How to Get Conan Exiles Boss Head: For Tar and Country

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Emily has thousands of hours clocked in survival games, from ARK: Survival Evolved to 7 Days to Die; she loves the diversity of the genre. Initially skeptical about the theme of Conan Exiles, she quickly became addicted to the game and now recommends it to every survival fanatic she meets. Right now, she's probably in the Tundra on a seemingly endless quest to find a Baby Sabertooth.

Boss Head Overview

Boss Heads are no longer a Journey Step
You can turn any head into a trophy
Heads grind to make blood and bones
Heads can make leather and tar in the Tanning Table
You can’t harvest a head from any creature
The cleaver is the best tool for harvesting heads

Every Boss Head in Conan Exiles

There aren’t many technical bosses with heads you can harvest in Conan Exiles. I remember collecting any heads I found before realizing they had few uses. At that time, there was a journey step associated with them, but it wasn’t just these that counted.

How to Get Conan Exiles Boss Head — Image from conan exiles wiki fandom

Elk King Head

Drops From – Elk King
Location – Highlands, Snow, Tundra (Biome)
HP – 1467
Armor – 59
KB Defense – 50
XP – 10,080

Elk Kings are tagged under boss creatures and are one of the weakest in the game. One of the best places to find one is near Freya’s Hovel where I used to go to find one for the journey step.

Demonic Shaleback Head

Drops From – Undead Kappa
Location – Shaleback Hollow, The Purge, Wine Cellar

The only way to get the Demonic Shaleback Head is to kill the Undead Kappa. He’s not that strong and is an overall easy kill, especially if you have armor penetration. They are very aggressive, so you won’t have a choice of peace when you walk by them.

Green Dragon Head

Drops From – Green Dragon and Red Dragon
Location – Unnamed City
HP – 40, 998
Armor – 84
KB Defense – 1000
XP – 64,800

The Green/Red Dragon has its very own head, making it one of the rarest taxidermy items in the game. It can only spawn in The Unnamed City south of the Spawning Pools. Beware because fighting it is no joke.

King Rocknose Head

Drops From – Living Magma, Living Mountain
Location – Well of Skelos or Spotter’s Squat
HP – 750 (1731)
Armor – 73 (55)
KB Defense – 1500
XP – 18,360 (19,980)

These two king rocknoses aren’t that different to fight. Living Magma is in the volcano and has higher armor, but if you have armor pen, he’s easier because of his low HP. That said, Spotter’s Squat is easier to access.

Red Dragon Head

Drops From – Red Mother, Red Dragon
Location – Spawning Pools
HP – 18,717
Armor – 65
KB Defense – 1000
XP – 64,800

There are Red Dragons in the Unnamed City, but there’s one special Red Dragon called Red Mother who is one of the strongest creatures in the Unnamed City. Don’t fight her unless you are ready to die.

Shaleback King Head

Drops From – Shaleback King
Location – Lookout Point, Oasis of Nekhet
HP – 8914
Armor – 65
KB Defense – 0
XP – 32,400

Shalebacks are stronger than they look, and I have always hated fighting them early game. I would much prefer fighting the Elk King. They are easy to dodge though, so if you conserve stamina, you won’t have trouble with this guy.

Legendary Creature Heads in Conan Exiles

Legendary Creatures are often stronger than bosses in Conan Exiles, though the term miniboss is thrown around and sometimes includes them. Not all Legendary Creatures have heads you can harvest, but these do.

The reason that there are only two on the list is because you can get every other legendary creature head from a basic creature now. So killing the legendary version is pointless.

Demonic Spider Head

Drops From – Demonic Spider
Location – Weaver’s Hollow, Wreck of the Martyr, Spinner’s Ridge, Wine Cellar
HP – 20,871
Armor – 84
KB Defense – 80
XP – 108,000

My favorite place to fight the Demon Spider is at the Wreck of the Martyr because it’s the most secluded. Anywhere else requires you to fight other creatures too. Remember to grab the key from the spider and keep poison resistance on you.

King Rhino Head

Drops From – King Rhino
Location – Muriela’s Hope, Rhinohorn Ridge
HP – 28,680
Armor – 75
KB Defense – 1000
XP – 95,400

King Rhino has two spawn locations in Conan Exiles. Rhinohorn Ridge has a ton of other rhinos and elephants nearby, but Muriela’s Hope is a better spot. Avoid getting trampled by dodging as he charges toward you.

Other Creature Heads in Conan Exiles

Not all creatures have harvestable heads, so if you haven’t been getting any, then it may be because you’re killing the wrong creatures. If you want to dress up your base with taxidermy, check out these creatures.

Antelope Head

Drops From – Antelope
Location – The Crowngrove, Swagger Rock, Oasis of Nekhet

Antelope are super weak creatures, but they do run away quite quickly so if you kill them, make sure you can take down their 67 HP in one go. I recommend grabbing a bow early game to ensure you can kill them if they run.

Bat Demon Head

Drops From – Bat Demon, Albino Bat Demon,
Location – The Unnamed City

The Bat Demon Head drops from regular Bat Demons and boss bat demons. The regular Bat Demons are easy to fight as long as you keep your distance and only attack from behind them.

Black Bear Head

Drops From – Black Bear
Location – Tundra

Black Bears are easy to fight but are strong early game. If you see one rear up, dodge quickly because they knock you down with their next attack. These bears are a good source of fur and thick hide.

Black Rhino Head

Drops From – Black Rhino
Location – The Crowngrove, Swagger Rock

Black Rhino heads don’t drop from bosses, because King Rhino has his own type of head. Instead, you can only get this head from the Black Rhino, a regular creature in the Savanna.

Brown Bear Head

Drops From – Brown Bear, Misha
Location – Riversend, New Asagarth

There is a Monstrous version of the Brown Bear but he does not drop the head. Another boss version, Misha does drop the boss head whenever you harvest him. He also always drops daggers called Misha’s Bite.

Crocodile Head

Drops From – Crocodile
Location – River, Desert, Jungle

I will never forget fighting a Crocodile as my first hostile encounter in the game. There is a boss and legendary creature Crocodile in Conan Exiles, but only the standard version now drops a Crocodile Head.

Deer Head

Drops From – Deer
Location – Highlands, Snow, Tundra

Deer are a unique creature in Conan Exiles that have four times the HP that Antelope do. So if you can’t one-shot an Antelope, it may be because it’s a deer. I love farming Deer because they can give Exquisite Meat and Savoury Flesh.

Dire Wolf Head

Drops From – Dire Wolf
Location – Snow, Tundra

Dire Wolves are nearly Elite creatures but are still only classified as Predators, which is technically steps below Elite. That said, they are as strong as a miniboss with nearly 5000 HP. So don’t fight these white wolves unless you’re ready.

Elk Head

Drops From – Elk
Location – Highlands, Snow, Tundra

Elks are the hoofed and horned creatures of the north in Conan Exiles. They’re around the same in strength as a deer as there is little difference in their stats. The head that they drop is different than the head that the Elk King drops.

Gazelle Head

Drops From – Gazelle
Location – Desert

Gazelle are one of the weakest creatures in the game, with around 50 HP and next to no armor. They are quite quick though, just like an Antelope, but are amazing for farming early-game XP if you can catch them.

Gorilla Head

Drops From – Gorilla
Location – Jungle

I love farming creatures in the Jungle because they give the best XP for how long they take to kill. Gorillas are no exception even giving Savoury Flesh, Thick Hide, and of course Gorilla Heads.

Hyena Head

Drops From –
Location – Desert, River

There aren’t any Hyena bosses in the game because in the places there would be, we see Werehyenas instead, who don’t have Hyena Heads. All three regular variants – Spotted, Undead, and Striped – drop heads.

Jaguar Head

Drops From – Jaguar
Location – Boulevard of the North Star, Oasis of Nekhet

There is a known bug that makes the Jaguar Head have a really low drop rate. They still drop but I do not recommend trying to get one because it’s rare, even with the best tools for the job.

Mountain Goat Head

Drops From – Mountain Goat, Angry Mountain Goat
Location – Highlands, Snow, Tundra East of Bjornar’s Stand

Regular Mountain Goats are all over the north and are easy to kill, especially if you’re geared up enough to weather the snow. But the Angry Mountain Goat is a strong foe who loves to knock people off mountains and drops a great early to mid-game bow.

Panther Head

Drops From – Panther, Brother of the Night
Location – Jungle, Midnight Grove

I love Panthers, so they are one of the first pets I tried to get. While looking for a baby, I had to kill some adults and got their heads. You can also get the head from Brother of the Night at Midnight Grove, though the dungeon is made for the late game.

Rocknose Head

Drops From – Any non-boss Rocknose
Location – Any Biome

Rocknoses are one of the most common creatures in Conan Exiles because there are so many varieties. You can find one in any biome and all of the basic ones can drop Rocknose Heads.

Sabretooth Head

Drops From – Sabretooth, Monstrous Sabretooth
Location – Snow, Tundra

Both the Elite Monstrous Sabretooth and the basic version drop Sabretooth Heads. If you are around harvesting them for heads, look for a kitten/club because they are the best pet in the game.

Salamander Head

Drops From – Salamander
Location – Jungle, Desert

Though they can spawn in the Desert, Salamanders are much more common in the Jungle where they travel the shores of the river just like Crocodiles. Though they are roughly twice as strong.

Shaleback Head

Drops From – Shaleback
Location – River, Savanna

The Shaleback Head only comes from the regular Shaleback. It’s green just like the original, passive Shaleback. This may be the first head you get because you can find it on the River.

Shoebill Head

Drops From – All Shoebills
Location – Jungle

Shoebills come in all shapes and sizes, but mostly in different colors. Each type drops the corresponding head so you can make your walls even more colorful with their feathered mugs.

Skeletal Serpentman Head

Drops From – Skeletal Serpentman
Location – The Arena, The Unnamed City, The Passage, Executioners Entrance

This strange creature drops a unique mountable head. He also drops Weathered Skulls, which some consider “heads” in Conan, though I do not because they cannot be trophies.

Tiger Head

Drops From – Tiger
Location – Jungle, Savanna

Tigers roam the Jungle and Savanna, being yet another strong big cat in Conan Exiles. Unfortunately, the White Tiger Legendary Creature (my first Legendary) does not drop a Tiger Head.

Wild Boar Head

Drops From – Wild Boar
Location – Highlands, Tundra

Wild Boar are a relatively easy creature to kill unless you are just starting out. They are more than just another head to add to the collection because tehy’re one of the only sources of Raw Pork and still a good source of Exquisite Meat.

Wolf Head

Drops From – Wolf
Location – Highlands

Because Dire Wolves exist and have their own head item, you have to kill regular wolves to get the Wolf Head to mount on your wall. They are one of my favorites as far as looks go, both the basic and the dire trophies.

White Rhino Head

Drops From – Rhino (White)
Location – The Crowngrove, Rhinohorn Ridge

The White Rhino spawns along with the other rhino at rhino spawn locations. It reacts just the same as the others as well but has a much higher HP than a Grey one and slightly lower than a Black one.

Tips for Getting a Boss Head in Conan Exiles

If you can’t find any boss heads, it may be because you’re going about it wrong. There is a tried and true method I use that works every time, granting me more creature heads than I can use.

Use a Cleaver

There’s a lot of mixed info about this, and it’s true that skinning knives and axes can grant heads. But nothing works better than cleavers to get heads in Conan Exiles. This increasing the chances substantially.

If you want a free cleaver, go to Flotsam and kill the boss Razor Gord. He will drop the Chef’s Trusted Cleaver. This is the best cleaver in the game and well worth the trip if you want to farm meat or heads.

Stick to Easy Kills

There’s no need to go fight the biggest bosses early on. Elk King is an easy boss, but if you just want to farm heads, something like Shoebills will be your best bet. There’s so many of them, and they give a decent amount of XP.

Farm a Boss

If you want to farm a boss for whatever reason, you can fairly easily in Conan Exiles. They usually spawn every fifteen minutes, so feel free to afk a block away and wait. This works for legendary creatures but in my experience, they take closer to 30 minutes.

Boss Head Uses in Conan Exiles

There was a time not so long ago when you needed to get a boss head for a journey step. But in 2023, they changed that when they implemented a new journey system to the game. So now, boss heads are much less sought after.

Trophy

You can make a trophy of any head in an Artisan Table of any kind. You do need to place a certain amount of Shaped Wood with it, but that’s all. Different trophies also require different recipes, though most are learned in Knowledges.

Fluid Press Ingredients

You can put any creature head in the Fluid Press to get a set amount of Bone and Blood. This isn’t exceptionally useful but if you don’t need leather or tar, then it’s the best bet for extra heads crowding your inventory.

Tannery Ingredients

You can place most heads in a Tannery to get Leather and Tar. This is usually what I do with my heads because both ingredients are super useful. You need Tar for Steelfire, which I never stop using.

FAQs

Question: Are Trophies Accurately Sized in Conan Exiles?

Answer: Yes. Trophies are accurate in size in Conan Exiles, which makes them more appealing. This makes it easier to make an impressive trophy room with all of your top kills.

Question: Is it Better to Put Heads in Fluid Press or Tannery?

Answer: That depends on what materials you need. Some creatures, like those that likely wouldn’t have hide, won’t give you anything in the Tannery and thus should be placed in the Fluid Press.

Question: Do Different Heads Give More Materials in Conan Exiles?

Answer: Yes, but only slightly. While some may give 2 Bones in the Fluid Press, another may give 20. But there aren’t any major differences, even in real boss heads placed in the Fluid Press or Tannery.

Boss Heads are Becoming Obsolete

Boss heads serve few purposes aside in Conan Exiles. I usually mount them if I like the creature or I grind them up for resources, depending on what I need at the time. At one time, they served a specific purpose, but now, they don’t.

There is now no difference between boss heads and regular creature heads in Conan Exiles. There are simply creatures that you can harvest heads from and those that you can’t