Configuring Your Palworld Server: All Key Settings

Configuring your Palworld server

All the gameplay rules of your Palworld server live in PalWorldSettings.ini. At RespawnHost you don’t have to edit it by hand: the panel includes a config editor for your server showing every setting with a description, sensible limits and dropdowns — changes save automatically.

The most popular settings

Rates & progression

Setting	Default	Range	Effect
XP rate (ExpRate)	1.0	0.1–20	XP multiplier for players & Pals. 2.0–3.0 is the most popular quality-of-life boost.
Work speed (WorkSpeedRate)	1.0	0.1–5	How fast players & Pals work.
Capture rate (PalCaptureRate)	1.0	0.5–2	Chance of catching Pals.
Gathering yield (CollectionDropRate)	1.0	0.5–3	Yield when gathering (wood, ore …). 2.0 = half the grind.
Egg hatching time (PalEggDefaultHatchingTime)	72 h	0–240	Hours until large eggs hatch. Lower to 0–2 to skip the long wait.

Difficulty & death

Setting	Default	Options / range	Effect
Difficulty (Difficulty)	Custom	Casual / Normal / Hard / Custom	Preset — with “Custom” your individual values apply.
Death penalty (DeathPenalty)	All	None / Items only / Items + equipment / All	What you drop on death. “Items only” is much more relaxed than the default.
Damage taken (PlayerDamageRateDefense)	1.0	0.1–5	Lower = players take less punishment.
Hunger rate (PlayerStomachDecreaceRate)	1.0	0.1–5	Lower = eat less often.

Base & Pals

Setting	Default	Range	Effect
Workers per base (BaseCampWorkerMaxNum)	15	1–50	More Pals per base = more productivity, but also more server load.
Bases per guild (BaseCampMaxNumInGuild)	4	1–10	How many bases a guild may build.
Structure decay (BuildObjectDeteriorationDamageRate)	1.0	0–10	0 = no decay — popular if you don’t want buildings to crumble.
Raids (bEnableInvaderEnemy)	On	On/Off	Random attacks on your base.

Multiplayer & PvP

Setting	Default	Effect
Max guild members (GuildPlayerMaxNum)	20	Up to 100 possible.
PvP (bIsPvP)	Off	Player-versus-player mode.
Crossplay platforms (CrossplayPlatforms)	Steam, Xbox, PS5, Mac	Which platforms may connect.

Popular “relaxed” configuration

For laid-back sessions with friends, this combination has proven popular:

ExpRate = 2.0
PalCaptureRate = 1.5
CollectionDropRate = 2.0
PalEggDefaultHatchingTime = 1.0
DeathPenalty = Item (items only)
BuildObjectDeteriorationDamageRate = 0
PlayerStomachDecreaceRate = 0.5

All of it right in the config editor — restart the server, done.

Hardcore variant

For maximum challenge: bHardcore = On (permadeath), bPalLost = On (Pals are lost on death), DeathPenalty = All. Fair warning — it’s unforgiving.

A note on value ranges

The min/max values match the slider limits of the in-game world settings. The server partly accepts higher values — but extreme values (e.g. XP ×100) can wreck balance or performance. Test bigger changes with a backup in place.

Related guides

• Creating & setting up a server — basics and startup variables
• How much RAM do I need? — package recommendations
• Installing mods — PAK mods from CurseForge