Enshrouded Melee Guide: Best Weapons, Shields & Skills

With a wide range of playstyles, Enshrouded lets you tackle challenges however you like—but sometimes the simplest answer is to hit hard. We’ve already covered Mages (Enshrouded Mage Guide: Best Weapons, Skills & Spells) and Rangers (Enshrouded Ranger Guide: Best Bows, Arrows, Skills, and Build Tips) ; now we’re taking a closer look at melee. Even here you can approach combat in different ways, choosing exactly how you want to strike. Fast with lighter hits or slower with crushing power—Enshrouded offers plenty of melee options. This guide shows just how flexible you can be.

Enshrouded melee guide: overview and key tips

At first glance, melee in Enshrouded seems straightforward, but there are many factors that can make combat easier or harder. It’s a class you can play comfortably from the start, but you’ll need to ensure your damage keeps up later on. There are plenty of weapons, but you still need to choose what fits your preferred style.

Basics and general tips for melee fighters:

• Find your preferred weapon type as early as possible and stick with it.
• Pay attention to the type of damage your weapon deals and upgrade your skills accordingly.
• Focus on keeping your health topped up or replenished consistently.
• Stamina and mana are secondary, but still relevant in some builds.
• If you play one-handed, always carry a shield.
• Make use of gems and enchantments to further enhance your weapons.

Enshrouded melee weapons: best daggers, swords, hammers, and axes

Melee usually means hitting hard, but Enshrouded’s system is more complex, with multiple weapon types and damage profiles that let you specialize.

The main weapon types are:

• Daggers (can slot into some ranged builds)
• Swords & greatswords
• Axes
• Clubs & hammers

Each category splits into one-handed and two-handed options, with dozens of variants per type. This primarily affects attack patterns. One-handers are lighter and more flexible; you can equip a shield and actively use it in combat, but damage is generally lower. Two-handers hit very hard and punch through enemies, but you can’t use a shield, and they tend to be slower and heavier to handle.

Every melee weapon has a base attack damage value, which gives a general sense of its power. Beyond that, each weapon lists attack types and elemental damage you should consider.

Melee attack types in Enshrouded:

• Blunt
• Slashing
• Piercing

A weapon may focus on one, two, or even all three types. This matters when investing in skills, as they scale with the corresponding damage type. Further upgrades include gems and any fixed enchantments on the weapon.

Enshrouded melee skills: builds for damage, tanking, and speed

You can boost your character through the right skills to increase damage and survivability. As a melee fighter, focus primarily on the red branches of the skill tree, but there’s still plenty of variety.

• Athlete: Provides various boosts, including better mobility, stamina, and strength. No matter how you fight, the Athlete branch benefits almost every playstyle.
• Warrior: Core to your damage. Invest based on your weapon’s damage type—blunt, piercing, or slashing—or spread points across all three if needed.
• Tank: Invest here for defense, even if you’re not a dedicated tank. More health and mitigation never hurt.
• Barbarian: Ideal for two-handers. Enhance your cleave potential and improve your handling of all two-handed weapons.

You can build your melee character as you like. We also recommend investing a few points in Survivor, Assassin, and Battlemage. These increase mobility and help regenerate stamina and mana.

Best skills for melee:

• Leap Attack
• Ruthless Strike
• Constitution
• Strength
• Heavy Specialization
• Bloodlust
• Dodge Attack
• Combat Healing

Enshrouded gear for melee: best armor and shields

Beyond your weapon, the right gear matters. Each biome offers matching armor pieces that grant increasing benefits as you progress.

As a melee fighter, you’re up close and need to withstand heavy damage. Melee-focused armor sets offer solid resistances and can be found or crafted with the Blacksmith. Many sets also boost health, damage, and sometimes stamina regeneration.

If you’re using a greatsword introduced with Update 7, make sure to equip the Greatsword Gauntlets. You can find them at the Goldrock Saddle Inn.

Lastly, if you use a one-handed weapon, bring a suitable shield. There’s a wide selection, and most shields can be crafted by the Blacksmith. Magical shields are also available from the Alchemist.

Enshrouded shields have the following stats:

• Level requirement
• Parry damage
• Durability
• Additional effect (e.g., elemental resistances)

Shields can partially or fully block incoming damage. You can also parry and perform a counterattack if you time your defense correctly. It’s worth upgrading to better shields as you enter new regions.

Conclusion: mastering melee in Enshrouded

As a melee fighter, you’ll constantly prove yourself in close combat against all kinds of enemies. Fortunately, Enshrouded gives you the tools to tailor your style to your strengths. With a wide selection of melee weapons and complementary skills, you’ll be well prepared. Add a good shield and master perfect parries, and you’ll be tough to beat.

If you want to try melee, rent your own Enshrouded server with us now: https://www.4netplayers.com/en/gameserver-hosting/enshrouded/ Try different weapons—from fast daggers to massive hammers—to find your ideal combat style.