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The main quest of Conan Exiles tasks you with crafting The Keystone, a device to free yourself from The Exiled Lands. To create this item, you need six ancient relics guarded by some of Conan’s fiercest bosses.
The resurrected corpse of The Barrow King stands as a guardian over The Diadem of the Giant Kings. Today, we’ll learn how to defeat The Barrow King and claim the diadem. So, without further ado, let’s get started.
Where is The Barrow King?
You can find The Barrow King in a dungeon carved into the side of a mountain. The cavern, aptly named ‘The Barrow King’ is located in the tundra, in the center of map square A11.
Numerous undead fighters stalk the area surrounding the cave, many of which hide in ambush. You should exercise great caution when approaching the dungeon, as this undead can easily catch you unaware.
There are three main avenues you can use to access this cave. The first is by approaching from the south, traveling along the western border of the map, and passing into the tundra. The second is from the east, going through or around the mounds of the dead to reach the cave.
This is particularly useful, as an obelisk lies at the center of the mounds. The third and final approach is from the north, traveling southwest from the temple of frost obelisk to reach the cave.
Locked inside this cavern is the resurrected corpse of The Barrow King. Before you head into the Tundra though, something special is required to open the door and fight The Barrow King.
How do I Access Him?
Opening the door to The Barrow King’s cavern requires demon blood. In life, The Barrow King wielded powerful sorcery to commune with demons, and thus the need for demon blood is likely explained by an arcane enchantment imbuing the door.
Unfortunately, nearby foes will not yield demon blood. However, many enemies will. Let’s find out where you can get demon blood ahead of time.
Acquiring Demon Blood
Demon Blood courses through the veins of many beasts and monstrosities throughout Conan Exiles, and as a valuable resource, you may already have a stockpile. However, if you don’t, there are a few sources nearby.
The first is on the eastern side of The Highlands. Amongst the mountains, you’ll find the children of Jhil, bird-like humanoids that fight with vigor. On death, they yield demon blood, making them a good option for not only this occasion, but also consistent farming.
Secondly, you can venture southeast to The Unnamed City. Many mini-bosses within the city offer demon blood once they are slain, alongside valuable items like fragments of power. If fighting bosses isn’t your favorite task, dragon hatchlings can be found near the spawning pools, which also provide demon blood.
To open the cavern containing The Barrow King, you only need a single unit of demon blood. It is not consumed on use, so it’s best to plan and grab a vial of blood before you journey north.
Fighting The Barrow King
The Barrow King resides in an eerie green chamber, found just after a small passage leading down into the mountain. As a Giant King, he towers above the player character and wields a huge Stygian khopesh.
Fighting The Barrow King is fortunately simple. He attacks with the standard one-handed sword moveset and thus is quite easy to read and predict. However, due to his gargantuan size, he is a little harder to fight than you’d expect. Instinct would of course guide you to roll away from his attacks.
This is counter-intuitive, as due to The Barrow King’s range, his blade will catch you anyway. Instead, you’re best served to roll toward him, dodging the slice of his blade and putting yourself in a far more favorable position.
In total, The Barrow King has just over four thousand health points, with an armor rating of seventy-nine. He’s not a difficult fight. With some caution and preparation, you’ll be able to slay this undead giant.
What does The Barrow King Drop?
On his death, you’ll be able to harvest The Barrow King using a tool of your choice. During the harvesting process, you’ll receive a sizeable quantity of bone, thick hide, and demon blood. You’ll also receive the Diadem of the Giant-kings.
As we mentioned before, the Diadem is the flagship drop of The Barrow King, used to progress the main story of The Exiled Lands.
Additionally, the cavern in which The Barrow King resides contains further knowledge. To the left of the throne, hidden under shadows, is a glowing blue tablet. It looks similar to the lore stone scattered around The Exiled Lands, and grants you great knowledge.
Once you have interacted with the tablet, you’ll learn the Vanquisher of the King Beneath feat. This is a permanent feat that won’t be lost should you consume a yellow lotus potion or a potion of natural learning. Upon learning the feat, you’ll learn how to craft the Kingslayer Polearm and the Kingslayer Daggers.
The Kingslayer Polearm is a two-handed spear. The weapon is strength-based, with 43 damage and nine percent armor penetration, capable of inflicting crippling and bleeding.
The Kingslayer Daggers are a pair of daggers. The weapons are agility-based like all other daggers, with 37 damage and 20 percent armor penetration, capable of inflicting bleed and crippling.
The Barrow King, while offering some interesting weapons, remains an attraction for the part he plays in Conan Exiles’ main quest. Aside from that purpose, many players choose to avoid The Barrow King, as other bosses offer better rewards.
Lore of The Barrow King
The Barrow King seems to reside in a peculiar location. A monarch hidden away inside a cavern is strange, but the true story of The Barrow King is even stranger.
During his life, The Barrow King was The Priest-King of the Triumvirate, the spiritual leader of The Giant Kings. Many eons before the time we visit The Exiled Lands, it was ruled over by the empire of the Giant Kings, and the desert was a lush landscape, abundant with flora and fauna.
Towards the end of The Thurian Age, a great cataclysm struck many countries. Lemuria suffered greatly, and those who survived endeavored to sail westward. After encountering the Khari and many desolate islands, they finally landed on the shores of The Exiled Lands, meeting The Giant Kings.
The two races became friends, crafting a bracelet to allow them to communicate, the same bracelet that now dooms exiles trapped within the curse walls. The Lemurians built their city, Xel-Ha, on the eastern coast and began to repopulate, respecting the land of The Giant Kings in the grasslands to the west.
The Giant Kings were intelligent beings, and alongside building their empire, they managed to breed dragons. The son of the Priestking, Tyros the Deathbringer, was put to work in the arena, testing his abilities against the dragons.
Tyros eventually slew every dragon, including the most powerful. Upon receiving The Star of the Champion, a mark of his victory, he pinned the star to the corpse of the dragon and buried it in the sands of the arena.
From the arena, Tyros became the leader of The Silent Legion, the military arm of the Giant Kings. Eventually, the ranks of the Lemurians grew too large, and they ventured north. There, they found the serpentmen at the heart of the volcano.
Upon finding them, an ancient enemy of humankind, the Lemurians were furious. The Giant Kings did not allow the Lemurians to eradicate the remaining serpentmen and thus began the Lemurian Uprising.
War raged between the Giant Kings and the Lemurians. The Giant Kings perverted the nature of the bracelets, preventing the Lemurians from leaving The Exiled Lands and enslaving many of them into the Giant King’s empire.
Tyros, as leader of the Silent Legion, aided with the war effort. After the fall of Xullan, the Lemurian outpost in the north, Tyros and his Silent Legion had won a great battle. However, this was where he met Telith. As the daughter of the Witch Queen, the leader of the Lemurians, the two should have been at odds, but instead, love brewed between them.
Tyros and his Silent Legion eventually turned on The Giant Kings, aiding the Lemurians and helping The Witch Queen to slay The Archivist, one of the figureheads of the Giant King empire. Tyros and Telith had at least one child together and endeavored to win the war.
During a battle north of The Unnamed City, the Lemurians used a strange weapon. It’s unclear if it was sorcery or science, but it scourged the land, petrifying the Giant King’s armies and sending the leaders fleeing.
In their retreat, The Priest king met with The Warmaker and suggested he unleashed the Sandstorm. The Sandstorm was an elemental trapped within a stone, and when the Warmaker unleashed it, it grew out of control, hurtling toward Xel-Ha.
At the last moment, a Lemurian named Petruso bound the elemental to his own body, dooming himself to immortality but stopping the sandstorm, dooming the grasslands to be eroded into a barren desert. This eventual famine lead to The Giant Kings losing the war, and eventually being hunted to extinction by the Lemurians and the Khari.
After the sandstorm was unleashed, The Priest king made his way north, to the mounds of the dead. There, he met with Tyros, and the two fought to the death. Tyros eventually slew his father, but not before the Priestking whispered a curse to Tyros through the power of the Diadem of the Giant Kings. Tyros was doomed to eternal life, branded as The Kinscourge.
With this curse, the Silent Legion was also rendered immortal. The same was true for the long-dead corpse of the dragon Tyros had slain in the arena, resurrected by the curse.
The Priestking was buried by unknown parties within a great barrow, carved into the side of a mountain, just west of the mounds of the dead. The magic of the diadem that had cursed Tyros also revived The Priest king, allowing him to live once more within his cavern. After his revival, he would become known as The Barrow King or The King Beneath.
Perhaps when he is finally slain by the player and the diadem is taken from him, he will remain dead. Without the power of the diadem, the Priestking’s body will rot to dust, just as the rest of his people have.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Should I Farm The Barrow King for Resources?
Answer: No. The thick hide, bones, and demon blood are a nice prize, but the fight is too long and complex to warrant farming. There are much better sources of the aforementioned resources scattered throughout The Exiled Lands, including the aforementioned children of Jhil and dragon hatchlings.
Question: What other Items do I Need to Complete the Main Quest?
Answer: You need the following items:
– Heart of the Sands (Scourgestone)
– Tears of Two Races
– The Shining Trapezohedron
– Star of the Champion
– Mask of the Witch Queen
– Diadem of the Giant-Kings
All of these items will need to be combined at the Chaosmouth Altar to craft the Keystone, which will end the game and delete your character.
Question: Is it Possible to Get the Sword The Barrow King Uses?
Answer: Yes, it is. It’s called the Stygian Khopesh. It requires the Iron Tools feat, alongside the Blacksmith feat and the Warrior 4 feat. It’s available in both regular and epic variants.
Conclusion
The Barrow King is a major boss in the story of The Exiled Lands, and his lore is deeply tied to the story of the area. The Barrow King is far from the hardest boss in Conan Exiles, but his attack patterns and reach can prove difficult for some.
Today I’ve taught you how to access and defeat The Barrow King. You’re now prepared to head north and finally put The Priest king to rest. Grab your sword and shield, and don’t forget your demon blood. Best of luck, exile!