How to set up your Palworld server

There are two ways to play together. The first is inviting friends into your own world from the game: the host starts a world, everyone else joins with an invite code. Simple, but the world only lives while the host is playing, and it fits four guests.

The second is a dedicated server. It runs around the clock, holds up to 32 players and is far more configurable: name, passwords, ports, RCON, base and guild limits. The server is a free download on Steam ("Palworld Dedicated Server" under tools) or comes from a host.

Both use the same set of parameters. Single-player tweaks them in the world settings menu; a server reads them from a text file. To assemble that file without memorising the syntax, use the server settings generator — every parameter explained, with a ready-to-paste line as output.

There is a single settings file, and its path depends on the system. On Windows it is Pal\Saved\Config\WindowsServer\PalWorldSettings.ini; on Linux, Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/PalWorldSettings.ini. Paths are relative to the server's install folder.

The server root holds a similar file, DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini. That one is a sample of the defaults and is never read — its very first line says so. Editing it changes nothing: you need PalWorldSettings.ini under Saved/Config.

If the server has been started at least once the file already exists, but nearly empty: the [/Script/Pal.PalGameWorldSettings] section and an OptionSettings=(...) line. If it is missing, create it or copy the sample from the root and rename it.

Hosting panels differ: most have a config editor that opens the same file in the browser. Some expose parameters as separate fields — then you only need to carry over the values you changed.

Every parameter lives on one OptionSettings=(...) line, comma-separated and without spaces. Editing it piecemeal is fiddly and easy to break — replacing the whole line is safer.

The routine: stop the server, open PalWorldSettings.ini, replace the OptionSettings line with the new one, save as UTF-8 without BOM, start the server. Settings are not picked up while it runs — a restart is required.

The easiest way to get that line is the generator: it writes all 120 keys with the right number format (1.000000, not 1), quotes around text fields and True/False for flags. You can also paste your current config there and see what differs from the defaults.

One thing that trips people up most often: the Difficulty parameter. If it is anything other than None, the game uses its built-in preset and ignores part of your values. Want your own numbers? Keep Difficulty=None.

On a server with friends the usual goal is faster progress: EXP, catching Pals and gathering. Four parameters change the feel the most — EXP, catch chance, resource drops and how fast Pals work at the base.

The engine bounds some values: EXP accepts 0.1 to 20, catch chance 0.5 to 2, work speed 0.1 to 5. You cannot go beyond that from the file — the game clamps it.

A practical note: do not crank everything at once. EXP ×5 with ×3 drops and instant hatching burns through the content in a weekend, and then there is nothing left to do. Gentle boosts are enough: EXP ×1.5–2, drops ×2, hatching two or three times faster.

What you lose on death is DeathPenalty. By default everything except equipment drops (Item). The gentle option is None — nothing drops; the harsh one is All, where both items and the Pals on your team drop.

Hardcore takes two flags: bHardcore (a dead player does not respawn) and bPalLost (Pals at zero HP are gone for good). Neither can be turned off once the world has started, so decide before the first launch.

PvP needs two settings, not one. bIsPvP enables the mode, bEnablePlayerToPlayerDamage enables the damage itself. With only bIsPvP nobody can fight — a common source of confusion on PvP servers.

Two more PvP flags: bCanPickupOtherGuildDeathPenaltyDrop lets players loot what another guild dropped, and bEnableDefenseOtherGuildPlayer makes base defences shoot at outsiders.

How many Pals work at a base is BaseCampWorkerMaxNum (15 by default, the engine allows up to 50). Keep in mind each worker costs performance, and past 20 Pals per base the server starts to feel it. For who to assign where, see the base planner.

A guild's base count is BaseCampMaxNumInGuild (4 by default) and its member count GuildPlayerMaxNum (20). The structure cap per base is MaxBuildingLimitNum, where zero means unlimited. The game itself offers tiers from 400 to 10000 structures.

Base raids are switched off with bEnableInvaderEnemy. Quiet servers often disable it so nobody's build gets wrecked while they are away. What actually shows up in raids is listed under invasions.

For long-running servers there is bAutoResetGuildNoOnlinePlayers — auto-deletion of bases belonging to guilds that stopped logging in (the delay is AutoResetGuildTimeNoOnlinePlayers, 72 hours by default). Enable it deliberately: someone back from holiday may find their base gone.

The admin password (AdminPassword) is needed for commands like kick and ban, and for RCON and the REST API. The join password (ServerPassword) closes the server to strangers; empty means anyone may join.

RCON is a remote console: enable RCONEnabled, default port 25575. The REST API is HTTP management: RESTAPIEnabled, port 8212. Neither port may equal the game port (8211), or the server will not start.

The one security rule: never enable RCON or the REST API with an empty admin password. An open port without a password hands your server to whoever finds it. And leave bUseAuth on — without authentication anyone can connect.

The game port (PublicPort, 8211 by default) has to be forwarded on your router or opened in the hosting panel, otherwise nobody outside can reach the server.

Editing the wrong file. DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini in the root is a sample; the server only reads PalWorldSettings.ini under Saved/Config.

Forgetting to restart. While the process lives, the old settings stay in memory and get written back to the file on shutdown.

Leaving Difficulty at something other than None — and then wondering why the multipliers do nothing.

Writing whole numbers where the decimal format is expected: ExpRate=2 instead of ExpRate=2.000000. The game usually forgives it; some panels do not.

Putting a comma in the server name. Commas separate parameters on the line, so a name with one can break parsing of the entire config.

Reusing a config from an older game version. Updates add new keys; the old file will not break the server, but the new parameters stay at their defaults. Run it through the generator — it shows what is missing.