Conan Exiles | PS4, XBO, PC | Barbaric open-world survival

I tried the free demo/trial thing for this a while back, but I found the lack of explaining the mechanics really annoying. I got an objective to build a shelter but no indicacation of how to actually start doing that.

Having said that this was the timed trial months ago so I'd suspect things are a little different now and maybe the game does a bit of a better job explaining how general game mechanics work (or indeed, any job whatsoever) rather than a Sea Of Thieves "strawberry float you, go watch 2 hours of YouTube" approach.

Lagamorph wrote:...Having said that this was the timed trial months ago so I'd suspect things are a little different now and maybe the game does a bit of a better job explaining how general game mechanics work (or indeed, any job whatsoever)...

The game has moved from beta to official launch now, Laga, but - to be honest - from my short gameplay so far it's very much a case of working out how to do things for yourself. You have lots goals to aim for and initially these are to drink, eat, clothe, arm yourself and make a bed. Even so, how to actually do these is up to you to find out. I quite like this approach so far but I can see that not everyone would like it.

jawafour wrote:

Lagamorph wrote:...Having said that this was the timed trial months ago so I'd suspect things are a little different now and maybe the game does a bit of a better job explaining how general game mechanics work (or indeed, any job whatsoever)...

The game has moved from beta to official launch now, Laga, but - to be honest - from my short gameplay so far it's very much a case of working out how to do things for yourself. You have lots goals to aim for and initially these are to drink, eat, clothe, arm yourself and make a bed. Even so, how to actually do these is up to you to find out. I quite like this approach so far but I can see that not everyone would like it.

Hm, sounds like a "wait for sub-£10 cheap or gamepass" situation for me then.

Lagamorph wrote:Hm, sounds like a "wait for sub-£10 cheap or gamepass" situation for me then.

If you're not keen on the setup, Laga, it's probs not your cup of tea and best to avoid even spending a tenner on it.

jawafour wrote:Okay... I've started the game!

Had a few problems at first; I tried the Online option but couldn't join a server. It seems that people set up their own servers and most of them are password protected. I tried joiing two that weren't but with no luck.

Anyway - then I realised that the best way to start is probably through single / co-op option. You get an opening cinematic and then you create your character. Yes, you can set endowment / breast size and the animations are ridiculous .

Starting the adventure, it's a little unusual as you are - literally - stark bollock naked. It's intriguing as you don't really get any guidance at all; you are dumped in a wasteland and it's up to you to clothe, arm and feed yourself. You have to work out the controls and commands and this makes a change from usual.

Forty minutes or so in and I like it. It seems that the more you learn about the game, the more your options open up. Oh, and the music is pretty epic.

Yep Exiles does drop you in the deep end, but once it clicks it's superb. Next thing you know hours have passed.

Is there any way to pray to Crom or the Four Winds? This should be a key gameplay feature and I've not seen it mentioned in reviews.

Preezy wrote:Is there any way to pray to Crom or the Four Winds? This should be a key gameplay feature and I've not seen it mentioned in reviews.

Each of the deities are present in Exiles and on choosing one you can then later build a shrine to worship them. Crom is the only one that doesn't offer additional abilities for your character as Crom considers this a weakness. I imagine that was a design choice knowing most would want to follow Crom.

Gemini73 wrote:

Preezy wrote:Is there any way to pray to Crom or the Four Winds? This should be a key gameplay feature and I've not seen it mentioned in reviews.

Each of the deities are present in Exiles and on choosing one you can then later build a shrine to worship them. Crom is the only one that doesn't offer additional abilities for your character as Crom considers this a weakness. I imagine that was a design choice knowing most would want to follow Crom.

That's pretty cool

Jawa what are you doing passing on god of war but playing this guff

Preezy wrote:

Gemini73 wrote:

Preezy wrote:Is there any way to pray to Crom or the Four Winds? This should be a key gameplay feature and I've not seen it mentioned in reviews.

Each of the deities are present in Exiles and on choosing one you can then later build a shrine to worship them. Crom is the only one that doesn't offer additional abilities for your character as Crom considers this a weakness. I imagine that was a design choice knowing most would want to follow Crom.

That's pretty cool

There's lots of cool stuff in Exiles. For example, once you have established yourself a tad more you can begin to capture thralls, luring them away from their tribe and knocking them out before dragging them back to then break them on your wheel of pain, turning them into obedient workers who will defend your home.

Exiles certainly doesn't shy away from being authentic to the Conan setting.

If anyone needs a bit of a hand on how to play the game, this guide seems to be pretty useful. I'm looking forward to getting back into the game this evening :-).

jawafour wrote:...I'm looking forward to getting back into the game this evening .

Well, that didn't happen but, fourteen months later, I have started afresh!

You really are dropped in at the deep end; barely anything is explained and you have to discover things for yourself - including the controls. Right from the off you have a ton of survival-focused objectives and, whilst some are okay to understand, others can be quite obscure. Some controls are stated but others leave you guessing; an early objective is to cook some food but, having built the fire and added ingredients, I had to use YouTube to find out how to start cooking - you have to press L2 to initiate this but it isn't really mentioned on the menu screen.

But... it seems fun and I am enjoying it; two-and-a-half hours flew by. It does seem to be clunky in terms of controls and actions, whilst the lack of direction is a little frustrating (but some may like the lack of hand-holding). However, I've seen on social media the buildings and areas that some players have created and they're amazing. I suspect that, after learning the basics and become aware of the quirks, the game will have a lot of potential. I'm hoping to give it a good go.

Keep giving us updates, jawa, this fell off my radar but I'd be keen to see what you make of it now that's it's been out a while and had time to establish itself.

Preezy wrote:Keep giving us updates, jawa, this fell off my radar but I'd be keen to see what you make of it now that's it's been out a while and had time to establish itself.

Will do, Preezy - gonna pop back on in just a bit! My initial impressions are:

+ Do what you want, go wherever you want
+ Lots of potential
- So many things to learn, so little guidance
- So what button does what?

twitter.com/jawafour/status/1155212941303648257

Hoorah! A place to rest. Except the bed (well, straw bits) won't let me sleep on it for some reason.

Had a funny moment tonight... I'd been searching around for stones and small bits of rock to build the home; it took me an hour to realise that you can do this far quicker by whacking the big mounds of rock to get stone from them .

I got this with plus I might give it a go while I wait for something to actually do in fallout 76.