Conan Exiles Enhanced: Survival Guide

A guide to Conan Exiles Enhanced for first-time exiles and returning players. It covers the first day, attributes and Knowledge, base building, thralls, religions and sorcery, purges, and the new Legacy of the Giant-Kings content.

Researched September 2026 — current as of Update 2.2.x (Unreal Engine 5.8.2 + Iris networking, Hotfix 2.2.2 on September 24, 2026) and Legacy of the Giant-Kings Part One; Part Two arrives October 6, 2026. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

What "Enhanced" means: On May 5, 2026, Conan Exiles was upgraded in place to Conan Exiles Enhanced, a free Unreal Engine 5 version. It brings better visuals and performance (Funcom targets 60+ FPS on most PCs), a redesigned UI, better Steam Deck play, many quality-of-life changes, and a connected world that links the Exiled Lands and the Isle of Siptah. Update 2.2.0 (September 15, 2026) moved the game to UE 5.8.2 and Epic's Iris networking. Funcom reports that full servers now run with roughly half the lag they had before.

Quick Start

• Pick the right server type. Solo/co-op is the easiest place to learn. On official PvE servers only purges and NPCs threaten you. PvP servers allow raiding. PvE-Conflict allows PvP only during set hours.
• First 10 minutes: loot the corpse tree area, pick up stones, branches and plant fibre, craft a Stone Hatchet and Stone Pick, and head north out of the starting desert.
• Water and shade are life. The starting desert drains water quickly. The Newbie River, north of the start, is relatively safe and gives you water, food and fibre.
• Put early points into Vitality and Strength (or Agility). Survival first, damage second.
• Learn Knowledge (recipes) in order: bedroll, campfire, sandstone foundations and walls, door, Improvised Torch, Waterskin, Firebowl Cauldron, Armorer's Bench, Blacksmith's Bench.
• Build a bedroll or bed early so you respawn near your base, not at the start.
• Always carry a spare weapon and some bandages. Weapons break, and health doesn't regenerate fast early on.
• Get a thrall as soon as you can. Thralls (captured NPC followers and crafters) are the biggest power spike in the game.
• Don't build in the path of NPC camps or near map chokepoints if you're on PvP. On PvE, avoid building on obelisks, dungeon entrances or resource nodes other players need.

Survival Basics

Meter | What drains it | How to manage

Health | Combat, falling, temperature, corruption | Food buffs, bandages, potions

Stamina | Sprinting, attacking, dodging | Grit investment and armour weight

Food | Time, running | Cooked meat, roasted foods, and later feasts

Water | Time, heat | Waterskin, rivers, wells

Temperature | Desert heat, northern snow | Armour warm/cold insulation, shade, fires

Corruption | Sorcery, corrupted zones | Reduces max health. Cleanse with purifying items/rituals

Enhanced change: the Giant-king and Vendhyan armour sets received insulation and damage bonuses in the September 17 hotfix. For example, the Vendhyan Caravan Trader (heavy) set has 3 warm and 3 cold insulation plus 3 strength weapon damage.

Attributes and Leveling

Each level grants attribute points and Knowledge points. The attributes are:

Attribute | Affects | Build

Strength | Heavy weapon damage (axes, maces, great swords) | Str melee

Agility | Agility-scaling weapon and bow damage | Agi melee / archer

Vitality | Max health and healing perks | Everyone

Grit | Stamina and armour-related perks | Tank / survival

Authority | Follower (thrall/pet) damage | Thrall-command builds

Expertise | Carry weight and durability perks | Crafting, gathering

Each attribute unlocks perks at milestone levels, and the milestone perks are strong. Plan builds around hitting the milestones. You can reset attributes with the Yellow Lotus Potion (or similar respec items), so it's fine to try things early.

Beginner build: Vitality high, Strength or Agility for your weapon, Grit to taste, and a few points in Expertise so you're not over-encumbered while gathering.

Base Building Progression

• Sandstone (first building tier): cheap, for starter huts.
• Insulated Wood (Carpenter's Bench): a mid-tier upgrade.
• Hardened Brick (Tier 3): the top building tier, made with Hardened Brick and Steel Reinforcement.
• Culture and faction T3 sets (for example Black Ice-reinforced pieces): Tier 3 alternatives with their own look. Treat them as cosmetic choices at the same tier rather than an upgrade.

Base placement tips:

• Stay near water, iron and brimstone. The riverlands and the Jungle edge are good mid-game spots on the Exiled Lands.
• Check the Enhanced world. The Exiled Lands and the Isle of Siptah are now connected, so resource routes may differ from older guides.
• Build on a raised foundation so purge NPCs can't simply walk in.
• Build the stability tree properly. Pillars and foundations matter, and walls built too high off the ground collapse.

Crafting Stations (priority order)

• Campfire: food, torches.
• Furnace: Iron Bars, then Steel Bars (Iron plus Brimstone). Steelfire comes later for hardened steel.
• Blacksmith's Bench: weapons, tools.
• Armorer's Bench: armour.
• Tannery: leather and hides.
• Carpenter's Bench: insulated wood, shaped wood.
• Firebowl Cauldron, Fluid Press and Alchemist's Bench: Steelfire, oils, potions.
• Wheel of Pain: breaks captured NPCs into thralls.

Thralls

Thralls are NPCs you knock out (use a truncheon), drag back with a binding rope, and break on the Wheel of Pain. There are two main kinds:

• Crafting thralls (Blacksmith, Armorer, Carpenter, Cook, Alchemist, Tanner, Smelter, Taskmaster, Priest, Entertainer). Put them in the matching station. Higher tiers (T1 to T4, and named thralls) unlock better recipes and faster crafting.
• Fighters and Archers. Assign them as followers or place them as guards.

Tips:

• Camps with named thralls (for example the Black Hand pirates, Darfari, Relic Hunters and Cimmerian camps) have a fixed spawn chance for the top tiers. Check the camp's name labels.
• Thralls level up as followers. Feed them good food so they get better stats when they level.
• Authority makes your followers stronger. A thrall-command build lets a single player handle purges.

Religions and Avatars

Seven faiths are open to you: Set, Yog, Mitra, Ymir, Derketo, Crom and Zath. You pick a starting faith at character creation and can learn others later (for example from priest thralls). An eighth, Jhebbal Sag, requires completing a specific dungeon. You can use any combination of the faiths you've learned, which mostly means extra crafting recipes.

God | Theme

Set | Serpent, sacrifice

Mitra | Light, purification

Yog | Cannibalism

Ymir | Frost, war

Crom | No faith recipes; a traditional challenge pick

Derketo | Love and death

Zath | Spiders

Jhebbal Sag | Beasts, the wild hunt

Each faith gives religious recipes and altars. The Greater Altar plus a high-tier priest lets you summon an Avatar in PvP (on servers that allow it). Avatars destroy bases.

Sorcery

Sorcery arrived with the Age of Sorcery update. You unlock spells by finding Tomes/Grimoires and working at a Sorcery table. Many spells cause corruption, which reduces your max health until you cleanse it.

Legacy of the Giant-Kings Part Two (October 6, 2026) adds four new spells: a defensive ward, a Void crowd-control spell, a corruption spell, and a fast-casting buff. You unlock them with materials from the new Rifts and upgrade them with a new tome.

Purges

Purges are NPC raids that target your base once your clan builds up enough purge meter through building and activity.

• Purge strength depends on your biome and structure count. Northern bases get tougher purges.
• Defend with thralls, archers on walls, and a stable inner keep.
• Watch for the purge's final boss wave and save your best thralls and consumables for it.
• Purge thralls can include top-tier named NPCs, so purges are also a way to get good thralls.

Legacy of the Giant-Kings (2026 story arc)

• Part One (live, summer 2026): explore the Cyclopean Halls, a new boss dungeon deep beneath the Unnamed City, guided by the enigmatic Akhamet. It also restored the Legendary Repair system, so battle-worn Legendary weapons and armor can be repaired again. Hotfix 2.0.2 improved boss drop rates for legendary fragments and armor.
• Part Two (October 6, 2026): Rifts appear in existing enemy camps across both maps. Step inside to pick a challenge arena and earn new materials. The Mi-Go also return. Four new spells arrive.
• This is a planned four-part story arc, so more parts are coming.

Enhanced in 2026: What Changed for Returning Players

When | Update | What matters

May 5 | Enhanced launch | Unreal Engine 5, redesigned UI, 60+ FPS target, better Steam Deck play; you can now travel freely between the Exiled Lands and the Isle of Siptah

May | Update 1.1.0 | Hotkeyed quick-stack and transfer into chests without opening them; saddle dyeing; Tavern NPCs spawn on dedicated servers

June | Vendhyan cosmetics | The Splendor of Vendhya Bazaar bundle (building pieces, armor, weapons)

Summer | Legacy of the Giant-Kings Part One | Cyclopean Halls dungeon, Legendary Repair restored

August | Headhunter event | Side with the Khitan bounty hunters or the Dogs of the Desert, hunt sorcerers (or players on PvP) and hand in skulls or bodies for faction rewards, including faction armor, named followers and a legendary weapon per side

September 15 | Update 2.2.0 | Unreal Engine 5.8.2 and Iris networking; new Bazaar bundles (The Living Shadow, Sentinel of the Triumverate, Breaker of Wills, Priestking's Sacristy, Spyrian Trappings)

September 17 and 24 | September hotfixes (the second is 2.2.2) | Crash fixes, a server boot fix and a login-queue fix; insulation and damage bonuses added to Giant-king and Vendhyan armor

October 6 | Legacy of the Giant-Kings Part Two | Rifts, four new spells, the Mi-Go return

Practical takeaways: learn the quick-stack hotkey (it saves a huge amount of time sorting chests), don't scrap damaged Legendary gear now that repair is back, and if you left before 2026, expect the Siptah and Exiled Lands routes to differ from old guides because the maps are connected.

The Exiled Lands' biomes

The Exiled Lands span the Desert (where you start), Savannah, Highlands, Floodlands, Ashlands, the Volcano and the Frozen North. The southern desert is the gentlest; the Frozen North and the Volcano are endgame areas with tougher enemies and purges, and they need proper cold or heat protection. Treat moving north as a progression step, not a sightseeing trip, and check the map before you commit to a base spot.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Staying in the starting desert too long. Head to the river.
• Building a giant base before you have thralls. Get a Blacksmith and Armorer thrall first.
• Ignoring stability and building next to dungeon entrances. On official servers that invites decay and reports.
• Forgetting your bedroll or bed. Respawning at the starting point with no gear is painful.
• Using sorcery constantly without managing corruption. Your health pool shrinks.
• Carrying everything. The encumbrance slowdown gets you killed. Use a donkey/pack animal or chests.
• Leaving a PvP base without doors or walls while offline. The offline raid is the classic loss.

Advanced Tips

• Iris networking makes large bases much less laggy on dedicated servers since 2.2.0. It's worth revisiting server size limits if you host.
• Named thrall farming: check which camps spawn named NPCs, and clear and respawn them to farm.
• Follower damage builds (Authority plus gear like the Giant-king Scout set, which gives +2 follower damage) let a small clan hold big purges.
• Pack animals and pets get stats as they level. Feed them the right food.
• Bazaar items are cosmetic/building (new bundles rotate in from 2.2.0). You don't need to buy anything to be competitive.
• Mods: Enhanced supports a dev kit and the Steam Workshop. The August 2026 modding contest winners are good quality-of-life picks. Server mods must match between client and server.
• Server hosts: Hotfix 2.2.2 fixed a boot crash for servers that still had stale files from before 2.2.0. Clear old files when you upgrade.

FAQ

Is Conan Exiles Enhanced a separate game? No. It's the same Steam app (440900) upgraded for free to Unreal Engine 5 on May 5, 2026.

Can I play solo offline? Yes, single-player works offline, and you can adjust server settings (XP rate, harvest rate, purge settings) in admin options.

Is Isle of Siptah still a separate map? Enhanced links the Exiled Lands and Siptah into a more integrated world, and Legacy of the Giant-Kings content appears in both.

What's the fastest way to get thralls? Craft a truncheon and binding rope, knock out an NPC in a nearby camp, and break them on the Wheel of Pain. Higher-tier thralls come from named camps.

When is Legacy of the Giant-Kings Part Two? October 6, 2026.

Why is my game crashing after 2.2.0? The September 17 hotfix and Hotfix 2.2.2 (September 24) fixed several D3D12 and server crashes. Update and verify your files.

Are the Exiled Lands and Isle of Siptah connected now? Yes. Since the Enhanced launch you can travel freely between them in the same world.

Can I repair Legendary gear? Yes. Legacy of the Giant-Kings Part One restored the Legendary Repair system.

Sources

• Hotfix 2.2.2, Steam, Sep 24 2026
• Community Update – September 2026, Steam
• September Hotfix (armour stat modifiers), Steam, Sep 17 2026
• Update 2.2.0: Engine Upgrade and Iris Networking, Steam, Sep 15 2026
• Legacy of the Giant-Kings Part Two, Steam, Sep 10 2026
• Conan Exiles – Wikipedia
• Steam News API: Conan Exiles announcements (Enhanced launch, 1.1.0, Part One, Headhunter event)
• Steam store page