If you’ve spent any time scrolling through survival game recommendations lately, you’ve almost certainly seen Enshrouded pop up. Its mix of base building, open-world exploration, and tense Shroud dungeon runs makes it a perfect pick for group play, but lots of players first want to know one key detail before they buy: how many players is Enshrouded built to support at once? Whether you’re planning a casual playthrough with one best friend or a big server with your entire gaming community, we’re breaking down everything you need to know about Enshrouded’s multiplayer limits, lobby settings, and how to get the most out of co-op play.
How Many Players is Enshrouded Supported For Per Lobby?
At launch, Enshrouded supports up to 16 players in a single co-op lobby, whether you’re running a peer-to-peer game from your own device or a dedicated server hosted by a third party. That count is higher than a lot of comparable survival co-op games, which usually cap out at 4 to 8 players per lobby, so it’s a great pick for larger friend groups. You don’t have to fill all 16 slots to play co-op either, lobbies work just as well with 2, 4, or 10 players as they do with a full group. You don’t need a full 16-player group to enjoy Enshrouded’s co-op features – even one extra pair of hands makes gathering resources, fighting tough bosses, and navigating the dangerous Shroud way less stressful. If you prefer to play alone, that’s fully supported too, the game doesn’t force you to join multiplayer lobbies or play with randoms if you don’t want to. You can adjust your lobby settings at any time to switch between private, friends-only, and public access, so you can open your world up to other players whenever you feel like it.
Key Differences Between Small and Large Enshrouded Co-op Groups
Just because Enshrouded lets you have 16 players in one lobby doesn’t mean that’s the best fit for every playstyle. The ideal group size depends entirely on what you want to get out of the game, and there are pros and cons to every size range. For example, small groups have way less coordination overhead, but large groups can pull off massive builds and boss fights that would be impossible with just a couple of players. We’ve broken down the most common group sizes and what they’re best for below:
- Small groups (2-4 players): Ideal for tight-knit teams that want to focus on story progression, base building, and challenging Shroud dungeons without coordination headaches. Resource gathering is slower, but you’ll have more loot per player to go around, and you won’t have to worry about conflicting build plans for your shared base.
- Mid-sized groups (5-10 players): Great for server communities that want to split into teams for separate tasks – one group can build out a main base, another can farm rare materials in high-level Shroud zones, and a third can clear high-level enemy outposts to unlock new fast travel points.
- Large groups (11-16 players): Best for public servers or big friend groups that want to host community events, build massive shared bases, or take on the game’s hardest world bosses in one go. You’ll need to set clear roles and base rules to avoid chaos, but the payoff of big group events is hard to beat.
Small groups will almost always have an easier time with tight, puzzle-heavy Shroud areas, since you don’t have to coordinate 10+ people through narrow corridors or timed platforming sections. It’s also way easier to share loot and agree on build plans when you only have a couple of people to check in with. If you’re playing with people you don’t know very well, sticking to smaller private lobbies is usually a better call than jumping into a full 16-player public server, where you’re more likely to run into players who grief bases or steal resources.
Tips for Optimizing Your Enshrouded Multiplayer Experience
No matter what size group you’re playing with, there are a few small adjustments you can make to ensure your co-op runs go smoothly. A lot of new multiplayer hosts skip over the custom server settings, but taking five minutes to tweak them to fit your group’s playstyle will save you a ton of frustration later on. First, always set a password for private lobbies if you only want to play with people you know – public lobbies are open to anyone who finds your server in the browser, and you don’t want random players joining to destroy your base or steal your hard-earned resources. If you do want to run a public server, make sure you set clear rules for base building and PvP, and consider appointing a couple of moderators to kick players who break those rules. If you’re playing with a group of 8 or more people, it’s worth investing in a cheap dedicated server instead of running a peer-to-peer lobby from one player’s device. Peer-to-peer lobbies rely on the host’s internet connection, so if the host has a bad connection or needs to log off early, the entire session will end for everyone. Dedicated servers run 24/7, so anyone can log on and play whenever they have time, without waiting for the host to be online. Another big perk of Enshrouded’s multiplayer system is that you don’t lose progress when you switch servers. Your character progress carries over across all Enshrouded servers, so you don’t have to start over when switching lobbies – your gear, skill points, and unlocked recipes all stay with you, even if you jump from a friend’s small private lobby to a big public server. That means you can test out different group sizes without wasting all the time you put into leveling up your character.
Common Enshrouded Multiplayer Questions Answered
We get a lot of follow-up questions about Enshrouded’s multiplayer system beyond just the player count, so we’ve answered the most frequent ones here to save you time searching. First, lots of players ask about crossplay support, since most friend groups have a mix of console and PC players. Enshrouded offers full crossplay support across all current-gen platforms, so you can play with friends no matter what system they own – that includes PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. There’s no crossplay for last-gen consoles like the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, since those versions of the game don’t exist. Another common question is whether Enshrouded has PvP support. The short answer is yes, but it’s disabled by default. If you want to add PvP to your server, you can turn it on in the server settings, and even restrict PvP to specific areas if you don’t want players fighting each other near your main base. Split screen support is one feature a lot of players ask for, but there’s no split screen option in Enshrouded right now, and the devs haven’t announced plans to add it in the future. All multiplayer play is online only, so you can’t play couch co-op with someone on the same device as you. If you’re worried about losing your base progress when you leave a server, don’t be – bases are tied to the server, not your individual account, but you can download blueprints of any base you build to place in other servers or your solo world whenever you want.
At the end of the day, the answer to how many players is Enshrouded supported for is flexible enough to fit almost any playstyle. Whether you prefer to play alone, run casual co-op sessions with a couple of friends, or host a big 16-player community server, the game’s systems are built to scale to your group size. Take the time to tweak your server settings to fit your group’s needs, set clear rules for public lobbies, and don’t be afraid to test out different group sizes to see what you enjoy most. The world of Embervale is way more fun to explore with other people, no matter how big or small your group is.