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Already invited? Follow the Production setup below. New here? Read about invitations before installing.

What you needSetupDevelopment testersHelp

Before you begin

  • Skyrim Special Edition on Steam. Windows and game version 1.6.1170. The paid Anniversary Upgrade is not required.
  • Vortex and a separate Nineholds profile. Production uses collection revision 14.
  • An approved Discord account. The team invites players personally. How invitations work.

Set up for Production

  1. Prepare your game

    Install Skyrim Special Edition through Steam, open the game once to its title screen, then quit. Nineholds runs on version 1.6.1170, and Steam currently installs a newer version, so most new installs need one extra step: the launcher's Restore Skyrim guide walks you back to 1.6.1170 using your own Steam account. Afterwards, in Steam, set Skyrim Special Edition's Properties, then Updates, to Only update this game when I launch it.

  2. Install the collection

    In Vortex, manage Skyrim Special Edition and create a dedicated Nineholds profile. Install the Production collection, revision 14. Finish its installation choices, then press Deploy.

    What the collection includes

    SKSE 2.2.6, Address Library, Engine Fixes and its preloader, Actor Limit Fix, Animation Queue Fix, and Skyrim Platform AE 2.9.0, plus the mods the Nineholds world is built on: a Windhelm overhaul, clothing, cloaks, jewellery and craftable equipment, city guards, and Windstad village. The launcher prepares its own copies of those plugins on first Play and never changes the files Vortex deployed. The AE archive supports game version 1.6.x; it does not require the paid Anniversary Upgrade.

  3. Open the Nineholds launcher

    Download the launcher and install it. Choose your Skyrim folder if it is not found. Select Production on the dashboard above Play, then follow the setup check to install the Nineholds files.

    If a required mod is missing, fix it in Vortex, Deploy again, and recheck. Close Vortex before you press Play: while it is open it rewrites Skyrim's plugin list, and the launcher will ask you to close it.

  4. Sign in and play

    Choose Sign in with Discord in the launcher. Your browser opens Discord for approval; you never enter your Discord password into Nineholds. The team must also approve your account for Production.

    Press Play. The launcher checks your files and starts Skyrim through SKSE. Create or select your character when you arrive. You do not need the game's server browser.

Invited to test on Development?

Development is a separate playtest with its own approval list. Production approval does not carry over.

  1. Create a Nineholds Development profile in Vortex.
  2. Install the Development collection, revision 14, activate that profile, and Deploy.
  3. Select Development on the launcher dashboard above Play and update to launcher 0.112.2 and run setup again.

The launcher prepares the required compatibility patches and eating animations from your exact collection files. Keep the dedicated profile; use the launcher repair or removal actions to restore its managed files.

Second-rank shouts, along with powers and shouts that require scripted sequences, are unavailable during this playtest. Follow the team's playtest instructions.

Before returning to Production, activate and deploy its own profile.