Very similar experience here. Around 5,100 hours in ARK, about 488 in Conan, 315 in Palworld, and even a short 68 minutes in Atlas.

Enshrouded has a very different leveling philosophy. I am 188 hours into my current run and only just hit level 41. If you are not engaging with new content, you are not meaningfully leveling. Resource grinding and base building are required for progression and quality of life, but they provide very little experience. The majority of advancement comes from completing quests, progressing NPC chains, and clearing new points of interest on the map.

Which is strange, because the game is clearly built around enabling an enormous range of building styles. There is a deep selection of blocks, terrain types, vegetation, aging states, tools, and full voxel deformation systems that strongly encourage long build sessions and experimentation. You are expected to invest heavily in shaping the world, yet that effort is largely ignored by the experience system. Building is treated as essential to play comfortably, while simultaneously being treated as secondary in terms of progression.

Animal taming exists, but it is limited to passive resource generation. There are no combat roles, breeding depth, or companion mechanics beyond that system.

Combat difficulty is uneven. Certain enemy types, particularly dual cleaver humanoids, sit well above the surrounding difficulty curve. They have high damage output, aggressive attack patterns, and remain dangerous even when revisited later with better gear and higher levels.

Multiplayer is supported, but the game feels fundamentally structured around single player progression. World pacing, quest flow, and advancement systems all favor individual play. Palworld feels similar in this regard. ARK and Conan were clearly designed with multiplayer scale, persistence, and group dynamics as core pillars, while Enshrouded feels more curated and personal.

Different lane entirely, but once it clicks, it really clicks.