Conan Exiles Hardened Leather Guide: Recipe, Crafting Chain and Real Cost

Conan Exiles hardened leather is made at the Tanner's Table from 5x Leather, 2x Thick Leather, 1x Alchemical Base and 5x Oil. The recipe is part of the "Exile Epics" knowledge and only unlocks at level 60. The Tanner's Table itself is available from level 10.

This guide is checked against the current Enhanced build. The free switch to Unreal Engine 5 came on May 5, 2026. The current version is patch 3.0.0 (October 6) with hotfix 3.0.1 (October 8, 2026). None of the patch notes from patch 2.1.0 (August 18) through hotfix 3.0.1 lists a change to leather, the Tannery or the Tanner's Table.

Where the values differ from older guides, or where sources contradict each other, we say so instead of printing a number that looks neat but that nobody can verify.

⚒️ The Conan Exiles hardened leather recipe

First the point most guides get sloppy on: Hardened Leather is made at the Tanner's Table, not in the Tannery. Those are two different stations. The Tannery turns hides and pelts into Leather and burns Bark as fuel. The Tanner's Table needs no fuel and is the station for the refined materials.

Weight per unit: 0.25. The Enhanced item database lists a stack size of 200, older data sheets still say 100. If in doubt, plan with the smaller number so you don't misjudge your transport.

🔄 What changed compared to the 2023 state

This is exactly what most players searching for hardened leather in Conan Exiles want to know: does the old recipe still apply after the move to Unreal Engine 5? Short answer: the recipe itself is unchanged, but several side details are no longer correct.

The most common mistake in older guides is the unlock. Level 10 applies to the Tanner's Table, not the recipe. Hardened Leather is tied to the "Exile Epics" knowledge, which costs 13 knowledge points and requires the "Armorer" and "Star Metal Tools" knowledge.

Sources openly disagree on the Alchemical Base. The Conan Exiles Wiki on Fandom calls itself the "Official Conan Exiles Wiki", but it is maintained by players. The most reliable source is a community database pulled from the Enhanced game files, and it lists 1x. Older fan sites and several current guides still list 2x.

We follow the database because it reflects the current build. Still, check the recipe preview at the Tanner's Table: it shows the amount your client actually asks for. If you plan 100 units, that can save you 100 Alchemical Base you don't need.

📦 The full chain from raw hide to finished leather

Hardened Leather sits at the end of a four-step chain. Know it, and you build your stations in the right order instead of waiting on a missing intermediate step halfway through production.

1. Collect hides and pelts with a Skinning Knife from animals you kill.
2. Leather in the Tannery. Pelts from hyenas, big cats or wolves give 1x Leather plus 1x Tar each. From plain Hide the Tannery needs 3 for 1x Leather. Crafting time 10 seconds.
3. Thick Leather, also in the Tannery, from 1x Thick Hide, rhino hide, elephant hide or bear pelt. Gives 1x Thick Leather plus 1x Tar in 20 seconds.
4. Hardened Leather at the Tanner's Table from 5x Leather, 2x Thick Leather, 1x Alchemical Base and 5x Oil.

Useful: the Tanner's Table can also turn rhino and elephant hide or bear pelts into Thick Hide itself, and even plain Hide with Twine if needed. The exact amounts are in our Thick Leather guide.

🆚 Thick Leather or Hardened Leather?

Many players search for one and mean the other. Three points separate the two materials:

Thick Leather is the earlier step and goes into Hardened Leather as an ingredient. If you're already running short on Thick Leather, that's your real bottleneck. Which animals drop how much Thick Hide, where they are and how to keep your Tannery busy is all in the Thick Leather guide.

🗺️ Where to farm the four ingredients

🐾 Leather

Every small to medium animal gives hide or pelts when you work the carcass with a Skinning Knife. Antelopes, gazelles, hyenas and jackals around the river cover your basic needs easily. The pelts go into the Tannery together with Bark as fuel.

🦏 Thick Leather

The intermediate step only comes from large animals. Rhinos in the northwestern desert and elephants in the savanna are the most convenient sources, mammoths in the snow biome the most productive. Locations, yield per animal and more are covered in detail in our Thick Leather guide. The short version is enough here.

⚗️ Alchemical Base

At the basic Firebowl Cauldron one Alchemical Base costs 2x Silver Dust, 1x Gold Dust and 2x Ichor. At the Improved Firebowl Cauldron and higher-tier cauldrons it drops to 1x each. That's half the cost, and it also explains why guides contradict each other on this ingredient. Both numbers come from community sources, Funcom doesn't publish them anywhere.

You get Silver and Gold Dust from the grinder. One bar gives 10x dust, one coin 2x. That's why you should never smelt coins into bars: 30 Silver Coins are worth 60 dust, the single bar you'd make from them only 10. Ichor drops in bulk from spiders and scorpions. Collect plenty, because your Oil production depends on it too.

🫙 Oil

This is the actual bottleneck of the whole chain. The Fluid Press unlocks at level 28 and costs 50x Shaped Wood, 10x Twine and 10x Iron Bar. What you put in decides how much time you spend:

The last row is the real lever. A tier 3 Alchemist at the Alchemist's Bench unlocks the Oil recipe and turns two everyday ingredients into five Oil at once. Once that bench is up, you never farm fish for Hardened Leather again.

🧭 An efficient farming route for one production run

Four ingredients don't mean four farming trips. This order picks up everything in one loop and has become the go-to route in player forums. It's not an official Funcom recommendation.

1. Savanna first, while your inventory is empty. Elephants and rhinos give the heaviest item. Their hides later become Thick Hide at the Tanner's Table. Skin every smaller animal along the way, since those pelts are your Leather.
2. Spider and scorpion nests on the way back. You need Ichor twice, for the Alchemical Base and for the Oil. A run of 20x Hardened Leather takes about 60, done after two nests.
3. Harvest trees wherever you pass them. Bark is fuel for the Tannery and an Oil ingredient at the same time. An axe gets you a lot more of it than a pickaxe.
4. Silver and gold last. The veins in the mountain regions give you the bars for the grinder. A single Silver Bar covers five Alchemical Base, so this is where you carry the least.

At home the order matters just as much. Fill the Tannery with Bark first and start Leather and Thick Leather, then the Firebowl Cauldron, then the Alchemist's Bench for the Oil. The Tanner's Table comes last: it needs all four ingredients at once and just sits idle otherwise.

📊 What Hardened Leather really costs

An honest calculation for 20x Hardened Leather, roughly one armor piece of the epic class:

The Enhanced database lists 322 uses for Hardened Leather. Most armor pieces need 20x, some between 10x and 25x. A full five-piece set at 20x each lands you at roughly 100 units, so 500 Oil. Depending on the pieces, the range is 50 to 125 units, about 250 to 625 Oil. The Argossean cavalry saddle blows every budget: 60x Hardened Leather for that one item.

⚠️ The most common mistakes

• Wrong station. If you look for the recipe in the Tannery, you'll never find it. It's at the Tanner's Table.
• Planning too early. Before level 60 and without "Exile Epics" there's no Hardened Leather, no matter how full your chests are.
• Forgetting Oil. 5x Oil per unit sounds harmless, but it adds up to the largest single item in the whole chain.
• Burning Oil. Oil burns longer than wood, but coal works too. Don't burn your Oil if you want to make Hardened Leather.
• Forgetting Bark. The Tannery needs Bark as fuel. Without it, half the chain never starts.

💡 The right thrall at the Tanner's Table

The Tanner's Table takes a Tanner, not a Taskmaster. The Taskmaster belongs at the Wheel of Pain and does nothing at the Tanner's Table, a mix-up that has run through guides for years.

The Tanner won't make production faster, though: according to Funcom's announcement for Update 2.1 (October 2020), crafting speed, material cost and fuel burn time depend on the tier and type of the bench, not on the thrall's tier. According to the community wiki, a tier 3 or tier 4 Tanner unlocks additional recipes instead. How to capture thralls in the first place is in our thralls guide, and what each crafter type does is in the overview of thrall professions.

Worth building early: the Improved Tanner's Table. It costs 30x Shaped Wood and 50x Iron Bar and is the reward for completing the Tanner journey, so you don't spend a single knowledge point on it.

🎯 What you need Hardened Leather for

The biggest consumers are the epic armors at the Improved Armorer's Bench: medium and heavy sets, but plenty of light ones too. Add saddles and the two special tanneries: the Plant-Based Tannery with heavily reduced fuel use and the faster Precision Tannery, each costing 25x Hardened Leather. Which sets are worth it is in our comparison of the best armor.

❓ Conan Exiles hardened leather FAQ

How do I make Hardened Leather in Conan Exiles?

At the Tanner's Table from 5x Leather, 2x Thick Leather, 1x Alchemical Base and 5x Oil. One craft takes 5 seconds and gives 1x Hardened Leather.

At what level can I make Hardened Leather?

From level 60. The recipe is part of the "Exile Epics" knowledge, which costs 13 knowledge points. The often-quoted level 10 only applies to the Tanner's Table.

Does the recipe still work in Conan Exiles Enhanced?

Yes. None of the patch notes from patch 2.1.0 (August 18, 2026) through the current hotfix 3.0.1 (October 8, 2026) changed anything about leather, the Tannery or the Tanner's Table. Compared to the old state, the differences are the stack size (200 instead of 100), the amount of Alchemical Base (1x instead of 2x), the unlock (level 60 via "Exile Epics" instead of the often-quoted level 10) and the knowledge for the Tanner's Table (2 instead of 3 knowledge points).

How long does a batch of 20x Hardened Leather take?

At the Tanner's Table itself only 5 seconds per unit, so about two minutes for 20. The real time goes into the earlier steps, especially 100x Oil and 40x Thick Leather. Plan a farming run plus processing time at the Tannery, cauldron and Alchemist's Bench. The final craft is the shortest part.

What's the difference between Thick Leather and Hardened Leather?

Thick Leather is the earlier step and comes from Thick Hide in the Tannery. Hardened Leather is made at the Tanner's Table and uses Thick Leather as an ingredient. Details on the earlier step are in our Thick Leather guide.

How much Hardened Leather do I need for an armor set?

Most armor pieces cost 20x, some between 10x and 25x. Five pieces at 20x each come to roughly 100 units, between 50 and 125 depending on the pieces.

Why can't I find the recipe in my Tannery?

Because it isn't there. The Tannery makes Leather and Thick Leather. Hardened Leather is only made at the Tanner's Table.

Last revised October 11, 2026. Recipe data checked against Funcom's official patch notes for patch 2.1.0 (August 18, 2026) and hotfix 2.1.1 (August 26, 2026), a community database pulled from the Enhanced game files and several fan sites. On October 11, 2026 we also went through patch 2.2.0 (September 15), the hotfixes of September 17 and 24 (2.2.2) and October 1 (2.2.3), patch 3.0.0 (October 6) and hotfix 3.0.1 (October 8, 2026): no change to leather, the Tannery or the Tanner's Table.

The Conan Exiles Wiki on Fandom (conanexiles.fandom.com) calls itself the "Official Conan Exiles Wiki" and is linked from Funcom's site conanexiles.com, but by its own description it is written by players. Only the patch notes and Funcom's Update 2.1 announcement (conanexiles.com/?p=8617) are official here. All recipe amounts and locations are community information and marked as such in the text. More guides on the Conan Exiles hub.