- Conan Exiles Serpent Venom Gland Guide – The Venom That Cures Everything! - January 7, 2024
- Conan Exiles Flesh of Remembrance Guide – Embrace Your Inner Beast - January 3, 2024
- Grave Matter Conan Exiles Guide – Give Up Your Dead! - December 7, 2023
The world of Conan Exiles is rough, where survival of the fittest reigns supreme. If you don’t want to become someone else’s thrall, you must make a few yourself. How? By beating someone senseless and dragging them back to your torture wheel, of course!
I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve beaten exiles unconscious and brought them to their new home many times in Conan Exiles. Who else is going to tend to my smithy? My preferred weapon of choice has always been the blunt javelin. Here’s why it should be yours, too.
Quick Beat-Em-Up Blunt Javelin Details
You have a base that needs thralls. Time is short in the wasteland. Take a quick look at these details for the blunt weapon to kickstart the thrall-taming process.
| Crafting Location | Blacksmith Bench |
| Crafting Prerequisites | Skirmisher Knowledge, Furnace, Iron Tools Knowledge |
| Required Crafting Resources | 5 Branches, 3 Iron Ingots |
| Blunted Javelin Features | Health Damage, Concussive, Thrown |
| Weight | 1 |
| Attribute | Agility |
| Rarity | Common |
The Blunt Javelin: An Effective Stunner
The blunt javelin is a weapon in Conan Exiles that delivers crushing, concussive, damage to a target. It isn’t a weapon you use to kill an enemy. It’s much more effective at knocking a target out for taming.
That said, I have killed a few weaker enemies with it. So, while it’s not impossible to kill enemies with the blunt javelin, its primary use is knocking them unconscious.
It’s also an effective beginner weapon for damaging armor. The blunt javelin has an armor penetration rating of 16%. You can break through your enemy’s armor with a few hits and switch to a better weapon to bring them to their knees.
How to Unlock the Blunt Javelin
Now, one of the reasons why I love using the blunt javelin is that it’s easy to unlock. While it isn’t among the first weapons you can access in Conan Exiles, it is just a little behind them.
1. Learn the Skirmisher Knowledge to Access Javelins
You must unlock a few different types of Knowledge to access the blunt javelin recipe. The first is learning Skirmisher Knowledge. I tend to use this knowledge anyway since I’m a DPS guy. The Skirmisher branch of weaponry covers daggers and javelins. The good news is that this Knowledge is entirely free to unlock. You don’t need any Knowledge Points.
Now, you can learn the blunted javelin recipe, but you still won’t be able to make it. Go ahead and unlock the recipe with 1 Knowledge Point to get it out of the way.
2. Unlock Stone Tools If You Haven’t Already
Your next step is to unlock Stone Tools Knowledge. If you’ve been following the game’s Journey Steps (particularly the Survivor Journey), you’ve unlocked this Knowledge already. Why do you need this Knowledge specifically? You will need to unlock the Furnace Knowledge, which you’ll find within this branch.
While Stone Tools may not have cost you Knowledge Points, the furnace will. You’ll need two Knowledge Points to unlock it.
- Side Tip: Need more Knowledge Points? Keep crafting, killing, and harvesting to level up.
3. Unlock Iron Tools to Access the Blunted Javelin Recipe
One final step is to unlock the ability to craft the blunted javelin in Conan Exiles. You need to unlock Iron Tools Knowledge with three Knowledge Points. It’s expensive, but you’ll want to use iron tools as quickly as you can, anyway.
Now that you’re an expert on all things related to crafting the blunt javelin, it’s time to craft it finally.
How to Craft the Blunted Javelin
At long last, you’re ready to craft the blunted javelin and start taming thralls. Except there’s still one thing missing. While you may have the recipe unlocked, you need a vital crafting station–the blacksmith.
You’ll need to jump through a few hoops to craft the concussive weapon, so let’s break it down into steps.
1. Build the Furnace to Start Smelting
Smelting can take an awfully long time, so it’s worth getting that process going as soon as possible. To build the furnace, you’re going to need 500 stones. Grab your handy pickaxe and start hitting some rocks to gather enough stone.
Equip your construction hammer once you have enough stone and navigate to the Smithing section under Crafting Stations in the build menu.
- Side Tip: The construction process is entirely different for old players returning to the game. If you don’t know where to craft crafting stations, they’re accessible in your construction hammer build menu. Craft a construction hammer and hit the “F” key to bring up the build menu.
2. Gather Ironstone Ore to Start Making Iron Bars
Easily one of the most extended steps is smelting Ironstone ore into iron bars. It drives me crazy waiting for them to smelt, so I highly recommend getting this started early. Then keep smelting, so you always have an ample supply of iron bars, or other required resources, on hand.
You may need to travel north to find Ironstone. It’s recognizable by its blue-ish, purple-ish hue.
Gather a lot. Seriously. It takes 50 iron bars just to make the blacksmith crafting station. That doesn’t include what you’ll need to make the actual javelins. So, go about the northern area just north of The Sentinels and across the river.
You can typically find Ironstone in clumps the further north you go.
3. Smelt Iron and Build the Blacksmith Crafting Station
With your iron, it’s time to put it all in your furnace along with a fuel source. While it’s smelting, getting more stone is a good idea.
To build the blacksmith, you’ll need the following resources:
- 50 Iron Bars
- 250 Stones
Once the blacksmith is made, via the construction hammer, you’re finally ready to craft a blunt javelin.
4. Craft Several Blunt Javelins
Access the blacksmith, and you should see the recipe for a blunted javelin.
You’ll need the following resources to craft one:
- 5 Branches
- 3 Iron Bars
You can collect branches on the ground and also from chopping down trees. As I’ve suggested, if you’ve been collecting and smelting Ironstone, you should also have a good collection of iron bars waiting for you.
Make at least three blunted javelins in the blacksmith and wait for them to finish crafting.
- Side Tip: Assigning a blacksmith thrall to the blacksmith station makes the crafting process go faster.
After what feels like an eternity, at least to me, you finally have your blunted javelins. It’s time to break skulls and bring back thralls!
Why Blunt Javelins Are the Go-To Choice for Thrall Knockouts
Of the many Journeys the game has, one involves taming thralls. It’s a way to learn how to tame thralls and make them work for you back at base. It’s also how you can start growing your defenses against the Purge, roaming AI enemies, and other players.
The Journey steps will ask you to make a truncheon to knock out a potential thrall. I think the step is wrong. Let’s quickly compare the truncheon and blunt javelin to show you what I mean and why these differences matter.
1. Blunted Javelins Favor Light Concussive Damage
A truncheon can deliver 15 light concussive damage and 20 heavy concussive damage. Using this weapon means you’ll use the heavy attack to take down an enemy fast. There’s one problem with that method. It costs more stamina, and in Conan Exiles, stamina is king.
Let’s compare that to the blunted javelin. It delivers 20 light and heavy concussive damage each hit. You can use light or quick attacks with the javelin, providing more concussive damage than the truncheon. You’re using less stamina to deliver more damage. It just makes sense to use it.
2. Truncheons Break Faster Than Blunted Javelins
One of the absolutely worst situations I sometimes find myself in is trying to take down a thrall, only for my weapon to break. If I don’t have another one, I’ve traveled all that way for nothing. Durability matters, and that’s another point in the blunted javelin’s favor.
It has 500 durability compared to the truncheon’s 100 durability.
Refrain from living out my experiences and finding yourself empty-handed when your truncheon breaks. You’re going to need to hit a lot with your weapon. The higher its durability, the more likely it is to take the enemy down before breaking.
3. The Blunted Javelin Weighs Less, So You Can Carry More
Every trip out into the wasteland should be with purpose. It’s dangerous venturing out, so you need to make those trips worth it. The last thing you need is a weapon or tool, adding more weight than is necessary. That just means bringing back fewer resources.
It’s why the javelin wins again against the truncheon for best concussive weapon. It only weighs 1.00 pounds compared to the truncheon’s 2.80 pounds. You might wonder if 1.80 pounds more really matters.
Yes, it does. That’s another stack of valuable resources you won’t have to travel far for again. The blunted javelin is the go-to weapon for taming thralls.
Tips to Knock Out Like a Pro Thrall Tamer
While blunted javelins are my favorite tool to knock out enemies, they can be a pain. Aiming can be a nightmare; if you throw a javelin, you can bet you’ll never see it again. Follow these tips to use the blunted javelin properly.
1. Make Extras to Compensate for Lack of Durability
While the blunted javelin may have more durability than the truncheon, it still has poor durability overall. You might be able to knock out a low-tier enemy or two with one javelin, but as the enemy’s armor increases, so will the demand for your weapon’s health.
No matter who you’re going for, you should always craft at least three blunted javelins. Once you push past Tier III enemies, you’ll want to increase the number of javelins to five or six. If one breaks, you always have another one ready to use.
2. Focus on Light Strikes and Save Your Stamina
Since the javelin can deliver 20 concussive damage with light strikes, and the same amount of damage for heavy strikes, don’t bother hitting your targets hard. Go with light and fast strikes to take down their consciousness as quickly as possible. Make sure you save yourself a bit of stamina, too, in case you need to dodge out of the way of their attacks.
I also like maneuvering around the target when hitting them with the javelin. It makes it harder for them to hit back. A quick three or four-hit combo followed by a dodge backward is usually enough to take the target down without getting hurt.
3. Don’t Throw the Javelin to Avoid a Vanishing Bug
There’s a terrible bug that occurs when you throw a blunted javelin. While the weapon classifies as a throwing weapon, I would not recommend using it as such. There’s a good chance that it will just disappear when you throw the javelin. Now and then, you can recover it, but in most cases, it’s gone forever.
Aiming with the weapon is hard, too, with the target trying to maneuver around you. Because of how easy it is to miss with a throw, it’s really not worth the risk of losing it. Just hit with the javelin and ignore throwing it.
4. Combat Aiming is Clunky So Use Auto-Target
I’m not amazing at combat in Conan Exiles, but I’m also not the worst warrior in the wastelands. Certain weapons, like the blunted javelin, can be a pain to use with how it tries to auto-hit a target. It makes the combat feel clunky and awkward.
The best way around this is to use the auto-target mechanic. You can activate it by hitting the “Q” key on the keyboard. Your character will auto-target the enemy, so each time you swing the javelin, you actually hit.
This feature also makes it easier to dodge away from the enemy instead of accidentally rolling right into them. Lock onto the target to help compensate for Conan’s awkward targeting.
Questions and Answers
Question: What does the blunted javelin do in Conan Exiles?
Answer: The blunted javelin packs powerful concussive damage against a target. Its primary purpose is to knock out targets so you can drag them back to your base and put them in a thrall tamer.
Question: How do I effectively use blunted javelins to capture thralls in Conan Exiles?
Answer: Hit them with light attacks since the blunted javelin has the same damage rating for both light and heavy attacks. You can increase your rate of hits by locking onto the target with the “Q” key. Don’t throw javelins; you’ll likely miss the target and lose your weapon.
Question: Should I use the blunted javelin or truncheon for Tier I enemies in Conan Exiles?
Answer: You should use the truncheon to knock out Tier I enemies in Conan Exiles. Since the blunted javelin can cause 1 damage to its targets, there’s a small chance that you might kill a Tier I enemy before knocking them out. A truncheon is a safer, although more frustrating, weapon to use in this case.
Build Your Thrall Army Now
The blunted javelin is, by far, the best weapon to use for knocking out enemies in Conan Exiles. It has its gimmicks and shortcomings, but if you follow the tips above, you’ll be knocking out exiles in no time and building your army of thralls.
Continue reading:
Conan Exiles Explosive Jar Guide