Switch to Isle of Siptah

Switching your Conan Exiles server to Isle of Siptah

Conan Exiles ships with two stock maps: Exiled Lands (the original, included in the base game) and Isle of Siptah (introduced in the 2020 expansion, included for free on dedicated servers). Switching between them is a config change, not a reinstall. This page covers the exact change, the gotcha that silently reverts it, and the specific error you see when the path is wrong.

The error this page exists for

If your server log shows this line and the server then exits:

LogLoad: Error: Failed to enter /Game/DLC_EXT/DLC_Siptah/Maps/DLC_Isle_of_Siptah:
Failed to load package '/Game/DLC_EXT/DLC_Siptah/Maps/DLC_Isle_of_Siptah'.
Please check the log for errors.

...you are almost certainly hitting one of three things:

• The DLC content is not installed on the server (rare; it ships with the dedicated server by default).
• The map path string is slightly off.
• The Engine.ini change was made while the server was running, and the in-game admin layer overwrote it on shutdown.

All three are covered below.

The right map path

On a Supercraft-hosted Conan Exiles server, edit the following file via the panel's File Manager:

/home/u<port>/con/data/ConanSandbox/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/Engine.ini

Add or update the [/Script/EngineSettings.GameMapsSettings] section:

[/Script/EngineSettings.GameMapsSettings]
ServerDefaultMap=/Game/DLC_EXT/DLC_Siptah/Maps/DLC_Isle_of_Siptah

That is the entire change. No trailing duplicate path component, no quotes, no extension. The key is ServerDefaultMap (not GameDefaultMap; that is the client-side key and the dedicated server ignores it).

To go back to Exiled Lands, remove the line, or set it to:

ServerDefaultMap=/Game/Maps/ConanSandbox/ConanSandbox

Stop the server before editing

This is the single biggest reason customers' Siptah changes mysteriously revert. The Conan Sandbox dedicated server writes its in-memory config out to the .ini files when it shuts down cleanly. If you edit Engine.ini while the process is running and then click Restart, the server's shutdown step overwrites your change with the values it had loaded at startup.

The correct order is:

1. Click Stop in the panel.
2. Wait until the status shows the server is fully stopped (usually under 10 seconds).
3. Edit Engine.ini.
4. Save the file.
5. Click Start.

If you have configured the map field directly through the panel's Config tab, the panel handles the stop-edit-start sequence for you and you do not need to touch the file by hand. Use the file edit path only when the panel does not surface the option you need.

Saves do not carry across maps

Exiled Lands and Siptah store their world data in different database files, side by side:

/home/u<port>/con/data/ConanSandbox/Saved/game.db        # Exiled Lands save
/home/u<port>/con/data/ConanSandbox/Saved/DLC_Siptah.db  # Isle of Siptah save

Switching maps does not migrate characters, structures, or thralls. Each map keeps its own world. If you go from Exiled Lands to Siptah, your players will see an empty Siptah world; if you switch back, the Exiled Lands save returns intact, as long as you did not delete game.db in between. Take a Backup Now from the Installation tab before the first switch to be safe.

Verifying the DLC is installed on the server

Funcom ships the Siptah content with the dedicated server binary at no extra cost; you do not need a DLC entitlement on the server itself, only on each player's account. You can verify the assets are present by looking for this directory after install:

/home/u<port>/con/bin/ConanSandbox/Content/DLC_EXT/DLC_Siptah/

If the directory is missing or empty, run Wipe and Reinstall from the Installation tab. That re-runs the SteamCMD install (AppID 443030) and restores the DLC content. Take a backup first; reinstall wipes your save files.

Players still need the DLC

The server hosts both maps without any extra license. Players, however, need to own the Isle of Siptah DLC on their Steam account to connect to a Siptah server. They will be unable to join with a clear in-client error if they do not own it. If your group has mixed ownership, run Exiled Lands so everyone can play.

Mod compatibility on Siptah

Most mods are map-agnostic. A few popular ones (Pippi, Less Building Restrictions, AoC) work on both maps without change. Map mods such as Savage Wilds are Exiled-Lands-only and will not load on Siptah. If your modlist includes a map mod, drop it before switching, and re-add a Siptah-compatible alternative.

Ready to host both maps without the manual edit? Rent a Conan Exiles server with one-click map switching from the panel.