My Experience of Conan Exiles

Recently I had been rewatching Game of Thrones with my girlfriend as she hadn’t seen it before. Whilst I was sitting there watching the first few seasons, I got the itch to play a fantasy role-playing game and I had to rack my brain as to which games would scratch this itch. I’d already completed Skyrim numerous times and more ‘linear’ experiences like Dragon Age had never captured my attention in the first few hours.

Then the lightbulb moment hit me; Conan Exiles. I’d played this game sporadically with some school friends some years prior and back then the game suffered from stability issues (perhaps due to play on an Xbox One rather than the Series X I currently play on), and I could never really gel with the daily grind aspect of the PvP element. With that in mind, I roped my brother into downloading the monster 140GB game and our first server we joined was to re-familiarise myself with the mechanics and to introduce my brother into this style of game.  

We picked a PvE exclusive server with accelerated progression and a generally easier combat setting. Throughout this playthrough we progressed around the map; exploring some of the locations I hadn’t been able to reach in my short time playing with my friends. We created a base in the highlands, and I settled on a character build for myself. Our base began as a castle with just a courtyard but as my mind lit up with possibilities of roleplaying elements; I began to build a large wall and other ‘city-like’ features and that’s where our problems began.

At first my brother and I started experiencing ‘rubber-banding’ which is a phenomenon in games whereby your movements are restricted usually by connection to players and/or the server. Visually, your character moves a certain distance but is almost immediately thrown back to their original position. Once we started experiencing this, we discovered that the cause of this bug in Conan was the lack of consistent server refreshes. With no immediate fix available, other than hoping the server owner instigated a server refresh, we decided to abandon this server. 

My hunger for a fantasy RPG experience close to that of Game of Thrones still hadn’t been satiated. My brother and I decided we’d ask our friend Drew to accompany us into an official ‘PvE conflict’ server to ensure we don’t run into the same issues as before. Drew isn’t the most experienced gamer, so we were concerned introducing him to such a large experience. Similarly to our first server, my brother and I set up our base and very quickly I decided to take direct inspiration from Game of Thrones and decided that our base would be of similar stature to that of Casterly Rock and the Lannisters.

After a few days of building Drew had joined us; at this point, we’d build our towers and part of our surrounding city. We’d also captured a few thralls to serve our city. Once the walls had been erected and my quarters had been decorated, the itch was starting to be scratched. Other players on the server began to marvel at the infrastructure we had built; even maintaining a wide berth when approaching our base. As the days went on and the more quests and raids we went on; I started to immerse myself in this world. It was the perfect game for what I wanted it to be; there is lore enough to have a firm standing in medieval fantasy but enough freedom for you to create your own narrative and lore within the world.  

As for gameplay elements; the combat is tricky but once you get a handle on timing your stamina consumption, potion popping and blocking; you’ll be absolutely fine with most encounters. The natural progression from the start points on the ‘Exiled Lands’ map is great, particularly for new players – most of the starting resources are in the south and as you start to progress your knowledge tree; the further north you need to go for your resources. The only immersion-breaking gripes I have with the game are the small visual bugs and the absolutely comically outlandish characters my brother and Drew have created. Besides these minor and honestly forgettable issues; the game fits its purpose perfectly; the combat is good, the graphics are great, and the gameplay loop is engaging and fun.  

Overall, what started as a need to scratch a fantasy RPG itch has blossomed into an unexpected love for a brilliant game that I am still playing nearly 2 months after starting. Our city is still expanding, and we are slowly progressing to the endgame content; looking for all the bosses we can fight. Conan Exiles is absolutely a game I would recommend to anyone interested in the genre but do be prepared for a steep learning curve. I want to emphasise: This is an UNFORGIVING game. Once you find your feet after a couple of hours play, you will be pursuing sorcery or building a massive city like we did. It’s an insanely addicting–yet-rewarding experience that should not be missed by anyone who is a fan of the genre.