The best Conan Exiles base is the one that matches your server, group size and immediate goal. A compact starter hut is usually the right first move; a courtyard compound gives a clan room to work; a tower saves ground space; and a terrain-integrated or dedicated purge base can reduce attack routes. None is universally purge-proof or raid-proof. Map, patch, server settings and your ability to maintain the structure matter more than a fashionable shape.
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This guide explains how the building pieces work, where to place a first base, how to expand without instability, and how to design for crafting, access and purges. Exact recipes and durability change between updates, so use the current in-game crafting menu for material costs.
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What makes a base “best” in Conan Exiles?
Judge a base by the work it must do, not by its screenshots. A useful base protects people and assets, supports the crafting stations you actually use, leaves room for thralls to move, and can be repaired or expanded without dismantling half the structure.
- Function: beds, storage, crafting stations, lighting and a safe place to respawn.
- Access: a route that you and your clan can use quickly, with stairs and doors that do not create awkward bottlenecks.
- Stability: a foundation grid that supports walls, ceilings, upper floors and roof pieces.
- Defense: limited enemy approaches, visible lanes, defender positions and a fallback room.
- Growth: spare floor area or planned attachment points for later crafting and storage.
- Server fit: a PvP outpost needs different priorities from a role-play home on a relaxed PvE server.
Funcom’s building documentation emphasizes freedom: square and triangular foundations can be raised or lowered to follow terrain, walls snap to foundations, and ceilings enable multi-story structures. Those pieces support everything from a small shelter to a city, with furniture, crafting stations, traps and defenses added as your needs grow.
#1 Best Overall
- The Adventures of Conan is an asymmetrical dice game of exploration, sorcery and glorious combat set in the Hyborian age.
- Let your blade be sharp and your heart unyielding, for in the fray, only the bold claim victory!
- Each role brings new challenges and routes to victory
- All of the characters, adventures, and art are drawn from the Dark Horse Comics line of Conan titles, including Conan, Conan the Cimmerian, Conan the Slayer and more.
Five base designs worth considering
There is no official ranking of the “best” layout. The following archetypes cover most practical builds and make their trade-offs explicit.
| Design | Resource cost | Build speed | Expandability | Crafting capacity | Defense and purge pathing | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter hut | Low | Fast | Limited unless planned on a grid | Basic stations and storage | Simple to defend, but few fallback options | First solo or duo base |
| Courtyard compound | Medium to high | Moderate | Excellent around the perimeter | High; separate work and living zones | Outer wall and gate create a readable approach | Clans, long-term PvE and role-play builds |
| Tower or vertical base | Medium | Moderate | Good upward, poor sideways | Moderate on each floor | Small footprint, but stairs and access become critical | Dense areas or players saving ground space |
| Terrain-integrated base | Varies | Slow planning, potentially fewer pieces | Depends on the site | From low to high | Cliffs, rocks or islands reduce exposed approaches | Defensive PvE locations and distinctive builds |
| Dedicated purge base | High because it is an additional site | Moderate once planned | Purpose-built rather than general | Only the stations needed during defense | Visibility, controlled lanes and repair access are the priority | Servers and clans that separate daily life from purge defense |
Starter hut
Place a small square or rectangle near early resources and water, but not directly on a valuable spawn point or a route you will need to travel constantly. A bed, a few storage containers and a basic crafting line are enough. Keep the first footprint deliberately compact; replacing a temporary hut is cheaper than overbuilding before you know where your permanent base belongs.
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Build an inner workshop or living area, then surround it with an outer wall and gate. The courtyard separates everyday movement from the defensive perimeter, leaves room for thralls and stations, and gives you a second line if the outer wall is breached. Keep the gate wide enough for your normal traffic and avoid filling the courtyard with decorative objects that block defenders.
Tower or vertical base
A narrow footprint with stacked floors saves ground area and can be visually striking. It also concentrates every problem into stairs, landings and door clearances. Reserve one floor for storage, another for crafting and another for beds or administration, and test the entire route before adding decorations. A tower that looks secure but has one blocked stair is a liability.
Terrain-integrated base
Cliffs, rock faces, islands and existing ruins can reduce the number of exposed approaches. They do not remove the need for a usable entrance. Leave a clear route for friendly players, repairs and any purge path the current server rules expect. An inaccessible base can prevent a purge from resolving as intended, so do not promise that a cliff location is automatically safe.
Dedicated purge base
On a server and play style that make it practical, keep an attractive main home separate from a purpose-built defensive site. A purge base should be easy to see, easy to repair and simple for thralls to navigate. Build controlled approach lanes and a fallback room around critical supplies rather than trying to make every part of the site decorative.
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- The treacherous waters of the Black Coast are filled with reavers and corsairs, as well as the infamous she-devil of the sea, Bêlit - the Queen of the Black Coast.
- New Adventures make these hazardous Encounters even more beneficial for Conan's foes.
- Delve deeper into the mighty Kingdoms with the Nemedian Chronicles expansion
- These expansions are contained in one box. The front cover features Queen of the Black Coast art and the back features Nemedian Chronicles art.
Where should you build your first base?
Pick a location by balancing resources, travel and survivability. The “perfect” landmark is less useful than a site you can reach repeatedly without an exhausting detour.
- Check your daily route. Stand where you expect to gather food, stone, wood and early metals. A short walk saved hundreds of times is more valuable than an impressive view.
- Inspect the ground. Look for a reasonably level area or a cliff edge where foundations can be adjusted without leaving awkward gaps. Triangles and lowered or raised foundations help follow slopes, but they do not eliminate planning.
- Count approaches. Walk around the site and note every route a player or NPC could use. A single obvious entrance is easier to watch than several blind paths.
- Check water and space. Water nearby helps early survival, while spare ground allows a later courtyard, animal area or separate crafting wing.
- Confirm server rules. Building restrictions, PvP windows, purge settings and map-specific behavior can change whether a location is sensible.
- Test friendly access. Approach with a follower or clanmate if possible. If a person can barely reach the door, a thrall may become trapped there.
Do not build on a place merely because a screenshot looks dramatic. A beautiful overhang with no repair route can cost more time than it saves in defenses.
Build in a stable order
The following sequence is practical guidance based on how the documented pieces connect; it is not an official mandatory order.
- Lay a compact foundation footprint. Use squares for efficient rooms and triangles where you need to turn a corner or follow terrain. Snap each piece carefully before moving on.
- Add the first walls and a door. Make the entrance wide enough for normal movement and check that the door opens without colliding with nearby objects.
- Cap the first level with ceilings. A complete ceiling grid gives you a stable platform for later floors and keeps rain, enemies and accidental falls out of the room.
- Test the room. Walk, place a bed and move a storage item through the entrance before committing to a large station layout.
- Add stairs and a second floor only after the first level is stable. Connect stairs to a landing rather than forcing a turn in a narrow doorway. Test the route from ground to roof.
- Add roof pieces and upper walls. Broad roofs and high floors may need pillars or additional supports. If a piece refuses to place, return to the foundation grid and add support instead of forcing a gap.
- Install stations and storage by workflow. Put raw-material storage near the stations that consume it, and keep finished goods close to the exit or a secure inner room.
- Add lighting, defenses and decoration last. Decorative geometry can obstruct thralls, stairs and purge routes. Function first makes later changes cheaper.
Foundations, support and terrain: preventing collapses
Foundations can be raised or lowered to follow uneven ground, and walls snap to them. Start with a clean grid even when the final design will be round or irregular. Wedge and triangle pieces can create towers, turrets and castle-like curves, but they require more planning and usually more pieces than a rectangle.
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Use a rectangular core
A dependable compromise is a rectangular storage-and-crafting core with wedge-based towers, a porch or corner turrets attached to it. The core keeps stations aligned and makes future expansion predictable; the angled pieces provide character without forcing every room into a difficult shape.
Support broad roofs and upper floors
Long ceilings and heavy-looking upper levels need a sensible support path down to foundations. Use pillars or additional supports where the game indicates a weak connection, and do not assume a decorative column is structurally connected just because it touches a roof. Build one section, walk on it and save the layout before extending it.
Test before decorating
Place stairs, doors and ceilings first. A floor that is technically complete can still be unusable if a stair clips a wall or a doorway leaves no turning space. Move through every route with your normal equipment and with a follower before placing benches, shelves or banners.
Layouts for solo players and small groups
Solo: compact “three-zone” plan
Use a small rectangle divided into an entry/storage zone, a crafting zone and a secure bed zone. Keep the bed away from the door so an intruder or purge does not reach your respawn point immediately. Leave one side of the foundation grid open for a future room instead of placing a second building that creates a maze.
Duo or trio: central workshop with side rooms
Place the busiest stations in a central room and add side rooms for beds, high-value storage and thralls. A short outer wall with one gate is easier to defend than several detached huts. Keep a clear lane from the gate to the workshop so a defender can retreat without crossing furniture.
Clan: courtyard circulation
Assign the courtyard to movement and thrall activity, the inner building to crafting and storage, and an upper or rear room to beds and administration. Mark a fallback room that remains usable even if the gate area is lost. This organization scales better than adding random rooms to the outside of a starter hut.
Designing for purges
Funcom describes a purge as NPCs attacking a base after activity thresholds, with the revamped system tied to the Stygian invasion narrative. The official survival guidance says difficult purges require a combination of smart base design, thrall defenders, higher-tier buildings and teamplay. That advice is more reliable than any claim that one shape is universally purge-proof.
Create a readable enemy route
- Use an outer wall, gate or chokepoint to make the intended approach obvious.
- Keep defensive platforms where players can see the lane and repair nearby structures.
- Place traps only where they will not block your own escape or trap friendly thralls.
- Keep a fallback area around critical crafting and storage rooms.
- Remove decorative walls, stairs and rocks that can cause defenders to stall.
Place and manage defenders
Give thralls enough space to leave their posts and engage. Avoid putting a fighter behind a narrow window or on a platform with no sensible path down. During a purge, watch for stuck defenders and repair damage before the next wave rather than treating the first successful defense as proof the layout is finished.
Separate daily life from defense when appropriate
A main base filled with every valuable item is convenient but concentrates risk. If your server settings support it, a separate purge site lets you keep the attractive home comfortable while the defensive site prioritizes visibility and repair access. This costs more materials and travel time, so it is most useful for established clans or players who regularly trigger difficult purges.
Materials and building tiers
Plan construction as a progression ladder rather than memorizing a permanent recipe list. Early stone pieces let you establish a shelter quickly. As your character, thralls and resource access improve, replace exposed sections with stronger higher-tier sets and add the building sets available in your current game version.
| Stage | Planning goal | What to prioritize | What to postpone |
|---|---|---|---|
| First shelter | Survive and respawn safely | Small footprint, bed, storage, basic stations | Large perimeter and elaborate rooflines |
| Established outpost | Reduce daily travel | More stations, organized storage, lighting, simple wall | Decorative towers that consume repair materials |
| Long-term base | Support clan activity and defenses | Higher-tier exposed walls, courtyard, fallback room, thrall routes | Unplanned additions that break the grid |
| Specialized purge site | Survive repeated attacks | Controlled lanes, platforms, traps where suitable, repair access | Valuable items that are not needed during defense |
Recipe quantities, durability and the availability of particular sets are patch-sensitive. Open the current in-game crafting menu before farming a large batch, especially after an update or when switching between maps.
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Pure circular construction uses wedge and triangle pieces and can look like a true castle, but it is rarely the fastest or cheapest route to a functional home. Curved walls create small leftover spaces, complicated stair runs and more joins to maintain. A hybrid layout gives most of the visual effect with fewer practical compromises.
- Build a square or rectangular keep for beds, storage and crafting.
- Add one or more wedge-based corner towers connected to the keep.
- Use a triangular porch or gatehouse to define the entrance.
- Reserve the roof for observation, archers or decoration only after the stair path is proven.
- Run a final stability and access check before replacing temporary pieces with expensive sets.
PvE, PvP and role-play priorities
| Play style | Base emphasis | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Solo PvE | Short resource routes, compact storage and easy repairs | Building a huge perimeter that consumes time without adding useful capacity |
| Clan PvE | Courtyard circulation, many stations, thrall space and purge fallback | Allowing every member to add rooms without a shared grid |
| PvP | Layered access control, protected valuables, limited sightlines and server-rule compliance | Assuming a visually intimidating tower is secure without testing entrances and raid approaches |
| Role-play | Readable districts, themed materials, courtyards and believable circulation | Letting decoration block beds, stations, doors or defenders |
PvP advice is necessarily server-specific: building damage rules, raid windows and permitted locations can change the value of every defensive choice. Treat any layout as a framework to adapt, not a guarantee.
Isle of Siptah and current-version considerations
The Isle of Siptah Edition includes the full base game and the expansion, while Siptah itself is a separate island with a different gameplay cycle and additional building sets. The official Xbox description specifically highlights pirate-town and stormglass castle construction. Availability of the edition varies by platform and region, so check the store for your platform before planning around a set you do not own.
Funcom’s homepage is promoting a major Unreal Engine 5 visual upgrade announced in October 2026. Do not infer a guaranteed frame rate or hardware requirement from the announcement alone. After an engine or content update, verify your own platform’s graphics settings, loading behavior and building performance before moving a large base.
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Troubleshooting common construction problems
A wall or ceiling will not place
Return to the last confirmed foundation, check that the snap point is aligned and add a pillar or supporting foundation if the span is broad. Remove nearby decorative pieces temporarily; they can obscure the valid snap point.
The upper floor looks complete but collapses or becomes unusable
Inspect the support path down to the foundations. Replace isolated ceiling pieces with a connected grid, add supports where needed and test the floor before rebuilding the roof or furniture.
Stairs, doors or thralls are getting stuck
Widen the landing, remove a nearby wall or object and test the route with a follower. A visually narrow passage may be technically open to a player but unusable for a thrall.
A purge is not reaching the base
Check current server behavior and purge settings. A cliff, island or maze can make the site inaccessible to NPCs. Preserve one clear route from the expected approach and avoid claiming a location is purge-proof.
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Repairs are consuming too many resources
Concentrate expensive higher-tier pieces on exposed walls, gates and critical rooms first. Keep temporary wings and decorative towers to a size your regular resource runs can support.
A practical decision checklist
- Do I need a temporary shelter, a permanent home or a separate defense site?
- Am I playing solo, with a small group or in a large clan?
- Is this PvE, PvP or role-play, and what do the server rules allow?
- How many approaches can enemies use, and can I leave one clear route for a purge?
- Can a player, thrall and repair trip move through every door and stair?
- Does the foundation grid leave room for the next station or storage expansion?
- Can I replace exposed pieces with a stronger tier as resources improve?
- Have I tested stability and access before adding decoration?
Use the checklist whenever you move from a starter hut to a permanent compound. A smaller base that remains stable, accessible and repairable will outperform a larger design that you cannot maintain.
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