Conan Exiles Tier List — Current Rankings

This Conan Exiles tier list ranks every major option by overall effectiveness. Rankings factor in damage output, survivability, versatility, gear requirements, and how well each option scales.

Tier definitions: S = best in class, always a strong pick. A = strong and competitive, minor weaknesses. B = solid but clearly outperformed in most situations. C = viable only for players who enjoy the playstyle.

Builds Rankings

Detailed Builds Analysis

Strength Melee (S-Tier)

Strength builds use heavy weapons (Greatswords, Warhammers) with high stagger and damage. 20 Strength with perks gives massive damage bonuses and hyper-armor on heavy attacks. The Greatsword moveset has wide sweeps for clearing groups. Combined with heavy armor, you're a walking tank.

Best with: Dragonbone Greatsword, heavy armor, Vitality for HP, healing items Stat focus: Strength 20, Vitality 20, Grit 10, Authority 10

Agility Fighter (A-Tier)

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.

Best with: Voidforged Daggers, medium armor, Agility-boosting gear Stat focus: Agility 20, Vitality 15, Grit 15, Strength 10

Archer Build (B-Tier)

Archery deals respectable damage at range using various arrow types (poison, gas, explosive). 20 Agility boosts ranged damage. Bows are effective for pulling enemies and softening groups before melee engagement. Less effective as sole damage source but excellent as hybrid support.

Best with: Star Metal Bow, special arrows (poison, explosive), medium armor Stat focus: Agility 20, Encumbrance (arrow weight), Grit 10

Thrall Commander (S-Tier)

Authority builds maximize thrall effectiveness. 20 Authority gives your thrall massive damage and health bonuses plus the ability to command multiple followers. A Named Fighter thrall with Authority buffs can solo most PvE content while you support from safety.

Best with: Named Fighter thrall (Dalinsia Snowhunter, Lian), thrall equipment, healing arrows for thrall Stat focus: Authority 20, Vitality 15, any combat stat 10+

Sorcery Build (A-Tier)

The Age of Sorcery system lets you corrupt attributes (sacrificing max HP/Stamina for sorcery power). Corrupted Strength gives lifesteal, corrupted Authority summons undead minions. Sorcery adds summoning circles, teleportation, lightning storms, and ice bridges.

Best with: Sorcery staff, corrupted attributes, summoning materials, bat form recipe Stat focus: Corrupted Authority (undead army) or Corrupted Strength (lifesteal), Vitality as offset

Equipment Rankings

Equipment Analysis

Blade of the Adventurer: A legendary one-handed sword with excellent damage and bonus Agility. Found in a legendary chest in the Unnamed City. It's one of the best one-handed weapons for Agility builds due to its fast attacks and stat bonus.

Predatory Blade: 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.

Dragonbone Weapons: Crafted from Dragon Bone (farmed from undead dragons in the Unnamed City) and Star Metal. Dragonbone weapons have the highest base damage of craftable weapons. Available in all weapon types. The crafting recipe unlocks from the Feats menu.

Star Metal Weapons: Crafted from Star Metal Ore (harvested from meteorites in the Frozen North). Star Metal is the second-tier crafting material with excellent damage and durability. Meteorites require explosive or demon-fire to crack open.

Voidforged Weapons: Endgame weapons crafted at the Voidforge station using void materials. Voidforged weapons have unique special effects and the highest tier stats. The Voidforge requires completing endgame content to access.

Meta Analysis

The current meta in Conan Exiles centers on thrall system and building tiers. Builds that leverage both systems outperform those that focus on only one.

What's strong right now:

• Strength Melee with Blade of the Adventurer is the benchmark. Everything else is measured against it.
• religion system builds are gaining ground as players find new synergies.
• Archer Build remains essential for learning hard content.

What's underrated:

• Agility Fighter is consistently overlooked despite being the most flexible option.
• Dragonbone Weapons offers excellent performance for its investment level.

What's overhyped:

• Pure Sorcery Build builds. High ceiling but the consistency isn't there for most players.

Quick Picks by Situation

For full build guides, see Conan Exiles builds. For progression help, check the walkthrough.