Enshrouded asks for 16 GB of memory whether four people are playing or sixteen. That single fact decides most of what follows, because it means sizing an Enshrouded server is not the usual exercise of guessing a player count and scaling memory to match. You pick 16 GB, then you scale cores. This guide covers sizing, deploying on the LoafHub panel, the four user groups and their passwords, and the one behaviour that catches almost everyone: the settings the server rewrites for itself on every boot.
Why Run a Dedicated Enshrouded Server
Enshrouded lets you host from inside the game, which ties the world to your session and your upload. Close the game and the world closes with it, and anyone mid-expedition is dropped. A dedicated server runs the same server binary as a standalone process that stays up, so progress in the Shroud, base building, and the flame altar level all persist whether or not you are the one playing.
Tip: The world keeps running between sessions, so players can log in on their own schedule
Tip: One fixed address and port, instead of a host who has to be online first
Tip: Group passwords let you hand out different levels of access without giving everyone admin
Note: Enshrouded caps a dedicated server at 16 players in the game itself, so sizing is about smoothness, not about buying more seats
Sizing an Enshrouded Server
Most games scale memory with players. Enshrouded does not. The published requirement is a flat 16 GB, and it applies at four players and at sixteen, so every build we suggest starts there. What actually changes with a bigger group is CPU: the server does more simulation work per player, and Enshrouded is one of the few games in the catalog that genuinely wants cores rather than memory.
| Players | Memory | Cores | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 4 | 16 GB | 6 | 40 GB |
| Up to 8 | 16 GB | 7 | 50 GB |
| Up to 16 | 16 GB | 8 | 60 GB |
Storage is the gentlest axis. The install itself is around 30 GB, and each additional world adds roughly 100 MB, so the difference between the rungs above is headroom for backups and extra worlds rather than for the game.
Tip: If you are choosing between more memory and more cores, take the cores. Past 16 GB, extra memory does nothing for this game
Tip: Every build runs on AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D CPUs with DDR5 memory and NVMe storage
Warning: A build under 16 GB will not start the server reliably. This is the one game in our catalog where the entry rung is set by the game’s own floor rather than by price
Build and price it on the order page, or read the Enshrouded hosting page for what ships with every build.
Picking a Region
Enshrouded is co-op rather than competitive, so latency is more forgiving here than in a shooter. It still decides how responsive mining, building, and combat feel, so host near the people who will actually play. Builds are available in New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, Frankfurt, and Montreal.
- Work out where the bulk of your group lives, not where you live
- US East or Canada, choose New York or Montreal
- Central US, choose Dallas
- US West or Pacific, choose Los Angeles
- Europe, choose Frankfurt
Note: Terabit DDoS Protection is included in every region at no extra cost, with no tier to pick
Deploying on LoafHub
After checkout the server deploys in about 60 seconds. There are no setup fees, so the price quoted at checkout is what you pay.
- Configure your build, pick a region, and complete checkout
- Log in to the LoafHub panel at hub.loafhosts.com
- Open your new Enshrouded server
- Wait for the deploy to finish and the server to report ready
- Open the Console tab so you can watch the first boot
- Press Start
The first boot downloads the server files, so it takes noticeably longer than later starts. Enshrouded ships a Windows server binary, and it runs here under a compatibility layer rather than as a native Linux build. That is normal and needs nothing from you, but it is why the first start is not instant.
Tip: Watch the first boot in the Console rather than walking away. Anything wrong with a password or a slot count shows up here
The Four User Groups
Enshrouded does not have a single admin password. It ships four user groups, each with its own password and its own list of what that group may do. A player types the group password when they join, and that decides their permissions.
| Group | Typical use | Default abilities |
|---|---|---|
| Admin | You and your co-owners | Kick and ban, edit the world, edit and extend any base, open other players’ storage |
| Friend | Regulars you trust | Building and world edits, no moderation |
| Guest | Drop-in players | Play, limited editing |
| Visitor | Anyone with the address | The most restricted tier |
Each group also has a reserved slot count. Reserved slots come out of your sixteen, they do not add to them, so setting four reserved Admin slots on a sixteen-player server leaves twelve for everyone else.
Warning: A group password cannot be only digits. The server rejects it, and the rejection shows up as a server that will not start rather than as an obvious error about the password
The Settings the Server Rewrites Every Boot
This is the part worth reading twice, because it is the single most common reason an Enshrouded server appears to ignore your changes.
Six settings are not owned by the config file. The panel writes them into enshrouded_server.json from the server’s environment on every single start:
- the server name
- the player slot count
- the query port
- all four group passwords
Edit any of those directly in the file and your edit is silently reverted the next time the server boots. There is no error, no warning, and the file simply comes back with the previous value. Set them in the panel’s startup settings instead, which is where the Enshrouded config editor puts them, at the top of the page and above the file settings.
Reading them from the file is just as misleading. On a freshly installed server that has never started, the file still contains the placeholder passwords the egg shipped with, while the real passwords are the randomised values already sitting in the environment. If you open the file on a new server, copy a password out of it, and hand that to a player, it will not work, and nothing about the file will tell you why.
Warning: On a new server, never read a group password out of
enshrouded_server.json. Read it from the panel
Tip: The same rule covers the server name and slot count. If either keeps reverting, you are editing the file instead of the startup settings
The Enshrouded config editor guide covers the rest of the settings, including the difficulty presets and the roughly seventy individual rates behind them.
Going Live
Once the server boots cleanly and reports ready, players connect with the address and port from the panel plus whichever group password you give them.
- Confirm the Console shows the server started and listening
- Copy the server address and port from the panel
- Decide which group each player belongs in and share that group’s password
- Have one player join and confirm their permissions match the group you intended
- Share the address with the rest of the group
Tip: Test with the Visitor password yourself before handing it out. It is the quickest way to confirm your permission tiers do what you think they do
Keeping It Healthy
Enshrouded servers are low-maintenance once running. The useful habits are a scheduled restart, a backup before you change anything structural, and a look at the console after each restart.
Tip: Schedule a daily restart during a quiet hour to keep memory clean
Tip: Take a backup before changing difficulty settings or editing group permissions
Tip: Auto-update is on by default, so the server picks up patches on restart
Note: Game servers come with a 3-day money-back guarantee. Dedicated servers are non-refundable
Frequently Asked Questions
How much memory does an Enshrouded server need?
16 GB, regardless of how many players you expect. Enshrouded publishes a flat memory requirement rather than a per-player one, so a four-player server and a sixteen-player server both want 16 GB. Add cores rather than memory as the group grows: six for a small group, eight at the sixteen-player cap.
How many players can an Enshrouded server hold?
Sixteen. That is a cap in the game itself rather than a limit we set, so no build raises it. Reserved slots assigned to a user group come out of that sixteen rather than adding to it.
How much does Enshrouded server hosting cost?
You build the server on the configurator and the price is quoted live before you pay, so it always matches the build you actually chose. There are no setup fees, and longer billing cycles cost less per month.
Why does my Enshrouded server name keep resetting?
Because the server name is written from the startup settings into the config file on every boot. Editing it in the file works until the next restart, then it reverts. Change it in the panel’s startup settings instead and it sticks.
Why is the admin password in the config file not working?
On a server that has never started, the config file still holds the placeholder password the install shipped with, while the real password is the randomised one in the environment. Read the password from the panel, not from the file.
Does Enshrouded hosting include DDoS protection?
Yes. Terabit DDoS Protection is included on every build at no extra cost. There is no tier to choose and nothing to add on.
How long does an Enshrouded server take to set up?
The server itself deploys in about 60 seconds. The first boot then downloads the game files, which takes longer than a normal start, so allow a few minutes before the first player joins.
Can I run more than one world on the same server?
Yes. Each extra world adds roughly 100 MB of storage, which is why the storage rungs above have room in them. Switching the active world is a config change and a restart.