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Conan Exiles’s weapon arsenal is a varied bunch. Not all weapons are equal, and the same holds for arrows. There are numerous choices, but snake arrows are amongst the early-game favorites. Should you use them? Today I will teach you all about the potent snake arrows. So, without further ado, let’s get started.
What are Snake Arrows?
Snake arrows are early to mid-game ammunition able to be fired from any bow. Unlike most other ammo, these are actual snakes transformed into deadly arrows.
Linked to the serpent god Set, these arrows are the manifestation of Set’s venom against his enemies. For fans of the Conan the Barbarian franchise, this arrow was used in the Conan film from 1982. Thulsa Doom, impressively played by James Earl Jones, used one of these arrows to kill Valeria.
What do Snake Arrows do?
What makes snake arrows different from regular ammunition? Aside from their appearance, these arrows have a unique function that sets them apart from most others. Snake arrows are filled with poison and inflict a stack of poison for each arrow shot into an enemy.
This poison effect stacks to a total number of 10, the same as other status effects like bleeding or crippling. Each stack inflicts damage over time to your opponent, which can quickly ramp up.
In the early stages of Conan, where combat can be slow and arduous, this poisoning effect can increase your damage per second, making killing bosses or other players much faster. To refresh and maintain your poison stacks, you must fire one arrow every eight seconds.
The most significant advantage of this poison effect is that the passive damage allows you to deal damage with your primary weapon.
Combined with the damage over time, you will deal heavy sustained damage at a relatively low level, which is otherwise difficult to achieve in the early stages of the game. For these reasons, snake arrows remain a favorite amongst new and veteran exiles.
How To Make Snake Arrows in Conan Exiles
Snake arrows only require three items: ten branches, one manifestation of Zeal, and a Set altar to create them within. These arrows are incredibly cheap to craft, though have some prerequisite requirements that make the process slightly more laborious. Let’s take a look at those.
Prerequisites
Set Religion
The primary requirement for creating snake arrows is knowledge of the Set religion. There are multiple ways to learn the ways of Set, some easier than others.
The easiest method is to select the Setite religion during character creation. You will begin the game with knowledge of Set, giving you a head start in your journey towards creating Snake Arrows. Many players prefer this tactic, as it removes all the busywork and allows you to get the best start.
The second method is specific to The Exiled Lands. If you head over to Mek Kamoses Spire in map square G7, you will find the currently severed head of Mek Kamoses himself, kept alive by vile sorcery.
Despite his injury, he can still teach you the ways of Set. Some players prefer this method, as you can choose a religion that will be useful in the later game, then pick up Set quickly as you travel north.
The third method will work on all maps, including custom-modded maps. If you can find and slay a named Priest of Set, they will drop an Eye of Set, a gemstone once a serpent’s eye, hardened to stone by a ritual to the snake god Set.
You can use this gem to learn the Set religion. This method can be fruitful but is beaten out by simply choosing the religion in character creation or speaking to Mek Kamoses.
Finally, the fourth method is to spend 50 knowledge points to unlock the Set feat. This method is far from ideal; you are better served spending the 50 knowledge points on knowledge that will improve your survival experience. Unlocking the religion is more of a contingency option for using excess knowledge points to learn all recipes in the late game.
Sepulcher of Set
The Sepulcher of Set is the initial altar you’ll need to craft for the Setite religion. You can build this altar as soon as you learn the religion, meaning you can create it at Level 1 if you choose Set in the character creation.
Build the Sepulcher of Set via the construction hammer, found in the crafting stations menu within the religion submenu. To build the altar you’ll need 360 stones, 160 pieces of wood, and 20 twine. Even in the early stages of Conan, this cost is reasonable and only gets cheaper if you upgrade to iron tools quickly.
Priest of Set
The second requirement for snake arrows is the Priest of Set feat. This feat unlocks at level 20 and costs five knowledge points to unlock. The feat allows you to create the Setite armor, upgrade your Sepulcher of Set to an Altar, and teach you the recipe for creating snake arrows. Due to this requirement, snake arrows are restricted to level 20.
Fortunately, reaching level 20 isn’t too difficult and is still considered the early to mid-game portion of Conan Exiles.
Once you’ve learned the Setite religion, built your Sepulcher of Set, and unlocked the Priest of Set feat, the prerequisites are complete. Now, we begin gathering the necessary resources to create snake arrows.
Resources Needed
Branches
Firstly, collect some branches. This task is nearly effortless, as you have probably already gathered several branches on your travels. The best method is to chop down trees with a hatchet. You’ll receive valuable wood for other projects and a fair amount of branches from each tree. You need ten branches for each unit of snake arrows, producing ten arrows from said branches.
There is a slightly more efficient option, though it will be impractical for the early game. If you enthrall a Level 4 carpenter and put him into a carpenter’s bench, he will split wood into branches. Gathering large numbers of branches is seamless with this method, but more trouble than it’s worth in the early game.
Setite Ritual Knife
Before gathering Zeal, you will also need a Setite Ritual Knife. This is created within the Sepulcher of Set and acts as a skinning knife. To create the knife, you need five branches and 15 iron bars, a reasonable price for this tool.
You unlock the ability to craft this blade when you learn the Setite religion, so you can make this tool before Level 20 to get a head start.
Zeal
Zeal, also known as Manifestation of Zeal, is a physical representation of faith and zealotry to your chosen god. Zeal is gathered by making offerings or creating holy items and spent on upgrading your altar or crafting various recipes.
Snake arrows require one Manifestation of Zeal for each bundle, so gathering Zeal is essential. Farming Zeal is likely the most arduous part of the crafting process, as opinions vary on the ideal method. However, for the Setite religion, there are two clear frontrunners in terms of zeal farming.
Zeal Farming Methods
Method #1: Human Hearts
The first method requires the Setite Ritual Dagger and will likely be the easiest to achieve. The ritual dagger is a religious tool, carrying unique properties that differentiate it from your average skinning knife. The ritual dagger is designed for farming Zeal and thus is a crucial tool if you plan to make snake arrows.
Firstly, head to your nearest NPC camp and kill everyone. Of course, you can take some thralls, but killing all NPCs will give you the most zeal. Then, harvest the bodies using the Setite Ritual Dagger.
You will gain limbs as usual, but for each body harvested, you’ll find a human heart. These hearts have a long spoil time, so there’s no need to rush back home.
With a bag full of human hearts (nobody said this would be pleasant), head back to your Sepulcher of Set. Place your hearts into the altar and begin crafting Set Antidotes. Each human heart will create five antidote vials and give you a Manifestation of Zeal. Of course, we’re here for the Zeal, though the Set Antidotes can be useful too.
They can cure poison from animals and players, food poisoning from eating raw meat, and alcohol poisoning, though a glitch sometimes prevents alcohol poisoning from clearing. The Set antidote is a great utility item and may save your life in a pinch.
This method is the easiest way to farm Zeal in the early to mid-game. You get valuable combat experience from defeating enemies, plentiful loot from raiding their camps, and you’ll farm more than enough hearts to fit the demand of your snake arrows.
Method #2: God Trophies
This method is less useful than the prior, though can be used as a supplementary method to farm even more Zeal in tandem with the human hearts method.
Similar to the Eye of Set mentioned earlier, each religion has a unique god item that drops from their named priests, and rarely from the race that predominantly worships the god. While these can be used to learn other religions, they can also be used to farm large amounts of Zeal.
Should you find a named priest on your travels, be that for Yog, Mitra, or any other god, slay them and take their holy trophy. Bring it home with your hearts, and you’ll be able to sacrifice the symbol to Set in return for a whopping twenty Manifestations of Zeal.
This method is not without its issues, as named priests aren’t the most common enemy. However, should you find one you don’t wish to enthrall, the god trophy is a valuable boost to your Zeal farming that can easily save you a lot of time and effort, filling your pockets with snake arrows.
Creating the Arrows
When you’ve got your Manifestation of Zeal and your branches, throw them into the Sepulcher of Set. Simply click on the crafting recipe for snake arrows, hit craft, and all you have to do is wait. Creating these arrows takes 20 seconds, producing 10 units per recipe. You can then take them out and use them to slay your foes.
Are Snake Arrows Worth It?
In my opinion, yes. Bows are cheap and easy to craft, and unlike other builds that will rely heavily on end-game bows and expensive arrows, snake arrows are relied upon for their impressive damage-over-time ability.
You don’t need to invest in an agility build to get the most use out of them, but a couple of shots from your bow can easily give you the edge in a tough fight. If you’re playing in a small group, the effect only gets better.
You can dive in with your sword and shield as a friend fills your enemy with poison arrows, a strategy that will cut down any foe. Many players swear by the power of snake arrows in the early game, and for good reason.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Does Poison Affect All Enemies?
Answer: No, poison doesn’t affect all enemies equally. Humans and animals will be afflicted, but undead or golems will not. The general rule is this: Flesh can be poisoned, but death and metal can not.
Question: In Regards to Farming Zeal, can I Offer the Eye of Set for Zeal?
Answer: You can, though not at your Set altar. Each altar can sacrifice any opposing god trophies aside from its own. Therefore, to offer the Eye of Set, you’ll need an altar to any other god.
Question: Should I Use the Best Bow Possible With Snake Arrows?
Answer: It depends on your build. If you’re going for an agility build, then yes, as you’ll get a significant damage bonus from the weapon scaling.
However, if you choose a strength build, you’ll likely get minimal improvement from investing in something like a legendary bow. Of course, there will be a damage improvement, but less pronounced than with an agility build.
A Slithering Marksman
Snake arrows are a unique and popular choice amongst Exiles. While the damage is trumped by other sources in the late game, snake arrows have proven useful in the early game for years.
Today you’ve learned what they do, how to create them, and why they might be worth your time. As always, don’t forget to stay tuned into ConanFanatics for all the Conan Exiles news, guides, and tips.
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