When Enshrouded was released to Early Access on Steam back in January 2024, I have to admit, it didn’t do much to draw my attention away from the likes of Valheim and Ark: Survival Evolved. Sure, on paper, it’s got everything I enjoy: exploration, combat, base building, a wide range of quests, and so much more. But it just felt a little unpolished, leaving me underwhelmed and usually only playing a few short sessions every couple of months.
But over time, and after a few solid updates, it has slowly managed to find a place in my Steam library’s regularly played games. The latest of those patches was just released today, adding even more features that make Enshrouded a game that shouldn’t be ignored.
Enshrouded: Forging the Path Update
What’s New in Enshrouded: Forging the Path
Enshrouded Patch 8, or Forging the Path, is the next step towards the game’s upcoming 1.0 release, which is planned for Fall this year. It brings one of the biggest updates to the game thus far, with one I’m particularly excited about: a combat overhaul.
You can watch a breakdown of the new features, fixes, and updates coming in the new update in the video above.
Combat Overhaul
Enshrouded now features a new focus resource, which builds up over time with regular attacks. Once the focus bar has completely filled, players are now able to unleash new special abilities, which are deadly attacks that can turn the tide of a fight.
It’s not just weapons that have special abilities; axes and pickaxes also now have their own special abilities.
On top of this, the combat overhaul has also added new heavy attacks, which players can unleash by holding down the attack button to charge their attacks, as well as a complete rework of two-handed weapons.
One of the more interesting changes to combat is the new advanced enemy awareness system, where enemies now react in stages. Essentially, if you’re someone who prefers to pick enemies off one by one, strategic combat is now an option. Although I’ll be honest, I’m probably still going to run in guns (or swords) blazing.
Improved Progression
One of the biggest issues most players faced in Enshrouded is just how many quests you are faced with, especially at the start of the game. I can tell you from experience, it quickly became confusing knowing which ones to focus on first. The new quest log overhaul now divides quests into main and side quests, which makes it easier to know where to go next.
Skill trees have also had some love as well. There are now more paths connecting classes, making it much easier to create a hybrid build, giving players more freedom to play their way.
Finally, players can now upgrade armor, shields, wards, and rings with runes. These now offer new perks that can make players stronger and even improve their build quality.
Quality of Life
As is often the case when a game creeps closer to its official launch date and gets ready to leave Early Access, Enshrouded patch 8 includes a wide range of quality-of-life updates designed to make the game better for new and returning players alike. The first of these QOL updates is a refresh of both the starting area and the tutorial, designed to make easing into the game better for new players.
As well as new updates to make building quicker and easier, an updated recipe list, and changes to water dispensers, there has also been an exciting update to gliders, including an increase to the maximum height of updrafts to help players reach new heights.
Adventure Sharing
Adventure Sharing is another widely requested feature from the Enshrouded community. It’s a new game system that lets players upload their world, or base, so other players can visit them.
While this is an exciting new feature, it is currently limited, as players are not able to do certain things, such as picking up items or gaining XP. However, this is expected to be updated with the next Enshrouded update, which should launch with Adventure Sharing 2.0.
What’s Next for Enshrouded?
As it stands, Enshrouded’s roadmap hasn’t been faced with any delays or issues, which means we are still likely to see the game leave Early Access later this year, as per the official roadmap.
The next update should see some exciting new content, including new locations and enemies. But, it’s also likely that we should see further updates that aren’t listed in the roadmap, just like we have with the update released today. Shortly after, the game should be ready to leave Early Access and launch for console players, opening the game to a whole new group of players. But, until then, we’ve got plenty of new features to enjoy.
