Palworld can be daunting to new explorers who have entered the strange lands without too much information on what lies ahead, so following this beginner’s guide is advised.
After sinking hours into Palworld already, there’s an abundance of tips and tricks I wish I had known when I started, but, fortunately, you can learn from my mistakes to ensure you’re on the best path to success.
10 tips and tricks for Palworld
Find flat ground for a base
Though it may be tempting to start building a base as soon as possible on the first bit of land find, it’s best to hold off until you find the perfect spot with plenty of flat ground.
Building on uneven ground is fiddly and can cause problems, the biggest being Pals struggling to navigate the different terrain heights. It can also lead to issues with particular structures, like the Breeding Pen, where I had Pals that were assigned to it knocked out as soon as I used Fast Travel.
You don’t need to be inside your base to build items like a Workbench, so you can construct one whenever you need while you hunt for the right spot. It’s also worth checking out the different spawns on the map, as some are much better than the traditional starting area.
Catch or kill everything early on
Palworld will immediately make it clear that catching Pals is vital during the tutorial, where you’re tasked to task 30 Pals and five Lamballs, but you shouldn’t stop once these tasks are ticked off your to-do list.
Catching and defeating Pals provides valuable resources like food and crafting materials, and copious amounts of experience. Any captured Pals you don’t plan on using can then be sold to a Merchant or Black Marketeer, giving you plenty of Gold Coins to splash on whatever you need.
Catching 10 of the same Pal also provides a huge experience bonus, so you should aim to hit that threshold whenever possible.
Grab a Vixy
Pal Spheres are a crucial resource in Palworld, and you’ll often find yourself short early on in the game—but there’s an easy way to get more without having to craft or find Pal Spheres littered on the floor across the world.
Instead, grab yourself a Vixy as soon as you can. This particular Pal isn’t the strongest and doesn’t have the best work stats, but its Partner Skill will have it dig up items when assigned to a Ranch, providing plenty of free loot.
Vixy will dig up Gold Coins and crafting materials periodically but can also dig up Pal Spheres. When returning to my base, I often found an abundance ready to be collected from a nearby box where my Pals had deposited them.
Keep keys and clothes in your inventory
Palworld has several different biomes to explore, which come with Chests to loot when you are out and about that can provide a handy bunch of materials, Gold Coins, and more.
But I recommend preparing before exploring different biomes in Palworld because the hot or cold weather will quickly whittle down your health bar. You can avoid this by crafting clothes that protect you from the elements, and it’s always worth having both types in your inventory—particularly as the deserts are scorching in the day and freezing at night.
Some Chests require Keys to unlock them, and there is nothing worse than stumbling across a Chest and not having the right Key in your inventory. I advise keeping any Keys you pick up on you at all times.
Build a second base for Ore
Palworld quickly makes it clear that Ore is the most important resource because it’s needed to smelt Ingot, which is required to craft an abundance of items, often in huge numbers. But gathering Ore manually isn’t easy due to its weight and the amount you need to get.
Thankfully, you’ll unlock the ability to have additional bases as you progress through Palbox Missions. As soon as that is available, I highly advise locating an area with Ore deposits and building a second base there.
Pals will need Mining Lv2 to mine Ore, so Pals like Dumud and Digtoise are the perfect choices. Make sure you also have basic food like a Berry Plantation, with Pals who can manage it, a Feed Box, and a Hot Spring to keep all the Pals happy. Once done, the whole operation will run autonomously.
Use Cattiva when gathering materials
If you’re on a material farming spree for things like Wood, Stone, Ore, or anything else, adding Cattiva to your party is a wise step as their Partner Skill boosts your Weight capacity by 50—allowing you to carry more.
Other Pals like Kingpaca have similar boosts but are much harder to get, so you should grab at least five Cattiva from the starting areas and put them all in your party whenever you embark on another farming spree.
This is vital before you get your second Ore base up and running, as it will quickly weigh you down without you even putting much of a dent into the full amount you need.
Find a Daedream for your party
Another Pal worth grabbing as soon as possible is Daedream, the perfect addition to your party whenever you know you’ll be drawn into combat. Its Partner Skill is a lifesaver.
Daedream’s Partner Skill requires the Daedream Necklace, which you need to craft at a Pal Gear Workbench. Once you have the item, Daedream will join you while you explore without needing to be active—meaning you can then deploy another Pal for additional damage.
Other Pals you will encounter later in the game have similar benefits, but none are as easy to obtain early on as Daedream. If you’re on the hunt for one for your party, try exploring at night or inside Caves.
Grab plenty of food
You can never have enough food in Palworld, and it becomes even more important when you unlock Pals you can ride because doing so quickly depletes their food levels.
Berries are a quick and easy way to ensure you have ample supplies of food, but it’s worth upgrading to a Wheat Plantation when you can, which allows you to make Bread. But the most important step is getting your hands on a Feed Bag.
Feed Bags are unlocked via the Ancient Technology tab and should be your first point of call when you have points to spend. Once crafted, a slot in your inventory is unlocked where food can be deposited, which you and the Pals in your party will eat from automatically when hungry.
Follow the Palbox Missions
Palworld’s tutorial will guide you through the early game but stop abruptly, which can be daunting given the vast world you have to explore and all the options available—but there’s an easy way to ensure you stay on the right track.
Regularly checking your Palbox Missions can point you in the right direction by telling you what upgrades to make to your base. If you’re finding Pals that are hard to catch with the early Pal Spheres, the Palbox Missions will likely guide you toward constructions that can help.
Leveling up and unlocking a wealth of new craftable items can also be confusing at times due to their sheer number, but, again, the Palbox Missions will inform you on what should be your next focus.
Don’t fight the Towers too quickly
The final task in the Palworld tutorial is to defeat the Rayne Syndicate Tower. But there’s a pretty significant jump in difficulty between knocking that task off your list and completing all the other steps in the tutorial.
Tower battles are tough and unforgiving, with the bosses having a huge amount of health and damage output, so preparation is key. At the very least, you’ll need high-level Pals, ranged weapons, and type effectiveness.
If you die in a Tower, the items you drop can be found outside the entrance, and you, thankfully, won’t need to engage in the boss fight again to get all your belongings back.
