Conan Exiles Server Settings Explained: The Best Config for Your Group

For a private group of three to eight players, start with a password-protected PvE server, leave combat and survival near their normal values, and use moderate progression multipliers instead of turning every system to maximum. A practical baseline is PlayerXPRateMultiplier=1.5, HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.0, ItemConvertionMultiplier=1.5, CraftingCostMultiplier=0.75, and FuelBurnTimeMultiplier=1.5. Keep player and structure damage disabled, set the clan cap to your actual group size plus one, and enable the current coffer-based Purge system only when at least two players can reliably attend. This guide explains which file controls each option, how to apply settings safely, how PvE differs from PvE-Conflict and PvP, and how to avoid legacy Purge and networking mistakes.

Which Conan Exiles settings should a small private group use?

The numbers below are starting choices for a cooperative private world, not Funcom defaults or universal “best” values. They shorten repetitive real-time tasks while leaving exploration, combat, building decisions, and follower management meaningful. Change one category at a time, play a session, and then adjust the specific source of friction rather than raising every multiplier.

Area	Starting choice	Reason
Access	Use a non-obvious ServerPassword and a separate strong AdminPassword.	Keeps a small world private while preserving an administrative recovery path.
Ruleset	PVPEnabled=False; CanDamagePlayerOwnedStructures=False; keep ownership rules enabled.	Prevents accidental friendly fire and base damage without removing normal clan ownership.
Clan size	Set clanMaxSize to the group size plus one reserve slot.	Stops an unexpectedly large clan from changing the social balance.
Experience	PlayerXPRateMultiplier=1.5; leave time, kill, harvest, and craft XP submultipliers at 1.0 initially.	Speeds overall advancement without making one activity dominate.
Harvesting	HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.0; leave ResourceRespawnSpeedMultiplier=1.0.	Reduces repeated gathering while retaining travel and resource-location decisions.
Crafting	ItemConvertionMultiplier=1.5, CraftingCostMultiplier=0.75, FuelBurnTimeMultiplier=1.5.	Shortens station and fuel downtime without making resources irrelevant.
Thralls and animals	ThrallConversionMultiplier=1.5; AnimalPenCraftingTimeMultiplier=1.5.	Reduces long real-time waits while retaining follower systems.
Survival	Leave stamina, hunger, thirst, damage, and death-loot controls at normal values for the first session.	Lets the group identify the actual friction point before changing several systems.
Day and night	Leave DayCycleSpeedScale, DayTimeSpeedScale, NightTimeSpeedScale, and DawnDuskSpeedScale at 1.0.	Avoids unexpectedly fast travel, building, or Purge timing.
Purge	Set EnablePurge=True; set MinPurgeOnlinePlayers to 2 or your smallest reliable attendance.	Makes the event possible for a small group while giving you control over scheduling and preparation.
Visibility and protection	Keep BattlEye enabled where supported; select the correct ServerCommunity and region.	Helps players find the intended ruleset and protects a public-facing listing.

These values are deliberately conservative. A group that plays every day may prefer normal rates, while a weekend-only group can raise one or two bottlenecks after observing them. Funcom’s development team notes that a self-hosted server can use any settings its administrator chooses, so the right configuration is the one your group can understand and maintain.

Where are Conan Exiles server settings stored?

Conan Exiles divides configuration among three files and the launch process. Editing the wrong file, or changing a file while the server is running, commonly results in a setting that appears to be ignored.

What belongs in ServerSettings.ini?

ServerSettings.ini contains most gameplay controls: administrator access, PvP and structure damage, progression multipliers, survival rates, combat rules, harvesting, crafting, building, Purges, pets, region, and community behavior. The baseline keys in the table above belong here unless your host’s panel presents them as a labeled field.

What belongs in Engine.ini?

Engine.ini carries server identity and networking values such as ServerName, ServerPassword, port assignments, and tick or network settings. If a server is visible but unreachable, check this file and the firewall before changing gameplay multipliers.

What belongs in Game.ini?

Game.ini holds selected session values, including MaxPlayers, plus some plugin or mod settings. A control-panel field may write to this file automatically; do not duplicate the same key in multiple files unless the host’s documentation explicitly requires it.

How does the server start?

Launch with the dedicated-server application, StartServer.bat, or ConanSandboxServer.exe. The normal Steam game client is not a dedicated server and cannot substitute for this launch workflow. Managed panels usually wrap the same executable and expose an Apply & Restart button.

How do I change Conan Exiles settings safely?

Use this sequence whether you edit files directly or use a hosting panel. It prevents the server from overwriting your changes and gives you a rollback if a typo causes a startup failure.

1. Stop the server completely. Use the panel’s Stop command or close the dedicated-server process. Do not edit a live file and assume the running process will reload it.
2. Back up the configuration. Save copies of ServerSettings.ini, Engine.ini, and Game.ini with the date in the filename. Keep the last known-good copy outside the server’s live configuration folder.
3. Edit the exact key. Preserve capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. For example, the crafting-speed key is intentionally written ItemConvertionMultiplier, with “Convertion,” not “Conversion.”
4. Keep values in the intended format. Boolean controls use values such as True or False; multipliers use decimal numbers such as 1.5. Remove duplicate lines so you know which value the server will read.
5. Save, then restart. On a control panel, choose Apply & Restart rather than only saving a form. A restart is required for many persistent settings even when an administrator can alter a value in game.
6. Verify in a controlled session. Join as an administrator, test one changed system, and record the result. If the change did not apply, inspect the key spelling and the file the panel actually writes before raising the value again.

When several people administer a server, keep a short change log with the date, key, old value, new value, and reason. That record is more useful than trying to remember which of ten simultaneous changes altered the experience.

Should our server be PvE, PvE-Conflict, or PvP?

Choose PvE for cooperative friends and builders, PvE-Conflict for groups that want scheduled player combat without routine base raiding, and PvP for an adversarial survival community prepared to publish and enforce detailed rules. Player damage and structure damage are separate controls, so the label alone never describes the full experience.

Ruleset	Player damage	Structure damage	Raid or combat policy	Administrative burden	Best fit
PvE	Off	Off	No raid windows needed	Lowest	Cooperative friends and builders
PvE-Conflict	On during the configured combat mode	Usually off unless explicitly enabled	Optional combat and building windows	Medium	Groups wanting combat without routine base raiding
PvP	On	On or time-windowed	Raid windows and ownership rules are core policy	Highest	Adversarial survival groups

Why is password-protected PvE the safest starting point?

Set PVPEnabled=False and CanDamagePlayerOwnedStructures=False for a private cooperative world. This removes accidental friendly fire and destructive testing while leaving normal ownership and clan systems intact. If the group later wants combat, enable player damage first and explain the exact combat mode before touching structure damage.

When does PvE-Conflict make sense?

PvE-Conflict suits friends who want the tension of player combat at defined times but do not want ordinary sessions to become base-raiding contests. Publish the combat schedule, whether structures can be damaged, and what happens to ownership or abandoned bases; otherwise players will interpret the same setting differently.

What does a PvP administrator need to document?

A PvP server needs clear combat windows, structure-damage windows, clan and ownership expectations, and wipe or recovery policies. Keep an administrator available for disputes, because a technically valid setting can still produce an unfair outcome if players did not know when it applied.

How do XP, harvesting, crafting, and follower multipliers work?

Most rate controls are multipliers. Values above 1.0 generally accelerate experience, harvesting, crafting throughput, or conversion; values below 1.0 slow or reduce a process. Some controls work in the opposite direction: a lower crafting-cost multiplier makes recipes cheaper, while a higher spoil-time multiplier generally delays spoilage. Always read the label’s direction before assuming “higher is faster.”

How should XP be adjusted?

Start with PlayerXPRateMultiplier=1.5 and leave time-, kill-, harvest-, and craft-specific XP submultipliers at 1.0. This gives progress across normal play instead of making one activity the dominant leveling route. If the group only dislikes a single bottleneck, change that submultiplier rather than the global rate.

How should harvesting and respawn be adjusted?

HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.0 doubles the amount gained from a harvest action relative to a 1.0 baseline, while ResourceRespawnSpeedMultiplier=1.0 leaves the interval unchanged. This combination reduces repetitive swings without making every resource node immediately available. Raise respawn speed only after observing whether travel and contested resource locations have become the real constraint.

What do the crafting values change?

Use ItemConvertionMultiplier=1.5 exactly as spelled in the game files to shorten item-conversion or station processing time. Set CraftingCostMultiplier=0.75 to reduce recipe costs and FuelBurnTimeMultiplier=1.5 to make each fuel unit last longer. The misspelled conversion key is significant: a corrected spelling can be silently ignored.

How long should thralls and animals take?

ThrallConversionMultiplier=1.5 and AnimalPenCraftingTimeMultiplier=1.5 reduce real-time waiting while preserving the need to capture, transport, and manage followers. Keep hunger systems enabled initially so followers and animals remain part of the survival loop; disable or greatly reduce maintenance only if the group explicitly wants a low-maintenance world.

Which survival, combat, and time settings should stay normal?

Leave stamina, hunger, thirst, damage, and death-loot controls at their normal values for the first session. These settings change moment-to-moment risk, not just the length of a task, so changing them together makes it difficult to tell why the game feels too easy or too punishing.

Why leave the day and night cycle at 1.0?

Keep DayCycleSpeedScale, DayTimeSpeedScale, NightTimeSpeedScale, and DawnDuskSpeedScale at 1.0 until the group has experienced a full cycle. Faster values can compress travel, building, darkness, and event preparation at the same time, making a Purge or expedition arrive before players expect it.

When should difficulty be changed?

Change one survival or combat control only after identifying a repeated problem: for example, excessive downtime from hunger, or a death penalty that discourages exploration. Record the original value so you can reverse the change without restoring the entire configuration.

How do current Age of War Purges work?

Current Age of War Purges are driven by the treasure value stored in a clan coffer and use difficulty levels 1 through 10. They are not controlled by the old purge-meter keys circulated in older setup guides.

What should a small group configure?

Set EnablePurge=True only when the group wants the event. Set MinPurgeOnlinePlayers to 2, or to the smallest number who can reliably attend, then choose preparation and duration values that fit a scheduled session. Because the trigger is coffer value, agree on who deposits treasure and how quickly the clan wants difficulty to rise.

Which legacy keys should be removed?

Keys such as ClanPurgeTrigger, ClanScoreUpateFrenquency, and PurgeLevel have no effect on current builds according to current server configuration guidance. Leaving them in a file can create false confidence: the server may start normally while ignoring the values. Delete obsolete entries or comment them out according to your host’s syntax, then use the current coffer and difficulty controls.

Why should update dates matter?

An Enhanced update released on December 9, 2025 included Purge-spawn and land-claim fixes. Recheck Purge behavior after a major patch, especially if an event fails to spawn, targets an unexpected area, or ignores a land claim. Do not copy a pre-Age-of-War guide into a current server without checking the build it describes.

Which ports must a dedicated server expose?

Open and forward the ports required by your platform, firewall, and router. Funcom’s current figures are:

Protocol and port	Purpose
UDP 7777	Gameplay traffic
UDP 7778	Server-browser pinger; hard-coded as the game port plus one
UDP 27015	Server query traffic
TCP 25575	RCON administration

Allow only the ports you need and restrict RCON access with a strong password and firewall rules. If players can connect by direct address but cannot find the server in a browser, check the pinger and query ports rather than changing gameplay settings. If nobody can connect, verify the router’s forwarding target, the host firewall, the server’s bind address, and whether another service already occupies a port.

How do I use a managed control panel instead of editing files?

A managed host is an optional convenience path: it supplies the machine, startup process, backups, and a form-based configuration panel. The labels and available switches vary by provider and platform, so verify that a field writes the intended key and that the service supports the game version and mods you need.

1. Create the server and select the Conan Exiles edition and region appropriate for your players.
2. Set the server name, password, administrator password, maximum players, and community visibility.
3. Open the gameplay or server-settings section and enter the PvE, clan, XP, harvest, crafting, follower, and Purge values.
4. Apply the configuration and use the panel’s restart action. A saved form that has not restarted the process may not be active.
5. Download or view the generated files so you know whether a value landed in ServerSettings.ini, Engine.ini, or Game.ini.
6. Keep a local backup and record the panel’s last known-good configuration before installing mods or changing the server version.

Managed hosting can simplify networking, but it does not remove the need to understand the ruleset. A panel cannot decide whether your group wants PvE-Conflict windows, a two-player Purge threshold, or normal death-loot risk.

What problems commonly make a setting appear broken?

The server ignores a crafting-speed change

Check that the key is ItemConvertionMultiplier, including the intentional spelling. Confirm it is in the file or panel section that controls server gameplay, remove duplicates, stop the server before saving, and restart it afterward.

Players can damage one another on a PvE server

Verify PVPEnabled=False and confirm that the server actually loaded the edited file. Also check whether a conflict mode, event rule, or administrator command temporarily enabled combat; player damage and structure damage are independent settings.

Players can find the server but cannot join

Check UDP 7777 first, then the firewall and router forwarding rule. A visible listing does not prove gameplay traffic is reachable; UDP 7778 and UDP 27015 support discovery, while UDP 7777 carries the actual game connection.

The Purge never starts

Confirm EnablePurge=True, set the minimum online-player threshold to a number the group can meet, and ensure the clan coffer contains the required treasure value. Remove reliance on legacy purge-meter keys, and test again after checking the game’s current patch behavior.

Changes disappear after a restart

The server may be regenerating files from a control-panel template, or the process may not have been fully stopped when you edited them. Apply the panel configuration, restart through its official workflow, and compare the generated files with your backup.

Players report unexpected lag after raising rates

Rates such as harvesting or respawn do not replace network capacity, CPU, or memory. Return the last changed multiplier to its previous value, test with the normal player count, and change one setting at a time so you can isolate whether the issue is gameplay load or connectivity.

How should the group tune the server after the first session?

Use a short review instead of a blanket difficulty change. Ask each player to identify the one activity that consumed too much real time and the one system that felt too forgiving.

• If everyone ran out of materials but exploration still felt good, raise harvesting modestly before changing respawn speed.
• If progression stalled at every level, raise the global XP multiplier; if only combat or crafting lagged, adjust that source instead.
• If stations and fuel caused the delay, keep the 1.5 conversion and fuel suggestions but reconsider recipe cost separately.
• If followers became a chore, adjust conversion or pen time before disabling hunger and maintenance.
• If combat felt trivial, restore damage or stamina toward normal rather than reducing every resource requirement.
• If Purges conflicted with schedules, lower the online threshold only when the attending players can defend the base, and select a preparation window the group can honor.

Keep the final values in a shared note with the server’s game build and the date they were tested. That context matters when an update changes a system or when a returning player asks why the world behaves differently from an older save.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change these settings while players are online?

Some values can be changed through in-game administrator commands, but file-based edits are safer when the server is stopped. A restart is commonly required for persistence, and editing a live file risks having the running process overwrite your change.

What happens if I set a multiplier below 1.0?

For many speed or amount controls, a value below 1.0 slows the process or reduces the output compared with the default. Direction is key-specific, so verify whether the label describes speed, duration, amount, or cost before using a lower value.

How many players can a private Conan Exiles server support?

The playable limit is controlled by the server’s maximum-player setting and by the machine and network hosting it. Set MaxPlayers for your intended audience, then test during a normal session rather than assuming a larger slot count will perform well.

Do mods change where settings are stored?

Mods can add entries to Game.ini or introduce their own configuration files, while core gameplay values remain associated with the standard server files. Follow the mod author’s required load order and back up the working configuration before updating a mod.

Should I wipe the world when changing rates?

Changing progression, harvesting, or crafting multipliers normally does not require a wipe, but a wipe destroys the group’s existing progress and should not be used as a first troubleshooting step. Back up the world and configuration, test the new rates, and reserve a wipe for a deliberate restart decision.