For better and worse, Conan Exiles is live. And for everyone, who wants to be a survivor, we’ve prepared a list of tips and suggestions.
If you still haven’t decided if you should buy Early Access for Conan Exiles, do yourself a favor and read our early impressions. Basically, you shouldn’t. In the current state, just a few days after the debut on Steam, the game suffers from server problems, bugs are common and many elements are missing. Yes, it’s Early Access and elements will be improved. But there’s no reason for you to pay to become a beta tester.
Before the exile
Your survival starts on a server list. In the current state it’s common that servers disappear. The official ones were put into offline mode because Funcom wasn’t satisfied with the quality delivered by the original provider. But with many open private servers it’s worth taking a while to choose wisely.
I myself learned it the hard way. The server browser is laggy. If you look for a specific name, sometimes it won’t load. If that happens and you are certain about the used wording, just wait for a few minutes and maybe reset the game in the meantime. Check the internet for any clans and groups that are hosting their own server. The more organized are those people, the bigger is the chance you won’t end up with your hero vanishing.
It’s my personal opinion (but shared by some people I had a chance to play with), but the game isn’t good for solo play. Yes, it’s an option, but there are many arguments against it. In the world of Conan Exiles everything wants to kill you. Other people are there to protect you as a member of a group. But survival needs crafting and as we mentioned in our early impressions, it’s full of grind. If none of your friends decided to play, there’s another reason to look for a group organizing on a dedicated server.
Servers are split into PvE and PvP versions, with additional styles of gameplay. Even though playing a safe PvE option seems tempting, remember that the final goal is to summon aspects of gods and to attack other clans. Of course your team might end dead, lying there in a pond of blood, but it’s seems worth the risk.
Being an exile
If the worst case scenario happens and you are joining a random server, don’t spend much time in the character creator. Right now it’s highly probable that when you turn off the game and return next morning, your hero won’t be there. The other fact is that with the first characters you’ll get to know the world. Sometimes you’ll die in the middle of an oasis and a return trip won’t be worth your time. Other times you’ll decide that you don’t like your home, and the memories are bad, and you want to start fresh. Or it will happen for the third time that your server vanishes. I’m not repeating myself again.
When you wake up naked and alone, grab an item that’s lying on the rock nearby. You’ll be able to rehydrate yourself and carry additional water in the future. Follow the rocky road until you reach the first oasis. It’s a good idea to gather some stones and every possible plank on the way. There are a few items you should craft immediately.
It’s good to start with an axe. You’ll chop trees thanks to it and if it comes to a fight, it’s the most basic weapon. The pickaxe is also handy and it makes gathering stone a much faster process (remember about the grind). Don’t think about clothes right now. Your focus should be on the campfire. It needs a lot of planks and some stones, and when it’s ready, additional wood is needed to turn it on (yes, that’s the name of the button in the UI).
Resources
You should pick a place near water, but with both stones and trees easily accessible. The more players come to play with you, the faster you will be able to build something. But don’t start too fast. If you are playing together, other players will be able to use the campfire only when you group in a single clan (use ESC to access that option). It’s important that everyone learns the Apprentice Craftsman recipe (available as early as Level 2) and crafts a Fiber Bedroll. It’s for single use, so each player should place it in a safe place (near the campfire). When anyone dies, they will be resurrected at this bedroll. Remember: it will disappear after that respawn and must be crafted again!
Campfires are used to prepare food. Kill the antelope-like animals, as they won’t attack you. When they are dead, use your weapon to gather additional meat. With further recipes you’ll be able to craft swords and bows, and that will grant you pieces of meat of much better quality. Put them in the campfire after adding some wood (there’s a handy infographic on screen).
When playing with others, it’s required to choose different roles. There are no classes in Conan Exiles, and it’s up to you to specialize your character. I decided to become an architect and build a home for me and my four companions. Some of them went to hunt and others gathered resources that were used at Armorer’s Bench etc. The moment your “base” starts growing is the moment your true journey starts.
Maybe the game itself has many months of development ahead, but I’ll surely check it from time to time. In the future, if possible, we’ll try to share another guide for more advanced adventures.