Palworld, despite being in Early Access, has a lot of content and features going for it. This means that players new and old will have missed a few tricks that can prove mighty useful in their playthrough.
Below is a collection of features that are easily missed instead of a list of things you need to know, as you’ll gather that rather quickly through playing the game.
Catch each Pal ten times
Although some of you will be thinking that this is clearly stated, the vast amount of players I see saying how they’re struggling to progress makes this worth reiterating.
For every Pal species, the first ten caught will give you a very generous EXP bonus. This makes it so easy to level up if you bring a good reserve of Pal Spheres with you to capture virtually every Pal you see. And don’t worry about their drops, you’ll be rewarded the same whether you defeat or catch them.
Always make sure you’ve got ample Spheres with you to fast-track your progression. I went from level 0 to level 21 in a few hours to catch up with a friend who was, funnily enough, level 21. Think about what you can do with a whole session…
Player EXP gain seems to be relative
This is something strange I’ve noticed, but your EXP progression does not mirror the EXP progression of your Pals. With your Pals, they get EXP relative to the level distance of themselves to the foe they take down or you capture. This seems rather consistent and is how everyone will assume, me included, that the player’s EXP progression will work.
Whether you take down a level 1 Chikipi or a level 38 Mammorest, it seems that the EXP you gain is very relative to your level. The aforementioned EXP bonus upon capturing Pals the first ten times also increases as you grow to higher levels.
So don’t let conventional EXP gain muddy your understanding of how Palworld’s leveling system works.
Throw Pal Spheres at a Pal’s back
When capturing Pals, it’s common knowledge to bludgeon them to death’s door before throwing a Sphere in their face. The weaker they are, the easier the catch will be.
However, there is another variable. If you throw the Sphere at their back, your odds will actually be boosted slightly, making it so much more viable to throw Spheres at a Pal’s back every opportunity you get, even if they’re attacking you.
Related: How to catch humans in Palworld
Alternate your Pals in battle
When in the heat of battle, it may be common practice to let your Pals exhaust themselves fighting. Thanks to other pocket monster game knowledge, it may be assumed that Pals won’t heal while in your Party, or if they do, it’ll take a while to kick in.
This is not true, and it actually activates rather soon. So when your Pal gets close to death, withdraw them and throw in another. As you alternate through your roster, you should find that your initial Pal is fully healed, or not too far off.
Also — side tip — withdraw Pals in the heat of battle anyway to avoid the enemy’s attacks. You can keep them going almost forever if you keep timing things right.
Use the Grappling Gun to move when overweight
A neat little trick, you can use the Grappling Gun when overweight to cover decent distances. The better quality the Grappling Gun, the further you can go. Just don’t get stuck to any cliffs, or you’ll have to exhaust yourself until you fall off.
This is a little less useful now that you can shuffle very slowly even when dramatically overweight, but it’ll help you speed enough to be worth it. Even if the cooldown time is ten seconds.
Pal breeding results are fixed
Many will assume, like I did, that when breeding two Pals, there is either a set of potential offspring or it’ll be one of the parents, with certain exceptions. This is not right, as all the breeding results from the Pal combinations use an algorithm to determine the result, and is therefore fixed.
Numerous Palworld breeding calculators have risen to aid players in combining exactly the Pals they need to get the Pal they want. This way, you can strive to get Pals that are way above your weight class.
Pals don’t take fall damage
Amazingly, Pals do not take fall damage. As long as you’re on a mount, whether to traverse land, sea, or air, riding on a mount will negate all fall damage, and you don’t even have to perform a move to trick the game into negating it.
So fall off all the cliffs you like, your Pal has you covered.
Related: Are Lifmunk Effigies reducing Catch Rate in Palworld?
Pals and elemental STAB
This one is a little more technical. “STAB” stands for Same Type Attack Bonus. All Pals do greater damage with the attack that matches their element than another Pal will. This may sound obvious in writing, but it’s worth noting.
This is especially worth knowing for Pals that can learn attacks that don’t match its type. For example, Foxparks will deal less damage with Sand Blast (a Ground-type attack they learn) than Gumoss will, even if they’re at the same level.
Viewing Cages can be used as extra Pal storage
When late into the game, if you’re trying to use the Pal Essence Condenser to promote a few Pals to maximum, you may be needing more space in your Palbox. The final step requires 64 spare Pals to be readily available, and you may think that you have to make some hard choices to butcher your other Pals.
That’s where the Viewing Cage comes in. It holds an extra 40 Pals, is incredibly cheap, and you can also see the critters. This will give you more storage as long as you have space to build them.
Remember that it’s Early Access and that it’s okay to be finished with a game
Make sure to remember that yes, there are bugs and certain things to be desired. It’s still in Early Access and still has a long road ahead of it. There is so much more to be implemented, so don’t get too impatient with the developers.
Also, it’s okay to be done with a game. Recall the fond memories you’ve had with Palworld and move on if you feel you’ve exhausted your time with it. Not every game will be infinite content simulators, and if your enjoyment starts to run dry, just play a different game before you start resenting it.
Now that you know of all these neat tricks, you can check out how to create a dedicated server to show off to your friends.
