Conan Exiles

Conan Exiles

187 ratings
Bypass Funcom Launcher!
By Xion
The sole purpose of this is to do what Funcom won't do and make the game a viable experience for all who hate launching a launcher from their Steam launcher to then launch their game from the launcher that the Steam launcher launched.
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How to bypass the Funcom Launcher REDUX
Before we start, I would just like to point out that if for some or any reason you are unable to get this to work, ask for help. Just saying it doesn't work is both unhelpful to me and to yourself. Especially if it's clearly working for so many others already. Now, on with the guide.

Who is this guide for?
1. Those who want to skip the Funcom Launcher and jump straight into the game.
2. Those who have issues with the Funcom Launcher whether technical or personal.
3. Those who do NOT want to create a shortcut for the .exe on their desktop. (Which doesn't work in some cases either.)
4. Those who don't want Tencent-mandated telemetry and tracking of personal information in violation of our privacy always running in the background as we play a game that pre-dates them buying a voter's share of Funcom.
5. Insert your own alternative reason here.

Okay, how do I do this then?
Launch Options:
"<PATH TO GAME>\ConanSandbox\Binaries\Win64\ConanSandbox_BE.exe" -BattlEye %command%
or to run without BattlEye:
"<PATH TO GAME>\ConanSandbox\Binaries\Win64\ConanSandbox.exe" %command%

Wait, what? English please?
Okay, from your library RMB (Right Mouse Button) on Conan Exiles.
Select Properties.
Select Installed Files.
Click Browse. This should open a window named "Conan Exiles" with a few folders and files.
Ignore everything in this folder, you want what's in the header at the top of the window. It should read, "This PC > something > SteamLibrary > steamapps > common > Conan Exiles"
Click this header. It will change into the directory path for this folder, and it should already be highlighted for you. Copy this by holding the control key and pressing the C key.
You may now close this window anytime you want.
Return to the Conan Exiles Properties in Steam.
Click General (if already selected, you may skip this step.)
Click in the text entry field denoted as "Launch Options"
Type a quote.
Paste the previously copied directory path to the game's folder by holding the control key and pressing the V key. No, not the P key. Yes, I know, but P is for print instead. We don't need to print anything, I assure you.
Continue the Launch Options with the following if you play on BattlEye protected or official servers:
\ConanSandbox\Binaries\Win64\ConanSandbox_BE.exe" -BattlEye %command%
Or continue the Launch Options with the following if you don't want to run BattlEye:
\ConanSandbox\Binaries\Win64\ConanSandbox.exe" %command%
You are now done. You may close Conan Exiles Properties and any other open windows as you please. No, there is no confirmation or "Okay" button to click.
You may now use the Steam Library to launch the game and the game should run as it did before Funcom shoved Tencent's launcher down our collective throats. The desktop shortcut should do the same as well if it was created by Steam.

Okay, thanks! Looks like there was more in the old version of the guide. What about that?
Yes, these options still work as well. I don't believe order matters, and I haven't bothered testing ordering these additional arguments (Launch Options are also called "arguments" for reasons too off-track for this guide), but IIRC they do not work if placed after %command% for reasons I do not know. These are the additional arguments and their purpose:
-nosplash = That little splash.jpg won't show up.
-BattlEye = BattlEye runtime command. Needed when launching ConanSandbox_BE.exe.
-continuesession = Skips the main menu and goes straight back to the last session you were in whether it be an online server or single-player campaign.
%command% = Needed or Steam won't see the quoted line as a redirect.

Okay, what does yours look like just so I have an example?
I'm shocked to no end that this was so hard for someone, a self-proclaimed developer even, to find, but sure. I'll dedicate an entire section to an example of how I have mine:

"D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Conan Exiles\ConanSandbox\Binaries\Win64\ConanSandbox_BE.exe" -nosplash -BattlEye %command%

There. And please don't ask for a screenshot. It's too long to get it all in the shot.
...
Don't take that the wrong way.

Anything else worth mentioning?
1. Mods will still work and in the same way they did prior to the launcher. There is a dedicated Mods section in the main menu where you can add/remove/sort all your mods.
2. Yes, the quotes are essential, and they have to be plain-text quotes. Not Word-format Yin-Yang style quotes.
3. For faster jumping into the game, you can delete the opening movies or edit the config file to skip them. There are existing guides on this though, so I'll leave you to them.
4. If you change your install directory for the game by either moving the game in Steam or un/reinstalling to another drive, then obviously the directory path redirect used in the Launch Options will be invalid and give you an error on launch. Update the path to fix this.

Original guide as it was on October 18th 2022:
You’ll want to open the Properties of the game from your Steam Library. Go to Local Files and click Browse. From here, just click on the directory header to highlight the raw directory and copy this. Come back to the Properties window for the game in Steam. In the "Launch Options" section start by typing a quote then paste. Next you’ll want to copy this and return to the Launch options to paste:

\ConanSandbox\Binaries\Win64\ConanSandbox_BE.exe" -nosplash -BattlEye -continuesession %command%

-nosplash = That little splash.jpg won't show up.
-BattlEye = BattlEye runtime command. Needed when launching ConanSandbox_BE.exe.
-continuesession = Skips the main menu and goes straight back to the last session you were in whether it be an online server or single-player campaign.
%command% = Needed or Steam won't see the quoted line as a redirect.

As an example, mine is: "D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Conan Exiles\ConanSandbox\Binaries\Win64\ConanSandbox_BE.exe" -nosplash -BattlEye %command%

Here is an example of removing BattlEye: "D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Conan Exiles\ConanSandbox\Binaries\Win64\ConanSandbox.exe" %command%

At the very least the -BattlEye and the ConanSandbox_BE.exe are needed if you want to play on protected/official servers. Unless you wish to play without the DRM/anticheat in which case you can remove the modifier and target ConanSandbox.exe instead. I kept the -nosplash and removed -continuesession so I go to the main menu at launch since I delete the opening movies. You’ll have to change a few things that should be obvious if you prefer to play without BattlEye. You WILL have to change this if you move the game to a different drive. Updates should not remove it though.

EDIT: Mods will be unaffected, and the main menu's Mod organizer will work as it always has before the launcher.

EDIT: Updated with more concise information regarding the Launch Options and their functions.

EDIT: An alternative is that you could create a dedicated desktop shortcut to the aforementioned .exe on your desktop or pin it to your start menu. I prefer to launch games through my Steam notification tray icon or the Library, and otherwise I don't have icons on my desktop. This is for people who do the same in the sense they launch their games from the Steam Library or tray icon.

EDIT: Corrected the quotes. If you see the quotes as Word-format, they will not work. They have to be notepad-format. For simplicity's sake; you want the teeth quotes, not the yinyang quotes.

EDIT: Added info provided in comments regarding the option to play without BattlEye if you would rather not have the DRM/anticheat running in single-player or on servers that disable it as well.
80 Comments
Xion  [author] Jan 31 @ 8:21pm 
Reinstalled to check: _BE.exe version is still there for me, so if it isn't for you I would suggest running Steam file validation if you haven't already.
Ubersoldat Jan 30 @ 10:25am 
last update delete the "_BE" exe. any solution?
Xion  [author] Dec 23, 2024 @ 3:45pm 
Always welcome!
Akeakamai Dec 23, 2024 @ 2:10pm 
Thanks Xion, i did that. It's so much better ngl :D
Xion  [author] Dec 23, 2024 @ 1:54pm 
You can, as mentioned, delete the intro movies. This will not change how long it takes to load the main menu or the game world, but it will get rid of the annoying intro sequence.
Akeakamai Dec 23, 2024 @ 7:39am 
Thank you, now it's a little bit quicker. Next is to get rid of that stupid annoying intro sequence >_<
Tyverus89 Nov 10, 2024 @ 5:00pm 
Absolutely amazing! thanks! I honestly do not know why launchers are a thing, when you click 'Play' on Steam you obviously want to play the game... The seconds saved by launching directly into the game is amazing! You rock!
Xion  [author] Mar 17, 2024 @ 1:27pm 
Thank you kindly.
kevn Mar 16, 2024 @ 8:24pm 
You're the hero Gotham needs but doesn't deserve
Xion  [author] Feb 18, 2024 @ 8:02am 
Hopefully your hair recovers. Thank you kindly!