Players of Conan Exiles enjoy how they can now slay through the enemies – the innovations are well received. Only one thing is souring many fans about the new combat system – the ranged combat.
On April 17, Conan Exiles received a giant update that provided players with plenty of material to test right before the release. The almost 20-gigabyte patch brought many new features like farming and purges.
The core of the update, and likely the reason for its size, was the overhauled combat system of the survival MMO. Many changes to the old system were intended to make fights smoother and improve the game feel. But did they really succeed?
What is new in the combat system?
The most important new feature of the combat system in Conan Exiles is that now every weapon has its own unique style. If you chain light and heavy attacks, you can string together combos of up to four attacks, making fights significantly smoother.
Additionally, the weapons now have specific properties that you can work with in combat. You can recognize what effects the weapons trigger by the color of the trails they create with heavy attacks. Red trails, like those from daggers, cause the opponent to bleed. Yellow trails, like those from maces, cripple them.
Dodging rolls and kicks round out the combat experience. They add strategic depth to fights, especially in PvP. We have compiled all changes to the combat system in our summary of the patch notes for you.
The community likes the new combat system – with reservations
Overall, the new combat system is well received by the players of Conan Exiles. Playing with various weapon types is fun, and tactical play is rewarded.
It no longer feels like a dull exchange of blows, where the one who acts foolishly loses. However, there are three points that are frequently mentioned and there are several topics in the feedback forums regarding these.
Camera control
Since the update, it is hardly possible to fight in first-person perspective. With every movement, the camera moves into strange positions, and the weapons are not always visible. The combat is not precisely controllable in this way. Fighting in third person is significantly easier.
Healing
With the patch, there was also an adjustment to healing. Food restores health, even in combat, which particularly annoys PvP players. Fights now drag on and are often determined by the amount of potions and steaks carried.
Ranged combat
The biggest point of criticism that keeps being mentioned is ranged combat – as mentioned in this forum post. Most players complain about the changes to bow and arrow. The entire ranged combat system has been adjusted and modified.
Arrows now deal less damage and fly significantly slower. The speed of the projectiles is sometimes not even enough to reliably hit a moving target. For hunting an easy target, arrows are consumed in quantities that are disproportionate to the loot.
Handling them has also changed significantly. The string cannot be held after being drawn, a “heavy attack” is triggered by the character itself, and the player no longer has control over it.
Additionally, arrows no longer adhere to logical physics. They almost always hit where the crosshair is located, just significantly delayed. There is no real trajectory anymore. Where bows were previously seen as too strong, they are now nearly useless. Particularly frustrating: NPC archers are unaffected by these changes and can hit every player with pinpoint accuracy.
Conclusion and future: Good, with room for improvement
In summary, the combat update is well received, and the changes seem to be very well liked by the community so far. Previously, the combat system was a pain point for many players, which has now been improved. The new system significantly enhances the game.
However, most fans are also aware that the update is a test. They raise the points of criticism, especially regarding ranged combat, to have them improved.
In the most recent dev blog on April 20, the developers stated that they are trying to give archers at least the ability to hold the string again. They also take the rest of the criticism to heart and monitor the situation. There will likely be changes, but not at launch, rather after the release of the game.
