Conan Exiles update adds pets, plus other stuff that's not as cool as pets

It's a harsh world out there in Conan Exiles, so it helps to have some faithful friends at your side. A free update this week, the 34th for Funcom's multiplayer survival game, means you'll never have to solo again. The update adds pets, which can be raised from cubs or eggs you find in the wild. Build a pen and remember to feed them, and they'll grow into a faithful companion who will fight by your side.

"The new pet system will also introduce the mechanic of thrall feeding," reads the news post on the Conan site. "Special Feed boxes and Thrall Pots are available for easier, automatic food distribution to several pets or thralls for those of you who are planning for bigger armies of two and four legged friends."

Your pets will also produce dung you can use for gardening, and if your pet dies that doesn't mean they can't still help you: "Placing dead pets inside a Liquid Separator will grind them down into blood, bone and hide resources." Rest in pieces, Mr. Fluffington.

Less cool than the addition of pets, but still cool overall, is everything else contained in the free update, like a new dungeon called Midnight Grove, an imposing new religious avatar called Jhebbal Sag, and new dual-wielding chain combos and arrow types. You can see all of this in the video above.

That's the free stuff. There's also a new DLC pack out this week called The Savage Frontier (trailer below) that adds new weapons, armor, warpaints, nearly 40 new building pieces, and five skins for your new pets. The Savage Frontier Pack is $10 on Steam.