Smooth Arrow Trails and Fixes

Smooth Arrow Trails & Fixes improves the visual quality and behavior of arrows in Skyrim by intelligently correcting several visual and physical inconsistencies.

In the vanilla game, arrow trails appear instantly upon release, creating an unnatural effect, especially in third-person view or when observing NPCs firing bows. This mod introduces a gradual trail appearance system, making arrow flight smoother and more believable.

In addition, several issues related to projectile collision and initial positioning (notably crossbow bolts) have been corrected to achieve more consistent and accurate results.

◈ Smooth Arrow Trails

This is an SKSE DLL that replaces the game's instant projectile trail effect with a smooth, progressive animation.

It does not modify any projectile meshes, making it fully compatible with mesh, texture replacers and with virtually any projectile added by other mods, without requiring patches. The result is a much smoother and more consistent visual effect, both when the projectile is released and throughout its flight.

◈ Smooth Arrow Fixes

This optional component focuses exclusively on projectile meshes.

It includes a variety of mesh fixes such as corrected collision boxes, properly positioned origin points for accurate impact placement, and other case-by-case improvements, as illustrated in the screenshots.

The fixes cover every arrow from the base game and its DLCs (Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn), as well as projectiles from the official Creation Club content included in the Anniversary Edition, including Rare Curios and Saints & Seducers.

Since this component modifies meshes, it may conflict with other mods that edit the same projectile meshes. Several compatibility patches are available, but users will ultimately need to choose which mesh modifications they prefer.

The two components are completely independent, so you can install either one or both depending on your needs. The DLL is likely to be the most universally useful since it requires no compatibility patches, while the mesh fixes provide more comprehensive improvements at the cost of potential conflicts.

This main file requires Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE64) (any version) and Address Library for SKSE Plugins in order to function.

The optional "Smooth Arrow Fixes" file has no prerequisites.

Also, I do recommend installing Ricochet - Arrow Physics Framework as well to achieve the best possible archery feel and overall experience.

The mod can be installed like any other mod via a mod manager or manually.

Manual Installation :

1. Download the latest version of the mod.

2. Open the archive using 7zip or Winrar.