Conan Exiles What to Do Beginner Survival and Progression Guide
Entering the brutal sandbox of the Exiled Lands can be an incredibly overwhelming experience for newcomers unaccustomed to its harsh mechanics. Funcom's survival epic does not hold your hand, forcing you to learn the realities of dehydration, starvation, and hostile fauna from the moment you leave the desert highway. Understanding how to navigate your first few hours is essential if you want to evolve from a naked wanderer into a powerful conqueror.
Securing Your Primal Needs in the Southern Riverbank
Your journey begins in a barren wasteland, but following the immediate broken highway will soon lead you to a lush river valley. This southern region acts as the ideal starting zone because the local wildlife is relatively passive and water is abundant. You should immediately look for loose stones, tree branches, and plant fibers scattered along the ground to craft your first basic tools.
Building a stone pickaxe and a stone axe will allow you to harvest larger quantities of wood and iron chunks efficiently. Additionally, make sure to drink water directly from the river frequently to prevent fatal dehydration while gathering resources. You must also hunt small creatures like shalebacks or rabbits to secure raw meat, which needs to be cooked over a campfire before consumption.
Constructing Your First Foothold and Spawn Point
Once your immediate hunger and thirst are satisfied, you need to establish a secure base of operations to store your growing resource pile. The early building system allows you to craft sandstone foundations, walls, and ceilings using basic stone and wood combinations. Elevating your initial shelter slightly above the riverbank will keep you safe from wandering predators during the night cycles.
A critical step that many beginners overlook is crafting a fiber bedroll and placing it safely inside your new home. Bedrolls serve as temporary respawn points, ensuring that an unexpected death does not send you back to the distant desert highway. You should also construct a wooden chest immediately to safeguard extra building blocks, seeds, and excess crafting ingredients.
Following the Exiles Journey for Rapid Progression
If you find yourself wondering what direction to take next, the game features a built-in guiding mechanic known as the Journey Steps. These milestones act as an organic tutorial system, prompting you to perform essential actions like dodging, eating, and basic crafting. Completing these individual tasks rewards your character with substantial experience points, allowing you to level up much faster than mindless grinding.
As you gain levels, you will earn attribute points and knowledge points that can be spent to unlock advanced technological tiers. Investing points into your survival capabilities will unlock vital blueprints like iron weapons, heavy armor sets, and specialized processing stations. Gradually following these guidelines will organically push your boundaries further north into much more dangerous territory.
Expanding to Processing Stations and the Thrall System
True progression in this brutal landscape relies entirely on automating your resource production through specialized stations. You will need to construct a furnace to smelt raw iron stones into pristine bars, which are required for mid-tier gear. A tannery is equally essential for converting raw animal hides into tough leather strips for structural armor padding.
Eventually, you must build a wheel of pain to engage with the unique thrall mechanics that define the endgame loop. Capturing hostile NPCs and breaking their will allows you to station them at your crafting benches to increase production speeds. These loyal servants can also act as powerful personal bodyguards, protecting your compound from regional threats during exploration runs.