Conan Exiles Age of Calamitous Mod Guide: Turning the Game into an RPG

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Emily Medlock

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.

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A Conan Exiles Age of Calamitous mod guide will organize all this mod offers. In case you haven’t heard of this mod with nearly 400,000 subscribers at the time of writing, it’s a high fantasy roleplaying mod for Conan Exiles.

The mod was created in 2017 but is kept updated with regular patches, so it always stays fresh and relevant. I played AoC the second time through Conan Exiles, and I quickly fell in love with it.

Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of user-friendly support for the mod, so I flailed my way through it. That’s why I’m excited to offer the support that new AoC players need to enjoy the mod to the fullest extent.

Quick Snap of the Age of Calamitous Mod

Age of Calamitous is one of Conan Exiles’ most famous mods. Where Conan Exiles plays on the primal details of surviving, Age of Calamitous adds a medieval setting and fantasy aspects to the game.

It is still a survival game, but there are also classes, professions, and new crafting systems that make the game much more extensive. I recommend it if you’ve already played through the base game and want to feel like you’re playing an entirely new game.

Simple Additions with AoC

• Level Cap Increased to 120
• Quests
• Different UI/HUD
• Extra server setting options
• The new area uses an unused portion of the Exiled Lands
• Six factions and 12 sub-factions (similar to classes)
• Character creation revamped
• Puzzle dungeons
• Unique magic system with elements
• New tiers of thralls
• Special vendors with unique currency
• Tons of new crafting items with AoC metal tiers and more

AoC Factions – Choosing Your Class

The first thing you’ll do after you get to the Faction Hall is pick a faction. You can probably choose just by reading the description that each NPC that will grant you the faction gives you. But it may help to learn the basics of what each entails.

Factions in AoC are like classes. They will control the type of armor, weapons, and pets you have, as well as the questline you follow. This will be much of your identity as you can only choose one Faction.

Cold Embrace

The Cold Embrace lurks in the shadows and is seen as thieves with daggers and few alliances. They have a secret power with seats on the council and assassins scattered across the Exiled Lands.

Subfactions

• Sanguis Unit – all-female unit with light armor and Elarikan Plague damage (cobra pet.)
• Knight of the Empyrus – heavy armor knight unit on the front lines (wolf pet.)

Notable Perks

• Assassin-like armor (Neophyte)
• Necromancy
• Shadow Daggers
• Black Building Materials
• Water flask that satiates
• Immune to Elarkian Plague with class armor
• Can get an undead horse
• Lots of underwear choices

Camps

• The Unnamed City at C-5 (main camp)
• Sandswept Ruins in K4 (medium camp)
• Jungle at L-5 (small camp)

Elven Covenant

A strictly Elven faction that may or may not be racist under the guise of “keeping the natural order of things.” They stay close to nature and are the best class for bow users early on.

Subfactions

• Silver Coven – light armor, stays in the light, and sticks to the rules (they get an elk.)
• Shadaerion Dominion – prefers the ancient arts, medium armor, and isn’t afraid to dabble in the dark arts (they get a tiger.)

Notable Perks

• White oak building pieces
• Druid-like armor (Wilderness)
• Huge water pouch
• Great sickle
• Good spear, katana, and bow

Camps

• Temple of Frost, under the smithy
• Unnamed City at E-5
• At H-6, difficult to spot

Elvanor

Elvanor are elves and humans devoted to their magic. They aren’t focused on nature magic but rather pure arcane magic, learning everything they can about sorcery. Magic is literally all they care about.

Subfactions

• Order of Arcanum – light armor class specializing in enchantments and the earth elements (sabertooth pet.)
• Order of Revelation – medium armor class that specializes in summoning familiars (dragon pet.)

Notable Perks

• Mage armor (Apprentice)
• Best staffs
• Lots of spells
• Huge storage vault
• White oak building pieces
• Good potions and enchantments
• Can teleport to other locations at the Faction Hall

Camps

• C-12, near Ymir trainer (paired with Felgarth)
• C-6 in the map room (paired with Felgarth)
• Undead City at E-6 (main)
• H-6 (paired with Felgarth)
• D-6 (paired with Felgarth)

Felgarth

A group of scholars that study magic. They are much like the Elvanor and the two groups often band together in their studies and at their camps. They have special tablets from which you can learn unique spells.

Subfactions

• Holy Syndicate – light armor, good at gathering and testing the elements, get to wear a dark cloak (crowman pet.)
• House Stormcaller – medium armor, good at resisting the plague, wielding elements, and getting to wear fur (Rotbranch pet.)

Notable Perks

• Good staffs
• Plenty of magic
• Good potions and enchantments
• Can teleport to other locations at the Faction Hall
• Interesting orbs
• Oak and slate building pieces
• Classic earth mage gear (Druidic)
• Can craft many materials

Camps

• C-12, near Ymir trainer (paired with Felgarth)
• C-6 in the map room (paired with Felgarth)
• H-6 (paired with Felgarth)
• D-6 (paired with Felgarth)

Stormhold

Stormhold is the classic hero. They specialize in melee fighting and heavy armor. If you can’t choose a class, Stormhold is the safest choice because it feels like being a Paladin or Warrior.

Subfactions

• North Watch – medium armor, unique rapier, concussive damage (undead pet.)
• Path of Justice – heavy armor, strength bonuses, explosives (lion pet.)

Notable Perks

• Classic light armor (Noble)
• Fireplace
• Amazing food
• Royal clothing
• Marble building pieces

Camps

• D-5 edge of the Unnamed City
• Unnamed City, E-5
• G-7 on the riverbank
• G-3 in the jungle river
• Bay of Hulks, M-7
• B-6 (two camps)

Vanghoul

Vanghoul is a race and a faction of powerful orc-like warriors that cannot use magic. However, special player Vanghouls can learn magic from Shenarah on their quest for power, heroism, or whatever you roleplay.

Subfactions

• Blood Hawks – medium armor, good spear, throwing spiders, cold resistance (crocodile pet.)
• Forsaken Vanguard – heavy armor, good sword/hammer, extra storage (wolf and grunt pets)

Notable Perks

• Speed drying and composting
• Primal armor (Crawler)
• Concussive rocks
• Potion that completely fills food and water gauges
• Good animal pen
• Pine building pieces
• Granite building pieces

Camps

• NW J-7 (two in this block)
• M-8, south of Talier’s Berth
• G-4
• D-5
• M-6

The Economy of AoC

• Tin Coin – worth one apple
• Copper Coin – (50 Tin Coins) worth one hog
• Silver Coin – (25 Copper Coins) worth a low-tier horse
• Gold Coin – 1(0 Silver Coins) worth one ship

Age of Calamitous has its own economy extremely different from vanilla Conan Exiles. There are Gold Coins and Silver Coins in vanilla Conan Exiles but they are different than the coins in AoC.

AoC has a handful of merchants throughout the map, specifically in the Faction Hall. There are also Loyalty Tokens, Honor Tokens, Cookies, Moonsilver, and Guild Tokens.

How to Get Coins in AoC

• Looting Faction Enemies and Bosses – also gives Cookies and Honor Chests, which give Honor Tokens
• Sell Crates with Profession – Sepermeru  (also gives Guild Tokens)
• Sell Gems – the northern part of N-4 with Shenarah Alury’s unit
• Sell Bounties – The Arena at H-6
• Sell Metal Bars – Stormhold camp at B-6
• Converting Moonsilver – requires an Elven Jeweler

Where to Spend AoC Currency

• Guild Vendors
• Other Faction Hall Merchants
• Random Merchants in the Wild (Like Bobby)
• Bought or Crafted Merchants

How to Convert Coins

You can talk to the Faction Hall Dispatch Contractor to learn how to make a Master of Coin, which you can then put at your base and have him convert coins using the table above.

So you can turn 50 Tin Coins into one Copper and so on. You can also get other merchants from the Contractor, such as a general store, attire dealer, Bobby, and a Farmer’s Market.

AoC Professions – Driving the Economy

Now by far the best way to get Tin Coins in AoC is through professions. When I played through AoC, I chose Farmer, and I regretted it because it took so much work to get crates. But I still recommend whichever one you vibe with.

To learn a profession, you have to talk to the profession leader at the Faction Hall. With them, you learn new skills and items with their own tier set. The primary reason for professions is to make crates which you can turn into at Sepermeru for a payment coin which turns into Tin Coins and Guild Tokens

Farmer

Farmers turn in crates with food decorations and raw animal parts. The hunting part isn’t bad, but making the other items can be a pain because it requires a lot of going back and forth between workstations.

They also get animal corrals, windmills, and other farm items that not only add a nice aesthetic but can generate feathers, eggs, and more. Their special pet is the Night Scavenger Hyena, who is immune to the Elarikan Plague.

Forestry

Forestry involves cutting down trees like a lumberjack. You get to build a lumber mill at your base too. This is one of the easiest jobs in my opinion because you get to cut down trees and generate an endless supply of wood.

When you choose Forestry, you get to unlock an Ancient Elephant and eventually a skin to make it immune to the plague. I assume it’s an elephant because in theory, they are good at knocking down trees.

Hunter

Hunters just have to kill things to make crates, so I would say they are the easiest profession. They can create a fishing stand that generates crab, fish, and oysters over time too.

They are a favorite for more than their convenience, though, because they get a dog. Their dog can become immune to the plague only with a skin but otherwise doesn’t have any special perks.

Miner

Miners are easy, too, because you just have to mine stone and such. You can produce mined materials after you have a mine setup at your base. The mine cart and railroad are adorable.

As for pets, you get a Gorilla named Gro’gon, who has 30 inventory slots. You can unlock a skin to make him immune to the plague, a backpack that gives him 30 extra inventory slots, and a helmet that has a light.

Moonshiner

If I had words to make a day for you, I’d make you a moonshiner. They can make crates with vanilla drinks but have to farm quite a few plants and such located all over the map. So they do have to travel a lot.

They can make beehives and a distillery at their base, with a rhino being their special pet. Like all the pets aside from the farmer’s, you need a skin to make it immune to the plague.

AoC Questline – A New RPG Adventure

In Age of Calamitous, you begin the game in an area unique to the mod. Everyone follows the same tutorials, but after you choose a class, you will have a class questline to complete.

You can unlock more quests every ten levels or so. Then at around level 80, you can unlock a subclass which gives you yet another chain to complete. The questlines are straightforward and even tell you where on the map to go.

However, they only tell you which section to go to so it’s easy to get lost wandering around one square. This happened to me multiple times and it was frustrating. In later levels, it doesn’t get easier because some of the quests are nearly impossible to do alone. Who can take on 10 Vanghoul alone without a high-tier, leveled thrall?

AoC Items and Crafting

There are so many new items you can craft in Conan Exiles that I couldn’t even cover them all in a guide dedicated to it. But I can cover the categories of the new items so you know what to look for.

• Benches and Stations – tons of news stations. Each profession has their own, but there’s also new for all professions/factions.
• Materials and Gems – gems are a crafting item and a currency. There are also new metals that you can craft with.
• Potions and Alchemy –  new potions for each faction and some for all. Check the Alchemist’s Table for more.
• Furniture and Decor – each faction has its own set, but there are some that all can craft with the proper feats.
• Currency – currency exchange or turning in items for currency.
• NPCs – merchants, dispatchers, and new crafters you can make or buy at vendors.
• Weapons and Gear – hundreds of these across neutral and faction exclusives.

AoC Enemies and Thralls

My favorite part about the enemies in AoC is that there are new tiers of thralls. These thralls go up to tier 9 with up to a base HP of over 8000. So in my opinion, the thralls are the biggest advantage in AoC. They can help you take most of the below enemies. However, getting these high-tier thralls is difficult because of where they spawn.

Most AoC top-tier thralls spawn at the camps associated with them. So to get an amazing Stormhold General (one of the best thralls in the game) you’ll have to go to one of their encampments. These are crawling with amazing thralls, which means you won’t be able to catch many out alone. Instead, you’ll have to take down the group, which is extremely difficult.

The Elarikan Plague

The most dangerous enemy in AoC is the Elarikan Plague. If you get infected by this, you will die in seconds, no matter your level, and in case you were wondering, there is no cure.

There are certain enemies and areas affected by the Elarkian Plague, so if you get hit by the enemy or enter the area, you will die. If you see green pools or gas, steer clear because that is a pure form of the plague. Some enemies even emit the gas when they die, making killing them dangerous.

Scourge Creatures

• Rabbit: 20 HP
• Hound: 5000 HP
• Zynarus: 12,050 HP
• Vanghoul Grunt: 10,250 HP
• Undead: 5,500 HP
• Ghost: 1000 HP
• Blood Hound: 5,500 HP
• Vanghoul: 12,750 HP
• Dweller: 700 HP
• Reaper 7,200 HP

Scourge Minibosses

• Snake: 25,000 HP
• Dragon: 54,500 HP
• Mammoth: 26,200 HP
• Kurokumo: 30,100 HP
• Wraith: 28,450 HP
• Gargoyle: 14,500 HP
• Crocodile: 17,000 HP
• Spider: 20,600 HP
• Rhino: 17,000 HP

Relic Bosses

Relics are keys that you need to complete the AoC storyline and enter the final dungeon. If you have all six, you can take on the final dungeon in the Faction Hall by putting the relics in the pillars there.

• Scargath (12-A) – Nightmare Relic – the bear boss with multiple cubs around her.
• Rayth (6-D) – Spectral Relic – ghost that looks like a shadow with glowing eyes.
• Eliza (5-C) – Sanguine Relic – Cold Embrace boss at the Cold Embrace camp in Unnamed City.
• Gathon (5-D) – Storm Relic – a Vanghoul Relic Boss.
• Shenarah (7-G) – Midnight Relic – Night Commander with other NPC minions.
• Nekada (7-J) – Fury Relic – another Vanghoul boss.

Raid Bosses

These are like bosses in the normal game but much harder. In fact, Nekada was one of the hardest bosses I’ve fought in any survival game. Each raid boss is tied to a quest NPC, so you have to get the quest to unlock it, which will also let you know where to find them.

• Ashira the Etheral – a white tiger boss and one of the weakest of raid bosses.
• Spawn of Scargath –  big bear boss. He spawns northwest of the Barrows.
• Bobby – later a merchant, but first a skeleton boss with his friend Sir Lanus.
• Nekada Bloodfist – A huge Vanghoul boss with insane health.
• Malagan – a gorgeous deer boss that lives in the jungle.
• Keldora – a big dire wolf and deity in the volcano area.
• Gathon – a super strong Vanghoul boss.

Magic in AoC

Funny enough, AoC had magic before Conan Exiles’ base game did. Only in the mod it’s much more complex. There are different elements you have to unlock separately though you can pick them all up eventually.

The Elements

• Fire – damage, damage, damage.
• Water – heals and chills.
• Earth – heals.
• Air – crippling lightning damage.
• Arcane – summon familiars, drain stamina, cast shields.
• Blood – summon and corrupt.
• Light – heal and debuff.

How to Learn Magic in AoC

To use magic, you have to have a weapon and a spell. But you can’t use any weapon; it has to be a magic weapon. You can upgrade your spells after you learn them, but to do that, you have to start with level 1 spells. But of course, before that, you have to learn the magic.

1. Get the Quest

To learn each magic element, you talk to Grandmaster Ferongar in the Faction Hall’s arcane room. There, you can pick up all of the quests at once so that you can continue them when you are near, given you are a high enough level.

2. Attune to the Shrine

Ferongar will lead you to another NPC who will tell you where you can find the associated shrine. The NPC will also teach you where to find the Atunement you need so that the shrine will not hurt you. When you find the shrine, attune to it, and you will technically know the associated magic. But you still can’t cast spells.

3. Get the Book

To cast spells, you need the first tome. The location for each is different and will be shown during the magic quest. For example, the Tome of the Earth Element needs to be purchased with a unique currency.

4. Build the Altar

Once you are ready, craft the altar for the magic you have learned. This is the only way to get spells. You’ll have to scrounge for materials and use the alchemy bench for Moon Dust and such.

5. Craft Spells

One you build the altar, you can craft spells in it. Make sure you put the tome in the altar as it is one of the ingredients. The first thing you should make is the tool in it that will allow you to gather more of the gems needed to make magic.

From there, you can craft the first spell then go get the ascension tomes so that you can upgrade your magic. Put it in a staff, and you can finally be the mage you always wanted to be.

FAQs

AoC Is the Most Complex Mod in Conan Exiles

As much as I’ve covered here, there’s so much more to know. So much that you can’t learn everything until you play through it multiple times. That’s what makes a game, and a mod like this, so good.

AoC has dungeons with puzzles, intensely interconnected lore, and unique languages that can’t be covered in one article. Anarious Productions and Espen Johansen have a bright future in game development. I hope to see more from them in the future.

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