How to Fix Body Scales Not Working in Skyrim

If you’re an avid Skyrim player, you may have encountered a frustrating issue where body scales aren’t working correctly. Whether it’s due to a mod conflict or a glitch in the game engine itself, broken body scaling can break immersion and disrupt carefully designed character models. Fortunately, there are practical solutions to get your game behaving as it should.

Body scaling affects how your or others’ characters appear in terms of height, width, and proportional design. When body scaling stops working, you might notice default proportions on characters despite using mods, or inability to customize characters properly in the character creation screen. Here’s how to approach and fix this issue seriously and systematically.

Common Causes of Body Scaling Issues

There are several reasons Skyrim might not reflect body scale changes, especially in mod-heavy setups:

• Improper load order of mods
• Conflicting body mesh or skeleton files
• Missing requirements for a body mod
• Issues with RaceMenu, XP32 Skeleton, or HDT physics

Let’s go over detailed steps you can take to properly identify and fix the issue.

1. Check Your Skeleton Installation

Most body mods and scaling systems require a compatible skeleton to handle body transformations. One of the most widely used skeletons is XP32 Maximum Skeleton Special Extended (XPMSSE).

1. Make sure XPMSSE is installed and enabled in your mod manager.
2. It should load after any other skeletal mods or animations packs to ensure compatibility.
3. Use a tool like LOOT (Load Order Optimization Tool) to auto-sort your mod order.

If XPMSSE isn’t installed or properly loaded, body scaling will almost certainly break across the game.

2. Reinstall RaceMenu

RaceMenu is a core mod for visual customization in Skyrim and provides features to adjust body scales. A corrupted or out-of-date version might prevent these features from functioning.

1. Uninstall and reinstall RaceMenu from a reputable source like Nexus Mods.
2. Ensure all its requirements are properly installed, including the SKSE64 (Skyrim Script Extender).

After reinstalling, check in-game if your ability to scale body features has returned.

3. Assess Mod Conflicts

If you’ve recently added new body mods, physics mods (like HDT-SMP), or animation overhauls, they may be interfering with body scaling.

• Temporarily disable new mods and test how the character models behave.
• If the issue resolves, re-enable mods one by one to isolate the conflict.

It’s not uncommon for multiple mods to overwrite essential files like the skeleton.nif or mesh data without warnings.

4. Confirm Body Mod Requirements

Body scaling typically works through specific body mods like CBBE (Caliente’s Beautiful Bodies Enhancer) or UNP. These mods often require particular texture packs, skeletons, or sliders to function properly.

Check the mod description pages for:

• Required file dependencies
• BodySlide and Outfit Studio integration
• Update instructions or compatibility notes

It is vital to build all outfits and bodies in BodySlide after ensuring other components are installed, as this re-generates meshes with proper scaling.

5. Use the Console to Reset Actor Scale

Even without mods, character scaling glitches can occur and persist for specific NPCs. If a particular character is not appearing at the correct size:

1. Open the console by pressing ~.
2. Click on the character to select their ID.
3. Type: setscale 1 to reset them to normal height.

You can use numbers like 1.05 or 0.95 if customizing size for immersion. However, mod-related scaling should usually be handled through proper systems like RaceMenu.

Conclusion

Having body scales not work in Skyrim can be frustrating, but it is usually solvable through logical troubleshooting of your mod setup. By confirming your skeleton file, validating RaceMenu and mod requirements, and addressing mod conflicts, you can typically restore functionality without needing to start a new game. Always remember to keep backups and update mods from trustworthy sources to minimize future problems.

If all else fails, consider using a fresh installation of Skyrim with a clean mod build, as corrupted files or outdated configurations might be beyond repair.