Port forwarding for a Enshrouded server
Forward two neighbouring UDP ports for Enshrouded — first the game port, then the query port one above. Both are written out by name in the server's configuration file, so nothing is left to guesswork.
Your setup
Choose the firmware family rather than your exact model — every router in a family shares the same menus.
Out of the box it is 15636. If you changed that, use whatever you set in gamePort in enshrouded_server.json.
The local address of the computer that runs the server. Find it with ipconfig on Windows or ip addr on Linux; it will begin with 192.168, 10. or 172.
Open these
Your firmware takes ranges, so each line here is one rule.
- 15636-15637 UDP
15636UDPGame trafficgamePort.15637UDPQueryqueryPort, one above the game port by default.
Do not open these
Good news: this game has no remote-admin port that could be exposed by mistake. Forward the ports on the left and stop there.
Step by step: your router
- 1
Give the server a fixed local IP
A forwarding rule targets a single local address. If the server comes back from a reboot with a new one, the rule quietly points at an empty address — which is how forwards seem to "break by themselves".
On this router:look for DHCP Reservation, Address Reservation, Static Lease or Manually Assigned IP
- 2
Open the router admin page
From a device on the same network, open one of these in a browser:
- 192.168.0.1
- 192.168.1.1
- 192.168.2.1
- 10.0.0.1
Almost always printed on a sticker on the router itself.
- 3
Find the port forwarding page
Port Forwarding, Virtual Server, NAT, Applications & Gaming, or Port Mapping
Vendors use at least six names for the same feature. Whatever it is called, the page you want is the one asking for a port, a protocol and a device on your network. If the external and internal port fields both exist, set them to the same number.
- 4
Create one rule per line
a description field, if there is one External / WAN / Public / Service port Internal / LAN / Private port Protocol Internal IP / Device / Server IP Enshrouded 15636-15637 15636-15637 UDP your server’s local IP Use the same number for the external and internal port. You can make the external one different, but then every player has to connect on that new number, so keep them identical unless you have a specific reason not to.
- 5
Let the server through its own firewall
The router is now sending traffic to the right computer, but that computer can still turn it away. Windows Defender Firewall is the usual offender: it blocks a newly installed dedicated server by default, and from outside that is indistinguishable from a broken forward.
Take it with you
Enshrouded — port forwarding rules ---------------------------------- 15636-15637 UDP -> <server local IP>
Check whether it worked
Always test from outside your network. A connection from another device in the house proves nothing: that traffic stays on your LAN and never passes through the rule you just created.
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The usual mistake
Each port can be set on its own, so it is possible to give them numbers that are not next to each other — and then forward a two-port range that only catches one. If you have changed the configuration, read both numbers instead of assuming the second is the first plus one.
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Skipping port forwarding
Enshrouded keeps the entire explored world in memory, so what it needs rises with map progress rather than headcount. A server that was roomy at launch can feel cramped once the group has crossed the map.