Of note, the first large patch was released recently, which was more in the “this is obviously broken” than anything truly balance related. There are still some fairly large outliers.

Where Enshrouded starts as most survival games (punch a tree, kick a rock, build a hut), it quickly takes a turn out of the natural punishment of the genre, and instead focus on exploration. Probably best viewed as an action-RPG with survival elements. What I mean by that is that the risk / reward mechanisms skew much more to the latter. There’s no perma-death, no item loss, things never get destroyed, your death leaves you with all your armor/weapons, and teleportation has very minor limitations. Compared to Valheim where death causes skill loss, all items are dropped, and you can’t teleport metals… well this is easy as cake.

Some general tips however can save some time and help guide the more confusing parts of the game:

• There is an absolutely massive balance issue between ranged attacks and melee. Wands are what combat should be, the rest feels under-balanced.
• Magic attacks are strong but initially require “charges”, which you need to craft. Eternal Ice (no charges, more mana use, less damage) is unlocked through a quest, other Eternal spells come through exploration of new material. Eternal Acid Bite = insanely strong, but you won’t see it til very late.
• NPCs can craft armor and very weak weapons. Open chests to find new weapons. Chests respawn when you reload the world.
• Flame altars are cheap to build (5 stone), provide free teleportation, and a respawn point. Use them, especially near higher points where you can glide.
• Armor stats are broken, except +dmg, +hp, +mana. Rings generally don’t work.
• Levels (25 max) matter due to skill points, and progress is extremely slow until the teens. 
• For skills, Double Jump is mandatory. Water Aura (and INT) are currently the meta, and negate most healing requirements. Resetting skills costs 10 runes, which is pretty much free.
• Bow users need to craft arrows. The material costs are high and long to acquire. Feathers in particular cannot be found without killing birds… very frustrating, and less damage than a wand.
• A roof, walls, fire and place to sit provided a Rested buff, which increases stamina. You lose it when you die. Try to always have it active.
• Comfort level extends the duration of Rested. No real need to invest here that much as the material requirements are kind of high.
• Berries are a great healing option til the mid point of the game. Bandages are ok.
• Collect the 5 NPCs as a priority. They provide quests (they are the breadcrumbs for progress) and unlocks that make a massive difference in options.
• Clearing “Wells” outside of the starter quest is mostly optional. It does provide a skill point, but can be quite challenging until you’re about level 15. Shroud Roots (hit with an axe) provide the same skill point and no real challenge.
• You will need a lot of water. A lot. Collect it when you can, and build a well when you have the option.
• You will never have too much Flax. Quite ridiculous in point of fact.
• The rake is OP. Use it to create level surfaces anywhere (better than a pickaxe). Use it to “extend” farm soil for free – then use a pickaxe to collect the free soil!
• Food buffs are “meh” for most of the game. The top tier ones give +5 to a stat but require complex materials and go away when you die.
• Upgrade the Flame Power (the middle option) as that allows you to enter more dangerous shroud (red), and create more portals (up to 8), plus gives attribute points. The final piece for each upgrade is tied to an NPC quest to kill a boss. If you’ve got the final piece, then upgrading is now the #1 priority.
• Keep your first base, it has trees, berries, nearby water, shroud material, flintstone, and clay. There’s no good reason to move it aside from aesthetics. Which of course, matter later! (I moved to Fort Kelvin, looks cool)
• There are 5 large beacon towers (you can see them clearly). Unlock them quickly, as they open the larger map and allow teleports. Gliding from a tower = very fast travel.
• The basic gilder + hook should be built ASAP. The next glider upgrade is very useful. The 3rd is not, because the 4th glider is in a chest in the south end of the map and comes around at pretty much the same time. (Updraft skill is moderately useful, but can only be used once per glide. If you could use it multiple times, it would skyrocket in value.)
• Carry at least 5 lockpicks at all times.
• You’re going to need a lot of storage. Magic Chests allow NPCs to craft from chests (not stations), but the costs are quite high to make them until later in the game. 
• There are a LOT of materials in this game. Every time you see something new, chop or chip it to see what it may give, especially in Shroud areas. 
• Most crafting options only unlock if you harvest the material, not if you find it in a pot/chest/ground. 
• There are 6 bosses:
  • Thunderbrute: avoid standing directly in front of them. Can find them in pairs.
  • Matron: Dodge to avoid the poison throw, which may 1-shot you. Usually fought in tight quarters and the primary example why melee is broken in this game.
  • Brawler: If you are too far out of range, they will jump, stomp the ground, and 1 shot you.
  • Wispwyvern: Strafe until it takes a deep breath, shoot an arrow to stun it, then attack. Insects will attack you at the same time. Thankfully only 1 of these.
  • Monstrosity: Always found in the Shroud, shoots projectiles in front for low-ish damage. Didn’t even realize this was a boss.
  • Sicklescythe: Floating death. Dodge forward to avoid the sickle projectiles, and run like hell when they do their AE charge attack. Even at max level, with the best gear, you will die to these.

I would personally consider the game “complete” when you acquire the final glider, as pretty much everything past that point is cosmetic.

I get that many people will be comparing Enshrouded to Valheim. Sure, they have survival mechanics and base building, but that’s about as fair as comparing Valheim to Minecraft. Enshrouded has way more in common with Return to Moria. I’m just happy the genre is exploring non-PvP options and we are able to see some really amazing results from some small/mid-sized developers. It’s much more than punching trees.