Survival Mode is an addon for Skyrim Special Edition first introduced all the way back in 2017 as a Creation Club downloadable mod. Now that it's been included with Skyrim Anniversary Edition (and is free for Special Edition players without the upgrade), players are flocking back to experience a wholly new way of experiencing the game.

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Skyrim's Survival Mode changes a lot about the game. Players will find themselves constantly challenged by the environment and their own bodily needs through new weather effects and the maintenance of fatigue, hunger, and other status effects – stealing a Sweetroll doesn't seem like such a bad idea if it means having something to eat.

Updated June 29, 2022 by Erik Petrovich: Skyrim Anniversary Edition introduced a ton of new and returning official addons for the now decade-old RPG, including Skyrim survival mode camping and dozens and dozens more. For Survival Mode Skyrim changes a lot about the way players experience the world: temperature matters, for example, and fast travel is disabled to force players to explore the world on foot. Some of the mechanics of Skyrim Survival Mode are a bit enigmatic, but in each entry below tables lay out these new effects and systems with basic explanations of how they change the vanilla game. Skyrim survival mode is a really neat addition to the game, but it's a death sentence if you go in blind - especially on higher difficulties.

How To Turn On Survival Mode

When it comes to how to enable Survival Mode there are two main methods. When starting out the game normally (in the traditional Helgen Dragon attack intro) players leave the caverns beneath Helgen after escaping their own execution. When the player leaves Helgen Keep and sees the vast expanse of Skyrim, a dialogue box pops up asking the player whether they want Survival Mode enabled. The dialogue box that pops up describes Survival Mode briefly and directs players to the "Help" tab in the menu for a more thorough explanation of the new systems.

Typically, Survival Mode is disabled until the player finishes this introductory Unbound quest. However, there is an option in the "Gameplay" tab of the system menu that enables and disables Survival Mode on a whim, which can be useful if it proves to be too much of a challenge or if the player has an Alternate Start mod installed.

What Is Survival Mode - Racial Passives and Gameplay Changes

Survival Mode features a litany of changes to the game that fundamentally alter how a player experiences the world of Skyrim. There are new racial passives to consider, fast travel is disabled, and players have new status effects to maintain or suffer the consequences.

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It's regarded by many players as being much, much harder than the regular game. There are lots of things to know about before diving into this new mode – unprepared players will find themselves starving and freezing in minutes if they don't know what they're in for.

Racial Passives

Survival Mode changes many aspects of Skyrim, even from the very outset of the game. Several of the playable races have new racial passives related to Survival Mode, for example, that can greatly influence how easily a player can make it in the frozen North of Tamriel.

Fundamental Gameplay Changes

Playing through Survival Mode in Skyrim is a wildly different experience than the vanilla game. Some of these gameplay changes make Skyrim feel more like Morrowind or Oblivion, like having to sleep to level up, and some serve to simply make the game feel more immersive, like the inability to recover health passively.

What Is Survival Mode - The Environment and Staying Healthy

In addition to the many changes to the way Skyrim is experienced, Survival Mode adds several new factors to keep an eye on when journeying in the Nord homeland and beyond. Staying too long on top of an icy mountain can now make players freeze to death, and not eating or sleeping now has dire consequences.

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These new factors change the ways players observe and interact with their environments. The path to Bleak Falls Barrow, for example, is now much more deadly than in the vanilla game thanks to the lack of food, threats to health totals, and of course the blisteringly cold mountaintop itself.

Environmental Factors

There are two main Environmental Effects introduced with Skyrim's Survival Mode, being Cold and Warmth. Players can see what kind of environment they are currently in by looking to the right of the Compass - a Sun marks the local temperature as Warm, while a Snowflake marks the local temperature as Cold. There are six levels of Cold, each with different effects.

Players who get into the lower levels of being Cold can restore their internal temperature by standing next to something Warm like a fire, eating something hot, or holding a Torch (not simply having one in the inventory). Conversely, players rapidly become Colder in Freezing Water, instantly losing health. If a player's level of Cold reaches the maximum, they will die from being frozen.

There are two new personal Status Effects to maintain in Survival Mode, being Hunger and Fatigue. Hunger generally affects Stamina, while Fatigue generally affects Magicka. Each can be maintained in the ways one would naturally assume - eating healthily and sleeping comfortably.

Hunger

• Hunger naturally depletes over time and can be alleviated by eating food.
• Eating enough food makes players Well Fed, and it's better to eat cooked food than other food as it restores more Hunger.
• Not maintaining Hunger lowers total Stamina, makes swinging weapons harder, and can lead to death from Starvation

Fatigue

• Fatigue naturally depletes over the course of a day, and can be alleviated by sleeping (not simply waiting)
• Sleeping in a bed indoors, like at an Inn, makes players Well Rested. However, sleeping in a bed outdoors or in an uncomfortable place does not.
• Not maintaining Fatigue lowers Stamina and Magicka recovery, lowers total Magicka, reduces Potion effectiveness, and can lead to death from exhaustion.

Many players have found that the rate that these two status effects decline is much faster than expected. Keep a constant watch on your current levels of Hunger and Fatigue, and don't be afraid to steal food to eat if it's necessary. Sleeping and eating at an Inn regularly is highly recommended.

Skyrim Camping

Camping in Skyrim is not part of the Survival Mode addon for Skyrim Anniversary Edition, but the two work in tandem better than most mods. Camping allows players to craft and place a campsite anywhere in the world. Players can Fast Travel to their Campsite whenever they like, but of course, this feature is disabled in Survival Mode.

There are numerous benefits to taking the time to gather materials and set up a Campsite on an adventure, especially in Survival mode. It gives players a covered place to sleep, provides a place of Warmth, and is in all ways (except aesthetically) a respite from the harsh environments in the Province of Skyrim.

How To Set Up A Campsite

For camping Skyrim makes things pretty simple, requiring only a few basic materials and a Forge as well as an open place in the world to place it. Gather three pieces of Firewood and one piece of Leather, then head to the Forge and look under the "Misc" section to find craftable Camping Supplies. At the start of the game, Firewood can be gathered easily in Riverwood, while Leather can be harvested from local Deer and other animals.

When you have Camping Supplies crafted and in your inventory, it's ready to be placed out in the world. When you're ready to go to sleep for the night in the wilderness, find a relatively flat portion of land, go into your Inventory and select Camping Supplies. A dialogue box pops up confirming the placement of the campsite. Finally, after a fade to black, a tent, campfire, and place to sit appear.

How Does Camping Benefit The Player?

Camping in the vanilla game is meant as a means of increasing player immersion, providing a resting spot in one's travels, but not any other major benefits. For Survival Mode players, though, it's a near-vital resource that players should plan to carry a few of at all times, as the Tent and Campfire provide huge benefits.

• The Tent: Sleeping in a Tent won't provide the Well Rested bonus like sleeping in a bed in an Inn, but it doesn't make the player wake up Drained like a normal wilderness bedroll.
• The Campfire: Provides Warmth that can alleviate the negative effects of Cold. Also serves as a spot to cook limited Food (notably, Hot Soup can be made in a Camp).
• Non-Survival Mode: Campsite can be Fast Travelled to at any point, as long as the camp hasn't been taken down of course.

Other Skyrim Survival Tips - Materials, Ingredients, and Restoration

Survival in Skyrim isn't as simple as just wearing the right clothes, keeping oneself fed, and getting to sleep at a decent hour. There are four things a survival mode Skyrim player can do to improve their chances of survival: get a backpack, gather useful materials, collect ingredients, and level Restoration.

Buy And Equip A Backpack

One of the addons included with Skyrim Special Edition adds backpacks to the game, which greatly increase the player's carrying capacity when equipped. These are more useful in Survival Mode than vanilla Skyrim because of the reduced carry weight for all races. Backpacks come in a lot of styles, some even come with pretty major enchantments, and they can be bought from just about any general vendor or blacksmith for next to nothing. They can also be crafted pretty easily if you find yourself strapped for cash.

Keep An Eye Out For Useful Materials...

There are lots of useful things to craft with Skyrim survival mode, and lots of materials that can be used to make these often life-saving creations. Keep an eye out for Firewood and Leather for crafting Campfires, and for crafting Backpacks, and look for Animal Skins and Hides to make Leather yourself if you can't afford to buy it.

...And Gather These Cooking Ingredients Too

In Survival Mode Skyrim makes cooking much more important than in the base game. Cooked food keeps you warm longer, serve as a source of healing, and can grant other special effects with the right ingredients. Look out for ingredients like Salt Piles for improved cooking recipes, Fire Salts for recipes that warm the player, Hawk Feathers or Mudcrab Chitin for Cure Disease potions, and Imp Gall or Scrib Jelly for Cure Poison potions.

Level Restoration For Healing

Because passive healing is disabled in Survival Mode, Restoration Spells are one way to heal oneself. Potions and Food work too, but the reduced carry weight makes carrying lots of potions and food difficult. Consider leveling up your Restoration from the beginning of the game until you reach a point where stronger healing spells are available to you before branching out into a proper build.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition is available for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S

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