Where should I build my base?

Don't rush the placement. Pick somewhere with wood and stone nearby on a reasonably flat patch — work efficiency and walking distance directly depend on it. Multiple bases unlock at level 10, so you can park the first one safely and add resource-heavy bases later.

How do I capture pals efficiently?

Knock the pal's HP down before throwing a Pal Sphere — lower HP raises catch rate. Capturing 10 of the same species gives a large XP bonus, so early on it's worth focusing on one species at a time to bank that bonus.

A rare variant that's slightly larger than usual and shimmers. They're identified by size, not coloration. Lucky Pals have higher base stats and sometimes carry rare passive skills regular variants don't.

Where do I spend stat points?

Early on, Stamina, Carry Weight, and HP. Stamina makes traversal much easier, weight lets you bring more loot back per trip, and HP lets you survive the random encounters that catch you out in the early hours.

Palworld Beginner Guide｜Early Game, Base Placement, Pal Capture Tips

What the First Three Hours Look Like

The early game is straightforward — set up to survive, get pals working, then prepare to fight.

1

Hour 1 — Survival foundation

Gather wood and stone, then craft a workbench, basic tools, and a storage box. Everything else builds on these.
2

Hour 2 — Base and capture

Settle on a good spot for the base and capture a few common pals like Cattiva or Tanzee to assign to jobs.
3

Hour 3 — Power up and prep for the boss

Spend stat points, upgrade gear, and get ready to take down the first tower boss.

Choosing the Base Location (the most important call)

Don't rush base placement — relocating later is a hassle. Pick somewhere with wood and stone nearby on a reasonably flat patch. The shorter the distance between workbenches, feed boxes, and beds, the better your automation runs.

Multiple bases unlock at level 10. Keep the first base in a safe spot, then add later bases near ore-rich areas for efficiency.

Capture Tips

The basic principle is "soften them up, then throw." A few details that speed up the early grind:

Tip	Detail
Catch rate	Lower HP and higher-tier spheres both raise catch rate
XP bonus	10 of one species grants a big bonus — focus species early
Lucky Pals	Slightly larger, shimmering variants. Higher stats

Best Early Pals

Tanzee Gathering, logging, handiwork, planting, transport — a true all-rounder Cattiva Gathering, mining, handiwork. Workhorse of the opening hours

Lamball Reliable handiwork helper

Early game, the goal is to cover gathering, logging, and handiwork with multiple common pals doing each. Hunting for "the best" pal can wait until your base is stable — common pals are more than enough to get there.

For deeper base automation see Base Building and Worker Pals, for raising stronger pals see Breeding, and for top picks by role see the Strongest Pal Tier List.

Stat Point Priorities

Spend leveling stat points roughly in this order during the early game.

1

Stamina

Smoother running, sprinting, and gliding — exploration gets dramatically easier.
2

Carry Weight

Fewer trips back to base, more loot per run.
3

HP

Survive the unlucky hits and avoid silly early-game deaths.

★Honest Take — Pacing in the Early Game

The early pacing is genuinely good — the "catch, work, get stronger" loop kicks in quickly. One real annoyance — base pals' AI sometimes drifts off and skips tasks. Still, the path to the first tower boss is mostly smooth and approachable, and most new players will reach it without hitting a hard wall.