"I walk in a land of desperation. A wasteland of the exiled and the outcast. Where the broken strive to build and the weak are crushed while the strong survive."

These are the words of Conan the Barbarian as he strides across a desert wasteland, skulls and bones crushing beneath is sandaled feet.

Conan Exiles is first and foremost a multiplayer game that can be enjoyed on both private and public servers, but it will also feature a single-player mode.

Journey through a vast, seamless world filled with the ruins of ancient civilizations and uncover its dark history and buried secrets as you seek to conquer and dominate the exiled lands yourself. Start with nothing but your bare hands and forge the legacy of your clan, from simple tools and weapons to gigantic fortresses and entire cities.

Five months after Conan Exiles' launch, Funcom has released the biggest update since the game left Early Access.

In this update, free for everyone who owns the game, players finally get the chance to tame animals and use them in battle or even build a farm where they can produce materials for you. The update also introduces an epic new dungeon called Midnight Grove and a new religion allowing players to summon the massive flying avatar of Jhebbal Sag.

The Savage Frontier Pack also just launched on PC and is coming to Xbox One and PS4 on the 17th of October. It is a paid DLC which introduces more pet skins, new equipment, and new building pieces. Similarly to the previous two DLCs, Savage Frontier Pack is available for $9.99 (pricing may differ across currencies).

Build your settlement and fortress from the new Frontier set of building pieces, made to repel ruthless Pict raiders in the frontier lands of Aquilonia.  Equip yourself with brand new Pictish armor sets, like the Pictish Wizard armor. Craft a set of new Pictish weapons, adorned with mystic runes, fur and the skulls of wild animals. Get five exclusive pet skins which can be used to change the appearance of animals tamed in the new pet system and adorn your body with new decorative warpaints.

The Savage Frontier Pack contains:

• 39 new Frontier building pieces.
  • A full set of building pieces with the same stats as existing tier three.
• 15 new armor pieces in three sets, such as the Pictish Warchief Heavy Armor.
  • Light, medium and heavy sets with an epic end-game version of each.
• 9 new fearsome Pictish weapons.
  • Same power as iron weapons with an epic end-game version of each weapon.
• 5 all new pet skins which can be used with the new pet system.
  • Have your own exclusive looking wolf, bear or panther pet.
• 5 new warpaints in Pictish style.
  • Cool looking warpaints of the crocodile, snake or raven.

All the new content from The Savage Frontier Pack is exclusive to this DLC and adds a host of new visual options but does not give any in-game advantage in power. All the new items have comparable stats to existing items.

“Pets and taming are important new additions to the gameplay in Conan Exiles,” says Creative Director Joel Bylos. “This is something players have been asking for and we are very excited to finally be able to bring it to them. First you must head out into the world and either find an animal egg or a baby, put them in your animal pen, and then make sure you feed them properly. Once grown up they can become trusty companions in battle or even useful in production of materials. From tigers to rhinos – there are many different pets to tame and if you feed them right they might even turn into a rare version of that animal.”

Pet system and taming

You asked for it and we are happy to deliver: From today on forward you will be able to tame and raise your very own pet(s). Explore the Exiled Lands with your trusty companion by your side or build a farm to have them produce materials for you.

You will want to start your career as a Beastmaster by building an animal pen for your new future friends. These shelters come in three different tiers and have 5 available pens to hold your animals.

Following this, you will need to obtain a baby or an egg. These can be found in the world, and on certain (rare) vendors so keep your eyes open while you travel! You’ll be able to place your baby pet version into the pen and have them grow into an adult and trusty companion over time.

However, don’t forget to feed and treat them well or you might just end up with a carcass!

While you have a baby animal in your pen, the type of food you offer it will influence your chances to have your baby grow into a greater pet version: A rarer, more powerful and special looking variation.

The new pet system will also introduce the mechanic of thrall feeding. Special Feed boxes and Thrall Pots are available for easier, automatic food distribution to several pets or thralls for those of you who are planning for bigger armies of two and four legged friends.

While keeping your pets happy and fed they will eat any type of food that they can digest. However, feeding them their favorite snacks will grant them temporary buffs.

Very conveniently, live animals will also produce dung, which is used to create compost for your planters.

Even in the sad and unfortunate event of your pet’s untimely death, you can still make use of them. Placing dead pets inside a Liquid Separator will grind them down into blood, bone and hide resources.

Jhebbal Sag Religion and the Midnight Grove

Do you have a beast inside? Then you will be excited that with this new update we also introduce the 6th and final religion of the primal god, Jhebbal Sag, Lord of Beasts. Unlocking his religion is quite different than the previous ones:

You will need to track down one of his followers out in the world, learn a crafting recipe and create a special potion to gain access to the Midnight Grove where the god himself will test your worth to be granted or denied the right to worship Jhebbal Sag.

If you prove yourself worthy, you will be able to learn his unique religion recipes, letting you craft his religious altars and tools, such as:

• Lures: which will attract an animal of a special type within your vicinity. You can lure them into traps or force them to move to a different area
• Hunters Potion: increases your accuracy
• Night-Eye Potion: gives you nightsight for a set amount of time
• Sign of Jhebbal Sag: You place a sign on the floor and lure an animal over it. It will then get taken back to the God’s Domain. Depending on the type of animals you send him he will either deem it worthy or unworthy and send you back a type of champion to test your strength. The strongest of these champions will need to be harvested to craft the signature weapon that we think you’ll really love.

The new Jhebbal Sag religious path and the Midnight Grove Dungeon have direct ties into the Pet system. Once you can travel to the Midnight Grove you can use these trips to collect Shadebloom, which you use to create Shadespiced foods. These grant you a higher change of getting a rare, Greater, pet when you’re raising them in a pen.

Also, coming out alongside the Midnight Grove is a new dynamic respawn system, which will allow you to respawn at the beginning of the dungeon if you die.

Off-Hand Combos

There are some things that you associate with the Conan world, such as dual wielding certain weapon types. With our latest combat update, we are introducing two special off-hand weapons which will open up a lot of new options for you to face your enemies in battle.

Until now your main hand weapon was used for a very specific goal depending on which weapon you were using: Swords to cripple your enemy, Maces while going up against shields and if you want a mix of both you might have used an axe, for example.

As a new mechanic, equipping a shield or a throwing axe in your off-hand will now enable new combos. This will not affect your left click (light attack) but it will change the heavy attacks, leading to completely different heavy chain combos. The heavy chain will now include additional attacks depending on which off-hand weapon you have equipped.

These new off-hand hits also come with completely new properties: The throwing axe will cripple, and shields will add the shield smash property with each hit.  If you combo a one-handed spear with a shield in your off-hand you will also get hyper armor during your attacks.

This means you can now add several debuffs or use different properties the same time. Use a Mace for sunder and shield bash then add the off-hand throwing axe to also add cripple. Or if you want to make a 100% sure your enemy gets crippled, why not increase the chances and use a sword and the throwing axe together for cripple mayhem?

Be warned though: these combos take a toll on your character and you might want to plan your builds and armor choices accordingly.

All of these combos come with really cool new combat animations and unique kickass finishers.

New Specialist Arrows

This update will also introduce the new specialist arrow feats which will unlock additional arrow types for all you archery fans:

• Light Arrows (which will light up a small area temporarily on the point of impact)
• Utility Arrows (healing arrows which do damage and deploy a healing over time cloud on impact), poison arrows which deploy a poison field upon impact), explosive arrows, tar arrows and corruption arrows. You can combine these arrows to create combos such as big explosions by shooting an explosive arrow into a poison field
• Ancient Arrows

You are an exile, one of thousands cast out to fend for themselves in a barbaric wasteland swept in sandstorms and besieged by enemies on every side. Grow crops or hunt animals for food. Harvest resources to build weapons and tools. Build a shelter to survive. Ride across a vast world and explore alone, or band together with other players to build entire settlements and fortified strongholds, and wage war against your enemies as you unleash your fury in savage, fast-paced combat that will see limbs flying and heads rolling.

Enslave the bandits of the exiled lands to do your bidding by breaking them on the grueling Wheel of Pain. Sacrifice the beating hearts of your enemies on the blood-soiled altars of your god to seize true power and glory. Summon the colossal avatar of your god and see them lay waste to your enemies and their homes.

You can even align yourself with the Hyborian gods, building altars to their glory and sacrificing the bloody hearts of enemy players upon them to shift the balance of power in your favor. Players will also have to face the purge: a special event where NPC armies from the neighboring kingdoms sweep in to destroy the progress that the exiles have made. Will you stand together with your fellow players against the purge, or will you use it to your advantage?

Just remember: in this brutal land of vengeful gods, bloodthirsty cannibals, and vicious monsters, survival is more than tracking down food and water. Explore mysterious ruins in search of treasure and knowledge, but beware the risk of your mind being corrupted by the dark forces of the world. Traverse vast sand dunes and seek shelter from scouring sandstorms sweeping across the burning sands. March into war against your enemies and unleash your savage fury in brutal combat. Go in unprepared and it will be your head rolling and limbs flying.

Conan Exiles is not an empty sandbox. It is a world rich in history where you must discover the knowledge and secrets of ancient civilizations as you struggle to build your own.

Conan Exiles is currently available on PC, Xbox One, and PS4.