Conan Exiles Preview

Funcom's Conan Exiles is the subject of a new developer commentary-laden preview on PCGamesN, in which creative director Joel Bylos briefly discusses the survival-themed RPG's premise, overall design goals, and a few notable mechanics. A couple of paragraphs to start you off:

The Thrall system lets you capture NPCs you come across in the world, drag them back to your settlement, break their will on the tellingly titled Wheel of Pain, and then forever exploit them for all they’re worth. “There are many types of Thrall and they each serve a unique purpose,” explains Bylos. “[There are] warriors to guard your base, archers to line your walls, smiths and tanners to provide expertise and unlock cultural crafting recipes, priests to oversee your altars and entertainers to relieve your corruption.” It’s a hideously sinister idea for a game mechanic, but if there is a place for it then it’s surely in the sword and sorcery confines of Hyboria.

Slaves help you turn your humble settlement into a full-blown fortress. Religion takes that principle of letting other people do all the hard work to a whole new level, by letting you summon Avatars to fight alongside you. “The Avatars are a unique end-game mechanic in Conan Exiles, a reward and a threat for your devotion to a god (or gods). Players who follow the dictates of their religion dutifully are rewarded with the ability to summon these gigantic creatures to aid them in battle or defense,” says Bylos. Following dictates isn’t just busybody work either: “that can involve anything from harvesting humans for their flesh to dragging screaming victims to the altar of your god.”