->Click here to go back to the Enshrouded hub.
How to build a safe, functional home base in Enshrouded
In Enshrouded, exploration is dangerous, resources are limited, and death can be punishing if you’re unprepared. That’s why building a proper home base early on is one of the smartest things you can do.
This guide explains how base building works in Enshrouded, which tools you need, and how to avoid common early-game mistakes that waste time and resources.
How Base Building Works in Enshrouded
Base building in Enshrouded revolves around one key structure: the Flame Altar.
- The Flame Altar defines your buildable area
- You can only place structures inside its radius
- Upgrading the altar increases build range and limits
- The altar also functions as a fast travel point
Before building anything permanent, make sure your Flame Altar is placed in a safe, accessible location. You can move it later, but relocating a base early can cost time and materials.
Essential Base Building Tools (What You Actually Need)
Before building your first base, craft the following tools and items:
Required Tools
- Construction Hammer
Required: 1× Stone
Used for placing foundations, walls, roofs, furniture, and large structures. - Workbench
Required: 8× Wood Logs, 3× String
Used to craft building blocks, furniture, and basic equipment.
Bonus: it instantly repairs gear.
Core Building Materials
You’ll need these for your first house:
- Rough Stone Blocks
- Rough Wood Blocks
- Plant Fiber Roof Blocks
Each stack (100 blocks) requires:
- Stone
- Wood
- Plant Fiber
Resource Tools
- Axe – Faster wood gathering
- Pickaxe – Faster stone and dirt mining
Important NPC Unlock
- Rescue the Blacksmith
The Blacksmith unlocks additional crafting recipes and upgrades.
Without him, base progression slows significantly.
Manual Building vs Construction Hammer (Which Is Better?)
There are two ways to build in Enshrouded — and only one makes sense for most players.
Manual Placement (Not Recommended)
- Place individual blocks from your hotbar
- Extremely slow and tedious
- Only useful for advanced or decorative builds
Construction Hammer (Recommended)
- Assign the hammer to your hotbar
- Activate Building Mode
- Choose structures from categorized menus
- Instantly place aligned foundations, walls, and roofs
Important Setting You Should Enable
Enable “Use Snapping” in Building Mode by pressing “X” (PC).
This makes:
- Walls auto-align
- Floors snap cleanly
- Roofs connect properly
Without snapping enabled, base building becomes frustrating very fast.
How to Build Your First House in Enshrouded
Follow these steps to create a simple, functional starter base:
- Craft:
- Rough Stone Blocks
- Plant Fiber Roof Blocks
- Wooden Window Frames
- A Crude Wooden Door
- Activate Building Mode using the Construction Hammer.
- Place a 2m or 4m foundation on flat ground.
- Snap walls around the foundation.
- Leave space for a door
- Add windows if desired
- Add roof pieces matching your wall size.
- Attach:
- Crude Wooden Door
- Window frames
At this point, you have a safe shelter — but it’s not fully functional yet.
How to Increase Comfort and Stamina Regeneration
Comfort directly affects how effective your character feels during exploration.
To become Well Rested, your base needs:
Campfire
- Required: 2× Wood Logs
- Provides warmth
- Allows food cooking
Crude Mattress
- Required: Plant Fiber, String, Torn Cloth
- Allows sleeping
- Advances time (day/night cycle)
Why Comfort Matters
Being well-rested grants:
- Faster stamina regeneration
- Longer exploration sessions
- Better survivability
If stamina feels weak early game, your base is probably missing comfort items.
Storage & Inventory Management (Avoid This Mistake)
Inventory space is extremely limited early on, so storage is mandatory.
Best Early Storage Option
- Small Chest
- Required: 6× Nails, 6× Wood Logs
- 24 inventory slots
Skip the Tiny Chest — it’s inefficient and wastes materials.
Important Limitation (Easy to Miss)
Materials stored in chests:
- ❌ Are not counted for crafting or building
- ✅ Must be in your inventory to be used
Before building or crafting:
- Pull required materials back into your inventory
Final Base Building Tips (Early Game)
- Build small first — expand later
- Upgrade your Flame Altar instead of relocating often
- Always enable snapping
- Focus on function before decoration
- Storage solves more problems than gear early on
Later in the game, you’ll unlock better materials, more NPCs, and advanced building options. For now, this setup is more than enough to keep you alive and progressing.
Click here to go back to the Enshrouded hub.
