Conan the Barbarian didn't become a conqueror wandering around aimlessly and relying too much on his luck — or maybe he did a bit, but the point is, it takes hard work to be able to dominate someone else in a cruel world such as his. Conan Exiles gives that opportunity to just about anyone willing to take it but, being a co*cky and over-confident braggart is a surefire way to lose in that life gamble.
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This is because — it turns out — it's not just strength and savagery that lets you excel in this survival game. The more important traits are subtlety, wits, and humility, especially if you're just a newbie recently rescued from crucifixion. We all have to have our humble beginnings, after all; if you're new to this game, what is best in life might be to follow some wise beginner tips before you crush your enemies and see them driven before you.
Updated November 2, 2021, by Sid Natividad:Conan Exiles remains as popular as ever thanks to its general atmosphere and how it manages to recreate Robert Howard's fictional world. Much like the pop culture world that Conan the Barbarian walks in, Conan Exiles' game world is brutal and warrants even more Conan Exiles tips, especially for the year 2021.
After all, it's still one of the most brutal survival games out there where players must not only utilizes careful planning but also experience and guile in order to survive. Thus, it's high time to get another look at an updated Conan Exiles starter guide. Because you don't want to get sand-kicked in the face or enslaved by some of the more experienced players.
15 There's No Tutorial, That's A Feature
You might be wondering where the heck is all the narrated voice explaining what's this or how something works, or even a lengthy text prompt course about how to get started. There's none. This game world is out to get you, especially if you didn't bring along friends.
The developers have opted to put as little details explaining the mechanics and game events as possible. It's up to you to explore and figure out everything. That's part of the experience as a whole so you can imagine what kind of players dominate in Conan Exiles. Just temper your expectations around this fact.
14 Focus On Strength, Endurance, & Vitality
Of course, we just couldn't resist not helping you and leaving you out in the open all cold (or burnt) and stark naked. There are stats in Conan Exiles that's quite traditional for most RPGs. Only a few of them can make your character optimal, however, so it's best not to distribute those points blindly.
Instead, you'll want to focus those hard-earned level-up points on Strength for better combat and carrying capacity, Endurance for longer exploration runs, and Vitality for general toughness. Oh, what's that? You want to be Legolas? You want a bow? Well, tough luck because ranged combat in Conan Exiles is not that great. Crafting arrows can get expensive; you're better off being a caveman swinging that big stick, at least for your first character. Reserve the character experimentations for when you're comfy with the mechanics.
13 Obtain The Experienced Survivalist
With that said, it's recommended to reserve one point for Knowledge at level three. Because at that point in the game, you'll have access to the Experienced Survivalist Recipe. You'll need to unlock that if you want the basic survival capabilities in the game.
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That's because this level-gated perk allows you to craft a campfire and a sealed waterskin. Those two items might not sound much in the grand scheme of things but they actually let you explore much further and much faster. Just keep using those two items you unlocked and you're on your way to having an abundance of basic needs.
12 Don't Venture Too Far North Or West
Conan Exiles usually lets players start out in a deserted area south or southeast of the big game world and while it might seem too brutal, it's actually the easiest area in the game. Because as you go northward, you'll encounter tougher enemies.
What the game doesn't tell you is that there's a designated monster level for every area and this increases as you venture north or somewhere west. So while it's fun to explore around and run from point to point to your heart's content, there are times where you'll have to settle in a cozy spot in the south to grind for levels before you're ready for the challenges up north.
11 Avoid Encounters
Speaking of enemies, Conan Exiles lets you bash their heads in and then humiliate them by tying their incapacitated bodies or corpses with ropes and then dragging them around the dirt. That is if you win. If you lose, well, that treatment goes both ways.
So you'll want the safest way to win encounters: by abstaining from them. It's just that some monsters or enemies are not worth it unless you really need them for their meat or a shiny item. The results of combat in Conan Exiles can be expensive; weapons and armor can break, health drops fast, and corpses can be looted. Do yourself a favor as a beginner and focus on surviving first.
10 Try Single Player First
The beauty in Conan Exiles is that there's plenty of stuff to do in it, even if you're going solo for lack of friends (or if they're better as rivals). Before putting yourself out there in the harsh, cruel wilderness, you'll want to try out the game's single-player first.
This is because the game has a steep learning curve, especially when it comes to combat. Learning the ropes while being able to afford plenty of mistakes will be highly beneficial for your mental health as it's less frustrating and stressful.
9 Check The Server Categories
After checking the meat of the gameplay in single-player, you're more or less ready to venture out in the open. Before doing so, however, you might want to check what kind of server you're joining. There are three main kinds of servers in Conan Exiles.
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They are as follows:
- PvE, which focuses on cooperation against the environment
- PvP which is a free-for-all
- Roleplaying servers, in which the rules of engagement are dependent on the certain fandom being roleplayed.
If you're new, PvE servers might be more friendly for you.
8 Don't Ignore The Exiles Journey
If you're playing with other people, then leveling up fast is the way to go in case you want to start killing or defending yourself as much as possible. One of the fastest ways to do this is to commit to your Journey Steps, which are practically your laundry list of main quests in the game.
They grant big chunks of experience to make leveling a breeze. It's recommended to do your Exiles Journey Steps up to level 30, then find something else to do to increase your level to 60 such as tons of crafting and killing. This will also get you good items. In case you need to level up fast past that, you can return to Journey Steps again.
7 Build A Base
Sure enough, you can't be a ruler if you don't have a kingdom to rule. So, it's best to start with your base as that kingdom, such as it is. A base also has more purpose in Conan Exiles, or even in other survival games, apart from being a safe haven.
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Think of it as your insurance and a place to store all your valuables, because walking around in Conan Exiles carrying all your expensive items is impractical. You'll want to bring only the essentials such as food, a set of armor, and a set of weapons. Everything else is on the base.
6 Don't Build Your Main Base Near The Oasis
When building a base, it might be tempting to establish the earliest semblance of your sovereignty in an area teeming with water, like the Oasis. In PvP maps, you'd best not do this because the whole area is a buffet for griefers and raiders.
The Oasis is the most obvious choice and it's easy to access upon starting the game, so many players build their main bases there. There's simply no hiding your base in that spot and it's also not that defensible compared to mountainside forts, and other areas.
5 Get Some Thralls Once You Have a Base
Once you've made a sizable base, it's time to relegate the busy work such as crafting and forging, to your thralls, which is just a nicer word for slaves. You can catch them by roping down a defeated or maybe even unwilling NPC and "breaking" them by either humiliating them or beating them down to near death.
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Collect enough of them to man your working stations in your main base. This way, you can focus on exploration runs and maybe waging a war against other players. Thralls also speed up the leveling process and give you a surplus of lovely materials.
4 Always Place Fiber Bedrolls
Whether you have a base or not, it's important to consider other forms of insurance in Conan Exiles. It's unrealistic to think that your character won't die, what with the tricky combat and cutthroat player behavior.
Dying is a tedious process as it will reset you back to the starting point, or your base if you're far away. Fiber bedrolls, however, mitigate the damage of dying by letting you respawn there. Placing one in regular exploration intervals ensures you have a nearby respawn point that's also portable.
3 Focus On Collecting Iron And Steel
Stone and leather might feel easy and accessible, especially for armor and weapons, but pretty soon, you'll have to shoot for the stars. Staying in the stone age won't do you any good since the preferred strategy for progression in Conan Exiles is getting as much iron and steel as you can.
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These materials are necessary for the most useful things that you can craft or forge. You can make the best late-game stuff with those metals. There are higher materials than those, but steel and iron strike the perfect balance between attainable and grindy.
Gathering or collecting stuff easily makes up the bulk of non-combat gameplay in Conan Exiles. It's also what you'll be doing for most of the game, even if you have a base and some thralls. So, you'll want to speed up that process.
How do you do that? With metal tools that make gathering and collection faster, of course. Focus on acquiring these tools at the very least:
- Iron Pick
- Skinning Knife
- Hatchet
- Axe (for combat)
1 Don't Get Attached To Anything
In addition to staying realistic with expectations about death in Conan Exiles, treating all your possessions as transient luxuries is the best way to cope before or after losing them. This can happen a lot, especially in PvP or even in some toxic PvE servers.
Do expect players to sneakily raid your bases or some allies to betray you and steal your items. And don't be surprised when a giant deathly nude god lady stomps your base as collateral damage, undoing dozens of hours of your hard work. You can always rebuild.
NEXT: Sea Of Thieves: Pro Tips For Mastering PvP Combat
