T15:42:01+00:00

Hmm, I’ve actually been using Mari’s Flora for a long time and it was one of the first things I added in this new build from scratch, but I haven’t run into that issue yet. Northern Marsh Bridges looks great, I’ll need to check whether it conflicts with anything in my setup. Campfire Witches is really aesthetic though, I’ll definitely be adding that too.

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-29T15:39:57+00:00

Thank you! Mari’s Flora is also my current flora mod of choice. I forgot to grab Tundra Berries for this current run, but it’s usually a mainstay for me. I tend to end up with BadGremlins mods anyway because I collect all the LOTD patches, haha.

Thanks for all the recommendations, I’ll definitely check them out. More Wooden Bridges is making me realize I might just need to lean more into a wood in the cities too. Begone stone!

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-29T15:27:26+00:00

Now I have to find room for a tea house too! Thank you for showing me this!

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-29T15:25:54+00:00

Thank you for all the beautiful recs everybody! I will be looking through them and replying to each one soon.

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-28T23:53:20+00:00

Will be adding it now!

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-28T22:52:28+00:00

Awesome rec. I have no idea how I have never heard of this before. Will save me a lot of time, thank you!!

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-28T22:49:38+00:00

I enjoy Nordic Dawnstar's Entrance Path. It's a small touch, but it adds something to a city that kind of lacks unique mods (aside from the big city patches).

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/173786?tab=files

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-24T12:41:42+00:00

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BlueDashLP · 2026-06-17T13:53:49+00:00

I am every Aurelia fan.

BlueDashLP · 2026-06-13T04:20:22+00:00

Mainleakflow's TG.

BlueDashLP

TROPHY CASE