Conan Exiles Horse Guide

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Emily Parker

Emily, or Zoe if you’re on her discord, is a Conan Exiles guide contributor and long-term fan. She’s been raiding bases since its release, mixing in some Rust, Archeage, Apex Legends, Hearthstone, Don’t Starve, and Horizon Zero Dawn. Video games have been a core aspect of her life since she was a child with an N64. When she needs a break, she’ll switch genres and start a new kind of adventure, though survival games have always been a favorite.

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Where were you when the horse update hit? I remember where I was, what game I was playing, and what friend I had to immediately message. It was time for us to return to Conan Exiles, for it was no longer a jogging simulator and I must have a fine steed of my very own.

After years of being berated by a frustrated fan base, Funcom finally added mounts to their large and dangerous survival game. I think we all understood why they wouldn’t want to have horses available for transport when the game was originally launched. It was a mean, deliberate world, and they didn’t want the player to skip any toothy content. The release made sense as well though, most folk still playing the game had experienced the whole world at this point, why not make their treks a little easier?

TL:DR: Let’s Ride

Giddy up! All you need to do is find a foal and raise it in a stable. Foals are located in grassy areas, usually next to water sources. My favorite location to snag some foals in a beginner-friendly area is the river island in K6. They are heavy, so bring a friend, thrall, or animal companion to carry more than one if you want to raise several.

Once you return them to your stable, you’ll need to feed them appropriate food to start the crafting process. While they craft, throw together a saddler’s worktable and craft a saddle for your new companion. You can place a horse without a saddle but must have a saddle to ride it.

See also: Conan Exiles Bear Cub Guide

How to Craft a Stable and a Saddler’s Worktable

The first step to adding a mount to your empire is crafting a stable and a saddler’s worktable. A stable can be learned at level 15 with the stablemaster feat. You’ll find this feat under the building structures tab. It requires 10 brick, 10 shaped wood, and 15 twine. The brick will need to be processed at a furnace from stone, and the shaped wood will need to be processed at a carpenter’s bench with wood. While the ingredients aren’t expensive, their processing stations ensure you’ve built a functioning base before acquiring a mount.

But that’s not all! Don’t do like me and not check the requirements for a saddle before getting all excited over your new adult horse. The saddler’s worktable requires level 20 and is learned under the novice saddle-maker feat. You’ll also find this feat under the building structures category. The crafting station requires 50 twine, 50 leather, and 50 shaped wood. Ok, now we’re getting a little more expensive. The leather can be annoying to source and must be processed at a tannery. Try the crocs along the river for reptile hide.

See also: Conan Exiles Crocodile Pet Guide

Lastly, you must craft your first saddle, the warhorse saddle light. The warhorse saddle light requires a whopping 68 iron bars, 75 shaped wood, and 20 twine.  The iron needs to be processed in a furnace and that’s enough iron ore you probably won’t have it in back stock as a beginner unless you read this article first.

Best Practices for Finding a Foal

Your most dangerous task while securing a mount will be to find the foal. No adult horses are wandering around to give away their location, so you must look closely near streams and lakes in grassy areas. The foals are very heavy, so bringing a thrall just to carry them is always a good idea. You may not raise a foal in an animal pen, you must craft a stable.

You will find dun-colored regular, sturdy, and swift foals wandering the world. As of right now, there will be no difference in the adult horse regardless of which foal you find, so don’t bother searching out all three. My favorite beginner-friendly place to grab foals is the “newb river” island on K6. If you are on the island with Rotbark, don’t look him in the eyes and try the next one over to the east.

There are four horse colors available, though nothing you can do will determine which your foal will grow into. I like to grab several foals so that I end up with my favorite color steed and a couple of back-ups for when that one tragically dies.

How the Mount System Works

There are a couple of important things to note about the mount system in Conan Exiles. Firstly, your mount will level while it’s present for a fight and the food in its inventory determines the stats that will improve. It’s important to level your mount up a bit before taking it deep into the fray. The horse will default flee when attacked by enemies and unmounted, which is great for keeping it alive while you and your thrall fend off mobs.

See also: Conan Exiles Wheel of Pain Guide

That brings us to our second point about mounts in Conan Exiles. You may have a mount and a combat companion follow you at the same time. You may not have more than one combat companion follow, but a horse and a thrall or animal companion will follow on your adventures. This is an easy way to double your inventory space and combat capabilities, and the companion just warp speeds behind you as you gallop along. Funcom let us gift our thralls with mounts it is damaging my immersion.

Mounted Combat!

The third important point about the mount system in Conan is mounted combat. Conan Exiles has some really enjoyable and effective mounted combat with some important nuances to consider. The type of weapon you equip will determine your mounted combat experience. Only some weapons can be used on top of a horse.

You may shoot a bow from atop your steed, or swing a one-handed axe, sword, or mace. A pike or spear produces more of a stabbing motion and is better for long-distance harassing. If you’re willing to put the points into it, there is a mount-specific weapon called the lance. This unlocks a charge attack with continuous running damage if your aim is good and your skill is high.

You may be knocked off your horse when your stamina has run low. Be mindful of archers, whether other players or NPCs. They perform strongly against mounted players along with pikes and large damage dealing weapons. You will still be receiving damage while they sap away your stamina, putting you in a very vulnerable position once on the ground.

See also: Conan Exiles Sabertooth Cub Guide

Best Food for My Horse In the Stable and Out 

Currently, there are no greater versions of horses. It doesn’t matter what you put in the stable to start the crafting process, and like the animal pen, the horse will only consume one item to begin crafting. Most folk use plant fiber, as it’s easy to snag and cheap to use. If you leave more than one item of plant fiber in the stable, the horse will begin consuming it once crafted and producing dung.

Once out of the stable and placed in the world, there’s only one food that matters in their inventory. Yes, different food levels different stats for horses, just like animal companions and thralls, but there is only one stat that currently matters for horses. Vitality increases your horse’s health pool and is increased by feeding your horse vines while it levels. After it has reached max level, asura’s glory provides the best health regeneration buff, so many players will switch to feeding it on their travels.

See also: Best Pets in Conan Exiles

Saddle Up: All about Saddles

What affects your horses’s capabilities are saddles. Go ahead and throw the warhorse saddle light on and get out in the world to level your new mount, but keep in mind the other saddles that can be crafted when you source the materials.

The Kordavan tack and saddle and Aquilonian scout saddle help with maneuverability, for a nimble and agile steed. The medium and heavy warhorse saddles will add defense to your trusty mount. The warhorse saddle heavy adds the most defense and does not have any drawbacks besides its crafting materials. Lastly, and arguably the most valuable saddle, the savage cavalry saddle adds speed to your horse.

Adventuring Safely With Your New Horse

Mind the drop! Launching yourself off a cliff is the number one way to lose your mount, and of course, they don’t come back in Conan Exiles. Horses take their own fall damage and it’s better safe than sorry if you don’t know the terrain that you are exploring very well.

The run-away feature is very helpful for keeping your horse alive during multiple enemy combat. Once your horse is at a decent level, it should even keep them alive if you die and have to make a body run. My horse is generally still around causing chaos, where my braver companions are very dead on my return. This can be a (second) life save for a quick getaway.

I really like Conan Exile’s Mount system. As you level your horse, it becomes harder to lose to small mistakes.

See also: Conan Exiles Elephant Pet Guide

Ride in Style: Saddle a Rhino

Surprise! Horses aren’t the only animal available to mount in Conan Exiles. Rhinos are now available as loyal steeds, however, you must have the Siptah DLC to craft one on your own. You may ride them in the exiled lands and will find their babies at the watering hole under Swagger rock in the savannah. However, only someone with the Siptah DLC can craft the saddles. If you don’t have this DLC a friend may craft and gift you the saddle.

Ironically, they are not as powerful in PVP or PVE as horses, though their jump has been replaced with a horn attack. They don’t move well and have a rather large hitbox. You may not mount a greater rhino, so you’re stuck with their basic stats and you may only use a pike, spear, lance from their back. Only grey rhino babies will turn into mountable rhinos, not Siptah rhino calves.

A Horse is a Horse

Conan Exiles Horse Guide FAQ

Recommended Reads:

• Conan Exiles Wolf Cub Guide
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• Conan Exiles Obelisk Locations – Must-Know Obelisk Info
• Conan Exiles Animal Pen Guide – Bring a Friend
• Conan Exiles Planter Guide