Enshrouded Beginner's Guide | Gameplay Tips & Tricks

Just starting in Enshrouded? Here are some beginner tips and tricks to help you get started.

Game Guide by Ragib Rawnak on Jul 11, 2025

Enshrouded is one of the most immersive open-world adventure games out today, and it perfectly combines survival gameplay with adventure elements.

This guide will take you through all that you will need to know in order to start within this world, from building your first settlement to mastering exploration and combat in Enshrouded.

Enshrouded Beginner's Guide, Gameplay Tips & Tricks

Character Creation and Server Selection

When you start Enshrouded for the first time, you'll need to create your character through customization or by selecting from preset options.

When you play, you have three server choices: Host, Join, and Private. Private servers provide a single-player environment suitable for learning the game.

Hosting a game allows other players to join your world, and joining an online game enables you to play in different players' worlds.

If you are a beginner, it is strongly recommended to start on a private server until you feel confident with the game mechanics.

World creation involves selecting from four preset difficulty levels, plus a custom option that allows you to change a lot of things in the game. The default difficulty setting in Enshrouded provides an excellent balance if you're a first-time player.

Understanding the User Interface

Your HP and mana bars appear in the top-left corner, with buffs and debuffs displayed below. The compass sits centre-top, while your main quest information appears top-right. Your action bar occupies the bottom-centre, with two action bars accessible by pressing Alt.

Press M to open the World Map, revealing the massive scale of your world. The J key opens your Quest Log, which serves as excellent guidance.

Your crafting menu appears via V, starting limited but expanding as you unlock Crafters. Press B for your Backpack, N for your character tab, and H for your skill tree, where you spend skill points earned through levelling or clearing

Establishing Your First Base

Gather stones scattered north of the Cinder Vault to craft your first Flame Altar, which becomes your primary base of operations. Place this altar in the middle of the field to receive your first follower quest to find the Blacksmith.

Consider gathering Wood to craft a Workbench and build a basic shelter. Houses in Enshrouded provide the crucial Rested Buff, which dramatically improves Endurance regeneration and maximum Endurance, allowing you to run faster, glide further, and fight longer.

This buff disappears when you die or its timer expires, making it one of the most critical aspects of successful gameplay in Enshrouded.

Enshrouded Beginner's Guide, Gameplay Tips & Tricks, Establishing Your First Base, Crafting

Essential Early Game Tips

Maintaining the Rested Buff should be your highest priority. Try to maintain an active food buff by hunting Wolves for Lean Wolf Meat, which needs cooking at a Campfire.

This provides additional HP while learning combat. Always read every red glowing paper marker you encounter, as these lead to quests that unlock remarkable rewards throughout your journey.

Followers and Crafters

You'll discover various craftspeople who assist your progression. These followers need proper housing with a bed, but don't require food.

Each craft master employs unique equipment and advances their story, having you pick up their old equipment from other locations so that you can unlock new recipes.

Some of the main followers are Oswald Anders, Blacksmith, Athalan Skree, Hunter, Balthazar the Alchemist for magical and potion-based items, and Cade Hawthorn, Decoration Carpenter, and glider upgrades.

Emily Fray provides food and cooking, and Valory the Bard provides daggers that are craftable and special instruments.

Crafting and Building Systems

Character progression in Enshrouded is based on crafting and building. Your first gear consists of the Wood Axe and the Pickaxe, which are used for gathering resources from Trees and Minerals.

Materials also consist of resources gathered by defeating enemies and looting derelict buildings. With new material you learn, crafted recipes unlock, and you can build more complex things.

The building system is incredibly versatile – you can build homes almost anywhere by placing a Flame Altar and hitting it with a building hammer. While basic shelter needs to be provided for followers, extensive building is not required for advancement.

The Shroud and Exploration

Enshrouded's challenge revolves around the Shroud, a deadly haze covering low-lying areas. This region is home to dangerous enemies and valuable resources. When you enter the Shroud, a timer begins counting down – if it reaches zero, you die, so always maintain an escape plan.

Two types exist: standard light greenish-grey Shroud your character can handle, and deadly red Shroud that rapidly depletes your timer. The main reason you should go there is to find Elixir Wells and Shroud Roots. Destroying a Shroud Root temporarily clears the Shroud from that area and grants you a Hero Skill Point for character customization.

Elixir Wells scattered across the map guarantee a Shroud Root at their bottom. A simple wood chopping axe effectively destroys Shroud Roots in just a few swings, making the area safe for exploration.

Enshrouded Beginner's Guide, Gameplay Tips & Tricks, The Shroud and Exploration

Day and Night Cycles

Enshrouded features a complete day-night cycle affecting gameplay. Nighttime visibility is significantly reduced, making torches essential for illumination.

You can sleep in beds scattered throughout the world to reach morning quickly. Still, nighttime offers unique opportunities – different enemies like Scavenger Caravans appear with special materials, various biomes spawn nighttime-exclusive plants, and Night Sanctums only open during the night.

Ancient Spires and Flame Sanctums

Ancient Spires function as teleportation beacons, enabling fast travel between locations once you've completed their associated dungeons.

Each Spire features small dungeon complexes with Puzzles and Traps. These structures sit high above the surrounding terrain, making them excellent launch points for gliding across vast distances.

Flame Sanctums are secret altars that reward you with Sparks – resources for upgrading flame altars. The upgrades enable you to build bigger structures and last longer in the Shroud, and they open up access to zone-specific resources.

Movement and Transportation

Movement is Enshrouded's strongest aspect. Your first needed equipment includes the Grappling Hook, which lets you latch onto points and glide across gaps.

Gliding is the pièce de résistance of movement mechanics, doing away with the damage from falling but giving you incredible sightseeing experiences.

Stamina is lost using the glider, but with Ancient Spires, you can travel great lengths. As you progress, you'll get better Gliders and even find the Ghost Glider, one of the most significant rewards for discovery.

Gem Forging

Gem Forging in Enshrouded lets you attach gems to upgraded weapons to create secondary attack effects. Gem Forges are randomly located in the world, with each of the main Hubs having a forge relative to the level range of that region.

Gem making uses Archaic Essence, which is found by killing specific enemies on the Shroud Layers. Some Gem Forges only exist during nighttime hours, while others are located within bottomless caverns.

Gems serve many different, unique effects, so they are absolutely worth searching for in dungeon exploitations.