Choose Default if you are new or unsure. Keen Games describes Default as the baseline and recommends it for first-time players. Choose Relaxed for a building-focused adventure with fewer enemies and more generous resources, Hard for more numerous and aggressive enemies, Survival for tougher combat plus hunger and harsher death consequences, or Custom when you want to tune individual systems.
Set the preset before you begin or host the world. Keen Games says difficulty settings apply to single-player, multiplayer, and dedicated servers, and changing them while the world is running requires a server restart. The detailed server reference also shows that Custom can alter combat, survival, resource, progression, weather, and death-recovery systems independently.
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What difficulty should you choose in Enshrouded?
For a first Enshrouded world, start with Default. It is the developer’s intended baseline, not a claim that every player will prefer it. Keen Games wrote that “The ‘Default’ difficulty is still present as the baseline and would be the recommended setting for first-time players.”
Your choice should follow the kind of session you want:
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- Default: the documented baseline when you want the standard experience or do not yet know which systems you want to change.
- Relaxed: fewer enemies, more resources, and more loot for a less pressured run with more time for construction and exploration.
- Hard: more enemies and greater aggression when combat is the main challenge you want.
- Survival: more aggressive enemies plus survival mechanics such as hunger and losing all backpack contents on death.
- Custom: individual controls for groups that want to keep some systems standard while changing others.
These are Keen Games’ documented descriptions. They are not published numerical difficulty ratings, and the available official material does not establish exact multipliers or whether enemy strength automatically scales with player count.
Enshrouded 1.0 release status and what it means for setup
On June 25, 2026, Keen Games announced October 15, 2026 as the Steam release date for Enshrouded 1.0. The official guidance used here was published before that date, so it documents the available presets and their timing but does not prove that the 1.0 menus, labels, or server fields are unchanged after launch.
That distinction matters when you create a world. The reliable rule is to choose the difficulty before starting or hosting. If the post-launch interface uses slightly different wording, look for the same preset choices and the same individual-setting controls rather than assuming a particular button sequence. Do not rely on an old screenshot to locate a control.
What is the difference between Relaxed, Default, Hard, and Survival?
| Preset | Documented effect | Best fit |
|---|---|---|
| Default | Baseline values; recommended by Keen Games for first-time players. | Most new players and groups that want the standard balance. |
| Relaxed | Fewer enemies, with more resources and loot. | Construction, exploration, and a lower-pressure adventure. |
| Hard | More enemies and increased aggression. | Players seeking more frequent and demanding combat. |
| Survival | More aggressive enemies combined with additional survival mechanics. Hunger and dropping all backpack contents on death are examples given by Keen Games. | Players who want resource and death-management pressure as part of the challenge. |
| Custom | Individual settings can be adjusted instead of accepting one fixed preset. | Groups with specific preferences, such as tougher combat but easier building. |
The presets describe the direction of the experience, not a promise that one mode is universally easier or harder in every activity. For example, Relaxed changes enemy quantity and resource availability, while Survival adds systems that can affect how you prepare, carry supplies, and recover from a death.
Default: the safest starting point when you are unsure
Default is the sensible first choice if you have not played Enshrouded, are returning after a long break, or are starting with friends who have different expectations. It avoids making an irreversible choice based on guesses about systems you have not experienced.
Default is also a useful reference for later experiments with Custom. You can identify which part of the game feels too slow, too punishing, or too forgiving, then adjust that category rather than changing every system at once.
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Relaxed reduces enemy quantity and provides more resources and loot according to Keen Games’ description. It suits players who want to spend more time designing a base, gathering materials, or exploring without as many combat interruptions.
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Relaxed is not documented as a no-combat mode. You should still expect enemies and the normal risks of adventuring; the official description only establishes fewer enemies and greater resource and loot generosity.
Hard: increase combat pressure
Hard increases enemy count and aggression. Select it when your group enjoys reacting quickly, managing more encounters, and learning combat through repeated pressure.
The sources do not provide enemy health, damage, or spawn multipliers for the preset. Treat Hard as a qualitative increase in combat intensity, not as a known percentage change.
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Survival: add hunger and harsher death consequences
Survival layers survival mechanics onto more aggressive enemies. Keen Games gives hunger and dropping all backpack contents on death as examples. The server settings reference further documents controls for starvation and tombstone behavior, so a Survival-style session can affect both moment-to-moment preparation and what happens after a failed fight.
Choose Survival only if everyone sharing the world understands that the challenge is broader than combat. A player who mainly wants stronger enemies but dislikes food management or severe death recovery should consider Hard or a carefully tuned Custom configuration instead.
Custom: change the parts that matter to your group
Custom is appropriate when a preset is close to what you want but has one or two systems that do not fit. You could retain demanding combat while increasing resource drops, reduce starvation pressure while keeping enemy aggression, or make construction and production faster without changing every combat value.
Keen Games presents Custom as adjustable difficulty rather than as a universal recommendation. Decide which systems you are changing and why before you launch, because the documented workflow does not support editing difficulty during active play without restarting the server.
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How do I start a new world in Enshrouded?
The exact 1.0 screen labels should be checked in the live client, but the documented decision and timing are clear. Use this order for a new single-player world, a hosted multiplayer world, or a dedicated server:
- Decide who will play. Choose single-player, an ordinary multiplayer host, or a dedicated server. The difficulty presets and individual settings are documented as applying to all three modes.
- Choose the experience before creation. Pick Default, Relaxed, Hard, Survival, or Custom before you start or host the world. Do not launch first with the intention of changing the difficulty while playing.
- Review the preset’s trade-off. Confirm whether your choice changes enemy pressure, survival mechanics, resource and loot generosity, or individual values. If you are unsure, use Default.
- Open Custom settings only when you have a specific reason. Change the categories that address your group’s needs instead of moving every slider simply because it is available.
- Confirm and create or host the world. Once the world is running, treat the selected difficulty as the active configuration.
- For a dedicated server, stop the server before editing its configuration. The first run creates
enshrouded_server.json. Make configuration changes while the server is stopped, save the file, and restart the server so the new settings load. - Have every player join after the configuration is set. This avoids starting with one ruleset and asking the group to adapt after the world has already begun.
Keen Games’ Back to the Shroud update says difficulty settings cannot be changed while playing and that changing them requires restarting the server. That statement applies to hosted and dedicated-server operation; it is also the reason to settle the choice before creating a new world rather than treating the first session as a trial with instant switching.
What does Custom difficulty change?
The official Keen Games server reference, updated November 10, 2025, documents a broad set of controls. It labels its default configuration as version 0.9.0.0, so use it as a map of the available categories rather than proof that every field name, range, or 1.0 client label is identical.
Survival and equipment upkeep
- Hunger and starvation: the reference describes starvation as periodic health loss that continues until food or drink is consumed.
- Weapon durability: durability can be disabled, removing one source of equipment maintenance.
- Body heat and diving time: these controls affect environmental preparation and how long you can remain in relevant conditions.
- Time in the Shroud: adjust the available window for operating in the Shroud.
These options let you separate survival inconvenience from combat difficulty. For example, a group can preserve enemy aggression while reducing the frequency of food management or disabling durability, if the live interface exposes those controls.
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- Overall enemy count.
- The number of enemies that can attack simultaneously.
- Enemy damage, health, stamina, and perception.
- Boss damage and health.
This is where Custom can produce a more targeted combat experience than the four named presets. Increasing enemy perception can make encounters start sooner, while changing simultaneous attackers affects crowd pressure without necessarily changing an individual enemy’s health. The reference does not establish a single recommended combination.
Player survivability and movement resources
- Player health, mana, and stamina.
- Body heat and diving time.
- Time in the Shroud.
Use these settings when the problem is your character’s margin for error rather than enemy strength. A group might keep enemy health and damage at baseline but increase player stamina, or make exploration more forgiving without reducing the number of enemies.
Resources, gathering, and production
- Resource-drop quantities.
- Mining effectiveness.
- Plant growth.
- Workstation production speed.
- Experience gains.
These controls are valuable for builders and for groups with limited play time. Faster production or more generous drops can reduce the repeated gathering required for a large project while leaving combat rules unchanged. Because the documentation does not provide a universal “best” value, make one change at a time and observe whether it solves the actual bottleneck.
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World timing and activities
- Day and night duration.
- Weather frequency.
- Fishing difficulty.
- Curse behavior.
World-timing controls alter the rhythm of exploration rather than simply making enemies stronger or weaker. Longer daylight can help groups that prefer outdoor building and surveying, while weather frequency and fishing difficulty affect specialized activities. Confirm the current 1.0 interface before relying on a particular field name from the server article.
Death recovery and tombstones
Tombstone and death-recovery behavior are configurable in the server reference. This is especially important when comparing Survival with Custom: Survival’s documented example of dropping all backpack contents on death is a rule with a major recovery cost, while Custom may let a technically minded host tune tombstone behavior separately if the live version supports the documented control.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Can you change Enshrouded difficulty after starting?
Not while the world is actively running. Keen Games says difficulty settings must be selected before starting or hosting and that changing them during play requires a server restart.
For a hosted or dedicated server, plan the change as an administrative maintenance step:
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- Stop the server cleanly.
- Change the preset or individual settings using the available configuration interface or, for a dedicated server, the documented configuration file.
- Save the change and restart the server.
- Verify the active rules before inviting players back.
A restart is not the same as creating a new world. The documented rule establishes the required server restart for changing settings; it does not promise that every setting can be altered without other effects, so keep a backup of the configuration file before making extensive Custom edits.
Dedicated-server setup details
Most solo players can ignore the server file, but a persistent shared world needs a little more planning. Keen Games’ Dedicated Server Configuration guide says the first run creates enshrouded_server.json. That file contains the preset selection and server options.
| Server detail | Documented information | Practical meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Configuration file | enshrouded_server.json, created on the first run. |
Use it to review or edit server options after stopping the server. |
| Player slots | Allowed range: 1 to 16. | Set capacity to the number of players you actually expect. |
| Additional slots | Keen Games notes that each additional slot increases server performance impact. | Do not raise capacity without considering the machine’s available performance headroom. |
| Preset and gameplay settings | Included in the server configuration guidance. | Set the intended difficulty before the group begins and restart after changes. |
The 1-to-16 figure is a documented configuration limit, not a recommendation for group size. The official material also does not state that enemy difficulty automatically scales with the number of players, so do not assume that adding or removing players will reproduce the same combat pressure.
A practical decision tree
- Are you new to Enshrouded or uncertain about the systems? Choose Default.
- Is construction and low-interruption exploration your priority? Choose Relaxed.
- Do you mainly want more enemies and more aggressive encounters? Choose Hard.
- Do you want hunger and serious death recovery layered onto tougher enemies? Choose Survival.
- Do you have a specific combination in mind? Choose Custom and change only the relevant categories.
If your group cannot agree, ask each player which pressure they actually want: combat, survival logistics, resource scarcity, or none of those. That conversation is more useful than arguing over a global label such as “hard,” because Custom separates many of the systems that a preset bundles together.
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Starting first and deciding later
Difficulty is selected before starting or hosting. Decide before the world goes live, and treat any later adjustment as a restart-based administrative change.
Assuming Survival only means stronger enemies
Survival also adds survival mechanics. Hunger and the example of dropping all backpack contents on death make preparation and recovery part of the challenge.
Expecting Relaxed to remove combat
Relaxed is documented as fewer enemies with more resources and loot, not as a combat-free mode.
Reading undocumented numbers into the presets
Keen Games’ public descriptions do not provide exact multipliers for enemy health, damage, spawn rates, or loot. Avoid guides that present those values as official unless they cite a current source.
Copying an old server file into a 1.0 installation without checking
The detailed support page labels its default configuration version 0.9.0.0. Use it to understand the categories, but verify the current 1.0 file and accepted fields before applying a wholesale edit.
Setting too many Custom values at once
Changing combat, resources, survival, timing, and production together makes it difficult to identify what caused an unexpected experience. Record your intended values and change one group of settings at a time.
Recommended choices by player type
| Player or group | Recommended starting point | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| First-time player | Default | It is Keen Games’ stated recommendation and gives you a baseline for learning the systems. |
| Builder who wants fewer interruptions | Relaxed | Fewer enemies plus more resources and loot support construction and exploration. |
| Combat-focused veteran | Hard | More enemies and greater aggression increase combat pressure. |
| Survival enthusiast | Survival | It combines aggressive enemies with hunger and harsher death examples. |
| Mixed-preference co-op group | Custom | Individual controls can balance combat, survival, gathering, and production preferences. |
| Dedicated-server host | Default unless the group agrees otherwise | A shared baseline avoids surprising players; document any Custom changes before launch. |
Bottom line for a new Enshrouded world
Choose Default unless you already know which pressure you want to change. Move to Relaxed for a more generous building-and-exploration session, Hard for tougher combat, Survival for hunger and severe death consequences alongside aggressive enemies, and Custom when you can name the individual systems you want to tune. Make that decision before starting or hosting, and remember that a later change requires a server restart.
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