Conan Exiles Mods Not Working: Errors and Fixes After the UE5 Switch

When Conan Exiles mods stop working after the move to Unreal Engine 5, there's almost always one reason: the mod was built for the old UE4 version. Enhanced and Legacy share the same Steam entry and the same Workshop, but not the same engine. A mod runs in one version or the other. Launch crashes, entries missing from the menu and rejected server connections are usually just symptoms of that.

This guide sorts the errors by what you see on screen and gives a cause, a fix and a source for each one.

📊 Symptom, cause and fix at a glance

Anything marked "community" comes from forum reports and hasn't been officially confirmed by Funcom.

⚠️ The core problem: one library, two engines

Conan Exiles Enhanced has been running on Unreal Engine 5 since May 5, 2026. The old version is called "Conan Exiles Legacy" and keeps running on Unreal Engine 4. Both are the same Steam title: Funcom says you find Legacy by looking up Conan Exiles Enhanced in your Steam library, opening Properties and picking Conan Exiles Legacy in the tab for game versions and betas.

That's exactly where the confusion comes from. One Steam entry also means one Workshop. An author can move a mod to UE5 and overwrite the old build, or upload a second entry for the other version. Both happen, and both show up on the same overview page.

How to tell which version a mod is made for

In its list "Conan Exiles Enhanced Common Issues and Workarounds", Funcom names exactly one way: the Steam Workshop has a version filter with the values Legacy and Enhanced. Set it and you only see mods that match your install. Without that filter, it's a grab bag.

A second, softer hint is the last update date. A mod that hasn't been touched since May 5, 2026 is very likely a pure UE4 mod.

What happens if you load the wrong one

Best case, the game ignores the mod. Worse case, it gets loaded and the game crashes on launch. Funcom's workaround list explicitly names incompatible mods as a crash cause.

🩸 The six most common errors in detail

1. The game won't start or crashes on load

Funcom lists three steps in this order: update your graphics driver, verify the game files in Steam, and rename modlist.txt in the ConanSandbox\Mods folder. After renaming, the game starts without mods. If it gets through that way, a mod was the trigger.

Renaming instead of deleting is on purpose: you can change the name back at any time and get your load order back. Then re-enable mods one by one until the crash returns. The last one you added is the culprit. The same procedure is in our guide to servers not showing and ping 9999.

2. Missing or mismatched mods when joining a server

A modded server expects its exact mod list. If you're missing an entry or subscribed to a different version, the client refuses to join and names the affected mods. The fix: subscribe to exactly the Workshop items the server owner lists.

The most common trap is the version difference. Two mods can have the same name and still have different Workshop IDs, one for Legacy and one for Enhanced. Go by the ID, not the name.

3. Mods don't show in the menu or disappear again

From May 21, 2026, players on the Funcom forums reported that subscribed mods were missing from the launcher's mod tab but present in the game. A Funcom staff member pointed to the help center for QA review, and no fix was posted. The workaround people describe: start the game, use the "MODS" button in the main menu, manage them there, restart. Community report, not an official fix.

4. Wrong load order

modlist.txt is a plain text file: one line per mod, processed top to bottom. If two mods change the same object, the order decides which version is active. That's where those bugs come from where a mod "does nothing" even though it's loaded.

You can change the order in the game's mod menu or directly in the text file. Important: Funcom doesn't officially document anywhere whether the top or the bottom entry wins. Follow the description of each mod. Reliable authors say where their mod needs to sit.

5. Mod broken after a patch

On August 19, 2026, a day after Patch 2.1.0, a mod author reported on the Funcom forums that their map mod no longer loaded and the game crashed with EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION reading address 0x0000000000000028, in multiplayer and single player. A community report without an official answer, but typical: the bug lies in the mod build that hasn't been updated yet.

What's left: disable the mod, back up your save, wait for the author's update. A mod that runs into changed game code can't be repaired from the outside.

6. Server and client mod lists differ

The classic after every update: the server pulled fresh mods through SteamCMD, while your client is stuck on the old version. Steam doesn't always download Workshop subscriptions right away. Restart Steam, check your downloads, and if in doubt unsubscribe and subscribe again.

📦 Where the files are

440900 is the Steam app ID of Conan Exiles Enhanced, confirmed via SteamDB. The folder below it follows Steam's normal Workshop layout.

Clear the Workshop cache: unsubscribe, close Steam, delete the matching numbered folder under content\440900\, start Steam, subscribe again. That forces a clean download instead of a delta on top of broken files.

Verify the game files: right-click the game in Steam, Properties, Installed Files, verify integrity. That repairs the base game, not the mods, but it rules out one source of errors.

🔗 Servers: provide the mod list and force the match

If you host yourself, you'll usually use Funcom's Dedicated Server Launcher. As of August 23, 2026 that's version 1.9.4, plus a 1.9.7 beta. Version 1.9.0 made the UE5 version the default. The process according to the documentation:

• The mod list lives in ServerSettings.ini under the DedicatedServerLauncherModList entry, comma-separated.
• You enter either Workshop IDs or full paths to local PAK files. If you paste a Workshop link, the tool extracts the ID itself.
• On server start, SteamCMD downloads the mods, then modlist.txt in the ConanSandbox\Mods subfolder is regenerated from scratch.

You don't force the match with a switch but with the list itself: the server announces its mods on join, and the client has to have them. That's why the collection of Workshop IDs belongs in the server description. For your server to appear in the browser, players also need the "Show modded servers" box ticked.

💡 Prevention: the routine before every big patch

This matters more for Conan Exiles than for other survival games. Within half a year, the game moved from UE4 to UE5 and, with Patch 2.2.0 (September 15, 2026), on to Unreal Engine 5.8.2. Each of those jumps can break Conan Exiles mods again. Three steps take five minutes and save you an evening:

• Disable mods before the patch. Let the game start cleanly first, then turn mods back on. That way you know right away whether a problem comes from the patch or from a mod.
• Back up your save. Copy the ConanSandbox\Saved folder somewhere safe before every big update. Mods that write to a save can make it unusable when versions break.
• Write down mod versions. Workshop ID plus date in a text file. Annoying, but the only way to restore a working setup.

✨ What Patches 2.1.0, 2.2.0 and 3.0.0 changed for mods

With Patch 2.1.0 on August 18, 2026, Funcom expanded modding. Mods now have to declare the HTTP targets they want to reach. The player gets asked whether to allow it, and server owners get warnings in the log. New Blueprint interfaces such as DamageModificationInterface and ObjectWithWorld were added too.

In practice: if the game asks whether a mod may go online, that's not an error but the new prompt. If you decline, the online feature stops working. It looks like a broken mod, but it's intended.

Patch 2.2.0 has been live since September 15, 2026 and moves the game to Unreal Engine 5.8.2. Afterwards, all Workshop mods had to be rebuilt. A mod the game reports as "too old" needs an update from its author. The notes for Hotfix 2.1.1 and Patch 2.2.0 list the load crash with custom-animation mods as fixed. Details in our Patch 2.2.0 overview.

Patch 3.0.0 from October 6, 2026 tightens a rule for modders: files shared by several mods have to sit in a subfolder under "Shared" that's named after the mod. The game ignores misplaced files with a warning. 3.0.0 also fixes a render crash when loading certain mods. How the UE5 switch went overall is in our Enhanced returning player guide, and why consoles are left out is in our article on Enhanced on consoles.

❓ FAQ: Conan Exiles mods

Why did my Conan Exiles mods stop working after the UE5 update?

Because Enhanced runs on Unreal Engine 5 and the old Legacy version on UE4. Mods aren't compatible between the two and have to be rebuilt by their authors.

Are there separate Workshop pages for Enhanced and Legacy?

No. Legacy is a version of the same Steam title, so there's only one Workshop. Funcom recommends the version filter there, with the values Legacy and Enhanced.

Where is modlist.txt?

In \Conan Exiles\ConanSandbox\Mods\modlist.txt. One line per mod, and the order in the file is the load order.

How do I find out which mod causes the crash?

Rename modlist.txt and check whether the game starts without mods. Then restore the name and enable the mods one by one until the crash comes back.

Why am I asked whether a mod may access the internet?

Since Patch 2.1.0, mods declare their HTTP targets and you decide. If you refuse, that mod feature won't work.

Can I switch back to Legacy for mods?

On PC, yes, through the game's Properties in Steam, in the tab for game versions and betas. Legacy no longer gets content updates, official servers or the Bazaar, though.

All paths and version details were checked against Funcom's list "Conan Exiles Enhanced Common Issues and Workarounds", the patch notes for 2.1.0 (Aug 18, 2026) and the 2.2.0 Public Beta Client (Aug 20, 2026), Funcom's Enhanced info page, the Dedicated Server Launcher 1.9.4 documentation and SteamDB, plus the 3.0.0 patch notes (Oct 6, 2026). As of October 2026. Community reports without official confirmation: the EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION crash report from Aug 19, 2026, the workaround via the MODS button in the main menu, and changing ports against Workshop timeouts.