In Enshrouded, your base is established by placing a Flame Altar. This placeable sets the area where the Construction Hammer functions, the maximum size of your build, and a fast-travel destination. You begin with only a couple of altars, making each placement important. The best location changes as you progress: a Springlands farmhouse works for your first hours, while a desert palace or frozen lake is better saved for later, when your gear can withstand the local dangers.
Quick answer: Start at Longkeep, then move to Harvest Homestead, Woodgard, Westcott, or the Braelyn Bridge lakeside. Take the Blue Goblet Tavern or Shorewatch mid-game, and Rothstep, Bittermelt Lake, or the Fish Farm late.
Flame Altar rules that limit every base location
These rules apply before scenery, water, or ready-made houses come into it. If a site breaks one of them, it won’t work as a base, however good it looks.
- The altar can’t go inside the Shroud, and it needs fairly level ground with no obstacles.
- Everything you build has to fit inside the altar’s boundary. The Construction Hammer stops working outside it.
- The hammer only becomes usable once your character reaches level 2.
- Terrain changes outside a base disappear after 30 minutes or a game restart.
- Altars can’t be moved. You extinguish one and place a new one, and the new altar does not keep size upgrades.
- Each altar doubles as a fast-travel destination and lets you access Flame upgrades and reset your skills.
An altar upgrade expands the buildable volume vertically and horizontally. At Level 1, the space can hold one farmhouse, but the surrounding fields won’t fit.
| Altar level | Building area | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 40m × 40m × 40m | 5 Stone (altar recipe) |
| Level 2 | 80m × 80m × 80m | Flame at level 2 |
| Level 3 | 120m × 120m × 120m | Flame at level 2, Shroud Core ×5 |
Shroud Core is a Rare material with item level 5. It comes from Fell bosses, or you can craft it at the Alchemist under a roof once you’ve picked up Shroud Spores.
To take the Flame from level 1 to level 2, gather 5 Resin, 5 Penny Bun, 5 Bones, 5 Shroud Liquid, 1 Spark, and 1 Animal Fur. Flame Sanctums provide Sparks, which return after 30 minutes; you can therefore farm the same sanctum again and again. Find Shroud Liquid in growths within the Springlands Shroud. Penny Bun is a mushroom commonly found in the Springlands.
A world initially allows two altars, with the limit rising as you improve your Flame. In 1.0, you can place up to 15 per world at the Flame level unlocked before Cinder’s Cradle, then 16 upon reaching Flame level 11. The server shares this allowance among all players rather than giving each person a separate cap. Starting at Flame level 11, altars also repel the Shroud.
Enshrouded doesn’t include base raids. Enemies may enter your base and attack you, but they cannot damage its buildings.
What Enshrouded 1.0 changed about base placement
The 1.0 release opened up more options for choosing a base location. A site can be uneven or exposed and still work. You can incorporate slopes, ruins, and the borders of clearings into your construction.
- You can build on most former no-build zones, including land bordering the Shroud.
- Large structures retain their detail at a distance thanks to a new brick renderer, keeping hillside builds crisp when viewed from afar.
- Airborne Architect is a free-flying building mode, so you no longer need scaffolding.
- You can rename chests and upgrade them in place without emptying them. You can also rename custom map markers.
- Springlands and Revelwood have more chests and easier-to-follow roads, and early recipes take less grinding.
- Changes to the terrain across the Springlands, Revelwood, Blackmire, and Nomad Highlands mean you should revisit older suggested locations before settling on one.
Lakeside sites come with a catch. Flooded crafting stations stop working, and beds lose their assignment. If water gets in, use the “Remove Water” option in the altar menu.
Enshrouded 1.0 base locations by game stage
| Location | Region | Stage | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Longkeep plains | Springlands | First hours | Ruins, temporary |
| Harvest Homestead | Springlands | Early | Pre-built farm |
| Woodgard | Springlands | Early | Cottage and farmland |
| Fern Meadows | Springlands | Early | Free build |
| Westcott | Springlands | Early (level 5–6) | Guarded village |
| Lake Retreat | Springlands | Early | Free build by water |
| Braelyn Bridge lakeside | Springlands | Early to permanent | Ruins, pond, island |
| Ferndale | Springlands | Early | Food outpost |
| Blue Goblet Tavern | Revelwood | Early-mid | Pre-built tavern |
| South of Pikemead’s Reach | Revelwood | Mid | Travel anchor |
| Shorewatch | Kindlewastes | Mid | Pre-built palace |
| Bittermelt Lake | Albaneve Summits | Late | Free build |
| Rothstep | Albaneve Summits | Late | Pre-built village |
| Fish Farm | Veilwater Basin | Expert | Pre-built |
When you compare sites, focus on water, flat ground, and whether there’s already a structure you can claim. Water helps with farming, fishing, and stamina. Flat ground speeds up foundations and fields. A ready-made building saves hours if you’d rather explore than build.
Best early-game base locations in the Springlands
Longkeep plains
The opening quest points you toward the open area around Longkeep, just north of the Cinder Vault. Its low threat makes it a good place to get familiar with building. A small Shroud patch southeast of there offers a mild introduction to that mechanic. Westward, a Scavenger camp provides Torn Cloth and Metal Scraps; Flint is available in the cliffs, and salt can be found at Saline Quarry to the southeast. Set your altar on Longkeep’s stone slab to claim the ruins, including a well, covered shelter, working fireplace, and bed.
The nearby Cinder Vault already serves as a fast-travel destination, leaving two points very close together if you make this a permanent hub. Keep Longkeep while rescuing your first Survivors and reaching Flame level 2; when you need the slot, extinguish the altar.
Harvest Homestead
Harvest Homestead is an abandoned farm northwest of the Cinder Vault, a little west of Braelyn Bridge, and a short glide from the Springlands Ancient Spire. The two-story farmhouse has a fireplace, a stove and kitchen, shelving, an upstairs bedroom, an attic, and a large basement with a hidden compartment. Only rats and wolves live here. Put a Level 1 altar beside the house and the whole building falls inside your 40m zone.
The grounds also have a second cottage with a cellar behind a hidden trapdoor, prepared soil beds, and overgrown corn fields that keep producing Plant Fiber. Upgrading the altar pushes the boundary over those fields and toward Woodgard. That gives you room for livestock, crops, and Survivor quarters without building a house from scratch.
Plant Fiber is a Common material that stacks to 250.
Woodgard
From Harvest Homestead, head north to Woodgard by passing through the barn and crossing a wooden bridge. Naturally growing crops and fertile farmland make this a reliable source of early food. Its central position also puts scavenger camps and the Shroud within reach. In southern Woodgard, an intact stone cottage has a fireplace in the front room, a stone basement, and an upper living area with several usable beds. Place your altar by its front door. Fishing spots, clean water, Flint, and salt mines are nearby.
Fern Meadows
Fern Meadows is for early players who want to design their own base from the ground up. It has a pool, a pier, a road running through, and plenty of flat land once you clear some of the plants. There are no ruins to work around, so your layout is entirely your call.
Westcott
Northwest of the Springlands Ancient Spire, Westcott is an entire abandoned village, with streets, multi-story homes, taverns, and cellars and catacombs running beneath it. Unlike at Harvest Homestead, you’ll need to fight to take control. The town is occupied by level 9 scavenger goblins; characters around level 5–6 can defeat them with preparation.
The village has a working well inside your base area. Drinking from it, or refilling a Water Pouch there, gives you a maximum stamina boost on the spot. The Water Pouch grants Stamina 5 and Stamina Regeneration 10 for 900 seconds. Its recipe unlocks the first time you pick up Animal Fur.
Lake Retreat
Just east of Westcott, Lake Retreat is open, mostly flat grassland on a lakeshore with a wooden fishing pier. You can mine away the rocks and small hills inside the zone with a pickaxe. It’s near the Ancient Vault — Farmer, an Abandoned Hunter Camp, an Elixir Well, a Night Sanctum, the Gem Forge, and several Shroud pockets. Those pockets are where you’ll gather Shroud Wood, which comes from dead trees in the Shroud.
Braelyn Bridge lakeside
A broad grassy area north of Braelyn Bridge wraps around a large pond, its island, and abandoned stone ruins. The level ground and nearby water make building convenient. Paper reeds provide Plant Fiber, while wildlife that respawns supplies lean and wolf meat. Work the ruins into your build and center a larger settlement on the island. From the Ancient Spire, the route goes past the Hill of Scavengers. Defeat its Scavenger Gorger Matron to unlock the Improved Grappling Hook at the Carpenter.
Fell creatures, including an archer, will assault the perimeter at night once you place a Level 1 altar on the shore. Take them out before you start building.
Ferndale
Ferndale, northeast of the Braelyn Bridge flats, works better as a pantry than a home. Its well refills water, its fields give tomatoes, corn cobs, and plant fiber bales, and a hidden golden chest in one house holds Shivs. The crops go into Meat and Corncob Skewers (+9% melee damage) and Meat and Tomato Skewers (+9% ranged and dagger damage). Both stack with Grilled Wolf Meat, which helps when you’re clearing a new site. You can also claim the ruins and replace their sections with the Construction Hammer to recover Weathered Stone Blocks early.
Mistbury Catacombs hub
The Springlands’ most central hub is the grassy ground northeast of the Mistbury Catacombs. Logging out and back in refreshes the catacombs, and the area has plenty of Flame Shrines and Flame Sanctums. Shroud pockets lie north, east, and south, with clay to the east. Southwest of the site, the Hill of Scavengers has Metal Scraps and Torn Cloth; Glimmer Rock Mine is northwest. The nearby Gate to the Pillars of Creation opens the way to the Nomad Highlands.
Mid-game base locations in Revelwood, Nomad Highlands, and Kindlewastes
Blue Goblet Tavern (Revelwood)
West-northwest of the Revelwood Ancient Spire, on a plateau, stands the Blue Goblet Tavern, a building with three stories. It’s suited to players leaving the starting area who would rather explore than build. Furnished rooms and balconies come with the property, as does a basement hidden behind a concealed bookshelf, with a route into a secret cave. An altar placed at the center of the main floor covers the whole building but not the cave. A single upgrade extends coverage to the cave and adds room for a field. A pond and mine are close by, though the tavern is set apart from most other key locations.
South of Pikemead’s Reach (Revelwood)
The ground just south of Pikemead’s Reach is on the near side of a large Shroud wall, which is slow to cross or go around. Enemies hit harder in this area, so an altar here cuts down on risky trips. Copper, Hardwood, Amber, three Flame Shrines, and two Flame Sanctums are all close. You get northwest coverage at no cost from the Revelwood Ancient Spire, east of the mine at Mark of Sameth.
Nomad Highlands plateau
A plateau in the Nomad Highlands works as a travel hub. The high ground gives you routes south into the Springlands and west to Revelwood, and gliding down to lower ground is easy. Put the main hub on the flattest section and use the edges for homes or lookouts.
Shorewatch (Kindlewastes)
Shorewatch is a pre-built desert palace for players in the middle of the game. It has an indoor pool, and most of its rooms are already furnished. You have to defeat the enemies living there before you can place your altar.
Late-game base locations in Albaneve Summits and Veilwater Basin
Bittermelt Lake (Albaneve Summits)
At Bittermelt Lake, snowy mountains frame a partly frozen lake and a frozen waterfall. Late-game players can build freely here if they are ready to handle difficult terrain; the scenery rewards the extra work.
Rothstep (Albaneve Summits)
Rothstep is a pre-built village you can claim once the enemies are cleared out. Some buildings are still standing and others need repair. It has its own fishing pond and a cave, and plenty of resources nearby, including iron, silver, coal, amethyst, obsidian, and granite.
Fish Farm (Veilwater Basin)
The Fish Farm is a pre-built base for expert players. It has several fishing pools, furnished rooms, and wide views over the Veilwater Basin. More generally, the Basin’s long shoreline suits a water-focused build once your Flame level and gear can handle the enemies there.
Spreading Flame Altars across Embervale
When your altar allowance increases, spread new placements across the map instead of clustering them. Keep altars apart, and avoid putting a large base beside an Ancient Spire, which already provides travel access. One hub can cover a large area in the Springlands, the biggest region. Later regions are smaller and generally require just one altar in a good position.
| Region | Share of world | Sample quest |
|---|---|---|
| Springlands | 28.8% | Fortified |
| Cinder’s Cradle | 16.9% | Hearing Voices |
| Kindlewastes | 13.4% | The Oasis |
| Revelwood | 8.6% | The Spiral |
| Veilwater Basin | 8.6% | Lord Vorgoth’s Throne Room |
| Nomad Highlands | 6.0% | A Cursed Catch |
| Blackmire | 4.4% | — |
Two Workbench tools make getting between sites much easier. The Grappling Hook costs 40 stamina per use and gets you across broken bridges and chasms. The Glider has Range 100% and Speed 10 and drains 4 stamina per second, so a base on high ground lets you take off right from your front door. Both unlock when you pick up Animal Fur, Shroud Spores, Shroud Wood, or String.
First structures to build at a new Enshrouded base
Once the altar is down, everything below only works inside its boundary.
| Record | Made at | Yield / stack | Unlocked by |
|---|---|---|---|
 Rough Stone Block | Workbench | 100 / 5000 | Picking up Stone |
 Bone Block | Workbench | 100 / 5000 | Hidden Tomb sarcophagus |
 Blue Luminescent Block | Workbench | 100 / 5000 | Picking up Luminous Growth |
 Hollow Halls Block | Workbench | 100 / 5000 | — |
 Ancient Workbench | Ancient Researcher | 1 | Crafting under a roof |
 Decay Tool | Collector | 1 | Picking up Limestone |
Rough Stone Block is the standard stone component in the Springlands building set. In 1.0, recipes calling for stone use material from the region where you are.
The Ancient Workbench works the same as the regular one and only looks different. Blue Luminescent Block glows, so it lights interiors without extra lamps. The Decay Tool adds or removes worn edges on walls, which helps new construction blend into a ruin you’ve claimed. For comfort, a basic Fireplace adds Comfort – Hearth 1 and Frost Resistance 3. Only the best item in each comfort category counts, so mix in different furniture like a bed, table, chair, and lighting to extend your Rested buff.
You can maintain multiple bases in one save, each serving a different purpose: farm at Harvest Homestead, create a lakeside showpiece north of Braelyn Bridge, and set up a travel hub in the Highlands. Let your first altar be temporary, reserve a slot or two for scouting, and choose a permanent home after you understand what you need it to provide.
