Enshrouded server lagging? Improve performanceWhy the CPU matters in Enshrouded, not the memory

Published on November 3, 2026

What an Enshrouded server needs

Keen Games gives unusually precise figures for the server. When idle it uses around 4.4 GB of memory, each player adds up to 100 MB, and in total the server should not exceed about 6 GB. According to Keen, more memory does not make it faster - there is no setting that turns additional RAM into performance.

The processor is a different story. Keen scales its own hardware recommendation only through the CPU: six cores at 3.2 GHz for four to six players, eight cores at 3.7 GHz for sixteen. The fact that the clock speed rises too is the real hint: Enshrouded benefits greatly from the performance of a single core. A voxel world in which terrain, water, weather, enemies and production chains are constantly calculated is exactly that kind of load.

Then there is bandwidth. Keen expects around 2 Mbit/⁠s of upload per player. On a server in a data center with 1 Gbit/⁠s that is not an issue - on a server on a home connection, on the other hand, it is often the first bottleneck.

What really challenges the server

Two groups with the same number of players can load a server completely differently. These factors make the difference:

• Spread-out players. Players who travel together keep one area of the world active. Eight players at eight ends of the map force the server to calculate eight areas with enemies, weather and terrain at the same time.
• New areas and teleports. When exploring, the server loads parts of the world. If several players travel to distant places or into unexplored regions at the same time, load peaks occur.
• Large bases. Workshops with running production, many residents and elaborate buildings cost computing time permanently.
• Difficulty. More enemies via randomSpawnerAmount, higher perception via enemyPerceptionRangeFactor or a tougher preset raise the load. Which values these are is in Server settings.

Matching symptom and cause

Whether the CPU is the bottleneck is shown by the usage in the web interface while the problem occurs. A server that runs permanently at the top of its processing power at peak time needs more computing power - a server with plenty of headroom there has its problem elsewhere.

Adjustments that help

• Adjust the player count. Keen itself recommends: if CPU or RAM is the bottleneck, lowering the maximum number of slots helps - with us in the game server panel under startup parameters. Every slot increases the load.
• Restart regularly. Create a restart at a quiet time, for example at night, in the task scheduler of the web interface. Enshrouded saves the world itself and when shutting down, so a scheduled restart costs no progress.
• Explore together. If the group stutters mainly when opening up new regions, it helps to set off together instead of in all directions.
• Rules in moderation. Doubled enemy numbers and high spawn rates are tempting but cost computing time. Test big changes with part of the group first.
• Check players' connections. If only one player has problems, the cause is almost never the server. Cable instead of Wi-Fi often works wonders.

When an upgrade helps - and which one

A larger plan is worth it when the CPU is at its limit at peak time and the adjustments above are exhausted. Because Enshrouded hardly uses more than 6 GB of memory, our plans mainly differ in computing power: M is designed for a regular group of up to about eight players, L for a full group with up to 16 players, and XL gives large build projects with many players travelling at the same time the most headroom.

You do the upgrade yourself in the customer interface; save and configuration are kept. Prices and recommendations per plan are in How much does an Enshrouded server cost?, and the comparison with other games is in How much RAM do I need?.

And if a player can't even find the server, that is not a performance problem: then Join an Enshrouded server helps.

Frequently asked questions