Palworld starters explained: Which Pals should you pick?
Make pals with these Pals.
Palworld is causing something of a stir in the gaming world, with players rushing to experience ‘Pokémon with guns’ so we’ve got the best starters explained and will go over which Pals you should pick to maximise your chances of survival.
If you need an extra helping hand, you can always call upon some friends to help out in Palworld multiplayer, if they are playing on the same platform as you, that is.
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The best starter Pals will help you net all the Palworld achievements too and give you a fighting chance when going up against higher-level Pals and bosses.
If you’re not sure if the game is for you, you can check out our Palworld review round-up to help make up your mind or try it out on Xbox Game Pass if you’re already subscribed.
But that’s quite enough from us, read on to see which Pals to make pals with!
Best starter Pals in Palworld
Unlike Pokémon, you don’t get a starter Pal in Palworld and it’s up to you to capture Pal’s in the wild. Below are five of the best ones we recommend to go after first at the beginning of your run.
Daedream
Daedream only appear at night, so it might be a short while until you come across them. Once darkness does fall, they are found all over the map and are easy to spot owing to their glowing locks.
Daedreams are great for combat encounters as they use ranged attacks, meaning they keep themselves safe and improve a Pal’s capture rating without you having to get too close before throwing a Palsphere.
They’re ideal for tackling many of the Pals you’ll come across early on and they can be upgraded further with a craftable necklace that makes Daedream launch fireballs at enemies.
They aren’t the best workers for performing tasks in your base, but we’d highly recommend having them in your party as you explore.
Cattiva
Cattiva are low-level Pals who won’t be of huge help in combat but increase your carrying capacity when in your party, which is extremely useful early on as you won’t have anywhere to put your loot until you start building a base.
They can make for good fodder to whittle down higher-level Pals before you capture them with a Palsphere if you intend to play the game like Lord Farquad from Shrek.
Once you do have a base, Cattivas will get started on all sorts of busy work and improve your output such as gathering, handiwork, transporting and mining
Foxsparks
Though you will have a campfire ready for your first night in Palworld, you probably won’t have the right gear to go out in the cold and keep exploring during the twilight hours.
Foxsparks will keep you warm as they produce their own heat source and allow you to see in the dark too, so you won’t be resting on your laurels waiting for the sun to come up.
As Foxsparks doesn’t have hands, they won’t be able to help craft anything, but they can keep you safe if an angry Pal stumbles across you.
Tanzee
Once you’ve got a few Cattivas, you’ll be able to take down Tanzees, which are, arguably, one of the best early Pals to have working in your base.
They’re quite a bit more efficient than Cattivas in a lot of tasks such as planting, handiwork, lumbering, gathering and transporting.
Later on, they make great fighters, too, as they are adept at using guns once you manage to start crafting them – something very useful when your base comes under attack.
Lamball
This little fluffball is said to be “at the bottom of the food chain” and that much is true, as they take barely any damage before they die.
They are great for farming XP and they provide wool which is used to make cloth which can, in turn, be used to make clothes and armour.
Once you are able to craft guns, Lamballs will man (sheep?) heavy machine gun emplacements and more than pull their weight in defending your base. The range of the machine guns will help keep raiders from getting to close as they still have quite low HP, even when levelled up.
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Read more on Palworld: Full list of Palworld Pals | Do Pals evolve? | Palworld vs Pokémon | Palworld on Xbox Game Pass vs Steam | Palworld bosses | Palworld mods | Palworld Anubis | Palworld base guide | Palworld map | Palworld Ore farm | Palworld patch notes | Is Palworld free? | Palworld sales numbers | Palworld Depresso | Palworld starters | Palworld breeding combos | Palworld PC requirements | Will Palworld come to PS4, Mac and Switch? | Palworld server status | Palworld multiplayer | Palworld achievements | Palworld reviews | Palworld release date
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Authors
Cole Luke is a freelance journalist and video producer who contributes to RadioTimes.com's Gaming section. He also has bylines for Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, Network N and more.
