Crafting a set of armor, for instance, requires three separate crafting stations to complete: a tannery, furnace, and armorer’s bench. Complexity is fine as it gives crafting a sense of progression, but there are moments in Conan Exiles where it crosses the line from fine to annoyingly tedious. Basic tools and weapons are easy enough to assemble thanks to plentiful deposits of stone, wood, and plant fiber, but as you level up and unlock more crafting tiers it becomes more and more complex – well beyond what similar games do, to a point that feels unnecessary. “Crafting is essential to surviving in Conan Exiles, and it’s something that will eat up the vast majority of your time early on. These journals aren’t really quests in the traditional sense, but they do help give a sense of direction early, as well as goals to reach on the journey to survive the Exiled Lands. In place of a standard tutorial there is a journal system which prompts you to take on various tasks to get started, such as drinking water, crafting basic tools and weapons, as well as finding signs of civilization. From the moment Conan cuts you from your cross, Conan Exiles leaves you to your own devices.

Player-run servers are an alternative that offer varied experiences, as some of them have crazily increased leveling, abundant resources, or both, but that’s naturally inconsistent so you need to be careful which one you join. Some of these servers are officially run worlds offering a balanced experience – though the 40-player-per-server limit has resulted in all of these basically sitting at max capacity since launch, prompting Funcom to promise more servers in the days and weeks to come.

You can play solo - though it’s rather dull this way - or you and a friend can take on the hardships of the Hyborian Age together either in a tethered co-op mode or playing online in one of Conan Exiles’ various servers. As with many survival games, there is a wealth of different ways to experience the adventure.

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