Conan Exiles server: settings, mods, purge

A Conan Exiles dedicated server is a free Windows application (Steam app 443030) with its settings split across three files in ConanSandbox/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/: ServerSettings.ini for gameplay and admin, Engine.ini for the server name and password, and Game.ini for the player cap and RCON. It uses UDP 7777 and 7778 for the game and 27015 for the Steam query, keeps the whole world in one SQLite file (game.db for the Exiled Lands, dlc_siptah.db for the Isle of Siptah), and loads Workshop mods from .pak files listed in ConanSandbox/Mods/modlist.txt. Admin rights come from the AdminPassword and the in-game "make me admin" option. Plan for 6-10 GB of memory for a busy server. The rest of this guide covers each file, the settings that matter, mods, the purge, and the backups that keep a server alive.

How Conan Exiles servers work#

The game can be played offline, in co-op hosted by a player, or on a dedicated server. A dedicated server keeps the world - buildings, thralls, pets, clans - running with nobody online, which is what makes decay, purges and raiding meaningful. Facts that shape the setup:

• The server binary is Windows only. Funcom ship ConanSandboxServer.exe. On Linux it runs under Wine or Proton; Wine and Proton for Windows-only servers covers the general approach.
• Characters live on the server. A character belongs to the server's database. Joining a new server means starting over.
• The world is one database file. game.db holds everything: every building piece, thrall, item and character. That makes it simple to back up and catastrophic to corrupt.
• Two maps. The Exiled Lands (the base game) and the Isle of Siptah (a DLC map). One server runs one map, with its own database.

Settings can be edited in the files, or from inside the game through the admin's Server Settings panel, which writes back to ServerSettings.ini. The panel is easier and avoids typos; the files are where you go when the server will not start or when you want to see every value at once.

Requirements#

Memory in Conan Exiles grows with building pieces and thralls far more than with players. A server where every clan has a fortress and a hundred thralls uses much more than a fresh one at the same player count.

Clock speed matters more than core count; the simulation is limited by its main thread. Disk use is the install plus mods plus the database and its backups; a long-lived game.db can reach hundreds of megabytes. Before buying more of anything, find which resource is at its limit - CPU vs RAM for game servers explains how.

Installing and first start#

$ steamcmd +@sSteamCmdForcePlatformType windows \    +force_install_dir /home/conan/server \    +login anonymous +app_update 443030 validate +quit

Start the server once so it writes its config files, wait until it is accepting players, then stop it cleanly. A typical start line:

ConanSandboxServer.exe -log -MaxPlayers=40 -Port=7777 -QueryPort=27015

To run the Isle of Siptah instead of the Exiled Lands, put the map path first on the start line:

ConanSandboxServer.exe /Game/DLC_EXT/DLC_Siptah/Maps/DLC_Isle_of_Siptah -log -MaxPlayers=40

Siptah uses its own database file, so switching maps does not touch the Exiled Lands world. On a panel host the start line is built from fields on the Startup tab; the values are the same. SteamCMD explained covers updating and validating the install.

The three config files#

All three live in ConanSandbox/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/. Edit them only while the server is stopped; the server can rewrite them on shutdown.

[OnlineSubsystem]ServerName=Longship ExilesServerPassword=herring42[URL]Port=7777

[/Script/Engine.GameSession]MaxPlayers=40[RconPlugin]RconEnabled=1RconPassword=change-this-rcon-passRconPort=25575RconMaxKarma=60

ServerSettings.ini holds nearly everything else, under one section:

[ServerSettings]AdminPassword=change-this-admin-passPVPEnabled=FalseIsBattlEyeEnabled=TrueMaxNudity=0ServerCommunity=0PlayerXPRateMultiplier=2.0HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.0ItemConvertionMultiplier=1.0ThrallConversionMultiplier=1.5ClanMaxSize=10DropEquipmentOnDeath=TrueEverybodyCanLootCorpse=FalseDisableBuildingAbandonment=False

Command-line arguments such as -MaxPlayers override the files. If a change does not apply, check the start line for an argument that sets the same value.

ServerSettings.ini: the settings that matter#

Note the spelling ItemConvertionMultiplier. It is misspelled in the game, and the correct English spelling does nothing. That is a fair summary of how Conan treats typos in general: a misspelled key is ignored without warning.

DisableBuildingAbandonment deserves a decision. Building decay exists so that a public server does not fill with the empty forts of people who stopped playing - each one is thousands of building pieces in the database, saved and loaded every time. On a private server for friends, turn decay off. On a public server, leave it on; it is the server's garbage collector.

The full list of keys is long and changes with updates. The admin Server Settings panel in game shows every setting your version supports with its current value, which is the easiest way to discover them.

PvP windows, raiding and the purge#

On PvP servers, RestrictPVPTime=True with PVPTimeWeekdayStart, PVPTimeWeekdayEnd, PVPTimeWeekendStart and PVPTimeWeekendEnd limits fighting to set hours. RestrictPVPBuildingDamageTime and its matching start and end keys do the same for raiding buildings. Times are in a four-digit 24-hour format such as 1800 for six in the evening, and they follow the server's clock - often UTC on hosted machines, so check before announcing hours.

Raid windows are the main tool for making PvP bearable for players with jobs. A clan cannot lose its base while everyone in it is asleep, and the server gets a predictable peak instead of constant low-level griefing. DynamicBuildingDamage offers another approach, enabling building damage only for a period after an attack starts; check the in-game panel for its options on your version.

The purge sends waves of NPCs to attack a clan's base, based on activity. It is controlled by keys such as EnablePurge, PurgeLevel (how strong the waves are), PurgePeriodicity, MinPurgeOnlinePlayers (how many clan members must be online) and RestrictPurgeTime with weekday and weekend windows. The purge system has been reworked more than once since launch, and key names and behaviour have moved with it. Configure it from the in-game Server Settings panel where possible, which only shows options your version understands, then look at what it wrote to ServerSettings.ini.

Purges are server load as well as gameplay. A wave of attackers at a large base is a burst of pathfinding and combat. On a busy server with many bases, keep MinPurgeOnlinePlayers sensible so purges only hit clans who are present to defend - which is also fairer.

Ports and connecting#

The game uses the game port and the port after it, so open both. If the server runs but is not in the browser, the query port is the first suspect; game server ports explained covers why. Players can also use Direct Connect with the address and game port, which is faster than the browser and confirms whether a listing problem is really a networking one.

Admins and RCON#

To become admin in game, open the Settings menu, go to Server Settings, and use the "make me admin" option with the AdminPassword; the console command MakeMeAdmin <password> does the same. Admins can open the admin panel to spawn items, teleport, fly, view building ownership and change server settings live. Every player who knows the password can do all of it, so share it sparingly and change it if someone leaves the admin team.

RCON lets you send commands without being in game - useful for scheduled broadcasts and for admin bots. Enable it in Game.ini as shown above, open the RCON port only to addresses that need it, and use a strong password. Commands such as listplayers and broadcast <message> are the common ones; the set supported over RCON is smaller than the in-game console's. RCON safely explains how to keep it from becoming the easiest way into your server.

Mods from the Steam Workshop#

Conan Exiles mods are Workshop items distributed as .pak files. A server loads mods from ConanSandbox/Mods/, in the order given by modlist.txt in the same folder, one file name per line:

Pippi.pakEEWA.pakExampleBuildingPack.pak

The server does not subscribe to Workshop items by itself in a vanilla setup. You download each mod - with a Steam client that owns the game, or with SteamCMD using the game's app id 440900 and workshop_download_item - copy the .pak into ConanSandbox/Mods/, and add its name to modlist.txt. Steam Workshop mods on dedicated servers covers the download step for Workshop games in general.

$ steamcmd +login your_steam_user \    +workshop_download_item 440900 880454836 +quit

Players need the same mods at the same versions. The game's launcher checks the server's mod list when they join and prompts them to subscribe to anything missing. Order matters: mods that change the same thing override each other, and many large mods state where they must go in the list - typically framework and admin mods near the top, content mods below. Mod load order explained covers the general idea.

Removing a mod from a live server deletes everything it placed - building pieces, items, thralls - and can leave holes in bases. Back up game.db first, and give players notice. Every game update can break mods until their authors update them, so do not let a modded server update automatically on patch day; what to do when a mod update breaks is the procedure.

Saves and backups#

The world lives in ConanSandbox/Saved/: game.db for the Exiled Lands, dlc_siptah.db for Siptah. The server writes to the database continuously as things change, rather than dumping the world on a timer, and it keeps backup copies of the database next to it at startup.

• Back up the database with the server stopped. Copying a SQLite database while it is being written can produce a broken copy. A nightly stop, backup and start is the reliable routine.
• Keep backups somewhere else. The game's own copies are on the same disk. Backups that actually restore explains why that matters.
• Back up before every update and every mod change. Updates have changed the database in the past, and a mod removal is irreversible without a backup.
• Restore by stopping the server, replacing game.db with the backup, and starting it.
• Wipe by stopping the server and moving game.db aside. The server creates a fresh world on the next start; characters, buildings and thralls are all gone.

On RE:NODE, ConanSandbox/Saved is reachable in the file manager and over SFTP, backup slots come with every game plan and restore with one button, and the Schedules tab can run the nightly stop-backup-start sequence as ordered tasks. Conan Exiles has no catalogue line of its own; see the game server list for what is offered.

Troubleshooting#

Settings revert after a restart. You edited the files while the server was running, or a start-line argument overrides them.

A setting has no effect. Check the spelling against the game's own spelling, including ItemConvertionMultiplier.

Players cannot join after adding a mod. They do not have it, or have a different version. The launcher should prompt them; if not, they must subscribe manually.

The server crashes on start after an update. A mod that has not been updated. Remove mods from modlist.txt one at a time until it starts.

Not in the server browser. Query port closed, or the browser is slow. Test with Direct Connect.

Raid windows open at the wrong time. The server clock is UTC.

FAQ#

How many players can a Conan Exiles server hold?

The cap is set by MaxPlayers, commonly 40 on public servers. Higher is possible with matching memory and CPU, but building and thrall counts are what decide whether the server copes.

Do players need to download mods manually?

Usually not. The launcher compares mod lists when joining and prompts players to subscribe to what is missing. They need the same versions as the server.

Can I run the Isle of Siptah on a dedicated server?

Yes. Put the Siptah map path first on the start line. Siptah uses its own database, separate from the Exiled Lands.

How do I wipe a Conan Exiles server?

Stop it and move game.db (or dlc_siptah.db) out of ConanSandbox/Saved. The next start creates a fresh world.

Can I move a single-player world to a server?

Single-player and co-op worlds use the same database format, so a game.db can be copied to a server's ConanSandbox/Saved. Characters inside it come along. Back up the server's own database first.