If you’ve spent any time building bases or upgrading gear in Enshrouded, you’ve probably hit a point where you need glass for windows, alchemy stations, or high-tier decor. It’s not one of the first materials you unlock, and a lot of new players get stuck figuring out exactly what steps they need to follow to get their first batch. This guide breaks down exactly how to make glass in Enshrouded, from unlocking the right workstation to troubleshooting common issues that slow down your production.
Prerequisites to Unlock Glass Crafting in Enshrouded
When you first spawn in the Springlands, you’ll only have access to basic crafting recipes for wood, stone, and cloth. Glass is a mid-game material, so you’ll need to complete a few core quests first to unlock it. The first step is to upgrade your Flame Altar to level 2, which lets you cross the broken bridge leading to Revelwood. Once you’re in Revelwood, follow the main quest line that leads you to the Alchemist’s vault.
The vault is guarded by a small group of Shroud wolves, so come prepared with at least an iron sword and a few healing potions before you try to break in. Once you free the Alchemist NPC and bring him back to your base, he’ll automatically unlock the glass recipe for you, as well as the Kiln workstation blueprint. You’ll also need a Flame Altar level 3 or higher to place the Kiln, because lower level altars don’t provide enough protection from the Shroud for advanced crafting stations.
If you try to place a Kiln under a level 2 Altar, you’ll get an error message, so make sure you’ve collected enough Ember and Shroud Roots to upgrade your altar first. You don’t need to build any other special stations to make glass, but having a chest near your Kiln will make storing materials and finished product a lot easier.
Required Materials for Each Glass Batch
Once you have the Alchemist unlocked and your Kiln placed, you only need two core materials to make glass, plus fuel for the Kiln. Each individual piece of glass requires 2 units of Sand to craft, regardless of what fuel you use. You won’t need any rare or hard-to-find materials for basic glass, which is one of the reasons it’s such a accessible mid-game resource.
Sand is really easy to find once you know where to look. If you’re still in the Springlands, head to the river that runs east of the starting Ancient Spire. The banks are lined with loose Sand that you can pick up by hand, no pickaxe needed. If you’re further along in the game, the Nomad Highlands have huge sand dunes that give you 3-4 Sand per block you mine, so you can stock up for hours of crafting in just a few minutes. You can also get Sand as a byproduct of mining Stone, but that’s a lot slower, so it’s better to farm it directly from riverbanks or dunes.
For fuel, you can use either Wood Scraps or Coal. Wood Scraps are easy to get early on, but they burn a lot slower. Coal is found in underground mines and drops from certain rock nodes, and it’s much more efficient for large-scale glass production. Don’t forget to bring a few empty inventory slots when you go farming, because Sand stacks up to 99 per slot, so you can carry a lot at once without running out of space.
How to Make Glass in Enshrouded: Core Crafting Steps
Now that you have all your materials gathered, the actual crafting process is straightforward. First, double check that your Kiln is placed within the range of your Flame Altar, and that it’s not exposed to direct Shroud exposure if you’re building in a high-risk area. Even with a level 3 Altar, placing the Kiln right at the edge of your base’s protection can cause it to take damage over time, so it’s best to put it inside a covered crafting shed.
Open the Kiln interface and add your Sand to the top input slot, then add your fuel of choice to the bottom fuel slot. Coal works 3x faster than Wood Scraps for smelting glass, so it’s worth farming Coal from underground mines if you’re making a lot of glass at once. I used to use Wood Scraps for glass when I first started, but once I unlocked the mine near the Blacksmith’s house, I switched to Coal exclusively and cut my crafting time down by two thirds, which was a game changer when I was building my large glass greenhouse.
Select the glass recipe from the Kiln menu, and wait for the progress bar to fill. Each piece takes about 10 seconds to make with Coal, or 30 seconds with Wood Scraps. You can queue up multiple batches at once if you have a lot of Sand, so you don’t have to stand around waiting for each individual piece to finish. Once the progress bar is full, collect your finished glass from the output slot, and store it in a chest near your crafting stations so you don’t have to run back and forth when building or upgrading gear.
Smart Uses for Glass in Enshrouded
Glass is a lot more versatile than most new players realize. It’s not just for making pretty windows for your base — it’s a core material for a lot of high-tier crafting stations and useful items too. Before you use all your first batch on decor, consider these high-priority uses first:
- Base windows and skylights: These let natural light into your base so you don’t have to place torches everywhere, and they keep Shroud creatures from seeing inside your base if you build in a high-risk area. They also make your base feel a lot more open and welcoming, compared to dark stone walls.
- Alchemy station upgrades: Higher tier alchemy stations require 8 pieces of glass to craft, which let you make stronger healing potions and buffs for late-game boss fights. These buffs make exploring the deepest parts of the Shroud a lot easier, so this should be your first use for glass if you’re still progressing through the main story.
- Decorative items: Glass is used to make display cases for your rare trophies, chandeliers, and glass wall panels that give your base a modern, polished look. You can also use it to make glass fences for balconies or garden areas, which look a lot cleaner than wooden or stone fences.
- Advanced crafting stations: The Glasswork station, which unlocks late game, uses glass as a core material to make even more specialized items like lens for scopes and magic crystals that boost your spell power. These items are essential for endgame builds, so it’s a good idea to keep a stock of glass saved for these upgrades later on.
Don’t waste your early glass on decor if you’re still working through the main quest line. Save the first 10 pieces you make for the alchemy station upgrade, because that will make exploring the Shroud much easier and let you progress faster. Once you have your core stations upgraded, you can use any extra glass to customize your base however you want.
Glass is one of the most versatile mid-game materials in Enshrouded, and once you get the hang of the process, you’ll never run out when you need it. Just remember to unlock the Alchemist first, stock up on Sand from riverbanks, and use Coal to speed up your smelting time if you’re making large batches. Now that you know how to make glass in Enshrouded, you can start planning that big, light-filled base you’ve been thinking of, or upgrade your crafting stations to take on the hardest content the game has to offer.