Weapons

0:26 Enshrouded has seven kinds of weapon: one-handed melee weapons (used with a shield), two-handed axes, two-handed hammers, greatswords, dual daggers, bows, and the mage's staffs and wands. Each comes in rarities from common to legendary, is upgraded with runes, and since Update 6 may have a slot for a weapon gem. Keen Games reviewed every weapon before 1.0: in its Dev Update video of Oct 23, 2025, senior game designer Kristoff explains that many weapons' stats did not match their names and looks, gives the Ice-Coated Daggers (which dealt only cut and pierce damage) as the example, and says they now deal pierce and ice damage, as stats across the board were made to fit each weapon's theme. At 1.0 (Oct 15, 2026) gear can be upgraded to level 55, five above the character cap. How the weapons fight is on Combat; spells are on Magic and Spells.

Quick facts

Weapon types

One-handed weapons (swords, axes, maces) go with a shield in the other hand and suit warriors and tanks. Two-handed axes and hammers hit harder and slower; Update 8 gave them more diagonal attack chains (Keen, Apr 21, 2026), and 1.0 fixed their second hit and whirlwind range (Keen, Oct 14, 2026). Bows fire arrows: magic arrows cost a little mana instead of being used up, and explosive and stun arrows exist (Keen, Jun 5, 2024); 1.0 added upgradable Eternal Fire, Shock and Bone arrows (Keen, Sep 23, 2026). Staffs fire spells and wands fire fast projectiles, with a heavy attack since 1.0. Mages block with wards, warriors with shields.

2:31 Greatswords are the newest type. Keen's Wake of the Water highlights (Nov 10, 2025) introduce them with a new two-handed skill that gives the "spin to win" attack, along with skills for swimming and resistances, and the level cap rise from 35 to 45 with weapons going to 50. Greatswords can be found in chests from the very first region (Keen, Nov 10, 2025).

2:08 Update 8 changed how the two-handed weapons swing. Combat designer David says that, based on player feedback, the greatsword now has a more horizontal series of moves and the great axe and hammers a more diagonal one. Every melee weapon also has a hold-to-charge heavy attack and, with the right skill, a special ability on a full focus bar (Keen, Apr 21, 2026).

2:31 Dual daggers arrived on Jun 5, 2024. Keen's Melodies of the Mire highlights call them dexterity-scaling weapons "perfect for the ranger class", and Keen wrote that they complement ranged play rather than match a warrior's sword (Keen, Jun 5, 2024). 1.0 moved their skills to the assassin area of the Skill Tree.

0:51 The bow is the ranger's main weapon. Keen's 2023 combat video shows a hooded archer shooting into an enemy camp before a melee fight with a large brute. Keen's support article explains the controls: a tap fires a quick shot toward the camera, holding the aim button lets you aim, and the E key or mouse wheel switches arrows (Keen support).

Rarity and upgrading

2:18 Rarity decides how far a weapon can grow, not where it starts. In Keen's Update 8 video, designer Christoph says armor, shields and rings can now be upgraded "just like you could upgrade weapons for a long time", that rarity determines the number of upgrades and perks available, and that unwanted gear can be salvaged into runes. Keen's changelog adds that quality "does not affect the base stats of the item, it only determines how many upgrade levels the item offers" (Keen, Apr 21, 2026). Crafted gear is rare; loot runs from common to legendary.

Upgrades cost runes, and the highest steps on legendary items cost legendary runes, which drop from elite and boss enemies (Keen, May 13, 2025); at 1.0 legendary items need legendary runes one upgrade step later than before (Keen, Oct 14, 2026). Since Update 8 each class's survivor does the work: the Blacksmith upgrades warrior weapons, the Huntress ranger weapons and the Alchemist mage weapons (Keen, Apr 21, 2026); see Survivors. How much of the runes you get back from salvaging an upgraded item is a world setting (Keen support).

Where weapons come from

2:39 Weapons come from chests, from enemies and from crafting. Kristoff says many new weapons were added to enemy drop pools, "from the fell thunder brute greatsword to the scavenger's fearsome acid cleaver", that enemy drops scale with the enemy's level and range from common to legendary, and that chests now remember being looted, so reloading no longer rerolls them, though their contents respawn in time. Update 7 also raised the chances of epic and legendary weapons in silver and gold chests (Keen, Nov 10, 2025), and 1.0 added +5% legendary chance to all chests, let wooden chests hold a silver-chest-level weapon or armor piece, and put more chests in the Springlands and Revelwood so new players can try more weapons (Keen, Oct 14, 2026).

The end rooms of the Hollow Halls hold class chests for warrior, ranger and mage, opened with Ectoplasm (Keen, Apr 21, 2026); 1.0 cut their cost by 25% and reworked the Hollow Halls weapons to work especially well against the Hollow. Bosses drop their own weapons too.

Lore weapons

1:59 Lore weapons can be crafted again at every tier. Kristoff explains that since Update 7 any lore weapon you have unlocked can be crafted at a higher level once you outgrow it, naming the light-emitting Wailing Blade from the early lore quest line, that there are craftable lore weapons for every weapon type, and that this helps players "forever unlucky with RNG". 1.0 gave many lore and loot weapons their own models instead of shared ones (Keen, Oct 14, 2026).

Weapon gems and the Gem Forge

1:59 Weapon gems arrived with Thralls of Twilight on May 13, 2025. Keen's highlights introduce 21 gems that give passive bonuses or add effects to attacks, and warn that crafting and upgrading them means braving The Shroud for rare materials. Higher-rarity weapons may have a gem slot, gems drop from powerful enemies, and you insert, upgrade, recycle or remove them at Gem Forges found in the Shroud (Keen, May 13, 2025). The image above shows the Insert Gem menu with a Gem of Necromancy going into a bow, paid for with Archaic Essence from Albaneve Summits Shroud Lairs.

1.0 lets you place a gem forge station in your own base late in the game, rebalanced several gems (the Gem of Toxic Reaction gained 21% damage per second at level 10, up to 65% at level 50), added Gems of Necromancy for summoners, and stopped gems from harming animals in your base (Keen, Oct 14, 2026).

Durability and repair

1:31 Weapons wear out, though more slowly than they used to. Kristoff says Update 7 raised durability across the board and made it scale with item level and rarity, and that weapons already owned kept their old stats. Update 8 added 20% to wands, daggers and shields and 10% to one-handed and two-handed melee weapons and bows, and limited durability loss to 3 targets per strike. Repair everything at a workbench, use craftable repair kits in the field (Keen, May 13, 2025), or use the anvils in enemy camps, which since 1.0 also repair shields and wards (Keen, Oct 14, 2026). The workbench is on Crafting Stations. A world host can turn durability off (Keen support).

Frequently asked questions

How do I upgrade weapons in Enshrouded? In Enshrouded you upgrade weapons with runes at the survivor for that class: the Blacksmith for warrior weapons, the Huntress for ranger weapons, the Alchemist for mage weapons; legendary items also need legendary runes for their last steps.

How do I get legendary runes in Enshrouded? Legendary runes in Enshrouded drop from elite and boss enemies, Keen Games said with Update 6 (May 13, 2025).

How do weapon gems work in Enshrouded? Some higher-rarity weapons in Enshrouded have a gem slot; gems drop from powerful enemies and are inserted, upgraded or removed at Gem Forges in the Shroud, or, late in 1.0, at a gem forge in your base.

What is the max weapon level in Enshrouded? At 1.0 (Oct 15, 2026), Enshrouded gear can be upgraded to level 55, five above the character level cap of 50.

Can I turn off durability in Enshrouded? Yes. Enshrouded's world settings include an option to disable weapon durability, which the host sets.

When were greatswords added to Enshrouded? Greatswords came to Enshrouded with Update 7, Wake of the Water, on Nov 10, 2025, and Update 8 reworked their attacks in April 2026.

What are lore weapons in Enshrouded? Lore weapons in Enshrouded are named weapons found through lore quests, such as the light-emitting Wailing Blade; since Update 7 you can craft them again at every higher tier once unlocked.

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
• Enshrouded: Melodies of the Mire Update, Keen Games on Steam, Jun 5, 2024
• Staff & Bow usage and Server Gameplay Settings, Keen Games support, read Oct 20, 2026
• Enshrouded - Dev Update | 2025, Enshrouded, Oct 23, 2025 (video)
• Enshrouded - Forging the Path | Gear & Progression, Enshrouded, Apr 14, 2026 (video)
• Enshrouded - Forging the Path | Combat, Enshrouded, Apr 9, 2026 (video)
• Enshrouded - Wake of the Water | Update 7 Highlights, Enshrouded, Nov 10, 2025 (video)
• Enshrouded - Thralls of Twilight | Update 6 Highlights, Enshrouded, May 13, 2025 (video)
• Enshrouded - Melodies of the Mire | Update 2 Highlights, Enshrouded, Jun 5, 2024 (video)
• Enshrouded - Combat Gameplay, Enshrouded, Jun 5, 2023 (video)