The game is designed for 40 players. The game runs really well at 40 players with a decent host. Ironically the servers with issues use the same hardware as those without. The difference is configuration and setup. I suspect some providers stuff far too many instances of servers onto one machine.

To give an analogue, for those of you on PC, Conan Exiles runs pretty well. But what if you launch a second instance on the same machine? Probably pretty well still. But a third? Unless you’ve got a bit more ram than average and such, its going to run with some slow down, but likely still playable. But what about a fourth? Or fifth? Or twentieth? You can quickly see where the issue is.

Every rented server hosts puts multiple instances of Conan Exiles on one machine. That alone isn’t a problem. But what is a problem is how many, as well as other factors. But when the game is hosted in the way it was designed, it runs pretty well.

I’ve seen how Conan Exiles runs on a dedicated machine with around 50 players in a single battle with no mods. There’s a bit of lag, but its definitely still playable and definitely still quite a bit of fun. That’s 10 more players than recommended. And there’s been quite a few optimizations that have been made since then.

The biggest issue with PVP in all honesty is playing it unmoderated. There’s quite a few fundamental reasons for this.

Offlining for example puts a weird strain on players outside of the game. There’s a window each day that you have to play without fail or risk logging into nothing. The longer you go unraided, the more likely you will be watched and preyed upon. You could be the most altruistic player/clan on the server, but if you’ve had a build up for months, its going to be known its been up for months, and others are going to want to tear it down… because who the hell are you to be so special to have such a thing? Its just general PVP desires to tear someone down off their high horse, regardless of how decent they are.

Offline protection has its own issues. I’m not going to talk about the ‘bugs’ FC says keeps them from doing it. But the other issue that FC doesn’t really have on their radar. That’s online defense and their ability to repair and replace on the spot. This needs to be fixed. Right now many PVP servers have restrictions on players building and repairing during raids. This requires moderation to enforce. But it could easily be put into a game mechanic that prevents building for a time after the last attack.

The other issue is related, but the ease of putting up walls and foundations as well as the ease of tearing them down. Its all balanced around the ease of repairs. The reason we can tear down a wall so easily is in part due to how easy they are to simply put back up.

Think about this for a moment. Has anyone here who thinks they are pretty decent at PVP have ever gotten their base destroyed out from under them? Outside of obvious sandstone getting annihilated instantly, but actual T3 fully functional fortresses. The answer to that question is pretty much nobody.

But shouldn’t it be possible? Is there any situation where a 10 vs 10 siege for example can end in the total loss for the defender in an online raid time frame? Can anyone explain why this shouldn’t be possible?

Everyone has an idea of how PVP can go. But no one really thinks about end use case scenarios and goals. I would say set that goal and then work backwards to see what changes we need to have.

For example the clan limit is 10 by default. Raid hours are 5 hour blocks. What kind of system can we come up with that ensures that 10 attackers from one clan, can win and take an area held by 10 defenders in that 5 hour window?

If you want DBD on and 24/7 raid window, then what system can ensure that 10 attackers can take an area held by 10 defenders who at some point when they feel they might be losing can simply log off and trigger the protection giving the attackers only 15-30 minutes to finish their goal?

In either of those situations, what kind of damage do trebs and bombs need to do? How much health do building pieces need? To make it possible (not guaranteed) just possible for an attacker to actually have a shot at winning?

The whole system needs a comprehensive look. Just adding extra this, or a little bit of this, or changing a server setting isn’t enough.