BlubirdRapture, thank you so much for this incredibly thoughtful and detailed review of SDA! I'm so sorry I'm just seeing this now, but I'm absolutely thrilled you enjoyed the mod and that it resonated with you so deeply. It means the world to hear that SDA transformed your experience of Skyrim and Serana's character. I truly appreciate you highlighting the new dialogue, the 'drink dates,' the exploration of her past trauma, and the romance. Your kind words and encouragement are a huge motivation. Thanks again for sharing your experience with your audience - it means a lot! 💖
Holy cow - didn't expect to stumble across you here in the comments section but just wanted to say thank you. Started a new save in Skyrim last week on a new computer and have really really enjoyed my time with the mod. Thank you 💚
what I'm really excited about with this mod is the patch with the Vigilant mod, having serana kill molag ball with the bard dagger is exactly the kind of dramatic irony I'm waiting for, it feel like the logical end to her character arc
@@weasel003gaming7 don't worry you didn't miss anything I'm talking about the upcoming patch of this mod with the vigilant mod, like I said I so much want serana to beat the shit out of molag bal in the final confrontation and telling me what she think about it it's gonna be great
Serana is really unique in how she almost immediately makes you feel at ease around her. The tone of her voice, her mannerisms - if she were an actual human you'd immediately feel cared for, like you have a partner that is really there to stay through thick and thin.
@@EBFilmsManYou in the habit of misreading what can be misread? She's digital, m8, not an actual human. Not a real life person. She does not physically exist.
I am gonna be honest this video is really great and I am glad I found your channel I am really looking forward to the stuff you will do in the future as Subsriber no.2
This was definitely a mod I couldn’t live without, it made everything new for me, especially starting the main quest before becoming Dragonborn, I love this mod 😊
@@LibraritheWizardOfficial what? The only example of the a dragon blood being given during someone's life is saint Alessia, and as stated by Michael kirkbride and other Bethesda writters : "Alessia didn't have the power to absorb dragon souls. Hers was a much more nuanced power: to dream of liberty and give it a name and on her deathbed make Covenant with the Aka-Tusk.” Alessia was a special case because she wasn't a fighter, her purpose was to lead the humans into freedom and to light the dragon fires. TLD just like miraak, reman , wulfharth and Tiber septim was a dragonborn from birth.
@@LibraritheWizardOfficial the guardian and the traitor, the remanada and the book of the dragonborn, the greybeards themselves refferes to it and finally if you go to durnehviir before the main quest, he still calls you qunarin and tell you that there's something special about you. It's the legit lore for dragonborns: "born with the blood and soul of a dragon"
Recently when I was adventurin with Serana, she said "Hi, Evie", and at first I didn't pay much mind to it since I just figured it as her normal chatter to one of my other companions. But then I remembered that my character's name is Evie and was like "😮"
It's a cool mod and the voice actor does a good job, In my opinion however it screws with my head that it's not Laura Bailey. I've been hearing this woman's voice in video games since I was in junior high between Rayne in ..Well Bloodrayne, Kait from Gears, and several others. That's just me though
@@LeadMetal82 she's a little too overdramatic, Laura Bailey puts some pain behind her voice especially considering what a shitty situation serana is in
@@trentdevlaminck9927 I agree. A lot of her lines feel too dramatic and out of character. However, what I'm trying to say is, outside the main questline, Serana is extremely lacking in dialogue department. She has very little to no interaction with any vanilla or DLC questline outside dawnguard, which is the problem with every vanilla and DLC follower NPC in Skyrim.
I'm also of the "adventuring party" bent, and prefer the group feeling to solo RPGs. I particularly like using SDA with Inigo, Lucien, Viljia, Auri, and IDF-Lydia (with all of the relevant patches) since most of those followers have various levels of banter with each other, and it really gives me the "Dragon Age: Origins/D&D Party" vibe I prefer. You can do this with some newer follower mods too, like Remial, Xelzaz, and Redcap, I just like the writing for the older followers more personally.
I'm not long into the video, but it's very well made so far! Love videos about the Dawnguard DLC, it honestly felt more like the main quest than the actual main quest
I love SDA but I personally prefer Improved Follower Dialogue - Lydia. With that mod, Lydia is my favourite follower in modded Skyrim. While SDA has more content, I personally feel like Lydia is better written. My main problem is how Serana falls head over heels for you immediately while you actually have to prove yourself to Lydia who is a bit skeptical about your feats. While it may seem like her character progresses too fast too, going on a few sidequests and not immediately skipping to the main quests makes her character more interesting. But SDA will always have a place in my heart and my load order which it will nver leave.
The falling head over heels can be similarly solved in SDA by doing side content while you're doing Dawnguard, or using one of the several mods that have you do a few radiant quests in between each major quest. If you run through it all at once it'll definitely feel less developed but going around with her through random quests while making conversation slows down the pacing as much as you want to slow it down essentially
@@AsIfItNeverWas tbf, the girl has been socially and physically isolated for a few centuries, and everyone around her is controlling and/or evil. So of course she's going to fall in love easily when the bar for her is underneath the ground and next to the corpses she raises to fight.
*sees cool looking skyrim video, 2 years after not playing anymore, clicks it* *sees serana being even more intriguing and actually very charming and interesting* *sighs* *downloads skyrim again* IT SUCKED OVER 3000HOURS OF MY TIME ALLREADY, AND EVEN AFTER 10 YEARS OF PLAYING IT WILL NEVER LEAVE ME ALONE FOR LONG
"I always wondered why she never had anything to say about this quest in particular in the base game" -- Because Bugthesda could never cook this good, like modders do.
Yeah, I always thought Serana was an extremely underused character. Her character felt incomplete, like there was more to tell after Dawnguard DLC's ending. We never truly saw her overcome her trauma or anything, she just becomes... Another follower.
These kinds of takes are kind of silly imo. Bethesda made this game in 2011, on a budget with a specific time schedule. Bethesda is known for its relaxed and caring work culture aka it doesn’t put the product above the wellbeing of its employees. More to the point, I think gamers have no clue how games are made. Mods build off of the significant amount of work that was already done. No, using the same engine is not a magical shortcut, you are still building 80-95% of the game from scratch and Skyrim was in fact a total handcrafted endeavor. Mods make things out of free time and with little to know QA or testing concerns, no need to consider platforms and specs, etc. Delusional to pretend mods built over the past decade somehow have more effort or work put into them than the entire base game…
7:43 This song is from 3DNPC's and is just so amazing when the OG bard sings it, ngl, it feels weird to hear serana singing it, but a good bit of continuation if you play with both mods installed
The one constant mod across all my modlists. She just feels so... tangible. Like an actual developed character who grows and learns, rather than the normal planks of wood your Skyrim companions are. It helps that she's got a great personality and is easy to get along with. I always play the "good guy", so it's interesting to watch my essentially Paladin interact with a thoughtful Vampire.
Ok, just for adding that bit from Sword Art Abridged, you get a sub XD. That always made me laugh, that one just glitching out " WE MUST SAVE MY FAMILY!!" XD
I kind of soured on Serana in hindsight after I quit playing the original (now "Legendary") edition and didn't so much at touch the Dawnguard on later playthroughs (VR), but I while browsing I eventually got captivated by the Serana Re-Imagined mod, going back again and again to the mod page, staring at the screenshots. Eventually I caved, and since I was going to play Dawnguard, I figured I might as well go all the way and installed a bunch of the top Serana mods, including SDA, and wheeew. She's good. _Real_ good. It's a little ironic how she uses some form of Illusion magic on the Dragonborn during your first meeting (or so the pop-up messages imply, anyway), because she's definitely made a simp out of me. Hoping to do Vigilant one day, too. That'll be a hoot.
I've been playing video games since 2009 and last week was the first time I played Skyrim because I remembered my friend recommending me to play it 10 years ago! The game clicked with me during the 3rd play session and I've been looking up stuff like graphics mods and I'm really amazed at how ignorant I've been all these years in not having played this game sooner. Strategy and simulation were among my favorite genres but this is my first rpg and I love it, and its no surprise since I'm autistic and the internet says that autists love these genres. I also love how this makes me feel, its like I'm a kid again and genuinely happy for discovering something new. And look at this channel, I love this. Skyrim really has one of the best player communities
Just watched this video for the third time and I have to say I loved how you presented SDA, I hope we see more of this, Lucien was in the video....... potential candidate for another maybe 🤔 and the ending was hilarious 😂
I love this mod! Kerstyn Unger's voice acting is such a great asset to Skyrim modding. There's only one problem with it... See, I also use IFD Lydia (voiced by Kerstyn), and PC Head Tracking and Voice Type with the made from scratch for the mod Lucina voice pack (voiced by Kerstyn). So, in my game, Kerstyn Unger and her best friend, Kerstyn Unger, are on a quest to stop the vampire menace, and Kerstyn Unger's housecarl, Kerstyn Unger, aids them in this noble task. 😂
This SDA Mod as you like to refer to it, is a must. And you have to add that Khajiit Inigo too along with his patch so both he and Serana have their own little _"chats"_ along the way. Especially when Serana teases Inigo about _"rubbing his belly"._ Though the SDA Mod is not perfect. Especially when you've been to High Hrothgar to get fully acknowledged you are Dragonborn, and then get attacked by Miraak's nutters in Ivarstead, way before you've started the Dawnguard quest. Serana, out of the blue, suddenly says, _"Hey! Are you alright?"_ _"About what, you think?"_ Then serana goes on, _"I didn't expect to get jumped on like that."_ _"What are you on about girl?"_ _"... And those tacky masks they wore!"_ Then the penny drops. She's referring to the attack on you, before you met her, by Miraak's groupies. Serana will then ask, _"Can I see that note?"_ It's the one taken off the Miraak follower that takes you to Solstheim. The same note you immediately dropped after reading it. But Serana's now holding it in her hand, and reading it. 🤔🤷♂ That aside. I still wouldn't play Skyrim without the SDA Mod. Nor would I play without Inigo. He has a very good story to follow.
Beating a dead horse here: Not making Serana marriable in skyrim was absolutely stupid. She’s the only character in the entire game where you actually have a long-term journey together and naturally build a relationship, whereas everyone else can be summed up with “you did one thing for me, lets get married”.
People say that a lot but I think it really gives her some depth and character to actually not want to marry. I feel like it's a bit ridiculous for an immortal vampire to suddenly be into the monogamous institution of marriage, let alone be weirdly obsessed about the player. But I'm personally not a fan of the Serana mod anyway because it makes are in every single way a different character and kinda degrades her to a virtual girlfriend simulator. Even with all the added dialogue she feels like she has less agency than OG Serana weirdly.
1. Definitely playing this once I get a new PC 2. Absolutely subscribing to your channel because you definitely should make more content in this style. You're really good at it.
I'm very fond of the original Serana, and I love her old voice, but this really does seem to add layers to her character. Plus, it's nice to hear a fourth song in Skyrim.
The narrative dissonance of walking into sad and desolate Soul Cairn and having her confess to you is a bit off though. I'd rather that forced dialogue be moved somewhere after you get out of there, like in her mother's laboratory.
This is a fantastic video - I wasn't into the mod because the only clips I'd seen were from later in the mod with the very, ahem, HORNY lines from Serana after the relationship was already built. You instead showed the sweet side of a character justcoming out of her shell and I'm way here for it.
The second I found this mod on Xbox I fell in love, well fell in love again, before I played Dawnguard for the first time about 5 or 6 years ago I basically never touched any of the companions in Skyrim, I preferred just being a solo character that was self reliant, but when I was able to have Serana as a companion, she definitely felt different than say Cosnach, Lydia or Jenassa, she had depth to her as a character that wasn't there with any other companion, she was amazing. This mod is easily a 100/10, the VA's voice is beautiful and the quality of the voice work is impeccable too, I found a visual overhaul mod for Serana called "Anima Nera - Serkethetyt's Serana Overhaul" that gave her such a good compliment to the mod (In my opinion at least), with a small little detail of having a facial scar that the mod implies is thanks to Molag Bal, giving a hint that what Molag Bal wasn't only mental, but physical. I wish I saw this video sooner, but TH-cam seems to have given quite a few people this video to see via recommended.
Just rode two hours in super strong wind on a little 250. On the way there I was terrified, doing 80km/hour. I stopped halfway to take a break. On the way back the biggest thing that helped me was gripping the tank tighter, and just ever so gently resting my hands on the handlebars, so that my body jerking wasn’t translating to the wheels. I even had a less extreme tuck, was way more comfortable, and had a great ride.
I found this mod when I first started playing Skyrim, and it has been in all of my mod list ever since then, and that was 4yrs ago, yest right after the mod first came out, and I am loving all the additions that the mod author has incorporated into it.
This is crazy good and I’m so excited to get to know more about one of my favourite characters of all time. However there is something about this voice actor’s delivery that makes this Serana feel more immature than the Serana I fell in love with.
I do like this mod, though I'm so used to the original voice actor that Serana sounds like she went from a mature woman to a seductive young woman, which is fine but JUST noticeable.
"There is a platonic route you can take, but I could never bring myself to do it cause I'm a massive SIMP" Yup, that's me. Great video btw, glad I found your channel ♥
So she comments on all the faction quests now? Does that also include the entire base main story of Skyrim AND the Dragonborn DLC? Because hearing her observations on Alduin and Miraak would be amazing.
She doesn't go with you when you confront Miraak. Only the Dragonborn uses the Black Book to travel to that realm. Serana stays back to help the Skaal (?) villagers. But she lets you know she's worried about you before you go.
I have yet to play my game with this Serana mod installed but I will soon. Btw for anyone wanting to see better stories in Skyrim, I recommend installing the Vigilant quest mod. Its a quest mod related to Molag Bal and the Alessian Order, extremely well written and lore friendly. Honestly it puts Bethesda writing to shame. Also Serana SDA next update will give her content related to Vigilant, and knowing how the story in Vigilant goes, anyone who is a Serana fan and uses SDA will definitely enjoy playing through Vigilant with her, I am sure.
I always do vigilant solo. But I always return to my hq (Dwemer house from cc) to start picking up the crew and tell serana I kicked his ass. Everytime I pretend she just goes "I how you hit him where it hurt."
i think this mod with the lydia extended dialogue mod and havign mods for more then one follower they will both talk to each other as well as you both are great mods
You should also try these follower mods of Xelzaz, Lucien Flavius, Remiel, Auri, Kaiden, and Taleisin. You should see the banter some of them get into. Especially Remi and Xel!
I LOVE this mod! My only recommendation for people who want to try it is to start a fresh game after installing it, and do the Dawnguard quest as soon as it's offered in the game. I missed out on a lot of the new dialog, because I had already at least half completed many of the quests, for example, "House of Horrors". I plan on doing a second playthrough as soon as I complete the first.
I still regret always playing through the DLCs after the main quest when I played Skyrim. I missed out on so much dialogue with Serena because she joined me so late.
Same here. I avoided the Dawnguard DLC until I was way leveled up. I didn't fancy getting turned into a vampire. I redid Dawnguard after installing the mod, but that left out a lot of dialog for already completed quests.
I have to agree in that the house of horrors quest is masterfully directed and becomes an entirely different beast with this mod. I was roleplaying as a paladin, since the game doesn't provide enough avenues to role play properly, I had to make my own fun with a set of self imposed rules. On this one, the paladin was a follower of Miridia, so the rules where. Never to kill an innocent, never work for other deadra, never ignore the undead and hunt them down there where I found them. With all this, when I did this quest with Serana I was trying to find a way to not kill the follower of stendar. I was blocking, parrying, dodging. And during all this I was hearing her screams. I didn't struggle for very long, I made a choice. And as penance I forsake that character from using weapons again.
wow, really nice dialogues and voice acting (wasn't AI, right? I think wasn't), no matter if was AI or not, idc but the quality is insane, it's really good. I've started a new file yesterday for the funs, I think I'm going to get this mod before I head to Dawnguard. thanks for the showcase!
4:28 Oooh, that's why the scene before felt so off. I thought I just forgot what she sounded like as it has been like a decade, but nope. Unfortunately, the change of VA absolutely kills this mod for me. Not saying Kerstyn didn't do a good job, but that it is physically impossible to listen to it without wishing for the OG voice back. Does the mod at least have a silent version?
This mod made my entire last playthrough. I was in the bannard mare getting contracts and Sophia says she's going to get some drinks for herself and you all. And I'm "Oh, neat, they added some new dialogue." And then my jaw goes slack as Serana responds to Sophia BY NAME and makes a snarky remark. They start ribbing each other and INIGO has to break up the fight. And I'm sitting there taking screenshots to send to my buddies as proof of what had just happened. After that Sophia, Serana, Inigo, and another male modded follower (can't remember his name) had regular chats, and I just couldn't stop myself from smiling cause it felt like traveling with a group of actual people. Unfortunately it made the rest of Skyrim (and poor M'rissi who was also with us.) seem stilted by comparison.
*nods* Most of my characters, regardless of what sort I'm roleplaying, in regards to cooking are at the ~least~ decent at it. And my main DB is a pretty damn good cook. How dare Serana say such a thing.
It’s a really well developed mod, there’s just one problem. It’s not Serana. The character has been essentially rewritten down to the personality that it’s almost completed different person. Like someone projected their OC onto her.
I loved a lot of this mod for all the reasons listed, but the breakdown she has near the end of the Dawnguard quest about the spell she cast (being intentionally vague for spoilers) and how it devolves into an "I don't deserve you, I'm a monster!" meltdown felt very... written by a man, tbh. I don't think anyone would blame her for wanting to be extra cautious and protecting herself around the first person she sees in literal centuries when she doesn 't know them or their agenda that well at that point.
Nice Video. Making the comparison I think the Bethesda side of things never really had good companions. Sure Fallout 4 finally kind of really put them in there, but to be honest the only one I would say was quality would have been Nick as they really flushed him out further with Far Harbor. *I mean I like Curie, but I am a Francophile so sue me. That said I ain't going to pretend there is much depth there or with any of the other vanilla companions The Lucien mod for Skyrim though is soooo well done, so it's nice to hear of other really good ones like this. Will defiantly have to check it out. I also remember hearing and seeing one for Lydia which was actually supposed to be really well done. **Talking about Fallout 4 though the Heather Casdin mod is one of the best follower mods I have seen as well so if you are looking for Fallout 4 stuff can not recommend highly enough.
That’s why in my current ultimate SkyrimVR playthrough she’s my ultimate companion, not inigo, not Lydia, but Serana, she really feels like developers wanted for her to be final and only one companion
I can’t tell you how sad I was when I finished the dawnguard quests and she became a basic follower again that’s what got me into custom follower mods like lucien, indigo and serana add on
What a wonderful video! In truth, I almost wish Skyrim was a bit smaller, so this sort of thing could have been the norm in the actual game. I'd take a smaller game, if the world itself felt more involved and the characters were more dynamic.
I can't help but wonder if the Critical Role clip at the beginning is intentional or not, considering Laura Bailey stars on Critical Role and voices Serana
I do really like this mod; however, I'm not the biggest fan of how it causes Serana to start whining about how she wants a drink or she wants a date or she just wants to settle down on a quiet little farm every 15 minutes after you complete all the vanilla quests and all there is left to do is mod DLC.
Since seeing the title of this video I was dreading it features Neural Network voices. Glad to be proven wrong. And I'm glad that somebody did Serana justice. Compared to other companions in vanilla Skyrim (to be after Lydia I stopped trying, but I heard there is at least one fan favorite) Serana was a breath of fresh... dusty, tomb.. air. Well, DLC made her much more interesting than most of the main story characters combined. But on my subsequent playthrough I realized how much is she lacking as a regular companion outside the context of seeing her in this DLC for the first time. I grew to despise her just as she despises Skyrim's weather. And caves. Outdoors. Nights, days. After the main storyline ends she goes back to being a soulless husk that is Skyrim companion NPC. Serana was a great Dawnguard main plot character, but she is only marginally better than your average Skyrim companion character and that fail is on Bethesda. Their games usually don't end when the story ends and they didn't design their companions well enough to be around them all the time. There is little voiced dialogue and not a lot of companion writing in Baldur's Gate 2 all in all, but the voice talent and direction is so good, their response "barks" become their characterization over the course the game. You hear them over and over again, but you don't grow to despise them, they become part of your long term memory over one or two or several long playthroughs. If somebody did Serana right, it sounds awesome! Not that I can stand the dullness of Skyrim gameplay anymore.
BlubirdRapture, thank you so much for this incredibly thoughtful and detailed review of SDA! I'm so sorry I'm just seeing this now, but I'm absolutely thrilled you enjoyed the mod and that it resonated with you so deeply. It means the world to hear that SDA transformed your experience of Skyrim and Serana's character. I truly appreciate you highlighting the new dialogue, the 'drink dates,' the exploration of her past trauma, and the romance. Your kind words and encouragement are a huge motivation. Thanks again for sharing your experience with your audience - it means a lot! 💖
YOU’RE THE GUY
Holy cow - didn't expect to stumble across you here in the comments section but just wanted to say thank you. Started a new save in Skyrim last week on a new computer and have really really enjoyed my time with the mod. Thank you 💚
"I don't like ash, it's routh and iritating. And it gets everywhere !"
Serana - 4E201, during her first visit to Solstheim.
Radiating the Anakin Skywalker vibes.
Dragonborn when rejected by Serana:
"What? This is outrageous! Its not fair!"
She does complain a lot.
what I'm really excited about with this mod is the patch with the Vigilant mod, having serana kill molag ball with the bard dagger is exactly the kind of dramatic irony I'm waiting for, it feel like the logical end to her character arc
That would be cool!
Is that being added at the same time as the legacy of the Dragonborn voice lines
same. I'm also waiting for the patch for Vigilant mod. The whole journey for her character really.
WAIT, WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE HAD A SPECIAL INTERACTION WITH MOLAG BAL IN VIGILANT?!?! YOU'RE TELLING ME I ACCIDENTALLY SKIPPED OVER THAT?!?!
@@weasel003gaming7 don't worry you didn't miss anything I'm talking about the upcoming patch of this mod with the vigilant mod, like I said I so much want serana to beat the shit out of molag bal in the final confrontation and telling me what she think about it it's gonna be great
Serana is really unique in how she almost immediately makes you feel at ease around her. The tone of her voice, her mannerisms - if she were an actual human you'd immediately feel cared for, like you have a partner that is really there to stay through thick and thin.
So you're saying vampires aren't actually humans? Just because they don't have souls doesn't mean they don't...have...souls...
@@EBFilmsManYou in the habit of misreading what can be misread? She's digital, m8, not an actual human. Not a real life person. She does not physically exist.
@@pyramidsinegypt SHE'S REAL TO ME
Serana used a calm spell on us. You can't trust vampires!
I'd drag my balls through a mile of glass to hear Laura Bailey whisper in my ear.
Inigo left and went back to prison after hearing Serana sing.
Not everyone should be an opera singer. When a follower doesn't sing like an angel, i really don't mind. Doesn't that make it I M M E R S I V E?
@@falloutrains2641 tell that to inigo.
Inigo: Gods damnit Tiber! Make her shut the Oblivion up!
My Dragonborn: *laughing* no this is payback for those rumors
eh she's in tune
I am gonna be honest this video is really great and I am glad I found your channel I am really looking forward to the stuff you will do in the future as Subsriber no.2
Thank you so much! I appreciate it.
Best quote "who ever said that you should never cry over slipped milk clearly never slipped milk "
This was definitely a mod I couldn’t live without, it made everything new for me, especially starting the main quest before becoming Dragonborn, I love this mod 😊
There is no "becoming a dragonborn" your character was always a dragonborn from their birth
@@deadsoul7409 That's only your headcanon, the gift of dragon blood can be and has been gifted to mortals in the middle of their lives.
@@LibraritheWizardOfficial what? The only example of the a dragon blood being given during someone's life is saint Alessia, and as stated by Michael kirkbride and other Bethesda writters : "Alessia didn't have the power to absorb dragon souls. Hers was a much more nuanced power: to dream of liberty and give it a name and on her deathbed make Covenant with the Aka-Tusk.”
Alessia was a special case because she wasn't a fighter, her purpose was to lead the humans into freedom and to light the dragon fires.
TLD just like miraak, reman , wulfharth and Tiber septim was a dragonborn from birth.
@@deadsoul7409 Cite your lore reference for all of the above being Dragonborn from birth.
@@LibraritheWizardOfficial the guardian and the traitor, the remanada and the book of the dragonborn, the greybeards themselves refferes to it and finally if you go to durnehviir before the main quest, he still calls you qunarin and tell you that there's something special about you.
It's the legit lore for dragonborns: "born with the blood and soul of a dragon"
WE MUST SAVE MY FAMILY!
Great review, I agree 100%.
WE MUST SAVE MY FAMILY!
Oh hai Steve
@@chriscormac231......
Gary...
I'll be right back
......... gARy........
Recently when I was adventurin with Serana, she said "Hi, Evie", and at first I didn't pay much mind to it since I just figured it as her normal chatter to one of my other companions. But then I remembered that my character's name is Evie and was like "😮"
I like how they added a Hollywood-esque algorithm that makes it so Serana/Zelda actually says "Hey Link."
It's a cool mod and the voice actor does a good job, In my opinion however it screws with my head that it's not Laura Bailey. I've been hearing this woman's voice in video games since I was in junior high between Rayne in ..Well Bloodrayne, Kait from Gears, and several others. That's just me though
I was about to say this.
Props to the MA and VA for the effort, but it can be jarring when you're accustomed to Bailey's voice.
@@Diortelon And then once you're accustomed to the new VA, you'll become frustrated by just how lacking the dialogue is in vanilla, llol
@@LeadMetal82 she's a little too overdramatic, Laura Bailey puts some pain behind her voice especially considering what a shitty situation serana is in
Yup, it makes it unusable to me. I guess I should give it another try.
@@trentdevlaminck9927 I agree. A lot of her lines feel too dramatic and out of character. However, what I'm trying to say is, outside the main questline, Serana is extremely lacking in dialogue department. She has very little to no interaction with any vanilla or DLC questline outside dawnguard, which is the problem with every vanilla and DLC follower NPC in Skyrim.
its just not the same without the og voice actor.
She _nailed_ the performance with Serana.
DRAGONAGE FAN SPOTTED
SERA THE NEVER HEARD
I'm also of the "adventuring party" bent, and prefer the group feeling to solo RPGs. I particularly like using SDA with Inigo, Lucien, Viljia, Auri, and IDF-Lydia (with all of the relevant patches) since most of those followers have various levels of banter with each other, and it really gives me the "Dragon Age: Origins/D&D Party" vibe I prefer. You can do this with some newer follower mods too, like Remial, Xelzaz, and Redcap, I just like the writing for the older followers more personally.
Xelzaz mention, hell yeah
This is an amazing review of the mod. I'd love to see more!
I'm not long into the video, but it's very well made so far! Love videos about the Dawnguard DLC, it honestly felt more like the main quest than the actual main quest
Serana with the dialogue add on + multiple followers + Inigo, Auri, Lucian, Kaiden, Sophia and modded Lydia = best team a Dragonborn can fight with
I want a male argonian follower
@@noahgraff-uw8rs you can in vanilla Skyrim. He's in Darkwater Pass being held by the Falmer. His name is Derkeethus.
@@willhornsby206 cool, thanks
@@noahgraff-uw8rs you're welcome
I'd replace Audi with M'rissi. Same class, more sass.
And her married dialogues are hilarious. Especially her comment on high lock picking
Hope you do some more videos, this was chill and fun to listen to.
I will forever have a soft spot for this mod, it gave me the motivation to do TH-cam but sadly the creative differences were too apparent
I love SDA but I personally prefer Improved Follower Dialogue - Lydia. With that mod, Lydia is my favourite follower in modded Skyrim. While SDA has more content, I personally feel like Lydia is better written. My main problem is how Serana falls head over heels for you immediately while you actually have to prove yourself to Lydia who is a bit skeptical about your feats. While it may seem like her character progresses too fast too, going on a few sidequests and not immediately skipping to the main quests makes her character more interesting. But SDA will always have a place in my heart and my load order which it will nver leave.
The problem with Lydia is that she _never shuts up_ 😅
@@LibraritheWizardOfficial you can adjust how much she talks in the MCM
The falling head over heels can be similarly solved in SDA by doing side content while you're doing Dawnguard, or using one of the several mods that have you do a few radiant quests in between each major quest. If you run through it all at once it'll definitely feel less developed but going around with her through random quests while making conversation slows down the pacing as much as you want to slow it down essentially
@@AsIfItNeverWas tbf, the girl has been socially and physically isolated for a few centuries, and everyone around her is controlling and/or evil. So of course she's going to fall in love easily when the bar for her is underneath the ground and next to the corpses she raises to fight.
*sees cool looking skyrim video, 2 years after not playing anymore, clicks it* *sees serana being even more intriguing and actually very charming and interesting* *sighs* *downloads skyrim again* IT SUCKED OVER 3000HOURS OF MY TIME ALLREADY, AND EVEN AFTER 10 YEARS OF PLAYING IT WILL NEVER LEAVE ME ALONE FOR LONG
"I always wondered why she never had anything to say about this quest in particular in the base game" -- Because Bugthesda could never cook this good, like modders do.
Yeah, I always thought Serana was an extremely underused character. Her character felt incomplete, like there was more to tell after Dawnguard DLC's ending. We never truly saw her overcome her trauma or anything, she just becomes... Another follower.
These kinds of takes are kind of silly imo. Bethesda made this game in 2011, on a budget with a specific time schedule. Bethesda is known for its relaxed and caring work culture aka it doesn’t put the product above the wellbeing of its employees.
More to the point, I think gamers have no clue how games are made. Mods build off of the significant amount of work that was already done. No, using the same engine is not a magical shortcut, you are still building 80-95% of the game from scratch and Skyrim was in fact a total handcrafted endeavor. Mods make things out of free time and with little to know QA or testing concerns, no need to consider platforms and specs, etc. Delusional to pretend mods built over the past decade somehow have more effort or work put into them than the entire base game…
@@loadishstone yeah and its not like theyve been hiring modders to help work on their games
7:43 This song is from 3DNPC's and is just so amazing when the OG bard sings it, ngl, it feels weird to hear serana singing it, but a good bit of continuation if you play with both mods installed
great mod review, and lol that ending was hilarious
The one constant mod across all my modlists. She just feels so... tangible. Like an actual developed character who grows and learns, rather than the normal planks of wood your Skyrim companions are. It helps that she's got a great personality and is easy to get along with. I always play the "good guy", so it's interesting to watch my essentially Paladin interact with a thoughtful Vampire.
Ok, just for adding that bit from Sword Art Abridged, you get a sub XD. That always made me laugh, that one just glitching out " WE MUST SAVE MY FAMILY!!" XD
Her and Inigo together is amazing, love their banter
“Smash next question.”
I kind of soured on Serana in hindsight after I quit playing the original (now "Legendary") edition and didn't so much at touch the Dawnguard on later playthroughs (VR), but I while browsing I eventually got captivated by the Serana Re-Imagined mod, going back again and again to the mod page, staring at the screenshots. Eventually I caved, and since I was going to play Dawnguard, I figured I might as well go all the way and installed a bunch of the top Serana mods, including SDA, and wheeew. She's good. _Real_ good. It's a little ironic how she uses some form of Illusion magic on the Dragonborn during your first meeting (or so the pop-up messages imply, anyway), because she's definitely made a simp out of me. Hoping to do Vigilant one day, too. That'll be a hoot.
We will be watching your career with great interest
I've been playing video games since 2009 and last week was the first time I played Skyrim because I remembered my friend recommending me to play it 10 years ago! The game clicked with me during the 3rd play session and I've been looking up stuff like graphics mods and I'm really amazed at how ignorant I've been all these years in not having played this game sooner. Strategy and simulation were among my favorite genres but this is my first rpg and I love it, and its no surprise since I'm autistic and the internet says that autists love these genres. I also love how this makes me feel, its like I'm a kid again and genuinely happy for discovering something new. And look at this channel, I love this. Skyrim really has one of the best player communities
i honestly never thought about romancing Serana i have always felt her and the Dragonborn have a more, platonic connection
Just watched this video for the third time and I have to say I loved how you presented SDA, I hope we see more of this, Lucien was in the video....... potential candidate for another maybe 🤔 and the ending was hilarious 😂
That ending to the video was very nice
I love this mod! Kerstyn Unger's voice acting is such a great asset to Skyrim modding. There's only one problem with it...
See, I also use IFD Lydia (voiced by Kerstyn), and PC Head Tracking and Voice Type with the made from scratch for the mod Lucina voice pack (voiced by Kerstyn). So, in my game, Kerstyn Unger and her best friend, Kerstyn Unger, are on a quest to stop the vampire menace, and Kerstyn Unger's housecarl, Kerstyn Unger, aids them in this noble task. 😂
This SDA Mod as you like to refer to it, is a must. And you have to add that Khajiit Inigo too along with his patch so both he and Serana have their own little _"chats"_ along the way. Especially when Serana teases Inigo about _"rubbing his belly"._
Though the SDA Mod is not perfect. Especially when you've been to High Hrothgar to get fully acknowledged you are Dragonborn, and then get attacked by Miraak's nutters in Ivarstead, way before you've started the Dawnguard quest.
Serana, out of the blue, suddenly says, _"Hey! Are you alright?"_ _"About what, you think?"_ Then serana goes on, _"I didn't expect to get jumped on like that."_ _"What are you on about girl?"_ _"... And those tacky masks they wore!"_
Then the penny drops. She's referring to the attack on you, before you met her, by Miraak's groupies. Serana will then ask, _"Can I see that note?"_ It's the one taken off the Miraak follower that takes you to Solstheim. The same note you immediately dropped after reading it. But Serana's now holding it in her hand, and reading it. 🤔🤷♂
That aside. I still wouldn't play Skyrim without the SDA Mod. Nor would I play without Inigo. He has a very good story to follow.
Beating a dead horse here:
Not making Serana marriable in skyrim was absolutely stupid.
She’s the only character in the entire game where you actually have a long-term journey together and naturally build a relationship, whereas everyone else can be summed up with “you did one thing for me, lets get married”.
People say that a lot but I think it really gives her some depth and character to actually not want to marry. I feel like it's a bit ridiculous for an immortal vampire to suddenly be into the monogamous institution of marriage, let alone be weirdly obsessed about the player.
But I'm personally not a fan of the Serana mod anyway because it makes are in every single way a different character and kinda degrades her to a virtual girlfriend simulator. Even with all the added dialogue she feels like she has less agency than OG Serana weirdly.
Serena is quite possibly the best character that Bethesda has ever created.
1. Definitely playing this once I get a new PC
2. Absolutely subscribing to your channel because you definitely should make more content in this style. You're really good at it.
Empress Serana of Cyrodiil, wife of the new Dragonborn Emperor
I'm very fond of the original Serana, and I love her old voice, but this really does seem to add layers to her character. Plus, it's nice to hear a fourth song in Skyrim.
This is such a banger video. Love it!. And so glad to see Serana get the same sort of love I try to give her in someone else's game
Hello, i am a follower from french-guiana, nice video !
The narrative dissonance of walking into sad and desolate Soul Cairn and having her confess to you is a bit off though. I'd rather that forced dialogue be moved somewhere after you get out of there, like in her mother's laboratory.
Great video! Would love to see more!
Love this mod, this alone makes me want to replay Skyrim all the time.
This is a fantastic video - I wasn't into the mod because the only clips I'd seen were from later in the mod with the very, ahem, HORNY lines from Serana after the relationship was already built. You instead showed the sweet side of a character justcoming out of her shell and I'm way here for it.
The second I found this mod on Xbox I fell in love, well fell in love again, before I played Dawnguard for the first time about 5 or 6 years ago I basically never touched any of the companions in Skyrim, I preferred just being a solo character that was self reliant, but when I was able to have Serana as a companion, she definitely felt different than say Cosnach, Lydia or Jenassa, she had depth to her as a character that wasn't there with any other companion, she was amazing.
This mod is easily a 100/10, the VA's voice is beautiful and the quality of the voice work is impeccable too, I found a visual overhaul mod for Serana called "Anima Nera - Serkethetyt's Serana Overhaul" that gave her such a good compliment to the mod (In my opinion at least), with a small little detail of having a facial scar that the mod implies is thanks to Molag Bal, giving a hint that what Molag Bal wasn't only mental, but physical.
I wish I saw this video sooner, but TH-cam seems to have given quite a few people this video to see via recommended.
Just rode two hours in super strong wind on a little 250. On the way there I was terrified, doing 80km/hour. I stopped halfway to take a break.
On the way back the biggest thing that helped me was gripping the tank tighter, and just ever so gently resting my hands on the handlebars, so that my body jerking wasn’t translating to the wheels. I even had a less extreme tuck, was way more comfortable, and had a great ride.
Glad you enjoyed your ride, but I think you meant this comment for a different video?
I found this mod when I first started playing Skyrim, and it has been in all of my mod list ever since then, and that was 4yrs ago, yest right after the mod first came out, and I am loving all the additions that the mod author has incorporated into it.
Skyrim came out in 2011, it’s been 13 years, I think it’s time for a new game
Now all we need is a mod about me and my skyrim run will be perfect
I love that you put the dragon age inquisition Sara was never tavern song in the video
This is crazy good and I’m so excited to get to know more about one of my favourite characters of all time. However there is something about this voice actor’s delivery that makes this Serana feel more immature than the Serana I fell in love with.
harkon asking serana if she has the scroll when you can clearly see serana carrying the scroll is such a dick move
I do like this mod, though I'm so used to the original voice actor that Serana sounds like she went from a mature woman to a seductive young woman, which is fine but JUST noticeable.
Now I want a bard that plays Sera's song at my player home.
I also big fan of her but aela the hunterness is my favorite follower nice video hope u make great video's
"There is a platonic route you can take, but I could never bring myself to do it cause I'm a massive SIMP"
Yup, that's me. Great video btw, glad I found your channel ♥
Can't wait for the vigilant update!
The voice actress reminds me of holo from the of Spice and Wolf
Incredible!!
Oh and also he improved follower-Lydia mod!
So she comments on all the faction quests now? Does that also include the entire base main story of Skyrim AND the Dragonborn DLC? Because hearing her observations on Alduin and Miraak would be amazing.
She doesn't go with you when you confront Miraak. Only the Dragonborn uses the Black Book to travel to that realm. Serana stays back to help the Skaal (?) villagers. But she lets you know she's worried about you before you go.
I have yet to play my game with this Serana mod installed but I will soon. Btw for anyone wanting to see better stories in Skyrim, I recommend installing the Vigilant quest mod.
Its a quest mod related to Molag Bal and the Alessian Order, extremely well written and lore friendly. Honestly it puts Bethesda writing to shame. Also Serana SDA next update will give her content related to Vigilant, and knowing how the story in Vigilant goes, anyone who is a Serana fan and uses SDA will definitely enjoy playing through Vigilant with her, I am sure.
I always do vigilant solo. But I always return to my hq (Dwemer house from cc) to start picking up the crew and tell serana I kicked his ass. Everytime I pretend she just goes "I how you hit him where it hurt."
Great job very impactfull mod review
Honestly the best mod ever made for Skyrim :)
i think this mod with the lydia extended dialogue mod and havign mods for more then one follower they will both talk to each other as well as you both are great mods
You should also try these follower mods of Xelzaz, Lucien Flavius, Remiel, Auri, Kaiden, and Taleisin.
You should see the banter some of them get into. Especially Remi and Xel!
SDA banter with inigo and auri is so funny, i hope my favorite follower lucien also can banter with SDA in the future!
He can't? I could have sworn they talked to each other.
SDA literally dragged me back to skyrim
I LOVE this mod! My only recommendation for people who want to try it is to start a fresh game after installing it, and do the Dawnguard quest as soon as it's offered in the game. I missed out on a lot of the new dialog, because I had already at least half completed many of the quests, for example, "House of Horrors". I plan on doing a second playthrough as soon as I complete the first.
I still regret always playing through the DLCs after the main quest when I played Skyrim. I missed out on so much dialogue with Serena because she joined me so late.
Same here. I avoided the Dawnguard DLC until I was way leveled up. I didn't fancy getting turned into a vampire. I redid Dawnguard after installing the mod, but that left out a lot of dialog for already completed quests.
I have to agree in that the house of horrors quest is masterfully directed and becomes an entirely different beast with this mod. I was roleplaying as a paladin, since the game doesn't provide enough avenues to role play properly, I had to make my own fun with a set of self imposed rules. On this one, the paladin was a follower of Miridia, so the rules where. Never to kill an innocent, never work for other deadra, never ignore the undead and hunt them down there where I found them. With all this, when I did this quest with Serana I was trying to find a way to not kill the follower of stendar. I was blocking, parrying, dodging. And during all this I was hearing her screams. I didn't struggle for very long, I made a choice. And as penance I forsake that character from using weapons again.
I'm so happy that this mod uses a real VA and not AI. It feels genuine and emotional.
SDA is a favorite of mine. It's fantastic.
wow, really nice dialogues and voice acting (wasn't AI, right? I think wasn't), no matter if was AI or not, idc but the quality is insane, it's really good. I've started a new file yesterday for the funs, I think I'm going to get this mod before I head to Dawnguard. thanks for the showcase!
4:28 Oooh, that's why the scene before felt so off. I thought I just forgot what she sounded like as it has been like a decade, but nope.
Unfortunately, the change of VA absolutely kills this mod for me.
Not saying Kerstyn didn't do a good job, but that it is physically impossible to listen to it without wishing for the OG voice back. Does the mod at least have a silent version?
The face change for serana in this video makes her look like she wouldn't be out of place on a 50s sitcom or sabrina
This is without a doubt my favorite Skyrim mod.
This mod made my entire last playthrough. I was in the bannard mare getting contracts and Sophia says she's going to get some drinks for herself and you all. And I'm "Oh, neat, they added some new dialogue." And then my jaw goes slack as Serana responds to Sophia BY NAME and makes a snarky remark. They start ribbing each other and INIGO has to break up the fight. And I'm sitting there taking screenshots to send to my buddies as proof of what had just happened.
After that Sophia, Serana, Inigo, and another male modded follower (can't remember his name) had regular chats, and I just couldn't stop myself from smiling cause it felt like traveling with a group of actual people. Unfortunately it made the rest of Skyrim (and poor M'rissi who was also with us.) seem stilted by comparison.
*nods* Most of my characters, regardless of what sort I'm roleplaying, in regards to cooking are at the ~least~ decent at it. And my main DB is a pretty damn good cook. How dare Serana say such a thing.
It’s a really well developed mod, there’s just one problem.
It’s not Serana.
The character has been essentially rewritten down to the personality that it’s almost completed different person. Like someone projected their OC onto her.
I loved a lot of this mod for all the reasons listed, but the breakdown she has near the end of the Dawnguard quest about the spell she cast (being intentionally vague for spoilers) and how it devolves into an "I don't deserve you, I'm a monster!" meltdown felt very... written by a man, tbh. I don't think anyone would blame her for wanting to be extra cautious and protecting herself around the first person she sees in literal centuries when she doesn 't know them or their agenda that well at that point.
I had basically the same experience with this mod and god… let’s just say I love vampires way more now.
"We must save my family!"☝️
I may reinstall Skyrim. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. And please keep on making videos! I like your essayist style
Nice Video. Making the comparison I think the Bethesda side of things never really had good companions. Sure Fallout 4 finally kind of really put them in there, but to be honest the only one I would say was quality would have been Nick as they really flushed him out further with Far Harbor. *I mean I like Curie, but I am a Francophile so sue me. That said I ain't going to pretend there is much depth there or with any of the other vanilla companions
The Lucien mod for Skyrim though is soooo well done, so it's nice to hear of other really good ones like this. Will defiantly have to check it out. I also remember hearing and seeing one for Lydia which was actually supposed to be really well done. **Talking about Fallout 4 though the Heather Casdin mod is one of the best follower mods I have seen as well so if you are looking for Fallout 4 stuff can not recommend highly enough.
The Dragonborn's soul is going to delete Molag Bal from the gian't dream.
I really want a mod about a Male Argonian followed with a really cool storyline
That’s why in my current ultimate SkyrimVR playthrough she’s my ultimate companion, not inigo, not Lydia, but Serana, she really feels like developers wanted for her to be final and only one companion
I am doing my part!
I can’t tell you how sad I was when I finished the dawnguard quests and she became a basic follower again that’s what got me into custom follower mods like lucien, indigo and serana add on
She's the favorite character because she's the only character in TES with a personality.
Well there is something odd with my version of this mod. I downloaded it this year and I did not get the House of Horrors scene.
What a wonderful video! In truth, I almost wish Skyrim was a bit smaller, so this sort of thing could have been the norm in the actual game. I'd take a smaller game, if the world itself felt more involved and the characters were more dynamic.
I can't help but wonder if the Critical Role clip at the beginning is intentional or not, considering Laura Bailey stars on Critical Role and voices Serana
I do really like this mod; however, I'm not the biggest fan of how it causes Serana to start whining about how she wants a drink or she wants a date or she just wants to settle down on a quiet little farm every 15 minutes after you complete all the vanilla quests and all there is left to do is mod DLC.
Great video, informative and hilarius! 🙂😂. I'm currently in a new Skyrim gameplay and I'll be sure to check this mod out 😉
Since seeing the title of this video I was dreading it features Neural Network voices. Glad to be proven wrong.
And I'm glad that somebody did Serana justice. Compared to other companions in vanilla Skyrim (to be after Lydia I stopped trying, but I heard there is at least one fan favorite) Serana was a breath of fresh... dusty, tomb.. air.
Well, DLC made her much more interesting than most of the main story characters combined.
But on my subsequent playthrough I realized how much is she lacking as a regular companion outside the context of seeing her in this DLC for the first time. I grew to despise her just as she despises Skyrim's weather. And caves. Outdoors. Nights, days. After the main storyline ends she goes back to being a soulless husk that is Skyrim companion NPC.
Serana was a great Dawnguard main plot character, but she is only marginally better than your average Skyrim companion character and that fail is on Bethesda. Their games usually don't end when the story ends and they didn't design their companions well enough to be around them all the time.
There is little voiced dialogue and not a lot of companion writing in Baldur's Gate 2 all in all, but the voice talent and direction is so good, their response "barks" become their characterization over the course the game. You hear them over and over again, but you don't grow to despise them, they become part of your long term memory over one or two or several long playthroughs.
If somebody did Serana right, it sounds awesome! Not that I can stand the dullness of Skyrim gameplay anymore.