Palworld Beginner’s Guide: Elements, Work Suitability, & more

(Estimated Read Time: 9 minutes)

Palworld uses a creature-capturing mechanic similar to other titles in the genre. But it sets itself apart from these other games thanks to some distinct features and mechanics. If you’re still on the verge of hopping into this massive hit of a game, keep reading this Palworld Beginner's Guide to know some essential things before starting a new game.

Palworld Beginner's Guide: Things You Need to Know

Note that this Palworld Beginner’s Guide won’t tackle some common features and mechanics in similar titles, such as crafting and combat. In particular, crafting in Palworld typically works the same as other survival titles since it requires players to gather materials and use them to make other items. As for combat, it’s also similar to other games with action/adventure mechanics. So, players must deplete the health of their foes to defeat them and acquire their loot using different methods. Perhaps the only difference between Palworld and other titles is it allows Pal trainers to use guns. With that, here are the features and mechanics you should know before starting a new game in Palworld:

Movement

Apart from the basic movement in Palworld, such as walking, running, and jumping, the game also allows other forms of moving around the map. Here, Pal trainers can glide, slide, climb walls, and ride mounts. Players must craft the Normal Parachute to glide, which is unlockable at Technology Tier 5. Then, craft it on the Workbench using 10x Wood and 2x Cloth. Once crafted, equip it and press the Jump button (the space key by default) while airborne to release the glider. Note that the stamina gauge will still continuously drain while gliding. Next, sliding can help you escape some sticky situations (and look cool simultaneously). Thankfully, this action isn’t gated by crafting an item. To slide, simply press the crouch button (the “C” key by default) while sprinting (the left SHIFT key by default). Your character will drop to the floor and slide along the ground if done correctly. Tip: Perform a slide on a slope, then quickly jump and glide to reach farther distances than normal. As for climbing walls, it's a reasonably straightforward action. Simply walk next to a vertical surface and press Jump while hugging the wall. If done correctly, the character will grab the surface. At this point, you can use the movement buttons to scale the wall. Last, some Pals allow you to ride them as mounts. However, you must unlock the correct saddle from the Technology Tree and craft the item from the Pal Gear Workbench. For example, unlock the Rushoar Saddle from the Technology Tree at Level 6. Then, craft it from the Pal Gear Workbench using 3x Leather, 10x Stone, and 5x Paldium Fragment. Once crafted, summon the Pal and use its Partner Skill. The creature will move next to your character, allowing you to ride it.

Capturing Pals

In Palworld, Pal trainers must craft and throw Pal Spheres to capture the game’s creatures. At first, you must gather the materials to craft Pal Spheres, which are 1x Paldium Fragment, 3x Wood, and 3x Stone for each unit. Next, deplete the health of the wild Pal you want to capture to a critical level. Hold the Pal Sphere button (the “Q” key by default) and aim it on the Pal. Release the button to throw the sphere. Often, the capture rate isn't going to be 100%. So, you may need to throw more Pal Spheres if the wild Pal escapes. Note: Read our How to Capture Pals in Palworld guide for a more in-depth look into this mechanic.

Elements

Players will undoubtedly see an icon near every Pal's name. This icon indicates that Pal's element and Palworld have nine in total. These elements are the following:

• Electric
• Water
• Fire
• Ground
• Grass
• Ice
• Dragon
• Dark
• Neutral

Apart from the Neutral element, every other elemental type in Palworld typically has an advantage over another element. Hitting a Pal with an elemental attack that it's weak to will make it receive more damage than normal. Below, you’ll find the different elemental advantages of each element type:

• Water > Fire
• Fire > Grass
• Grass > Ground
• Ground > Electric
• Electric > Water
• Fire > Ice
• Ice > Dragon
• Dragon > Dark
• Dark > Neutral

The opposite is also true, albeit the Pal getting hit with the opposing element will receive less damage than normal. For example, Fire-type Pals will receive less harm from Water-type attacks.

Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB)

Fans of other creature-capturing games may know about STAB. For those new to this term, it means that Pals using an attack with its element receive a damage bonus. For example, a Water-type Pal, like Fuack, using Aqua Gun, typically deals more than the base 40 damage to every foe except Electric Pals. Normally, you only need to level up your Pals for them to learn new attacks. Alternatively, use Skill Fruits on select Pals to make them learn specific moves. Use this knowledge to your advantage to create the best build for your team.

Base Building

Base building in Palworld starts with the Palbox. It's safe to mention that missing this item is impossible because it's part of the tutorial quest. Craft this building item using 1x Paldium Fragment, 8x Wood, and 3x Stone. Next, place the Palbox at your preferred location, preferably somewhere with a large, expansive, and reasonably flat terrain with nearby resources. From here, you can build other items, such as Pal Beds, Campfires, crafting stations, and more. However, you must adhere to the Palbox's radius since building outside of it is impossible. At the start, players can only build one Palbox. Eventually, you can build additional Palboxes as you level up your base.

Work Suitability

Look at a Pal’s stats, and you’ll see a section on the right called “Work Suitability.” Here, there are a bunch of icons and titles with relatively little information shown. At its core, Work Suitability in Palworld means the role that each Pal can carry out. Below are the different work traits and a brief explanation for each of them:

• Kindling: Produces fire to cook food or prepare items from campfires, ovens, and cooking pots.
• Planting: Plants seeds on plantations.
• Handiwork: Crafts items at crafting stations and helps build structures.
• Lumbering: Cuts trees for wood.
• Medicine Production: Produces medicine from the Medicine Workbench.
• Transporting: Transports various goods on the ground to containers in the base.
• Watering: Waters crops in plantations.
• Generating Electricity: Generates electricity at the Power Generator for the base.
• Gathering: Gathers crops from plantations.
• Mining: Mines stone and ore.
• Cooling: Cools food items in refrigeration devices.
• Farming: Drops items when assigned at the Ranch.