This! It’s not just the stats. More importantly, it’s not just the weapons and armor. Look at @Croms_Faithful ’s list:
Sword of Crom was nerfed
Lifeblood Spear was nerfed (into utter worthlessness at that)
Spears were nerfed…repeatedly!
Captains and Bandit Leaders can no longer be captured
Everyone’s legacy Vathis thralls got deleted
Vitality 30 perk ‘Fierce Vitality’ was nerfed despite fierce opposition
We can no longer cross fence foundations, undermining many creative options
Repeated calls for the The Dismantling Bench to be removed
Summoning gods was apparently too easy; the amount of Manifestation of Zeals nerfed
The Volatile Gland drop rate was previously nerfed
Silent Leigon armour was nerfed
Exotic flesh drop rates too high, they got nerfed and are no longer dropped some creatures
Cleaver harvest rates were nerfed previously
Obsidian wespons nerfed
Acheronian weapons nerfed
Serpentman weapons, yeah you guessed it…nerfed
Nerfed the EXP gained for discovering new locations
Its too easy to gather Brimstone, its nodes were nerfed
Golden Lotus potion is too strong, it and Bandages were both nerfed
Obsidian arrow recipe changed to composite obsidian
T2 Insulated Wood structures are too easy to produce, extra ingredients required as a result (now revised)
Warmaker dungeon books bonus reduced from +8 down to +4
Acid arrows and Snake are overpowered, they needed to be nerfed
Axe of Violence critical chance removed entirely
World Breaker and Annihilator armor penetration nerfed
Strength 2 perk ‘Salting the Wound’ nerfed from 25% down to 15%
Steel recipe component changed from Brimstone to Black Ice, despite it being more difficult for newer players to access
Vitality 5 perk ‘Glutonous Gains’ nerfed
Bestial Claws have had their drop rate nerfed to absurd levels and a vast array of other downgrades
There have been repeated calls to remove Maprooms and Chairs; thank the gods common sense prevailed
Boons granted at Hannumans Grotto offering chest all had their rates reduced
T4 spawn rates have been reduced time and again
Multiple weapons have had their animations, resulting in their speeds being reduced
Damage from first blow of war axe and mace reduced
Healing arrows were nerfed
Sobek armor recieved a hefty nerf
Aaannd thralls nerfed
All of these affect the balance both in PVE and PVP.
And don’t forget the “economy” – not in the trading sense, but in the sense of farming, grinding and stockpiling, which is a huge aspect of Conan Exiles.
Finally, what have people been debating hotly these last few weeks? It’s not weapons and armor, it’s “are horses OP”, “are thralls too strong” and “should Funcom bring avatars back”.
Bonus: what pops up in every single discussion about balancing PVP? “Should players be able to carry so many explosive jars?” (which occasionally segways into the discussion about the 5th enc perk)