Palworld 1.0 Best Pals for Early Game, Combat, Bases, and Mounts

As you progress through Palworld, you will encounter many different Pals. Some help in combat, others speed up travel, gather resources, or work at your base. After the game left Early Access, many players will start a new playthrough, so it is especially important to understand in advance which Pals to catch early and which ones to look for later. In this guide, we have collected the best Pals for the early game, combat, movement, and base work.

First of all, catching Pals in Palworld is essential if you want to explore other regions and fight rarer creatures. Players need a well-balanced team to clear towers, dungeons, or raids.

Your first priority should be self-sufficiency: creating a base where Pals can work, craft different materials, produce enough food, and avoid major problems. You will also need a strong squad of combat Pals to help catch more dangerous creatures or fight bosses in towers and dungeons.

Chikipi is an adorable chicken-like creature. If you fight Chikipi, they will drop eggs and meat, which you can eat. As in most games, you will satisfy hunger more effectively if you cook the food on a campfire first.

These cute companions can be assigned to work at a Ranch, making them an accessible source of eggs and food at the start of the game. If you place several of them on your ranch early on, they will provide a large number of eggs. One simple way to get some early experience is to cook eggs on a campfire or craft arrows in batches. Crafting and cooking both give a decent amount of experience.

Of course, you will quickly outgrow the need for Chikipi and soon find better Pals, listed below, but at the start of the game they are a useful source of food and labor.

Rushoar is a Pal you can ride. You can also perform a rushing attack while mounted if you want to catch enemies off guard. Even though there are faster ways to travel, Rushoar is easy to find early on. You need to reach Technology level 6 to unlock its saddle.

Jolthog is not only an adorable Pal, but also very effective in combat. This is especially true if you unlock its Partner Skill at level 8, which essentially turns Jolthog into an electric bomb you can throw at enemies to deal heavy damage. This ability alone makes Jolthog worth looking for in the early game.

At the start of the game, you can find plenty of Pals that can become your first allies. But since players may struggle to get spheres and Paldium Fragments, it is important to know how to make the best use of what you have.

The best starter Pal in Palworld that you can catch early is Daedream, a flying dark spirit. Daedreams appear only at night, but they are easy to spot from a distance thanks to their glowing purple heads.

Daedream is an excellent starter because it is a genuinely versatile and useful combat Pal, though less so as a base worker. It uses ranged attacks that rarely miss, and it also deals increased damage to the vast majority of low-level starting Pals, which speeds up experience gain and player leveling. Later, you can also craft a special Necklace for it, allowing the creature to fire projectiles.

After you craft this Necklace and add Daedream to your party, this Pal will remain beside you and help in combat, even if you summon another Pal.

In effect, two Pals can fight at the same time. You just need to make sure Daedream is assigned to one of your party slots.

Foxparks takes second place. You can spot them from far away because of their fiery tails. They are most often found in forest biomes, and in the early stages of the game they usually have an advantage in ranged battles, which means they take less damage.

A Club and Stone Spear are not the best weapon choices. Craft the gear for this fire-breathing fox, and you will get a deadly flamethrower. Fighting a crowd has never looked this cute. Just remember to watch the enemies' elements before firing.

At your base, Foxparks will handle keeping torches lit and powering the furnace, if you have one.

In third place is Tanzee, a Pal that looks like a green monkey. It is not only a useful fighter early in the game, but also has a wide range of work skills. This makes it genuinely useful as a base worker, especially if you need a farmer.

Tanzee is good at planting, handiwork, lumbering, gathering items, and transporting, so it is easy to find a place for it in almost any camp. If left unassigned, it will often chop trees and leave behind a decent stock of wood. However, that is not the main reason to keep this monkey. After you craft Tanzee's gear, it will be able to use a weapon against enemies.

A small Ground-type Pal that is perfect for quickly developing your base. It gathers resources, chops trees, and transports items, while in the party it supports characters who use melee weapons.

Tanzee Ignis is one of the best all-purpose Pals for the start of a playthrough. All of its work skills are only level 1, but that is enough to handle basic structures on a young base. In combat, the Pal is useful thanks to its fiery assault rifle, which lets it quickly deal with groups of weak enemies.

Amione is one of the most useful new Pals for your first base. Its main advantage is its Partner Skill: assigning one Amione to the base is enough to strengthen all other Watering Pals. Because of this, it remains useful even after you get Pals with higher work suitability levels.

Clovee is useful on an early base not so much because of its own work skills, but because it boosts other gatherers. Assigning a single Clovee to the base is enough to speed up harvesting and resource gathering for other Pals with Gathering. Thanks to Planting, it also helps maintain your first Berry Plantations.

A nocturnal Pal that combines several supporting work skills. It is especially useful for players who prefer catching creatures with stealthy sphere throws. Handiwork Lv. 2 significantly speeds up the construction of early structures.

This list includes companions that will be useful during battles against bosses or high-level Pals.

You may encounter the King of the Forest early in the game. It can be seen in Grassy Behemoth Hills and is the Alpha version of Mammorest. This is a dangerous enemy, as it is level 38, has more than 4,000 HP, and uses a dangerous tornado skill that can instantly kill the hero.

But there is an easier way. You can often see two such monsters fighting over territory. Hide nearby and wait until one weakens the other, then throw a sphere at it. Be sure to prepare a Mega Sphere in advance, preferably a Giga Sphere, because the chance of catching such a creature with a standard sphere will be too low. You can find these creatures in the Bamboo Groves, near the Sealed Realm of the Swordmaster waypoint.

Versatility is Lovander's main advantage. With a wide range of skills in Handiwork, Medicine Production, Transporting, and Mining, this Pal is an ideal choice for trainers who value flexibility and adaptability in their gameplay.

Lovander's skill set includes attacks that make rocks rapidly rise from the ground, damaging everything within range. Lovander is a decent combat option, as it can use Heart Drain, which helps restore HP.

Anubis has Mining Work Suitability Lv. 3. It is one of those Pals that is hard to obtain because it lives in the harsh desert, but your effort will be generously rewarded.

Aside from Mining, Anubis can also help with construction and material transportation, making it a very effective member of a mining-focused base. It can mine ore, move materials as needed, and assist with any construction work you require.

Anubis is capable of powerful area attacks that strike nearby Pals. In addition, Anubis can dodge and move so quickly that it almost looks like it is teleporting across the battlefield. Combined with tail strikes and dash skills, Anubis becomes a formidable opponent and a worthy addition to your team.

Take a look at Loupmoon, an adorable large rabbit-like Pal. Loupmoon serves as a dedicated Handiwork helper, showing a willingness to take part in various tasks around Palworld. These creatures appear only at night and often roam in packs, which makes them even deadlier.

Loupmoon's defining feature is its sharp claws, glistening in the dark. At night, Loupmoon performs a powerful leaping claw attack, showing its combat skill. Beyond its fighting ability, Loupmoon shows a love for work, further increasing its versatility and usefulness.

A grim Dark and Ground Pal, useful both in combat and at the base. In terms of offensive stats, Gildra comes close to Anubis. Thanks to its ability to revive, it is well suited for long battles against bosses and high-level enemies.

Skutlass Ignis combines Water and Fire attacks, so it can apply two elemental effects to enemies. At the base, it is especially useful thanks to Kindling and Lumbering Lv. 3, while also being able to handle Watering and Gathering. In combat, its main feature is transforming into a powerful katana.

You can travel in Palworld not only on foot, but also by riding certain Pals. For example, you can mount a boar, a wolf, and even flying creatures. However, to do this, you need to unlock and craft the appropriate saddle or other gear.

Speed and skill find a harmonious balance in Chillet. It not only excels at quick maneuvers, but its unique ability to add Dragon damage to the player's attacks also makes it a dangerous ally in any encounter.

You can encounter a level 11 Alpha Pal Chillet in Windswept Hills. After crafting its saddle, you can use it both as a mount and as a combat companion with multiple damage types. It is also the earliest Dragon-type Pal you are likely to catch at the start of the game.

Nitewing is one of the first flying Pals worth catching for map exploration. It is not the fastest mount, but early access to flight helps you unlock fast travel points faster, look for chests, and reach hard-to-access places.

Take to the skies with Vanwyrm, a flying mount that is as fiery as it is dark. Trainers will find its Kindling and Transporting skills especially useful, making it a great choice for exploration and resource management.

If you want to cross large bodies of water, you can do it while riding Surfent. It has settled in the aquatic world, taking the form of a large, elongated eel-like Pal. Legends speak of its unmatched speed in water. It also has Dragon Cannon and Aqua Jet attacks, letting it fight off any sea-based opponents.

Eidrolon is one of the best new flying mounts. Its dash speed reaches 2,750, and a properly built party of Dark and Dragon Pals makes it even faster and stronger. At the base, Eidrolon specializes exclusively in Transporting, but level 6 in that skill lets it quickly move large amounts of resources. Its saddle unlocks at Technology level 68.

Eidrolon Ignis has the same dash speed as the regular version, 2,750, but is better suited for a Fire party. Thanks to Kindling and Transporting Lv. 6, it is useful not only as a fast flying mount, but also as an endgame base worker. It can be assigned to smelting metals, cooking food, and transporting resources. Its saddle unlocks at Technology level 76.

Starryon Primo is one of the best new ground mounts. It has increased jump height and gains a significant speed boost from other Neutral Pals in the party. Because of this, a properly built squad lets you cross open areas quickly and handle uneven terrain more easily. At the base, Starryon Primo is valuable thanks to Gathering Lv. 7, making it one of the most effective crop and resource gatherers in Palworld 1.0.

Ophydia is a versatile mount for traveling on land and water. It reaches high speed while swimming, making it especially convenient for exploring islands and coastal regions.

Palworld's core focus is base development, where your Pals need to gather resources, grow food, and bring other valuable items to the main character. This list includes the best creatures for work.

Thanks to its fiery body, Arsox serves as a reliable mount and source of warmth in cold environments. Arsox charges forward using its horns to smash obstacles or enemies. This unique companion has a whole arsenal of skills, including the ability to spit fire and use a flaming horn. Arsox drops valuable items such as Horns and Flame Organs.

You can treat it as an upgraded Foxparks when it comes to managing furnaces and cooking stations. After upgrades, they can cook food and smelt ingots faster, especially if you use higher-quality workstations.

Early on, you can find Arsox in the highlands of the Bamboo Groves, east of the Quivern boss arena. There are also Arsox habitats on the snowy mountain island, in case you ever need to establish a base there.

Univolt brings an exciting feature to the game through its Partner Skill, which allows it to serve as a mount. This creature resembles a horse decorated with a bright yellow spiked mane and tail, along with a menacing black lightning-shaped horn. Beyond its riding potential, Univolt is excellent at powering generators.

When it comes to powering generators, Univolt is one of the good options for a base. It can generate more electricity than Jolthog or Sparkit. It can also help with logging. In combat, it can damage multiple enemies at once with strong area attacks.

Univolts can be found in the same regions as Arsox. Take a flying mount and scout the area, and eventually you will see Univolts roaming in small groups.

Meet Penking, the imposing older brother of Pengullet. This is an impressive Pal in a captain's hat. Using its Partner Skill, Brave Sailor, Penking becomes effective against Fire enemies and makes them drop more items after defeat.

Penking's versatile skill set goes far beyond being a combat Pal, as it actively helps with various base tasks. From Watering to Mining, Cooling, and Transporting, Penking proves to be a reliable and versatile companion. It also drops valuable items, including Ice Organs and unique Penking Plumes.

However, they can be very difficult to catch without using higher-level spheres or spending Lifmunk Effigies to improve your Pal capture power. Wild Penkings can be found only in the isolated Wildlife Sanctuary south of the Plateau of Beginnings. There is also an Alpha Penking boss northwest of Alpha Chillet, near the Fort Ruins.

Bushi is a great choice if you are looking for a Pal that can gather wood for you. It has Lumbering level 3, making it one of the best loggers in the game. Bushi is also good at Transporting and Kindling thanks to its other skills.

You can find Bushi roaming the southern beach of Mount Obsidian, the large volcanic island in the southwestern corner of the map. You can also try catching Alpha Bushi in the Bamboo Groves. Its arena is slightly southwest of the Ravine Entrance teleport waypoint.

Meet Bristla, one of the best farming helpers. This floral wonder not only boosts the attack of other Grass Pals through its Partner Skill, Princess Gaze, but also proves invaluable in various base tasks, including Planting, harvesting, Medicine Production, and Transporting. As a pleasant bonus, Bristla generously provides Wheat Seeds and Lettuce Seeds, giving you the chance to expand your farming options.

If you have problems with medicine, Bristla can make your life easier. You will often see them tending your farms and making sure all your Pals stay fed.

You can find them early by visiting the very center of the map. This Pal has no Alpha version boss arenas.

This small, cute pink rabbit wins hearts with its charm. Its excellent Partner Skill, Skilled Fingers, not only increases the attack power of Neutral Pals in battle, but also boosts equipment production efficiency. These are good Pals for producing weapons and ammunition thanks to the work efficiency bonus when assigned to a Weapon Workbench.

They are not the strongest fighters, but their unique Partner Skill more than makes up for it. Ribunny also stands out as a unique source of Beautiful Flowers in Palworld.

Ribunnies are fairly common. You can find them far west of the Plateau of Beginnings, near the Alpha Sweepa boss arena. They can also occasionally be found in cages at Syndicate camps.

Woolipop is an adorable little pink sheep. Do not be fooled by its modest appearance. Woolipops are a real find for resource-focused trainers. This Pal produces Cotton Candy when assigned to a Ranch.

Aside from this sweet contribution, Woolipop is eager to help with various farming tasks, showing its love of work.

Like Woolipop, Mozzarina is a good helper at the Ranch because of the products it produces. It has the useful Partner Skill Milk Maker. When assigned to your base, Mozzarina will occasionally produce Milk. While helping with these tasks, this Pal also generously provides Mozzarina Meat and other food-related products.

Milk can be used to cook various dishes, since a constant food supply for yourself and your whole team is an important part of progressing through Palworld.

You can also unlock a Small Feed Bag, which simplifies the process and automatically feeds a hungry Pal in your party.

Say hello to Flopie, an adorable pink-and-white rabbit. This Pal has the charming Partner Skill Helper Bunny, showing its helpful and supportive nature. This little creature can cover several base tasks at once. In addition, thanks to Helper Bunny, you can automatically pick up nearby items.

Although Flopie prefers places rich in vegetation, it has the unique ability to float in the air, adding to its mobility. In battle, Flopie surprises enemies by throwing seeds that explode like grenades, showing unexpected offensive potential. Flopie's drops include Low Grade Medical Supplies and Wheat Seeds.

Lifmunk has the same number of skills as Flopie and is even easier to obtain at lower levels, making it an essential helper for your base. Lifmunk provides two skills that are lacking in the early stages: Lumbering and Planting.

If there are wood sources at your base, it will immediately start chopping them. It will also plant any seeds you have stored on any suitable plantation. Early on, this will most likely be a Berry Plantation.

You can assign the creature however you like, but we recommend leaving it without a manual assignment so the Pal can switch from task to task on its own. On top of that, if you decide to take it into your party, it will eventually get its own submachine gun after you reach the required level.

The Recoil ability lets Lifmunk sit on the character's head and fire at enemies with a submachine gun. Considering how early you can get this Pal and its ability, it will become most players' first shooter-style companion in Palworld. Although it is not the strongest weapon, Lifmunk's submachine gun outperforms a bow, making it one of the best Pals to catch at the start of the game.

Pengullet is useful to keep at your base because it has both Watering and Cooling abilities. This means these creatures can support plant growth and keep cooked food cool, extending the shelf life of meals. Pengullets also take on almost any work, which makes them indispensable at your base.

When there is nothing to water, it will help carry items to chests. This means it will switch between the two tasks as needed, helping maintain a steady food supply after seeds are planted.

Its combat skill lets the player equip a rocket launcher and fire Pengullets as ammunition. When it hits the target, Pengullet explodes and becomes incapacitated.

Renjishi is one of the best all-purpose base workers in Palworld 1.0. Kindling Lv. 8 lets it smelt ingots and cook food extremely quickly, while Handiwork Lv. 6 makes it efficient at workbenches and production lines. Thanks to Gathering and Transporting Lv. 5, the Pal can also harvest crops and move finished resources into storage on its own. In combat, Renjishi is useful for Fire builds, helping apply Burn to enemies faster.

Solenne is one of the best new workers for a production base. Handiwork Lv. 8 allows it to craft weapons, ammunition, equipment, and other items at workbenches and assembly lines extremely quickly. Thanks to its Dark element, the Pal can keep working at night, while its additional Gathering and Transporting skills let it help with crops and move finished materials. In combat, Solenne is especially useful in a diverse party made up of Pals of different species.

Dandilord is one of the best Pals for an agricultural base. Planting Lv. 8 lets it manage a large number of plantations quickly, while Gathering Lv. 5 lets it harvest ripe crops. At the same time, the Pal can craft items and medicine, as well as transport the resulting resources. Thanks to its Dark element, Dandilord keeps working at night. It is also convenient to take along while exploring the World Tree: poison immunity and protection from toxic gas make dangerous areas noticeably easier to handle.