Palworld difficulty settings explained

Palworld - large yellow monster with large hands with claws smiling at the camera
Credit: Pocketpair

Palworld - large yellow monster with large hands with claws smiling at the camera
Credit: Pocketpair

Are you finding Palworld to be a bit too brutal? Or perhaps you're racing through the game and were expecting more of a challenge? We've got all the details on Palworld's difficulty settings and what they mean, as well as a walkthrough on how you can customise your difficulty settings to suit your style of play.

In this guide, we'll be explaining exactly how each of the difficulty settings in Palworld affects your experience of the game. Plus, as difficulty can be changed at any time, you'll never be locked into your previous decision and can change your settings whenever you want.

For more Palworld guides, we've got all the details on how Palworld's dungeons work, as well as how you can get yourself some wheat seeds.

Palworld - Pal resembling a dog on two feet, standing in a martial arts pose
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Credit: Pocketpair

All Palworld difficulty settings explained

Here, we'll be going through what all the standard difficulty settings are in Palworld, and what implications they'll have on your game. There's quite a jump in difficulty between each of these settings, so familiarising yourself with what they do is ideal before starting a new game, although you can change the settings at any time.

Should none of these settings feel quite right for you, Palworld does have a fully adjustable difficulty system. Before setting custom difficulty settings, you'll first have to navigate to where you can change your difficulty settings.

Casual

When playing on casual difficulty, rare resource drops from enemy Pals are much more likely to happen, while enemy Pals are easier to defeat. You'll also gain more experience for defeating Pals. Most notably, on casual difficulty, there's no penalty for dying, meaning you'll retain your inventory and Pals that are with you when you die.

Medium

Medium difficulty in Palworld is arguably the standard difficulty and the difficulty most players will opt for. Playing with medium difficulty causes experience and drops to occur at a normal rate, but less than the casual difficulty.

Pals are tougher to beat but shouldn't be too challenging if you're prepared, although you'll be punished accordingly if you are bested in a fight by dropping all of the items in your inventory. However, you can go and retrieve these items after respawning.

Hard

For players looking for a challenge, hard difficulty in Palworld is quite the grind. With a decreased rate of experience gain and decreased chance for Pals to drop rare resources, the hard difficulty intends to slow down your in-game progress as much as possible.

Additionally, Pals are even stronger and will deal more damage, and the penalty you'll face for being wiped out is even higher too. Now, you'll not only lose your inventory but all the Pals that were accompanying you when you die. Fear not, as you'll still be able to collect your Pals and items by returning to where you died.

How to change your difficulty settings in Palworld

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Follow this step-by-step guide if you want to change your difficulty in Palworld. You can change your difficulty at any time, no matter how far you've progressed, so feel free to experiment before settling on any one setting.

  • From the main menu, press Start Game
  • Select the world that you want to change the difficulty for
  • Press Change World Settings at the bottom of the screen
  • Select your desired difficulty option
  • To customise the difficulty settings further, press the Custom Settings button below the Difficulty slider

That's all there is to know about Palworld's difficulty settings. For more guides like this, check out how to ride Pals, or find out whether Pals can evolve in Palworld. We've also got a complete walkthrough on how to get the feed bag in Palworld.

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