The best base locations in Enshrouded are flat spots above the Shroud with water close by and the materials of your current biome within a short glide. For most players that means one main base in the Springlands, where the first survivors live, followed by small outposts in each later biome as your Flame level allows more altars. As of November 2026, the 1.0 release made this easier than ever: most former no-build zones are now open, and up to 16 Flame Altars can be active in a world.
We checked this against the Enshrouded Wiki's Flame Altar, Biomes and Revelwood pages, Keen Games' 1.0 changelog and Wake of the Water and Forging the Path notes, and the official FAQ and tips articles in November 2026.
What Makes a Good Base Location
Every base starts with a Flame Altar. The wiki describes it as an altar placed above the Shroud to mark a home, and anything you build inside its area is permanent while changes outside reset. The altar's area grows from 40 by 40 by 40 at level 1 to 160 by 160 by 160 at level 4, so the spot you pick for your first altar should have room to expand in every direction, including down into the ground and up into the sky. Our base building guide covers the building tools themselves; this guide is about where to put them.
Five things separate a good site from a frustrating one:
- Flat or gently sloped ground. You can terraform inside the altar zone, but every block you dig is time not spent building.
- Water nearby. Rice and algae need water to grow, factories that use water need refilling, and fishing needs open water. A lake or river at the edge of your zone pays off in several systems at once.
- Your current biome's materials. The most common trip from any base is to the nearest ore or wood. Put the base where that trip is short.
- Distance from the Shroud. Altars sit above the fog, but bases near the edge of a Shroud valley make dives quicker.
- Room for animals and fields. Pens, feeders and crop beds take more space than most players expect.
One thing you do not need to plan for is defense. Keen's FAQ states that enemies are only interested in attacking players, not their bases, so you can build an open, decorative base without walls or traps.
Your First Base in the Springlands
The starting region is the natural place for your main base. The wiki's Biomes page lists the Alchemist, Blacksmith, Carpenter, Collector, Farmer and Hunter among the Springlands survivors, which covers the crafting stations you will use most for the whole game. Since 1.0, the first level-up is designed to happen when you place your first Flame Altar, so it is also one of the first things the game wants you to do.
The altar itself is cheap: the wiki lists a recipe of 5 of any stone in your personal crafting menu, unlocked by the quest Claim A Spot For Your Base. Because a replacement altar does not inherit the old one's size upgrades, take a few minutes to scout before you place it and before you spend Shroud Cores on upgrades. Good signs in the Springlands are a meadow next to a stream or pond, a road nearby for orientation, and a clear line of sight to a hill or tower you can glide from.
Plan the layout around the survivors. Crafting stations, chests and beds should be close together, because you will walk between them hundreds of times. If you intend to farm, read our Enshrouded farming guide before you lay out the first fields: crops need soil inside the altar zone, and some need standing water.
Where Each Biome's Resources Are
Outposts are about materials, so the best location for a second or third base depends on what you are short of. The wiki's Biomes page lists the key resources for each region:
| Biome | Key resources |
|---|---|
| Springlands | Salt, Flintstone |
| Revelwood | Hardwood, Copper, Clay |
| Nomad Highlands | Tin, Limestone, Fossilized Bone |
| Kindlewastes | Palm Wood, Saffron, Iron |
| Albaneve Summits | Conifer Logs, Amethyst, Granite, Obsidian, Silver |
| Veilwater Basin | Tropical Wood, Coffee Beans, Palm Leaves, Aquamarine, Gold, Mother-of-Pearl |
| Cinder's Cradle | Celestium Ore, Diamonds (mined); Archaic Shards, Aurora Beans (collected while flying) |
Some of these sit inside the Shroud rather than on the surface, so the best outpost is often on a ridge right above a Shroud valley rather than in the valley itself. Amber is a good example: the wiki places it in Revelwood's Shroud, and our amber location guide shows exactly where. An outpost on high ground near that cavity turns a long trip from the Springlands into a short glide.
The Veilwater Basin deserves a special mention for builders. The wiki describes tropical jungles, ancient ruins, freshwater lakes and natural limestone arches, which makes it one of the most scenic regions for a large decorative base, and its lakes suit fishing and water-based farming.
Outposts: Using Every Altar Slot
Your Flame level decides how many altars you can run. The wiki's Flame Altar table lists 4 active altars at Flame level 2, then 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 as you climb to level 8, 14 at level 9, 15 at level 10 and 16 at level 11, which is also the most a world can hold. Keen's tips article recommends exactly this use: upgrade the Flame, then place more altars as strategic fast travel points around the map above the Shroud.
- Travel hubs. Altars are fast travel points, and since 1.0 you can also fast travel while sleeping in a bed.
- Where you wake up. Since Wake of the Water, logging in puts you at the last base or save point you visited, so a forward outpost saves a walk at the start of every session.
- Resource stops. A few chests and a bed next to a mining area let you unload and rest without flying home.
- Keep the main base big. Outposts rarely need size upgrades; spend Shroud Cores and Shroud Nexus on the altars where you actually build.
Because 1.0 opened most areas that used to be no-build zones, some of the most interesting outposts now sit in places that were blocked during Early Access. Keen's changelog specifically mentions interestingly placed player-built outposts as the goal of that change.
Water, Cold and the Late Game
Terrain shapes daily life in a base. Water is fully simulated since Wake of the Water, so you can dig canals from a river to your fields or into a fish pond. Altars keep oxygen bubbles around them so you can teleport and respawn safely underwater, which is what makes lake-bottom and underwater bases possible. Fishing fans should also note that since 1.0 every fish can be caught in any water, so a base pond is as good as a famous lake; our Enshrouded fishing guide explains why.
Climate matters in the mountains. The wiki says warm clothing is needed at high altitudes in the Albaneve Summits, and the official settings article describes how cold drains body heat until hypothermia sets in. A base on a peak looks spectacular, but you will feel the weather on every trip in and out, so consider keeping an Albaneve outpost at a lower altitude.
The late game opens new options. The wiki describes Cinder's Cradle as very dangerous, with sky islands and Ancient Constructs that guard the land with flames, so it suits a small outpost more than a home. Reaching Flame level 11 changes the map, too: the 1.0 changelog says Flame Altars can then push back the Shroud, enabling altars in areas that were formerly unreachable. World settings can lower the Flame level this requires.
Planning a Shared Base
Groups have a few extra things to agree on. On a dedicated server, the user group settings decide who can edit and extend bases, and Keen's Forging the Path update lets one Flame Altar per world be set as the spawn point for visitors. Our Enshrouded dedicated server guide explains the permissions, and if your friends own the game on different platforms, check our Enshrouded crossplay guide before you pick a world, because PC and PS5 cannot share one yet.
- Shared limits. The world has a generous factory limit introduced in 1.0, and Patch 12 set a global limit of 128 farm animals, with fish counting toward it.
- Big builds look better now. The 1.0 brick renderer keeps voxel buildings detailed at long distances, and point light shadows were reworked for large bases with many lights.
- Stability. Patch 1.0.1.0 improved multiplayer stability for worlds with very large player bases and fixed flickering shadows in them.
Want a Finished Base Instead?
Choosing the spot is the fun part; filling a 160 by 160 by 160 zone takes many evenings. On PC, the store's huge base build service has a builder construct a large base with a house in your world, choosing from 7 variants: Medieval House, Desert Base, Medieval Mansion, Mill on a Farm, a Valheim-style Starter House, Arab House and Beginner's House. The listing adds a Flame upgraded to its maximum, a furniture set giving +70 Coziness and all crafting stations, and says the whole process takes a few hours.
The builder works in your world on PC, so this one is not available to console players. Everything else the store offers for the game, including a modded save that runs on PS5 as well, is listed on the Enshrouded services page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where should I build my first base in Enshrouded?
In the Springlands, on flat ground above the Shroud with water nearby. The early crafting survivors all come from that region.
Can you move your base in Enshrouded?
You can extinguish an altar and place a new one, but the new altar does not inherit the old one's size upgrades, and builds outside an active altar reset over time.
How many bases can you have in Enshrouded?
Up to 16 active Flame Altars at Flame level 11, starting from 4 at Flame level 2.
Do enemies attack your base in Enshrouded?
No. Keen's FAQ says enemies only attack players, not bases, so defenses are optional.
Can you build an underwater base?
Yes. Flame Altars keep an oxygen bubble around them, so you can teleport and respawn safely underwater.
Can you build in the Shroud?
Altars are placed above the Shroud, but reaching Flame level 11 lets altars push the Shroud back, opening areas that were unreachable before.