Best Starter Pals in Palworld
The 5 Pals you should catch in your first hour — covering handcraft, carry weight, wool, kindling, and watering. Each one solves a different early-game problem, and all 5 spawn in the starter biome. Roles + partner skills are verified live against 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 handcraft Pal — speeds your first crafting bench
Plateau of Beginnings + Windswept Hills (starter biome)
Lifmunk is the first Pal almost every player catches because it spawns in the tutorial valley with the highest density of any starter. Handcraft 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 Seeding (your first food farm) and Collection (auto-pickup at the base).
Partner skill — Lifmunk Recoil: When activated, leaps onto the player's head and uses a submachine gun to follows up player 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: she rides on your back and gives you a permanent +50kg carry-weight boost. That single feature lets you stay out on a long resource run instead of returning to base every 10 minutes. Mining Lv 1 + Handcraft + Transport make her useful at the base too, but the carry-weight is what unlocks the early game.
Partner skill — Cat Helper: While in team, Cattiva helps carry supplies, increasing the player's max carrying capacity.
Wool farm + transport — unlocks early armor recipes
Plateau 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 — the input for cloth recipes (Cloth Outfit, Common Shield, Old Bow). Transport 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.
First Fire Pal — flamethrower mount + base kindling
Plateau of Beginnings (forest edge, dusk spawns)
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 — your first ranged weapon before you craft bows. At the base, his Kindling Lv 1 lights the cooking pot and the early-game smelter, removing your dependence on wood-fuel for those stations.
Partner skill — Huggy Fire: When activated, equips to the player and transforms into a flamethrower.
First watering Pal + scout cannonball + cooling
Coastlines around Plateau 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 lets you fire him as a cannonball — useful for crossing rivers and scouting cliffs you can't climb. Catchable in the same first hour as the other four.
Partner skill — Pengullet Cannon: When activated, the player equips a Rocket Launcher and fires 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 = permanent backpack boost | No real alternative in the starter biome — Cattiva is THE pick here. |
Handcraft at the base Speeds your first crafting bench so weapons + tools build while you explore. | Lifmunk — Handcraft Lv 1 + always available at spawn | Cattiva also has Handcraft Lv 1; double up if you have base slots. |
Wool / cloth supply Cloth is the input for your first armor + shield 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 Removes wood-fuel dependence for the cooking pot and smelter. | Foxparks — Kindling Lv 1 at the base + flamethrower in the field | No starter alternative — every other Fire Pal is mid-game catches. |
Watering crops + cooling food Berry farm + food storage both fail without water + cooling. | 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 (Lv 3) around level 20.
- Best flying mounts — replaces walking once you hit level 12 (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.
Frequently asked
What's the best Pal to catch first in Palworld?
Lifmunk. Spawns in the tutorial valley with the highest density of any starter Pal, and Handcraft Lv 1 makes it useful at your first crafting bench from minute one. Catch 2–3 Lifmunks before anything else so you have base workers while you go hunt the other starters.
Which starter Pal gives you more inventory space?
Cattiva. Her partner skill 'Capacity Increase' rides her on your back and gives you a permanent +50kg carry-weight boost. There's no other rarity-1 Pal with this effect — Cattiva is the standalone pick for inventory.
Do I need to catch all 5 starter Pals?
Yes, ideally in the first 2–3 hours. Each one solves a different problem: Lifmunk for crafting, Cattiva for carry weight, Lamball for cloth, Foxparks for fire/cooking, Pengullet for watering. You can play without any of them, but the early game stalls because you can't feed yourself or build armor.
Where do I find starter Pals in Palworld?
All 5 spawn in the Plateau of Beginnings and the Windswept Hills — the same starter biome you wake up in. Density is highest within ~500m of the first fast-travel point. None of them require a Sphere upgrade; the basic Pal Sphere catches all 5 reliably at full HP.
When should I replace starter Pals?
Mostly never for the partner-skill use cases (Cattiva backpack stays useful forever, Foxparks flamethrower works until you craft an Assault Rifle). At the base, the Pals get replaced one by one as you catch better workers: Lifmunk gives way to Anubis (Handcraft Lv 4) around level 30, Lamball gives way to dedicated Ranch Pals after the wool tech ladder. Pengullet stays useful for cooling for a long time.
Is there a Fire starter Pal?
Yes — Foxparks. He's the only rarity-1 Fire Pal in the starter biome. Catch him for Kindling at the base (cooking pot + smelter fuel) and for the flamethrower partner skill in the field. The next Fire Pal you'll meet is Rooby (rarity 2) much later in the level-20 zone.
Can I breed better Pals from the starters?
Yes — starter Pals are surprisingly good breeding parents because their rarity-1 cost makes them cheap to grind for IVs. Cattiva + Lamball produces Mau (a Dark-typed scout). Lifmunk + Foxparks produces Tanzee variants. The breeding calculator on Pindrop covers every viable starter combo.