Conan Exiles Improved Furnace Guide and Optimization Tips

The Improved Furnace is a core crafting station in Conan Exiles for smelting ores and creating refined materials faster and more efficiently than the basic furnace. This guide explains how it works, what it crafts, best placement and fuel strategies, thrall bonuses, and practical optimization tactics to streamline base production. Players seeking reliable smelting workflows and resource efficiency will find actionable steps and troubleshooting tips below.

Topic	Quick Summary
Purpose	Faster smelting of ores and conversion of materials into bars and refined components
Fuel	Wood, coal, charcoal; coal/petroleum-based fuels improve efficiency for some recipes
Thrall Use	Taskmasters and T3/T4 blacksmith thralls speed work and reduce fuel consumption
Placement	Near storage and crafting benches, sheltered from weather and enemy raids

What The Improved Furnace Is And Why It Matters

The Improved Furnace is an intermediate-tier smelting structure that replaces the basic furnace for players who need higher throughput and access to refined materials. It processes raw ores, glass materials, and certain crafting components more quickly and with larger capacity than the starter furnace.

Key advantages include faster smelt times, increased input capacity, and the ability to handle a broader range of recipes used in midgame and late-game crafting.

Core Uses And Recipes

The Improved Furnace is used primarily to convert mined and gathered resources into materials required for advanced crafting. Typical outputs include metal bars, glass, and basic refined items that feed into blacksmithing, armor workbenches, and construction.

Common crafting flows that depend on the Improved Furnace are: smelting iron ore into iron bars, processing coal or refined fuels for steel production, and melting sand into glass for alchemical or building recipes. Using the Improved Furnace is a necessary step for progression toward steel, hardened leather armors, and advanced building components.

Fuel Types And Efficiency Strategies

Furnaces in Conan Exiles accept several fuel types; the most common are raw wood, charcoal, and coal. Fuel choice affects cost-per-output and how often a player needs to reload the furnace.

Efficiency tips: use charcoal or coal whenever possible to maximize smelt cycles per unit of fuel. Convert excess wood into charcoal using a kiln if available. Prioritize refined fuels for steel and higher-tier smelting to reduce overall resource drain.

Thralls And Production Bonuses

Placing a crafting thrall at the Improved Furnace increases output speed and reduces the amount of fuel required per recipe. Specialist thralls (blacksmiths) deliver the greatest improvement for metal smelting.

Players should aim to recruit and bench higher-tier thralls for furnaces. T3 and T4 blacksmith thralls provide the best balance of speed and efficiency; a levelled thrall speeds up work orders while improving fuel economy.

Placement, Base Layout, And Logistics

Optimal furnace placement reduces haul time and risk during raids. Furnaces should be near ore storage, workbenches, and doors used for resource staging. A compact production hub keeps the supply chain short and reduces idle time.

Design tips: group furnaces and resource boxes under the same roof and include multiple exit points for quick access. Place furnaces on foundations or ceilings when possible to limit damage from fires or explosions during attacks.

How To Organize Smelting Workflow

Efficient workflows are repeatable and minimize manual intervention. One effective strategy is to run batch smelts with scaled fuel input and staggered timers so furnaces are reloaded during downtime.

Suggested workflow: stockpile ore; convert excess wood to charcoal in a kiln; set furnaces to run in rotation with a thrall; funnel outputs to nearby storage. Automation of resource movement and clear labeling of boxes reduces mistakes and speeds production for solo and clan play.

When To Use Multiple Furnaces

One Improved Furnace will suffice early on, but multiple furnaces are essential as a base grows. Parallel smelting reduces bottlenecks when producing large quantities of bars for weapons, armor, or building projects.

When scaling up, keep furnaces balanced: if steel is a bottleneck, add a furnace dedicated to steel production with a high-quality thrall, while using others for glass and basic metal bars.

Comparisons: Improved Furnace Versus Other Smelters

Compared to the basic furnace, the Improved Furnace offers faster production and the capacity to craft intermediate-tier items. Compared to endgame smelters or modded alternatives, it may lack extreme throughput but remains more fuel-efficient than the starter model.

Players transitioning from the basic furnace should view the Improved Furnace as a necessary midgame upgrade that unlocks more efficient crafting and higher-tier recipes.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

If the furnace doesn’t work as expected, check fuel type and quantity first. Certain recipes require specific fuels or additional components to activate final outputs.

Other issues include thralls not performing due to broken benches or server performance causing delays. Replacing thralls or relocating the furnace can restore normal operation. Always verify that nearby structures or server rules aren’t blocking production.

Best Practices For PvP Servers

On player-versus-player (PvP) servers, furnaces can become targets for raids due to their role in crafting valuable items. Concealment and redundancy are important strategies.

Place furnaces in reinforced compartments, scatter production across multiple locations, and maintain backup materials offsite. Use decoy furnaces to misdirect attackers and reduce the chance of losing primary production capacity.

Base Defense And Hardening Furnaces

Fortify furnace rooms with heavy doors, traps, and choke points. Furnace placement should make direct access costly for raiders.

Use spiked walls, archers, and explosive traps in outer layers to discourage breaching. Inside, store rare fuels and refined bars in a separate vault to minimize losses if an outer layer is destroyed.

Mods And Server Variations That Affect Furnaces

Many community mods alter furnace behavior, fuel efficiency, and recipe lists. Server administrators may also tweak rates for smelting, thrall effectiveness, and fuel consumption.

When playing on modded servers, players should review server settings and mod docs to understand any differences in time-to-complete and resource ratios. Tailor production strategies to server multipliers for best results.

Advanced Tips For Efficiency And Time Saving

Stack production orders: plan smelting batches to coincide with crafting sessions so materials are ready when needed. Use containers close to the furnace labeled for specific ores to prevent mixing and errors.

Consider dedicating certain furnaces to specific tasks—one for steel, one for glass, one for base metals. This reduces fuel switching and simplifies resource management.

Common Misconceptions About The Improved Furnace

One myth is that higher-tier thralls are unnecessary for furnaces; in reality, specialist thralls significantly reduce fuel use and time. Another misconception is that the Improved Furnace is only for metal; it also processes glass and other refined materials important to many crafting chains.

Understanding what the Improved Furnace can do prevents wasted resources and helps prioritize upgrades that speed progression.

FAQs

How Much Faster Is The Improved Furnace?

Speed increases depend on thrall placement and server settings. In general, the Improved Furnace smelts faster than the basic furnace and supports larger batch sizes, which yields a practical speed advantage for midgame production.

What Fuels Are Best?

Charcoal and coal generally provide the best fuel-to-output ratio. Converting wood into charcoal via a kiln is a worthwhile early investment to improve furnace efficiency.

Should All Furnaces Have Thralls?

Whenever possible, yes. Thralls reduce the time and fuel required per recipe. Prioritize assigning thralls to furnaces that handle high-value or frequent smelts.

Practical Example Build And Workflow

A practical midgame setup: two Improved Furnaces in a protected room, one dedicated to steel production and the other to glass and iron bars. A kiln nearby converts wood into charcoal. T3 blacksmith thralls are assigned to both furnaces. Ore boxes and fuel boxes sit adjacent with clear labels.

Run staggered smelts: load the steel furnace during prime play hours while using the second furnace for continuous base metal production. This keeps a steady supply of bars without constant micromanagement.

Resources And Further Reading

For deeper information, consult official patch notes, community wikis, and server-specific guides. These sources provide the latest recipe lists, fuel efficiencies, and mod compatibility details relevant to the Improved Furnace.

Players are encouraged to test production lines on their server to determine optimal setups given rate multipliers and community mods.

Note: Game mechanics and stats can change with patches and mods. Always verify with current server settings and community resources for accurate, up-to-date numbers.