Conan Exiles Strategy Guide · Cosmo Strategy Guides

01 · The Hyborian Survival Loop

Slave → Survivor → King.

Start as a slave, become a king Begin crucified in the desert; cut down by Conan; survive the Exiled Lands. Build from naked nothing to fortress-king of your own corner of Hyboria.
Survival fundamentals Hunger, thirst, temperature, encumbrance. Manage food and water; dress for biome (cold and hot zones threaten lives); manage carrying weight.
Crafting and progression Knowledge Points spent on Engrams (recipes) for weapons, armor, structures. Progression from primitive (rope, stick, hide) through iron, steel, hardened steel, star metal.
Thralls (captured NPCs as followers) Knock out NPCs with truncheons; drag them to your Wheel of Pain; break them into Thralls. Thralls work crafting stations or fight alongside you in combat.
Base building (the deep system) Tier-based building: Sandstone → Insulated Wood → Reinforced Stone → Black Ice. Tiered durability against weapons and enemies. Massive customization.
Sorcery (added 2022) Dark Hyborian magic system. Summon undead, cast curses, transmute resources. Sorcery has corruption costs and ritualistic mechanics.
Hyborian setting Robert E. Howard’s pre-history fantasy world. Deserts, jungles, mountains, ruins of fallen civilizations, ancient gods, dark magic. Faithful to the Conan source material.

02 · Conan Exiles Enhanced (UE5)

May 5, 2026 free upgrade. The biggest update in 8 years.

Free upgrade for Steam owners Conan Exiles Enhanced launched May 5, 2026 as a free upgrade for Steam owners. Three days before the 8-year anniversary; a celebratory gift.
Unreal Engine 5 (from UE4) Full engine upgrade. Lumen Global Illumination, Nanite Geometry, Virtual Shadow Maps, Improved Terrain. Dramatically improved visuals across environments.
Merged worlds (Exiled Lands + Isle of Siptah) For the first time, the two maps are merged into one continuous world. Travel between them with the same character; multiplayer servers host both maps simultaneously.
Enhanced performance Targets 60+ FPS across Low/Medium/High/Ultra on most PCs. Steam Deck performance optimized. Significant performance improvements over UE4.
NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution, Frame Generation, Reflex NVIDIA tech support added. DLSS for upscaled visuals; Frame Generation for higher framerates on capable systems.
PC Steam only at launch Console and other PC platforms (Epic Store, Microsoft Store) remain on UE4 Legacy version. Console UE5 port "considered" for future.
Save migration supported Existing Steam characters and Exiled Lands bases transfer to Enhanced. Isle of Siptah bases cannot be preserved due to coordinate changes; rebuild after migration.

03 · The Maps

Exiled Lands and Isle of Siptah, now merged.

Exiled Lands (the original) The starting map. 53 km²; 13 biomes from desert south to frozen north; a canyon-crossed center. Houses major Hyborian factions: Black Hand, Khitan, Frost Giant, Lemurians.
Isle of Siptah (expansion) Massive island east of the Exiled Lands. Surge mechanic (random storms summon NPCs); Maelstrom in the center; multi-vault dungeon system. Requires DLC to access.
Merged in Enhanced (May 2026) For the first time, travel directly between maps with the same character. Multiplayer servers host both simultaneously. Major expansion of available play area.
Biomes within Exiled Lands Desert (starting zone), Tundra (cold), Mounds of the Dead (skull-filled hills), Jungle (south), Volcano (deep south), Highlands (mid), Frozen Wastes (north).
Iconic landmarks The Unnamed City (dungeon central), The Black Galleon (pirate ship base), Sepermeru (city-of-thieves), The Black Keep (Lemurian fortress), Mounds of the Dead.
23 Dungeons across both maps Each dungeon has its own boss, loot tables, and lore. Some are gated by religion (Yog, Set, Mitra); others require specific keys or progression.
13 biomes; 24 building sets Massive content variety. Match building sets to biomes for thematic immersion; different building sets have different durability and aesthetics.

04 · Combat & Weapons

Melee, ranged, throwable, sorcery.

Weapon Type	Examples	Style
One-Handed Sword	Star Metal Sword, Predatory Blade, Aquilonian Knight Sword	Balanced melee. Light/heavy combos; mid-range reach.
Two-Handed Sword	Hardened Steel Greatsword, Sword of Crom	High damage; slower swings. Strong against thralls and animals.
Hammer / Mace	Hardened Steel Hammer, Aquilonian Mace	Blunt damage; strong against armor. Anti-thrall and anti-bossing weapon.
Axe	Star Metal Axe, Aquilonian War Axe	High burst; aggressive playstyle.
Spear / Pike	Star Metal Pike, Stygian Pike	Long reach; spacing-favored combat.
Bow	Hardened Steel Bow, Aquilonian Composite Bow	Ranged damage; positioning-dependent.
Throwing Weapons	Throwing Axe, Throwing Knife, Throwing Spear	Pre-engagement ranged attacks; useful for kiting enemies.
Sorcery Spells	Bone Skinwalker, Curse of Yog, Resurrection	Magic abilities. Cost corruption; require staves and tome books.

05 · Thralls & Followers

Captured NPCs as crafters or combatants.

Knock out and capture Use a Truncheon (light) or Falcata Truncheon to knock out humans without killing. Drag them to a Wheel of Pain (binding station).
Break them in the Wheel Thralls take real-time hours to break (faster on bosted servers). Use Gruel, Cooked Pork, or Exquisite Meat for faster break time. Higher-tier food breaks faster.
Crafter Thralls (work at stations) Place broken Thralls at appropriate crafting stations (Smelter, Carpenter, Blacksmith). They modify station output: better weapons, faster production.
Fighter Thralls (combat allies) Place at the Wheel of Pain for combat training. Equip with weapons, armor; they fight alongside you. T4 (purple) fighters are the elite.
Named Thralls Top-tier Thralls with unique names. Crafter Named Thralls produce best-in-slot items. Fighter Named Thralls have higher stats.
Animals as followers Tame baby animals (Rhinoceros, Tigers, Wolves) at Animal Pens. Become loyal mount-or-attack followers. Different from Thralls; complement them.
Follower management Each player can have 1 Thrall + 1 Animal following at the same time. Manage which to use based on encounter type.

06 · Base Building

1,075+ building pieces across 24 building sets.

Tier progression Sandstone (Tier 1) → Insulated Wood (Tier 2) → Reinforced Stone (Tier 3) → Black Ice / Khitan / Aquilonian sets (Tier 3+). Each tier higher durability against raiders.
Building sets per culture Aquilonian, Khitan, Yamatai, Stygian, Lemurian, Argossean, Pictish, Turanian, Vanir, others. Each has unique aesthetics; choose based on RP and biome.
Foundations as territorial claims Building foundations claim land. No other player can build within range; respect server-specific land-claim rules.
Defensive structures Walls, gates, crenellations, dock structures, traps. PvP servers favor highly-fortified bases; PvE servers favor decorative builds.
Decorative pieces Lights, banners, carpets, statues, animals (decorative). Customize aesthetics; some servers run building contests for cosmetic creativity.
Bazaar (cosmetic store) Crom Coins shop. Cosmetic building sets, weapons, and DLC content. Doesn’t affect gameplay balance; purely visual.
Building from storage (Enhanced) Crafting now pulls ingredients from nearby storage containers and follower inventories. Major QoL improvement in Enhanced.

07 · The Sorcery System

Dark Hyborian magic added 2022.

Tome of Kurak required The starting Sorcery tome. Learn the basics: corruption, simple summoning, divination. Found in dungeons or crafted with effort.
Corruption mechanic Sorcery causes Corruption (a debuff on max HP and Stamina). Manage corruption with rest, rituals, or Tower of Bats (cleansing).
Summoning spells Summon undead servants, demons, or animals. Servants help in combat or labor; powerful but require corruption investment.
Transmutation Turn one resource into another via rituals. Useful for late-game material conversion; expensive in dragon-powder.
Curses and debuffs Cast curses on enemies (or other players in PvP). Slow them, weaken their armor, drain their stamina. The PvP utility of Sorcery.
Resurrection rituals Powerful sorcery can resurrect dead allies. Cost corruption and time; reserved for elite players in late-game encounters.
Avatars and Sorcery interactions Some Avatars (god summons) have Sorcery-tied mechanics. Religious progression interacts with magical progression.

08 · Religions & Avatars

Seven gods; one Avatar per Religion.

Combat Gods Aggressive Avatar deities

Set (Stygian serpent god, anti-poison Avatar)
Yog (cannibal god, melee-focused Avatar)
Crom (Cimmerian war god, weapon-focused; no Avatar)

Bring: Patience to grind religious tokens and willingness to commit to one god.
Take: Avatars are massive summoned gods that demolish enemy bases or open dungeons.

Avatars cost massive religious materials and have summoning rituals. Major plays reserved for major events.

Defensive Gods Protective deities

Mitra (light god, healing-focused Avatar)
Ymir (Vanir frost god, frost-Avatar)
Derketo (love/death goddess, charm-Avatar)

Bring: Religious devotion through prayers and altar offerings.
Take: Defensive Avatars protect bases and allies during raids.

Lesser-used than combat gods. Defensive Avatars favor PvE servers and protective roleplay.

Magic Gods Magic-aligned deities

Jhebbal Sag (animal god; commune with beasts)

Bring: Sorcery progression and willingness to engage with magical combat.
Take: Magical Avatars and animal-control mechanics.

Jhebbal Sag is unique; commune-with-beasts gives unique abilities and roleplay depth.

09 · PvP, PvE, Single-Player Modes

Wide range of play styles supported.

PvP servers Full player-vs-player. Raids during scheduled hours (server-specific). Tribe vs tribe combat. The competitive Conan experience.
PvE servers No or limited PvP. Cooperative play; shared exploration; base-building communities. Most casual servers.
PvE-Conflict servers Player damage during combat but bases protected from raids. Middle-ground; popular for those who want PvP without offline-raid risk.
Single-player and co-op Single-player offline; co-op with friends through host. Conan Exiles Enhanced now supports 3 save slots; multiple single-player characters per account.
Private dedicated servers Community-run servers with custom rules and rates. Most-active community plays here; specific server communities are tight-knit.
Modded servers Workshop mods expand mechanics, add structures, custom items. Pippi (admin tools), Better Thralls UI, S+ (Structures Plus). Mods reset compatibility between major updates.
Battle pass (the Bazaar) Cosmetic-only progression. Crom Coins for purchase; doesn’t affect balance. Modern Funcom monetization.

10 · Audio & Settings

Enhanced UE5 settings tune for performance.

Headphones for combat Distant enemy footsteps, drum signals from boss areas, environmental cues. Stereo audio reveals threat positioning.
Master volume around 50–60 percent Conan peaks loud during boss fights and raids. Lower volume preserves headroom for ambient audio.
Field of view 90–100 Standard for open-world survival. Adjustable based on monitor distance and visual preference.
UE5 settings (DLSS, FSR) NVIDIA DLSS, AMD FSR, and Frame Generation supported in Enhanced. Massively raise framerate on capable hardware; lower-end systems may want Low textures.
Mouse sensitivity tuning Mid-range for hybrid action/management combat. Higher than turn-based; lower than competitive FPS.
Performance tuning Conan Exiles Enhanced is GPU-demanding at Ultra. Reduce shadows and foliage in dense biomes; Steam Deck performance has been optimized.
Verify after every patch Funcom ships Age-based content cycles. Five minutes of menu review per Age prevents one bad session with changed defaults.

11 · Pro Tips

Compound habits across the long survival arc.

Start near water Spawn near rivers and oases. Thirst kills new players; water proximity reduces hunger/thirst management.
Capture Thralls early A single T1 Thrall fighter dramatically improves combat survival. Capture before exploring dangerous biomes.
Specialize Thrall placement Crafter Thralls in stations; Fighter Thralls following. Don’t mix; T4 crafters significantly improve gear quality.
Build with future tiers in mind Don’t build a Sandstone base in a final-tier location. Plan for Black Ice / Aquilonian / Khitan upgrades; reserve land for the structure you actually want.
Use the Bazaar carefully Crom Coins are limited per Battle Pass. Spend on items that match your aesthetic preferences; cosmetic-only impact.
Read Age announcements Funcom ships Age-themed content every ~6 months. Each Age changes systems; read patch notes before continuing campaigns.
Take advantage of Enhanced merge Exiled Lands and Isle of Siptah are now one world (Steam). Long-time Exiled Lands players: explore Siptah without losing your main character.