If you’ve spent any time building a ramshackle base in Enshrouded’s post-apocalyptic open world, you’ve probably hit a wall when it comes to upgrading your structures or making them feel like home. That’s where the Carpenter comes in, and figuring out how to get carpenter enshrouded is one of the most impactful early-game goals you can set for yourself. I’ve put over 80 hours into Enshrouded so far, and I skipped unlocking the Carpenter on my first playthrough for nearly 10 hours, a mistake I won’t make again. This walkthrough breaks down exactly what you need to do, no hidden hoops or confusing jargon included.
Pre-Requisites to Get Carpenter in Enshrouded
Before you head out to track down the Carpenter, you need to check a few boxes first, otherwise you won’t be able to access the area she’s trapped in. I ran into this issue on my first attempt, so I’m saving you the wasted trip. First, you need to have unlocked the Flame Altar level 2 upgrade, which requires 5 Resin, 5 Bones, 2 Shroud Liquid, and 1 Wrought Iron. This upgrade extends your Flame’s reach far enough to access the Ancient Spire in the Revelwood area, where the Carpenter is located.
You also need to have at least a basic set of iron tools and a bow with 50+ arrows, because the path to the Revelwood is filled with level 15+ Shroud creatures and bandit camps that hit way harder than the early-game enemies in the starting fields. You don’t need endgame gear by any means, but don’t show up with a stone axe expecting to survive the trek.
The last pre-requisite is unlocking the Summoning Staff, which you get automatically after rescuing your first NPC, the Blacksmith. You use this staff to bring rescued NPCs back to your base, so you can’t complete the unlock process without it. If you haven’t rescued the Blacksmith yet, take 30 minutes to do that first, it’s a quick quest that pays off immediately.
Exact Location of the Trapped Carpenter
Once you’ve hit all the pre-requisites, fast travel to the Ancient Spire in the Revelwood region, which is directly northeast of the starting starter plateau. When you exit the spire, head due west for roughly 400 meters, and you’ll see a small, half-destroyed stone cabin tucked between two oak trees, surrounded by 3 level 12 bandit guards. Take out the guards first, they only have crossbows and clubs, so they’re easy to pick off with a bow from a distance.
Inside the cabin, you’ll find a glowing blue Resurrection Shrine holding the Carpenter’s soul. Interact with it to free her, and you’ll get a pop-up confirming you’ve unlocked the Carpenter as a summonable NPC. But don’t head back to your base right away, there’s a small chest next to the shrine with 3 rare furniture blueprints you can only get at this location, so don’t forget to loot it before you leave.
One thing to note: if you get lost on the way, look for the tall, blue smoke plumes that mark NPC rescue locations. They’re visible from over 200 meters away in the Revelwood, so you can use them to orient yourself if you wander off the path. I got turned around once by a roaming Shroud pack, and the smoke plume was the only thing that kept me from having to backtrack all the way to the spire.
Setting Up the Carpenter’s Workshop at Your Base
Now that you’ve freed the Carpenter, head back to your base and pull out your Summoning Staff to place her in an empty NPC spot. But she won’t be able to craft anything for you until you build her a dedicated workshop that meets her minimum requirements. If you don’t meet these requirements, she’ll refuse to work, so make sure you have all the materials gathered before you place her.
Here’s exactly what you need for a functional Carpenter’s Workshop:
- A 4x4 enclosed space with a roof, walls, and a door (you can use wood or stone, it doesn’t matter)
- 1 Crafting Table placed inside the space
- 2 Chairs and 1 Table placed inside the space
- 1 Torch or wall light to keep the area lit at all times
Once you’ve built the workshop, interact with the Carpenter to see her full crafting menu. You’ll immediately unlock access to a ton of new recipes you couldn’t get before, including upgraded wood building parts, custom furniture, storage chests with twice the capacity of basic chests, and even decorative items to make your base feel less like a survival shelter and more like a real home. I immediately crafted 4 large storage chests when I unlocked her, and it cleared up so much clutter in my inventory I couldn’t believe I waited so long to get her.
One pro tip: place the Carpenter’s Workshop as close to your Flame Altar as possible. She sells Flame Altar upgrade materials at a discount once you level her up to reputation level 3, so having her nearby will save you a ton of running back and forth when you’re ready to expand your base’s coverage area.
Top Benefits of Unlocking the Carpenter Early
A lot of new Enshrouded players put off unlocking the Carpenter because they think it’s a mid-game goal, but unlocking her in the first 5 hours of your playthrough gives you a ton of advantages that make the rest of the game way easier. First, she crafts reinforced wood building parts that are 70% more resistant to Shroud corrosion and monster attacks, so you don’t have to worry about your base getting damaged every time a Shroud storm rolls through.
She also makes crafting stations upgrades that cut down crafting time by 30% for all other workbenches at your base. That might not sound like a big deal at first, but when you’re crafting 50 iron ingots for a new set of armor, that 30% time saving adds up fast, and lets you spend more time exploring and fighting instead of waiting for crafting to finish.
The last big benefit is access to farm building parts, including planters, water troughs, and beehives, that let you set up a permanent food source at your base. Once you have these set up, you never have to forage for berries or hunt wild animals for food again, which frees up hours of playtime for other quests. I have 12 planters growing wheat and vegetables at my base now, and I haven’t had to spend time foraging for food in weeks.
Just make sure you turn in any extra wood and resin you find to the Carpenter to level up her reputation. The higher her reputation, the more recipes she unlocks, including the epic reinforced castle wall blueprints you’ll need if you want to build a large, impenetrable base later in the game. You can also unlock custom paint recipes for your buildings at higher reputation levels, so you can customize your base to match whatever aesthetic you’re going for.
Unlocking the Carpenter is one of the highest ROI early-game tasks you can complete in Enshrouded, and the whole process only takes around 90 minutes if you come prepared. You don’t need fancy gear or to beat any tough boss fights, you just need to hit the basic pre-requisites and follow the path to her cabin. Now that you know how to get carpenter enshrouded, you can add this task to your next playthrough’s to-do list, and start enjoying all the building and crafting upgrades she brings to your base almost immediately. If you run into any snags along the way, just double check you’ve upgraded your Flame Altar to level 2 first, that’s the most common mistake new players make when they attempt this unlock for the first time.