Enshrouded has 28 named survivors you can bring to your base, and they are not interchangeable. Five are core craftspeople who each own a whole crafting tier. Six are specialists with one station each. Seven are assistants that duplicate a core crafter somewhere else on the map. Ten are villagers who give quests and cosmetics and unlock nothing.
The split that matters for progression is different: 18 of them count toward Flame upgrades (the five core craftspeople, the six specialists and the seven assistants), and Flame 10 needs 16 while Flame 11 needs all 18. A survivor only counts once they have a bed in a sheltered room.
How survivors work
- Find the survivor in the world. Most are in Ancient Vaults or named ruins.
- Free them.
- Summon them to your base with the Summoning Staff.
- Give them a bed inside a sheltered room. Until then they do not count for Flame upgrades.
You can also re-summon a survivor to a second base, which is how assistants and multiple altars fit together.
The five core craftspeople
These are the ones that gate your progression. Each is rescued from an Ancient Vault.
| Survivor | Role | Unlocks | Found in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oswald Anders | Blacksmith | Melee armor and weapons; Charcoal Kiln, Forge, Smelter, Smithing Tools, Blast Furnace | Ancient Vault – Blacksmith |
| Balthazar | Alchemist | Magic armor, potions and concoctions; Mortar, Grinding Stones, Alchemy Station, Laboratory | Ancient Vault – Alchemist |
| Cade Hawthorn | Carpenter | All wood crafting and building pieces; Kiln, Table Saw, Masonry Tools | Ancient Vault – Carpenter |
| Athalan Skree | Hunter | Ranged armor, arrows and leatherworking; Drying Rack, Hand Spindle, Tanning Station, Spinning Wheel, Loom, Spinning Machine | Ancient Vault – Hunter |
| Emily Fray | Farmer | Food, seedlings and animals; Seedbed, Cooking Station, Oven, Almanac of Plants and Seedlings, Beehive Smoker, Beehive, Seafood Grill, Coffee Drum Roaster, Coffee Brewery | Ancient Vault – Farmer |
The Blacksmith is the one you meet first, and he is also your second level-up in 1.0. The Farmer is the one people skip, and it is a mistake: cooking is the cheapest healing in the game and the Seedbed is how you stop foraging for every meal.
The specialists
One station each, and none of them are optional at the top end.
| Survivor | Role | Unlocks | Found in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alden Crowley | Collector | Mystical and dark furniture, revitalizing foods; Ectoplasm Press | Springlands Hollow Halls |
| Valory | Bard | Musical instruments and tales | Sunken Ancient City |
| Elio Ricci | Barber | Appearance changes; Coloring Station | Elder’s Night Sanctum |
| Captain Melville Fontane | Fisher | Fishing gear and bait | Ol’ Captain’s Rest |
| Mei-Yin Chen | Lunar New Year Trader | Seasonal Lunar New Year wares | Roadside near the Ring of Rot Shroud Root |
| Loraine Crim | Ancient Researcher | Ancient Workbench, placeable Gem Forge, Infusion Altar | Cinder’s Cradle (1.0) |
Loraine Crim is the 1.0 addition and the most important of the six. The Gem Forge and Infusion Altar are end-game stations, and she counts toward the 18 survivors Flame 11 needs, which means you cannot finish the Flame track without her.
The seven assistants
Assistants are duplicates of the core craftspeople, summoned to a different base. They do not unlock new recipes; they let you craft in a second location, which matters once you are running two or three altars across the map.
| Assistant | Mirrors | Found in |
|---|---|---|
| Rochelle Anders | Blacksmith | Fanning Ranch |
| Lady LeClair | Alchemist | Glennwood’s End |
| Aunt Braelyn | Carpenter | Hidden Temple |
| Galen Yager | Hunter | Draconian Vulture Nest |
| Fenrig Mills, Jr. | Farmer | Wolf Cave |
| Nameless One | Collector | Drak’Dal Temple |
| Chester Loft | Bard | Cromville |
Most of them sit in later regions (Blackmire temples, nests, caves), which is the game’s way of saying they are for players who already have a working base. Several also give side quests for cosmetics.
The ten villagers
Villagers move in, give a side quest and unlock nothing mechanical. They do not count toward Flame upgrades, so collect them for the quest rewards and the cosmetics, not for progression.
| Villager | Found in |
|---|---|
| Hannah Reed | Fort Kelvin |
| Marianne Reed | Vukah Ceremony Hill |
| Ramone Jones | Pikesmead’s Reach |
| Gabrielle Fairburn | Surat’s Rest |
| Robert Gibson | Lupa’s Lair |
| Kaori Conway | East Lapis |
| Hugo Vanderhall | Sun Temple |
| Oscar Godwin | Rothstep |
| Anton Godwin | Gateway Outpost “Drifa” |
| Gunther Galeforth | Balefire Garrison “Windward” |
Which order to rescue them
- Blacksmith first, always. Metal unlocks the rest of the crafting tree and gives you the second level-up.
- Farmer second. Food, the Seedbed and the Cooking Station remove two of the early game’s biggest time sinks.
- Hunter third if you use bows or leather armor; the Tanning Station is the only way to process hides at scale.
- Carpenter fourth. You will want the Table Saw and Kiln the moment you start building properly.
- Alchemist when you hit your first real boss. Potions and the Laboratory carry the mid-game.
- Barber, Fisher, Bard, Collector whenever you pass them. None gate progression.
- Loraine Crim as soon as you enter Cinder’s Cradle. She is required for Flame 11.
The bed rule, and why Flame 10 stalls
If your Flame upgrade button is greyed out and you have every material, check the survivor count and then check the beds. A survivor standing in an open field with no bed does not count. Flame 10 wants 16, Flame 11 wants 18, and 18 is exactly the number of craftspeople, specialists and assistants in the game. At the very end you need all of them housed.
That also means the villagers do not help you here. They give quests, cosmetics and a bit of life in the base, but they are not part of the 18. If you are short at Flame 10, you are missing an assistant in a late region, not a villager.
Build a dormitory block early anyway: beds are cheap, and the alternative is running back across Embervale at Flame 10 looking for the one assistant you never freed.
Where to go next
- Flame levels 1-11: the survivor requirement for every upgrade.
- Beginner guide: the opening route, including the 25 items Flame 2 needs.
- Materials finder: what each station’s recipes actually cost.
- Cinder’s Cradle guide: where Loraine Crim is and what the new biome needs.
Sources & last checked
Last checked: November 9, 2026 (game version 1.0.1.1).
- Enshrouded Wiki, Survivors - all 22 survivors, roles, stations and locations
- Flame Altar levels - survivor counts for Flame 10 and 11, Loraine Crim as a 1.0 survivor, bed requirement
- Keen Games, 1.0 changelog - Gem Forge, crafting station changes