Conan Exiles Server Hosting

What is a Conan Exiles dedicated server and why rent one?

The Conan Exiles dedicated server is the server application Funcom provides for its open-world survival game, running the world independently of players 24/7. On official servers Funcom sets the rules and large clans can easily upset the balance; on your own server you decide everything from PvP hours and building decay to the mod list and admin policy.

Communities that open their own Conan Exiles server usually want one of these experiences:

• Roleplay (RP) servers: Dialogue-, trade- and story-focused servers, mostly enriched with Workshop mods.
• Timed PvP: Clan-war servers where building damage is enabled only at set hours.
• PvE and building: Groups of friends who want to build huge structures, collect thralls and clear dungeons together.

Funcom’s server software is distributed for free on Steam; players need to own the game. The dedicated server keeps in-game systems such as Purge attacks, thermal cycles and building decay running while players are offline, so it is important to align the rule settings with your community’s play times.

A server located in Türkiye suits players in Türkiye and the surrounding region; in a melee-heavy game, a nearby server helps hits and blocks feel more consistent. On your own server you can also offer a familiar environment with rules, administration and time zone settings tailored to your community.

How much RAM does a Conan Exiles server need?

A small Conan Exiles server runs on 6–8 GB of memory, while a server with more than 40 players and many Workshop mods may need 16 GB or more. The values in the table are estimates; what really decides it is how many structures and thralls accumulate in the world.

The main factors that increase resource needs in Conan Exiles:

• Building pieces: Every wall, foundation and decoration is an object the server tracks. Clans building large fortresses quickly make the world heavier.
• Thralls and pets: Every NPC that works, fights or follows means AI calculations.
• Mods: Mods adding new maps, creatures and systems significantly affect memory and start-up time.
• game.db size: World state is kept in a single SQLite database; as the file grows, save and start-up times get longer.

The server software is based on Unreal Engine and much of the game logic runs on a single thread, so fast dedicated cores are worth more than many slow ones. If you use Windows Server, reserve a few GB of memory for the operating system too. Planning resources for a world full of structures a few months in, rather than the empty world of the first weeks, reduces the need to change plans mid-season.

Game package or VDS for Conan Exiles?

At LIONFIN you run a Conan Exiles server on a VDS; this page lists VDS plans for the game. You can install the server yourself or open a support ticket from the customer panel after ordering the VDS and ask for the setup.

Since the Conan Exiles server software is released for Windows, a virtual server where you choose the operating system is a particularly good fit. On a VDS you can:

• Install Windows Server and run the server natively, as supported by Funcom,
• Or try running it on Linux through Wine without a licence (not officially supported),
• Manage Workshop mods, settings files and the game.db database directly,
• Run a test server on the same machine to try mod updates before applying them to the live world.

Windows Server licences are available through our operating system licences category, and the general differences between a ready-made game package and a VDS are covered in the game server package vs VDS comparison. Current core, memory and disk values are shown in the plan table on this page.

How do you install a Conan Exiles server?

The Conan Exiles server is downloaded with SteamCMD from app ID 443030 and started with ConanSandboxServer.exe. The Dedicated Server Launcher announced on Funcom’s forums is an alternative for those who want to manage settings through a graphical interface, but file-based management is more flexible for backups and automation.

1. Install SteamCMD and download the files:

   steamcmd +force_install_dir C:\conan\server +login anonymous +app_update 443030 validate +quit

2. Start and stop the server once; the settings files are created under ConanSandbox\Saved\Config\WindowsServer\.
3. Edit ServerSettings.ini, Engine.ini and Game.ini.
4. Open the required ports in the firewall.
5. Define the server as a Windows service or scheduled task so it starts automatically after reboots.

The server name and password are kept in Engine.ini, game rules and the admin password in ServerSettings.ini, and some network settings such as RCON in Game.ini. Edit the files while the server is stopped; a running server can overwrite values when it shuts down.

Which ports need to be open?

By default a Conan Exiles server needs 7777/UDP (game), 7778/UDP (raw UDP helper port) and 27015/UDP (Steam query) open; if you use RCON, 25575/TCP is also required.

The helper port cannot be changed independently; it shifts automatically when you change the game port. If you open a second Conan Exiles server on the same VDS, offset the game port by at least two (for example 7779) and choose a separate query port. Community sources note that in some cases the game port is also used over TCP when transferring Workshop mod files; if you have mod download problems, add a 7777/TCP rule as well.

How do you set game rules with ServerSettings.ini?

Conan Exiles gameplay rules live in ServerSettings.ini, which covers hundreds of settings such as PvP, building damage, the Purge and gathering multipliers. This file is what really defines your community’s character.

The most frequently edited setting groups:

• PvP and building damage: Whether PvP is on and on which days and hours building damage opens. The basis of timed PvP servers.
• Multipliers: Gathering, experience, crafting time and thrall conversion speed. Speeds up progress for groups with limited time.
• Purge: Whether NPC attacks on bases are enabled, how often and how hard.
• Building decay: How long abandoned structures last; stops the world bloating with unused buildings.
• Admin password: The password used to access the admin panel in-game.

Disabling building decay may look tempting, but on long-running servers it leads to abandoned bases piling up, and with them a growing game.db file and memory use. A reasonable decay period protects active players and keeps the server light. Remember to copy the file before changing settings.

Announcing settings clearly to your community matters as much as the settings themselves. Publishing multipliers, PvP hours and decay time in the server description or your Discord channel ensures players arrive with the right expectations and cuts down complaints like “why did my base disappear?” from the start.

How do you install and order Workshop mods?

To add mods to a Conan Exiles server, download the mods’ .pak files to the server and list them in load order in ConanSandbox\Mods\modlist.txt. Players download any missing mods from the Steam Workshop when connecting.

1. Note the Workshop IDs of the mods you want to use.
2. Download the mods with SteamCMD; Conan Exiles mods are published under the game’s Steam app ID (440900):

   steamcmd +login anonymous +workshop_download_item 440900 MOD_ID +quit

   Some mods may not download with an anonymous login; in that case you need to sign in with a Steam account.
3. Write the paths of the downloaded .pak files into modlist.txt, one per line.
4. Restart the server and confirm in the log that the mods loaded.

Order matters: when mods change the same game item, the mod later in the list overrides the earlier one. Follow the recommended order on the mod pages. When you update mods, players need to download the same version; a version difference produces a mod mismatch error on connect. Always back up game.db before removing a mod, as structures and items it added may be lost permanently.

How do admin permissions and RCON work?

Conan Exiles is administered in two ways: the in-game admin panel and a remote RCON connection. To become an admin in-game, enter the admin password defined in ServerSettings.ini in the game’s settings menu; this gives you access to the admin panel, teleporting and item spawning tools.

RCON lets you send commands to the server without joining the game. To enable it, add this section to Game.ini:

[RconPlugin]
RconEnabled=1
RconPassword=a-long-and-unique-password
RconPort=25575

RCON runs over TCP. Rather than opening this port to everyone, allowing only your own IP address in the firewall is the most effective way to protect your management channel. With RCON tools you can make announcements to players, list who is online and kick problem players.

Because the admin password is a shared secret, change it whenever the admin team changes. Every action in the admin panel affects the world directly; setting rules from the start, such as admins not giving themselves in-game advantages, is good practice for keeping the community’s trust.

How do you back up game.db and migrate a world?

In Conan Exiles the entire world state, meaning structures, thralls, inventories and characters, is kept in a single SQLite database called ConanSandbox\Saved\game.db. Protecting this file means protecting your whole server.

• Copy it while stopped: The server writes to the database constantly; a copy taken from a running server may be inconsistent. Take the backup by stopping the server briefly or during a scheduled restart.
• The server’s own backups: On start-up the server keeps previous versions of the database in the same folder. They are useful for quick rollbacks but not enough on their own because they sit on the same disk.
• Settings files and mod list: Include the Config folder and modlist.txt in the backup; a modded game.db will not open correctly without the same mod list.

When migrating from another provider, copy game.db, the Config folder and the mod list to the same paths on the new server.

How do you improve server performance?

Most performance problems on Conan Exiles servers come from the world bloating over time; keeping the world clean is a more lasting fix than adding resources.

When diagnosing, first check whether the problem affects all players or only a certain area of the map. Stutter in one area usually comes from a huge base or hundreds of thralls there; talking to the clan involved and setting building limits is then more effective than upgrading the server.

• Keep building decay on: Cleaning up abandoned structures lowers the object count.
• Thrall and pet limits: A follower cap per clan keeps AI load under control.
• Scheduled restarts: Unreal Engine servers that stay up for long periods can creep up in memory use. A daily restart at a quiet hour balances this.
• Review your mods: Remove mods that are unused or no longer updated.
• Database maintenance: Some servers clean up game.db regularly with community tools; only do this after taking a backup.

To monitor the server’s live load, Task Manager and Resource Monitor on Windows, or htop on Linux, are enough. Comparing player ping with server CPU and memory use at the time of a problem tells you whether delay comes from the server or the network.

How is a Conan Exiles server protected against DDoS and attacks?

Competitive PvP servers can be targeted by deliberate connection attacks from rival clans during raid hours; protection comes from network-level DDoS filtering combined with correct server configuration. On LIONFIN infrastructure the RouteFence firewall filters at the network level and traffic is monitored 24/7 by our NOC and SOC teams; more on our data center page.

Measures to take on the server:

• Open only the game, helper and query ports to everyone; restrict RCON to admin IPs.
• On Windows Server, protect the Remote Desktop port with a strong password and IP restrictions.
• Renew the admin password when the admin team changes.
• Install mods only from known Workshop publishers.

Security in Conan Exiles is not limited to network attacks; cheats and exploits also undermine a server’s fairness. Keeping anti-cheat options enabled in the server settings, inspecting suspicious players’ inventories and bases through the admin panel and stating clearly in your rules which behaviour is banned all reduce disputes. Logging admin interventions in a dedicated channel also provides transparency against later complaints of favouritism. If you need to roll the world back after an attack or exploit, your regular game.db backups are what make it possible.

What are the most common Conan Exiles server errors?

Most problems on Conan Exiles servers come from port conflicts, mod mismatches or a corrupted database.

If you cannot solve it, open a support ticket from the customer panel; attaching the last lines of the server log and your mod list speeds up diagnosis.