Enshrouded features an incredibly deep building system that’s a real joy for creative players. You’re given a wealth of different shapes and materials to design your home exactly as you wish. Compared to other survival games, building is actually necessary if you want to progress through the story. You can put up a cosy hut in the forest or a vast castle on a mountain. Getting started can feel daunting, though, with so many options at your disposal. So let’s ease into it and show you how to build your first small house, step by step.
Build a base in Enshrouded: Why it matters and early-game benefits
A base serves several purposes you can take advantage of. Fundamentally, it’s simply satisfying to construct your own home. The system is so sophisticated that every player should give it a try at least once.
In Enshrouded, a building also functions as:
- a home for the NPCs you can find in the world
- a place to rest for better status bonuses
- a place for your Flame Altar, which lets you teleport or reset your skill points, among other things
Enshrouded building guide: Step by step to your starter base
Find the perfect location: resource access and safety
You can build your base wherever you like. The game imposes no restrictions; you can build anywhere as long as you can place a Flame Altar. You also won’t be attacked at your base, unlike in many other survival games. So you don’t strictly need a highly strategic location—there are few tactical differences here. That’s part of what makes Enshrouded so good: every base is unique. Even so, some spots are more convenient than others and worth using strategically.
The perfect spot should:
- offer quick, hassle-free access to key building materials
- be relatively flat and buildable to provide room for expansion
- have a nice view
- be safe and far from monsters
Place your workbench and Flame Altar: build menu and Builder’s Hammer
Once you’ve found your spot, mark it with a Flame Altar. You can craft the altar from five stone and place it anywhere. It’s a vital hub for base building and important for story progression. When you go to place it, you’ll see its boundary. Everything within this boundary persists and can be used for your base. Everything outside disappears after 30 minutes or when you restart the game. Upgrade the altar to expand the area and your options. The altar is always at the centre of your base and can be incorporated into your build.
Next, craft a Builder’s Hammer from one stone directly in your inventory. Equip it and press Tab to open the build menu. Along the bottom you can choose various walls, floors, ceilings and roofs. On the right, scroll through building materials to select what you want. Controls and options are clearly displayed, so you should have no trouble.
You’ll also need a workbench, which costs three thread and eight wood, to craft materials. You always craft 100x at a time and can stack up to 5,000x materials in one inventory slot. You can even build with these blocks directly from your inventory—perfect for adding fine details, one block at a time.
Lay the foundations and tidy the terrain: rake and base materials
Time to sort out the foundation of your base. You can use a rake to level the terrain, though it’s not essential on very flat ground.
It’s usually best to place foundation pieces to create a rough floor plan first. Build the foundation slightly above the ground to create a level surface—it also makes your house more interesting. Stone or wood are great choices for the base, but any material will do. When you pick materials up, you’ll learn the corresponding recipe. Some, however, are only unlocked via quests.
To gather new materials quickly and efficiently, we recommend crafting a pickaxe and an axe. Once you’ve unlocked the Blacksmith, you can buy and craft better versions. The “Mason” and “Lumberjack” skills also help with resource gathering.
Plan your layout and build walls: stairs, windows, doors
With the basic foundation and flooring done, it’s time for walls. To make your house more visually interesting, use a different material for the corners to create contrast. It’ll look almost like the house’s frame is supporting the rest.
For walls, you can choose two or four metres in height, or place individual blocks. Stairs and steps are also in this subsection of the build menu. Windows and doors come as ready-made blueprints, though you can cut them out of solid walls later if you prefer.
Build the roof in Enshrouded: shapes, materials and snapping
There are several roof shapes in two and four metres. Roofs can be a bit fiddly, so we recommend turning on the Snapping Tool. That should help your gables meet cleanly. At present, Enshrouded only offers gable roofs, but you can arrange and combine them in various ways.
Roofing materials are grouped separately and give you plenty of visual options. From thatch to professional-looking clay tiles, there’s lots to choose from. For extra depth, add a roof overhang— perhaps even in a different material. You can craft these at the workbench as well, though some recipes only produce 50x at a time.
Furnishing and decoration: boost Comfort and unlock recipes
Furnishings are the perfect finishing touch. They don’t just look good—they’re essential for your Comfort. Comfort determines how well you recover and how effective your “Rested” status effect is. The higher your base’s Comfort, the longer the effect lasts. This boosts your stamina, so it pays to decorate well.
Available decorations include:
- Beds
- Doors
- Windows
- Tables
- Benches
- Chairs
- Lights
- Fireplaces
- Rugs
- Bathroom decor
- Wall decor
Most items can be crafted at the workbench, but some require specific survivors to be housed in your base. Make sure to rescue the Carpenter early, who unlocks many new recipes. Other NPCs with decorations include the Hunter for rugs and wall decor, and the Collector for tables, chairs and lighting. You’ll also need other workstations to make use of some recipes.
Conclusion on Enshrouded base building: Be creative and maximise Comfort
Base building in Enshrouded is a core system that offers huge creative freedom. You can use a wide variety of materials for floors, walls and roofs, and even place small blocks for custom detailing. Thanks to the survivors who move into your base, you can unlock even more decorations later to boost your Comfort and improve your stamina.
Rent your own Enshrouded server with us and build your first house together with your friends. Once you expand the Flame Altar, you can fit multiple buildings into one region and create a little town.
