Conan Exiles is a very unique game that is filled with all kinds of fun and exciting things to explore and fight. I encourage anyone to use this section to help advance your own knowledge.
My first tip is this - It is better to survive as part of a clan than to try and survive solo. The way the clans work is simple - It is a shared pool of resources and safety. Yes, lower leveled exiles can survive on their own but it is much more difficult.
Tip #2 - Always try to have a good source of water in the base or close to it. That means either position your base by a river or a lake. The rivers, lakes and ponds can give you access to unlimited water. It also gives you access to fish and shellfish which is VITAL to being more self sufficient. When you can make fish traps and shellfish traps, make them and get them into the water. Not only do these traps provide food but if you have one or more fluid presses, you can get oil from the fish (best bet is to squeeze the little blue fish, they are called "Unappetizing Fish" and when put into a press it is a 1:1 conversion rate to the best source of fuel for your blacksmith and smelters, Oil, though all fish give oil when squeezed, they give at different conversion rates.) You have - Exotic Fish, Savory Fish and Unappetizing fish that you can catch. The shellfish traps produce Exotic Shellfish (lobsters), Savory Shellfish (Crab) and Unappetizing Shellfish (shrimp). All of these can be cooked and eaten but the Unappetizing Shellfish, when cooked, produced ichor which does have several great uses.
Tip #3 - There are several kinds of thralls and they each do different things: . Bearer Thralls- these are utility thralls, designed to be like a walking chest for transporting things around. They are also combat thralls. So think about giving them a decent weapon and armor. . Fighter and Archer Thralls - Melee and Ranged thralls respectively. Archers are best suited for base defense with good bows and arrows. Fighters I suggest putting them in the best heavy armor you can get with a good weapon and maybe a good shield. All combat thralls do not lose durability on their armor and weapons nor do they suffer from things like corruption, extreme heat or extreme cold but they can die if they are exposed to hazards like lava in the volcano.
Crafter thralls - (Tip # 3 continued) . Alchemists - they work the Firebowl and are in charge of making things like dyes, steelfire, stone consolidant and orbs. . Carpenters - they work the carpenter bench and make things like shaped wood, bows and arrows. They can also work your artisan bench. . Blacksmiths - they work the blacksmith bench and they make your melee weapons, tools and reinforcements. . Armorers - They work the armorer's bench and they make armor. The rub here is the various "races" that you can choose (Dafari, Nordheimer and Stygian are examples of this) and they all make different racial armors. Each armor has it's own temperature protection and can make the more advanced armors as long as you have the parts to make them. . Smelters - They work your furnace to smelt stone and metal into bricks and bars respectively. . Cooks - They work your campfires and stoves. Campfires have no recipes but the can cook meats and gruel for your use. Stoves and Improved Stoves can have recipes that you unlock with feats and depending on what race of cook you are using, you may have access to bonus recipes suited to the biome you can find them in. . Entertainers- They are dancers and they can fight but their biggest ability is their skill in removing corruption and providing a bonus to health regeneration. . Tanners - They work your tannery to produce leather and thick leather. They also produce tar for use in the firebowls. . Herbalists - They work the horticulture bench and if you leave a bucket on the bench your herbalist will produce ranch water which you need for your compost bins and in your planters for crops. . Priests - They work your altars to the various gods. Religion is NOT necessary to survive in the Exiled Lands but it helps.
Tip # 4 - All thralls have 4 tiers of skill - . Tier I - lowest tier and do not expect much from them except a slight increase in production speed and a slight reduction in materials used. (Avoid these unless you can help it) Combat thralls of this tier are the weakest and will die fast in prolonged combat. Bearer thralls of this tier have 10 inventory slots for you to use but they get filled fast. . Tier II- The crafter thralls of this tier are slightly better than the Tier I thralls but not by much. Combat and Bearer thralls of this tier are not ideal because they are still comparably weaker to what you can find but they are effective against some beasts. Bearer thralls of this tier have 15 inventory slots. . Tier III- Crafters of this tier are some of the best and come with recipes unique to them (according to their race). Fighters and Archers- They have good sized health pools and they are good with their weapons( i.e better damage based on the weapons you give them.) Bearer thralls of this tier have 20 inventory slots to use. . Tier IV (aka named thralls)- these are the best you can find (be it from a purge or from an encampment). Crafters have the most amount of recipes unlocked and can make the highest quality of items. Fighters and Archers- these are the best you can find for combat applications (Named thralls and Cimmerian Berserkers are the best fighters hands down.) Both fighters and archers have the highest damage potential and highest health pools. Dancers of this tier grant highest corruption removal and highest regen ability. Priests of this tier can make the highest level religious items (weapons, sacrificial tools and religious garb) plus they can craft the items needed to grant the protection of the deity and can craft the item needed to summon the avatar of the god (NOTE- on official servers and servers that allow you to summon the avatars these items work.)
Tip # 5- Use your head! In this game there are a wide variety of beasts and locales to explore, in each of the biomes (swamp, desert, jungle, tundra and forest) there are a wide variety of beasts to fight and kill. Easiest way to remember what you can kill is best displayed by your weapons. Stone age weapons- Beginner tools and weapons, easiest to repair but their damage is minor. Good for the smaller beginning area creatures but not so much against humanoids. Iron Age weapons- second stage weapons and tools. They have more damage for the weapons and the tools are stronger to gather with. Steel Age weapons and tools- These are tier III weapons and tools and they are great for the beginning area. Good in the newbie desert and in the high desert areas.
Tier IV tools and weapons - This tier is made of three types of metals- Hardened Steel, Obsidian, Black Ice and Star Metal. . Hardened Steel- this is the base level Tier IV metal and it is very strong and capable of dealing good damage. Tools made of this metal are very resilient to durability loss. . Obsidian (NOTE- Composite Obsidian requires a special smelter to make and can ONLY be made in the volcano. Not easy to make and very dangerous to harvest one of the materials required for it (Obsidian mined from the volcano and steel bars which can sometimes be looted from the chests and humans in the volcano or in the Well of Skelos) These are really good tools and weapons but due to the material requirements of the metal, in my mind, are not worth it. . Black Ice - (NOTE - Black ice weapons and tools can only be made at the Frost Temple in the north and it guarded by several Frost Giant guards.) Weapons and tools made from Black Ice are very strong but they are difficult to craft and it is not worth it in my mind. Just because of the risk you take to make the tools and what you need to bring with you to make the weapons and tools. Once they are made, should they need to be repaired you have to bring them back to the Forge where you crafted them. Ultimately not worth the trouble. . Star Metal- The metal for these tools and weapons can be farmed from Meteors in the North. (NOTE- Explosives are required to break the outer shell to harvest the metal inside. Then to smelt it you need black ice and brimstone to get Star metal bars.) Short of being legendary, these are the strongest weapons and tools you can make.(edited)
Tip # 6 - If you have large wells that you can use, put fish traps and shellfish traps into it. This creates fish and shellfish hatcheries in the most inhospitable areas of the world.
Tip # 7- When going for star metal ore you have two options: 1.) Grease Orbs and Demon Fire Orbs (It will work but the process takes longer than the next option as you will need at least two of each orb per meteor you attempt to break). There is option you can follow up on if you want- visit the Mounds of the Dead and go on a killing spree there. EVERYTHING that you pick up there is either hardened steel (mainly armor) and Star Metal weapons if they drop. Alternatively if you find the meteors to break you can do this - 2 ) Explosive arrows : Easy enough to craft and easy enough to use ( 1 - 4 arrows per meteor with an average of 2 arrows to crack the meteors). When harvesting the ore, use your highest level pick or pickaxe to harvest it. (Best results I have seen is the Black Blood Pick but it is legendary and kinda hard to get.)
Tip #8- Horsemanship Horses were added to the game with the release of the Riders of Hyboria DLC. If you don't have the DLC you can still raise foals to horses to ride them. Here are some basic things about horses- 1.) Foals go into the STABLES to raise. Use any kind of plant material you can harvest (berries, plant fiber, Asura's Glory, Hops or Leavening Agent.) 2.) Build the Saddlemaker's Table- This is a new workstation you can build and it will allow you to make saddles for the horses. They require an ARMORER to reduce the cost to make the saddles. 3. ) Horse mounted combat is weird. You can use bows, lances, spears (not javelins), and single handed weapons. You cannot use other two handed weapons on horseback. 4.) When mounted, in order to turn you need to tap the A or D key instead of holding the key down. If you tap the key you guide the turn more carefully and are more precisely. If you hold the key down the turn is much wider and it is harder to get back on course after the turn.
Now a word on base placement areas - When selecting your base placement there are things you need to remember while placing your buildings ( proximity to natural resources, thrall camps and possible ways to be attacked) Proximity to natural resources- the more you build the bigger your footprint on the map. Everything within a certain radius of your buildings will begin to despawn resources like ironstone, stone, wood and plants. So try to find an area that is relatively clear of these so the impact won't be that great on your base. . Thrall camps - These won't despawn but they will make it a problem for building beyond a certain area. If possible build above the camps or a good distance from them (Like about a screen or two away which could be like within a 10 to a 15 second walk away.) . Possible attack spots - Can you be attacked from above?? (if you are on a PVP server) Do you have avenues of advance for the purge to come in?? (server dependent) These two questions will save you lots of trouble. Try to build high enough up where you can't be attacked from above with explosives unless it is with a trebuchet. If you have no viable path that the AI can utilize to march up to your base, the purge will spawn INSIDE your base which will be problematic. Another thing to consider is your travel distance to get more advanced materials like brimstone. The further you are away from this resource is risky. On a PvP server you run the risk of being jumped on the way to or from the sites and it could be painful for you. If you are on a PVE server, you run the risk of being killed by mobs and being unable to retrieve the resources In many cases, you can build near water or build the large wells to place fish traps.
In this game you have several kinds of workstations- You will need to process materials like stone and wood, you will need to cook food, make armor and weapons and things for your continued survival. Let us explore the workstations and how they work - 1.) Furnace - this is where you make things like metal bars, bricks and glass. This is manned by a SMELTER and uses a fuel source to power it (wood, coal or oil. Oil lasts the longest but the others are just as good.). 2.) Carpentry Bench - This is where you make your bows, arrows, elevators and all stations to raise animals (animal pens and stables). This bench is manned by a CARPENTER thrall. 3.) Blacksmith Bench - This is where you make all your weapons (swords, axes, spears etc..) all your tools (picks, hatchets, skinning knives etc.) and the reinforcements to make higher end things just to name a few items. This is manned by a BLACKSMITH thrall. (Different race thralls will unlock different weapons and higher quality weapons.) 4.) Armorer Bench - This is where you make your armor and shields. This bench is manned by an ARMORER (Different race armorers unlock new types of armor or higher grade armor) 5.) Firebowl Cauldron - This is where you make your potions, dyes and other alchemical items. 6.) Wheel of Pain - This is where you train your thralls. A TASKMASTER is needed here 7.) Torturer's Worktable - This is where you make your mid and high tier slave taking items. It is manned by a TASKMASTER 8.) Campfire - This is your most basic cooking station. It is manned by a COOK and uses fuel (wood, coal or oil). 9.) Large Campfire- see Campfire entry 10.) Bonfire - see Campfire entry 11.) Stove - This is the tier 3 cooking station. It comes loaded with some basic recipes (you can find more out in the world.) A COOK mans this workstation and it uses fuel to power it. (wood, coal or oil) 12.) Tannery - This is where you turn hides into leather for your armor, weapons and tools. This uses bark to strip hides into leather or thick leather.(edited) 13.) Fluid Press- This is where you can make some fluids that you can use. Fish (any kind of fish but not the groper, angler fish, dog fish or moray eel) 14.) Grinder- this is where you grind up different kinds of plants for spice or you grind up crystal or stone for salt. 15.) Artisan Bench- This is where you make your quality of life items like signs, vaults, and wells plus decorative pieces. 16.) Altars- In this game there is a number of different deities that can offer different unique things. Every altar is different and manned by a different PRIEST. (NOTE- on some servers the deities have been turned off so you can summon the avatar or ask for their protection. If the server doesn't allow for deities, you can still use the altars for their bonus things. i.e- Altar of Ymir will allow you to make ice (critical for living in the desert areas), Altar of Derketo allows you to make potions that gives you more stamina. ) For a religion choice, it is subjective and no you don't have to take one. If you do take a religion, DO NOT TAKE CROM! His religion has no altar, has no priests and offers you nothing in return.
Now some of the benches have improved versions that allow you to do more advanced things. . Improved Armorer's Bench - This is where you make your epic armor and your advanced shield. . Improved Blacksmith Bench - This is a better version of the blacksmith bench and if it is manned by a good thrall (tier 3 or 4) you can make flawless versions of the weapons you have the feats to make. Tools do not come in a flawless or epic flawless version. . Improved Firebowl- This allows you to make more potions and dyes on top of other alchemical things. If you have a tier 3 or 4 alchemist/witch doctor you can make additional things here. . Improved Furnace- This has a large capacity for smelting. It is best manned by a tier 3 or 4 smelter. . Improved Tannery - Same as the Furnace but for leather.