Enshrouded players should be extremely excited about the Wake of the Water expansion coming soon, and with all the recent changes added to the game's housing and NPC system, now's the best time to return to the game and try all the new things, including Pets, an overhauled farming system, a barber, new spells, and more.
But this one is set to be extremely different from prior expansions, and will raise the level of difficulty and the quality of the game in a single blow. What should players expect about this upcoming expansion, and what are the most exciting details about it? Find out everything that's new with Enshrouded Wake of the Water update in this guide.
A Huge New Biome To Explore
Those Flameborn trying to catch up with the two big updates introduced to Enshrouded in 2025 are in for a treat, with the addition of an enormous new Biome to explore, which is a tropical coast (and archipelago) to the north of Embervale. Curiously, players have been asking for a similar biome for ages now, alongside the swimming mechanics, so this is the perfect time to set things in motion and create their dream 'beach houses' in the devastated world of Enshrouded.
Along with the new biome that includes tropical plants, canopy, and jungle vegetation, come new structures which are quite similar to Aztec/Mayan temples. Players already had a taste of this during the Swamp Melodies update back in June 2024, and it seems like traps and dangerous dungeon delving will be the main dish for this expansion as well.
During the big reveal of the expansion, characters can be seen exploring not only the surface of these jungle temples, but also the submerged ruins, searching for treasures (and probably more followers to wake up from slumber). So, players should expect that underwater exploration will be one of the main features of this expansion.
Swimming, Diving, and Dynamic Water
One of the highly requested mechanics that players have been clamoring for has been swimming. Lately, survival games tend to avoid including swimming mechanics in their core gameplay loop, and Enshrouded has been following that rule strictly: Until now. With Wake of the Water, Swimming will be introduced, but that's not all.
Diving will take a central role in the exploration of the new end-game biome, making players really work for that Runes and Legendary Weapons that might be tucked away in a dark corner of a submerged ruin. Players will be able to dive for about 90 seconds before they run out of air, but drowning will be the least of their concerns if they meet some of the dangerous creatures that lurk in the depths, and can kill them if they are not careful. So, no underwater combat for the moment. Players should also expect Underwater dangers to be added to Shroud areas, making the level of difficulty of this end-game Biome extremely high.
Water physics have also been included in the trailer, and traps can be triggered to flood certain halls of ruins (which adds a new layer of difficulty to dungeon delving). Players will be able to destroy walls to let water inside dungeons, but there have been no further details about how this will affect exploration. From what can be seen in the teaser trailer and the gameplay showcased in a recent stream, these water physics are a level above the norm, and water particles look incredible as well.
However, with what has been revealed in the gameplay, water will not only serve as a new exploration medium as players experiment with the swim/dive traversal mechanics: Fishing is also included in the expansion, allowing players to pick up fresh fish to cook new dishes to increase their Stamina, Health, and Attributes. Players can also use water for Combat purposes, flooding an enclosed space with certain enemies that cannot swim inside to kill them all. There's a lot of potential for how players manage this new resource.
With the water dynamics also come a new interaction with gardening and harvesting mechanics, since water will also increase the growth rate of plants and crops, making waterworks crucial for the sustainability of the players' activities in Enshrouded. With Dynamic water that not only has volume but weight, and can push down structures such as a Water Wheel, who knows what else is in store with the Wake of Water update? Only time will tell.
New Weapon: Two-Handed Sword
Ever since Enshrouded Early-Access was out, players have been asking for Two-Handed Swords to be added to the game. Most of the players enjoy the game's combat and the wide array of One-Handed Weapons included in it, but having an enormous edge to shatter undead creatures corrupted by the Shroud does sound enticing.
So, besides those fancy new buildings and beach lounge chairs, players can also use their Barbarian and Warrior skill specialization to the max with this long-reaching blade that can cull down enemies in a single sweep.
And since the game is also introducing a new hardcore enemy group: Lizardmen, which is a staple of every high-fantasy RPG, Enshrouded players will have plenty of target practice to get used to the new weapon archetype.
Challenging New Puzzles & Dungeons
With the new Biome's difficulty set around levels 40 to 45, there will be a huge amount of Questing to do to get into the ideal end-game level to reach this new Biome. But then, the true challenge begins while exploring the water-covered areas, such as dungeons and crypts, which have their own type of puzzles based on the new water/swimming/diving mechanics.
The Shroud remains a part of the world as well, so at some point, players might encounter areas that are completely covered by this dangerous killer mist, and will have to dive underwater while dealing with the constant threat of the Shroud, while looking for air pockets. If they fail to get the correct route while diving, then it will be game over for them.
Diving below the ruins in search of door switches, then coming back to the surface and dodging traps and the attacks of enemies does sound sort of challenging. Enshrouded is going all out in terms of end-game difficulty, and that's a great deal for a survival RPG.
Game Balance And Performance
With the addition of the Greatsword from the start of the game, a lot of combat animations will be added, and luckily, this won't affect the game balance too much. The core combat gameplay will remain for most of the time the same as Enshrouded players are used to, with the only difference being the addition of this new weapon type that looks really cool.
The new animations, textures, and water physics might make some players raise an eyebrow in terms of performance, but as far as what it was showcases during the streaming, the game seems to be running smoothly and without hiccups. Of course, this also depends on each player's setup.
A performance improvement is to be expected if we follow the same logic as what devs have been doing in the previous expansions. Wake of the Water will be a big thing for all Enshrouded players, and the guys from Keen Games have been nailing it patch after patch, so there's no chance they will be disappointed when the new update releases in October 2025.
Enshrouded
- Released
- January 24, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Survival, Open-World, Action RPG
