Enshrouded: Find the Alchemist at the Ancient Vault (Full Walkthrough)

The Alchemist, Balthazar, is the survivor who lets you brew healing potions, craft spell staves, and make survival flasks in Enshrouded. He sits trapped inside a glowing pod in the Ancient Vault – Alchemist, part of the Powerful Alchemy quest. Freeing him adds a new crafting NPC to your base.

Quick answer: Fast travel to the Ancient Spire – Springlands, glide northwest to Harvest Homestead, follow the stone road northwest to the Ancient Vault – Alchemist, clear the scavengers, climb to the upper chamber, and awaken Balthazar at the pod.

Requirements before you leave for the Ancient Vault

The vault lies northwest of your starting base, west of the Ancient Spire – Springlands and northwest of Woodgard. A few things make the trip far easier and safer.

Reach at least character Level 3, since the enemies along the route scale to that level.
Craft the Glider and Grappling Hook at a Workbench to cross the gorge and clear the barricades.
Complete the Ancient Spire – Springlands so you can use it as a fast travel point and glide launch.
Optionally finish the Blacksmith’s Elixir Well quest, which unlocks the Powerful Alchemy quest and hands over upgrade materials.

Glider and Grappling Hook recipes at the Workbench use the following materials.

Item	Materials
Glider	8x Shroud Wood, 2x Animal Fur, 2x String, 2x Shroud Spores
Grappling Hook	4x Metal Scraps, 7x String, 10x Shroud Spores

Route to the Ancient Vault – Alchemist

Powerful Alchemy marks the vault on your map west of Braelyn Bridge. The quest carries a Moderate difficulty rating. Gliding from the spire is the fastest way across the terrain.

Interactive map Ancient Vault — Alchemist location Zoom in and tap a marker for its exact spot.

Open the quest journal, confirm the objective to find the Alchemist, then fast travel to the Ancient Spire – Springlands. Jump off the west-facing balcony and open your Glider to sail toward the ruined buildings in the valley.

Gliding from Ancient Spire — Launch from the spire and glide over the valley toward the ruins to skip most of the ground travel. Shown at 00:36 in WoW Quests’s video. Image: Keen Games GmbH

Land near the abandoned settlement of Harvest Homestead. A “New location charted” banner confirms you are on track, and you pick up discovery XP for reaching it.

From the homestead, follow the paved stone road heading northwest. The path runs past Woodgard and leads straight toward the quest marker on the compass bar.

Stone Road Northwest — Stick to the cobblestone road northwest and keep the objective marker in front of you. Shown at 01:29 in WoW Quests’s video. Image: Keen Games GmbH

At the end of the pass, you reach the wooden barricades and stone steps at the vault entrance. Scavengers patrol the exterior, so pick them off with a bow from range or fight through them with a melee weapon before you head up.

Stronghold Entrance — The wooden barricades and entrance steps mark the Ancient Vault – Alchemist. Shown at 02:11 in WoW Quests’s video. Image: Keen Games GmbH

Inside the vault and freeing Balthazar

With the entrance secured, head up the stairs to the temple courtyard and pass through the main doorway. More scavengers, red floor spike traps, and at least one optional chest await inside.

Enter the main structure. Take the left doorway in the first corridor to find a sliding stone wall. Open it to reach a hidden chest containing an Explosive Powder Ball.

Entering Ancient Vault — Head through the main doorway, then check the left corridor for the hidden chest. Shown at 02:38 in WoW Quests’s video. Image: Keen Games GmbH

Work your way up through the interior rooms and staircases toward the upper hall. Watch the floor for the red spike traps and avoid stepping on them as you climb.

Ascending Vault Levels — Keep climbing the staircases toward the upper chambers while dodging the floor traps. Shown at 03:02 in WoW Quests’s video. Image: Keen Games GmbH

In the upper ritual chamber you reach a cluster of brass pods guarded by two more scavengers. Deal with them, then walk up to the glowing central pod and hold the interact key on the Awaken Survivor prompt to free Balthazar.

Explore the vault fully before you leave. The traps and side rooms hide extra loot chests worth grabbing while you are there.

Summon the Alchemist at your base

Awakening the pod does not place Balthazar at your base on its own. The quest advances to the follow-up step, Summon The Alchemist, and you finish the job back home.

Fast travel back to your Flame Altar. Build the Alchemist a shelter as you did for the Blacksmith, then place him inside with the Summoning Staff. He can share the Blacksmith’s building. Once summoned and sheltered, he serves as a full crafting NPC.

How to confirm the Alchemist is unlocked

Interacting with the pod triggers a “Soul discovered! Balthazar” banner and unlocks the recipe for Bonemeal at Grinding Stones, confirming the Find The Alchemist objective is complete. After you summon and shelter him, his default crafting recipes become available at your base.

Enshrouded Difficulty menu on the Enemies tab, showing preset columns and settings like Boss Health and Enemy Amount. — The Difficulty menu’s Enemies tab compares the Default, Relaxed, Hard, Survival and Custom presets for Boss Health, Enemy Stamina, Enemy Attack Frequency and more.

Recipe	Materials
Health Potion	1x Red Mushroom, 1x Purple Berries, 1x Water (heals +200 HP)
Shroud Survival Flask	1x Charcoal, 1x Shroud Liquid, 1x Wood Acid
Fireball I	10x Resin, 1x Tar, 2x Bonemeal
Ice Bolt	2x Water, 5x Shroud Liquid
Shroud Core	10x Shroud Spores, 10x Shroud Liquid

With Balthazar settled in, you can brew healing potions, mix Shroud Survival Flasks for longer trips through the mist, and craft the staff spells that drive magic builds. From here the Alchemist opens his own questline, starting with Carpentry Assistance to recruit the Carpenter.