What template do people follow for mod load order, which mods should go near the top and which should go near the bottom.

I am completely new to modding, a few pointers on load order would be nice and how many mods is to much? do i group the same type of mods together? A sticky explaining mod load order would be good.

My view was to put bigger files near the top of the order, i always read the description and put mods where they say, but most dont tell you.

One last thing, i see posts saying removing mods mid game, will eventually screw over your game, these seem like PC players saying this, but console modding is limited and there is no way to clean left over files, it seem like at the moment, console Skyrim modding is hit and miss.

Correct me if i,m wrong, but i cant find a mod to organise my load order.

1. When installing mods if 2 mods conflict the mod that loads last wins. If you want to install a mod that enhances grass AND trees just for the trees and another mod for just the grass then the tree/grass mod would go first followed by the grass mod. If you want an imperial armor and shield mod but you like the imperial shield from another mod then you would load the shield mod 2nd.

2. I like grouping mods together and then trying to load a save game as well as trying to start a new game and see how stable my game is. Then at least I know that a group of mods seems pretty stable. As far as save files are concerned it's always best to keep a save file from before you installed your latest group of mods.

3. I would suggest reading the top couple pages of comments for each mod you want to install and look for problems being reported and load order suggestions.

The only method for consoles seems to be "buy a PC and another copy of the game, run the utility to sort the load order there, copy it over to the console". The sorting has to happen before the game loads, and a mod can only be run after the game loads, so that won't work.

However, if you do have a friend with the same mods on a PC version, ...

This is a very good idea.