You're standing there in the Exiles Lands, probably shivering in some rags or sweating through your basic leather armor, and you realize everything cool requires one specific resource. You need to know how to make hardened leather conan exiles demands for high-tier gear. It's the bottleneck. It's the thing that stops you from looking like a legendary warrior and keeps you looking like a scrub who just washed up on the beach.
Honestly, the crafting system in this game is a bit of a mess if you don't know the specific "alphabet soup" of ingredients. You can't just toss hide into a fire and hope for the best. Hardened leather is a multi-step process that involves chemistry, tanning, and a whole lot of waiting around for bars to fill up. If you've been banging your head against the Tanner’s Table, relax. I’m going to break down the actual steps, the ingredients that matter, and the mistakes that waste your precious resources.
The Recipe Most People Mess Up
To make hardened leather conan style, you aren't just looking at one station. You need a setup. Specifically, you need a Tanner’s Table. Forget the traditional tanning rack for a second; that’s for turning hide into regular leather. For the hardened stuff, the recipe is pretty rigid.
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You need:
- 5 units of Leather
- 2 units of Thick Leather
- 2 units of Alchemical Base
- 5 units of Oil
That’s for one single piece. One. If you’re trying to craft a full set of Epic Flawless gear, you’re looking at hundreds of these. It gets expensive fast. Most players stumble on the Alchemical Base because it feels like a late-game item, but you can actually start stockpiling the ingredients for it way earlier than you think.
The real trick is the oil. In the old days of the game, you’d just press fish. Now? You’re better off using the Alchemist’s Bench or specific seeds if you’re desperate. But mostly, it’s about that Alchemical Base. Without it, you’re stuck with basic leather that won’t stop a stiff breeze, let alone a Cimmerian's axe.
Why Alchemical Base is the Real Hero
Don't let the name intimidate you. Alchemical Base is just a mix of Silver Dust, Gold Dust, and Ichor. You get Ichor from cooking spiders or unappetizing shellfish. Gold and silver? That’s the hard part. You’ve got to head to the volcano or dive into the sunken chests off the eastern coast.
I’ve seen people spend hours farming the wrong mobs trying to skip this step. You can't. If you want hardened leather conan armor, you have to embrace the grind for precious metals. Grind those coins down in a grinder. Mix them with the bug juice. It’s gross, sure, but it’s the only way to "harden" the material so it resists high-level damage.
The Best Places to Farm Materials
If you're low on Thick Leather, stop hunting rabbits. You need big game. Go north. Look for Rhinos, Elephants, or Frost Giants. Those thick hides are what you’re after.
- The Savanna: Best spot for Rhinos and Elephants. It’s dangerous because of the tigers, but the yield is massive.
- The Frozen North: Frost Giants drop Thick Hide like it's going out of style. Plus, you can farm black ice while you're there.
- The Jungle: Gorillas give decent hide, but they’re a pain to fight in groups.
Once you have the Thick Hide, you toss it in the Tanner’s Rack with some bark. Boom. Thick Leather. Now you’re halfway to the goal.
The Tanner's Table Logic
You might be wondering why you can't just do this in your inventory. The Tanner’s Table is a specialized station. You unlock it at level 10, but the actual recipe for hardened leather conan players use frequently doesn't really become viable until you’ve hit the mid-to-late 40s because of the Alchemical Base requirement.
Actually, let's talk about Thralls for a second. If you don't have a high-level Tanner—specifically a Tier 3 or a Named (Tier 4) Tanner—you are wasting materials. A high-level thrall at your Tanner’s Table reduces the material cost. When you're dealing with Alchemical Base, saving 25-50% on costs isn't just a "nice to have." It's the difference between grinding for two hours or four.
Get a Taskmaster, grab a club, and head to Sepermeru or the Mound of the Dead. Find a Tanner. Any Tanner. Put them to work. Your future self will thank you when you realize you don't have to go back to the volcano for more gold quite as often.
Common Misconceptions About Hardened Leather
A lot of players think they can find hardened leather conan drops in chests around the world. While you might find a stray piece in a high-level crate in the Unnamed City or a Cimmerian camp, it’s not a reliable way to gear up. You cannot rely on RNG for this. You have to craft it.
Another mistake? Using regular leather for everything. Use regular leather for your base layers, sure. But for the plating and the heavy-duty protection, the game’s math heavily favors the hardened version. It has a much higher durability rating.
Efficiency Is The Name Of The Game
Let’s be real: Conan Exiles is a game about chores. You’re basically a survivalist housekeeper with a sword. To make the hardened leather conan process less of a headache, you need a workflow.
Start your fish traps or compost bins for Ichor.
Set your furnaces to smelt gold and silver coins.
Run your grinder to turn those bars into dust.
While that’s happening, go out and kill ten elephants.
By the time you get back with the thick hides, your base materials should be ready. It’s all about the loop. If you try to do one thing at a time, you'll burn out.
Actionable Next Steps for Success
To get your production line moving, follow this specific order of operations:
- Secure a steady source of Ichor: Build a fluid press and throw in every spider carcass or desert berry you find. You'll need thousands of units of this stuff over the course of your playthrough.
- Farm the Shipwrecks: Head to the eastern coast and dive for sunken chests. These are the most reliable ways to get gold and silver coins/bars without stepping foot in the dangerous Volcano biome too early.
- Upgrade your Tanner: Don't settle for a basic Tanner’s Table. Move toward the Improved or Grandmaster versions as soon as you hit the level cap to maximize your crafting speed and resource efficiency.
- Focus on the Heavy Stuff: Use your first batch of hardened leather for your chest piece and legs. These provide the biggest armor boost per resource spent.
Once you’ve mastered this cycle, you’ll stop seeing hardened leather conan as a rare luxury and start seeing it as just another basic building block in your empire. Go get those hides.