Palworld beginner’s guide – 19 tips and tricks for getting started on Palpagos Island

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We have our list of tips and tricks to help you survive on Palpagos Island. After all, survival isn’t easy and we can all use a little help every now and then, especially when it comes to a new game. Here are tips and tricks for survival in the game.

✓ At a glance
  • Farm Pal Spheres
  • Get strong starters
  • Catch bad humans
  • Look for eggs
  • Keep catching Pals
  • Have variety in your camp
  • Find fast travel points
  • Cook your Pals

Palworld tips and tricks for survival

Palworld is a survival game that allows you to capture monsters. These monsters called Pals, can help you around camp by collecting items, gathering materials, and helping you craft. There is much more that goes into survival though than just building a base. Here are some great survival tips for those just starting out in this Palworld beginner’s guide.

In this Palworld Beginner's guide, a woman can be seen standing in front of a fence within the video game.
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Hoard Pal Spheres easily

Pal Spheres are your number one item for catching Pals early on. You will get upgraded versions later, but at first, you will only have the basic Spheres. Instead of wasting time crafting these, catch a Pal called Vixy. If you place Vixy in a ranch at your camp, it will consistently dig, getting you a ton of Pal Spheres and other items like arrows. This will cut back on your need to craft, allowing you to get more resources early on.

Get some strong starters

There aren’t any real “starter Pals” in Palworld but there are some great Pals you can catch early on. Some of our favorites are Foxparks, Daedream, Tombat, Pengullet, Vixy, and Depresso. These Pals are strong fighters early on in the game and are great to have around camp. In combat, they are especially helpful and can be very useful when you’re ready to go do raids. Whether on PC or Xbox, make sure you have a slot for a very strong Pal and catch it as soon as you can. Pal captures is the name of the game, so be sure to focus on this to start out. Be sure to find out their best work suitability, too, for maximum efficiency early on.

Don’t be afraid to capture bad humans

Palworld answers that age-old question about whether humans are monsters with a yes. Because of this, you can capture humans with Pal Spheres. While it isn’t easy, it is worth it since you can sell them for a decent price. Of course, you don’t want to capture normal humans. Instead, look for Syndicate Members. These will typically get you more money and you won’t end up getting wanted by the Island Defense Force.

✓ Aden’s Tips

You can sell humans that you capture on the black market. Save your humans in your Palbox until you find the black market merchant. This will get you more money.

Palworld-Beginners-Guide-Player-at-Incubator
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Always look for eggs

Breeding and hatching eggs is a big part of Palworld. While breeding comes later on, you can find eggs in the wild. Always be on the lookout for these eggs as they tend to appear in strange locations. Obtaining these eggs will get you more Pals and you might even get types you haven’t seen before. Be sure to build an incubator as soon as possible so you can hatch these eggs into strong creatures as well.

Consistently catch Pals

Pals are your biggest helpers in Palworld but they are also your biggest source of EXP and money. Because of this, you will want to consistently catch Pals. Catching 10 of the same Pal will get you a big EXP bonus, allowing you to advance faster in the game. Early on, you will want to keep catching as many Pals as possible. All extra Pals can be sold at merchants. Use berries and whatever else you need, but make sure you’re devoted to this end.

A screenshot of a video game showing a group of people in a field, perfect for Palworld beginners.
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Diversify your camp

Be sure to diversify the Pals in your camp. Pals each have skills that help around camp. For instance, some are good at building, some are great at mining, and some are decent at watering and growing crops. Diversify the Pals you have around camp so you have a little bit of everything. Be sure to have Pals that can tend to your plants, ones that can get you wood and stone, and ones that can help you create new items. They can be helpful for base-building endeavors, so be sure to have a wide variety to be able to do whatever you need.

Keep hitting fast travel points

Fast travel points are scattered all across Palpagos Island. These points look like bird statues and get marked on your compass when they are nearby. Every time you see a fast travel point, make it a priority to head there first before searching the area. This way, if you die, you can easily get back to your lost items. Each point will also get you a technology point.

A Beginner's guide screenshot of a map in the video game Palworld.
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Eat your Pals

Pals aren’t just your friends, they can also be a form of sustenance for you and your other Pals. You will get meat from defeating early-game Pals like Chikipi and Lamball. Using this meat, you can cook decent meals that will sustain you. Later on, you can get the meat cleaver to swiftly do the deed at camp to any extra Pals you might have caught, getting you an extra meal or two. They can be used in recipes to make good food that can help with stamina and other aspects of the game!

Choose the best Tech

As you level up, you will get technology points that you spend to unlock new items for crafting. Spend these points wisely and prioritize survival items like armor and weapons. Be sure to also focus on items you need for your camp so you can level it up. The greater your base’s level, the more Pals you can have working for you.

Build out of stone as soon as possible

You get access to the stone structure kit at level 18. We highly recommend taking advantage of this and building your base out of stone after that point. The reason for this is simple; wood burns. Since there are plenty of fire-type Pals in the game, the last thing you want is for them to raid your base and burn it to the ground. If this happens, you will need to rebuild from scratch and it won’t be fun.

Have a strong team

Just like in Pokémon, you want to make sure you have a strong team of Pals. This means covering weaknesses. For instance, you don’t want multiple of the same Pal type. Instead, focus on having different types like one fire, one water, and one electric Pal. You should also have a dragon type, dark type, or ground type to help round out your Pal inventory.

A screenshot of a character in a game from the Palworld Beginner's guide.
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Utilize the ranch

The ranch is a very important structure you can have around your base. This item allows Pals to graze, dropping items in the process. This is your ticket to getting a lot of items like Flame Organs that you normally would have to fight a lot of Pals to get a large quantity of. Smaller Pals are great for grazing so be sure to collect any small Pal and have them graze at your ranch for some extra items (wool, stone, wood, fiber, etc) and gear. Be sure to check any missions along the ranch lines as well!

Explore dungeons

Dungeons appear early on in the game and you can start exploring them around level five. These are a great way to find new Pals and a good way to get some much-needed experience. Going through dungeons will help you level up quickly, unlocking more technology, and getting you better Pals in the process. Just be careful about the boss.

Condense your Pals

Use the condenser as soon as you get it to condense your Pals and enhance one that you want to keep. For instance, if you really like Wixen, catch a bunch of Wixen and condense them into one. This will enhance the abilities of the one that you keep, giving it a boost to its skills and making it a better companion in general.

Match up skill types for a damage boost

Your Pals each have a type. For instance, Digtoise is a ground-type Pal, Sweepa is an ice-type Pal, and so on. It is important to match up the active skills with the Pal’s typing. The reason for this is they will get a damage boost of about 20% when they use a skill that matches their typing. Of course, you don’t want to flood your Pal with moves of the same type, but having two skills that match the Pal’s typing will be good.

A beginner's guide for Palworld, including a screenshot of a character.
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Search for statues

Lifmunk Statues are also sprinkled around Palpagos Island. These strange statues increase your capture chance by a small amount when you exchange them at a statue of power. Don’t pass these up and make it a point to always be looking for them. These statues are often hidden and not in easy-to-spot locations so you will need to do a lot of searching but it will be worth it in the end.

Breed Pals effectively

If you notice that you have two Pals with good passive abilities, you should breed them to get a Pal that shares both passives. A Pal can have up to four passive abilities and none of them need to be bad. This means that you can breed Pals that have amazingly high efficiency just by matching up passive abilities.

Farm Chests when you can

Chests are sprinkled all across Palpagos Island. Because of this, it is fairly easy to farm chests if you know where to look. Mid-game areas are brimming with chests for you to get but a location in the north at the base of the mountains will get you four chests in one small area. These chests will get you schematics, parts, coins, and more so always pick them up.

Hit Pals in the back

When trying to catch a Pal, it is best to use sneaky tactics. For instance, if you can get behind a Pal, you will get a bonus on your catch rate because it is taken by surprise. You get an even bigger bonus if you sneak up on sleeping Pals. Additionally, Pals that are affected by status effects are easier to catch than those that aren’t. Always utilize effects like freeze, poison, and fire when catching Pals.

About the Author

Aden Carter

Aden Carter is a guides writer for VideoGamer with a focus on action RPGs and adventure games. When he isn't busy writing, he is spinning tales with his friends at the local game shop.

Palworld

  • Platform(s): PC, Xbox, Xbox Series S/X
  • Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Indie, RPG, Shooter
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