If you’ve spent hours grinding for resources alone in Enshrouded, you already know the game hits different when you’re exploring cursed valleys and building sprawling bases with people you know. But figuring out how to invite friends enshrouded isn’t always as straightforward as it sounds, especially if you’re playing across different platforms or running a custom server. I’ve spent dozens of hours testing co-op setups across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, so I’ve put together all the steps you need to get your crew in the same world without the usual connection headaches.
How to Invite Friends in Enshrouded for Standard Public & Private Lobbies
Before you can send any invites, you’ll need to knock out the short opening tutorial first. You have to complete the first 10 minutes of the tutorial and place your first Flame Altar before co-op features unlock, so don’t panic if the social tab is grayed out when you first spawn. Once you’ve unlocked the menu, the process is simple for standard player-hosted lobbies.
When you’re in your world, open the main menu (Escape on PC, Start on console) and navigate to the Social tab. You’ll see a list of your platform friends who own Enshrouded, and you can send an invite with one click. If you’re hosting a private lobby for people not on your friends list, private lobbies require you to share the 4-digit join code listed at the top of the social tab. For public lobbies, your friends can also find your world directly in the server browser by searching your username or world name.
Standard lobbies support up to 4 players total, which is perfect for small friend groups. Just note that the lobby will shut down if the host leaves the game, so make sure everyone is done playing before the host logs out.
Fixing Common Invite Errors in Enshrouded Co-op
Even if you follow all the steps correctly, you might run into invite issues every now and then, especially after new game patches. Most errors are easy to fix without any technical know-how, and I’ve run into almost all of them while playing with my own friend group.
The most common issue is invites not showing up for the recipient. Make sure both you and your friend are on the same game version, because outdated patches cause 90% of invite failures. Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation usually update games automatically, but if you’ve disabled auto-updates, you’ll need to manually download the latest patch first. If you’re playing across PC Game Pass and Steam, you also need to link both accounts to your free Keen Games account to enable crossplay invites.
If you’re still having trouble, try these quick fixes first before digging into more complex troubleshooting:
- Restart both your game and platform client (Steam, Xbox app, PSN) to clear cached connection errors
- Confirm your world has at least 1 open player slot (max 16 total for custom servers, 4 for standard hosted lobbies)
- Disable any VPN or proxy you’re running, as these can block Enshrouded’s peer-to-peer connection
Console players should also double check their platform privacy settings, as default restricted settings often block game invites and crossplay connections. You can find these settings in your PSN or Xbox account privacy menu, just make sure you allow both game invites and cross-network play.
Tips for Smooth Co-op Play After Inviting Friends to Enshrouded
Once your friends are in your world, there are a few small tweaks you can make to avoid frustration and make your co-op run way more enjoyable. I’ve had multiple co-op runs fall apart over silly avoidable issues, so these tips come from hard-earned experience.
Set clear base building rules before you start building together. Nothing kills a co-op run faster than someone deleting your perfectly crafted storage shed to make room for their extra forges. Decide where shared storage goes, who can modify core base structures, and how you’ll split building resources before you start placing blocks.
All players can contribute to Flame Altar upgrades, so split resource gathering tasks to level up your base twice as fast. If you’re exploring the Shroud together, stick within 200 meters of each other, because players who wander too far outside the active Flame Altar range will start taking shroud damage even if their friend is in a safe zone. Loot is also instanced for the first 10 seconds after it drops, so you don’t have to fight over rare weapon drops from bosses.
You don’t have to stick together the whole time, either. If one friend wants to build and another wants to explore, you can split up without any issues as long as you both stay within your Flame Altar’s range. Any progress your friends make on quests or skill points saves to their own account, so they won’t lose anything if they leave and join a different world later.
Inviting Friends to Custom Enshrouded Dedicated Servers
If you’re part of a larger friend group, or you want a world that stays online even when you’re not playing, a dedicated server is the way to go. The invite process for dedicated servers works a little differently than standard lobbies, but it’s still simple once you know the steps.
Direct platform invites don’t always work for dedicated servers, so you’ll need to share your server’s name and password (if it’s private) with your friends so they can find it in the server browser. Make sure your server is set to show up in the public browser if you want friends to find it easily, or send them the direct IP address if it’s not listed publicly. Dedicated servers support up to 16 players at once, so you can invite your whole friend group to build and explore together.
I run a small dedicated server for my friend group, and we’ve found that setting a 2-hour auto-restart schedule cuts down on lag and connection issues for everyone joining. You can also set up an allow list for private servers so only people you invite can join, which keeps random players from popping in and messing with your base. The biggest perk of dedicated servers is that they run 24/7, so your friends can log on and play even when you’re not online, no need to coordinate host schedules.
At the end of the day, Enshrouded is designed to be played with other people, and once you get the hang of how to invite friends enshrouded, you’ll unlock a whole new layer of fun in the game. You don’t have to grind for rare resources alone, you don’t have to face tough shroud bosses by yourself, and you can build way more impressive bases when you have multiple people contributing. If you run into issues you can’t fix with the steps above, double check the official Enshrouded support page for recent patch notes that might address new connection bugs.