Enshrouded Dedicated Server Requirements — CPU, RAM and Bandwidth

A dedicated server does not need a gaming GPU, but it does need predictable CPU, memory, SSD space and upload capacity. The most useful numbers come from Keen Games rather than generic hosting plans. Size for the number of people who play at the same time, not merely for the maximum slot count printed on a sales page.

What does Keen recommend for 4-6 players?

Keen’s Recommended Server Specifications lists the following baseline for a group of four to six active players:

Those are host-machine recommendations, not a statement that the game process itself permanently occupies 16 GB. The headroom accounts for the operating system, update staging and a stable multiplayer workload.

What changes for a full 16-player server?

Keen recommends a stronger CPU for a server capable of handling 16 players: an Intel Core i7 at 3.7 GHz or equivalent AMD, with 8 cores / 16 threads. RAM, SSD space and the per-player bandwidth guideline remain the same starting point. This is why a cheap high-core-count VPS is not automatically the best option: sustained clock speed matters when more people are exploring and building at once.

The official player ceiling is 16. Configure fewer slots if your group is smaller or the machine is shared; slotCount is a performance decision as well as a community setting. See server settings for the configuration surface.

How much RAM does the actual server process use?

Keen’s Dedicated Server FAQ gives the operational numbers:

• About 4.4 GB of physical RAM while idle.
• Up to 100 MB additional RAM per player.
• No more than about 6 GB total for the server process.

That does not mean a 6 GB VPS is automatically safe. The OS, monitoring, a compatibility layer on Linux, backup jobs and memory spikes still need room. For a server you want to leave running, use Keen’s 16 GB host recommendation as the safer planning point.

How much disk space is enough?

The uncompressed server files are approximately 13 GB, while Keen recommends 30 GB free. The gap gives Steam updates and log rotation room to work. World saves can range from roughly 1 MB early on to around 100 MB for worlds with large bases. Keep additional space for dated backups instead of keeping a single overwrite-only copy.

Save files are created every five minutes. Stop the process before copying a save directory, and test a restore on a spare folder before relying on a backup during an emergency.

How much bandwidth does each player need?

Keen recommends 2 Mbit/s upload capacity per player, with download capacity roughly matching it. For a six-player group that is a planning baseline of roughly 12 Mbit/s upload before allowing margin for other household or server traffic. A stable connection matters more than a large advertised download speed.

Public hosting also needs reachable IPv4 networking and the server browser’s query port. Read dedicated server ports before blaming CPU or RAM for a server that is invisible to friends.

What should you choose: self-hosted PC, VPS or game host?

Use the requirements above to compare actual resources rather than labels. A spare PC with fast storage can be an excellent option for a regular group. A managed host reduces maintenance but must state the allocated CPU, RAM, region and backup policy. A VPS is sensible only when it provides the sustained performance and network access described here.

For the operational trade-offs, read self-host versus rental hosting. For installation, continue to the dedicated server setup guide.

Related guides

• Dedicated server setup
• Dedicated server ports
• Server unavailable troubleshooting
• Server hosting comparison

Sources: Keen Games recommended server specifications and Keen Games dedicated server FAQ. Last verified 2026-10-19.