Skyrim Multiplayer: How to Play Skyrim Together Reborn

There are two constants in the universe. The first is that of change: everything changes all the time. The second, however, is that of Elder Scrolls Skyrim: it's a video game that just keeps coming back! This time, though, we've got something special for you - Skyrim multiplayer style! This article will effectively teach you how to play Skyrim Together Reborn with your partner, friends, family, and maybe even your pets! All thanks to the wonderful modding community and the development team who came up with the Skyrim multiplayer, Skyrim Together co-op mod. That's right, you can play co-op!

Odds are good that you already heard about Elder Scrolls Skyrim Together beforehand. This multiplayer co-op Reborn mod has been in active development for a whopping seven years now, and has been making headlines for quite a long while. After a short bout of developmental issues, however, the devs needed to pivot and re-do their basics. And that is what you're seeing here, complete with quest-related puzzles, magic spells, party leaders, quest items, and everything else you'd expect from Skyrim!

To that end, Skyrim Together Reborn is a full release. It comes with everything you need and all the Skyrim co-op goodness you could wish for. Down below, we'll explain what you need and how to get it to work! So, strap right in, pull out your trusty paddle blade, and let's get to it!

Play Skyrim in Co-Op With The Special Edition of the Game and Save 77% off RRP!

READ MORE: Getting Started in Greymoor – The Elder Scrolls Online guide

What is Skyrim Together?

Skyrim Together is a complete revamp of how Elder Scrolls Skyrim works. That is to say, it isn't the same game you know and love. It's a new game. A passion project full of magic spells. And it's even better than anything you've seen before!

What you're getting here is a true, full-blooded Skyrim co-op multiplayer functionality for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. This isn't an MMO - like Elder Scrolls Online. This isn't a live service - like Fallout 76. No - this is exactly what it says on the tin, and the only thing it does is that it lets you play the Skyrim video game together in co-op mode with other folks. Neat stuff, right?

It's an incredibly complicated and involved project that delivers something delightfully simple. Something that, coincidentally, opens up Elder Scrolls Skyrim for yet another playthrough, but this time in co-op mode, and which coincides with the recent launch of Skyrim Anniversary Edition. Another well done to the development team!

That is why, even though we already covered all manner of Bethesda game mods in the past, Skyrim Together warrants an article all on its own. Well, the thing about

What does Skyrim 'Reborn' mean?

Players who are in tune with Elder Scrolls Skyrim's modding scene may recall that it was this very mod that came under fire back in 2019 after accusations of code theft came about. Namely, at that time, it became apparent that code from Skyrim Script Extender - a crucial, must-have utility in its own right - was being used for Skyrim Together. What's more, the Skyrim Script Extender team had specifically forbidden Skyrim Together developers from leveraging SKSE.

Whatever the case may be, the two modding teams' differences led to them butting heads over and over again until the Skyrim Together team finally conceded and began reworking their code base from the ground up. Going into the nitty-gritty of this entire shindig would be an article all of its own and a rehash of the topic Eurogamer covered back then. Instead, we'll just focus on the important bit, and that's the notion of the Reborn mod.

The Skyrim Together Reborn mod is a full retrofit of the original code base. It's an original piece of content that works alongside SKSE - if you install it. So, you're free to enjoy it to your heart's content! Oh, and it's going open-source.

How Do You Play Skyrim Together Reborn?

Getting Elder Scrolls Skyrim Together Reborn to work isn't the simplest of mod installations, but it's also not prohibitively difficult. There are a few things to note before we go through the process, however. By far the easiest and most user-friendly way of installing mods is to download Nexus' Vortex Mod Manager tool.

• You need either Skyrim Special Edition or Skyrim Anniversary Edition; none of the previous builds of the game work will work, including the VR version
• You need to install the Address Library for SKSE Plugins mod

Once you've made sure both of these are in order, you can move on to the main installation procedure featured below:

• Use Vortex to download and install Skyrim Together Reborn
• Go to your Skyrim installation folder, and then open 'Data' followed by 'SkyrimTogetherReborn'
• Use the SkyrimTogether.exe file to run Skyrim

Since this is a multiplayer co-op mod, you need a server to keep things ticking along using the server settings. When thinking about how to play Skyrim Together, there are two things to remember. Both are equally important but serve different purposes.

You can either:

• Use PlayTogether to set up a standalone server
• Use Hamachi (or some equivalent thereof) to set up a "LAN"

Hamachi is completely free and effectively tricks multiple online PCs into thinking they're all on the same local network. PlayTogether, on the other hand, is a dedicated service that - depending on how busy of a day it is - may queue you up for a while. This, note, can be avoided by subscribing to the $5 Patreon "Thane" tier, for those who really want to be able to play whenever they want.

How many players can join Skyrim Together Reborn?

Developers of Skyrim Together Reborn recommend up to 8 co-op players join a server at a given time. Having said that, there isn't actually a hard limit in place. If you're eager to push the engine to its absolute limits, this may be an interesting case study.

Do other mods work?

In most instances, they do! The obvious caveat, however, is that any and all mod files need to match for everyone joining a given server. Developers have also mentioned that mods can and will affect the game's stability, to the point where they recommend straight-up disabling Anniversary Edition content for the best experience.

It's a case of varying mileage, however. Much as it happens with virtually any moddable Bethesda game, Skyrim, too, is held together using duct tape, and Together Reborn is duct-taping that very duct tape together once again.

What do you get with the Skyrim Anniversary edition?

We've established that you need Skyrim Special Edition or Skyrim Anniversary Edition to play Skyrim Together, but with the Skyrim Anniversary edition, you get the Skyrim Special Edition base game, as well as all three original DLCs: Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn, enhanced graphics, new mechanics, added quests, and mod support. It's the most comprehensive of the packages, and well worth investing in. Especially with the discounts on offer at 2Game at the moment!

Are there any issues with Skyrim Together?

It really is a small miracle that Skyrim Together Reborn works as well as it does in the first place. As with anything else, it's not perfect, however. Developers have invited players to submit bug reports and feature requests on their official code repository, but it's worth pointing out that the dev team has actually disbanded by now.

Skyrim Together Reborn is, in effect, now an open-source project, and anyone and everyone can chip in to help develop it. As for concrete, recorded problems with the Reborn co-op mod, here are a few of them that are worth keeping in mind!

Certain mods are fully unsupported

Developers have mentioned that, while most mods should generally work at the cost of general gameplay stability, some of them will outright refuse to function. Prime examples include the beloved series of Engine Fix mods, as well as the Skyrim Souls RE combat retrofit. On top of these, it's also worth keeping in mind that Fraps, the old screenshot utility, does not work.

Most versions of Skyrim won't work with Together Reborn

As we mentioned before, only Special and Anniversary Editions of Skyrim are supported. Console, Legendary Edition (old Skyrim), and VR versions of the game are not and will not be supported.

Setting it up is a bit of a pain

Being such a massive revamp of how Elder Scrolls Skyrim works, Together Reborn's co-op installation can get messed out if you do certain things out of order. This is, however, a common problem with many heavily modded versions of Bethesda titles, and isn't something that is necessarily limited to this multiplayer mod.

There are various small-scale issues present

The community is already pointing out all the different problems with Skyrim Together as well as delivering fixes for them as it goes. There are a bunch of relatively small annoyances that can and will build up until they are all resolved. It's just something worth keeping in mind for those who may expect a flawless, streamlined experience.

Players share progression

The host of the given server is actually the focal point of any given multiplayer Skyrim co-op session of Skyrim Together. All the other players are synchronized to their host's quest and storyline status, which means that you really want to have a dedicated co-op character to play this multiplayer mod properly. Otherwise, any progress you make on your own will get overwritten whenever you join your server of choice!

Time to Kill Alduin in Co-Op!

For what it's worth, Skyrim Together delivers exactly what it says on the tin: a Skyrim co-op multiplayer experience! It's got its fair share problems, to be sure, but as a hugely important open-source multiplayer mod for a game as prominent as Skyrim, we've no doubt the community will fix it up in due time. Especially with so many 'party leaders'!

If you, too, would like to play Skyrim Together in co-op mode, just get your own copy of Skyrim Special Edition, download the Reborn mod, and give it a go. At worst, you'll have an awesome new RPG video game to play. At best, you'll have the chance to do so Skyrim co-op style. It's a win-win situation in our book, and a huge step forward for modding in general.

Get the latest versions of Skyrim including Skyrim Special Edition and Skyrim Anniversary Edition right here at 2Game.

Then download the Together Reborn co-op mod via Nexus!

CHECK OUT: Greymoor: everything we know about it - Elder Scrolls Online