Conan Exiles Server Configuration Guide (2026) — ServerSettings.ini, Performance, PvP/PvE Presets

Conan Exiles Server Configuration Guide (Enhanced, 2026)

Server configuration is the foundation of a successful Conan Exiles server, controlling everything from gameplay rules to performance optimization. This guide covers all configuration files, settings, and optimization techniques for dedicated servers running the May 2026 Enhanced (UE5) build.

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Core Configuration Files

File Structure and Location

ConanSandbox/
├── Saved/
│   ├── Config/
│   │   ├── WindowsServer/          # Windows dedicated server
│   │   │   ├── ServerSettings.ini  # Primary server settings
│   │   │   ├── Engine.ini          # Engine-level settings
│   │   │   ├── Game.ini            # Gameplay and balance
│   │   │   └── GameUserSettings.ini # User interface settings
│   │   └── LinuxServer/            # Linux dedicated server
│   │       ├── ServerSettings.ini
│   │       ├── Engine.ini
│   │       └── Game.ini
│   └── Logs/                       # Server logs
├── Content/                        # Game content
└── Mods/                           # Installed mods

ServerSettings.ini - Primary Configuration

Basic Server Settings

[ServerSettings]
; Admin access (MakeMeAdmin password) and join password
AdminPassword=YourStrongAdminPassword2025
ServerPassword=

; Communication
ServerMessageOfTheDay=Welcome to our Conan Exiles server!
ServerCommunity=Relaxed  ; the shipped default, a play-style tag (not a number)
ChatHasGlobal=True

; Anti-cheat
IsBattlEyeEnabled=True

; Region: 0 EU, 1 America, 2 Asia, 3 Oceania, 4 South America, 5 Japan
serverRegion=0

The server name players see in the browser and the player cap come from other files. The name sits in Engine.ini under [OnlineSubsystem] (ServerName=), where the game ships it, and the cap in Game.ini under [/Script/Engine.GameSession] (MaxPlayers=40 by default). The cap can also be passed on the launch line as -MaxPlayers=, and the join password as -ServerPassword=. Tick rate is an Engine.ini network setting, covered below.

Gameplay Settings

; Experience and progression
PlayerXPRateMultiplier=1.0
PlayerXPKillMultiplier=1.0
PlayerXPHarvestMultiplier=1.0
PlayerXPCraftMultiplier=1.0
PlayerXPTimeMultiplier=1.0

; Harvesting and resources
HarvestAmountMultiplier=1.0
ResourceRespawnSpeedMultiplier=1.0
ItemSpoilRateScale=1.0

; Combat and damage
PlayerDamageMultiplier=1.0
PlayerDamageTakenMultiplier=1.0
NPCDamageMultiplier=1.0
NPCDamageTakenMultiplier=1.0
StructureDamageMultiplier=1.0

; Survival mechanics
StaminaCostMultiplier=1.0
PlayerActiveHungerMultiplier=1.0
PlayerIdleHungerMultiplier=1.0
PlayerActiveThirstMultiplier=1.0
PlayerIdleThirstMultiplier=1.0

; Thralls and pets
ThrallDamageToPlayersMultiplier=1.0
ThrallDamageToNPCsMultiplier=1.0

; Purge settings (shipped defaults)
EnablePurge=True
PurgeDuration=30

Building and Decay

; Building mechanics
AllowBuildingAnywhere=False  ; False keeps points of interest clear of buildings
BuildingPreloadRadius=80     ; the value an Enhanced server writes on its own
CanDamagePlayerOwnedStructures=True

; Decay
DisableBuildingAbandonment=False
BuildingDecayTimeMultiplier=1.0

A building's decay time comes from its building score rather than one fixed timer. The other decay keys are MaxBuildingDecayTime, BuildingDecayTimePerScore and MaxDecayTimeToAutoDemolish, all in seconds; the decay settings guide covers them.

PvP and PvE Settings

; PvP rules
PVPEnabled=True
RestrictPVPTime=True        ; PvP only inside the daily windows below
PVPEnabledMonday=True
PVPTimeMondayStart=1800     ; HHMM
PVPTimeMondayEnd=2200
; ...the same three keys for Tuesday to Sunday

; Raiding: damage to player buildings
CanDamagePlayerOwnedStructures=True
RestrictPVPBuildingDamageTime=True
PVPBuildingDamageEnabledMonday=True
PVPBuildingDamageTimeMondayStart=1800
PVPBuildingDamageTimeMondayEnd=2200
; ...the same three keys for Tuesday to Sunday

; PvE rules
PVPEnabled=False
CanDamagePlayerOwnedStructures=False
EverybodyCanLootCorpse=False

Schedules are set per day in the Enhanced build, with times written as HHMM (1800 is 6 pm). PVPEnabled=False is the PvE switch.

Engine.ini - Performance Optimization

Network and Performance Settings

[/Script/OnlineSubsystemUtils.IpNetDriver]
MaxClientRate=60000
MaxInternetClientRate=60000
RelevantTimeout=60.0
KeepAliveTime=0.2
SpawnPrioritySeconds=1.0
InitialConnectTimeout=120.0
ConnectionTimeout=30.0
NetServerMaxTickRate=30

; Server browser name, where the game ships it
[OnlineSubsystem]
ServerName=My Conan Exiles Server

Every key under IpNetDriver above is a real network setting of the engine build. MaxPlayers is not an Engine.ini key: it belongs in Game.ini under [/Script/Engine.GameSession].

Rendering and Graphics Optimization

Skip this layer on a dedicated server. The server draws no frames, so r.* graphics settings (shadow, texture, post-process or view-distance quality) do not change its CPU or RAM use, and several names that circulate in server guides, such as r.MultiThreadedPhysX or r.Bloom, are not console variables of this engine build at all. Server performance comes from the network settings above and from the gameplay load: player count, building count and thralls.

Game.ini - What It Holds

Gameplay Balance Adjustments

Game.ini is short on a Conan server. It holds the player cap and the RCON block, and nothing else on this page needs it:

[/Script/Engine.GameSession]
MaxPlayers=40

[RconPlugin]
RconEnabled=1
RconPassword=YourRconPassword
RconPort=25575
RconMaxKarma=60

Write the [RconPlugin] lines with no spaces around =; a spaced line is ignored and the server logs Rcon disabled. The Enhanced server reads this block from Game.ini, older builds read it from Engine.ini, and having it in both files does no harm. Character stats, leveling and NPC strength are not Game.ini class sections: balance is set with the ServerSettings.ini multipliers, such as PlayerHealthMultiplier, PlayerStaminaMultiplier and NPCDamageMultiplier.

Crafting and Building Adjustments

These are ServerSettings.ini keys under [ServerSettings], not Game.ini sections. 1.0 leaves a rate unchanged:

; Crafting
CraftingCostMultiplier=1.0
FuelBurnTimeMultiplier=1.0
ItemConvertionMultiplier=1.0

; Building
LandClaimRadiusMultiplier=1.0
StabilityLossMultiplier=1.0
BuildingDecayTimeMultiplier=1.0

; Thralls
ThrallConversionMultiplier=1.0

Performance Optimization Guide

Server Hardware Requirements

Optimization Settings by Scenario

High Performance PvP Server

; Focus on smooth combat and building
; Engine.ini, [/Script/OnlineSubsystemUtils.IpNetDriver]
NetServerMaxTickRate=45
MaxClientRate=80000
MaxInternetClientRate=80000

; ServerSettings.ini, [ServerSettings]
HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.0      ; Faster resource gathering
PlayerXPRateMultiplier=2.0       ; Faster progression
BuildingDecayTimeMultiplier=0.5  ; Abandoned bases decay sooner

Roleplay/PvE Server

; Focus on immersion and building (ServerSettings.ini)
BuildingDecayTimeMultiplier=2.0  ; Bases last twice as long
HarvestAmountMultiplier=1.0
PlayerXPRateMultiplier=1.0
CanDamagePlayerOwnedStructures=False
PVPEnabled=False

Battle Royale/Event Server

; Focus on short sessions and reset (ServerSettings.ini)
PlayerXPRateMultiplier=5.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=3.0
BuildingDecayTimeMultiplier=0.25  ; Abandoned bases clear quickly
PVPEnabled=True
RestrictPVPTime=False             ; PvP at every hour
CanDamagePlayerOwnedStructures=True
RestrictPVPBuildingDamageTime=False
AllowBuildingAnywhere=False

; Game.ini, [/Script/Engine.GameSession]
MaxPlayers=70

Advanced Configuration Techniques

Mod Integration Configuration

; ServerSettings.ini, [ServerSettings]: the Workshop IDs clients are told to load
ServerModList=900668587,1653991484,880177831

; ConanSandbox/Mods/modlist.txt: the .pak files the server itself loads,
; one per line, in load order. *name.pak means a file in ConanSandbox/Mods/
*FirstMod.pak
*SecondMod.pak

The server loads mods only from modlist.txt, so a Workshop ID in ServerModList with no matching .pak line does nothing on the server. Mods built for the old UE4 game do not load in the Enhanced (UE5) server; check that each mod was updated for Enhanced.

Database and Persistence Configuration

There is nothing to configure here. The world is one SQLite file in ConanSandbox/Saved/: game_0.db on an Enhanced Exiled Lands server, with the server's own rotating copies beside it (game_0_backup_1.db and up, a few minutes apart). The server build has no MySQL support. To back a server up, stop it and copy the .db file together with the Saved/Config folder.

Automated Server Management

Conan has no admincheat prefix; that belongs to other games. For a scheduled restart, warn players with the RCON broadcast <message> command, stop the server with RCON shutdown (or restart), and start it again from your scheduler with ConanSandboxServer.sh -log on Linux or the server executable on Windows. Force-killing the process with taskkill /f skips the clean shutdown.

Monitoring and Maintenance

Server Health Monitoring

Log Analysis and Debugging

; Enable detailed logging: Engine.ini, one log category per line
[Core.Log]
LogNet=Verbose

; Common log locations
ConanSandbox/Saved/Logs/ConanSandbox.log
ConanSandbox/Saved/Logs/ConanSandbox-backup-*.log
ConanSandbox/Saved/Logs/RconCommandLog.log  ; every RCON command received
ConanSandbox/Saved/Crashes/  ; Crash dumps

; Useful log analysis commands (Linux)
tail -f ConanSandbox.log | grep -E "(Error|Warning|Exception)"
grep "Join succeeded" ConanSandbox.log | wc -l  # Count joins
grep "Out of memory" ConanSandbox.log  # Memory issues

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Security Best Practices

Server Security Configuration

1. Strong passwords: Use complex AdminPassword (12+ characters, mixed types)
2. Regular updates: Update server and mods weekly
3. Access control: Limit RCON/admin access to trusted users
4. Backup strategy: Daily incremental, weekly full backups
5. Monitoring: Log all admin actions and suspicious player behavior
6. Network security: Use firewall, consider VPN for admin access
7. Anti-cheat: Keep BattlEye updated and enabled

Player Management Security

1. Admin hierarchy: Different permission levels for different tasks
2. Activity logging: Log all inventory transfers and building changes
3. Regular audits: Review admin actions and player reports
4. Backup verification: Test backup restoration regularly
5. Incident response: Plan for hacking attempts or griefing

Migration and Scaling

Server Migration Procedure

1. Preparation: Backup all configs, save games, and mods
2. New server setup: Install fresh Conan Exiles server
3. File transfer: Copy Config, Saved, and Mods directories
4. Configuration update: Adjust IPs, paths, and hardware-specific settings
5. Testing: Test on new server before DNS switch
6. Switchover: Announce downtime, switch DNS, monitor

Scaling for Larger Populations

1. Horizontal scaling: Multiple servers with different regions/modes
2. Load balancing: Distribute players across multiple instances
3. Content distribution: Use CDN for mod downloads
4. Monitoring stack: Implement comprehensive monitoring

Next Steps

• Set up Conan Exiles dedicated server
• Install and manage Conan Exiles mods
• Learn essential admin commands and tools
• Configure clan and warfare settings
• Browse other game server guides