Dear exiles, 

The next major Conan Exiles update is now available on all platforms! Update 37 has a little something for everyone and we think you’ll be happy with what we’re adding to the game. 

First off, we’re rolling out two new weapon types: short swords, and the much-requested two-handed axes! You will also be able to play around with new and improved weapon mod and repair kits, and you can establish dedicated PvP zones with the new Battle Standard placeable. 

Finally, we’re changing up some weapon animations. We’ve discussed what this entails on a previous dev stream, but we’ll mention the main points in this blog. 

For the full set of patch notes, head on over to our forums.

Battle Standards 

Have you ever wanted to establish a PvP dueling zone on a PvE server, so you can fight gladiatorial duels to the death? With the new Battle Standard placeable you can do exactly that! This is perfect for players on passive servers who sometimes want to engage in combat without the risk of losing everything. 

A Battle Standard will establish a zone which will make anyone who steps inside it eligible to engage in PvP combat. Activating PvP is completely optional, so people can’t grief you by suddenly plonking down a Battle Standard and gunning for a fight. 

You’ll also get to keep your inventory if you die inside a Battle Standard’s area of influence, so the PvP combat is fairly risk free. 

We have a separate blog post with more details about the Battle Standards. You can find it here.

Weapon Animation Changes 

In Update 37, we’re changing the combat animations for the Longsword, Great Sword and Pike weapon types. They won’t behave radically different to how they used to, but you will notice a few differences. 

Here are the changes we’ve made 

• Longswords have been made more refined, by giving them a longer “linger window” between each attack, and a new finishing animation in the Heavy attack combo chain. Instead of a leap forward, the finishing move is now a simple horizontal forward slash. The new finisher has less range, but there’s less chance of overextending and going past your enemy. 
• Great Swords have been tuned to be more effective against crowds. The overhead smash attack can now be found on the CTRL key (meaning we’ve removed the kick for this weapon), and the opening of a Heavy attack combo is now a big, 180 degree, horizontal slash. The full set of heavy attacks damages a wide area and can be quite effective when surrounded by several enemies. 
• The two-handed Pikes are probably getting the biggest change of the bunch. It’s no longer a crowd control weapon and has been reworked into a weapon that’s more effective in close quarters against a single enemy. The light attack combo chain is now a series of poke attacks like the heavy attacks. The difference is that the light attacks will plant your feet instead of pushing you forward. 

If you’re interested in seeing these changes in motion you can check out our gallery of gifs over on Imgur. 

Short swords and two-handed axes 

With this update we’re introducing two new weapon types to Conan Exiles: short swords and two-handed axes. 

As you can tell by the gifs below, the new weapon types have their own combos and animations. The axes work like a fusion between the Warhammers and dual wielding axes. With this in your arsenal you can spin around like a top, causing a lot of damage over a large area. Be careful so you don’t run out of stamina though, which will leave you vulnerable. 

Short swords are a faster alternative to regular broadswords and will let you perform simple stab and slash combos until you run out of stamina. They’re meant to be used against single enemies as a fencing weapon. 

We feel like these new weapons will be an exciting addition to the game and we hope you like them!

New mod kits/upgrades 

In the next update we will be expanding the ways you can modify your weapons and armor with the addition of weapon oils. These are more powerful versions of the already existing mod kits, with the drawback that the boosts they provide are time limited. The oil will also severely drain the durability of whatever it’s applied to once the timer has run out. 

The “Weapon Oils” feat can be purchased from the Archivist in the Unnamed City for 5 Fragments of Power. Oils are crafted at the Firebowl Cauldron. Only one can be active at a time and applying a new kit or oil will override the current effect. 

• Oil of Agony – Either increases weapon damage by 10% permanently or increases weapon damage by 25% temporarily 
• Oil of Penetration – Increases weapon armor penetration 
• Oil of Bounty – Increases amount of resources obtained per swing of a harvesting tool.  
• Oil of Concussion – Increases concussion damage on a weapon 
• Oil of Balance – Decreases a weapon’s Stamina cost per attack 

We’re also introducing new Master level weapon fittings and kits, which come with great boons, but also severe drawbacks. These can be learned by unlocking the appropriate feats. 

• Master Weapon Fitting – Increases melee damage and armor penetration, but severely cripples a weapon’s durability 
• Fencer Weapon Fitting – Increases light attack damage, but decreases heavy attack damage and durability 
• Master Reinforcement Kit – Increases Durability of weapons and armor, but also increases weight and decreases resource gathering. 
• Master Armor Plating – Increases Armor strength, but reduces durability and is expensive to craft 

• Bulked Plating – Increases Armor strength, but increases weight and is expensive to craft 
• Gliding Joints – Reduced stamina used when climbing, but also reduces durability 

Blood and Sand DLC 

The new Blood and Sand DLC is also available with the release of this update. The DLC comes with new armor sets, some new skins for two-handed axes and short swords, and a new set of Arena building pieces that should be perfect for building a gladiatorial colosseum. 

Check out the blog post about the Blood and Sand DLC for more information. You can find it here.