BASIC - Solo Player Guide/Tips

A basic guide on how to play the game solo style ;)
*Disclaimer - this is not a step by step guide on what to do each time you level. It's a guide to tell you basics and what should your goal be early on in this game.

"Before I start! - What should I know?"

STEP 1 IN PLAYING SOLO!

Get a friend to tag along with to make it easier. lol jk.

DON'T START JUST YET! FINISH THE GUIDE!!!

Conan Exiles is a survival game

Meaning there are elements in the game specifically designed to kill you other than your regular NPCs.

"Solo/Co-op game, PVP Server, PVE Server, or PVE - Conflict?"

Solo/Co-op - It's a game where you can cheat your way to superiority
PVP - You can rekt and get rekt by other people
PVE - Conflict - You can rekt and get rekt by other people only during certain times :)
PVE - Take your time with the game, meet people online who can't rekt you. *Ehem *cough* carebear *cough*

*I chose the PVE server by the way :P

"Race, physical build, skin color, etc.?"

Any - doesn't really matter.
EDIT: If your character is too big, it can get stuck in dungeon sections. Like a space that was meant for you to crouch just to pass through and then you realize your character is too big to actually do it lol. So pick not too tall and not too thicc...

Religion

By default you get to pick 1 religion while building your character, each religion has it's own specialty from items you can craft to the type of titan/monster you can summon.

For a list and more info - click here for the wiki[conanexiles.gamepedia.com]

What you need to know about it is, you can learn the religions from trainers around the map, so its not like the game is forcing you to pick only 1. BUT the trick is, the religion trainers are not grouped in the same area. They are scattered around the map so you might as well pick the religion whose trainer is the farthest and hard to get to.

*I chose Ymir by the way.

What to do after you make your character

When you start the game gather all the materials around you by walking up to them and press 'E' on your keyboard to interact
*Gather only what you need for the list below

Also at the start of the game there is a Sealed Waterskin (water drink pouch thing) next to a journal around the area on a bench (missable)

First items you will need to craft -

Tools

• Stone Hatchet - For chopping trees for wood, NPCs for ...err chunks, animals for meat/hide etc.
  
• Stone Pick - Breaking down big rocks into small rocks. Also if used on some animals, this will yield bone

Weapons

• Stone Sword (Lvl 4) or Two-handed Stone Sword (Lvl 8) I recommend swords because of the swing area (cleave) but some people recommend spears. Either really.

BEDROLL
*Will save you heck of a time.

"Things that I should know or look out for?"

*You might be tempted to pick everything up including common materials. Please don't for now lol.

You can die of thirst or hunger ...or both

NPCs/Creatures don't technically have levels. What they have are varying amounts of HP and Damage Output - Meaning you can fight big monsters Dark Souls style if you want.

Don't log out and leave your character just anywhere. It doesn't get removed from the map when you log out and can still be killed

Rare or slightly hard to find/craft items that I should keep

• Steel items/weapons or bars
  
• Iron items/weapons or bars
  
• Obsidian
  
• Weapons that look good and have a nice name
  
• Some good armor if you don't have any
  
• Yellow lotus (it's a plant flower thing). Gather at least 10 if you find any.

For a list of weapons and their respective stats please see - Link to wiki[conanexiles.gamepedia.com]

SANDSTORMS

* A picture of one of my characters pathetically building shelter in the hopes of refuge from the sandstorm.

Here's what you need to know -

• Sandstorms seem to be a timed event, to be clear it's not like it happens every 15 minutes, it just happens every time you game or want to do something productive (lol).
  
• It basically deals you damage you can't heal until you die or at least until the storm stops and you live.
  
• Look for shelter. The house symbol in the top left side is the shelter symbol. It's a guage that fills up that indicates how much "cover" you have. You don't need to be inside a house to find shelter, it could be a cave or a crevice beside a mountain.
  
• In the face of unlikely survival and imminent death, place a bedroll on the ground so that each time you die you respawn where you died and can get your gear and items. Unless you didn't bring a bedroll...
  
• At level 30 you can craft a Sandstorm Breathing Mask

NOW FOR THE NEXT SECTION!!!

First thing's first - Level up! FAST!

PART 1

Watch this video by Just Horse -

* I do not own the video nor am I affiliated with Just Horse. The reason I placed it in this guide is because I believe this is the fastest way to level up. *Thanks Just Horse!

Explanation

The video itself shows one of the easiest ways to level up fast.
Obviously this has been "balanced" (meaning nerfed) recently however this still gives a decent amount of XP and will still level up your character and familiarize you with the environment however I'm not sure what level exactly it will get you but it should be close to 40.

EDIT: As of June/July 2018 - The devs seemed to nerf a lot of XP gains from various sources including this. I think the highest you can get with purely exploration is closer to level 30 :(
Well it's still free XP so...

Questions

Q1: Why do I need to level up fast?
A1: So you can distribute points to attributes to earn perks faster which will get you better equiped early.

Q2: Can I build a base early on?
A2: I did that - wouldn't recomment it since some "Feats" and other things are level locked. Better that you get to a higher level first.

Q3: How long will this exploration take?
A3: According to the video, it could take 3-4 hours. But of course if you're not familiar with getting around and keep dying a lot this could take you your first day of gaming lol.

Q4: If I die while exploring what will happen?
A4: Your level doesn't reset to zero. Your items drop where you die and you respawn wherever you placed your bedroll/bed or if you didn't have one, you respawn back in the desert :)

Q5: What other benefit does exploring have compared to other ways to level up?
A5: You get to explore the terrain and scout places of resource, find items you can't craft (yet), and familiarize you with the game.

Q6: Do I need to fight every enemy I encounter?
A6: Not really. If you have time, maybe. But you might come accross some stronger opponents (which are NPCs) and you'll die fighting them, but you can just run and they'll only chase you up to a certain point unless they like you a lot.

Q7: What about my gear? :(
A7: I believe fighting humanoid NPCs is better than farming in early levels as you gain access to some gear you otherwise wouldn't be able to craft early. I got a longsword before I hit level 20 and it required a level 30 Feat to craft not to mention some hard to find materials.

Notes

1. Watch the video.
2. Don't play or start. Just read the rest of the guide first before you begin.
3. Grab a pack of snacks and enjoy 'em while you're reading the rest of the guide.

Below is a picture of the lower and mid sections of the map where you'll be doing your pleminary exploring -


And this external link will open an online interactive map of the Conan Exiles world - le map[conanexilesmap.com]
*I did not make this map nor am I affiliated with the site. *Thanks to whover put effort into making this :)

You can use the interactive map to look for locations of resource, points of interest, some NPCs, and other stuff.

PART 2

When you begin the game, there are certain tasks you would need to accomplish in the 'Journey' tab of your game menu -

Explanation

You can see sections divided by chapters.
Each of these small boxes are objectives set before the player. Accomplishing these will reward you with XP which are scaled according to how many objectives you've completed. Meaning these don't give a fixed amount of XP instead the reward is scaled to how many of these goals you've already accomplished.

Doing this + exploration will definitely push you toward a higher level.

Obviously the only parts you can finish in the 'Journey' if you do the exploration stuff is mostly Chapter 1 & 2, then some of 3 & 4. The next parts require some crafting, this is after you have a base.

For a detailed list of each objective per chapter please see this section from the Conan Exiles Wiki[conanexiles.gamepedia.com]

EDIT: As of 2020 -

PART 3 - OTHER METHODS TO LEVEL UP

• Craft a ton of higher tier items like T3 foundations. You'll use them anyway.
  
• Using a T3 smithing thrall to craft Iron Bars into Iron Reinforcements and back to Iron Bars infinitely - Also known as the afk method. Just have stacks of those in your bench and do that.
  
• The fastest known technique is to craft those expensive Explosive Jars. You do need to gather the mats for this and wipe out thrall camps like Mounds of the Dead. But this is the fastest method that helps your level 40 character get to 60. You don't need to use them, just craft them.

Tips, tricks, and whatever

The following items are tips and tricks in random order

• If you want your character to die immediately, hit 'Esc' on your keyboard and in the game menu click 'Remove Bracelet'.
  
• The game loads better overall when installed on an SSD (obviously).
  
• 'Heavy Strikes' (right-click attack) on your opponents causes them to 'cancel' their move. You can use this to your advantage.
  
• You can do a 4-hit heavy strike combo on almost any normal opponent before they get a chance to fight back.
  
• When you see opponents charging up for a heavy attack just roll away or block it with a shield.
  
• When fighting archers, make sure you have them on aggro and hide behind an object. They will run around that object to get a shot at you, in this way you don't have to run towards them to cut them down.
  
• If you exhaust your stamina there is a penalty which is a longer delay before it starts to regen.
• It is generally not a good idea to be surrounded by enemies in combat. Make sure to run further back so that they run in a line and you can fight them at least one at a time.
  
• Having the appropriate thrall in your work benches reduces the materials used to craft items depending on the thrall's tier.
  
• When you're done building your initial base. It is a good idea to stack on materials.
  
• If you're reading guides or the wiki for more info which could take a while and your character is on idle, it is a better idea for you to exit to main menu first. This way your character doesn't get thirsty or hungry.
  
• Always bring a bedroll with you when exploring the map. If you're gonna attempt something crazy far from your base, set up your bedroll in a safe place first.
  
• There's a lot of 'free' food in the world which you don't need to cook.
  
• Gruel (food) doesn't do well to fix hunger, however it does help in regen and is easy to make. In combat, rather than eating cooked meat, better eat the cheap food first.

"I finished the first parts, now what?"

By now you're probably at level 40-50-ish
Congratulations, now to spend points on Feats. I suggest going for building crafts first as you would need to build your base.

Questions!

Q1: Where should I build my base?
A1: Since you're closer to level 60 now, I'd suggest building it closer to the northern regions. To pick a suitable location, think of the distance you'd have to travel to gather certain materials, but prioritize distance to special thralls like T4 blacksmiths and armorers (The closer you are to their spawn camp the better.

Q2: Should I build my base high up or on the ground?
A2: Think about how best to defend your base, you can check videos on Youtube for basic base defense and think from there.

Q3: Thralls?
A3: Sla... I mean underpaid employees. They can help defend your base, craft items, dance for you, etc. "Train" them in a wheel of pain.

Q4: Wait, you said spend my points on Feats for buildings, what about the other Feats!?
A4: This is where your Yellow Lotus gatherings come into play. If you read the first part, I said if you find a yellow lotus plant gather at least 10. This is used to make the Yellow Lotus Potion in a Firebowl Cauldron which will reset your Attribute and Feat points. Don't worry, recipes you've learned by other means won't be reset.

Q5: I played solo offline and have my base and all my gear from admin commands, how do I invite friends so we can enjoy?
A5: You should have played online on a PVE server instead lol.

This guide is open for suggestion/correction

Please put a comment below :)

Thanks to all. Especially the dev team for creating this game.
Thanks to my parents and my GTX 750Ti which plays this game just fine lol. And thank you God.

[MTRamey]

A sandstorm can be survived by dunking under the water of the river. If you run short on air, come up long enough to catch a breath and go under again. You'll only take a little damage while you're up, but then you're safe under the water. Usually two breaths is enough for the storm to pass.

[iceicewater]

@énvy - You're welcome

[blanc]

Thanks..

[iceicewater]

@TJ the HedgeScout - You can connect to it via a link from a web browser or manually entering the IP address.

[TJ the HedgeScout]

is it possible to connect to a server with console commands?

[iceicewater]

@TJ the HedgeScout - Don't take it the wrong way. I embraced my inner carebear on the old mmorpg I was playing, ArcheAge, I never spent real life money in that game but was able to get above average gear through all the carebear farming I did and would have made it further up if I didn't quit.

Anyway, I suggest joining custom servers. It's a lot more fun and sometimes they disable "features" like when you die you still get to keep your items which is nice. You can look for servers online on google and not rely on the in-game list.

[TJ the HedgeScout]

oh.
Well, i ran into some rather "dedicated" PvP players who treat it as an insult rather than a term for PvE players. :(
Black Desert being an example.

[iceicewater]

@TJ the HedgeScout - And how is "carebear" a controversial word? I used to watch the show as a kid and is a common term used in rpgs and mmorpgs to denote players who don't care about pvp.

[TJ the HedgeScout]

(rewrote my comment)
I do not think using "carebear" is a good idea, it just... unfortunately sparks some controversy.
Though regardless, the guide seems pretty good other than that.

[iceicewater]

@freault - I think you need to be at least Level 19, then in 'Feats' it's under 'Primitive Cook'