Conan Exiles is an open-world survival game set in Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age where you're an exile condemned to die in a harsh wasteland. The thrall system — capturing NPCs, breaking them on the Wheel of Pain, and deploying them as fighters, crafters, or dancers — is the defining mechanic. Named thralls with unique stats become powerful companions that rival player characters in combat strength. The Age of Sorcery update added a full magic system with corrupted attributes, summoning, and teleportation. Building ranges from sandstone shacks to massive T3 fortress compounds that must withstand Purge attacks.
Starting Conan Exiles can feel overwhelming. This guide tells you exactly what to focus on during your first hours so you don't waste time on things that don't matter yet.
What Kind of Game Is This?
Conan Exiles is a survival game built around thrall system and building tiers. The core loop involves mastering these systems to progress through increasingly challenging content.
What to expect: Time investment in learning mechanics, experimentation, and gradual mastery. The game rewards patience and knowledge.
Choosing Your First Build
| Build | Beginner Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Melee | Good (but demanding) | Charge in with heavy attacks, stagger enemies with warhammer combos, and use hyper-armor to trade hits favorably. |
| Agility Fighter | Excellent for beginners | Dodge through attacks, counter with fast weapon combos, and maintain distance against heavy hitters. |
| Archer Build | Situational | Kite enemies with bow from range, use special arrows for status effects, and switch to melee for finish. |
| Thrall Commander | Good (but demanding) | Let your thrall tank and deal damage while you support with healing arrows and crowd control. Authority perks make thralls devastatingly powerful. |
| Sorcery Build | Excellent for beginners | Corrupt your attributes for sorcery power, summon undead thralls, use bat transformation for mobility, and cast elemental spells. |
Our recommendation: Start with Agility Fighter. Agility builds use light weapons (Daggers, Katana, Short Sword) with fast combos and dodge-rolling. 20 Agility gives bonus damage and extended dodge i-frames. Medium armor maintains mobility. The playstyle is dodge-based, punishing enemy attacks with fast counter-combos.
Avoid Sorcery Build as your first pick. The Age of Sorcery system lets you corrupt attributes (sacrificing max HP/Stamina for sorcery power).
First Session Step-by-Step
Step 1: Learn thrall system
Knock out NPCs with a Truncheon, drag them to a Wheel of Pain, and break their will with food over time. Broken thralls become deployable followers: Fighters guard your base, Archers shoot from walls, Crafters reduce material costs, and Dancers remove corruption. Named thralls (unique NPCs) have the highest stats. Equip fighter thralls with weapons and armor for devastating combat companions.
This is the foundation. Spend your first 15-30 minutes getting comfortable with how thrall system works before worrying about anything else.
Step 2: Head to Desert
The starting zone with sandstone resources, basic enemies (Imps, Exiles), and the Sinkhole dungeon. Temperature management is important — heat exhaustion requires water and shade. The Desert teaches survival basics with forgiving enemy difficulty.
Clear the main content here before moving on. Everything teaches fundamentals you'll need later.
Step 3: Get Your First Upgrade
Look for Predatory Blade — it's the most accessible early upgrade. A legendary daggers pair that applies bleed and cripple on hit. The stacking bleeds deal massive damage over time. Found in the Unnamed City. Best-in-slot for dagger builds due to the bleed application on every attack.
Step 4: Understand building tiers
Three building material tiers: T1 Sandstone (cheapest, weakest), T2 Stonebrick/Insulated Wood (moderate), T3 Reinforced Stone/Black Ice (strongest). Higher tiers resist more damage from purges and PvP raids. T3 structures require significant resource investment but are essential for endgame base security.
This is the system most new players overlook. Invest time here early — it pays off throughout the entire game.
Step 5: Push to Highlands
A temperate zone with wolves, bears, and human settlements. Contains New Asagarth (best Named thrall farming location) and access to the Unnamed City. The Highlands have balanced resources and moderate difficulty.
Essential Mechanics Explained
thrall system
Knock out NPCs with a Truncheon, drag them to a Wheel of Pain, and break their will with food over time. Broken thralls become deployable followers: Fighters guard your base, Archers shoot from walls, Crafters reduce material costs, and Dancers remove corruption. Named thralls (unique NPCs) have the highest stats. Equip fighter thralls with weapons and armor for devastating combat companions.
building tiers
Three building material tiers: T1 Sandstone (cheapest, weakest), T2 Stonebrick/Insulated Wood (moderate), T3 Reinforced Stone/Black Ice (strongest). Higher tiers resist more damage from purges and PvP raids. T3 structures require significant resource investment but are essential for endgame base security.
religion system
Choose from seven religions (Yog, Set, Mitra, Ymir, Derketo, Jhebbal Sag, Zath), each providing unique craftable items. Religion altars upgrade through tiers, eventually summoning god avatars (massive destructible entities) in PvP. True Names of gods provide powerful consumable buffs.
purge defense
Purges are NPC raid events triggered by accumulating a Purge meter through gameplay activity. Waves of themed enemies attack your base. Purge difficulty scales with base location — northern bases face harder purges. Thrall defenders, walls, and strategic placement protect your base.
attribute respec
Attributes (Strength, Agility, Vitality, Authority, Grit, Expertise, Encumbrance) can be reset with Yellow Lotus Potion (craftable). This allows free experimentation with builds. The corruption mechanic (Age of Sorcery) lets you sacrifice max HP/Stamina for sorcery power.
Common Beginner Mistakes
1. Building a large base in T1/T2 materials on PvP servers — raiders destroy sandstone and stonebrick easily
Save your building effort for T3.
2. Ignoring the thrall system — a well-equipped Named thrall is more powerful than most player builds and makes all PvE content significantly easier
3. Not scouting purge vulnerability — if your base has an exposed wall or undefended section, purge NPCs will path directly to it
Walk around your base and fix gaps.
4. Spreading attribute points too thin — focus on one primary combat stat (Strength or Agility) to 20 for the capstone perk before diversifying
5. Building in the desert permanently — the starting zone has the worst resources and weakest thrall spawns
Relocate to Highlands or Frozen North as soon as your level allows.
First 5 Hours Checklist
- Understand thrall system and building tiers
- Choose Agility Fighter as starting build
- Clear Desert main content
- Acquire Predatory Blade or equivalent upgrade
- Reach Highlands
- Dalinsia Snowhunter (Named Fighter from Mounds of the Dead) is widely considered the best combat thrall. She has the highest HP and damage of any follower. Farm her spawn location repeatedly.
- Build a Wheel of Pain near enemy camps for efficient thrall conversion. Greater Wheel of Pain converts thralls faster and holds more simultaneously.
Tips for New Players
- Dalinsia Snowhunter (Named Fighter from Mounds of the Dead) is widely considered the best combat thrall. She has the highest HP and damage of any follower. Farm her spawn location repeatedly.
- Build a Wheel of Pain near enemy camps for efficient thrall conversion. Greater Wheel of Pain converts thralls faster and holds more simultaneously.
- Journey Steps (the quest log) provide significant XP and guide natural progression. Follow them for efficient leveling rather than grinding enemies.
- Alchemical Base (crafted at the Firebowl Cauldron from gold, silver, and ichor) is the most important crafting ingredient for endgame gear. Stockpile it early.
- Named crafters placed at workstations reduce material costs by up to 50%. A Named Blacksmith at the Improved Armorer's Bench halves all armor crafting costs.
- The Midnight Grove dungeon (Jungle) drops Shadebloom — needed to craft Potent and Lasting consumables. Farm this dungeon regularly for top-tier buff items.
- Maprooms (crafted at high levels) teleport you to any obelisk location instantly. Building a Maproom at your base connected to multiple obelisks is the best fast-travel network.
- Explosive arrows and jars destroy T1/T2 buildings quickly in PvP. Always build in T3 on PvP servers — T2 walls fall to 2-3 explosive jars.
- Horses are the fastest overworld travel. Tame one by placing a Stable near horse spawns (Highlands) and placing a foal inside with food.
- Healing arrows shot at your thralls heal them during combat. Keep a bow with healing arrows as a secondary weapon when running with a fighter thrall.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Conan Exiles still updated?
Yes, Conan Exiles received the Age of Sorcery (2022), Age of War (2023), and Age of Heroes updates. Funcom continues seasonal content with battle passes, new dungeons, and mechanics. The game has a stable playerbase and active official/private server communities.
PvP or PvE server for beginners?
Start on PvE or PvE-Conflict. Full PvP servers allow base raiding which is frustrating for new players. PvE-Conflict allows player combat during set hours but prevents base destruction. Learn the game systems on PvE first.
How does the religion system work?
Choose a starting religion during character creation or learn others from NPC teachers in the world. Each religion provides unique craftable items, armor, and weapons. Upgrading the altar through three tiers unlocks the god avatar summoning (PvP only) which can destroy enemy bases.
Can you play Conan Exiles solo?
Yes, solo play is fully supported with adjustable server settings (harvest rates, XP multiplier, difficulty). Solo players typically increase harvest rates 2-3x to compensate for no teammates. The thrall system is especially important solo since thralls serve as your combat partner.
What to Read Next
- Conan Exiles Builds — Optimize your build once you've learned the basics
- Conan Exiles Walkthrough — Full progression path
- Conan Exiles Tips — Advanced strategies for when you're ready
