Palworld 1.0 Beginner's Guide: 12 Tips for Your First Hours
Palworld 1.0 launched July 10 with 725K concurrent players. Master your first hours with the right stats, starter Pals, base setup, and the fastest leveling tricks.
- •Put every early stat point into Stamina. Then Health. Never Work Speed. Your Pals handle that.
- •Catch 12 of every Pal you see. The first 12 catches per species give massive XP bonuses.
- •Eikthyrdeer is your first mount. Foxparks is a handheld flamethrower. Nitewing gives you flight.
Palworld 1.0 launched July 10 and hit 725,000 concurrent players
It's the second most played game on Steam right now, behind only CS2. The game left Early Access after 2.5 years and added 72 new Pals, a new region, overhauled bosses, crossplay, and PvP. Here's how to not waste your first 10 hours.
Stat priority: Stamina, then Health
Put every stat point into Stamina first. You use it to run, climb, glide, dodge, and attack. Low stamina turns every basic action into a chore. The game feels bad until you fix this.
After Stamina, put points into Health. After that, Weight or Attack depending on whether you like carrying things or hitting things.
Do not put points into Work Speed. Your Pals handle all the work. You are the manager.
Catch 12 of every Pal for fast leveling
The game gives you bonus XP for the first 12 captures of each species. Not just the first one. Twelve. So when you see a Lamball, catch 12 Lamballs. Twelve Cattivas. Twelve Foxparks. Chain these bonuses and you'll outlevel everything in the starting zone.
Once you unlock the Ring of Mercy (Ancient Tech), equip it to avoid killing Pals by accident.
These 5 Pals will carry your early game
Eikthyrdeer (first mount)
Found in the starting hills. Unlock the saddle at level 12. Fast ground travel is a game changer, and it also chops wood at level 2 Logging.
Foxparks (flamethrower)
Craft the harness and it becomes a handheld flamethrower. Huggy Fire melts early enemies and bosses. Also handles Kindling at your base.
Daedream (bonus DPS)
Floats beside you and attacks even when another Pal is summoned. Found only at night in the starting area. This thing adds damage to every fight for free.
Nitewing (first flying mount)
Found west of Small Settlement. Unlock the saddle at level 15. Once you can fly, the entire map opens up. All the early running around you did feels pointless.
Rushoar (mining shortcut)
Its charge attack smashes ore nodes instantly. Use it instead of swinging a pickaxe for 5 minutes at every rock.
Build your first base near flat ground with resources
Your first base does not need to be perfect. It needs a flat space near trees, stone, and ore. You will move it later. Everyone moves their first base.
Keep a Foxparks or other Kindling Pal at the base to cook food automatically. Hungry Pals work slower, then stop working. Berries work for the first hour. Cooked food becomes mandatory.
Unlock the Grappling Hook at level 12
This costs Ancient Technology Points. Combined with a Croajiro (Leap Stance ability), you can reach almost anywhere before you get a flying mount. Vertical mobility in Palworld is everything.
Start a new save for 1.0
Pocketpair recommends it. Old saves technically work, but the progression is overhauled and you will miss new story content and rebalanced systems. If you are going to sink dozens of hours into this game, start fresh.
Mark everything on your map
Dungeon entrances. Ore clusters. Skillfruit Trees. Boss locations. Dungeon locations are fixed. They cycle active and inactive but never move. Mark them once and you never lose them.
Common Beginner Mistakes
- Putting stat points into Attack. Your damage comes from Pals, not you. Stamina and Health keep you alive. Attack is the last stat you need.
- Catching only one of each Pal. The XP bonus stacks per 12 caught. Players who catch one of each level at half the speed of players who catch 12.
- Sticking with your Early Access save. The 1.0 update changed dungeon locations, Pal stats, and quest progression. Old saves have broken quests and missing features.
- Building on slopes or cliffs. Pals get stuck on uneven terrain and stop working. Flat ground near ore and trees is not optional.
- Rushing the first tower boss at level 12. Zoe & Grizzbolt is level 15. You need a full team at 15+, crafted armor, and at least 50 arrows. Going in early wastes time and spheres.
Related Guides
Sources
This guide was compiled from multiple public sources. We cross-reference with 3+ sources before publishing.
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