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Enshrouded 1.0 Mage Build Guide
Mages get the biggest rework in Enshrouded 1.0. Here is everything Keen Games has confirmed for staffs, wands and spells, and how we would plan a build around it before the game is out.
What changes for mages in 1.0
Keen opened the combat post by admitting mages "could do with a little bit of love". The changes, all Keen Games:
- Nine new spells, covering utility, crowd control, damage, two area spells and a new spell category: summons.
- More versions of each spell, so a favorite from an early biome stays usable later. There are now 22 tier 7 versions, the Eternal ones, which cost no spell ammo. Eternal spells can be upgraded like weapons and armor, with perks such as reduced mana cost.
- Mana costs and cast times rebalanced around damage. Big spells take longer to cast; quick ones stay quick.
- Enemy weaknesses reworked. Keen did not list the new weaknesses.
- Wands get a heavy attack. It pierces, so it hits enemies behind the first one, and it interrupts attacks from weaker enemies.
- Better wand targeting. Soft and hard lock now favor the center of the screen and closer enemies, with separate settings for ranged and melee. Wands can now target explosive barrels.
- Fixes for switching between wand and staff in the middle of a fight.
- Level cap 50 for players and 55 for gear, with a new biome and enemy tier.
- Your skill tree is reset. Keen's words: "Don't step out of your base without investing your points."
The nine new spells
Names are from Keen's roster. The role column is how Keen described each spell; where they said nothing, we say so.
| Spell | Role | What Keen said |
|---|---|---|
| Mana Drain | Utility | Drains a fixed amount of mana per second from an enemy and adds it to your pool. |
| Entangle | Control | Keen says it "should also help dealing with tougher enemies". |
| Pillar of Flames | Damage | Named in the roster. No numbers or description published yet. |
| Blizzard | Area damage | One of the two new area spells, aimed at groups of enemies. |
| Ball Lightning | Area damage | The other new area spell, also for groups. |
| Summon Fire Totem | Summon | Part of the new summon category. See the summoner guide. |
| Summon Ice Totem | Summon | Part of the new summon category. |
| Summon Shock Totem | Summon | Part of the new summon category. |
| Summon Hollow Skeleton | Summon | The necromancy summon. Keen jokes that one of them may be "Kyle". |
How you get each spell (drop, chest or Alchemist recipe) has not been announced. We will add sources per spell after launch.
New mage skills
Five skills were added for mages Keen Games. Existing skills were also moved, made cheaper or buffed based on feedback, but Keen did not list those changes.
| Skill | Effect as announced |
|---|---|
| Aerial Wand Attack | Can be triggered in mid-air and works as an area attack for wands. |
| Wand Evasion Attack | Keen: "adds more flow to wand gameplay". It fires wider, piercing projectiles. |
| Blast and Cast | After a critical strike with a wand, the base damage of your next staff attack within 10 seconds is increased by 50%. |
| Advanced Necromancy | Raises the number of skeletons you can summon. |
| Totem Mastery | Raises the number of totems you can summon. |
Planning a 1.0 mage build
This part is our read of the announcements, not a tested build. It tells you what to look for when you spend points on October 15.
Carry a wand and a staff
Blast and Cast pays you for landing a wand crit and switching to your staff within 10 seconds, for 50% more base damage on that staff attack. Keen said outright that it should "help mage players pull out some interesting combos by switching between weapon types", and they fixed the bugs around switching. A 1.0 mage that only uses a staff gives this up.
Let the wand handle lines and interrupts
The new heavy attack pierces and interrupts weaker enemies, so the wand is no longer only a backup for when your staff runs dry. Wand Evasion Attack fires wider, piercing projectiles. Aerial Wand Attack adds an area hit from mid-air.
Pick a spell for each job
- Groups: Blizzard or Ball Lightning, the two new area spells.
- One tough enemy: Entangle, which Keen pitched for exactly that.
- Mana: Mana Drain is the only announced spell that feeds mana back to you. With costs now tied to damage, that matters more than it did.
- Extra bodies: totems and the Hollow Skeleton. If you want more than one or two, that is a summoner build; see the summoner guide.
Plan for Eternal spells late
Tier 7 Eternal spells cost no ammo and can be upgraded with perks, so your late-game staff loadout will depend on which Eternal versions you get and how far you upgrade them. The Eternal spells page covers what is known.
Launch-day checklist
- Open the skill tree and spend your points before you leave your base, as Keen advises.
- Find Blast and Cast and the two new wand skills, and check what they cost before you commit.
- Keep a wand on your hotbar next to your staff.
- Check the new aim assist options in settings. Keen says they are on by default for controller and off for mouse and keyboard.
Not announced yet
We will fill these in from the release build. Open
- Skill point costs and where the new skills sit in the tree.
- Damage, mana cost and cast time for every new spell.
- Where the new spells drop or how they are crafted.
- The reworked enemy weaknesses.
- The full list of moved and buffed skills. Keen says a longer list is coming in an October Highlights video and the release changelog.
Sources
- 1.0 Combat: changes and additions — Keen Games (Steam announcement), 2026-09-23
- Enshrouded - 1.0 Release Date Reveal — Keen Games (Steam announcement), 2026-06-25