In Palworld, Pals become Depressed if their Sanity plummets. This condition is distinct from other statuses like Hunger or Injury, as it requires a unique approach to fix.
The sole method to solve the Depressed status is by using a Medicine Workbench to craft High Grade Medical Supplies, but alternatively, players should learn what makes Pals Depressed in the first place and how to avoid the status effect altogether.
How Depressed works in Palworld
In Palworld, Depressed Pals have a purple box that says “Depressed” next to their picture in your base’s Pal list. Depressed Pals get tired and work more slowly, hindering your base’s production. If you don’t cure them, swap them with a healthy Pal to keep things running smoothly.
Pals that are “Upset and went to bed” aren’t Depressed, but might have low Sanity. It’s smart to help them before they become Depressed.
How to prevent Depressed Pals in Palworld
Ideally, you’ll want to prevent Pals from becoming Depressed in the first place, which you can do by ensuring your Pals are kept fed and comfortable as well as ensuring Pals are taking breaks.
Two important items you’ll need to build to avoid Depressed Pals are beds and Hot Springs. Every Pal deserves its own bed, so when you return to add more Pals to your base, build a bed or two as well to compensate for your newest Pal members. Hot Springs act as a sort of recovery zone for your Pals to go when they are tired or low on Sanity, ensuring they will recover and remain entertained—contrary to popular belief, your Pals aren’t slaves!
You might find some Pals get stuck or will become bugged, which can lead to a drop in Sanity and eventually the Depression status as the game thinks they are working. If you notice any that are bugged, reset them by reassigning them in your Palbox!
Make sure you’ve also got a variety of different foods available at your base so your Pals don’t go hungry as starvation is one of the major factors that affect a Pal’s Sanity. Build yourself a Plantation and Feed Boxes to ensure your Pals are fed automatically, and be sure you’ve got a few Pals that specialize in Gathering and Planting in case you’re away for a while.
How to cure Depressed Pals in Palworld
To cure a Depressed Pal in Palworld, craft High Grade Medical Supplies with a Medieval Medicine Workbench. To do so, you need the following:
- A Medieval Medicine Workbench, unlocked at level 12 with Technology Points.
- Five Ingots, crafted from 10 Ore using a Furnace.
- Five Horns, dropped from Pals with horns.
- Two Bones, dropped by Vixy, Rushoar, Gorirat, and other Pals.
- A Pal with Medicine Production Work Suitability. This is optional, but useful to speed up crafting times. Some examples are Lifmunk and Lovander.
The most efficient way to stock up on High Grade Medical Supplies is to purchase them from a Wandering Merchant, but the cost is relatively high. So, instead of farming the various raw materials to produce the medicine, focus instead on farming Gold.
If you can’t craft the item for any reason, you can buy High Grade Medical Supplies from the Wandering Merchant dressed in red in Duneshelter, at coordinates 344, 361 for 3,000 Gold Coins a piece.
How to give your Pals High Grade Medical Supplies
Once the crafting is complete, pick up the High Grade Medical Supplies from the Workbench. When you have the medicine in your inventory, you have a few options to cure the afflicted Pal:
- If your Pal is working at a base, walk up to it and press the button to access the Menu. Once the selection wheel appears, choose Feed. This action will make a new window appear including your High Grade Medical Supplies, ready for you to use on the Depressed Pal.
- For Pals in your party, open your inventory and use the High Grade Medical Supplies from there. A new window will list the Pals in your Party. Choose the Depressed Pal and confirm your action to use the item and cure its condition.
- If your Pal is in the Palbox, either transfer it to your Party or assign it to your base. Then, proceed with steps one or two, depending on the Pal’s new location.
Your Pal is now cured of the Depressed status. These supplies can also heal creatures afflicted with the Weakened status, and the methods for administering the meds are the exact same. To prevent this from happening again, make sure to leave food in your base inside a Feed Box and build a Hot Spring to recover your Pals’ Sanity.
Can you cure Depressed Pals in the Palbox?
Contrary to popular belief, you can’t cure the Depressed status just by keeping your Pal in the Palbox. The Palbox only helps with Sanity and Health. If your Pal is Depressed, it will stay that way, even if its Sanity reaches 100 in the Palbox. The only solution is to use High Grade Medical Supplies. I tried leaving my Depressed Dumud in the box for about eight hours—its Sanity returned to 100, but the poor thing was still Depressed.
