How to Host an Enshrouded Dedicated Server on a VPS

Enshrouded landed as one of the more ambitious survival crafting games in recent memory. The voxel-based building system, RPG progression, and cooperative exploration across a massive open world make it a game that groups can spend months playing together. And like most survival games, the experience is dramatically better on a dedicated server where the world persists, performance is consistent, and nobody has to act as the host.

The good news is that Enshrouded's dedicated server is relatively easy to set up and does not require top-tier hardware. If you can follow instructions and spend about 20 minutes on initial configuration, you will have a server running that your group can connect to anytime.

Server Hardware Requirements

Small Groups of 2 to 4 Players

For a small private server, the requirements are modest. Two to four CPU cores handle the game logic comfortably. The server process uses around 4 to 6 gigabytes of RAM during active gameplay, which means you need a VPS with at least 8 gigabytes total to account for the operating system. Storage needs are moderate at around 10 to 15 gigabytes for the server files and world data.

A VPS in the 15 to 25 dollar per month range covers this nicely. The game is well-optimized on the server side for small groups, and you should not experience performance issues with these specs unless something is misconfigured.

Larger Groups of 8 to 16 Players

Enshrouded supports up to 16 players on a single server. At full capacity, the server needs to process significantly more entity interactions, building physics, and network traffic. Four to six CPU cores and 12 to 16 gigabytes of RAM provide the headroom needed for a full server.

The voxel terrain system is what makes Enshrouded particularly memory-intensive compared to other survival games. Every terrain modification a player makes is stored and tracked by the server. A group of 16 players who have been terraforming extensively creates a world state that consumes more memory than the same number of players in a game with static terrain.

Budget 30 to 50 dollars per month for a server at this scale. NVMe storage is strongly recommended because the world save files can become large and the server writes to them frequently.

Setting Up on Linux

Initial System Setup

Provision a VPS with Ubuntu 22.04 or Debian 12. Connect via SSH and prepare the system:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y lib32gcc-s1 lib32stdc++6 curl wine64
sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash enshrouded
sudo su - enshrouded

Enshrouded's dedicated server is Windows-only, so on Linux you need to run it through Wine or Proton. Install Wine and the required dependencies.

Installing SteamCMD and Server Files

Download and install SteamCMD, then pull the Enshrouded server files:

mkdir -p ~/steamcmd && cd ~/steamcmd
curl -sqL https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd_linux.tar.gz | tar xzf -
./steamcmd.sh +@sSteamCmdForcePlatformType windows +force_install_dir /home/enshrouded/server +login anonymous +app_update 2278520 validate +quit

The +@sSteamCmdForcePlatformType windows flag tells SteamCMD to download the Windows version of the server, which is necessary since there is no native Linux build. App ID 2278520 is the Enshrouded dedicated server.

Running with Wine/Proton

Set up Wine and launch the server:

# Initialize Wine prefix
export WINEPREFIX=/home/enshrouded/wine
wineboot --init

# Run the server
cd /home/enshrouded/server
wine enshrouded_server.exe

On first run, the server generates the default configuration file and world data. Let it fully start, then stop it with Ctrl+C to configure settings.

Server Configuration

The configuration file is enshrouded_server.json in the server directory. Edit it:

nano /home/enshrouded/server/enshrouded_server.json

Here is an example configuration:

{
  "name": "My Enshrouded Server",
  "password": "YourServerPassword",
  "saveDirectory": "./savegame",
  "logDirectory": "./logs",
  "ip": "0.0.0.0",
  "gamePort": 15636,
  "queryPort": 15637,
  "slotCount": 16,
  "gameSettings": {
    "playerHealthFactor": 1,
    "playerManaFactor": 1,
    "playerStaminaFactor": 1,
    "enableDurability": true,
    "enableStarvingDebuff": false,
    "foodBuffDurationFactor": 1,
    "fromHungerToStarving": 600000000000,
    "shroudTimeFactor": 1,
    "tombstoneMode": "AddBackpackMaterials",
    "miningDamageFactor": 1,
    "plantGrowthSpeedFactor": 1,
    "resourceDropStackAmountFactor": 1,
    "factoryProductionSpeedFactor": 1,
    "perkUpgradeRecyclingFactor": 0.5,
    "perkCostFactor": 1,
    "experienceCombatFactor": 1,
    "experienceMiningFactor": 1,
    "experienceExplorationQuestsFactor": 1,
    "randomSpawnerAmount": "Normal",
    "aggroPoolAmount": "Normal",
    "enemyDamageFactor": 1,
    "enemyHealthFactor": 1,
    "enemyStaminaFactor": 1,
    "enemyPerceptionRangeFactor": 1,
    "bossDamageFactor": 1,
    "bossHealthFactor": 1,
    "threatBonus": 1,
    "pacifyAllEnemies": false,
    "dayTimeDuration": 1800000000000,
    "nightTimeDuration": 720000000000
  }
}

The slotCount determines maximum players (up to 16). The gameSettings section lets you customize difficulty, resource rates, and enemy behavior. The tombstoneMode setting controls what happens when players die: AddBackpackMaterials keeps items in a retrievable tombstone.

Firewall Configuration

Open the game and query ports:

sudo ufw allow 15636/udp
sudo ufw allow 15637/udp
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
sudo ufw enable

Running as a Systemd Service

Create a service file for automatic management:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/enshrouded.service

[Unit]
Description=Enshrouded Dedicated Server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=enshrouded
Environment=WINEPREFIX=/home/enshrouded/wine
WorkingDirectory=/home/enshrouded/server
ExecStartPre=/home/enshrouded/steamcmd/steamcmd.sh +@sSteamCmdForcePlatformType windows +force_install_dir /home/enshrouded/server +login anonymous +app_update 2278520 +quit
ExecStart=/usr/bin/wine /home/enshrouded/server/enshrouded_server.exe
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=15

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable enshrouded
sudo systemctl start enshrouded
sudo systemctl status enshrouded

Setting Up on Windows

Windows setup is simpler since the server runs natively. Connect to your Windows VPS via Remote Desktop. Download SteamCMD and install the server:

cd C:\SteamCMD
steamcmd.exe +force_install_dir C:\EnshroudedServer +login anonymous +app_update 2278520 validate +quit

Edit the enshrouded_server.json file in the server directory with Notepad. The configuration options are identical to the Linux version. Open the firewall ports:

netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Enshrouded Game" dir=in action=allow protocol=UDP localport=15636
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Enshrouded Query" dir=in action=allow protocol=UDP localport=15637

Run enshrouded_server.exe to start the server. For automatic startup, create a Task Scheduler entry that launches the executable at system boot.

World Management

Save System

Enshrouded auto-saves the world at regular intervals during gameplay. The save includes all terrain modifications, placed structures, container inventories, and entity states. Save files grow over time as players explore and build, but the growth rate is manageable on modern storage.

The server also saves when it stops cleanly. Always use the proper stop command rather than killing the process to ensure the world state is saved correctly. Killing the process during a save operation can corrupt the world file.

Backup Strategy

Automate backups of the world save directory:

#!/bin/bash
# save as /home/enshrouded/backup.sh
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M)
BACKUP_DIR="/home/enshrouded/backups"
mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR

tar czf $BACKUP_DIR/enshrouded-$DATE.tar.gz -C /home/enshrouded/server savegame

# Keep 7 days of backups
find $BACKUP_DIR -name "enshrouded-*.tar.gz" -mtime +7 -delete

echo "Backup completed: enshrouded-$DATE.tar.gz"

chmod +x /home/enshrouded/backup.sh

# Run every 3 hours
crontab -e
0 */3 * * * /home/enshrouded/backup.sh

Keep multiple generations of backups. A single backup is better than nothing, but if the backup was taken after a problem occurred, it contains the problem. Keeping a week of backups lets you roll back to before any issue happened.

Performance Optimization

Monitor memory usage trends: Enshrouded's server memory usage grows as the world develops. Track RAM usage over days and weeks to understand the growth rate for your specific world. This lets you predict when you might need to upgrade and plan accordingly rather than being surprised by sudden performance problems.

Schedule regular restarts: Like many game servers, Enshrouded benefits from periodic restarts that clear accumulated memory and reset internal state. A daily restart during a time when no players are typically online keeps performance consistent.

# Daily restart at 4 AM
0 4 * * * sudo systemctl restart enshrouded

Use NVMe storage: The voxel terrain system generates significant disk I/O during gameplay and saves. NVMe storage handles this workload without the latency spikes that slower storage can cause. If your server stutters during auto-saves, storage speed is likely the bottleneck.

Keep the server software updated: The developers actively optimize server performance with each patch. Running an outdated version means missing improvements that could make your server run better on the same hardware. The systemd service with ExecStartPre handles this automatically.

Troubleshooting

Players get disconnected randomly: Check if the disconnections correlate with auto-save times. On slow storage, a save operation can cause a network timeout that disconnects players. Upgrading to NVMe storage or reducing the save frequency can help. Also check your VPS provider's network stability and whether the server is running out of RAM.

Server uses more RAM than expected: Extensive terrain modification is the primary driver of memory usage in Enshrouded. If your group does a lot of terraforming and mining, memory usage will be higher than a group that primarily builds above ground. There is no setting to reduce this. You either limit terraforming or provide more RAM.

Long loading times when joining: The initial connection requires downloading the world state from the server. Larger worlds take longer. This is normal and not something you can optimize on the server side. Players with slower internet connections will experience longer load times.

Lag during combat with many enemies: Combat AI processing is CPU-intensive. If the server lags specifically during large fights, the CPU is the bottleneck. A VPS with higher clock speed processors handles combat calculations faster. This is a single-thread performance issue, so faster cores help more than additional cores.

BlastVPS offers Windows and Linux VPS plans with NVMe storage and high-performance processors, perfect for hosting an Enshrouded dedicated server that keeps up with your group's building and exploration.