If you’ve spent hours grinding for cobalt ore or building a sprawling base alone in Enshrouded, you know the game hits different when you bring friends along for the ride. Figuring out how to invite people in Enshrouded doesn’t have to be a confusing mess, even if you’re new to the game’s multiplayer systems. I’ve tested every invite method across PC, Xbox, and PlayStation over the last three months, so I can walk you through exactly what works, what breaks, and how to avoid the most common headaches that ruin co-op sessions before they start. Co-op lets you split resource farming duty, take down tough world bosses way faster, and build way more ambitious bases than you ever could solo, so it’s well worth the 10 minutes it takes to get your group set up correctly.
Step-by-Step Ways to Invite People in Enshrouded
The invite process works almost the same across all platforms, with just a few small differences for console vs PC players. First, you’ll need to decide if you’re hosting a player-run world, joining an existing world, or using a dedicated server for 24/7 access. Most casual groups will stick to player-hosted worlds, since they don’t require any extra setup outside the game itself.
Most people run into issues right out the gate because they skip one of these simple pre-checks, so run through this list before you send any invites:
- All players are running the same game version (no pending updates on any platform)
- The host has a stable internet connection with at least 10mbps upload speed
- Your friends are added to your platform’s friends list (Steam, Xbox Live, PSN)
- The host has not set their world to “singleplayer only” in the game settings
Once you’ve checked all those boxes, sending an invite is straightforward. For player-hosted worlds, load into your world first, then open the in-game social menu (hit O on PC, or navigate to the social tab in the start menu on console). You’ll see a full list of your platform friends who own Enshrouded, and you can click the “invite” button next to their name to send a direct in-game invite. If that doesn’t work, you can send a platform-level invite instead: right click their name on Steam, or open their profile on Xbox/PS and select “invite to game” directly from your platform menu. For dedicated servers, just share the server name and password with your friends, and they can search for it directly in the dedicated server browser to join without an invite.
Fixing Common Enshrouded Invite Errors
Even if you follow all the steps correctly, you might run into a few common errors that stop invites from working. I’ve had dozens of invites disappear into thin air because my friend forgot to install the latest small hotfix that dropped the night before, so always double check versions first.
The #1 most common issue is invites not showing up at all for your friend. If that happens, first ask them to close and re-open the social menu, because the list sometimes doesn’t refresh automatically. If that still doesn’t work, swap to sending a platform invite instead of an in-game one, since platform invites almost always go through even if the in-game social system is glitching. If your friend gets a “failed to connect” error when they accept the invite, the most likely cause is a outdated game client on either your end or theirs. On PC, verify your game files through Steam to fix any corrupted files that might be causing connection issues, and on console, check for updates in your game library.
If you keep getting NAT type errors, that means your router is blocking the connection between you and your friend. The easiest fix for this is to enable UPnP in your router settings, which lets Enshrouded open the required ports automatically. If you can’t access your router settings, try using a public dedicated server instead of a player-hosted world, since dedicated servers don’t have the same NAT restrictions as personal player hosts.
Best Settings for Smooth Enshrouded Co-op Sessions
Once you get your friends joined, a few small setting tweaks will make your sessions way more enjoyable for everyone. First, decide on your world privacy level before you start playing. If you only want to play with people you know, set your world to friends only so random players can’t join uninvited. If you want to meet new players to take on boss fights or build with, set it to public, but you can kick any disruptive players from the social menu at any time.
Next, adjust player permissions to avoid accidents. You can set each player to member, builder, or admin. Members can collect resources and fight enemies, but can’t break or build blocks, so this is a great setting if you have friends who accidentally delete parts of your base all the time. Builders can place and break blocks, but can’t adjust world settings or kick other players. Admins have full access to all settings, so only give this role to people you trust. I learned this the hard way when a friend blew up my entire alchemy station with a fire arrow during a silly PvP fight we didn’t even realize was enabled, so also make sure to toggle PvP off in the world settings if you don’t want friendly fire turned on.
If you want your world to be accessible even when the original host is offline, you’ll need to set up a persistent dedicated server. You can rent one from a third-party hosting service for a few dollars a month, or host one yourself on a spare PC if you have the hardware. This is perfect for groups that play at different times, since no one has to wait for the host to log on to keep building or farming resources.
Fun Things to Do After You Invite Friends to Your Enshrouded World
Now that your group is all set up, you have access to a ton of content that’s way more fun with friends than it is solo. The first thing most groups do is take on the big Shroud Root bosses that unlock new areas of the map. These bosses have huge health pools and deal massive damage, so splitting into roles (tank, healer, damage dealer) makes them way easier to beat than trying to solo them. You also get way better loot drops when you beat bosses with a group, so everyone walks away with new gear.
Building shared bases is another great co-op activity. You can split up roles to build way faster: one person farms wood and stone, another hunts for rare building materials like marble and obsidian, and another focuses on designing the base itself. My group recently spent a whole weekend building a floating castle above the Shroud, and we never would have pulled it off if we were all grinding alone. You can even add shared storage chests and crafting stations so everyone has access to all the resources the group collects.
If you’re more into exploration, you can tackle the high-level biomes like the Kindlewastes or the Pillars of Creation together. These areas have super tough enemies and valuable resources, and you can revive each other if you get taken down, so you don’t lose all your loot when you make a mistake. You can also do the limited-time seasonal events as a group to earn exclusive cosmetics and building items much faster than you could playing alone.
At the end of the day, Enshrouded is designed to be enjoyed with other people, so taking the time to figure out how to invite people in Enshrouded opens up a ton of extra content and fun you can’t access solo. You don’t need any fancy tech skills to get your group up and running, just a few quick setting checks and a minute or two to send out invites. If you run into issues you can’t fix, try swapping who hosts the world, or use a public dedicated server to skip most connection problems entirely. Don’t be afraid to tweak your world settings as you go to fit what your group enjoys most, whether that’s casual building sessions or intense boss runs.