Skyrim

-Troubleshooting & Common Questions-

I'm more than glad to help people out, to get the mod working, to clarifying things, or getting to the bottom of issues. However, the sheer number of repeated questions wears on me, mostly from people who do not read before they post.. Especially when they're already documented and mod users refuse to read it. It takes 5-15 minutes at most to go through a description page, as opposed to maybe several hours to wait for a response from us. There are thousands of people downloading mods, but there is only two of us... So please, do us both a favor and skim through this, the description page, and the readme before you go to the comments section.

If you ask a direct question and are ignored, it's probably because you could have found the answer yourself. Or we're just away and not monitoring the page at the current time. Alternatively, a lot of people attribute certain problems to this mod, when in fact this mod doesn't have anything to do with the given question.



---------------------*Troubleshooting*--------------------

Problem: Cannot open the MCM menu.
Cause: SkyUI, SKSE, or Skryim are not up to date and/or installed properly. Skyrim is not launched from the SKSE executable.

Solution: Make sure that you have the latest versions of SkyUI, SKSE, and your game is properly up to date. You may also have a mod that conflicts with the Deadly Monsters plugin, for whatever reason. Also make sure you're game is patched to the latest version, as this does not work on older versions of Skyrim. Also make sure you're actually launching the game through SKSE's executable and not the vanilla launcher (or through Steam). Some users have had the menu come up after several minutes of play.

Problem: Crashes to desktop (CTD's) when launching the game.
Cause: Missing master-file dependency crash. You have a plugin within your load order that is dependent on another mod. When this mod looks for it's master files when you launch your game, it isn't finding them and your game immediately crashes.

Solution: Most probable cause would be not having the Dawnguard DLC installed & activated. Besides that, other mods like ASIS, Automatic Variants, Merged Patches, or Bashed Patches are all likely candidates. Rebuild these patches if you use those mods. DD will never cause your game to crash when you install/uninstall it on it's own.

Problem: "XXX" dragon crashes my game when I attack/encounter/kill it.
Cause: Damaged save files, improper load order, conflicting mods, possible lack of hardware... Unstable mod list.. Generally unknown.

Solution: After two years of playtime, using every version from 1.6 to 6.3... I have not had a dragon encounter crash my game in the last 18 months, and I have over 800 hours of playtime with this game.. Half of which is play-testing this mod and investigating bug reports. Actually playing the game and trying to reproduce things. I've not had any success, even when spawning 10 different dragons at once. That includes dragons that are part of quest events. If this is happening to you then you have other issues.

Problem: Deadly Dragons is causing save bloat.
Cause:This mod does not cause save game bloat. Nor has it ever. If installing this mod makes your save game size increase by an alarming amount (+10MB's), then you already have orphaned scripts attached to your save game from other mods.

Solution: You're either running so many scripted mods that your overloading your scripting memory, causing tons of stack dumps, or you've removed so many mods and orphaned so many scripts in the process that your save game is so littered with garbage that it's reached the point of no return and needs to be scrapped. DD is very light-weight in it's scripting in the first place.

Problem: Crashes to desktop (CTD's) when loading your save game after uninstalling DD.
Cause: You uninstalled the old v4.5.

(Note that this says "Save Game", and not the main menu.)

There is only *ONE* reason why Deadly Dragons would do this. If you played version 4.5 and encountered/killed a "Zealot of Akatosh", a level 75 super-dragon, that dragons script/data is now embedded into your save game. Your save game is now *permanently* dependent on version 4.5. Removing the mod will make your save game unplayable. Both 3jiou and I are genuinely sorry for this (honestly). This problem was not discovered until several months after v4.5 released and over 60,000 unique users downloaded it. Your only options are to start a new save file if you want to remove or update the mod. I'm honestly very sorry about this. Losing a character to mods is heartbreaking and hugely frustrating, I know from personal experience. We honestly just didn't know, and the problem didn't rear it's ugly head until several months after the fact. :(

Problem: Dragons sometimes/always do not give souls
Cause: This is a rare issue with the vanilla game. It has been corrected as much as possible. All dragons will give you a soul, but there also appears to be some upper limit of how many souls your character can hold. If this is a constant thing and you can never absorb a dragon soul, it's from something else in your load order.

Solution: As fixed as it can ever be with the release of v4.5 and onward. Search your load order for mods that affect Dragons or dragon soul events. These problems are not from Deadly Dragons.

Problem: New Dragons do not appear, randomly or on word-walls
Cause: World "cells" need to be reset. Possible load order conflict(s). Play the durned game.

Solution: Just because new dragon types don't immediately spring forth to melt your face doesn't necessarily mean there is a problem. True random dragon encounters don't truly start until after you complete the "Blade in the Dark" quest in Kynesgrove, which is a somewhat well known problem. New dragon types are mostly in the level +30 range, so until you reach the middle levels of the game, you will mostly be encountering normal vanilla dragon types.

If you have another mod that adds dragons to your game, make sure DD is loaded *AFTER* it on your load order. Whatever mod is loaded last will take precedence over the other. If DD is your only mod that adds dragons to your game, kill all the dragons at the various Dragon Word-walls, and wait/sleep inside a building/inn/player home for 16 to 31 days. This will "reset" the game world and new dragons will appear immediately. All of this is technically not necessary, as the new dragons will appear through standard play if you just play the game normally, it just may take some time and character levels to make it more obvious.

Problem: Dragons behave "weird". (fly slowly, attack random creatures instead of the player, fly around & are not hostile, fly straight up in the air several hundred feet, etc.)
Cause: These are all problems with the vanilla game and not something Deadly Dragons alters or can addredd. There is also evidence in the encounter scripts that not ALL dragons are hostile to the player, so if you encounter the odd dragon who just endlessly circles and fly's away, that's actually considered normal.

Solution: None.

Problem: Dragon/spell Sound effects endlessly loop
Cause: This is a rare bug in the vanilla game.

Solution: If the sound does not stop playing after kill the dragon or fast-travel to a new location, make a -NEW- save, exit Skyrim completely, and re-load your save game. If the sound is still there, you will have to load an older save file.

Problem: Configuration settings for damage/health don't work.
Cause: Remember that these settings don't work on-the fly, and must be set *BEFORE* encountering a dragon to take effect. You may have a mod that is interfering with DD's scripting.

Solution: Just move D.D. as far down in your load order as possible to fix this and make sure you have your settings in place before the dragon in question is spawned. Don't forget to rebuild your merged/bashed/ASIS patches though, if necessary. You may also have another mod that is conflicting or overwriting the changes that DD makes to your game.

Problem:TON's of dragons spawning through the Assault timer. Way more than the maximum of 3.
Cause: You have another mod that is affecting spawn rates, which DD doesn't do. Probably ASIS or "Dragons Hunt in Swarms" or something. Deadly Dragon's does not alter spawn rates and the Assault timer will only spawn one, two, or three dragons at the most. Whatever options you have selected in the MCM menu.

Solution: See the ASIS Instructions article, look to your other mods.

Problem: Assault system spawns dragon(s) in interior spaces or small caves.
Cause: The Assault system will only spawn dragons in areas that have are classified as an exterior space and have an open sky. Unfortunately there are some areas that have these characteristics but are definitely not intended to house a dragon. Some mods also modify certain areas (like player homes) and make them exterior spaces to add realistic lighting effects.

Solution: Disable the assault system while you're in these areas or use a very high timer value to reduce the likelihood of such an occurrence from happening. Alternatively, while in first-person perspective, open the command console and click directly on the dragon and enter the "markfordelete" command. This will delete (not disable) the dragon from your game and will work instantaneously when you close the command console. You may need to use the "tfc" command to detach the camera so you can move the camera closer to the dragon, it's easy to click on other objects (like trees) doing this. Use the "tfc" command again to return the camera to it's original state. Load a previous save if killing/deleting the dragon is not an option and disable the Assault function prior to the event triggering.

Problem: Dragons are now resisting the Dragonbane sword enchantment
Cause: Deadly Dragons "Armor" setting

Solution: Setting the armor value above 99 in the MCM menu makes dragons resistant to the Dragonbane Enchantment. Lower the armor value to 99 or below or below for the sword to take effect again.

Problem: Alduin is not affected by DD settings.
Cause: Conflicting mods, The Dance of Death.

Solution: This is no longer a problem the newest (4.0 & onward ) release of The Dance of Death. Older versions require you to use a merged patch and manually set the health offset value.

Problem: NPC will not die, instead just falls to one knee.
Cause: "Essential" option is enabled in MCM menu, other mods, or rare Skyrim bug.

Solution: Disable the "Essential NPC's" option within the Deadly Dragons MCM menu and proceed to murder them.

Problem: Assault Timer no longer functions
Cause: Unknown

Solution:Assuming your character is able to trigger the assault, open the console and enter;

stopquest nassaultqst
stopquest nassaultqst00

This should manually re-set the Assault Timer, you should now be able to reset the timer. If that doesn't work, type this;

start nassaultqst00

Finally, if nothing helps, reinstall the mod.

Problem: Alduin is some sort of nigh-unkillable monstrosity that demolishes my character
Cause: Conflicting mods or under leveled Dovakiin!

Solution: Only use one dragon mod! I can't vouch for the work of others. With DD, Alduin deals the same amount of melee & breath damage as a "Legendary Dragon" from the vanilla game, but has about 30% more health. If you're trying to kill him and you aren't properly leveled... Welcome to Deadly Dragons.



-------------------------*Common Questions*------------------------

Question:Will you please upload a version that does not require Dawnguard?
Answer: No. Deadly Dragons makes use of assets within the DLC and therefore requires it as a master file.. It is illegal to package those assets in our mod and distribute them, even if the mod is free. Further, maintaining multiple versions of the same mod is a royal headache. Lore-friendly and Standard are the only two versions and they are here to stay. We use our own mods and we want to use DLC assets... Even if you're not that interested in the Werewolf/Vampire aspects of the DLC, there is still plenty of added content to justify the purchase... I mean c'mon, the game's been out for almost two years and the DLC's have been on sale several times by now.

Question: Will you please upload a version that is not dependent on SKSE or SkyUI?
Answer: Absolutely not. SkyUI's MCM menu is infinitely better than the old unwieldy menu's that you had to jump through hoops to access. It's simpler, faster, easier to work with, it's easier on the eyes, and it doesn't add some stupid item to your inventory or a useless NPC/item to the world. SKSE lets us do more with our mod(s) and is also fully supported and safe to use, with no adverse effects. SkyUI fully supports controllers as well. But even if you don't like there menu system there is a mod that removes it while maintaining the MCM menu, SkyUI-Away.

Question: Where is the Dragons Diversified compatibility patch?
Answer: It has been permanently removed and will not be uploaded again. To many people have reported issues with using both Dragons Diversified and Deadly Dragons together, and the compatibility patch was extremely out of date anyways. If you are adamant on using the mods, you do so at your own risk. Use Wrye Bash to make a Bashed Patch to merge the leveled lists together. Also, Dragons Diversified hasn't been updated in over 9 months at the time of writing this (01-13-13).

Question: Where did the vanilla dragon texture pack go?
Answer: It was a disservice to Wrig675's work to hide that file at the bottom of the Deadly Dragons download page. It's since been moved to it's on Independent page, you can find it here. Download and endorse it please!

Question: Is there an option to change the vanilla dragons, but not add new dragons?
Answer: There is a lore friendly version of D.D. available, named the "Loremonger Edition". It is an option within the main download.

Question: How strong are dragons by default?
Answer: All vanilla dragon types have the same damage and health values as they do in the vanilla game. They've been given type-appropriate elemental attacks (frost dragons have new frost-type attacks) that you can turn on/off in the MCM menu. New dragon types have similar health values to there comparably leveled vanilla cousins, but have extra abilities and are more offensively powerful.

One change you should be especially aware of is Alduin. His damage output is identical to a Legendary Dragon, with approximately 5,700 health (as oppose to a Legendary Dragon's 4,200'ish). Alduin is a demi-god and is supposed to be the terror of the world. By default he's weaker than an Ancient Dragon. These values are intentional, lore friendly, and will not be adjusted. If you rush the main quest at level 20 and get toasted... Welcome to Deadly Dragons.

Question: Is Deadly Dragons compatible with Tytanis/Wars in Skyrim/Monster Mod etc.?
Answer: Any mod that alters dragons or the leveled list is incompatible with this mod. Whatever mod you load last in your load order will take priority and overwrite changes from mods that do similar things. With that in mind, there may be some mods out there that make changes that overwrite or interfere with things DD does.. It's impossible for me to test every major mod and provide a neat & tidy list for you to go by. Use your head and troubleshoot.

Question: Does this mod alter dragon spawns?
Answer: No. This mod only adds spells to existing dragons, adds new types to the leveled list, and adjusts damage & health values.. Spawn rates and locations are not altered in any way. The "Assault" system spawns dragons through scripts only and is completely separate from the Skyrim's spawning mechanics..

Question: I would like to change the included textures for armor or dragons, can I change them?
Answer: Yes you can. You must manually create the correct file paths and properly name the textures you wish to use. Use the "BSAopt" tool to view the .bsa archive file structure and file names.

Question: Is Odahviing/Alduin/Paarthurnax & other named dragons affected by this mod?
Answer: Yes... Somewhat... Odahviing & Paarthurnax are actually just leveled dragons with a unique model. My attempts to alter Odahviing & Paarthurnax's health values have not been successful, thought not for a lack of trying. Durnehviir is not affected however.

Question: Can you alter Dragon AI, or add new attack animations/routines?
Answer: This is not possible without extremely heavy A.I. scripting, not something we're willing to do. The main problems with dragons is that there health, damage, and offensive ability's are lackluster. We do our best to address these issues in a customizable way. Try "Dragon Combat Overhaul" if you want to alter Dragon A.I.

Question: How script heavy is Deadly Dragons?
Answer: Very light.

Question: Mirmulnir suddenly started talking in the first encounter outside Whiterun. Is this from DD?
Answer: No. This is from the Unofficial Skyrim Patch. Mirmulnir is supposed to have voice files. There are Mirmulnir subtitles for that encounter and every non-English version of Skyrim actually has working dialogue for him.

Question: Will you make a compatibility patch for <instert random mod here>?
Answer: No. There are several dragon/creature type mods out there, all of which work very differently than how DD functions. I recommend that you try out the various mods and see which you prefer and stick to that one. Skyrim has "difficulty" "layering" mods that edit the same things over one another. You can merge the leveled lists with a "Bashed Patch" from Wrye Bash.

Question:What is your opinion on using multiple dragon oriented mods? Such as Dragon Combat Overhaul or Enhanced Mighty Dragons in conjunction with Deadly Dragons?
Answer: My personal advice is to use only one mod that adds/modify's the dragon leveled list, and then use something like Dragon Combat Overhaul at your own risk. I cannot vouch for other mod authors work, and I know our mod works without any major issues.

Also, before someone reads this and tries to twist my words into something they're not, this is not some sort of personal vendetta over what is the "best" dragon mod. Nor am I saying other dragon mods are poorly made or have bugs in them. I simply can't vouch for other peoples work. Especially given how finicky Skyrim is.

Question:Why are there random fireballs/meteors raining down from the sky?
Answer: Under the "Assault type" menu, there is an option called "Weather Effects"... Turn it off.

Question:How do I turn off the Assault system?
Answer: Turn off all of the "Assault Type" options (deselect) and/or turn both of the Timer Settings to "0" from the MCM menu.

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I2edShift

41 comments

  1. ihateinventingusernames
    ihateinventingusernames
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    Hi, my SSE game crashes during the start and if I deactivate your mod, it works fine. I have deactivated ALL other dragon mods and still the problem is there. Do you know if any other mods collide with your mod? I have:

    -remove essentials
    -become king of skyrim
    -World events increased
    -more interesting loot
    -carry weight modifier
    -apocalypse magic of skyrim
    -dwemer jetpack
    -forgotten dungeons


    Thanks!
  2. deadwizard00
    deadwizard00
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    I want to make a comment about mods this is my first time modding a game like skyrim but I have overhauled other games like Microsoft flight simulator x but it comes down to planning before you install I don't like installing 2 mods that do the same thing sometimes it conflicts with other mods on my skyrim I have 55 mods and everything is running very smooth but each mod is doing one thing and not overiding another also one thing I learned

    When you modding you will have to insta other mods to compensate for example I'm running high level enemies scaled version so all enemies scale to my level so I can't fill anything lower then grand and black gems now to compensate I had to install another mod that will shrink the souls so I can use the lower soul gems also since enemies are getting stronger as I am I have an uncapped mod to raise my skills beyond 100 I have no.e set at 199 and my armor and resistances are increased to 90 percent so plan how you want you site in to be it took me 4 hours to choose my mods another 3 hours to installed them and about 5 hours to configure everything so I could eliminate ctds those five hours were in the course of a few days cause I need to play and God as I encounter errors
  3. deadwizard00
    deadwizard00
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    I have to say this mod rocks one thing about vanilla skyrim everything is too easy past level 60 even on legendarybwith magic resistance at 85 percent dragons are barely doing damage this is challenging I have other combat mods so I play site in on apprentice but dragons are not affected so on apprentice there really easy so I bumped the dragons to expert and is just about right I play am archer it takes about 15 arrows to kill a dragon but they can kill me in 2 breaths so its just right for me also the mobs I can kill most in 2 hits but they also kill me in 2 hits so I can't fight 3 or 4 like on vanilla skyrim very fun
  4. Indigetes
    Indigetes
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    Anyone else have almost invulnerable dragons?
    I've being using this mod for a long time, but this time around i'm finding magic inmune dragons (i'm a pure mage) after i reached lvl 40. whatever spell i throw at them, i get a "XXXX" spell was resisted.
    i have crafted a full archery gear able to kill any other thing with 3-4 blows. Barelly scratch dragons. It take thousands of arrows to take an 1/8 of their hp and i have the feeling it takes away less hp with each hit. Am i missing something?
    1. deadwizard00
      deadwizard00
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      Check your settings in mcm if by default the dragons are vanilla if you select expert all resistances are 75 percent lower the magic res to what ever you feel comfortable
  5. Moddingking
    Moddingking
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    Hey, i am having an issue here, im a lvl 10 and basically all dragons kill me with one magic blast, do you modify the type of magic that dragons can use or do dragons use vanilla spells?
    1. deadwizard00
      deadwizard00
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      At level 10 any dragon will be a challenge even on the vanilla game the way I do it is I don't do the western tower till I'm strong enough the first thing you need to do is have resistance to magic at least 50 I like res to magic over spell absoption cause you can get the value to its max of 85 if your a Breton if playing any other race I get it to 70 then enchant boots with fire and ice res those are the 2 most common elements I have an archer in vanilla site in I play on legendary everything is easy that's why I turned to modding in lucky I got a 32 and 64 version
  6. Bujolg
    Bujolg
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    Convert button dont work too many souls of poor dragons
  7. hresben
    hresben
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    Now I cant complete DB quests.. Can't kill any kind of NPC involved in quests.
    Essential option did nothing.
  8. jamiemurnane
    jamiemurnane
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    Had a quick look, but didn't see my query so sorry if you've heard this one before. I can't ride dragons properly. I climbed on, and the dragon took off and left me behind. It still looked like I was mounted, but I just stayed in one spot, tilting backward and forward as the dragon flew around. Is this mod fully compatible with the Dragonborn DLC?
  9. protoculturejunkie
    protoculturejunkie
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    I installed this the other day and I can't seem to get it running correctly. The menu option doesn't show up in MCM, and the dragons added from this mod are invisible until after I absorb their souls. AFAIK, this is the only mod I have that affects dragons.
  10. TheFomkin
    TheFomkin
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    "Question:Why are there random fireballs/meteors raining down from the sky?
    Answer: Under the "Assault type" menu, there is an option called "Weather Effects"... Turn it off."
    Oh I thought the mod was spawning invisible dragons, all NPCs would charge to battle absolutely nothing and swing at air while fireballs and other stuff would rain on them and kill them