Best Starter Pals in Palworld
The 5 Pals you should catch in your first hour — covering handiwork, carry weight, wool, kindling, and watering. Each one solves a different early-game problem, and all 5 spawn in the starter biome. Partner skills are read live from pal-stats.json.
The 5 starter Pals, ranked by catch order
Ranking is recommended catch sequence based on spawn density and the role each Pal unlocks at the base. Skip ahead to the role-coverage matrix if you only need one specific Pal.
First handiwork Pal — speeds your first crafting bench
Hill of Beginnings + Windswept Hills (starter biome)
Lifmunk is the first Pal almost every player catches because it spawns in the tutorial valley near the Hill of Beginnings. Handiwork Lv 1 makes it the right pal to drop at your first crafting bench so you can hand-make tools and weapons without standing at the bench yourself. Bonus: it also handles Planting (your first food farm) and Gathering (auto-pickup at the base).
Partner skill — Lifmunk Recoil: When activated, leaps onto the player's head and uses a submachine gun to follow up the player's attacks.
Carry-weight backpack — your first inventory upgrade
Windswept Hills (open meadows, rarity 1)
Cattiva's partner skill is the actual reason to catch her: 'Cat Helper' has her carry supplies while she's in your party, raising your max carrying capacity by 100 — and up to 200 once she's ranked up. That single feature lets you stay out on a long resource run instead of returning to base every 10 minutes. Mining Lv 1 + Handiwork + Transporting make her useful at the base too, but the carry-weight is what unlocks the early game.
Partner skill — Cat Helper: While in party, Cattiva helps carry supplies, increasing the player's max carrying capacity by (100~200).
Wool farm + transporting — unlocks early armor recipes
Hill of Beginnings (grasslands, very high spawn rate)
Lamball is your first crop-style Pal. Drop her at a Ranch base structure and she produces Wool passively — 2 Wool makes 1 Cloth, and Cloth is the input for the Cloth Outfit, the Tropical and Tundra Outfits, the Normal Parachute and the Metal Armor line (including its Heat Resistant and Cold Resistant versions). Transporting Lv 1 also means she ports finished items between stations. If you only catch one Pal for the base in your first 2 hours, make it Lamball.
Partner skill — Fluffy Shield: When activated, equips to the player and becomes a shield.
Foxparks does two jobs nobody else in this list does. Out in the field, his partner skill turns him into a flamethrower you can equip. At the base, his Kindling Lv 1 lights the Cooking Pot and the Primitive Furnace — both need a Fire Pal to light a flame.
Partner skill — Huggy Fire: When activated, equips to the player and transforms into a flamethrower.
First watering Pal + rocket-launcher ammo + cooling
Coastlines around Hill of Beginnings + Windswept Hills
Pengullet finishes the starter five with everything water-related. Watering Lv 1 keeps the berry farm alive (your earliest food source), Cooling Lv 1 keeps the food cellar from spoiling, and his partner skill has you fire him from a Rocket Launcher as ammunition (he explodes on impact and is incapacitated). Catchable in the same first hour as the other four.
Partner skill — Pengullet Launcher: When activated, the player equips a Rocket Launcher to fire Pengullet as ammunition.
Role-coverage matrix — which starter solves which problem
Each early-game task maps to exactly one starter Pal that handles it best. If you need a specific job done, find it here.
| Role | Best pick | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
Carry weight (more inventory) Lets you stay out on a resource run instead of returning to drop loot. | Cattiva — partner skill raises carry capacity while she is in your party | No real alternative in the starter biome — Cattiva is THE pick here. |
Handiwork at the base Speeds your first crafting bench so weapons + tools build while you explore. | Lifmunk — Handiwork Lv 1 + always available at spawn | Cattiva also has Handiwork Lv 1; double up if you have base slots. |
Wool / cloth supply Cloth is the input for your first armor recipes. | Lamball — drop at a Ranch base structure, passive wool drops | Foxparks doesn't help here; Lamball is the only Ranch-style starter. |
Cooking + early smelting The Cooking Pot and Primitive Furnace need a Fire Pal to light them. | Foxparks — Kindling Lv 1 at the base + flamethrower in the field | Rooby is the next Fire Pal to look for — it is not a mid-game catch. |
Watering crops + cooling food Berry plantations need watering; a Cooling Pal slows food spoiling in the Cooler Box. | Pengullet — Watering Lv 1 + Cooling Lv 1 in one Pal | Foxparks is the OPPOSITE — never put him next to crops. |
What to do AFTER catching all 5
Once your base has the starter five working, the next progression unlocks are tied to specific guides:
- Best mining Pals — your bridge from Cattiva (Mining Lv 1) to Digtoise (Mining Lv 4).
- Best flying mounts — replaces walking once you hit level 15 (Nitewing).
- Best breeding combos — your starter Pals are surprisingly useful as cheap breeding parents.
- All Alpha Pal locations — first "boss" content, opens around level 10.