Shroud Roots and Elixir Wells

0:12 Shroud Roots are the glowing corrupted roots of the Shroud, and destroying one with an axe gives your character skill points the first time; they are, with leveling up, the only source of skill points in Enshrouded. Keen Games' Beginner Tips video says it in one line: "there are two ways to get skill points: leveling up by gaining XP and destroying the Shroud roots". Keen's own formula, from the patch that added skill resets, is that your available points are "the character level plus the number of destroyed shroud roots" (Keen, Nov 5, 2024). The largest roots grow at the bottom of Elixir Wells, the arched shafts where the Shroud began, each guarded by a boss. What you spend the points on is on Skill Tree; the fog they grow in is on The Shroud.

Quick facts

What Shroud Roots are

A Shroud Root is a thick, glowing root that feeds the fog around it. Cutting it down clears the Shroud nearby and gives skill points the first time you do it, TheGamer's guide explains (TheGamer, Feb 9, 2024). Prima Games' 1.0 guide adds the tool: "make sure you have a Felling Axe in your inventory. Shroud Roots are treated like trees" (Prima Games, Oct 23, 2026).

The points belong to the character, not the world. Keen's support FAQ lists collected Shroud Roots among the things a character carries between worlds and servers, and warns that "you cannot farm Shroud roots by making new worlds" (Keen FAQ). Roots and bosses do respawn in a world: "We have already reduced respawn timers to 30 minutes, so it is possible to defeat a boss again or to destroy a Shroud root", Keen wrote in February 2024 (Keen, Feb 9, 2024), but a respawned root gives no second skill point.

How much each root is worth is not in Keen's notes. Prima Games says each 1.0 root rewards "one Skill Point when destroyed", and AllThingsHow's 1.0 level guide says to "destroy a standalone Shroud Root to gain 1 point, or destroy an Elixir Well root for 3" (AllThingsHow, Oct 24, 2026). AllThingsHow counts "60 worth 1 point and 18 worth 3", 114 points in all, which with the 98 points from levels 2 to 50 makes 212. Keen has not published these totals.

Elixir Wells

Elixir Wells are where the Shroud came from. Keen's support FAQ says the old world mined the earth for a magical Elixir and unleashed the fog (Keen FAQ), and Creative Director Antony Christoulakis told Game Rant that rulers built the Elixir Wells, which opened the door for it (Game Rant, Sep 21, 2023). In the game a well is a giant arch-like structure you can see from a distance, marked on the map; its root sits at the bottom, "guarded by a mini-boss" (TheGamer). The lore is on Story and Lore.

The first Elixir Well is the game's first real fight. Once the Blacksmith is placed in your base he sends you to clear it: past Braelyn Bridge, through the Shroud, to the large arch, then "climb down slowly and use the stairs" to the boss's cave (Game Rant, Jan 25, 2024). Its guardian is the Fell Thunderbrute, and Steam's achievements "Thundering success" ("Defeat the guardian of the first elixir well") and "Well done!" ("Cleared the first elixir well") mark it (Steam).

1:44 Later wells are dungeons in their own right. In Haus of Reloads' Kindlewastes guide of Oct 17, 2026 (footage from before and after 1.0), one well south-west of the Kindlewastes spire has to be dug into: "you'll need to dig through the ground first", then follow "the flying fire and the lights", clear rubble, climb down scaffolding while enemies try to knock you into the red Shroud, and blast the last rubble with explosives, to find the root with a Fell Sicklescythe waiting beside it.

4:10 Others are simple walks with a guard at the end. The same video's well north-east of the Kindlewastes spire is "a very simple well, just follow the road and you'll reach the root. The only problem is that it's protected by a Fell Monstrosity", and of the region's roots it maps, several more sit inside wells reached the same way, by landing at the arch and following the path down.

Elsewhere, two joined wells lie on the way to the Fell Wispwyvern (Game Rant, Feb 26, 2024), and Souls of the Frozen Frontier added "a new Elixir well and 6 new locations with Shroud roots" to the Albaneve Summits (Keen, Nov 5, 2024). Keen added a respawn point to the Elixir Well at the Gold Rock Saddle in January 2026 (Keen, Jan 22, 2026). Cinder's Cradle has none, Prima Games says. Every boss is on Bosses.

What clearing them gives

The rewards are skill points first. In early access the first well also dropped "the all-important Shroud Core", Game Rant wrote, along with the Fell Thunderbrute's head and runes (Game Rant; TheGamer, Jan 24, 2024). PCGamesN called Shroud Cores "glowing blue orbs" used mainly to level up the Flame Altar, one from each Elixir Well you complete (PCGamesN, Jan 24, 2024). Boss heads were early access Flame upgrade materials: the Fell Thunderbrute Head for Flame level 2 (TheGamer, Feb 1, 2024). Those are early access recipes; 1.0 changed the costs of Flame levels 6 to 9 and Keen has not published the new lists, so check the recipe at your altar (Flame Altar and Flame Levels).

0:25 Bosses are also the best experience. Keen's Beginner Tips say "bosses give more XP per encounter and it can be beneficial to pay them another visit when they respawned", and each level brings more skill points.

How many roots each region has

Keen has given only the totals added at each update; region counts come from guides and creators, and they changed with every update. TheGamer counted these in early access, roots in the open and roots in Elixir Wells (TheGamer, Feb 9, 2024):

0:51 Creator footage fills in the 1.0 regions. Haus of Reloads' guide of Oct 24, 2026 numbers the Springlands roots to 11, "Roots number 10 and 11 are the new additions to the region": for the 10th, fly south from the Low Meadows spire (or walk to the region's southern edge) to a cliff over red Shroud, glide on to a small piece of land inside the fog and keep heading south until the root shows "out in the open". The 11th is a long walk west from the Springlands spire, along the mountain road through a spider cave into the snow, then a dive from a cliff to a rocky outcrop ringed by red Shroud.

2:34 The same video finds two new roots in Revelwood too, numbers 10 and 11: the 10th up the same mountain road, past a cut tree and rock, at a cave the Shroud pours out of; the 11th in the Shroud area of the region's 5th root, along its left edge toward the Revelwood Hollow Halls, then north from a checkpoint to a Shroud-filled cave. In the Kindlewastes, Haus of Reloads' 1.0 guide of Oct 17, 2026 maps 11 roots, and the later video adds a 12th in a place called The Grim, south-west of the Kindlewastes spire past the Halls of the Founders, which "apparently also counts toward the region's achievement". These are one creator's counts; Keen has not published region totals.

1:29 Keen's 1.0 highlights video sums it up: "We have also expanded existing regions towards the map's edges with more Shroud roots for extra skill points, as well as new places to discover", and Keen's changelog adds that those edge areas, "especially the Springlands, Blackmire and the Kindlewastes", are less dense than the center, and that the root achievements now include the new roots without taking any away (1.0 changelog). The regions are on Map and Regions.

Cinder's Cradle roots

Prima Games' 1.0 guide places Cinder's Cradle's twelve roots by landmark (Prima Games, Oct 23, 2026): northwest of Proto Vessel Bay near the map's edge; east of Proto Vessel Bay; northwest of Manathor's Plaza; north of Andromeda's Eye, and another further north; east of the Ancient Citadel; near Worker's Ward; south of an Ancient Ruin; southwest of the Celestium Mining Site; in the southeast of the Nomad Highlands near the region's border; and two in the north of the Albaneve Summits near the border. "The official 1.0 announcement specifies 12 Shroud Roots in Cinder's Cradle. But the actual biome has only nine", the guide notes. You need the Flame level that opens Cinder's Cradle first.

How to find Shroud Roots

Roots hide in the Shroud, so the first rule is the Shroud's: plan your time. TheGamer suggests marking each root you find on the map (TheGamer). Climbing a region's Ancient Spire charts its points of interest, Elixir Wells among them, and gives you a high place to glide down from (Glider, Grappling Hook and Fast Travel). In 1.0 hourglass capsules appear "in many more places" and add about 70% more time each (1.0 changelog).

Steam's region achievements are the checklist: Springland weeding, Revelwood weeding, Nomad Highlands weeding, Kindlewastes weeding, Albaneve Summits weeding, Veilwater Basin weeding and Cinder's Cradle Weeding each ask you to clear a region "of all shroud roots" (Steam). There is no Blackmire weeding achievement on the list; Keen has not said how the Blackmire's roots are counted.

How to beat them

A root itself does not fight back; the danger is the Shroud and the creatures around it. Keen fixed one trap in January 2026: "Removed a patch of invisible deadly Shroud at the location of a Shroud root in the kindlewastes" (Keen, Jan 22, 2026). For the wells, Game Rant's advice on the Fell Thunderbrute holds for any guardian: stay close to avoid its shockwaves, keep moving, attack from behind, and watch your stamina (Game Rant). Since 1.0, defeated enemies recover their health slowly instead of at once, which "makes a big difference when reattempting a boss" (1.0 changelog). Builds and tactics are on Combat and Best Builds.

Frequently asked questions

How many skill points does a Shroud Root give in Enshrouded? In Enshrouded 1.0 a Shroud Root in the open gives 1 skill point and an Elixir Well root 3, according to Prima Games and AllThingsHow, and only the first time each character destroys it.

How many Shroud Roots are there in Enshrouded? AllThingsHow counts 60 Shroud Roots and 18 Elixir Wells in Enshrouded 1.0, worth 114 skill points; Keen Games has published only the 18 roots added at 1.0 (12 in Cinder's Cradle, 6 at the edges).

What do you need to destroy a Shroud Root in Enshrouded? An axe. Prima Games' 1.0 guide says to bring a felling axe, because Enshrouded treats Shroud Roots like trees.

Do Shroud Roots respawn in Enshrouded? Yes, Shroud Roots and bosses respawn in an Enshrouded world, but each root gives skill points only once per character, and new worlds do not give more.

Where is the first Elixir Well in Enshrouded? The first Elixir Well in Enshrouded is in the Springlands, east of Braelyn Bridge, and its guardian is the Fell Thunderbrute.

Are there Elixir Wells in Cinder's Cradle? No. Prima Games says Enshrouded's Cinder's Cradle has no Elixir Wells; its 12 skill points come from Shroud Roots alone.

What is a Shroud Core in Enshrouded? A Shroud Core is a glowing blue Enshrouded material that early access guides said drops from Elixir Wells and bosses and was used to upgrade the Flame Altar; 1.0 changed Flame recipes, so check yours in game.

Sources

• Release trailer, changelog... everything you need to wait for tomorrow!, Keen Games on Steam, Oct 14, 2026
• Changelog for Patch #13 v.0.9.0.4, Keen Games on Steam, Jan 22, 2026
• Enshrouded: Souls of the Frozen Frontier Update, Keen Games on Steam, Nov 5, 2024
• On Quest Progression, Keen Games on Steam, Feb 9, 2024
• Frequently Asked Questions, Keen Games support, read Oct 20, 2026
• Enshrouded achievements, Valve, read Oct 20, 2026
• How to Find All Cinder's Cradle Shroud Roots in Enshrouded, Burair Noor, Prima Games, Oct 23, 2026
• Enshrouded 1.0 Max Level: Level Cap, Skill Points and Gear Level, AllThingsHow, Oct 24, 2026
• Flame Shrine, Sanctum and Shroud Root locations, Jacqueline Zalace, TheGamer, Feb 9, 2024
• How to clear the Elixir Well, TheGamer, Jan 24, 2024
• How to upgrade the Flame Altar, TheGamer, Feb 1, 2024
• How to clear the Elixir Well and beat the Fell Thunderbrute, Jake Su, Game Rant, Jan 25, 2024
• Where to find the Fell Wispwyvern, Game Rant, Feb 26, 2024
• Enshrouded story and lore interview, Game Rant, Sep 21, 2023
• Shroud Cores, Ford James, PCGamesN, Jan 24, 2024
• DON'T MISS THESE! New Shroud Root Locations in Enshrouded 1.0!, Haus of Reloads, Oct 24, 2026 (video)
• (UPDATE 1.0) GUIDE for finding ALL of the Shroud ROOTS in Kindlewestes in Enshrouded!, Haus of Reloads, Oct 17, 2026 (video)
• Enshrouded Beginner Tips, Enshrouded (Keen Games), Feb 7, 2024 (video)
• Enshrouded 1.0 - Update Highlights, Enshrouded (Keen Games), Oct 15, 2026 (video)