Faction difficulty order

[Peter Pan]

Hey all,

I'm a new player, and I just started to venture outside of Darfari lands because I am bored of them. One day I attacked a Black Hand camp out of boredom, and wow, the difficulty went up one notch.

I always thought that factions were more or less similar in strength, and their difference was merely a cosmetic one. Turns out they have a difficulty range.

The wiki doesn't have a complete list, and I would like people to tell me the difficulty level of factions from easiest to most difficult.

1. Exiles
2. Darfari
3. Black Hand
4. Dogs of the Desert
5. The Relic Hunters

Heirs of the North?
The Forgotten Tribe?
Frost Giants?
Lemurians?
Votaries of Skelos?

[Malcador, The Sigillite]

1. Exiles
2. Darfari
3. Lemurian
4. Black hand
5. Relic Hunters
6. Dogs of the Desert (mostly cause those damn hyena things)
7. Heirs of the North
8. Forgotten Tribe
9. Frost Giants
10. Votaries of Skelos

A few notes about each.

The individual npcs of the Dogs of the Desert are not much harder (if any) than the Black Hand, but the Hyena things can take quite a bit of punishment and hit fairly hard.

The Relic Hunters for the most part are neutral and don't attack first (except for one group of them; probably a bug)

The Votaries of Skelos are also neutral except for some of the ones at the Well of Skelos and those in the dungeon there.

The power level between the individual nps for 3-6 is not that big of a gap, while it does get noticably harder when you get to the northern ones.

There are a few factions that are not on the list that I would put around 8-10. The Skeletons that are around the Black keep are stronger than the Forgotten tribe, but easier to fight than frost giants because of their size. The Demons that live in various locations around the map (like the unnamed city and various caves) have to much variation in their power levels, depending on their locations and the type of demon they are, to be properly and reliably listed.

[Peter Pan]

As a new player, how should I explore?

Assuming Darfari lands are in the middle, should I go east, then north, then west?

[Malcador, The Sigillite]

I would say west or east (not that big of a deal which one first) before going north. I would stay out of that orange area on the map, thats the unnamed city. But the orange part jutting out of it is just a passage way that has a few creatures that you may just want to run past. They are easier than the WereHyena things.

[Peter Pan]

After playing this game for some time, I can answer my own question by using the wiki:

https://conanexiles.gamepedia.com/Biome

1. River (Level 1 to 20) - Exiles faction
2. Desert (Level 1 to 30) - Darfari, Black Hand, Dogs of the Desert factions
3. Savanna (Level 20 to 40) - Relic Hunters faction
4. Jungle (Level 20 to 40) - Lemurian faction
4. Highlands - Heirs of the North faction
5. Tundra (30 to 50) - The Forgotten Tribe faction
6. Snow (40 to 60) - Frost Giants faction
7. Volcano (40 to 60) - Votaries of Skelos faction