'Conan Exiles' Guide: How To Upgrade Weapons And Armor

A reliable sword and a sturdy plate of armor can go a long way when exploring the Exiled Lands, but the ones crafted directly from workbenches can only carry players so much before their effectiveness starts to fade.

Upgrading is essential to survival in "Conan Exiles." Even the smallest increase in any category can make life easier for anyone stuck in the desert or fending off a tribe of cannibals in the jungle.

There are a couple of ways to improve a character's gear. Here's how to do them.

The Tinkerer's Workbench

The most basic way to upgrade existing gear pieces is installing mods crafted from the Tinkerer's Workbench. Upgrades from this workstation range from simple to advance, and they come in a variety of options that improve different weapons and armor stats like durability, damage and weight.

Keep in mind that gear pieces can only be upgraded once, and existing upgrades cannot be replaced. Players will have to create extra copies of their items if they want to use different upgrades on them.

Artisan Thralls

The second way to directly upgrade the stats of items is to assign an artisan to work on specific workbenches.

NPCs in the world can be knocked-out and converted into friendly Thralls that assist players in various ways, including crafting.

Assigning an appropriate Thrall to a Blacksmith or Armorer station will cause all crafted items to have higher stats than usual. Higher-level Thralls will not only give better stat bonuses, but they will also unlock more recipes.

Here are the possible artisan types and the stats they affect:

• Edgesmith – armor penetration
• Bladesmith – damage
• Tempersmith – weapon durability
• Scoutwright – weight
• Shieldwright – armor strength
• Temperwright – armor durability

Buffs and Effects

Though not technically gear upgrades, buffs from food and potions are great for increasing a player's survivability or a weapon's damage output.

The Berserker's Draught, for example, increases damage and health. Meanwhile, the Hearty Feast food item increases the damage dealt by all Followers.

Other effects include specific boosts to Strength or Agility weapons, while others increase the amount of Concussion damage players can do. They all run on timers, so make sure to stock up on ingredients.