Skyrim mod adds new uber-difficult hidden vampire boss fight to the Soul Cairn


The new optional boss in Skyrim's Soul Cairn.
Credit: Bethesda/verikukko123 on Nexus Mods.

Modders have put an awful lot of effort into making sure Skyrim has continually evolved and expanded in the years since it was first released into the world.

Many have focused on changing the game by adding new questlines, tougher bandits, and unique gear to it, with a few even going as far as giving the Dragonborn the chance to heal NPCs without accidentally enraging them or watch one gradually restore a ruined house.

If you’re someone who enjoys searching the game’s incredibly detailed environments for hidden details or have the same thirst for challenging boss battles as those who love Elden Ring, a new mod might be worth taking a look at.

Fancy taking on an incredibly tough vampire boss next time you head to Skyrim’s Soul Cairn?

The mod in question is called ‘Soul Cairn Boss fight. Lord Yorma - Weapon of clan Volkihar’, and is the latest work of modder verikukko123. Some of their previous projects have transformed Skyrim’s Dragon Priests and Solstheim’s Karstaag into incredibly tough foes.

This time, they’ve decided to create a brand new boss of their own design, complete with unique voiced dialogue, to serve as an incredibly difficult optional challenge for those visiting the Soul Cairn as part of the Dawnguard DLC.

As you can see in the showcase video below, this adversary is a powerful vampire named Lord Yorma, who can be found in a small castle added to the realm by the mod and boasts “four different combat styles” to destroy the Dragonborn with.

Bedecked in gearshout’s Vampire Royal Knight Armour, wielding “a mixture of swords and blood/shock/frost magic” and possibly being accompanied by some creatures from the Soul Cairn or lesser vampires, Yorma will present a decent challenge no matter whether you elect to download the level 50 or level 160 versions of him verikukko123 has made available.

“It's not impossible to defeat, I spent a lot of time testing it to make sure that it's beatable on Legendary difficulty without crafting,” says the modder of the latter variant, continuing: “but, of course, it requires a late-game character, (a) good strategy and likely multiple attempts.”

One thing to remember while you’re gearing up ahead of your trip to the domain of the Ideal Masters is that, as a vampire, one weakness of the few weaknesses that Yorma actually possesses is a weakness to fire magic.

Regardless of whether you’re now lobbing fireballs at the brutal boss in the hopes of downing him before he can take half of your health and infect you with Sanguinare Vampiris in a single blow, make sure to follow us for more updates on The Elder Scrolls 6 and the interesting world of Skyrim modding, including our top mods of the month.

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