Enshrouded 1.0 builds: what changed and how to re-plan yours

Before you spend a single point

The single most important line in the 1.0 notes is the public safety announcement: loading an Early Access save in version 1.0.0.0 resets the skill tree [1]. Nothing else about your character is described as wiped, but the points come back unspent. Treat that as a free respec and use it deliberately.

A sensible order for the first session after the update:

1. Open the skill tree before you leave your base and confirm the points are unspent.
2. Read the new entries first: eight new combat skills were added, and some old ones moved, so muscle memory from Early Access is unreliable [1].
3. Spend only what your current gear actually uses. Several weapon perks, gems and leech effects changed (below), so a respec planned around old numbers can leave points in effects that no longer do what you expect.
4. Keep a few points in reserve until you have tested your main attack against a camp at your level.

Dagger players in particular should look in a different place: dagger skills moved out of the warrior area of the tree and into the assassin area [1]. The notes also say Veteran, One-Handed Specialization, Inner Fires and Snap changed position, and that many skills had their costs lowered and effects raised [1]. If a node you relied on seems to be missing, it has probably moved rather than been removed.

Mage builds: eternal spells change the math

Mages received the largest share of combat work in 1.0. Keen Games added nine new spell types, covering crowd control, more area-of-effect damage, summons and utility, and added extra tiers of existing spells so there are options at every stage of progression [1].

The structural change is eternal spells. Every spell now has an eternal variant, many of them unlocking at the highest current tier, and eternal spells can be upgraded like weapons [1]. In Early Access the limiting resource for a late-game caster was often charges and the materials to craft them. With an eternal version of your main spell, that limit moves to mana and to the upgrade materials for the eternal item.

What that means for a mage plan:

• Early and mid game. Charges still matter. 1.0 reworked which spells are found as loot (the versatile, everyday spells) and which are crafted only (the specialised ones), and removed several rare ingredients from spell recipes [1]. Expect your common spells to come from chests and your niche ones from the crafting survivor.
• Late game. Pick one or two eternal spells as your core and invest upgrades there, instead of carrying a backpack full of charge stacks.
• Wands. Wands now have a heavy attack available immediately, a free-aim mode in the combat settings, and two unlockable active skills, Aerial Wand Attack and Wand Evasion Attack [1]. Wand special abilities are also no longer interrupted by enemy hits while casting [1]. A wand-first build is a more complete option than it was.

Area spells now show a ground cursor at the target position [1], which makes placing them on a group of enemies far more reliable.

Summoner and necromancy builds: new caps

Summoning is new territory in 1.0. You can now actively summon skeletons to fight beside you, and the update added new Necromancy weapon gems and support skills, including the Advanced Necromancy skill [1].

Three limits come with that, and each one should shape a summoner plan:

• A creature cap. The game now counts the creatures you have spawned and enforces a maximum. When you summon past it, your oldest creature is replaced [1]. Spamming summons beyond the cap does not add bodies; it only refreshes the oldest.
• The Gem of Lesser Necromancy is capped. It now has its own limit on resurrected companions, a balance change made because of the new spells and gems [1].
• Necromancy companions decay. Companions from the Gems of Necromancy start to lose health after a while out of combat [1]. Plan to re-raise them at the start of each fight rather than walking an army across the map.

On the plus side, skeleton companion attacks can no longer be interrupted by enemy attacks [1]. Keen Games describes their role as support rather than primary damage, so a summoner still needs a reliable damage source of their own.

Melee, dagger and ranged builds

Melee

Heavy melee attacks can now hit several enemies when they stand close together, where they previously stopped at the first enemy [1]. Two-handed axe range was fixed so the second hit and the whirlwind attack connect more consistently [1]. Stamina now also recovers while blocking, and blocking uses the camera direction rather than the direction your character faces [1]. The Reaping weapon perk was greatly buffed because its stamina regeneration was previously too short to matter [1]; if you skipped it in Early Access, look again.

Dagger

Besides the skills moving to the assassin area, the dagger armor sets changed. Assassin, Frostbite Slasher, Blood Feather and a new set now carry a melee critical hit chance upgrade perk instead of a sneak attack damage increase [1]. That favours daggers used in open fights, not only from stealth. The Revelwood and Nomad Highlands tiers now each have one craftable dagger set alongside a craftable ranged set [1], so a dagger build no longer depends on lucky loot in those tiers.

Ranged

Rangers gained the Puncture and Barrage skills, rebalanced arrows, and new eternal ember and eternal voltaic arrows at various tiers [1]. Eternal arrows can be upgraded like eternal spells [1]. Controller players can now tune aim snap assist and stick aim assist separately [1]. The Marksman and Sharpshooter sets became loot items in Revelwood and Nomad Highlands chests rather than craftable sets [1].

Sustain: leech, gems and the Shroud timer

Two changes quietly break many Early Access builds that leaned on sustain.

Leech was reworked. Percentage-based mana, stamina and health leech perks were too strong in the late game in version 0.8. In 1.0, early-game perks with leech use a flat value, and percentage leech is reserved for specific weapons and gear in the late game [1]. A build that relied on percentage leech from common gear needs a new source of recovery.

Gems were rebalanced. The Gem of Battle Mania and the Gem of Obsession had some stats lowered. The Gem of Toxic Reaction was buffed, which the notes put at +21% DPS at level 10 rising to 65% at level 50 [1]. Late in the game you can also place a gem forge station in your base [1].

Shroud time stacking was reduced. Keen Games lowered the overall effect of stacking several Shroud time extensions, and compensated with many more hourglass capsules in shrouded areas, which now add about 70% more time when used and also drop from large Fell enemies [1]. Do not build around stacking Shroud duration perks as heavily as before.

A re-plan checklist

This checklist is our summary of the official notes, not a tested tier list. We have not measured damage in-game; where a number appears above, it is Keen Games' own.

Two non-combat skills are worth the point for almost any build. Airborne Architect sits at the centre of the tree and lets you build in a free-flying mode [1]. And fast-travel now works while sleeping in a bed [1], which saves a trip when you just want to change your loadout at base.

FAQ