Shadriss

As stated. If you're dumping ENB completely, you don't need the Helper. You DO however want to keep the ELE and Particle Patch mods... these work regardless of ENBs presence or lack thereof.

Texture Mods are likely the first place you want to go... downgrade to lower res textures. Alternately to (or in concert with) that, you may want to consider lowering your overall resolution as well - both have impacts on FPS. A quick search on "Common Clothing" turn up my own answer two pages ago... So far as the leveled list portion of the question (which wasn't addressed ;) ), Bashed Patch should take care of that with no issues. Best way to know for certain, though, is to try it out. Worst case, it doesn't, and you revert to a save prior to it's usage. Geo's suggestion below... ... is another possibility, though a more advanced one if you aren't comfortable with merges just yet. Either works (or should), but as I noted in my replay on the subject, it's conflict resolution and specific usages are going to mostly be on you to work out, though the community on the Discord would likely be willing to help you work out any issues. In Lexy Speak, this means that if you don't want to use the ReShade, you can use an ENB. It's your choice as to which (or both, if supported) you want to do, hence "Dealer's Choice". There's a big and healthy discussion about ENB and Reshade usage with this guide on the Discord - I'd suggest heading over there and getting some good info there.

Yes, you can include it. I don't know the mod, but if it's just common clothing items, it should be fine. Conversions would only need to be done IF: A) It's for the vanilla body (women) and you want them to show up UNP, in which case you'll have to do some research on how to do so. The only affect this has is on body shape when wearing those clothes, should not cause any CTD or hang type issues. B) It's a mod from LE... which it isn't. Lexy answered this on the previous page - yes. Delete it. Also, learn the search bar and reading arts. :)

That would be the best way to go about it at the moment, yes.

Your install location is likely the problem then. MO2 (and all other Skyrim related files) should not be installed in a OS Folder or a Program Files Folder, as these are all protected by Windows UAC, which doesn't like other programs making changes to it's files. You need to move them outside of these locations, then give it another shot - you may get better results.

Yes, you can - Lexy's guide has been running those alongside each other (though SFO is a somewhat pared down version at the moment.)

Run the test a few more times - if the majority are not CTD, then the issue is not the statues, and you're fine. The Statue rename CTDs are 100% consistently reproducible, so I'm already inclined to say the statues are not the problem. There's still an issue, obviously, but it won't be there. As mentioned (twice or three times now), that mod and several others by that author are undergoing upgrades. That reason is listed on the same page that says it's hidden. :) (On fact checking, not so much...) Give it another day or so before you start panicking.

Hope that helps you sort out some of your issues. Best of luck.

How script heavy is that? Given how heavy the guide is at the moment, I'm not sure adding another one that is laden with scripts would be the best of ideas. I see where you're coming from, just unsure how well it would play with others, so to speak. And, for my part anyhow, I play assassins... so killing is not so big a deal. After creating the merge, did you activate it? Until that merges files are active, the plugin doesn't know what to hide. Not just the merge ESP, but the merge map as well (as I understand it). Verify you have the proper re-distributables installed, and reinstall if they are. This is a file you are missing from your computer system, not a problem with DynDOLOD. If you reinstall the appropriate files and this still occurs, you may want to consult with Sheson.

For LOOT, it's as simple as loading in your Load Order, then pressing the Sort button. Unless there are some other issues that need addressing, that should be the entire process. As for editing NPC health values... xEdit and patching would be your best bet here. In fact, I think it's pretty much your ONLY move here.

Since Lexy hasn't given her standard answer on this question, I will provide. *ahem* "When it's done." (Phrase translated from Lexy Standard Interface Language into Standard English by Google Translate) In seriousness, though, it depends on how you define "big". There are changes pretty much every Monday at this point, though (as her previous post proves) there are exceptions. I've been out of the loop for a few weeks due to finals, but the feel I'm getting is either this coming Monday or the week following. I stand ready to be told I am wrong. *stands at attention*

That's what Profiles are for. It's built into MO2.

The Discord Link is on Lexy's Guide at the very top. It's hard to miss. And, at the moment, no. When you get to Discord (and are allowed out of the room with all the rules printed), type !automaton, and you'll get the reasoning.

I've never used SkyTweak, so I can't speak to how well it does or doesn't work. If this was added in between the two points you mentioned in the OP (When it was Fun and when it Wasn't Fun) this may actually be the source of many of your problems - I'd remove it, test, and see if it reverts to what you expected originally. Where LOOT is concerned, I have never NOT used LOOT, not have I seen any guides (prior to this) that recommended against its use. NOT using LOOT is only advised if you are a very advanced modder and can alter the Load Order on your own with no assistance. Otherwise use it. It tends to resolve a lot of conflicts by doing so, though some might require human intervention to sort out. It certainly won't mess with the Graphical side of things, as those are determined by the install order, not the load order, so that is safe enough. Only gameplay overwrites (which, come to think of it, may be what's going on with Skytweak) will be affected.

I can't speak to what is affecting your game... all you've told us is that you've installed a few mods (none of which, to my knowledge, change HP for anyone). That said, you may want to look into "Know Your Enemy" and its related mod "Know Your Armor". Those do make some significant changes to armor values, resistances, and the like, and works with Wildcat. Lexy's Guide makes use of it, and if used correctly can make some aspects of the game significantly more difficult. As to there being any underlying problems... without sitting down with someone who has the time to go over your full load order and help you look at damage values and the like, this is something you'll have to work out on your own. My guess is you have something over-writing the mod that made it more difficult originally, and the only way to see that is looking at the vales in xEdit. There is a mini-manual for xEdit somewhere on these forums, and I'm pretty sure there's a link to it in xEdit itself (though it's hardly the most intuitively written manual ever, it should get you by... it has me.) Edit: On taking a quick look at the Load Order you posted in the OP, I have to ask - did you run that through LOOT at all? It's highly unusual (in my experience) to see a mod with all of its patches in solid groups like that. Maybe for one mod, but for all of them? If you haven't run them through LOOT, that may be part of the inconsistent issues you are seeing.

This has been asked many times (both here and on the Discord). The short answer is "Yes... but all Conflict Resolution will now have to be done by you, as some of the CR patches provided expect UNP." More details can be obtained by either A) Doing a search on this forum or B) Joining the Discord and doing a search there. If you aren't finding any results searching, then I can only guess your search abilities suck (no offence) because this is asked fairly regularly. Not really... most schools on a Semester Hour type schedule end their semesters around the same time. Spooky would be if you are also an English Teaching Major taking his finals, because that would match me completely. In fact, now that I'm caught up here, I have a test to bust out. As a side note, Linguistics is one of the hardest, most interesting things you can study in English. Mind Blown several times this last few months.

Finals week, and all the fun that leads up to it. What can you do? :) I wouldn't mix mods into the merges that Lexy presents, just to keep those clean. For merging (which I make ZERO claim to fully understand), it's another question of like with like, much in the way Lexy has done hers... that's more a question for the discord honestly. That said, in general, patches for a given mod can all be merged together (but not with the mod being patched) as I understand it. Further info on these kind of merges can be gotten from the mod paged and their comments.

No in-game tool, but you can look at the weapon and spell damage values in xEdit. That would be the best place to check those numbers.

Honestly, this is very mod dependent. Since you are testing it in coordination with the guide, it needs to be run WITH the guide (which kinda goes without saying, but just to be sure...). If it's a simple mod you're testing, then just throw it in and watch for its effects in the game. The more complex ones are the ones you need to pay more attention to. First thing is to bring it up with the full guide in xEdit and look for conflicts. I'm no expert there - I just look for things that revert changes made by guide mods and change them back if it's appropriate. Once that's done, there's really nothing to be done except play it and see if it works out. As you've mentioned, Riverwood tends to be a good test site, but the guide also has a small list of places you may to CoC to as well - they were listed to help identify problems with the statues, but those areas also tend to have enough going on that other issues may surface there as well, so those would be good places to test as well. If you're looking for a full-on test sequence, then perhaps do a vanilla-start Helgen run until arriving at Riverwood, and see how the list holds up. It's not 'fast' per se, but if it plays well with Helgen and all the scripting going on there then it's likely doing at least okay-ish. It's a place to start anyhow.

With apologies for a double post (as the two didn't merge for whatever reason...) I want to second Bern's advice - I have nothing but love for this Guide, but if this is your first major modding experience, this is likely not the place to try it. There are a lot of more advanced practices that are needed to get it right, and there are many who HAVE done major modding before that have issues. Give the list that Bern linked to a shot first, get familiar with the tools and the best practices, and when those have become comfortable (or, at least, less mystical) then come back here and give it a go. Of course, if you want to give this a try anyways, we'll help out where we can. The discord server is a great place to get help, but keep in mind that while people will help, they get irritated really quickly over 'hand-holding' - this guide is an advanced one, and it's assumed that you have basic knowledge of how to use the tools. If you don't, it's going to be a rough go of it.

Ask this question to five different people, you'll get five slightly different answers. I'll give you my thoughts on the process, but it's really up to you to 'make it work' so to speak. Also, I'll be answering with the assumption that we're working from Lexy's Base Guide, as that's how you framed the question. 1) Adding new mods to the guide is not only OK, it's almost expected. Aside from Lexy and her Devs, I'm not sure that anyone runs a pure Guide Build (and even they don't... they just keep one install that is nothing but the Guide for testing purposes). That said, there is one thing I would NOT add to this guide - any major 'new lands' mods. The guide is already very heavy, and adding in another new area will make it much more difficult to keep balanced, especially if new items (weapons and armor in particular) are added. You'll note that the guide has a large number of 'consistancy patches' - the whole purpose of those additions is to make the items and crafting more even across the board, with only a few major OP weapons/armors remaining. 2) When adding in mods, there are two trains of thought. One says that you match like with like - that is, place mods that modify (for example) armor textures with the guide mods that do the same. There's certainly nothing wrong with that, but I prefer to place all non-guide mods that I use at the end of the load order, AFTER all the main mods of the guide, but BEFORE the Finishing Line mods. There are a few that may need to be placed in the middle of the guide mods, and mixing the two methods certainly works as well, but that's how I handle it as a general rule. It makes it very easy then to find those mods if I need to alter or remove them later for compatibility (or just plain didn't-like-it) reasons. 3) I wouldn't drop in a HUGE number of mods all at once - I'd say no more than three or four, depending on the type of mod. For example, I have issue dropping in all of Rogueshot's skeleton replacers in one go (totalling maybe 13 or 14 mods there, I think), as the effect they have overall is a minor one on the file system. Something more akin to Frostfall or Dynamic Equipment Manager (both guide mods, but I use them as an example anyways) are more like to be mods you want to handle one at a time, since you have to compare how things worked before to how they work after installation, and you don't want other mods that may have an impact on those systems confusing things. 4) When you HAVE figured out which mods you want it, installed them, and are ready for a final build, there are a few guidelines about which portions of the Finishing Line you want to run. a) If you changed anything, LOOT runs should be done. b) If you changed anything that relates to Player Animations, rerrun FNIS. c) If it changed the world's terrain, LODGen. d) If it adds in buildings or changes them, TexGen and DynDOLOD. Regardless, after a LOOT run and having added in new mods, run Bashed Patch and Smashed Patch to get them as fully integrated as possible. Hope that helps you out.

Your guess is likely correct with regards to the Improved Animations. DL, install, move the mod to the correct location, and rerun FNIS. As to DSR, no - it's not in the guide (last I checked)... though if you go to the Discord, there is a channel there dedicated to it (or was, last I visited) and the folks there can help you get it up and running, if you wish to do so.

Absolutely no effect - Skyrim isn't really in active development over at Bethesda anymore, I don't think, and they are unlikely to add in the coding that would be required to make use of RT. Wait a week or so - as I understand it, Bruma is being pulled from the guide entirely soon, so that problem will solve itself with a little patience. See me previous comment - if Bruma is being pulled, then this would not be required.

Four people. At least. It's come up a few times on the discord as well, and we've not found a solution. Annoying... maybe, but for my mind, as long as things still die (and it's not me trying to aim a bow, which is impossible with no bow showing...) it doesn't bother me too much. I'm not sure about it being the Dynamic Equipment Manager, since I am almost certain I've been seeing this longer than that mod has been a part of the guide. Still, it's at least a place to start looking. Removing masters is not overly difficult - check the Guide's Troubleshooting section for a detailed guide on how to do this. Note that (for the easiest removal) you'll need the masters you are excluding to start with, but will be able to get rid of them once the process is complete.

And now, a graphic representation of what ENB does to Framerate, as illustrated by the forum's emoticons...