Bosses are powerful enemies in Conan Exiles that can often be distinguished from their brethren by their larger size, unique coloration, increased health/damage output and/or skull icon adjacent to their health bar.
There are three main types of bosses:
- Mini-Bosses: enemies that can spawn both randomly and in the same dedicated locations of the open map in world. These creatures have one skull next to their health bar indicating a more challenging difficulty.
- Standard mini-bosses normally spawn around the same area and can be looted or harvested for more resources than other enemies of the same type in addition to rarer materials such as
Exotic Flesh or unique items such as the 
Heart of a Hero. - Elite mini-bosses are corrupted creatures with glowing blue or orange eyes that have a chance to spawn randomly amongst the general creature spawn of the open world. They can be harvested for more resources than other enemies of the same type in addition to rarer materials such as
Demon Blood and Shadebloom.
- Standard mini-bosses normally spawn around the same area and can be looted or harvested for more resources than other enemies of the same type in addition to rarer materials such as
- World Bosses: legendary enemies that normally spawn around the same dedicated locations of the open map in world. These creatures have three skulls next to their health bar indicating high difficulty.
- Legendary NPCs can drop rare or Legendary Items and do not suffer stun damage and cannot be thralled.
- Legendary Creatures can be harvested for rare materials including a Skeleton Key that will unlock a nearby Legendary Chest and used to be the only method by which legendary items could be obtained in the open map.
- Legendary Bosses were later added to the game which have the chance of dropping rare or Legendary Items and Fragments of Power. Normally respawn every fifteen minutes.
- Dungeon Bosses: challenging to difficult enemies (1-3 skulls) that spawn in sectioned off locations that are not part of the open map. "Dungeons," as loosely defined here, may refer to various types of locations whose entrance includes a separate loading screen or an enclosed area of significant size underground or inside a physical landmark. These areas can include unique bosses to a specific area that will not otherwise be found around the open map. Dungeons can have multiple bosses that become more challenging as the player progresses through the area. These creatures can also drop loot that must be used to progress further through the dungeon, as well as unique or legendary items and/or recipes that cannot be found anywhere else in the game. Certain bosses are considered optional and may be avoided as the player progresses through a dungeon.