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Early gamePalworld v1.0.017 pals ranked

Best Early Game Pals in Palworld v1.0.0

A good early roster is not the rarest pals, it is the ones that remove your biggest bottlenecks: carry weight, damage against the first bosses, and workers to keep your base running. Every pick below is catchable in roughly the first levels, and each one is grounded in the real 1.0 data, with where to catch it, what it does, and why it earns a slot.

Catch first

Catch these three first

If you do nothing else in your first hour, grab this trio. Each one removes a different early bottleneck: carry weight, damage, and resources.

Cattiva

The carry-weight starter

Wild Lv 1-9

Handiwork1

Gathering1

Mining1

Transport1

Partner skill

Cat Helper

While in party, Cattiva helps carry supplies, increasing the player's max carrying capacity by 100. (Does not stack)

Cattiva is the single best quality-of-life catch of the opening hour. Its partner skill raises your carrying capacity so you can haul stone, wood and ore without constant trips home, and it covers four base jobs (handiwork, gathering, mining, transporting) while you have almost no other workers. Grab one immediately, then a few more for the base.

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Foxparks

Flamethrower and firestarter

Wild Lv 5-9Rideable

Kindling1

Partner skill

Huggy Fire

When activated, equips to the player and transforms into a flamethrower.

Foxparks pulls double duty. Its partner skill turns it into a handheld flamethrower that melts the tanky early bosses and grass-type packs, and because kindling is its only base job it never wanders off your furnace or cooking pot. One in your party, one on smelting duty.

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Vixy

Free Pal Spheres from a ranch

Wild Lv 1-9

Gathering1

Ranch1

Partner skill

Dig Here!

Sometimes digs up items from the ground when assigned to Ranch.

Vixy is an economy engine. Assigned to a ranch it periodically digs up Pal Spheres, arrows and gold, exactly the resources you are always short on early. Keep at least one ranching until you can craft spheres in bulk, and you will never run dry mid-hunt.

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Combat

Combat and party pals

These fight alongside you or hand you a weapon. Early bosses hit hard, so a couple of these turn brick walls into speed bumps.

Daedream

A stackable extra attacker

Wild Lv 4-16Rideable

Handiwork1

Gathering1

Transport1

Partner skill

Dream Chaser

While in party, appears near the player. Attacks hostile enemies with Dark magic bullets. These bullets will not reduce the target's Health below 1.

Once you craft its necklace, Daedream fights alongside you without taking a party slot, and the effect stacks: a handful of Daedream means a swarm of dark magic bullets covering you at all times. Its shots also cannot drop a target below 1 HP, so it will not accidentally kill a pal you wanted to catch.

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Hoocrates

Buffs your Daedream swarm

Wild Lv 4-22

Gathering1

Partner skill

Dark Knowledge

While in party, increases Attack of Dark Pals by 15%. (Does not stack)

Hoocrates earns its slot by boosting the attack of Dark pals in your team. If you run the Daedream swarm, a single Hoocrates in the party sharpens every one of them at once. It also chips in gathering at base while you build up.

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Depresso

Cheap, cheerful, everywhere

Wild Lv 4-24

Handiwork1

Mining1

Transport1

Ranch1

Partner skill

Caffeine Inoculation

When activated, Depresso chugs an entire energy drink, increasing its Movement Speed and Work Speed by 100%. Sometimes drops Venom Gland when assigned to Ranch.

Depresso spawns thick across the starting zones and is easy to catch in numbers. It is a serviceable early fighter and a solid handiwork and transport worker, making it the filler pal that keeps both your party and your base ticking before the specialists arrive.

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Chillet

Your first Dragon, and a mount

Alpha Lv 11Rideable

Cooling2

Gathering1

Partner skill

Wriggling Weasel

Can be ridden. While mounted, changes the player’s attack type to Dragon and increases Attack by 5%.

Chillet is one of the closest alpha pals to your starting point. Beat it and it gives you early access to Dragon damage, a rideable mount, and genuinely strong attack stats, a huge power spike for a fight you can reach within the first hour or two.

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Base

Base workhorses

Your base runs on work suitability. These pals cover the jobs a first base leans on hardest so crafting, food and ore never stall.

Lifmunk

The classic first worker

Wild Lv 1-14Rideable

Planting1

Handiwork1

Gathering1

Lumbering1

Partner skill

Lifmunk Recoil

When activated, leaps onto the player's head and uses a submachine gun to follows up player attacks.

Lifmunk is the base pal almost everyone starts with, and it is a true generalist: handiwork, gathering, lumbering, planting and medicine production all in one small green package. Handiwork keeps your crafting queue moving, and medicine production quietly keeps the rest of your crew healthy while you are away.

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Pengullet

Watering plus a rocket

Wild Lv 2-41Rideable

Watering1

Handiwork1

Cooling1

Transport1

Partner skill

Pengullet Launcher

When activated, the player equips a Rocket Launcher to fire Pengullet as ammunition. Pengullet explodes on impact and is incapacitated.

Pengullet is one of the first pals you meet and one of the most useful. It covers watering, handiwork and transporting for the base, and its partner skill literally loads it into a rocket launcher when you need burst damage. Pair it with a planter for a self-sustaining berry farm.

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Tanzee

Handiwork and gathering

Wild Lv 4-12Rideable

Planting1

Handiwork1

Gathering1

Lumbering1

Partner skill

Cheery Rifle

When activated, Tanzee will mercilessly fire an assault rifle at nearby enemies for a limited time.

Tanzee is an easy early catch that handles handiwork and gathering, two of the jobs your first base leans on hardest. It is never the best at either, but it is available immediately and keeps things moving until you find specialists.

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Fuddler

Early mining muscle

Wild Lv 5-38

Handiwork1

Mining1

Transport1

Partner skill

Mining Assistance

While in party, improves player mining efficiency by 30% and reduces Stone weight by 80%. (Does not stack)

Fuddler brings mining to the base earlier than most, so your ore and stone stockpiles fill without you swinging a pickaxe. It doubles up on handiwork too, making it a strong pick for a first mining setup before you unlock a dedicated second base.

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Mau

Prints gold on a ranch

Wild Lv 5-15

Gathering1

Ranch1

Partner skill

Gold Digger

Sometimes digs up Gold Coin when assigned to Ranch.

Mau is the money pal. On a ranch it drops gold coins, funding the merchant purchases and technology unlocks that accelerate your whole run. Catch a couple, set them ranching, and let your economy compound while you explore.

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Caprity

Berries and planting

Wild Lv 6-28

Planting2

Ranch1

Partner skill

Berry Picker

Sometimes drops Red Berries from its back when assigned to Ranch. While in party, restores 100 Pal’s Hunger to the Pal with the lowest Hunger every 5 minutes. (Does not stack)

Caprity brings Level 2 planting, making it one of your stronger early crop workers, and on a ranch it drops Red Berries directly. Combined with a berry plantation it helps solve the early food problem outright, and while in your party it periodically tops up the hunger of whichever pal is emptiest.

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Mount

Mounts and traversal

Palpagos is large and your stamina bar is not. An early mount changes how fast you explore, and most of these earn their keep at base too.

Eikthyrdeer

Double jump and lumbering

Wild Lv 6-13Rideable

Lumbering2

Partner skill

Guardian of the Forest

Can be ridden. Can perform a double jump while mounted and increases lumbering efficiency by 220%.

Eikthyrdeer is the go-to early mount: fast, and crucially it can double jump, which unlocks traversal routes you simply cannot reach on foot. Off the saddle it is a lumbering worker, so one mount and one at base keeps both your movement and your wood supply sorted.

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Direhowl

The fast early ground mount

Wild Lv 6-14Rideable

Gathering1

Partner skill

Direhowl Rider

Can be ridden. Moves slightly faster than most mounts.

Direhowl is a nimble ground mount you can catch very early, and its partner skill makes it faster than most rides, so it closes the gap before you unlock anything better. It also pitches in with gathering at base, so it is never a wasted catch.

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Melpaca

A ride that also makes wool

Wild Lv 5-17Rideable

Ranch2

Partner skill

Pacapaca Wool

Can be ridden. While in party, increases Kingpaca's Defense and Movement Speed. Sometimes drops Wool when assigned to Ranch.

Melpaca is an easy, forgiving early mount for covering ground while you scout the map. It doubles as a Level 2 ranch pal that produces Wool, giving you an early, steady cloth supply without chasing wool drops out in the wild.

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Rushoar

A mount that smashes ore

Wild Lv 5-13Rideable

Mining1

Partner skill

Hard Head

Can be ridden. While mounted, increases efficiency of destroying Stone by 500%.

Rushoar is a rideable pal whose charge shatters boulders, and it can clip several clustered rocks in a single dash. That makes it a mobile mining tool early on, letting you gather stone and ore on the move long before you build a proper mining base.

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What are the best early game pals in Palworld 1.0?

The strongest early picks cover three needs: carry weight and utility (Cattiva, Vixy), damage (Foxparks, Incineram, Chillet), and base work (Lifmunk, Pengullet, Tombat-tier miners). Catch a spread across those roles rather than stacking one, since your first base needs workers as much as your party needs fighters.

Which pal should I catch first in Palworld?

Cattiva. Its partner skill raises your carrying capacity, which is the single biggest early bottleneck, and it works four base jobs while you have almost no other pals. Grab a Foxparks for damage and a Vixy for its Pal Sphere ranch right after.

What are the best early base pals?

Lifmunk and Pengullet cover watering and handiwork immediately, Vixy and Mau generate spheres and gold from a ranch, Caprity and a planter solve food, and an early mining pal keeps ore flowing. Spread your base crew across jobs so nothing stalls.

What is the best early mount in Palworld 1.0?

Eikthyrdeer is the go-to early mount because it can double jump, opening traversal routes you cannot reach on foot, and it works lumbering at base. Direhowl and Melpaca are faster to catch if you want a ride even sooner.