Greetings Exiles!
I wanted to take a moment first to show some real appreciation for the Funcom and Inflexion Games teams. Over the past years, many excellent community ideas and player feedback have actually been implemented into the game, and that’s something worth recognizing!
We’ve seen:
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Dyeable Saddles (a long-requested quality-of-life feature)
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The massive Unreal Engine 5 upgrade
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The Living Settlements system that makes bases feel more alive
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The ability to use crafting thralls in combat and change their clothing/outfits
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The entire Age of Sorcery system
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Hassle-free travel between the Exiled Lands and the Isle of Siptah
These are all fantastic examples of the developers listening to the community. It proves that player suggestions can and do make a real impact on Conan Exiles. That’s why I believe it’s worth continuing to share and support fresh ideas, because the team is clearly paying attention.
These are my personal suggestions and opinions on ways we could expand existing systems in Conan Exiles to improve the overall gameplay experience.
My goal with these ideas is simple: give players more meaningful things to do, more progression to work toward, and greater variety in where and how we build. Whether it’s new building options, deeper thrall management, or expanded crafting systems, I believe the game benefits when players have more tools and choices to create their own unique experience in the Exiled Lands.
Important note: Anything I suggest regarding the Living Settlements system (or immersive thrall management) is meant to be completely optional. These should be server settings that admins can enable or adjust, not something forced on every server. This would allow roleplay and survival-focused clans to enjoy a deeper, more realistic clan management system while letting other players keep the current gameplay style. For those who enjoy it, it would give them constant goals and things to work on, making their settlements feel truly alive. It would be cool if Funcom could add 1 or 2 servers with the Living Settlement options/improvements if they add them. Again, just my take.
Critical Official Server Issues & Proposed Solutions
As a PvP player on official servers, the biggest barriers right now are severe instability, constant rubberbanding, disconnects, freezing, and lag spikes. If players can’t reliably log in and play, then new features don’t matter much.
Funcom’s own base size rules are also rarely enforced. Some kingdoms have grown massively oversized, far bigger than “The Fortress” that was removed, and these mega-bases are very likely making lag much worse.
Long-term Technical Proposal:
Funcom should consider operating its own dedicated servers for better control. More importantly, the current monolithic server model (one server trying to handle everything) is no longer sufficient.
Architecture Proposal: Dynamic Micro-Gridding for Conan Exiles Enhanced
Executive Summary
Conan Exiles currently relies on a single server handling the entire map, all 272 grid sections, thousands of AI, physics, massive player bases, and global systems. This creates major bottlenecks. The proposed Dynamic Micro-Gridding system would keep a baseline number of servers always active, then automatically spin up additional micro-nodes in high-activity areas. By splitting the world spatially and offloading non-critical systems, the game could support significantly more players with much less lag.
Current System Bottlenecks
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Tick-Rate Collapse: When a server has 40+ players [Can’t even support 15 well, let alone 40], the internal tick rate drops from a target of ~30Hz down to single digits. The server can’t keep up, causing heavy rubberbanding (the server forces your character back to where it thinks you should be).
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The Building Tax: Every single foundation, wall, and torch must be constantly tracked and sent to clients. Walking near a mega-base can choke the server.
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The “Dumb” AI Phenomenon: When overloaded, AI (thralls and monsters) loses priority. They freeze, teleport, or stop reacting properly.
How Dynamic Micro-Gridding Would Work
The Exiled Lands’ 272 grid sections would be dynamically divided among multiple servers instead of one giant server handling everything.
Example Division:
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Server 1: South & Desert (starting zones, river areas)
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Server 2: Swamp & East (jungle, piracy zones)
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Server 3: Highlands & Center (cities, heavy building areas)
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Server 4: Frozen North & Volcano (high-end content)
Additional dedicated backend servers would handle:
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Master State Server (time of day, weather, Purge, global timers)
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Database & Persistence Server (buildings, inventories, clans)
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Communication Server (chat and voice)
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Routing Server (player handoffs)
Seamless Movement: The Invisible Handshake
Transitioning between server nodes would feel completely smooth:
Phase 1: Border Overlap Zone
Every boundary has a 50 - 100 meter overlap zone active on both neighboring servers at the same time. When you enter this zone, the next server (Node B) immediately loads your character data, inventory, armor, and active thralls into memory.
Phase 2: Dual-Streaming
While in the overlap zone, your game receives data from both servers simultaneously. You can see monsters and players on the other side in real time. Arrows or spells fired across the border would hand off physics data instantly.
Phase 3: The Proxy Handoff
You stay connected to a Global Routing Proxy at all times. The moment you cross the center line, the proxy switches your connection from Node A to Node B in less than 15 milliseconds. To the player, it feels like you simply walked past a tree, no loading screen, no hitch.
This kind of Dynamic Micro-Gridding has been successfully discussed and partially implemented in other modern MMOs and could solve many of Conan Exiles’ long-standing official server problems.
A Serious Warning About Official Server Health
I don’t claim to know exactly how Funcom’s current server architecture works behind the scenes, but it’s becoming very clear that one server trying to handle everything is starting to crack under the weight of the game’s growth.
Years ago, many players (including myself) were saying the game desperately needed an engine upgrade. That eventually happened with the move to Unreal Engine 5, which was a big step forward. However, the core problem of a single monolithic server handling the entire map, thousands of building pieces, AI, physics, and global systems is still pushing the limits.
Even if Funcom doesn’t implement something like the Dynamic Micro-Gridding system I described above, something needs to change. The current level of rubberbanding, disconnects, and lag on official servers is driving players away.
If people can’t reliably log in and play, we’re going to lose the online community. Official servers will slowly die out, and even the dedicated players who try to stay will eventually leave because there’s no one left to fight, trade, or interact with. A healthy population is essential for the multiplayer experience that makes Conan Exiles special.
This isn’t just about adding new features anymore; it’s about making sure the game stays playable on official servers.
Food, Water & Rest Management (Primary Needs System)
Thralls would need regular food and water to stay productive. If not manually fed, they could automatically walk to nearby wells or fountains to drink on their own. Neglecting their needs for too long (for example, two in-game days) could result in reduced performance, sickness, or even death on hardcore/optional server settings. This would add meaningful management without being mandatory on normal servers.
Currently, the Rest, Thirst, and Hunger needs exist in the game but are largely cosmetic; thralls emote as if they’re eating or drinking, but there are almost no real consequences or benefits. This makes the system feel pointless. I believe these three primary needs should have an actual impact to make the Living Settlements system feel deep and rewarding.
How the Primary Needs Would Work:
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Rest: If a thrall doesn’t get enough sleep, they become exhausted. They would move more slowly, stagger periodically, and show visual emotes like yawning or rubbing their eyes. If left without rest for too long, they could pass out, requiring other thralls (such as Medical Thralls) to carry them to a bed. In extreme cases, prolonged exhaustion could lead to death.
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Thirst: Dehydrated thralls would have signs of confusion and weakness. They might hallucinate, move erratically, or cower. Visual emotes (pretending to drink, licking lips, etc.) would warn the player. Severe dehydration could cause them to pass out or eventually die from thirst.
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Hunger Hungry thralls would clutch their stomachs, move more slowly, and stop regenerating health. Emotes like holding their belly or looking weak would signal the problem. If ignored, they could pass out from starvation or die.
Emotes as Visual Warnings
Thralls would use clear, real-time emotes to show their condition (yawning, clutching stomach, looking confused, etc.). This would act as an intuitive warning system, making it easier and more immersive to manage your settlement.
Positive & Negative Effects
Positive Effects (Well-Cared Thralls):
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Crafting Speed Boost — Up to +10% faster crafting (stacks with workstation and thrall bonuses).
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Peak Fitness — Small combat bonuses (increased damage, faster attack speed, or reduced stamina drain).
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Durability Bonus — Items crafted by well-rested and fed thralls gain +10% durability.
Negative Effects (Neglected Thralls):
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Reduced Crafting Speed — Significantly slower production.
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Combat Weakness — Lower damage output and slower attack speed.
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Item Quality Penalty — Crafted items have reduced durability.
This system would make caring for your thralls feel meaningful and impactful. Players who enjoy deep settlement management and roleplay would have constant tasks to keep their workforce happy and efficient. While those who don’t want the extra responsibility can leave the optional server setting turned off.
Economy Expansion & Settlement Life
To make settlements feel truly alive and self-sustaining, I’d love to see an Economy System added as part of the optional Living Settlements settings.
Living Wage System
Thralls could earn a small daily wage automatically withdrawn from the Treasure Coffer. With this money, they would:
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Buy food and drinks at the tavern.
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Occasionally request better equipment or clothing from blacksmiths and armorers.
This creates a wonderful economic loop — thralls earn money, spend it back into the settlement, and stay motivated. It makes your settlement feel like a real community rather than just a production factory.
Treasure Coffer
The Treasure Coffer would evolve from a simple storage chest into the financial heart of your settlement. It would handle wage distribution, track profits from tavern visitors, and allow players to set wage rates or bonuses for high-performing thralls.
Tavern Economy
Visitors (NPCs or other players on PvE servers) visiting your tavern would spend silver and gold, generating profit for the settlement. The more welcoming and well-stocked your tavern is, the more visitors it will attract.
New Tavern Storage
Add special storage containers (similar to Thrall Pots) that can be placed near the Barkeep Station. These would significantly slow the decay rate of food and drinks, making it much easier to keep the tavern supplied without constant micromanagement.
Merchant Thrall
A brand-new thrall type that players can send out into the world via the Commander’s Table.
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You load the Merchant Thrall with goods to sell.
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They travel to discover NPC cities and settlements.
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The more of the map you’ve explored, the farther they can travel and the better items they can bring back.
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They return with gold, silver, rare resources, pet eggs, and other valuable goods.
This would create an exciting long-term trade system and give players another meaningful reason to explore the world.
Sorcerer Thrall Specializations
I propose adding deeper specializations for Sorcery Thralls. These would add significant depth to magical gameplay and settlement management, especially for players who enjoy the sorcery system.
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Necromancer – Master of Undeath
The Necromancer specializes in the forbidden art of necromancy, raising and commanding the dead. They work in close collaboration with the Driver Taskmaster and the Blood Mage to create powerful undead forces for combat, base defense, or as personal bodyguards.
Key Features:
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Performs reanimation rituals at Shallow Graves using corpses sourced from the Prison for NPCs or brought directly by the player.
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The Driver Taskmaster assists by transporting prisoners/ corpses, delivering the killing blow if needed, and helping prepare the bodies for the ritual.
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Works with the Blood Mage, who extracts Sacrificial Blood and Soul Essence from living prisoners at the Sacrificial Stone. These powerful reagents are required for stronger and more stable reanimations.
Undead Creation Process:
Players (or the Necromancer) can use:-
Fresh corpses of animals or bones of animals and creatures.
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Live prisoners or animals that are buried alive at the Shallow Grave (the burial itself kills them as part of the ritual).
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Rare and exotic materials gathered from across the Exiled Lands.
Types of Undead:
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Standard Zombies — Basic undead raised from regular human or animal corpses.
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Special Zombies — Stronger variants with improved stats and abilities, created using Potent Compost and other rare ingredients.
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Undead Monstrosities — Massive, powerful, and fearsome undead warriors. These require a high-quality base corpse (human or large animal) combined with Potent Compost, dragon bone, rhino heads, demon blood, corrupted stone, and other exotic components. They excel as heavy frontline fighters or elite bodyguards for a Warlock.
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Compost & Undead Creation
The Necromancer uses different types of Potent Compost combined with corpses to create various undead:
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Human-type Undead (2 Compost Variants):
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Standard Grave Compost — Basic mix for regular human zombies (standard undead thralls).
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Blood-infused Corpse Compost — Made with Sacrificial Blood and human remains for stronger, more durable human zombies with better combat stats.
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Animal / Monster Undead (4 Compost Variants):
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Beast Grave Compost — Standard compost for basic animal undead (wolves, hyenas, etc.).
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Apex Predator Compost — Made with high-quality predator parts (tiger, bear, lion) for elite animal undead with increased strength and ferocity.
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Monstrosity Prime Compost — Advanced blend using dragon bone, rhino heads, and corrupted stone for creating Undead Monstrosities (massive, powerful undead creatures).
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Demon-Tainted Compost — Rare and dangerous mix containing demon blood and corrupted materials for the most powerful and unstable elite monstrosities.
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Decay Mechanic
All undead have a limited lifespan. They naturally deteriorate and perish after roughly two in-game days unless maintained with additional rituals, resources, or fresh sacrifices. This forces players to actively hunt, gather materials, and manage their undead army on an ongoing basis.This specialization would bring back the spirit of the old Witch Doctor knowledge in a deeper, more integrated way, turning necromancy into a full production chain involving sacrifice, resource gathering, and dark ritual magic.
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Warlock – Sorcerer of Battle
The only sorcery thrall capable of actively participating in combat. The Warlock is a powerful offensive caster but is physically fragile, requiring protection from guards or summons.Key Features:
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Casts offensive spells (elemental damage, curses, etc.) to support the player in battle.
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Can command a pre-raised Undead Bodyguard (one at a time) that follows and protects them.
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Can summon a Temporary Demon from a summoning circle in the settlement. The demon is very powerful but unstable; after a short time, it will turn hostile against both the player and the Warlock. [Can be permanent with the last corrupted authority talent reworked [Demon Lord]
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Optional rework last corrupted authority talent to [DemonLord] passive: Chance to randomly summon uncontrolled demons when dealing damage, and lets you trade your two passive weaker undead for a single powerful summon circle demon, or you get two weaker undead.
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High-risk, high-reward playstyle that requires careful timing and protection.
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Blood Mage
A specialist in sacrificial magic and resource harvesting.Key Features:
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Performs rituals at the Sacrificial Stone to extract Sacrificial Blood and Soul Essence from prisoners.
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Works closely with the Driver Taskmaster, who transports and prepares prisoners for sacrifice.
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These resources can be refined (e.g., Sacrificial Blood into flasks) and used for advanced sorcery, powerful rituals, and temporary combat/magical buffs.
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Thaumaturgist Scholar – Master of Arcane Knowledge
An advanced researcher and lorekeeper who goes beyond basic thaumaturgy.Key Features:
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Discovers new spells, uncovers hidden lore, and unlocks rare magical abilities.
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Processes notes, relics, and artifacts found in the world to reveal deeper Conan universe stories or grant new powers.
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When assigned to a golem crafting station, it can send crafted golems out to automatically gather rare research materials.
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Has the potential to trigger server-wide quests or unique story events.
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These sorcerer specializations would make magic feel much more alive and integrated into settlement life, giving players who love sorcery constant goals, strategic depth, and powerful tools to build their magical empire.
Taskmaster Thralls Expansion & Prison System
Currently, Taskmasters only have two specializations: Driver (increases concussion damage) and Overseer (improves crafted item durability at the Torturer’s Worktable). I propose adding a third specialization: Slavetaker.
Slavetaker Taskmaster
This specialization would focus on prisoner logistics and transport. Slavetakers would operate a new Prisoner Transportation Wagon (a mobile station) capable of carrying up to 8 prisoners at once. This wagon would allow players to efficiently haul captured NPCs back to their settlement for processing instead of dragging them one by one.
Expanded Taskmaster Mechanics
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Overseers could actively manage crafting thralls. If a crafting thrall starts slacking, the Overseer can crack a whip to temporarily increase their work speed.
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If a thrall continues to underperform, the Driver can take them to a punishment device. After punishment, the thrall’s food and water reserves would drop significantly, but their crafting speed and efficiency would increase dramatically for a limited time. This creates meaningful management decisions and risk/reward gameplay.
Prison for NPCs
The Prison would act as a dedicated holding area for captured NPCs (similar to the Wheel of Pain but with different purposes). Prisoners could be held here before being converted into thralls, sacrificed, or reanimated as undead.
Key Features:
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Food and Water Management: Each prisoner would have hunger and thirst meters. If neglected for too long, they can starve or die of thirst. Players must actively feed and water their captives or risk losing them.
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Prisoner Transportation: Slavetakers bring prisoners from the field to the settlement using the wagon. Once inside the base, the Driver Taskmaster takes over internal logistics.
Processing Prisoners:
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Conversion to Thralls: The Driver transports ready prisoners from the Prison to the Wheel of Pain for conversion.
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Sacrifice: The Driver escorts marked prisoners to the Sacrificial Stone, where the Blood Mage performs the ritual to harvest Sacrificial Blood and Soul Essence. The Driver ensures the process runs smoothly.
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Reanimation: For necromancy, the Driver transports the prisoner to a Shallow Grave, delivers the killing blow, and assists the Necromancer in preparing the body for the reanimation ritual.
This interconnected system makes prisoner management much more immersive and realistic. The Driver Taskmaster becomes a central figure in moving and preparing captives, while the different sorcerer specializations (Necromancer, Blood Mage, etc.) work together with them.
By making these features part of optional server settings, players who enjoy deep survival and settlement roleplay would have constant meaningful tasks, while others can continue playing normally.
Entertainer Thrall (Dancer Specialization Overhaul)
I suggest changing the current Dancer Thrall into a broader Entertainer Thrall category with two distinct specializations: Bard and Dancer. This would add more life and personality to settlements and taverns.
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Bard Bards would perform music for players and thralls in taverns, clan halls, or around the settlement. They could play a variety of instruments such as harps, flutes, drums, or lutes. Songs could be unlocked through exploration, quests, or rare loot, giving players a rewarding reason to seek them out. Beyond atmosphere, Bards would provide small but useful buffs to nearby players and thralls, such as increased health regeneration, faster corruption reduction, or minor stamina recovery.
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Dancer Dancers would retain their core role of reducing Corruption but would gain meaningful specialization bonuses. Higher-tier Dancers could remove corruption more efficiently and provide additional beneficial effects, such as minor stamina regeneration, increased movement speed, or improved morale for nearby thralls. This would make hunting for high-quality Dancers much more worthwhile.
This change would transform Entertainer Thralls from mostly decorative into valuable and interactive members of your settlement. Taverns and clan halls would feel truly alive with music and performances, while still offering practical gameplay benefits.
Permanent War Paint System
War Paint used to be one of the most iconic customization features in Conan Exiles, with both cosmetic and functional versions. Since the Age of Sorcery update, all war paint has become purely temporary and cosmetic. I believe it’s time to bring the system back properly.
Suggested Changes:
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War Paint should have its own dedicated equipment slot (similar to armor slots), so it’s always visible and doesn’t conflict with armor pieces.
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Cosmetic War Paint — These would be permanent. Once applied, they stay on the character until the player manually removes them using Sloughing Fluid. They would never disappear on death.
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Functional War Paint (with stat effects) — These would require higher-quality and rarer resources to craft. They would provide small but meaningful stat bonuses (e.g., +Strength, +Agility, +Vitality, faster stamina regen, etc.). However, these functional paints would expire upon death, encouraging players to reapply them before dangerous activities.
This dual system would give players the best of both worlds: a permanent cosmetic identity they can be proud of, and temporary powerful paints for combat that require investment and planning.
Bringing back permanent war paint with its own slot would make character customization feel much more personal and meaningful again.
Thrall Barber & Customization System
One of my biggest frustrations is how limited thrall customization is. I strongly believe we need a Thrall Barber system to fix this.
Suggestion:
Add a new Barber Chair workstation (placeable in your settlement) manned by a Thrall Barber.
This would allow players to customize their thralls with the following options:
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Hair Type & Hairstyle
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Hair Color
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Beard Type & Style
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Beard Color
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Eye Color (if technically feasible)
[Optionally] in the future, this could also include face jewelry / piercings if that feature is ever added.
This Barber Chair would give players much-needed control over the appearance of their thralls — especially important for workstation thralls like blacksmiths, armorers, priests, and tanners, who currently feel very generic. Being able to personalize your most important thralls would greatly increase immersion and attachment to your settlement.
New Station: Butcher’s Table
Add a new Butcher’s Table workstation that players can assign Cook Thralls to.
This station would serve two main purposes:
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Processing Unwanted Pets: If you no longer want a tamed animal or pet, you can lead it to the Butcher’s Table and select a “Butcher Pet” option. The assigned Cook Thrall would then process the living animal, yielding a large amount of Meat, Fat, Bone, Blood, and Hide.
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Processing Carcasses: Players can also bring dead animal corpses (or even body parts such as arms, legs, etc.) to the Butcher’s Table. The Cook would break them down into usable resources — significantly more meat, fat, blood, and bone than standard harvesting.
This would solve the common issue of having too many pets or animals taking up space in your pens while giving players a meaningful and immersive way to turn them into valuable resources. It makes cooks much more useful and adds another layer of realism to settlement life and animal management.
New Map Table
A placeable Map Table where players can upload marked locations. Clan members can interact with it to update their personal maps with all shared markers. The clan leader would have the ability to view and edit all marked locations (removing outdated ones, etc.), making exploration and coordination much easier for larger clans.
Defensive & Settlement Management Thralls
To make settlements feel more alive and better protected, the following new thrall types and structures would be excellent additions (as optional server settings):
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Light Keeper Thrall A dedicated thrall that automatically manages all lighting in the settlement, turning lights off during the day and back on at night for better immersion and efficiency.
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Gatekeeper Thrall This thrall would operate gates, drawbridges, elevators, and other defensive mechanisms. During an attack, the Gatekeeper would actively help evacuate non-combat thralls and pets to safety.
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Bell Guard Thrall A vigilant thrall that sounds an alarm (by ringing a bell or blowing a horn) the moment the settlement comes under attack. This alarm would automatically direct non-combat thralls toward the nearest shelter.
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Shelter A new placeable structure that acts as a reinforced safe room or bomb shelter. Non-combat thralls and pets can take refuge inside during raids. The Gatekeeper would ensure everyone is safely inside before sealing the door.
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Patrolling Thralls Guard thralls that actively patrol the perimeter of your settlement. Server settings would allow players to increase the patrol radius to accommodate larger bases.
Commander’s Table
A central placeable building that serves as the heart and command center of your settlement. From this table you could:
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View and manage all registered thralls in one convenient interface.
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Assign tasks such as patrolling, crafting, training, or resting.
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Assign specific beds to thralls and set custom sleep schedules (day shift / night shift).
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Monitor the overall status of your population (hunger, thirst, happiness, etc.).
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Control and coordinate the new defensive thralls (Light Keepers, Gatekeepers, Bell Guards, etc.).
Together, these additions would make settlements feel much more dynamic, defensible, and immersive for players who enjoy base building and roleplay.
New Building Options:
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Mystical Sealing Set (Airtight Magical Building Pieces)
This would add sealed variants to the building catalog (visible when using the Construction Hammer). Lore-wise, this could be a lost technique developed by the surviving priests and sorcerers of Netheria after their city sank. They refined the same magic used to create the city’s airtight dome into a practical building resource.To unlock the airtight versions, players need to have Ancient Sealing Essence in their inventory, on a nearby thrall, or in a nearby storage chest. Once the material is available, all standard building pieces (foundations, walls, ceilings, doorframes, etc.) would show unlocked sealed variants in the building menu.
These sealed pieces would displace water when placed, allowing players to create fully dry, walkable underwater bases where you can move and interact normally as if you were on land.
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Magical Transparent Wall Pieces
A new set of wall pieces featuring stone frames with glowing magical transparent centers. These would act as strong, beautiful windows — allowing players to clearly see through the middle section. These walls could also be crafted as airtight versions using the Ancient Sealing Essence. -
Glowing Torches Underwater
Make the full Glowing Stick set (standing torches and wall torches) placeable and fully functional underwater, with the added ability to change their color for better atmosphere and visibility.
Give Crafting Thralls Progression: Level Them Up from Tier 1 to Tier 4:
This would give players a meaningful long-term system for their thralls. Here are some suggested ways to gain crafting experience:
• Feed profession-related junk or unwanted items to the thrall. They could study the item, dismantle it for materials (which the player receives back), and gain profession experience in the process.
• Discover and use profession-specific scrolls or knowledge items that grant crafting experience when used on a thrall.
• Passive experience gain over time through normal crafting work (the more they craft, the faster they improve).
Special Gold Tier 4 thralls could remain as instant high-tier options that don’t require leveling, while still allowing every thrall to improve and grow with enough time and player investment.
Why this would be great:
• It would give real purpose to the thousands of junk items players collect.
• It creates a rewarding long-term progression system for thralls.
• It makes every thrall feel valuable instead of immediately replacing lower-tier ones.
• It adds more depth and player agency to the thrall system.
This kind of system would be very well received by the community and make base management and thrall training feel much more engaging.
Thank you for your continued work on the game!
. Also thank you