Every Palworld dedicated server is controlled by a single configuration file called PalWorldSettings.ini. It covers everything from day and night length to XP gain, Pal capture rates, death penalties, PvP, and guild rules, so it's worth understanding before you start tweaking it.
This guide walks through every setting available in the current version of Palworld, grouped by category, along with the default value and a recommended starting point for the settings players ask about most.
Where To Find Your Configuration File
- Log into your MintServers panel and Stop your Palworld server.
- Go to the Files tab in the left sidebar.
- Navigate to the following folder:
📁 Pal
📁 Saved
📁 Config
📁 LinuxServer
If this folder is empty or PalWorldSettings.ini doesn't exist yet, start your server once first. This folder is only created after the server has run at least one time. If you still don't see the file, copy DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini from the server's root folder, rename the copy to PalWorldSettings.ini, and place it in the folder above.
Every setting lives inside a single line, in this format:
Every setting is separated by a comma, all on one line. A misplaced comma or quotation mark can prevent the whole file from loading, so it's worth keeping a backup copy of a working file before making large changes.
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These are the settings most new server owners touch first. All four are multipliers, so a value of 2.0 means twice the default speed, and 0.5 means half.
Time & Rate Settings
DayTimeSpeedRate(Default: 1.0) — How fast daytime passes.NightTimeSpeedRate(Default: 1.0) — How fast nighttime passes.ExpRate(Default: 1.0) — Multiplier for XP gained by players.WorkSpeedRate(Default: 1.0) — How fast Pals complete base tasks like crafting and gathering.
Recommended values: A popular combination for casual and family-friendly servers is raising ExpRate to somewhere between 1.5 and 2.0 so players level up faster with limited playtime, and raising NightTimeSpeedRate to 2.0–3.0 while leaving DayTimeSpeedRate closer to 1.0, since nights are more dangerous and less productive for most players. If you want a slower, more grindy experience instead, try 0.5–0.75 on ExpRate.
Pal Settings
Pal Settings
PalCaptureRate(Default: 1.0) — Multiplier for how likely a capture attempt succeeds.PalSpawnNumRate(Default: 1.0) — Multiplier for how many Pals spawn in the world.PalDamageRateAttack(Default: 1.0) — Damage dealt by Pals.PalDamageRateDefense(Default: 1.0) — Damage taken by Pals.PalAutoHPRegeneRate(Default: 1.0) — Natural HP regen for Pals while active.PalAutoHpRegeneRateInSleep(Default: 1.0) — HP regen for Pals resting in a Palbox.PalStaminaDecreaceRate(Default: 1.0) — How quickly Pals burn through stamina.PalStomachDecreaceRate(Default: 1.0) — How quickly Pals get hungry.PalEggDefaultHatchingTime(Default: 72) — Hours for the largest eggs to hatch. Smaller eggs hatch sooner.
Recommended values: Raising PalCaptureRate to 1.5–2.0 is an easy way to make a server friendlier for newer players. PalSpawnNumRate is worth raising more cautiously — Pocketpair's own documentation notes that it directly impacts server performance, so nudge it up gradually (for example 1.2–1.5) and watch for lag before going further.
Player Settings And Death Penalty
Player Settings
PlayerDamageRateAttack(Default: 1.0) — Damage dealt by players.PlayerDamageRateDefense(Default: 1.0) — Damage taken by players.PlayerAutoHPRegeneRate(Default: 1.0) — Natural player HP regen.PlayerAutoHpRegeneRateInSleep(Default: 1.0) — Player HP regen while sleeping.PlayerStaminaDecreaceRate(Default: 1.0) — How quickly players burn through stamina.PlayerStomachDecreaceRate(Default: 1.0) — How quickly players get hungry.BlockRespawnTime— Cooldown in seconds before a player can respawn after dying.RespawnPenaltyTimeScale— Multiplier applied to the respawn cooldown on repeated deaths.RespawnPenaltyDurationThreshold— How long, in seconds, a player must survive before the penalty multiplier resets.bPalLost— When enabled, Pals are permanently lost on death rather than just dropped.
DeathPenalty (Default: All) — this is one of the most impactful settings on the list, and its default is the harshest option available:
None— Nothing is dropped on death.Item— Inventory items are dropped, but equipped gear is kept.ItemAndEquipment— Inventory items and equipped gear are both dropped.All(Default) — Items, equipment, and every Pal on the player's active team are dropped.
Recommended values: Because the default drops a player's entire Pal team, most casual and family-friendly servers soften this to Item or None. Reserve All for hardcore survival servers or competitive PvP, where high stakes are part of the appeal.
World, Loot And Building
World & Building Settings
CollectionDropRate(Default: 1.0) — Multiplier for items gathered from resource nodes like trees and rocks.CollectionObjectHpRate(Default: 1.0) — HP of gatherable objects such as trees and ore deposits.CollectionObjectRespawnSpeedRate(Default: 1.0) — How quickly gathered nodes respawn.EnemyDropItemRate(Default: 1.0) — Multiplier for items dropped by defeated enemies.BuildObjectDamageRate(Default: 1.0) — Damage multiplier for built structures.BuildObjectDeteriorationDamageRate(Default: 1.0) — How quickly built structures decay outside of a base.ItemWeightRate(Default: 1.0) — Multiplier for how much items weigh in inventory.EquipmentDurabilityDamageRate(Default: 1.0) — How quickly equipped gear loses durability.ItemCorruptionMultiplier— Rate at which items corrupt over time, where enabled.SupplyDropSpan(Default: 180) — Minutes between meteorite and supply drop events.DropItemMaxNum(Default: 3000) — Maximum items allowed on the ground at once, server-wide.DropItemAliveMaxHours(Default: 1) — Hours before a dropped item despawns.MaxBuildingLimitNum— Per-player structure cap. Set to 0 for unlimited.bBuildAreaLimit— Prevents building too close to key locations like fast-travel points.bEnableInvaderEnemy(Default: True) — Enables base-invasion attacks from hostile Pals.
Base Camps And Guilds
Base Camp & Guild Settings
BaseCampMaxNum(Default: 128) — Total base camps allowed across the whole server.BaseCampMaxNumInGuild(Default: 4, max 10) — Bases allowed per guild.BaseCampWorkerMaxNum(Default: 15, max 50) — Maximum working Pals per base.GuildPlayerMaxNum(Default: 20) — Maximum players allowed in a single guild.GuildRejoinCooldownMinutes— Cooldown before a player can rejoin a guild after leaving it.bAutoResetGuildNoOnlinePlayers— When enabled, disbands a guild automatically once all members have been offline for a set time.AutoResetGuildTimeNoOnlinePlayers(Default: 72) — Hours of inactivity before the setting above triggers.CoopPlayerMaxNum(Default: 4) — Maximum party size for co-op play.ServerPlayerMaxNum(Default: 32) — Maximum total players allowed on the server at once.ServerReplicatePawnCullDistance— Distance, in centimeters, at which Pals stop syncing to nearby players. Minimum 5000, maximum 15000.
BaseCampWorkerMaxNum above 15 or CoopPlayerMaxNum above 4 doesn't actually change the in-game limit. If you increase either of these and don't see a difference, this is a known quirk rather than something wrong with your configuration.
PvP Settings
PvP Settings
bIsPvP(Default: False) — Master switch for PvP. Set alongside the two settings below to fully enable it.bEnablePlayerToPlayerDamage(Default: False) — Allows players to damage each other.bEnableDefenseOtherGuildPlayer— Lets base defenses and Pals engage players outside your guild.bEnableFriendlyFire(Default: False) — Allows players in the same guild to damage each other.bCanPickupOtherGuildDeathPenaltyDrop— Allows players to loot items dropped by players from other guilds.bAdditionalDropItemWhenPlayerKillingInPvPMode— When enabled, killing a player in PvP drops a bonus item (a "Champion's Emblem" by default).bDisplayPvPItemNumOnWorldMap_Player/bDisplayPvPItemNumOnWorldMap_BaseCamp— Shows the number of PvP reward items held by players and stored in bases on the world map.
Hardcore Mode And Spawn Randomizer
Hardcore & Randomizer Settings
bHardcore(Default: False) — Enables Hardcore mode. Players cannot respawn after death.bCharacterRecreateInHardcore— Allows a player to create a new character after dying in Hardcore mode, instead of being locked out permanently.RandomizerType— Shuffles where Pals spawn.Nonekeeps normal spawns,Regionshuffles within each region,Allshuffles globally.RandomizerSeed— Seed value used when a randomizer mode above is active.
Server Identity, Access And Crossplay
Identity & Access Settings
ServerName— The name shown in the Community Servers list.ServerDescription— A short description shown alongside your server name.AdminPassword— Password used to grant yourself admin permissions in-game.ServerPassword— Password required for players to join the server.PublicPort(Default: 8211) — The port your server listens on. On MintServers, use the port shown on your panel rather than this default.CrossplayPlatforms(Default: Steam, Xbox, PS5, Mac) — Which platforms are allowed to connect.bAllowClientMod— Allows players running client-side mods to join.bIsShowJoinLeftMessage— Shows an in-game chat message whenever a player joins or leaves.ChatPostLimitPerMinute— Caps how many chat messages a player can send per minute.
Advanced And Administrative Settings
Advanced Settings
RCONEnabled— Enables remote console access for admin tools.RCONPort(Default: 25575) — Listening port for RCON.RESTAPIEnabled— Enables Palworld's REST API.RESTAPIPort— Listening port for the REST API.bIsUseBackupSaveData— Enables Palworld's own rolling save backups (separate from MintServers panel backups). Increases disk usage.LogFormatType— Sets server log output toTextorJson.bEnableFastTravel(Default: True) — Enables fast travel between discovered points.bEnableFastTravelOnlyBaseCamp— Restricts fast travel to base-to-base only.bIsStartLocationSelectByMap— Lets new players pick their starting location on the map.bExistPlayerAfterLogout— When enabled, a player's character stays in the world (asleep) after logging out instead of disappearing.bShowPlayerList— Shows the online player list in the pause menu.bAllowGlobalPalboxExport/bAllowGlobalPalboxImport— Allow saving Pals to, or loading Pals from, the Global Palbox.DenyTechnologyList— Blocks specific technologies from being researched. Useful for disabling items that unbalance PvP.
If you'd rather start from a preset than tune every value individually, try one of these combinations:
- Casual / family-friendly:
ExpRate=1.5,PalCaptureRate=1.5,DeathPenalty=Item,NightTimeSpeedRate=2.0 - Standard / balanced: Leave rates at their defaults, and consider softening
DeathPenaltyfromAlltoItemso new players don't lose their whole team on their first death. - Hardcore / competitive PvP: Keep
DeathPenalty=All, lowerExpRateto0.75, and enable the PvP settings covered above.
A quick note on the Difficulty field you may see referenced elsewhere: it still appears in some configuration templates, but it's a legacy setting that Pocketpair has not made functional on dedicated servers. The individual rate settings above are what actually control difficulty today.
Once your settings are saved, restart your server for the changes to take effect. If anything doesn't behave the way you expect, no worries! Just open a support ticket and our team will be happy to help you get it dialed in.