Grave Matter Conan Exiles Guide - Give Up Your Dead! - Conan Fanatics (2024)

Grave Matter is a reworked version of the Grave Matters world event. It used to be a rare encounter that only showed up during special events run by Funcom. Eventually, they made it part of the game and changed the encounter from Grave Matters to Grave Matter.

While the event plays out the same, there are a few key differences between the previous encounter and the encounter as it exists today. Take a look at how to complete the Grave Matter event and see if it’s still worth doing.

Bottom Line Up Front – Triggering the Event Isn’t Easy

Grave Matter is a random event that may or may not occur when visiting certain areas on the map. It requires certain NPCs to spawn. Take a look at the table below to find out where you need to go and who needs to spawn for the encounter to begin.

Where Does Grave Matter Take Place in Conan Exiles

There are three locations where the Grave Matter encounter can occur. They include the following locations:

• The Summoning Place
• Flotsam
• The Cursed Mound

Each area has its own dangers, so it’s worth determining which is the better pick for you based on your current level and gear in Conan Exiles.

1. The Summoning Place – A Beginner’s Attempt at Grave Matter

The Summoning Place is one of the most accessible locations for beginners. It’s in the heart of the desert. You’ll need to fight your way through Darfari cannibals to get to the area, however. If you want to avoid a fight and have high Grit or climbing gear, you can sneak up to the walls surrounding the Summoning Place and climb over them.

You’ll avoid most of the cannibals near the entrance to the Summoning Place. That allows you to save your health, weapon durability, and healing consumables for the actual fight.

Once inside the Summoning Place, you must head to the altar at the back. You’re looking for a particular NPC to spawn. Kalisha the Masked is the NPC that starts the event. If she’s not there, you’ll need to kill whatever NPC is at the altar to spawn a new one.

I’ve often encountered a priest or witch doctor there. Kill them, leave the area, and then return in hopes of triggering the event. It can take a while, so you should have a camp nearby with food and water.

2. Flotsam – Do Some Shopping While You Wait

Unless you happen to live in the jungle biome, I don’t recommend going to Flotsam to try to trigger the Grave Matter event. Flotsam is home to several pirates and panthers who will attack on sight. There are many of them, too, so having to constantly deal with them to try and trigger the Grave Matter event is a pain.

That said, there are also several merchants here that sell exciting items and even pets. So, if you don’t mind clearing out a large camp with a bit of shopping, Flotsam is probably worth the effort.

The NPC you’re looking for here is Stathem the Embalmer. The problem with this area is that there are a lot of boss NPCs and high-level thralls that spawn here, too. It isn’t easy to get the right event to start.

You’ll spend much time in Flotsam just waiting for Grave Matter to begin.

3. The Cursed Mound – A Tough Fight but Easy Spawn

The final area where Grave Matter can occur is at the Cursed Mound. This is an area within the tundra biome. It sits just off a lake and is home to dangerous creatures and NPCs. Of all the areas, the Cursed Mound is the most reliable for triggering the Grave Matter event.

When I walked into the area, totems appeared, and Boreanaz the Shrouded started praying. Now, the Cursed Mound location is more challenging than the other locations. It has one more totem you need to destroy and uses more formidable undead to kill.

So, if you want a better chance of triggering the Grave Matter event and don’t mind a tougher fight, head to the Cursed Mound.

Grave Matter Event Walkthrough – Make Your Attacks Count

The Grave Matter event can be challenging for beginners. It features wave after wave of undead enemies that attack. The goal is to destroy the totems and kill the NPC attempting to summon some great evil into the world.

With the constant swarming of undead enemies, it takes work to succeed on your own. But it is possible. Consider these tips on how to complete the Grave Matter world event.

1. Prepare for a Long Wait

Triggering the Grave Matter event isn’t guaranteed. It’s a random world event that may occur if the right NPC spawns in the area. If you’re intent on running the Grave Matter event, you must be ready to wait a long time.

Set up an outpost nearby where you can have a bed and a chest to store some items. Since you’ll need to clear the location out to spawn in new enemies–and hopefully the NPC you’re waiting for–it’s also worth bringing along food, water, and resources you can use to repair your armor and weapons.

Keep clearing out the location until the NPC needed to start the event appears.

2. Prepare to Gain Corruption

When the event starts, and the totems appear, they will give off Corruption. Each time you come close, you’ll take Corruption points. Gain too many, and it will start to reduce your stamina and health.

You’ll need to strategize how best to avoid gaining Corruption while still attacking the totems. Making a few Cleansing Brews can help you reduce its effects on you. If you have a Heart of a Hero, you can also eat that to remove Corruption.

Finally, you can bring along a Performer Thrall and put them in your temporary outpost. By having them dance for you, they can remove your Corruption, too.

Cleansing Brews are the best to use in the heat of battle, however.

3. Focus on Totems and Ignore the Undead

The totems are critical to focus on during the Grave Matter event. These are the glowing structures powering the protective barrier around the NPC. You can’t kill the NPC until you destroy the totems.

With many undead enemies swarming you, focusing on the wrong thing is easy. If you’re alone, ignore the undead as best you can and focus on destroying the totems. Getting somewhere relatively safe and using a ranged weapon to destroy the totems is an excellent strategy.

If you’re in a group, have someone handle the undead while the other person takes care of the totems. Work fast before the summoner completes their ritual.

4. Kill or Knock Out the Priest

With all the totems destroyed, the barrier around the priest, or NPC, finally goes down. They’re open for attack. Sometimes they’ll fight you, and sometimes they’ll just stand there. I was up against Boreanaz the Shrouded, and he didn’t seem to mind at all that I had just destroyed his totems.

After killing the priest, any remaining undead in the area will perish without them. You’ll have a chest you can loot for a reward.

You can also attempt to knock the priest out and take them back to your base as a thrall.

Should You Complete the Grave Matter Event in Conan Exiles

When the Grave Matter event was the Grave Matters event, you earned unique rewards from the chest that dropped at the end of the encounter.

Those rewards are now part of the main game. You can discover them by visiting certain places.

The reward you receive for completing the Grave Matter event isn’t quite as exciting. At most, you can score some decent armor or weapons from the NPC that you must fight at the event’s end. The undead also dropped some decent crafting resources.

You can also knock out the priest to have a unique, top-tier, thrall working at your base. This may be the only real reason for triggering the Grave Matter event.

Otherwise, the reward isn’t really worth the danger of the event. Considering you can spend hours waiting for the event to occur in the first place, the reward doesn’t match the risk or time spent on it. It’s worth doing if you’re a completionist. Otherwise, this is a world event that’s worth skipping.

Grave Matter Conan Exiles Guide FAQs

Test Your Endurance and Battle Wits with the Grave Matter World Event

The Grave Matter random world event can be a fun and dangerous challenge to try. Getting the event to trigger can be a pain, and the reward may be a letdown. However, it can also allow you to bring home a unique thrall. Give the event a try and see how your might and strategies do against the hordes of the undead.

Continue reading:

• Conan Exiles Archeronian Pick Guide
• Conan Exiles Offering to Mitra Guide
• Conan Exiles Absinthe Guide