Is it possible, after installing the game via Steam, to just run the Funcom launcher, without Steam? I just want to be engaged with the game. Steam is like a forced barrier between me and the game. I am not interested in Steam. I do not really see why I need to have anything to do with a third party. It only seems to make everything needlessly complicated.
Thanks
Long story short: no. If you bought the game via Steam, you need to have Steam running when you run Conan Exiles, because that’s how the game verifies that you actually own it and didn’t pirate it. The game also uses your Steam ID to log you into Funcom Live Services.
No, you can only do the opposite of what you’re asking. You can run through Steam while bypassing the FunCom launcher, but not what you’re asking for.
Be glad you didn’t buy it on Epic, their game client is inferior to Steam’s.
Because that’s the decision that FunCom made. They chose to sell their game via Steam knowing that players would need to run the Steam client to access the game. FunCom could have made the decision to allow player to buy the game directly from them, but that’s not the choice they made.
Fair enough, but unfortunately that’s the way it works.
Okay, thanks for your responses. I found a solution that suits me, and it is one that respects all user agreements. So I am happy 
.
As a sideline: how can I delete a message without leaving empty posts? Do they get removed automatically?
Well I cried victory too early. I can’t access my single player game without connecting to Steam.
@CodeMage I have seen from the fora that you are pretty knowledgeable. Steam frankly * me off beyond measure. The fact that I have to forsake some principles simply to play this game also * me off beyond measure. But if I can run Steam without seeing it I think I can manage. Is there a trick that makes me connect through Steam without any Steam UI popping up? I just don’t want to see them every time I am about to play Conan Exiles. I can imagine that that is not an issue in regards to user agreements. So if you know the trick that would be great.
Actually no. I changed my mind. I am not going to use Steam. I am not going to sell my soul to this program any longer. I have spent two days downloading this game, now that I finally had a pc that could run it decently. I know the game, bought it two times, and have played it before and I very much like it and want to play it, but I can’t in good conscience keep using Steam.
I started gaming in the eighties. I love gaming, I am a gamer through and through. And imo Steam, Epic and other such platforms are the worst thing that could happen to it (together with Google Android) and I do not want to be a part of the destruction of what gaming used to be.
If I can not play this game without Steam then I won’t play it, no matter how much that hurts.
If the steam library ran in the background, does that bother you? I understand you want it hidden, especially if it is Epic.
I’m expecting more out of Steam if it doesn’t deliver. Meta still has a grip here.
What; ya I’m the abrasive guy that asks those questions, are you on about?
How is a popup page I close in less then 2 seconds buying my soul?
Just what games are you actually playing?
You do get most all games keep track of your play time and activities regardless of the distributor/publisher. And you agree to it.
I’ve been playing video games as long as there have been video games, and pinball before that. Steam does not come between me an playing Conan; except for launcher update day.
Now funcom comes between me and playing Conan all the damn time.
Now it sounds to me like you PC isn’t your only issue, sounds like you are still on dialup. Single player you just need to start your game online for verification, after that you don’t need to be; unless that has been funcomed.
But if your intention is to play single player off line, do not shop the bazzar.
THAT is where steam actually does come between you and playing Conan; or accessing bought content.
Sorry, I just see the distributor leach as a non sequitur to my game play.
Now the game having so many issues it’s more frustrating then fun, is a different story.
ETA: Telemetry, that is the word I blanked on a few minutes ago. it’s something all games have; well not ALL games but an over whelming majority.
Telemetric refers to the process of collecting and transmitting data from remote sources.
There is no standalone version of Conan Exiles. Funcom only sells it through established online game stores. On PC, that’s Steam and Epic. Used to be Game Pass, too, but that ended.
As someone who started both gaming and programming in the 80’s, I’d say Steam is far from the worst thing that has happened or is happening to the gaming, but that discussion is a rabbit hole I’m not sure I want to fall into right now.
It is the fact that we do not own the software that we buy, and have to get permission every day again to play it. If we do not behave according to their ethics we get banned and lose the game library that we paid for. Steam and via them the producers of video games simply gained way too much power over consumers I feel. They behave like governments but are not elected. And Steam is a near monopoly, they have tremendous power over the gaming market, they became indispensable. And every day they are part of one’s living room, through the games one plays. Video gaming is a personal experience, I do not want to login every day to do personal stuff and share my life with a corporation who is cold and distant and almost purely in it for money only.
If you really feel strongly about that, then you should stay away from Conan Exiles.
Conan Exiles is developed and maintained by Funcom. Funcom got acquired by Tencent a few years ago. I’m not going to go into the details of all that changed since that happened, but short version is that this game is now the poster child for the concept of “in it for money only”.
Okay… I did not think that through yet. So also Age of Conan is in Tencent’s hands. Ow then that game isn’t safe anymore either…
AFAIK you just need to start a single player online once to verify ownership. Then you can play off line.
IF the game lets you play single player 
You can’t be banned from the game, only the public servers.
This is Conan, if you get banned for some sort of ethics violation, yikes.
After reading the rest of that, ummm, ya, I’m out.
You can play offline, but you cannot play without Steam running. And yes, you can put Steam in offline mode, but I don’t think that’s what @hyborian.sorceror is looking for.
O_o
Another question. Can Epic launcher run Conan Exiles directly, without Steam?
I’m not sure I understand your question. Steam is one online video game storefront, Epic is another. I don’t see why Epic launcher would need Steam.
Although I have no direct experience with non-Steam editions of Conan Exiles, I’m pretty sure that you would need to buy another copy of Conan Exiles from the Epic Games store. The integration of Conan Exiles with the store has less to do with the launcher and more to do with the mechanisms used to authenticate you as the “owner” of the game.
The reason I am asking is because another person spoke about the Heroic launcher. For a moment I thought it is an emulator for the epic launcher, and that would be great, but I looked into it and it is more of a layer upon Epic or Steam.
Using Epic does not really change the situation. It’s like exchanging the plague for the cholera. But at least it would go against Steam’s monopoly.
CE was my introduction to Steam. After fully realizing what it was and how it worked my reaction was, “You have to be kidding me…” and I’ve seen nothing to change that yet.
Though things are what they are and you may as well fight the tide at this point. I personally won’t be supporting it going forward. A decision made vastly easier by there being no games on the horizon that interest me.
Well well, I found a fully user agreement respecting solution for part of the issue: GOG’s Galaxy launcher. It integrates other platforms, including Steam, in such a way that the platforms are running, but you do not see their GUI. It is replaced by Galaxies UI. This, at least, gives me the illusion that I am playing Conan from the GOG environment. I use all the Galaxy features and no Steam features, except the verification and connection features. Amazing software and probably a little bit like CodeMage’s software?
Now, this gives me a much better feeling, but then I also saw that Skyrim Anniversary ed. now has a drm-free version on GOG. And then there is games like those made with infinity (running on GemRB) and NWN that are also DRM-free and can be run entirely independently. The real thing always feels better than a temporary fixture. But then again, if the temp fixture is Conan…
And maybe in the future there will come a solution from Funcom, who knows. It is a bit worrisome that it depends on them (or Tencent) whether the game survives or not, because of the strict verification requirements etc. But maybe they will eventually sell it to a fan project. So it might be better to stick with what passionates me and try to veer as much as I can towards the most wholesome position possible at any given time.