Palworld Starter Guide
First hour: catching, base building, and the best early Pals in Palworld.
Updated 2026-07-26
Articles in this guide
The optimal first hour in Palworld (2026 patch)
The first sixty minutes decide your entire early game. Skip the tutorial detour, pick the Windswept Hills spawn and follow this exact route to reach Level 8 with a full crafting base before night one.
- ✓Spawn and catch three Lamballs
- ✓Place the Palbox at Plateau Cliff
- ✓Rush the Foxparks + Cattiva combo
Seven early-game Pals worth catching before Level 10
The right catch order is the difference between two hours of wood grinding or a self-sustaining base by dinner.
- ✓Foxparks — Kindling 1
- ✓Fuack — Watering 2
- ✓Tanzee — Planting 1
Base placement 101 — the flat-cliff rule
Base spot beats base build every time. A perfect location cuts your Pal SAN loss in half and shaves hours off transport runs.
- ✓The flat-cliff rule
- ✓Line-of-sight blocks Alpha aggro
- ✓Elevation for wind farms
Weapons and armor tier order — pre-Level 20
You do not need Rocket Launchers to reach Sakurajima. This tier order lets you clear every early tower with two schematics.
- ✓Crossbow > Bow at Level 8
- ✓Assault Rifle at Level 34, not Level 24
- ✓Cloth → Metal armor jump
Common beginner mistakes and how to unwind them
These five mistakes account for 80% of the reset-my-save posts on r/Palworld.
- ✓Do not sell your first Ancient Tech Point
- ✓Do not over-farm Lamball
- ✓Do not skip the Cake early
Continue exploring Pal Stars
Related guides, calculators and databases updated for the current Palworld patch.