Enshrouded Greatsword Build Guide: Best Skills, Weapons and Armor

The greatsword is one of the most exciting weapons added to Enshrouded in Update 7: Wake of the Water. It trades subtlety for raw, two-handed power, rewarding players who commit to every swing and manage their stamina with precision. Whether you're carving through Fell creatures in the Shroud or taking down elite bosses in the Veilwater Basin, this build turns you into a walking force of destruction. Here's everything you need to know to get the most out of it.

What Makes the Greatsword Build Worth Playing?

Unlike other two-handed weapons such as axes and hammers, the greatsword uses a three-swing attack chain that mixes area-of-effect and single-target damage. The dedicated Titan Edge passive gives a flat 10% damage bonus exclusive to greatswords, making it one of the best weapon-specific perks in the game.

What most players miss is how well the build sustains itself in prolonged fights. The Battle Heal passive heals you for 5% of your maximum health every time you land a critical hit with a melee weapon. Stack this with two Gemini Rings (each providing +7% Life Leech Chance) and you can stay in melee range through almost any encounter without burning through potions.

The main weakness is range. Strength scales your melee damage, but bows and staves use Dexterity and Intelligence respectively, so you will feel the gap when fighting distant enemies. Keeping a backup staff like the Staff of the Moor on your secondary slot helps you chip away at ranged targets while your stamina recovers.

Best Skills for the Enshrouded Greatsword Build

At max level 45 (Update 7), you can earn up to 184 skill points by clearing Shroud Roots and Elixir Wells in each zone alongside leveling. Spend them efficiently and you will have room for both offensive power and meaningful utility.

Prioritize skills in this order as you level up:

• Crash Down Attack (3 points) — Slam from the air with your equipped weapon for burst damage and positional advantage.
• Double Jump (4 points) — Fundamental mobility that keeps you agile. Grab this early.
• Battle Heal (3 points) — Critical hits restore 5% of your max HP. This is your primary sustain engine.
• Whirlwind Crescendo (5 points) — Triggers a 360-degree cutting attack at the end of a four-hit chain. Costs 75 stamina but clears groups instantly.
• Blood Rage (5 points) — Killing an enemy within 10 meters boosts melee damage by 20% for 10 seconds. Chains beautifully when clearing packs.
• Vigorous Deflection (2 points) — Restores 30 stamina on a successful parry, which is critical for stamina management.
• Bash (5 points) — Deals 20 blunt damage after a successful parry.
• Breach (3 points) — Targets take +100% melee damage for 2 seconds after their block is broken.
• Shockwave (3 points) — You deal +100% melee damage for 2 seconds after blocking a melee attack.
• Titan Edge (4 points) — The greatsword-exclusive 10% damage passive. Non-negotiable.
• Barbarian (5 points) — Core Barbarian tree node that amplifies your two-handed damage output significantly.
• Heavy Specialization (5 points) — Further boosts two-handed weapon effectiveness.
• Counterstrike (2 points) — 20% chance to reflect magic damage back to attackers. Stacks with the Retaliation trait on the Horned Greatsword.
• Thick Skin (5 points) — Adds +1 Constitution per 2 Flame levels, scaling your health and Battle Heal returns.
• Rebound (multiple ranks) — Increases base stamina regeneration by 50% per rank. Take this multiple times.

Key skill tree nodes selected

Full Skill Priority Table

What Is the Best Weapon for the Greatsword Build?

The top greatsword choice in Update 7 is the Horned Greatsword. Its standout traits are two Retaliation bonuses (each reflecting 10% of incoming damage back to attackers) and a 5% Stamina Leech perk. The Retaliation stacks with the Counterstrike skill from the Trickster tree, creating a passive damage loop that punishes enemies for hitting you. Add a Precise perk that raises critical hit chance by 5% and you have a weapon that feeds directly into Battle Heal sustain.

End-game greatswords cannot be crafted, so you will need to farm them. According to the official Enshrouded dev update, weapons including the fearsome Fell Thunderbrute Greatsword and the Acid Cleaver can now be looted from defeated enemies, expanding your drop pool significantly. When hunting for weapons, prioritize traits in this order:

1. Leech (stamina or health)
2. Critical Chance
3. Critical Damage
4. Elemental Damage
5. Merciless Damage

For secondary slots, keep a Staff of the Moor (with +5% Health Leech and +20% Magic Shroud Damage) for ranged pressure, a Mythic Wand for mana regeneration, and the Devilish Bow with Ice Magic Damage to chill and slow enemies before closing to melee range.

Best Armor for the Greatsword Build

The Sunpiercer Set is the recommended armor for this build, crafted at the Blacksmith using materials including Capybara Bristles, Green Vitriol Dust, and Water Reptile Leather. However, the single best piece in the game for a greatsword user is actually the Greatsword Gauntlets, found in the Goldrock Saddle area within Veilwater Basin. These gloves grant 21% Two-Handed Damage, beating the Sunpiercer Gloves' 18% bonus.

Here is the full best-in-slot setup:

The Sunpiercer Helmet and Greatsword Gauntlets handle your offensive output. The chest and legs are pure survivability. Feet and accessories cover resource regeneration. This division keeps your stat priorities clean.

How to Craft the Sunpiercer Set

• Helmet: 1x Capybara Bristles, 5x Palm Leaves, 5x Green Vitriol Dust, 1x Chitin Powder (Blacksmith)
• Chestplate: 4x Capybara Bristles, 10x Green Vitriol Dust, 2x Water Reptile Leather, 2x Gold Bars, 1x Bursting Fell Heart (Blacksmith)
• Gloves: 2x Capybara Bristles, 5x Gold Dust, 2x Green Vitriol Dust, 1x Cursed Shroud Sack, 4x Piscine Ivory Dust (Blacksmith)
• Pants: 6x Steel Bars, 4x Fabric, 4x Capybara Bristles, 4x Palm Leaves, 1x Corrupted Boar Tusk (Blacksmith)
• Shoes: 6x Steel Bars, 10x Gold Dust, 2x Capybara Bristles, 1x Shroud Sludge (Blacksmith)

What Are the Best Consumables for This Build?

Food buffs are a major damage multiplier for the greatsword build. Strength no longer grants raw stat points from food in Update 7 (per the developer's patch notes). Instead, consumables now boost melee damage by percentage, making your food selection a genuine power decision.

Popcorn and Black Coffee together add an extra 10% melee damage on top of your other bonuses. If Fried Rice materials are scarce (the egg requirement can be annoying early on), swap in an Open Sandwich as a direct substitute for the melee damage buff.

For healing and utility, carry:

• Superior Health Potion — Instant +1000 Health burst for emergencies.
• Improved Bandage — 8% healing per second for sustained recovery between pulls.
• Elixir — +30% damage multiplier. Save this for bosses and high-level zones.
• Flask of Fell — +20 Stamina for 20 minutes, helping sustain Whirlwind Crescendo spam.

Best Gems for the Greatsword Build

The Gem of Bleeding is the recommended socket choice. On a critical hit, it adds cutting damage and applies a bleed debuff that ticks for passive damage over time. Since you will be landing crits constantly through Battle Heal, the bleed uptime approaches 100% in most fights.

The Gem of Battle Mania is a powerful alternative when you have an Elixir active. It regenerates health, stamina, and mana as you attack, letting you chain Whirlwind Crescendo repeatedly. The catch is a 10-second cooldown if you stop hitting targets, so stay aggressive.

Stamina Management: The Key to Mastering This Build

Every greatsword swing costs stamina, and Whirlwind Crescendo alone drains 75 in a single use. Poor stamina management is the number one reason players struggle with this build. Here are the habits that separate good greatsword users from great ones:

• Time your parries. Vigorous Deflection returns 30 stamina on a successful parry, turning defense into a resource engine.
• Don't spam attacks. Missing swings wastes stamina and leaves you vulnerable to counterattacks. Wait for openings.
• Swap to a staff or wand when stamina is low. This lets you deal minor ranged damage while your stamina bar refills before re-engaging in melee.
• Use Blood Rage chains. Killing one low-health enemy triggers the 20% melee damage boost for 10 seconds. Prioritize finishing weak targets first to carry the buff into tougher fights.
• Rebound stacks matter. Taking Rebound multiple times in the Survivor tree compounds your base stamina regeneration rate significantly.

For a deeper look at all the new systems introduced alongside greatswords, the complete Update 7 Wake of the Water breakdown covers the Veilwater Basin biome, water mechanics, fishing, and the full range of weapon adjustments that shape this build's context.

Early to Mid Game Armor Progression

You won't have Sunpiercer gear from the start. Here's how to gear up efficiently through each phase:

• Level 3: Rags (manual crafting)
• Level 5: Fur Armor Set (Blacksmith)
• Level 8: Rising Fighter Set (Blacksmith, first two-handed specific set)
• Level 13: Adventurer Set (Blacksmith)
• Level 18: Mercenary Set (Blacksmith)
• Level 23: Soldier Set (Blacksmith)
• Level 25: Radiant Paladin Armor (Kindlewaste world drop)
• Level 33: Mountain's Shadow Set (Blacksmith)
• Level 43: Sunpiercer Set (Blacksmith, best-in-slot)

Focus your gloves and helmet slots on two-handed damage bonuses at every tier. Chest and legs are for health and defense. Don't stress about chasing the Radiant Paladin set if you're progressing quickly since you will outgrow it within a few hours.

For more builds, weapon rankings, and survival strategies across Enshrouded and other games, browse the latest guides on GAMES.GG to keep your edge in Embervale and beyond.