You think you’re ready to survive these forsaken lands? You are so wrong. Unless you are a veteran in
Conan Exiles, things will go pretty messy from the first minute you step into the game, but that’s why we are here. In the next half an hour you will learn the basics of surviving and get a few crucial hints that will help you stay alive (or die less).
Character Creation and The Cross
When you join a server you will get to create your character. The entire panel will be showing your future character on a cross, and besides customizing your character you will get to choose the race (for the moment I didn’t see any differences besides the lore behind them) and your God/Religion (this will unlock your first shrine).
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Starting Area
Conan Exiles starting area is almost the same every time you join a server or create a new character. The first things you need to do is look around the starting point for an impaled skeleton (there are a few of them towards the first oasis, but I am talking about the closest one). Near him you will find a water pouch (filled like 30%) that can be refilled later and a message with an audible lore. God bless that stranger that left us that water, as dehydration is the first thing that will kill you.
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Wondering around a little and you will find different ruins of a lost city, some of them with ancient drawings that will uncover the history of these lands, once you interact with them. If you find them near your starting location, ok, but if you miss them, don’t waste too much time looking for them as we have more important things to do like finding some food and a new source of water.
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As we are still talking about the first steps into the game, let’s see the basic buttons to get things started (they are almost the same for every survival game that you played):
- E – interact with objects and gather resources;
- I – Inventory and Character Panel;
- L-Ctrl – Crouch;
- Space – Jump;
- T – Talk;
- P – change perspectives;
- Number Keys – Activate/use the toolbar options;
- Mouse Buttons (L and R) – use the left hand and right hand weapons/shield/tools.
Survival Meters
The most important thing is to understand the meters showed on the left upper corner of your screen. From left to right we have:
- Health (you start with 200 HP, and you will be able to regenerate out of combat, as long as you’re not suffering from starvation or thirst);
- Energy (this is your stamina that gets depleted when running or hitting, so keep an eye on it before starting a fight);
- Thirst (this is pretty simple, drink some water or moisture food to fill it up);
- Hunger (same like thirst, but you will get to cook a variety of items that fill that meter in no time);
- XP (this is your xp bar, or better say your xp circle – survive/craft/kill to level up);
- Weight (that anvil icon will hint how much items you can carry).
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You can increase some of them by assigning points to different stats, as you level up, but we will take a closer look in the Conan Exiles Basic Stats section.
Also note the difference in the screenshot below, where you can see hunger and thirst with a light blue colour. By eating and drinking more, after the meter is full, you will activate a state of “saturation” that will help you last longer before you need to start eating and drinking again. Surviving longer with the same amount of consumables can also be achieved by putting some skill points into the Survival stat.
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First Resources
Unless the server owner changed the survival meters, in the beginning you will have to constant fight against starvation and thirst.
Water. So the first thing to do is search for the river (you will be able to find it by looking at the vegetation, as soon as you see a lot of trees and palms – you are getting closer).
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Don’t run straight towards the river as there are many creatures wandering around, and some of them are agro. And when I say agro, it’s like a mile away agro system. Sometimes I feel like these creatures come for me by the smell , not that I get into their line of sight.
Also don't forget to refill your water pouch (just go into the river, select the pouch and click use)
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Food:- Insects– these are the weakest type of food and you can find them by gathering bushes;
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- Eggs– a decent raw meal, can be found inside nests, along the river. Near the place where nests can be found you will see a lot of small turtles, but don’t be fooled, they aren’t the ones laying those huge eggs. Watch out for a bigger creature that won’t be happy if it finds you stealing them;
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- Meat – killing turtles, rabbits and antelopes will yield raw meat that can be later cooked (by using a fire camp).
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Remember that if you are not cooking your meat over a certain period of time, it will decay and turn into putrid meat.
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Branches. Used to craft different starting tools and items, they can be found all over the place on the ground, or gathered by chopping trees (for this you will need to craft an axe first).
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Stone. Same as with branches, rocks are found on the ground or can be gathered from stone deposits if you have a pickaxe.
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Plant Fibers. These are used to craft the first armors, some advanced fibers and different items such as beds. Basic plants can be gathered by pressing E, but there are some bigger plants that require a tool.
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Conan Exiles Wild AnimalsRabbits. These small passive animals can be found almost everywhere and can be easily killed with just one punch. When butchered with a tool they yeild hide, bones and feral flesh (used to cook shredded roast).
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Babby Turtles. These small turtles can be found along the river coast, they are passive and they can be killed with two punches or one tool hit. When butchered they yield hide, bones and feral flesh (used to cook shredded roast).
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Antelopes. These wild animals are a bit harder to kill because they start running as soon as you hit them. When butchered they yield hide, bones and savoury flesh (used to cook steaks). I heard that they are also dropping an antelope head, but I didn’t get any until now.
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Crocodiles. These creatures are the nightmares of all exiles that didn’t manage to upgrade their weapons/armors in time. They are hard to solo until you get more advanced weapons, so better try to avoid them if possible. If killed, when butchered they yield hide, thick hide, bones and savoury flesh (used to cook steaks).
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Shalebacks. These are the mothers of all those delicious eggs we hunt for in the beginning. They can be killed with the basic weapons. Upon death, when butchered they yield hide, bones and feral fresh (used to cook shredded roast).
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There are a lot more creatures like hyenas, ostriches, rhinos, spiders, golems, etc., but we will talk more about them in a future guide.
Conan Exiles Character Stats- Strength – Increases your melee damage;
- Agility – Increases your defense;
- Vitality – Increases your HP pool. You start with 200 HP and get 12 HP per each point invested;
- Accuracy – Increases your range damage;
- Grit – Determines the amount of stamina. You get 3 stamina points for each point invested;
- Encumbrance – A fancy way to call the weight limit;
- Survival – Decreases the rate of hunger and thirst meter depletion.
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If you want to learn more about the stats, check this post on
reddit, but remember that all is subject to change in an Early Access built.
Basic & Apprentice Crafting
Crafting in Conan Exiles is pretty straightforward, but be aware that you will not have enough points to level anything, so try to stick to a certain type of weapon or be a team-player and distribute the crafting tasks.
Below you will find the details for the first tools/weapons that you can craft (some of them require the recipe to be unlocked – and this will be done by spending the points awarded for levelup.
Stone Pick- No level or recipe required;
- Can be used as a tool or weapon
- Materials required: 5 branches and 5 stones;
- Repairs: This tool can be repaired by using stones, the amount needed depends on the durability loss;
- Gets 3- 4 stones from rock nodes and 1-2 ironstone from iron deposits, per swing.
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Coarse Tunic- No level or recipe required;
- Materials required: 25 plant fibers;
- Repairs: This armor can be repaired by using plant fibers, the amount needed depends on the durability loss;
- Gives armor and poise (resistance to being knock down).
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Coarse Handwraps- No level or recipe required;
- Materials required: 8 plant fibers;
- Repairs: This armor can be repaired by using plant fibers, the amount needed depends on the durability loss;
- Gives armor and poise.
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Coarse Leggings- No level or recipe required;
- Materials required: 18 plant fibers;
- Repairs: This armor can be repaired by using plant fibers, the amount needed depends on the durability loss;
- Gives armor and poise.
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Coarse Footwraps- No level or recipe required;
- Materials required: 8 plant fibers;
- Repairs: This armor can be repaired by using plant fibers, the amount needed depends on the durability loss;
- Gives armor and poise.
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Improvised Torch- No level or recipe required;
- Can be used to bring a little light during the night (it will last for half a night on normal server settings);
- Materials required: 5 branches and 10 plant fibers;
- Repairs: This tool can be repaired by using plant fibers, the amount needed depends on the durability loss;
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Stone Hatchet- Requires 1 knowledge point for unlocking Apprentice Craftsman (so at least lvl 2 character);
- Can be used as a tool or weapon;
- Materials required: 5 branches and 20 stones;
- Repairs: This tool can be repaired by using stones, the amount needed depends on the durability loss;
- Gets 3- 4 wood from chopping trees and 1-2 branches occasionally, per swing.
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Campfire- Requires 1 knowledge point for unlocking Experienced Survivalist (at least lvl 3 character);
- Can be used to cook food and brings a little light into the night when it's running;
- To cook food for yourself you will need wood or bark and meat, and for your slaves food you will need wood or bark, seeds and plant fibers;
- Materials required: 50 branches and 30 stone.
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Twine- Requires 1 knowledge point for unlocking Apprentice Craftsman (so at least lvl 2 character);
- Can be used as a material for more advanced items;
- Materials required: 3 plant fibers.
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Fiber Bedroll- Requires 1 knowledge point for unlocking Apprentice Craftsman (so at least lvl 2 character);
- This is the most important item that starts the “base building” process and it will be used as a respawn point. After you crafted and set it down, be sure to click on it and set it as a spawn point;
- Materials required: 3 twines (9 plant fibers), 2 branches and 6 plant fibers.
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Stone Sword- Requires 1 knowledge point for unlocking Mercenary (at least lvl 3 character);
- Can be used as a weapon;
- Materials required: 5 branches, 20 stones and 10 twine (crafted from plant fibers);
- Repairs: This tool can be repaired by using stones, the amount needed depends on the durability loss;
- Deals 30 health damage.
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Wooden Shield- Requires 1 knowledge point for unlocking Mercenary (at least lvl 3 character);
- Can be used for defense (blocking or reducing damage for incoming hits);
- Materials required: 16 wood and 8 twines (24 plant fibers);
- Repairs: This tool can be repaired by using wood, the amount needed depends on the durability loss.
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Base Building- Requires 1 knowledge point for unlocking Apprentice Stonemason (at least lvl 3 character);
Allows creation of the following items:
- Sandstone Foundation – requires 50 stone and 5 wood;
- Sandstone Wall – requires 25 stone and 3 wood;
- Sandstone Ceiling – requires 30 stone and 3 wood;
- Sandstone Doorway – requires 25 stone and 3 wood;
- Simple Wooden Door – requires 50 wood and 10 twines (30 plant fibers);
- Repair Hammer – requires 40 wood and 10 twines (30 plant fibers).
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NPC Exiles Camps
Besides other people (if you are playing online) you will encounter various NPC Camps, ranging from a few barbarians gathered around a fire to vast ancient cities filled with skeletons and other horrors.
Killing those NPCs will award you with various materials when looting the corpse, and hide, bones and human flesh (used for sacrifices on your shrine) when butchered. Keep an eye on those nasty archers, as they hit pretty hard.
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Conan Exiles Map
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As this game becomes more and more popular, the amount of info we are able to find will increase drastically. For the moment I am using
this map (open it in a new tab and activate the legend from the right upper corner).
I hope you enjoyed our Conan Exiles Beginner Guide, and if you want us to do a follow up for things like Thrall, Religion, Advanced Base Building systems and more, let us know in the comments below.
