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Godlike.Host offers hosted Enshrouded servers with its own game panel, SFTP access and free DDoS protection, if you would rather not host it yourself.
For a self-hosted Enshrouded dedicated server, plan on a machine with 16 GB of RAM, an SSD with at least 30 GB free, and a modern multi-core CPU. Keen Games’ published guidance calls for 6 cores and 12 threads at 3.2 GHz for four to six active players, or 8 cores and 16 threads at 3.7 GHz for a 16-player server.
Those CPU and player-count figures come from Keen’s January 12, 2024 specifications article. A separate FAQ dated February 21, 2025 says the server process itself uses about 4.4 GB at idle, adds up to 100 MB per player, and should stay below 6 GB. The process figure is not the same as the total RAM the host machine should have.
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Keen Games describes the hardware as dependent on the number of players who are active on the server. Its published recommendations are guidance rather than a guaranteed minimum: no current-version independent benchmark accompanies them, and Keen has not confirmed in these documents that the CPU table was refreshed after January 2024.
| Active-player scenario | CPU recommendation | Host RAM | Storage | Network capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four to six active players | Intel Core i7 at 3.2 GHz or equivalent AMD; 6 cores and 12 threads | 16 GB | SSD with at least 30 GB free | About 2 Mbit/s upload per active player; download roughly matches upload |
| Up to 16 players | Intel Core i7-class CPU at 3.7 GHz or equivalent AMD; 8 cores and 16 threads | 16 GB | SSD with at least 30 GB free | About 2 Mbit/s upload per active player; download roughly matches upload |
These figures are from Keen Games’ Recommended Server Specifications article, dated January 12, 2024. Keen’s wording is explicit that requirements depend strongly on active player count; it does not publish a CPU-utilization percentage or a benchmark score.
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How much RAM does an Enshrouded server need?
The server process and the whole machine are different measurements
Keen’s Dedicated Server FAQ, dated February 21, 2025, reports approximately 4.4 GB of physical RAM for an idle server process. It allows up to 100 MB of additional RAM per player and says total server-process use should not exceed 6 GB.
The same FAQ recommends about 30 GB of free disk space and describes the uncompressed server files as approximately 13 GB. The 4.4-to-6 GB figures describe the Enshrouded process, not every process running on the computer. Windows, SteamCMD or the Steam client, monitoring tools, backups, antivirus software and other services also need memory. That is why Keen’s hardware recommendation specifies 16 GB of RAM for both published player-count tiers. Buying or renting a machine with only 6 GB total RAM would leave little or no headroom for the operating system.
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- Use 16 GB as the baseline for a dedicated host that runs only the server and normal system services.
- Leave additional headroom if the machine will also run a desktop, game client, media server, containers or backup jobs.
- Watch actual memory use after several players join and after large worlds have been active for a while; the FAQ’s process ceiling is a planning reference, not a promise that every workload behaves identically.
- Do not convert the process figure into a claim that the complete computer needs only 4.4 GB.
What CPU do I need for an Enshrouded dedicated server?
Keen’s January 2024 table scales CPU advice with group size. For four to six active players it names a 3.2 GHz Intel Core i7 or equivalent AMD processor with six cores and 12 threads. For a server supporting up to 16 players it names a 3.7 GHz i7-class processor or AMD equivalent with eight cores and 16 threads.
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Clock speed and core/thread count are the published comparison points. Keen does not provide frame-time data, a maximum CPU percentage, or a test methodology, so these should be treated as documented recommendations rather than universal performance guarantees. A newer processor with fewer nominal cores may perform differently from an older i7; match the overall generation and single-thread performance when comparing hardware, not just the model name.
Choose for the busiest expected session
Size the host for the largest group likely to be online at once, not the number of people who own the server password. If the group normally has five players but occasionally reaches 12 or 16, the larger CPU tier gives more margin for those sessions. If the hardware is fixed and the group is small, reducing the configured slot limit can prevent people from joining beyond the capacity you can support.
Storage, save files and network requirements
Why an SSD and 30 GB free space matter
Keen recommends SSD storage and at least 30 GB free. The FAQ puts the uncompressed server files at about 13 GB, while the extra space accommodates updates, temporary data, logs and saved worlds. Keen’s 2024 specifications also state that each additional saved world can use up to 100 MB.
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Save files are generated every five minutes. The FAQ says an individual save can range from 1 MB to 100 MB depending on the world and the bases built in it. Keep free space well above the minimum if you retain historical backups; a full disk can prevent saves and updates even when the original installation fit comfortably.
Bandwidth per active player
Keen estimates about 2 Mbit/s of upload capacity for each active player and says download capacity should be roughly comparable. As a planning calculation, six simultaneous players imply approximately 12 Mbit/s upload, while 16 imply approximately 32 Mbit/s. These are simple multiples of Keen’s estimate, not a measured guarantee, and your connection still needs capacity for other household or data-center traffic.
- Prefer a wired Ethernet connection for a home host.
- Check the upstream rate that your internet service actually delivers, rather than relying on the advertised downstream number.
- Account for cloud backups, video calls and uploads that compete with the server.
- Use traffic monitoring during a busy session before deciding that bandwidth is sufficient.
Slots, ports and configuration
The dedicated server configuration supports between one and 16 slots and defaults to 16. Keen’s configuration guide says every slot increases performance impact; lowering the maximum can help when CPU or RAM is the bottleneck. Slots are a cap on simultaneous connections, not a promise that the hardware will deliver identical performance at every count.
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On the first launch, the server creates enshrouded_server.json. Keen’s example uses query port 15637 and 16 slots. The FAQ says the server uses IPv4 and identifies 15637 as the default query port. Port requirements and firewall behavior can change with Steam or future server releases, so consult the current official configuration and Steam documentation before copying a complete firewall rule set.
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How to set up a self-hosted server
The following workflow follows Keen’s documented Steam installation path while leaving room for version changes.
- Install the dedicated server from Steam. Open the Steam library, select the Tools section, and install the Enshrouded Dedicated Server tool. Keen’s February 23, 2024 installation article identified Windows as the supported platform at that time; verify the latest official documentation before treating that as a current platform limitation. See Keen’s Steam installation guide.
- Launch it once. The first run creates
enshrouded_server.jsonin the server installation data. Stop the process before editing the file so that a running instance does not overwrite your changes. - Set the slot count deliberately. Keep the documented default of 16 only if your CPU, RAM and network are sized for that ceiling. Set a lower value between 1 and 16 when the actual group is smaller or when monitoring shows a bottleneck.
- Confirm the query port. The documented example uses
15637. If you are behind a home router, forward the required port to the host’s local IPv4 address and allow the server executable through the operating system firewall. Check the current Steam and Keen documentation for the exact port set before opening additional ports. - Test from outside the host network. Have a friend join while you monitor CPU, memory, upload rate and disk activity. Testing only from the same machine can hide router, firewall or upstream-bandwidth problems.
- Protect the world files. Because saves are produced every five minutes and can vary greatly in size, copy them to separate storage on a schedule that matches how much progress your group can afford to lose. Keep at least one backup outside the server’s main disk.
- Document updates and restarts. Schedule maintenance when nobody is playing, stop the server cleanly, back up the world, apply updates, and verify that the configuration file and slot limit remain intact after restart.
Should I host or rent an Enshrouded server?
A dedicated server lets friends play without the original host remaining online. You can run that server on your own hardware or rent it from a hosting provider. Keen’s FAQ identifies GPORTAL as a partner whose servers can be rented from inside the game and notes that other providers may offer rentals as well. That establishes rental hosting as an option, not a ranking or endorsement based on price or performance.
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Self-hosting is a good fit when
- You already have a machine with the published RAM, CPU, SSD and network capacity.
- You want direct access to configuration files, save files and backups.
- You are comfortable with router port forwarding, firewall rules, updates and recovery when something fails.
- Your group is close to the same region as the host and latency is acceptable.
Renting is a good fit when
- You do not want to leave a home computer running or manage inbound networking.
- You need a provider to handle power, connectivity, restarts and basic support.
- Your group is geographically distributed and a hosted region can reduce latency for most players.
- You accept recurring billing and the provider’s limits on CPU allocation, backups, file access and update timing.
Questions to ask before paying
- How much RAM is reserved for your instance, and is the CPU dedicated or shared?
- Does the plan support Enshrouded’s maximum 16-slot setting?
- Where is the server region, and can you move it later?
- Can you download complete world files and restore your own backups?
- Who performs game updates and restarts, and how are outages communicated?
- What are the recurring price, billing interval, cancellation rules and overage charges?
Current plan prices, regional availability and resource allocations vary by provider and date. The official Keen material does not supply enough information to rank providers or quote a reliable rental price.
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Players report lag when the CPU is busy
Check whether the configured slot count is higher than the group needs, then reduce it and retest. Compare CPU load during an active session rather than at idle. If the host is in the smaller published tier but the group has grown, move to hardware closer to the larger CPU recommendation.
The process appears to use less RAM than expected
That is not evidence that the machine can run safely with only the process allocation. Compare total system memory, including the operating system and other services, with the 16 GB host recommendation before removing RAM.
Friends cannot see or join the server
Verify that the server is running, the configured query port is still 15637 unless you intentionally changed it, the firewall permits the executable, and the router forwards traffic to the correct local IPv4 address. Test from an external network and check the current official port guidance instead of opening arbitrary ports.
Saves or updates fail with disk errors
Inspect free SSD capacity and the size of retained backups. The installation may be around 13 GB, but world saves, updates and historical copies consume additional space. Move old backups elsewhere and restore a safe free-space margin before the next save cycle.
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How to interpret the official figures in 2026
The January 2024 CPU and player-count recommendations and the February 2025 RAM FAQ are the dated official figures cited here. They remain useful planning baselines, but the available documents do not establish that Keen has published a newer CPU table for the current game version. Treat them as Keen Games’ documented recommendations, not freshly tested minimums. Recheck the Dedicated Server FAQ, Recommended Server Specifications and Dedicated Server Configuration pages when you install or upgrade.
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