Every setting in PalWorldSettings.ini that admins actually change — capture and XP rates, breeding, hunger and weight, the death penalty, PvP, and base/guild limits — explained in plain English with a sensible recommended value and the exact key. Palworld keeps it all on one line; this page makes sense of it.
PalWorldSettings.ini — correct key names, correct formatting, no typos. (Palworld writes everything as a single OptionSettings=(...) line, which is painful to edit by hand.)
Who can find and join your server, and how you administer it. Set a strong AdminPassword before enabling RCON or the REST API — both need it, and anyone with it can wipe the server.
| Setting | What it does | Default | Recommended |
|---|---|---|---|
| ServerName | The name shown in the in-game server browser. Keep special characters out — they break some host panels. | Default Palworld Server | your name |
| ServerDescription | Short blurb under the name — rates, rules, Discord. | (blank) | — |
| ServerPassword | Join password. Leave blank for an open public server. This is the player password — not the admin one. | (blank) | blank |
| AdminPassword | Required for admin commands and RCON/REST. Use a long random string. | (blank) | long random |
| ServerPlayerMaxNum | Max simultaneous players. Hard cap is 32, and the server gets heavy near it. | 32 | 8–16 |
| PublicPort | The port advertised to the public list. Does not change the port the server binds to (that's a launch arg). | 8211 | 8211 |
| RCONEnabled | Remote console for admin panels and Discord bots. Needs AdminPassword. | False | Off |
| RCONPort | TCP port for RCON. Only relevant if RCON is on. | 25575 | 25575 |
| RESTAPIEnabled | HTTP admin API — a modern alternative to RCON. Needs AdminPassword. | False | Off |
| RESTAPIPort | TCP port for the REST API. | 8212 | 8212 |
| CrossplayPlatforms | Which platforms may connect (Steam, Xbox, PS5, Mac). All = full crossplay; untick to exclude. Keep at least one. | all | all |
The multipliers everyone tunes first. 1.0 is vanilla. Capture, XP, gathering and egg-hatch time are the big ones for feel; the rest are situational or anti-lag.
| Setting | What it does | Default | Recommended |
|---|---|---|---|
| PalCaptureRate | How easily Pals are caught — fewer wasted spheres. The most-changed setting on most servers. | 1.0 | 2 |
| ExpRate | How fast players and Pals earn XP. Fast enough to feel good, slow enough that leveling matters. | 1.0 | 2–4 |
| PalEggDefaultHatchingTime | Real-time hours to hatch an egg. Default 72 is brutal — drop it if breeding is a focus. | 72 | 1–2 (0 = instant) |
| CollectionDropRate | Yield from harvesting nodes (wood, stone, ore). | 1.0 | 2–3 |
| WorkSpeedRate | How fast base Pals craft, build and haul. | 1.0 | 1.5–2 |
| EnemyDropItemRate | How much loot defeated Pals/enemies drop. | 1.0 | 1–2 |
| PalSpawnNumRate | How many wild Pals roam. Higher = more to catch/fight but more load. | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| CollectionObjectHpRate | "Health" of gatherable nodes — higher = more hits to deplete. | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| CollectionObjectRespawnSpeedRate | Inverted — lower = nodes respawn faster. Drop it on busy servers. | 1.0 | 0.5 |
| DayTimeSpeedRate | Lower = longer days. Most leave it alone. | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| NightTimeSpeedRate | Higher = shorter nights. | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| DropItemMaxNum | Cap on items lying on the ground worldwide. Lower to fight lag. | 3000 | 3000 |
| DropItemAliveMaxHours | How long dropped items persist before despawning. | 1 | 1 |
| SupplyDropSpan | Minutes between supply drops. Widely reported ignored by the dedicated server (stays 180). | 180 | 180 |
CollectionObjectRespawnSpeedRate runs in reverse — set it lower (e.g. 0.5) for faster respawns, not higher. And SupplyDropSpan is widely reported to do nothing on dedicated servers — drops stay on the ~180-minute timer regardless.Optional spawn shuffling. Leave off for a normal map; turn it on for a chaos run.
| Setting | What it does | Default | Recommended |
|---|---|---|---|
| RandomizerType | Shuffles which Pals spawn where. None = normal. Region reshuffles within each zone (sane difficulty — the popular pick). All = full chaos. | None | None |
| RandomizerSeed | Locks the shuffle to a repeatable, shareable seed. Blank = fresh each world. Only matters when the randomizer is on. | (blank) | — |
| bIsRandomizerPalLevelRandom | On = wild Pal levels go fully random. Off = levels follow each area's range. Only applies with the randomizer on. | False | Off |
How your Pals fight, tire, heal and eat. Lowering PalStomachDecreaceRate is a near-universal QoL tweak so your base team isn't constantly starving.
| Setting | What it does | Default | Recommended |
|---|---|---|---|
| PalDamageRateAttack | How hard Pals (yours and wild) hit. | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| PalDamageRateDefense | How much damage Pals take; higher = they die faster. Lower to make your team tankier. | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| PalStomachDecreaceRate | How fast Pals get hungry. Lower (0.3–0.5) so the base team isn't always starving. | 1.0 | 0.3–0.5 |
| PalStaminaDecreaceRate | How fast Pals burn stamina; lower = they tire slower. | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| PalAutoHPRegeneRate | How fast Pals heal out of combat; higher = less downtime. | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| PalAutoHpRegeneRateInSleep | How fast Pals heal in the box; higher = full team faster between fights. | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Decreace (not "Decrease") — Pocketpair's misspelling. The key must match exactly or the setting silently does nothing. The generator handles this for you.How harsh survival feels for players. Lowering the drains and item weight are the most-requested QoL tweaks; the DeathPenalty is the single biggest "how punishing is this server" lever.
| Setting | What it does | Default | Recommended |
|---|---|---|---|
| PlayerDamageRateAttack | How hard players hit with weapons. Mostly a PvP balance knob. | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| PlayerDamageRateDefense | How much damage players take; higher = harder. Lower so a stray Pal doesn't oneshot newcomers. | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| ItemWeightRate | How much items weigh. Lower (0.3–0.5) so players carry more before over-encumbered — top QoL request. | 1.0 | 0.3–0.5 |
| PlayerStomachDecreaceRate | How fast players get hungry. Lower to ~0.5 for less eating, more playing. | 1.0 | 0.5 |
| PlayerStaminaDecreaceRate | How fast players burn stamina sprinting/climbing; lower = less gasping. | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| PlayerAutoHPRegeneRate | How fast players heal out of combat. | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| PlayerAutoHpRegeneRateInSleep | How fast players heal while sleeping in a bed. | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| DeathPenalty | None keeps everything (casual). Item drops items, keeps gear. ItemAndEquipment drops both. All also drops carried Pals (default, harshest). | All | Item / None |
Guild size, base limits, and structure durability. More bases and workers mean more server load, so raise these with your hardware in mind.
| Setting | What it does | Default | Recommended |
|---|---|---|---|
| GuildPlayerMaxNum | Cap on guild size. Smaller (4–8) keeps PvP competitive; larger suits big PvE communities. | 20 | 20 |
| BaseCampMaxNumInGuild | How many base camps a guild can build (hard max 10). Each adds load. | 4 | 4 |
| BaseCampWorkerMaxNum | Pals working one base at once (max 50). More = faster bases but heavier load. | 15 | 20–30 |
| BuildObjectDamageRate | How much damage structures take. Raise for raid-heavy PvP; 1× for PvE. | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| BuildObjectDeteriorationDamageRate | How fast structures decay. Set to 0 to disable decay — popular on small servers. | 1.0 | 0 |
| bAutoResetGuildNoOnlinePlayers | Clears guilds whose members haven't logged in for a while. Cleanup for big public servers. | False | Off |
| AutoResetGuildTimeNoOnlinePlayers | Hours of inactivity before a guild is wiped. Only if auto-reset is on. | 72 | 72 |
PvP toggles plus save/backup and convenience switches. The big gotcha: PvP needs three toggles on together, or it does nothing.
| Setting | What it does | Default | Recommended |
|---|---|---|---|
| bIsPvP | The master PvP switch. Needs the two below on as well. Pocketpair calls PvP a trial feature. | False | Off |
| bEnablePlayerToPlayerDamage | Lets players damage each other. Does nothing without bIsPvP. | False | Off |
| bEnableDefenseOtherGuildPlayer | Base Pals attack trespassers; opens cross-guild base combat. Third PvP toggle. | False | Off |
| bEnableInvaderEnemy | Random enemy raids on your base. Off for a calmer build experience. | True | On |
| AutoSaveSpan | How often the world saves (seconds). Large bases sometimes raise to 60–120 to reduce save-stutter. | 30 | 30 |
| bIsUseBackupSaveData | Keeps rolling save backups. Leave on — it has saved many servers from corruption. | True | On |
| bEnableFastTravel | Fast-travel between unlocked statues. Off for a hardcore "walk everywhere" server. | True | On |
| bExistPlayerAfterLogout | Player body stays in the world after logout — raidable on PvP servers. | False | Off |
| bHardcore | Permadeath — no respawn after dying. Niche. | False | Off |
| bPalLost | Permanently lose party Pals on death. Pairs with Hardcore for a true ironman server. | False | Off |
bIsPvP alone does nothing. You must also enable bEnablePlayerToPlayerDamage and bEnableDefenseOtherGuildPlayer. PvP is a Pocketpair-flagged trial feature, so expect rough edges.No single "best" — it's playstyle. But this is a comfortable boosted-PvE starting point that most groups enjoy, then tune to taste:
| Setting | Value | Why |
|---|---|---|
| PalCaptureRate | 2 | Generous catches without trivializing it. |
| ExpRate | 3 | Brisk leveling that still means something. |
| CollectionDropRate | 2–3 | Base-building isn't a second job. |
| PalEggDefaultHatchingTime | 1 | Breeding actually viable (vs. 72h default). |
| ItemWeightRate | 0.4 | Carry more, manage inventory less. |
| PlayerStomachDecreaceRate | 0.5 | Less eating, more playing. |
| PalStomachDecreaceRate | 0.4 | Base team stops starving. |
| DeathPenalty | Item | Lose items, keep gear & Pals — forgiving but not free. |
| BuildObjectDeteriorationDamageRate | 0 | No base decay to babysit. |
PalWorldSettings.ini — on a dedicated server it lives in Pal/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/ (or LinuxServer). Every setting sits on one OptionSettings=(...) line. Edit it directly or build it with the Palworld generator, then restart the server — settings only load on boot.Pal/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/PalWorldSettings.ini. Note: the DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini in the install root is just a template — editing it does nothing. You must edit the one under Saved/Config.DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini instead of the real one in Saved/Config; (2) you didn't restart the server; or (3) the world was first created in-game, so it reads WorldOption.sav, which overrides PalWorldSettings.ini. Back up and delete WorldOption.sav, or set your config before the world's first launch.bIsPvP, bEnablePlayerToPlayerDamage, and bEnableDefenseOtherGuildPlayer. Turning on only bIsPvP does nothing. Pocketpair labels PvP a trial feature, so expect rough edges.PalEggDefaultHatchingTime — it's real-time hours per egg and defaults to a punishing 72. Set it to 1–2 hours, or 0 for instant hatch. That single setting is what makes breeding viable.PalStomachDecreaceRate, PalStaminaDecreaceRate, PlayerStomachDecreaceRate and PlayerStaminaDecreaceRate are all spelled "Decreace," and the key must match exactly or it's ignored. The generator spells them correctly for you.