Palworld Starter Guide: Pals, Breeding Combos & Boss Fights For New Players

Palworld looks cute in screenshots. Bright colors, fluffy creatures, chill music. Then you actually play it and realize you're running a sweatshop where depressed monster-foxes mine ore while you fight off syndicate raids with a shotgun. The tonal whiplash is part of the appeal, honestly.

I went in blind on my first playthrough and made every mistake possible. Built a base on a cliff with no water access. Tried to catch endgame Pals with basic spheres. Lost three high-level Pals to the depression mechanic because I didn't build a Hot Spring. After 100 plus hours across multiple runs, I've got a system. Kinda wish I'd figured this stuff out sooner, tbh.

Here's what works, in order of when you need to know it. I coud go on about edge cases and niche Pals but you'll figure those out on your own.

Day One: The Pals That Save Your Run

Lamball in the grasslands is your wool machine. Catch five minimum for your first base. Cloth production is the quiet bottleneck of early crafting and you'll notice when you run out.

Direhowl on the Central Plains near the Ravine Entrance fast travel point, level 15 to 20. Fastest ground mount early. Takes three or four Pal Spheres. Once you're on a Direhowl instead of sprinting everywhere, the game changes. Travel time drops by more than half, and you can actually explore without feeling like you're wasting daylight.

Sweepa on the Initial Plateau at level 10 to 14, grazing near the first teleporter. Great for hauling goods between bases when you unlock a second base. Not flashy but functional.

Mid-game: Anubis in the desert near the Duneshelter fast travel point, level 30 to 35. Must-have for ore mining. Bring Giga Spheres and be ready for level 30 plus enemies in the area. Bushi at the Twisted Bridge north of the Sealed Realm of the Swift, level 25 to 30. Fast fire Pal that also cuts trees. I caught mine in under 10 minutes.

Pro tip: once you hit level 20, always carry a stack of Giga Spheres for any Pal above level 25. The catch rate difference between Mega and Giga is dramatic and you'll waste fewer spheres per capture.

Breeding: Combos That Skip The Grind

Anubis plus Bushi equals Blazehowl Noct. Best early fire Pal for base defense and fighting. Both parents need to be level 20 plus to get the right passive skills. Breed them at a Ranch with a Cake (5 flour, 2 berries, 1 milk, 1 egg). This combo alone got me through the first two tower bosses.

Direhowl plus Nitewing equals Univolt. Faster flying mount than a base Nitewing. If you've been using a slow flier, the upgrade is noticeable immediately. You cover the map in about two-thirds the time.

Lamball plus Cattiva makes Chikipi, which is mostly useful for endless egg production to feed your base. Not exciting, but feeding 20 Pals takes a lot of food and egg production scales well.

One thing I learned the hard way: breeding two of the same species doesn't give you a better version of that species. Two Lamballs might produce a Chikipi or something else entirely. The combo table is the only reliable path. Use it.

Base That Works: The Setup I Use Every Run

Build your base near a cluster of at least three visible ore deposits and a water source. The plateau east of the first teleporter has five ore nodes and a river. Perfect for early to mid game. Don't build in a hollow or on a cliff. I spent two hours on a cliffside base that got raided by level 30 flyers and I had no path for ground Pals to reach the attackers. Total loss.

Structure priority: Pal Box to level 3 ASAP for 20 Pal slots. That's the sweet spot where production hums without overwhelming your food supply. Feeding Trough goes central, right next to the Pal Box, to minimize walking distance. Hot Spring at level 4. Build two if you have 15 or more Pals. Sanity drops fast without enough springs.

Automation chain: assign two Pals to mining (Anubis or Tombat), one to logging (Bushi or Gorirat), two to farming (Lamball or Chikipi). This setup produces 50 plus ore per hour and enough wood for crafting plus building expansions.

Tower Bosses One By One

Zoe and Grizzbolt, first tower, level 15. Weak to Fire. Bring Arsox at level 15 plus and Foxparks at level 12 plus. Equip a Crossbow (30 wood, 10 stone). Shoot Zoe first: she has low HP and goes down fast. When Grizzbolt charges, dodge left and hit with Arsox's Ignis Blast. Repeat until done. About two minutes if you stay aggressive.

Lily and Lyleen, second tower, level 25. Weak to Fire again. Blazehowl Noct at level 22 plus and Vanwyrm at level 20 plus. Lyleen heals during the fight and a Poison Bow crafted from 10 Paldium Fragments and 10 wood stops the healing effect. Keep your fire Pals attacking nonstop. I beat it with three Blazehowl Nocts and two healing potions.

Axel and Orserk, third tower, level 35. Weak to Ground. Anubis at level 30 plus and Dinossom at level 28 plus. This fight is about positioning. Orserk's lightning attacks have wide area coverage. Stay behind pillars to block the damage. Use Anubis's Sand Blast to chip away. You need to interrupt the lightning charge with a Pal's special attack or the damage stacks up too fast. I failed twice before I figured out the interrupt timing.

FAQ

What's the fastest way to level early? Capture Pals in bulk instead of fighting them. Each capture gives 100 to 300 XP, plus bonuses for new species. I went from level 5 to 12 in about 20 minutes by farming 15 Lamballs and 10 Cattivas. The per-species bonus XP stacks and early levels go fast when you target common Pals.

Why are my Pals constantly depressed? Overwork or food shortage, usually. Check work suitability: don't assign a combat Pal to mining. They'll hate it and their sanity tanks. Second Hot Spring if you have 10 plus Pals. I lost three high-level Pals to depression in my first run before I figured out the Spring mechanic.

How many Pals should I have in my base? Start with 5 to 8. Each Pal consumes food and needs a bed and a Spring slot. Add more only after your food production and Spring capacity can handle it. Fifteen Pals with one Hot Spring and two Berry Plantations is a recipe for a base full of depressed, starving creatures. I don't recommend it.