Conan Exiles’ next Age, the Age of Heroes is coming in October. Content from chapter one has made it to the public beta client to help the team test some of the upcoming features.
Funcom shared details about the beta, along with the patch notes for the chapter one content and changes available. Among the features you can test are Living Settlements. This revamp of the settlements system is intended to bring more life into them, by way of having more things to do for your followers and workers, including the introduction of a needs system for your workers. they're looking to work but also to rest and to feast, so they will go about their lives however they want.. There are new animations throughout settlements, including how followers interact with placeable items.
Thralls also come into their own here, as they become fully functional NPCs. Thrall status will even be hidden in nameplates by default when they’re off duty (not following, guarding, or scouting). Thralls’ nameplates overall get expanded to show useful info, orders, and other details. With some exceptions, they're supposed to blend in and contribute to how alive things feel.
The chapter one beta also adds two new companions that reflect the new changes to give followers a life of their own. These two new followers–sorcerer Liu Fei and warrior Freya–are a bit like cats, as you have to earn their loyalty after you scavenge the Exiled Lands to find them. You'll have to listen to them and find out what they need. The perks you can unlock are based on the decisions you make during each of their questlines, so decide carefully. These are multi-day quests that will take you across a number of locations and encounters.
The beta will continue, and there are still things to be added, but if you're on PC, you can go get a taste of Age of Heroes.
