2024 has only just begun and there is already a smash hit, as over seven million players have jumped into Palworld within its first week. If you have yet to try out this new creature-collecting survival game, it can be overwhelming as it features mechanics from many different styles of games.
Palworld is often likened to Pokemon, which is true at a surface level, but there is much more to the game and it is more similar to games such as Ark. So, to get you started with Palworld, here are some beginner tips and tricks you need to know.
What Is Palworld About?
Although Palworld is understandably being compared to a certain creature collecting game, when it comes to the story it doesn’t share many similarities. Despite its creature collecting mechanics, Palworld is a survival game that could be more likened to Ark. Its story isn’t really its strongest point, with you being tasked to uncover the truth behind the origins of Pals by defeating the bosses that can be found at each region’s tower.
It is not the most exhilarating story crafted in a video game, and it won’t be winning any awards for Best Narrative, but this could be expanded as the game is updated over time as the Palworld’s roadmap is quite extensive.
What Are Pals?
Pals are creatures that inhabit the world that you’re in, similar to Pokemon. There are over 100 Pals in the game and players can carry up to five at a time in their party.
How To Capture Pals
To capture a Pal you need to throw a Pal Sphere at it. Similar to Pokemon games, this becomes easier if you reduce the Pal’s health, use status effects, or lure it into a trap. You can also increase your chances by sneaking up on it and throwing your Pal Sphere at it while it is unaware of your presence. Some stronger Pals require you to use stronger Pal Spheres, which you will need to craft, similar to how you have different Pokeballs to catch higher-level creatures.
How To Keep Track Of Your Pal Collection
To keep track of your growing Pal collection, you can use the Paldeck, which functions similarly to a Pokedex in Pokemon. This tracks all of the Pals that you’ve captured or seen on your journey, as well as displays information about them such as their Partner Skill, Work Suitability, and Possible Drops. You will also receive Paldeck Bonus EXP for capturing a brand new species or capturing 10 of the same species.
If you want to track all of the Pals that you have captured, they can be found in your Pal Box, where they will rest and recover if they’re not being put to use in your base.
The Best Starter Pals
While Palworld doesn’t let you choose a starter Pal, there are many Pals that you will encounter very early on, which will be the basis for your starter team. Here are our picks of the best Pals to capture at the start of the game.
Daedream
Players have discovered that Dark-type Pals are a great option to build a strong team, which makes Daedream an essential part of anyone’s team early on. By unlocking its Partner Skill, you can use Daedream as a turret to mow down the world’s wildlife. If you can build an army of these then you will become even more powerful.
Foxpark
Foxpark is an incredibly useful Pal both from a combat and survival standpoint. The Vulpix-looking Pal can shoot fireballs at your enemies, as well as be used as a flamethrower, giving it some versatility, especially against Grass-Type Pals. Foxpark can also use its flames to light campfires, which can be useful for cooking.
Cattiva
Cattiva’s Partner Skill allows it to carry more supplies, meaning your carry capacity increases with each one you have in your partner, making it incredibly useful from a survival standpoint. These can be fairly tricky to catch as they will often run away from you. But, once its stamina runs out you will be able to lower its health and capture it with no trouble.
Lamball
Don’t let its fluffy exterior fool you, Lamball can quickly overwhelm enemies with its machine gun, especially if it’s part of a larger group. It isn’t a Pal you’d want on your team if you were travelling with a single Pal, but pair it with the right party and it’ll be an excellent addition. Lamball is also a great choice to help with base building and should be put to work immediately.
Chikipi
Finally is Chikipi. From a combat perspective, Chikipi isn’t anything special and not one that we would recommend using to fight your way through the world. Instead, it has been described by Pocketpair as “extremely delicious,” so this is one that you should be cooking and eating in order to survive. Yes, you can eat your Pals, we’ll get into that further down in this guide.
Partner Skill
Partner Skills are a unique ability that every Pal has. These include abilities such as increasing your carrying capacity, increasing the attack power of Electric-type Pals, and being able to be used as a glider to make traveling easier.
Many of the Pals found in the world have a good perk as to why they should be in your party, which allows players to craft a team based on their play style and what they want out of a team outside of the ability to take down enemies.
How To Breed Pals
Breeding is a mechanic that can be found in Palworld, allowing you to pair a male and female Pal and leave them at a Breeding Farm. When you return you may find a Pal Egg, which you can store in an Egg Incubator until it hatches. You can also find Pal Eggs in the wild and can speed up their hatching by storing them at the appropriate temperature depending on what Pal is inside.
How To Build And Craft
Being a survival game, crafting is a large part of the game and you will need to build a base in order to survive. You can do this by crafting items at a workbench and other facilities. To improve your base, as well as craft new items to survive, you will need to unlock new recipes which can be done by using Technology Points.
How To Join A Guild
Palworld can be a multiplayer game if playing solo isn’t your thing. You can play with up to four friends on a private world, or up to 32 players on a public server. When playing multiplayer, you can join a Guild by approaching other players and requesting to join. This partners you up by having you all share the same base and working Pals, making it much easier to build a base and go out on adventures together.
Death Penalty
Like other survival games, in Palworld if you die you lose all of your items and will have to respawn and travel to the spot where you died in order to retrieve them. Unfortunately, this also applies to your Pals too, which can be frustrating. Thankfully, this mechanic can be turned on/off when creating your world and you can change the penalties for dying to make it easier or more difficult for you.
Tips And Tricks
Now that you know the basics of Palworld and how it works, here are some tips and tricks that you should know to help you get started in the early game. These tips can save you a lot of trial and error and get you off on the right foot.
Gather Lots Of Wood
It can be easy to forget that Palworld is a survival game, as it is more often compared to the likes of Pokemon. However, you need to survive the harsh world and wood is your best friend early on in the game. It is plentiful and can be found across the world, making it a great resource to build your base early on, as well as being used to start a fire so you can cook food.
Craft A Stone Pickaxe To Craft Pal Spheres
Being a creature collector game, I know you will be itching to get out into the world and capture some Pals to build a strong team. But, before you do that you need Pal Spheres, which act the same way as Pokeballs. To acquire these, you need to build a Workbench to then build a Stone Pickaxe in order to mine Paldium Fragments which are then used to craft Pal Spheres.
Build A Parachute As Walking Can Be Slow
You will spend a lot of time walking in Palworld and it can be incredibly slow at times. Once you reach level five you will unlock the recipe to build a Parachute. By doing this, you will be able to jump off higher places and glide long distances, making traversing the map much easier. But, it is worth noting that this will only last as long as your stamina bar, and once it runs out you will fall to the ground, so be careful.
Eat Your Pals
Ok, this is something I never thought I’d ever say. But, before you try and figure out what sauce will go best with your friend, I’m talking about in-game, not in real life, let me explain. When you capture a Pal they don’t just become a means of combat like in other similar games, you can use them for a variety of purposes. The main one is that you can put them to work at your base, but you can also eat them.
Similar to other survival games, Palworld allows you to collect and cook a variety of recipes, and if you want to have a carnivore diet, you’re going to need some meat, and Pals are your source of meat in this game. If you’re the sort of person that gets heavily attached to your Pals then it might pain you to do this, but sometimes you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to survive.
For more Insider Gaming, check out the news that Palworld already has a Pokemon mod.
