📅 Last Updated: August 2026 · 🎮 Game Version: Palworld 1.0 · 🔗 Questions sourced from r/Palworld

Palworld Server Settings Guide — Best Configs for Every Playstyle

Q: What are the best server settings for a private Palworld server?

For a private server with 2-10 friends, start with the Casual Friends preset: XP Rate 2.0x, Capture Rate 1.5x, Egg Hatch Time 2.0h, Gather Rate 2.0x, Death Penalty = No Item Drop, Structure Decay = Off. This keeps progression fast enough to feel rewarding without trivializing the game.

Q: How do I edit Palworld server settings in the ini file?

On a dedicated server, edit PalWorldSettings.ini located in Pal/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/ (or LinuxServer/). On GPortal/Nitrado, use the web control panel. After editing, restart the server for changes to take effect — most settings do not apply live.

Q: What does each Palworld server setting mean?

The settings table on this page explains every major parameter: ExpRate controls XP gain speed, PalCaptureRate affects catch odds, PalEggDefaultHatchingTime sets egg incubation duration, DamagePlayerMultiplier controls difficulty, and GatherRate affects resource collection speed. See the Complete Settings Table above for all parameters.

Q: Which Palworld server settings should I change first?

Start with these five: Egg Hatch Time (lower to 2-4h), XP Rate (raise to 1.5-3.0x), Capture Rate (raise to 1.2-1.5x), Death Penalty (set to No Drop), and Gather Rate (raise to 1.5-2.0x). These have the biggest impact on player enjoyment with the least risk of breaking game balance.

Q: How do I change Palworld egg hatch time?

Set PalEggDefaultHatchingTime in PalWorldSettings.ini. Default is 72 hours (huge eggs). Recommended: 2.0 for fast breeding, 6.0 for balanced, 24.0 for slower progression. The value is in hours — a setting of 2.0 means a huge egg hatches in 2 hours instead of 72.

Q: How do I optimize Palworld server settings for performance?

Three high-impact settings: bEnableInvaderEnemy=False (disables raids, saves CPU), PalSpawnNumRate=0.8 (fewer wild spawns), BaseCampWorkerMaxNum=10 (fewer Pals per base). Also reduce ServerPlayerMaxNum and set up a scheduled restart every 6-12 hours to combat the memory leak.

Q: How do I make Palworld easier with server settings?

Use the Casual Friends preset: XP Rate 2.0x, Capture Rate 1.5x, Gather Rate 2.0x, Death Penalty = No Drop, Egg Hatch Time 2.0h, Stamina Rate 1.5x. Also set bEnableInvaderEnemy=False to disable raids and StructureDamageRate=0 to prevent structure decay.

Q: Why are my Palworld server settings not applying?

Three common causes: (1) You didn't restart the server after editing PalWorldSettings.ini. (2) WorldOptions.sav is overriding your INI file — delete it and let the server regenerate it from INI. (3) On hosted servers, the web panel may have a separate save/apply button that's easy to miss. Always restart after changes.

Q: How do I keep inventory on death in Palworld?

In PalWorldSettings.ini, find DeathPenalty and set it to None. Options: None (keep everything), Item (drop items but keep equipment), ItemAndEquipment (drop everything — default). Also set bEnableDeathPenaltyExp=False to keep your XP on death.

Q: What are the best settings for friends and family?

For a family-friendly server: XP Rate 2.0x (kids level up faster), Capture Rate 1.5x (less frustration), Death Penalty = None (no penalty), Egg Hatch Time 2.0h (quick breeding), Gather Rate 2.0x (less grinding), Hunger Rate 0.5x (less food micromanagement). Disable raids (bEnableInvaderEnemy=False) so younger players aren't stressed by base attacks.

Choose the best Palworld server settings for PvE, co-op, PvP, or dedicated servers. Copy ready-to-use presets, understand every INI parameter, and configure your world in minutes — no guesswork. Already have a server running? See our Server Setup Guide if you need help with hosting, port forwarding, or SteamCMD.

⚡ Best Server Settings Presets — Pick Your Playstyle

Each preset is a battle-tested configuration. Copy the values directly into your PalWorldSettings.ini or hosting control panel.

🎮 Casual Friends Server

2–8 players · Goal: reduce grinding, keep progression fun

XP Rate	2.0x
Capture Rate	1.5x
Gather Rate	2.0x
Egg Hatch Time	2.0 hours
Death Penalty	No Drop
Player Damage	1.0x
Pal Damage	1.0x
Stamina Rate	1.5x
Hunger Rate	0.8x
Raids	Off (bEnableInvaderEnemy=False)
Structure Decay	Off

💡 Why: Double XP and gather speed means less grinding. No death penalty keeps multiplayer sessions stress-free. Disable raids so your base isn't destroyed while you're offline.

🏆 Official+ Experience

4–16 players · Goal: keep vanilla feel with quality-of-life tweaks

XP Rate	1.5x
Capture Rate	1.2x
Gather Rate	1.5x
Egg Hatch Time	6.0 hours
Death Penalty	Item Drop Only
Player Damage	1.0x
Pal Damage	1.0x
Stamina Rate	1.2x
Hunger Rate	1.0x
Raids	On
Structure Decay	On (default)

💡 Why: Slightly boosted rates smooth out the grind without making the game feel easy. Raids stay on for excitement. Best for groups who want the "real" Palworld experience but with less waiting.

💀 Hardcore Survival

2–12 players · Goal: long-term challenge, scarce resources

XP Rate	0.8x
Capture Rate	0.8x
Gather Rate	0.8x
Egg Hatch Time	24.0 hours
Death Penalty	ItemAndEquipment Drop All
Player Damage	0.7x
Pal Damage	0.7x
Stamina Rate	0.8x
Hunger Rate	1.2x
Raids	On (aggressive)
Structure Decay	On (full damage)

💡 Why: Everything is harder. Lower rates mean every resource matters. Full death penalty creates real stakes in PvP scenarios. Long egg times make breeding a strategic investment, not a shortcut.

🥚 Breeding Focus Server

2–10 players · Goal: fast breeding, perfect passives, Pal collecting

XP Rate	2.0x
Capture Rate	1.5x
Gather Rate	2.0x
Egg Hatch Time	1.0 hour
Death Penalty	No Drop
Player Damage	1.0x
Pal Damage	1.0x
Stamina Rate	1.5x
Hunger Rate	0.5x
Raids	Off
Structure Decay	Off

💡 Why: 1-hour egg hatch time is the fastest breeding cycle that still feels earned. Gather boost keeps Cake ingredients flowing. No raids means your breeding stock is never at risk. Pair with our Breeding Calculator for the full experience.

📋 Complete Palworld Server Settings Table

Every major PalWorldSettings.ini parameter — organized by category. Use the presets above as starting points, then fine-tune individual settings here.

📈 Progression Settings

Setting	Default	Recommended	Effect	Best For
`ExpRate`	1.0	1.5–3.0	Player and Pal XP gain speed	Casual, speedruns
`PalCaptureRate`	1.0	1.2–1.5	Capture success multiplier	Casual, endgame
`PalSpawnNumRate`	1.0	0.8–1.2	Wild Pal spawn density	Performance tuning
`WorkSpeedRate`	1.0	1.0–1.5	Pal crafting/build speed	Casual

🐾 Pal Settings

Setting	Default	Recommended	Effect	Best For
`DamagePalMultiplier`	1.0	0.8–1.2	Damage dealt to Pals	Difficulty scaling
`PalStaminaRate`	1.0	1.0–1.5	Pal stamina drain speed — higher = slower drain	Mount-based play
`BaseCampWorkerMaxNum`	15	10–20	Max Pals assigned per base	Performance, large bases
`BaseCampMaxNum`	3	3–5	Max bases per guild	Large guilds

🌿 Resource Settings

Setting	Default	Recommended	Effect	Best For
`GatherRate`	1.0	1.5–2.0	Resource collection speed	Casual, multiplayer
`DropItemMaxNum`	3000	3000–5000	Max dropped items in world before despawn	Large servers
`DropItemAliveMaxHours`	1.0	1.0–3.0	Hours before dropped items despawn	Casual
`EnemyDropItemRate`	1.0	1.0–1.5	Enemy item drop multiplier	Farming runs

🍖 Survival Settings

Setting	Default	Recommended	Effect	Best For
`DeathPenalty`	All	None / Item	What drops on death. None = keep everything, Item = lose inventory, All = lose everything	Everyone — change this first
`bEnableDeathPenaltyExp`	True	False	Whether dying loses XP	Casual
`StaminaRate`	1.0	1.0–1.5	Player stamina drain — higher = slower drain	Exploration-heavy play
`HungerRate`	1.0	0.5–1.2	Player hunger drain — lower = need food less often	Casual, kids

🥚 Breeding Settings

Setting	Default	Recommended	Effect	Best For
`PalEggDefaultHatchingTime`	72.0	2.0–24.0	Hours to hatch a huge egg. Smaller eggs scale proportionally	Breeding servers — set lower

⚔️ Combat & Raid Settings

Setting	Default	Recommended	Effect	Best For
`DamagePlayerMultiplier`	1.0	0.7–1.5	Damage dealt to players	Difficulty scaling
`bEnableInvaderEnemy`	True	False (casual) / True (hardcore)	Whether base raids occur	Casual, kids, performance
`bEnablePredatorEnemy`	True	False	Whether predator Pals spawn and attack	Early game safety

🏗️ Base & Structure Settings

Setting	Default	Recommended	Effect	Best For
`StructureDamageRate`	1.0	0–1.0	Structure decay damage rate. 0 = no decay	Casual, long-term worlds
`bAutoResetGuildNoOnlinePlayers`	False	True (public servers)	Auto-delete guilds with no active players	Public communities
`GuildPlayerMaxNum`	20	4–10	Max players per guild	Small friend groups

💡 Pro Tip: After changing any INI setting, restart the server for changes to apply. On hosted servers (GPortal/Nitrado), use the control panel restart button. If settings still don't apply, check if WorldOptions.sav is overriding your INI — delete it and let the server regenerate from the INI file.

⭐ 5 Settings Most Players Should Change First

These have the biggest impact on fun — start here before touching anything else.

1. 🥚 Egg Hatch Time

Setting: PalEggDefaultHatchingTime
Default: 72 hours (huge eggs) — Recommended: 2–6 hours
Default is punishing if you want to experiment with breeding. Lower this first. At 2 hours, you can hatch 12 huge eggs per day instead of 1.

2. 🎯 Capture Rate

Setting: PalCaptureRate
Default: 1.0 — Recommended: 1.2–1.5
Late-game Pal catching becomes a grind at 1.0. A small bump makes endgame legendaries feel achievable without making early captures trivial.

3. ⬆️ XP Rate

Setting: ExpRate
Default: 1.0 — Recommended: 1.5–3.0
Multiplayer servers consume XP faster because you're sharing kills. 2.0x keeps a 4-player group leveling at roughly the same pace as a single-player world.

4. 🌿 Gather Rate

Setting: GatherRate
Default: 1.0 — Recommended: 1.5–2.0
On servers with 6+ players, resources deplete faster than they respawn. A 1.5–2.0x gather rate prevents constant resource scarcity without making the game feel like creative mode.

5. 💀 Death Penalty

Setting: DeathPenalty
Default: All (drop everything) — Recommended: None or Item
In multiplayer, death penalties are more punishing because you can't pause. Most friend servers set this to "None" or "Item" so a death doesn't end the evening's fun.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions — Palworld Server Settings

Questions sourced from r/Palworld and community discussions.

What are the best server settings for a private Palworld server?

For a private server with 2–10 friends, start with the Casual Friends preset above: XP Rate 2.0x, Capture Rate 1.5x, Egg Hatch Time 2.0h, Gather Rate 2.0x, Death Penalty = No Drop, Structure Decay = Off, Raids = Off. This keeps progression fast enough to feel rewarding without trivializing the game. If your group prefers a more vanilla experience, use the Official+ preset instead — it keeps the original challenge while smoothing out the worst grinding. The key is matching settings to how often your group plays: weekly groups benefit from higher rates.

How do I edit Palworld server settings in the ini file?

Dedicated server (SteamCMD): Navigate to Pal/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/ (Windows) or LinuxServer/ (Linux). Open PalWorldSettings.ini in any text editor (Notepad, VS Code, nano). Each setting is on its own line — change the number after the equals sign. Save the file, then restart the server for changes to take effect.

Hosted server (GPortal/Nitrado): Log into your control panel, find "Server Settings" or "Configuration Files," and use the web editor. Changes apply after clicking "Save" and restarting. No INI file editing needed on hosted servers.

Self-host (Steam Tool): The settings file is at Pal/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/PalWorldSettings.ini inside your Steam library's common folder. Edit, save, restart.

What does each Palworld server setting mean?

See the Complete Settings Table above for all major parameters with plain-English explanations. Quick reference: ExpRate = how fast you and your Pals level up (1.0 = normal, 2.0 = double speed). PalCaptureRate = how likely spheres succeed (1.5 = 50% better odds). PalEggDefaultHatchingTime = how many hours a huge egg takes to hatch (72 = default, 2 = fast). DeathPenalty = what you lose when you die (None = keep everything). GatherRate = how fast you collect resources. DamagePlayerMultiplier = how much damage you take (0.5 = half damage, 2.0 = double). StructureDamageRate = whether structures decay over time (0 = no decay).

Which Palworld server settings should I change first?

Start with the Top 5 above: (1) Egg Hatch Time — lower to 2–4h. (2) XP Rate — raise to 1.5–3.0x. (3) Capture Rate — raise to 1.2–1.5x. (4) Death Penalty — set to None or Item. (5) Gather Rate — raise to 1.5–2.0x. These five have the biggest impact on player enjoyment with the least risk of breaking game balance. After your group plays for a few sessions, revisit and fine-tune based on what feels too fast or too slow. You can always change settings later — they're not locked once the world is created.

How do I change Palworld egg hatch time?

Set PalEggDefaultHatchingTime in PalWorldSettings.ini. The value is in hours for a huge egg — smaller eggs scale proportionally (a regular egg hatches roughly 4× faster). Default is 72.0 (3 real-life days for a huge egg). Recommended values: 1.0–2.0 for breeding-focused servers (hatch huge eggs in 1–2 hours), 4.0–6.0 for balanced play, 12.0–24.0 for slower vanilla-style progression. After changing this, restart your server. Pair this with our Breeding Calculator to plan your hatches efficiently.

How do I optimize Palworld server settings for performance?

Three high-impact settings for better server performance on weaker hardware: (1) bEnableInvaderEnemy=False — disables base raids entirely, saving significant CPU during raid events. (2) PalSpawnNumRate=0.8 — spawns 20% fewer wild Pals, reducing ongoing simulation load. (3) BaseCampWorkerMaxNum=10 — limits Pals per base, which is the single biggest CPU drain. Additionally, reduce ServerPlayerMaxNum to match your actual player count (don't leave it at 32 for a 4-player server), and set up a scheduled restart every 6–12 hours to combat the known Palworld server memory leak. For more hosting tips, see our Server Setup Guide.

How do I make Palworld easier with server settings?

Use the Casual Friends preset at the top of the page. The key settings that reduce difficulty: ExpRate=2.0 (double XP), PalCaptureRate=1.5 (easier catches), DeathPenalty=None (keep inventory on death), GatherRate=2.0 (double resources), StaminaRate=1.5 (less stamina drain), HungerRate=0.5 (eat half as often), bEnableInvaderEnemy=False (no raids), StructureDamageRate=0 (no structure decay). Copy the full preset table into your INI file and you'll have a relaxed, grind-free experience that's especially good for players new to survival games or groups that play infrequently.

Why are my Palworld server settings not applying?

Three common causes, in order of likelihood: (1) You didn't restart the server. Most INI settings are read at server startup only — edit, save, then restart. (2) WorldOptions.sav is overriding your INI. This file at Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/WorldOptions.sav can cache old settings. Delete it and let the server regenerate from the current INI. (3) Typo or format error in the INI file. Check that setting names are exactly correct (case-sensitive) and values don't have extra spaces. On hosted servers (GPortal/Nitrado), look for a separate "Apply" or "Save and Restart" button — just saving the web form isn't always enough. If none of these work, check the server console log for error messages about specific settings.

How do I keep inventory on death in Palworld?

In PalWorldSettings.ini, find DeathPenalty and set it to None. Options: None = keep everything (inventory + equipment), Item = drop inventory but keep equipped armor/weapons/tools, ItemAndEquipment = drop everything (default). Also set bEnableDeathPenaltyExp=False to keep your XP when you die. These two settings together create a completely penalty-free death — ideal for casual servers, kid-friendly worlds, or players learning boss mechanics without punishment.

What are the best settings for friends and family?

For a family-friendly server (kids, casual gamers, mixed-skill groups), use these values: ExpRate=2.0 (fast leveling keeps kids engaged), PalCaptureRate=1.5 (less catching frustration), DeathPenalty=None (no penalty), EggHatchTime=2.0 (quick breeding rewards), GatherRate=2.0 (less grinding), HungerRate=0.5 (less food micromanagement), StaminaRate=1.5 (run and fly longer), bEnableInvaderEnemy=False (no base raids stress), StructureDamageRate=0 (buildings never decay). This configuration keeps the game challenging enough to be fun while removing the mechanics that frustrate younger or less experienced players. Everyone can focus on exploring, catching Pals, and building together.