If you’ve spent your first few hours in Enshrouded running from Shroud creatures and fumbling to build a basic base, you’ve probably hit that frustrating wall where leveling feels impossibly slow. I spent my first 10 hours of gameplay grinding low-level bushes and basic enemies for barely any XP, until I tested a handful of tricks that cut my time to hit level 20 in half. I get it, you don’t want to spend weeks grinding just to unlock the cool magic and base building features the game has to offer. If you want to learn how to level up quickly in Enshrouded without wasting hours on low-reward tasks, this guide breaks down exactly what to prioritize, what to skip, and what hidden mechanics you can exploit for fast XP gains.
How to Level Up Quickly in Enshrouded: Optimize Your Quest Order First
If you’re focused on how to level up quickly in Enshrouded, the first mistake you can make is bouncing between random side quests instead of knocking out the main quest line first. Main story quests and Flame Altar upgrade tasks give 400% more XP per minute than farming low-level enemies, and they also unlock higher level zones and NPCs that give you access to better gear and XP opportunities. That means you can knock out 2-3 main quests in the time it takes to farm 100 low-level enemies, and walk away with 10x more XP, plus rare items and access to new zones.
Elixir research tasks from the Alchemist are another underrated source of fast XP, especially in the early to mid game. Most of these tasks only require you to gather a handful of common materials, and they give enough XP to gain a quarter to half a level per task. You don’t have to complete every side quest you pick up early on. If a quest gives less than 100 XP and requires you to travel across the map for a trivial fetch task, skip it until you’re higher level and have faster travel options unlocked.
Farm High-Density Shroud Zones for Burst XP
Shroud zones are one of the best sources of XP in the game, because every enemy inside the Shroud gives 2x more XP than overworld enemies of the same level. Corrupted wildlife and Shroud scavengers also spawn in dense groups, so you can pull 3-4 enemies at once and take them out in a single AOE attack for a huge burst of XP. Stick to Shroud zones marked with a yellow difficulty indicator to avoid one-shot kills while still earning bonus XP. Zones marked red are 3+ levels above you, and you’ll spend more time running back from death than actually earning XP if you try to farm them too early.
If you’re not sure where to start farming, these three early to mid game spots are proven to give consistent, fast XP gains:
- The western Shroud patch near the starting Ancient Spire, full of level 5-8 Shroud wolves and scavengers that spawn in groups of 3-4
- The abandoned mine north of the first Farmer NPC spawn, which has frequent corrupted miner spawns and no roaming boss to interrupt your farming
- The southern swamp Shroud zone, where you can farm corrupted frogs and root enemies that are slow moving and easy to take out with ranged weapons
These spots are perfect if you’re looking for consistent, fast XP gains when you’re working on how to level up quickly in Enshrouded. I’ve tested all three of these spots extensively, and the western patch is my go-to for early game, since it’s only a 2 minute run from the starting base and has no annoying environmental hazards to slow you down. Bring a fire weapon or torch to deal extra damage to Shroud enemies, and you’ll be able to clear whole groups in seconds.
Leverage Crafting and Building Bonuses for Passive XP
Most new players completely miss the fact that crafting and building give consistent, passive XP that adds up incredibly fast over time. You don’t have to fight a single enemy to gain levels, if you focus on crafting high-tier items you’re already planning to use anyway. Crafting a full set of iron armor gives you enough XP to gain half a level between levels 10 and 15, with no extra combat required. You also get XP for every step of the process, from gathering the ore, smelting it into ingots, and finally crafting the armor pieces.
So if you’re already gathering iron ore to upgrade your tools, take the extra 5 minutes to smelt all of it and craft a few extra pieces of armor or weapons, even if you don’t plan to use them. You can sell the excess for gold, and the XP gains will add up faster than you think. Upgrading your base also gives small XP gains per piece, so if you have a stack of stone or wood sitting in storage, spend 10 minutes upgrading your basic walls to higher tier versions to get a quick XP boost. Just don’t waste time crafting low-tier items like stone tools once you’re past level 5, they give almost no XP and are a waste of resources.
Group Up for World Boss Fights and High-Level Dungeons
Enshrouded’s shared XP system is a huge win for anyone looking to level up fast, because you get full XP for a boss or dungeon clear even if you only do a small percentage of the damage. Grouping up with 1-3 other players lets you take on world bosses and dungeons that are 2-3 levels above your current level, which give enough XP to gain 1-2 full levels per clear. Defeating a world boss 2 levels above you gives enough XP to gain a full level, even if you're playing with a full group of 4. You also get rare, high-tier gear from boss kills that makes farming even faster when you go back to playing solo.
But if you prefer playing solo, you can still get similar XP gains by clearing dungeons that are 1 level above you, as long as you bring plenty of health potions and fire weapons to take out Shroud enemies fast. Dungeons also have hidden chests that give bonus XP and rare materials, so you’re getting double the value for your time. Public lobby boss runs are the fastest way to gain levels between 10 and 20, if you don't mind playing with random players. Most players are happy to bring lower level players along for boss runs, since extra damage helps them clear the boss faster too. I joined a random group to take down the first Wraith boss at level 8, and I jumped straight to level 11, plus I got a legendary axe that made farming even faster after that.
You don't have to spend 40 hours grinding boring, low-reward tasks to hit the endgame of Enshrouded. By prioritizing high-XP quests, farming the right Shroud zones, earning passive XP from crafting, and grouping up for boss fights, you can cut your progression time in half and get to the fun endgame content way faster. The next time you log on and feel stuck at a level plateau, test out these tricks to see how much faster you can move. At the end of the day, learning how to level up quickly in Enshrouded is all about working smarter, not harder, and leaning into the game's hidden XP boosts instead of fighting against them.