Few things sting like logging into Conan Exiles to find your base gone to decay. This guide explains how the decay system works, how to refresh your base, the abandonment system, building stability, and the server settings that control it all.
How decay works
Every structure has a decay timer. While you play near it and interact with it, the timer refreshes. If a base is left untouched past its decay time, it becomes abandoned — and once abandoned, anyone can demolish it (or it crumbles on its own). The length of the timer is set by the server’s building decay time multiplier, so it varies between servers.
Keeping your base alive
- Log in regularly — simply being near your base and interacting refreshes its decay timer.
- Check the timer — look at a foundation or piece to see its remaining decay time.
- Consolidate — scattered outposts each decay on their own timer; fewer, well-visited bases are far safer than a sprawl of mini-bases.
- Tell your clan — on a clan base, any member interacting refreshes it, so coordinate logins if people take breaks.
Building stability
Separate from decay, stability governs how far you can build outward. Foundations have full stability; each piece placed away from support loses some, and when stability hits zero, pieces collapse. Use pillars, ceilings and fences to extend stability for big builds and overhangs — a common beginner frustration is walls collapsing because they’re built too far from support.
Control decay on your server
As an admin you set the decay multiplier and abandonment rules — longer for casual servers so people can take breaks, shorter to keep the map tidy on an active server. See the server settings guide, and plan big builds with the Conan Building Calculator.
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