Magic and Spells

4:06 Magic in Enshrouded comes from two weapons: the staff, which fires spells as its ammunition and spends mana to cast them, and the wand, a fast projectile weapon. Version 1.0 (Oct 15, 2026) made mages its main combat project. Keen Games' 1.0 highlights video says "mages have nine new spell types to work with", with more ways to control enemies and deal area damage, utility spells and summons: you can "call on elemental totems or bring skeletons into battle", raise how many you can summon with new skills, and build further into it with necromancy weapon gems. Keen's combat post names the nine: Mana Drain, Entangle, Pillar of Flames, Blizzard, Ball Lightning, Summon Fire Totem, Summon Ice Totem, Summon Shock Totem and Summon Hollow Skeleton (Keen, Sep 23, 2026). The mage's place in the Skill Tree and the builds around it are on Best Builds.

Quick facts

Staffs and spell charges

A staff works like a bow whose arrows are spells. Keen's support article explains it: a quick tap casts toward the camera, holding the aim button lets you aim, the E key or the mouse wheel switches between spells, and "Spells are considered the staff's ammunition and will be consumed upon usage", each cast spending mana (Keen support). Area spells have shown a ground cursor at the target since 1.0 (Keen, Oct 14, 2026).

1.0 sorted spell charges into two kinds: versatile "bread-and-butter" spells are found as loot in the world, while unusual spells for specific purposes are only crafted, so mages can keep their backpack for the spells they actually use. Spell charge recipes now take mined gems, need less Ectoplasm and fewer rare resources, and no longer send you back to earlier regions for low-tier ingredients (Keen, Oct 14, 2026). Spell mana costs and casting times were rebalanced against their damage: "If you're about to unleash a nuke, it's gonna take more than a snap of the fingers" (Keen, Sep 23, 2026).

Eternal spells and wands

4:40 Every spell now has an Eternal version that costs no charges. Keen's highlights say Eternal spells are for the late game "so you won't need to keep crafting charges for your favorites", that they can be upgraded with perks such as reduced mana cost, that archers get upgradable Eternal arrows too, and that wands have a heavy attack straight away, with evasive and aerial attacks to learn in the skill tree; the frames show an Eternal spell's upgrade menu and the Aerial Wand Attack tooltip. Keen counts 22 tier 7 Eternal versions; many unlock in the highest progression tier, and the crafting survivors for each combat class upgrade them (Keen, Oct 14, 2026). A quest in the Veilwater Basin gives Eternal spells and was extended for 1.0.

A wand's heavy attack pierces enemies, so it hits past the first one, and interrupts weaker enemies' attacks. Aerial Wand Attack is an area attack cast in mid-air, and Wand Evasion Attack fires wider, piercing projectiles as you dodge (Keen, Sep 23, 2026). Wand targeting prefers the center of the screen and nearer enemies, a free-aim mode is in the gameplay settings, wand specials are no longer interrupted by enemy hits, and you can now target explosive barrels (Keen, Oct 14, 2026). Since Update 6 there are two wand types, very fast shooting wands and multi-projectile wands (Keen, May 13, 2025), and Update 8 increased wand range and raised wand durability by 20%.

The skill Blast and Cast ties the two weapons together: after a wand critical hit, your next staff attack within 10 seconds gets 50% more base damage, which Keen says should let mages "pull out some interesting combos by switching between weapon types".

The 1.0 spells

The descriptions are from Keen's combat post (Keen, Sep 23, 2026); Keen gave no numbers for damage or duration. 1.0 also added more tiers of existing spells, so a favorite spell from an early region keeps up later (Keen, Oct 14, 2026).

Summons and necromancy

Summoning is new in 1.0. Skeletons "work for free, never complain, and only occasionally get in the way", and combined with the new Gems of Necromancy for weapons and the support skills they let you raise "an impressive amount of undead minions" (Keen, Oct 14, 2026). There are limits: the game counts the creatures you have summoned and replaces the oldest when you cast past the maximum, the older Gem of Lesser Necromancy now has a companion limit, and gem companions slowly lose health out of combat. Skeleton attacks can no longer be interrupted by enemies. Gems and the Gem Forge are on Weapons.

Beams, healing and the early game

4:50 Healing magic came with Update 6. Keen's Thralls of Twilight highlights (May 13, 2025) say wands fire faster and add two beam spells, Beam Channel and Heal Channel: "One does damage, the other one... I guess you can figure that out!" A channeled heal is the core of a healer in co-op, and the Healer area of the skill tree supports it.

3:47 A mage can start early. In Keen's Dev Update of Oct 23, 2025, designer Kristoff says players wanted to begin as mages but lacked early support, so Update 7 added Fire Bolt, a quick single-target spell crafted "with minimal requirements": once you find bones and resin you can make your first staff and your first spell. Update 8 later enlarged the first Fireball's explosion and added resin to early loot so spells are easy to restock (Keen, Apr 21, 2026). Where to begin is on Beginner's Guide.

3:22 Casting near a drop is safe since Update 8. Combat designer David says attacking close to a ledge no longer pushes you off, which he calls "really beneficial for mages when they are using a spell"; you still fall if you walk forward on purpose.

Wards and mage armor

Mages block with wards, which Keen calls "the mage shields", with built-in mana regeneration (Keen, Nov 10, 2025); since 1.0 anvils in enemy camps repair them (Keen, Oct 14, 2026). Mage armor sets have more magical than physical armor and the highest magical armor of any class (Keen, Apr 21, 2026); see Armor Sets.

The Alchemist

1:19 The Alchemist is the mage's survivor. Keen's beginner tips video (Feb 7, 2024) tells players who prefer magic to seek out Balthazar the Alchemist for their gear, as rangers go to the Huntress and fighters to the Blacksmith. Since Update 8 the Alchemist also upgrades mage weapons and armor with runes (Keen, Apr 21, 2026), and since 1.0 the class survivors upgrade Eternal spells. How to rescue survivors is on Survivors.

5:40 Mages waited longest for their turn. In April 2026 David promised that Keen had not forgotten mage players and was "looking at broadening the range of spells" to add crowd control and area damage, for 1.0 or later; the 1.0 spells above are that promise kept.

Frequently asked questions

How do spells work in Enshrouded? In Enshrouded, spells are the ammunition of a staff: each cast uses a spell charge and mana. Eternal versions of every spell, added in 1.0, use mana but never run out of charges.

How do I get Eternal spells in Enshrouded? Enshrouded's Eternal spells are the tier 7 versions of each spell; many unlock in the highest progression tier at 1.0, an Eternal spell quest runs in the Veilwater Basin, and the class crafting survivors upgrade them.

What spells were added in Enshrouded 1.0? Enshrouded 1.0 added nine spells: Mana Drain, Entangle, Pillar of Flames, Blizzard, Ball Lightning, Summon Fire Totem, Summon Ice Totem, Summon Shock Totem and Summon Hollow Skeleton.

Can mages use shields in Enshrouded? Mages in Enshrouded use wards, which Keen calls the mage shields; they block like shields and carry built-in mana regeneration.

Is there necromancy in Enshrouded? Yes. Since 1.0, Enshrouded mages can summon Hollow skeletons, raise the limit with the Advanced Necromancy skill and add Gems of Necromancy to weapons.

Is there a healing staff in Enshrouded? Enshrouded has a healing spell, Heal Channel, a channeled beam added in Update 6 (May 13, 2025), cast from a staff like other spells.

What is the best first spell in Enshrouded? Fire Bolt is the first spell most Enshrouded mages make: since Update 7 it can be crafted with a first staff as soon as you have bones and resin.

Sources

• Release trailer, changelog... everything you need to wait for tomorrow!, Keen Games on Steam, Oct 14, 2026
• 1.0 Combat: changes and additions, Keen Games on Steam, Sep 23, 2026
• Enshrouded: Forging the Path is live!, Keen Games on Steam, Apr 21, 2026
• Enshrouded: Wake of the Water Update, Keen Games on Steam, Nov 10, 2025
• Enshrouded: Thralls of Twilight Update, Keen Games on Steam, May 13, 2025
• Staff & Bow usage, Keen Games support, read Oct 20, 2026
• Enshrouded 1.0 - Update Highlights, Enshrouded, Oct 15, 2026 (video)
• Enshrouded - Forging the Path | Combat, Enshrouded, Apr 9, 2026 (video)
• Enshrouded - Dev Update | 2025, Enshrouded, Oct 23, 2025 (video)
• Enshrouded - Thralls of Twilight | Update 6 Highlights, Enshrouded, May 13, 2025 (video)
• Enshrouded Beginner Tips, Enshrouded, Feb 7, 2024 (video)