Palworld Beginner’s Guide

Introduction

Palworld is a survival‑crafting, monster‑taming and base‑building game by the Japanese indie studio Pocketpair. You explore the lush Palpagos Islands, a chain of diverse biomes filled with creatures called Pals. These creatures can be captured, tamed, bred, worked to automate your base and fought alongside in real‑time combat. Palworld blends elements of open‑world survival (resource gathering, hunger and temperature management) with collectible monster mechanics reminiscent of Pokémon, but with more mature themes and a cooperative, multiplayer focus. The game entered Early Access on 19 January 2024, has since received multiple major updates and is expected to reach version 1.0 in 2026.

To help newcomers thrive, this guide covers everything from configuring your world to advanced base management, breeding and combat strategies. All information is current as of February 2026 and draws on official patch notes and community guides.

1. Pre‑Game Setup and Survival Fundamentals

1.1 Customize Your World Settings

When you create a new world, choose Custom difficulty and adjust the sliders. Recommended tweaks for beginners include increasing experience gain, Pal spawn rates and catch rates while reducing Pal hunger and boosting your HP and stamina regeneration. This provides a gentler start while preserving a sense of challenge.

1.2 Survival Basics: Hunger, Temperature and Day–Night Cycle

Hunger & Food: Your character needs to eat regularly. Early food sources include berries gathered from bushes and meat obtained by butchering animals (some Pals drop meat when defeated). Later you can farm crops or raise livestock (Chikipi for eggs, Mozzarina for milk). Don’t hesitate to harvest Pals for meat and wool when temperatures drop, the Palpagos Islands have harsh zones where food and warmth are essential.
Temperature: Regions vary from temperate fields to icy peaks and scorching deserts. Cold exposure damages you over time, so craft a Cloth Outfit and build a Campfire for warmth. Fire‑type Pals like Foxparks can also keep you warm. Conversely, avoid wearing fur armour in deserts.
Day–Night Cycle: A full in‑game day lasts 32 minutes, with ~27 minutes of day and 5 minutes of night. Many Pals only appear after dark (e.g., Daedream) so exploring at night with a torch opens new capture opportunities.
Thirst and Stamina: While there is no thirst meter, stamina governs sprinting and climbing. Invest early stat points into stamina and carry weight.

2. Starting Out: Gathering Resources and Establishing a Base

2.1 Essential Tools and Resources

On spawn, punch trees and rocks to collect wood and stone, which are the foundation for your first structures. Prioritize:

Stone Pickaxe & Stone Axe – unlock in the first technology tier. These improve resource yield.
Work Bench – craft simple tools and weapons.
Campfire & Pal Box – the Palbox unlocks at Technology Level 2 and serves as both a storage device and fast‑travel point.
Storage Chest – prevents you from being overburdened and helps organize materials.
Cloth Outfit – protects against cold. Use plant fibres and cloth.

Ignore heavy ores and rare resources in your first hours; your inventory weight is limited. Collect plant fibres and cloth as needed, and craft Pal Spheres as soon as you unlock them in the second tier to start capturing Pals.

2.2 Choosing the Perfect Base Location

Selecting a base site has a huge impact on your early progress. Look for:

Flat Terrain & Room to Build: Avoid cliffs or slopes that obstruct structures. Pal pathfinding is still rough; open spaces help them move.
Abundant Resources: Choose areas rich in wood, stone, palladium and ore. Later you’ll want sulphur, coal and quartz.
Nearby Starter Pals: Surrounding Pals like Lamball, Cattiva and Chikipi provide wool, eggs and stone.
Natural Defenses: Hills, cliffs or water can shield you from raids and wild Pals.

Recommended starter sites:

Windswept Hills – Plateau of Beginnings ≈ (233, –488)

Near spawn, plenty of Lamball, Cattiva and Chikipi for wool, eggs and stone; flat area; close to respawn point for multiplayer convenience.

Limited ore nearby; large Mammorest roams, avoid attacking it.

Ice Wind Island ≈ (–255, 50)

Flat plateau with ore deposits; same starter Pals (Lamball, Foxparks, Tanzee, Caprity); safe from early bosses.

Slightly further from spawn; moderate cold exposure.

Once you place a Palbox, you’ll see a dome indicating the base radius. Anything inside does not lose durability. Don’t place your Palbox against a wall; Pals spawn inside objects.

2.3 Building Your First Structures

Place the Palbox on your chosen spot. Use the Rotate hotkey before placement, there’s no rotation after you set it.
Set up crafting stations: Build a Primitive Workbench, Campfire and Storage Chest. Upgrade to a Repair Bench to fix tools.
Construct Shelter: Start with wooden floors and walls for a simple hut. Save points to unlock Stone building pieces at Level 18, they’re fireproof and sturdier. Build on a foundation if terrain is uneven.
Lay out feed boxes and Pal Beds: Each Pal needs its own bed; space them out to avoid pathing issues. Put feed boxes near workstations to reduce travel distance.
Plan for defense: Once raiders (Syndicates, wild Pals or fan girls) start attacking, build walls, sandbags and defensive turrets around choke points.

Below is a concept illustration of a cozy base with Pals working at various stations. It captures the industrious atmosphere of early base building.

3. Capturing, Using and Raising Pals

3.1 Catching and Partner Skills

Pal Spheres: You unlock Pal Spheres in the second tech tier. Craft them as soon as possible and toss them at wild Pals to capture them. Catching new Pals grants significant experience; catching 12 of a species yields an extra XP bonus.
Lucky Pals: Larger, shimmering Pals with improved stats and unique skills. They spawn randomly and are worth capturing.
Partner Skills vs. Work Suitability: Every Pal has a Partner Skill that grants a special ability when in your party (e.g., Cattiva increases your carry weight by 50) and Work Suitability ratings for tasks such as Kindling, Logging, Mining, Planting and Medicine Production. Choose Pals that complement your playstyle.

3.2 Recommended Early Pals and Their Roles

Pal:

[Role / Work Suitability] [Partner Skill & Combat Use] [Source/Citation]

Cattiva:

[Gathering, Mining, Handiwork, Transport] [+50 carry weight; weak fighter but excellent worker.] [Abundant in starting areas.]

Foxparks:

[Kindling (fuels campfires, furnaces)] [Becomes a flamethrower in combat; keeps you warm.] [Hills and forests.]

Lifmunk:

[Gardening, Medicine Production] [Produces healing potions; uses a pistol when perched on your head.] [Grasslands.]

Daedream:

[Planting, Handiwork] [Nocturnal Pal; fires a floating turret for ranged support.] [Appears at night.]

Chillet:

[Early mount; Ice/Dragon damage] [Unlock saddle at Level 13 to ride; boosts Dragon damage.] [Ice Wind Island and snowy biomes.]

Dinossom:

[Planting Lv. 2, Lumber Lv. 2] [Strong AoE attacks; can be mounted at Level 19 (Grass boost).] [Forests and plains.]

Vixy:

[Ranch: digs up Pal Spheres, gold, arrows] [Poor fighter but excellent at farming spheres.] [Daytime in grasslands.]

Tanzee:

[Gathering, Lumbering, Handiwork, Planting, Transporting] [Summons a machine gun in combat; all‑rounder for early base.] [Common in starting zones.]

Tombat:

[Gathering Lv. 2, Mining Lv. 2, Transport Lv. 2] [Nocturnal dark Pal; reveals nearby Pals via sonar.] [Caves and nighttime spawns.]

Eikthyrdeer:

[Mount with double jump; Lumber Lv. 2] [Saddle at Level 12; powerful charge attack; collects wood quickly.] [Rare; look for purple deer in forests.]

Multi‑skill Pals like Penking, Incineram, Anubis, Tombat and Verdash become valuable later for base automation.

3.3 Assigning Jobs and Managing Morale

At Level 14 unlock the Monitoring Station, which allows you to assign Pals to specific tasks and exclude them from others. This ensures jobs like logging or farming are done efficiently.
Each Pal can perform only one job at a time. Choose tasks that match their work suitability. For example, assign Tanzee to planting and logging; assign Foxparks to Kindling.
Manage Pal sanity: Provide a bed for each Pal, keep food available and build Hot Springs so they can relax. Exhausted Pals will work slower and may refuse to work.
Pals have limited stamina for tasks. Rotate them or allow them to rest to maintain efficiency.

3.4 Farming and Food Production

Plantations: Unlock Berry Plantations at Level 5 and Wheat Plantations at Level 15. Use Lifmunk or Tanzee for planting and harvesting.
Ranches: Keep Chikipi for eggs, Mozzarina for milk and Beegarde for honey. Place them in ranches and assign appropriate Pals to care for them.
Processing: At Level 15 unlock the Mill to grind wheat into flour and the Cooking Pot at Level 17 (requires Kindling). Create recipes like cake (see breeding section) and cooked meals.
Water and Irrigation: Some Pals like Teafant or Pengullet carry water to crops. Build Water Tanks and Sprinklers later to automate irrigation.
Farming schedule: Plant crops in the morning and assign Pals to harvest before night to avoid nocturnal raids. Use feed boxes near plantations.

Below is a general concept art capturing the whimsical spirit of Palworld and its creatures.

4. Levelling, Technology and Base Expansion

4.1 Technology Points and Structure Sets

Each level awards six technology points which can be spent on crafting recipes. Most early items cost 1–3 points. Don’t waste points on furniture or decorations until you have essentials.
Structure sets unlock at specific levels: Stone (Lv. 18), Metal (Lv. 30), Glass (Lv. 39), Japanese (Lv. 50) and Futuristic (Lv. 61). Stone is critical because wooden structures are flammable; upgrade as soon as possible.
Ancient Technology Points are earned by defeating bosses and exploring dungeons. Use them to unlock powerful items like the Electric Egg Incubator (Lv. 36) and Pal Condenser.
Fast Travel & Manuals: Activate fast‑travel statues around the map and collect High‑Grade Technical Manuals in dungeons to gain extra technology points.

4.2 Multiple Bases and Resource Outposts

You can build up to three Palboxes by default. After your first base is stable, establish a second base near resource‑rich areas like ore and sulfur deposits. Put miners and transport Pals there to feed your main base.
At higher base levels (10 and 15), you can place additional Palboxes. Use these to build specialized outposts: an agricultural farm, a mining camp and a breeding facility.

5. Breeding and Genetic Improvement

Breeding allows you to create powerful Pals with inherited skills and stats.

5.1 Unlocking Breeding and Baking Cake

Breeding Farm: Unlocks at Level 19 for two technology points. Place it at your base.
Cake Recipe: Required to trigger breeding. Bake cake using red berries, flour (from wheat), eggs (from Chikipi), milk (from Mozzarina) and honey (from Beegarde). Craft these in a Cooking Pot at Level 17; Foxparks provides Kindling.
Place cake in the Breeding Farm’s chest; without it, Pals will not breed.

5.2 Breeding Mechanics

Select Parents: Toss one male and one female Pal into the Breeding Farm or assign them via the Monitoring Station. Same species yields that species; different species can produce hybrids.
Speed Up Breeding: Keep Braloha at your base; its Partner Skill reduces egg production time.
Collect Eggs: Eggs appear in the farm and must be transferred to an Egg Incubator (first unlock at Level 7 with an ancient tech point). Larger eggs take longer to hatch; keep them at the appropriate temperature by adding torches or cooling stations.
Advanced Incubators: Unlock Electric Egg Incubator (Lv. 36), Large Incubator (Lv. 47) and Large Electric Egg Incubator (Lv. 60) to automate temperature regulation and hatch multiple eggs.
Breeding Goals:

Pure Breeding: Breed identical Pals repeatedly to pass down strong passive skills and stats. Use the Pal Condenser to fuse duplicates and enhance passives.
Mixed Breeding: Combine different species to obtain rare Pals and fill your Paldeck. Use community breeding calculators for optimal combinations.

Breeding is central to late‑game progression; plan dedicated breeding farms and resource pipelines (wheat, eggs, milk, honey) to produce cake continuously.

6. Combat System and Tactics

6.1 Real‑Time Battles and Pal Stats

Combat occurs in the overworld; there are no turn‑based sequences. You fight alongside your Pals using melee weapons (swords, axes, spears), ranged weapons (bows, crossbows) or firearms (pistols, machine guns, grenades).
Each Pal has a level, one or two elemental types, a fixed Partner Skill, three Active Skills (attacks) and multiple Passive Skills. Stats include HP, Attack, Defense and hidden values like movement speed.
Type Matchups: Understand type loops for damage bonuses and weaknesses:

Water > Fire > Grass > Ground > Electric
Ice > Dragon > Dark > Neutral (Neutral has no strengths but is weak to Dark)

6.2 Player Combat and Weapons

Weapons have durability and a base attack value that combines with your Attack stat. Upgrade your arsenal via technology: early on use spears and bows; later craft firearms.
Shields: Unlocked via technology; appear as a blue bar over your health and recharge after a delay. Always equip a shield to mitigate damage.
Dodging and Positioning: Learn enemy attack patterns and use the dodge roll to avoid damage. Use terrain to break line of sight; fight on high ground or behind obstacles.
Status Effects: Many weapons and Pal skills inflict effects like Burn, Poison, Stun or Blind. Use them to weaken tough opponents.

6.3 Bosses, Alpha Pals and Raids

Alpha Pals: Oversized versions of normal Pals with unique names. They drop valuable loot and ancient technology points. Bring a balanced team exploiting elemental weaknesses and keep swapping Pals to avoid knockouts.
Raids: Periodically, Syndicates or groups of wild Pals assault your base. Use walls, spike traps, ballista towers and turret Pals to funnel enemies through choke points. Keep spare Pals at home to defend.
Dungeons: Caves and dungeons contain mini‑bosses and yield Ancient Civilization Parts (needed for high‑level machines). Clear them regularly for loot and tech points.

7. Exploration, Mounts and Biomes

7.1 The Palpagos Islands and Biomes

Palworld features grasslands, forests, deserts, snowy mountains, swamps, volcanic regions and new islands added via updates (e.g., Sakurajima and Feybreak). Each biome hosts different Pals, resources and environmental hazards. Bring appropriate clothing and elemental Pals to survive. For example:

Sakurajima Island (Update 0.3): Lush island with the Moonflowers faction, new Pals and the Oil Rig stronghold.
Feybreak Wilds (Update 0.4): Snowy region with dynamic weather, dungeons and the Fey King raid boss.

7.2 Mount Pals and Transportation

Land Mounts: Chillet, Eikthyrdeer, Nitewing and Reptyro allow you to travel quickly over land. Saddle unlock levels vary (e.g., Chillet at Lv. 13, Eikthyrdeer at Lv. 12, Dinossom at Lv. 19). Some mounts double as strong fighters.
Water & Air: Later Pals like Surfent, Kitsun, Jormuntide (water) and Nitewing, Galeclaw (air) help traverse lakes and soar over cliffs. Keep them in your party when exploring remote islands.
Gliders & Parachutes: Craft a Parachute (Base Level 5) to descend safely from heights. Some Pal saddles also provide gliding abilities.

7.3 NPCs, Merchants and Fast Travel

Merchants: Travelling traders sell rare items and ingredients. You can capture them and station them at your base to access their inventory permanently (requires gold).
Fast Travel Statues: Activating statues scattered across the islands allows instant travel between them; each activation also yields technology points.
Dynamic Events: Syndicate camps, treasure chests, wandering merchants, supply drops and global events appear randomly. Explore regularly to find them.

8. Multiplayer, Servers and Cross‑Platform Features

8.1 Co‑op and Cross‑play

Palworld supports up to 32 players per server and features cross‑platform play between Xbox, PlayStation 5, PC and Mac.

Global Palbox: Transfer Pals between single‑player and multiplayer worlds.
Dimensional Pal Storage: Large storage accessible to guild members.
Cosmetic Armour & Photo Mode: Transmog your look and capture screenshots.
Drafting Table: Upgrade blueprints and streamline base building.

Cross‑play is ideal for tackling bosses, building grand bases or trading Pals with friends. Use voice chat and guild features to coordinate.

8.2 PvP and Raiding

The Home Sweet Home update introduced experimental PvP and new raid arenas. You can challenge friends in dedicated arenas or join community servers with PvP enabled. Expect further PvP enhancements in future patches.

9. Additional Tips and Common Mistakes

Stat Allocation: Prioritize stamina, carry weight and health early. Attack and Defense become more important when you start fighting tougher bosses.
Use Foundations: Building on uneven terrain without foundations can cause Pals to get stuck.
Resource Outposts: Establish small outposts near sulphur, coal and ore veins. Assign mining Pals and storage chests; collect materials periodically.
Rotate Structures: You cannot rotate structures after placement; rotate them before placing.
Don’t Neglect Pal Morale: Lack of beds, food or rest will cause Pals to become depressed. Use hot springs for recovery.
Keep Backup Pals: Always have extra Pals stationed at your base for defense; raids can occur while you’re exploring.
Explore Dungeons Early: Dungeons provide ancient parts and extra tech points; they also contain unique Pals..
Use Partner Skills in Combat: Deploy Pals strategically, e.g., send Daedream to provide turret fire while you flank the enemy.
Plan Breeding Chains: Identify which passives you want to inherit (e.g., Legend, Runner) and breed accordingly. Use the Pal Condenser to consolidate passives.

Stay Updated: Pocketpair regularly patches bugs and rebalances skills; keep an eye on patch notes to adjust your strategies.