Every Palworld dedicated server is controlled by a single file: PalWorldSettings.ini. It’s not the friendliest format — every one of its 100+ settings lives on a single comma-separated line — but once you understand the structure, tuning your server’s difficulty, rates and rules takes minutes. This guide covers every category of setting, the exact defaults, and the quirks that trip people up most (starting with the file that silently ignores your changes).
File format & where it lives
PalWorldSettings.ini must be exactly two lines. Line one is a fixed header, line two is every single setting packed into one comma-separated OptionSettings=(...) block. Miss a comma, quote or bracket and the whole file gets ignored in favour of defaults.
OptionSettings=(Difficulty=None,DayTimeSpeedRate=1.000000,ExpRate=1.000000,PalCaptureRate=1.000000,DeathPenalty=Item,ServerName=“My Server”,ServerPlayerMaxNum=32)
File locations, by platform:
🪟 Windows
Pal/Saved/Config/
WindowsServer/
PalWorldSettings.ini
🐧 Linux
Pal/Saved/Config/
LinuxServer/
PalWorldSettings.ini
☁️ Managed hosting
Most providers expose the same settings directly in the web panel — no FTP needed.
This folder only appears after the server has run at least once. If it’s missing, start the server once, stop it, then copy DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini from the install root into that folder and rename the copy.
⚠️ Two mistakes cause almost every “my settings won’t apply” report
1. Editing the wrong file. DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini in the install root is a reference template only — editing it does nothing. You must edit the live copy under Saved/Config/[Windows|Linux]Server/.
2. WorldOption.sav silently overrides the .ini. Once a world has been generated in-game, the server copies most world settings into WorldOption.sav (next to your save files) and stops reading them from PalWorldSettings.ini entirely — server identity, ports and player caps are the exception and still come from the .ini. If a setting change won’t stick on an existing world, back up and delete WorldOption.sav, or use a WorldOption.sav generator to produce a matching replacement.
Always stop the server completely before editing, and restart afterward — settings are only read on boot, so a live server won’t pick up changes without a restart.
Server & access settings
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
ServerName | “Default Palworld Server” | Name shown in the server browser |
ServerDescription | “” | Short description shown alongside the name |
ServerPassword | “” | Password required to join — leave blank for open |
AdminPassword | “” | Set before going public — type /AdminPassword yourpass in-game chat to gain admin rights |
ServerPlayerMaxNum | 32 | Hard cap on dedicated servers — can’t be raised past 32 |
CoopPlayerMaxNum | 4 | Cap for pure invite co-op (non-dedicated) — separate limit |
PublicIP / PublicPort | “” / 8211 | Required only if listing in the public community browser |
RCONEnabled | False | Enables remote console admin without direct server access |
RCONPort | 25575 | Port used for RCON connections |
RESTAPIEnabled | False | Enables the server’s REST API for external tools/dashboards |
CrossplayPlatforms | (Steam,Xbox,PS5,Mac) | Which platforms can join — remove one to block that platform |
Region | “” | Region tag shown in the server browser |
AutoSaveSpan | 30 | Seconds between world auto-saves |
bIsUseBackupSaveData | True | Keeps rolling backup saves — leave enabled |
World rates & timers
Set Difficulty=None if you want full manual control — any other Difficulty preset overrides most of the multipliers below.
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
Difficulty | None | Preset (None/Casual/Normal/Hard) — overrides custom multipliers unless None |
DayTimeSpeedRate | 1.0 | Above 1 makes daytime pass faster (shorter days) |
NightTimeSpeedRate | 1.0 | Above 1 makes nighttime pass faster (shorter nights) |
ExpRate | 1.0 | Multiplier for XP earned — 2 = double, capped at 20 |
PalCaptureRate | 1.0 | Multiplier for capture success chance |
PalSpawnNumRate | 1.0 | How many Pals exist in the world — raise for more abundance |
PalEggDefaultHatchingTime | 1 hour (1.0 build) | Real hours for eggs to hatch — 1.0 lowered the default from up to 72h |
WorkSpeedRate | 1.0 | How fast Pals work at bases — also affects breeding indirectly |
EnemyDropItemRate | 1.0 | Multiplier for loot dropped by defeated enemies |
CollectionDropRate | 1.0 | Multiplier for resource node drops (ore, wood, etc.) |
CollectionObjectRespawnSpeedRate | 1.0 | How fast harvested nodes respawn |
ItemWeightRate | 1.0 | Multiplier for how much item weight counts against your carry limit |
Pal combat & behaviour
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
PalDamageRateAttack / Defense | 1.0 / 1.0 | Multipliers for damage Pals deal and take |
PlayerDamageRateAttack / Defense | 1.0 / 1.0 | Multipliers for damage players deal and take |
PlayerStomachDecreaceRate | 1.0 | How fast player hunger drains — lower for a more relaxed pace |
PalStomachDecreaceRate | 1.0 | How fast Pal hunger drains |
PlayerAutoHPRegeneRate | 1.0 | Player passive HP regen speed |
PalAutoHPRegeneRate | 1.0 | Pal passive HP regen speed |
bEnableInvaderEnemy | True | Toggles the invader/raid enemy system — associated with a known memory-growth issue on dedicated servers; many hosts recommend setting to False |
RandomizerType | None | Randomises Pal spawn locations — None / Region / All |
RandomizerSeed | “” | Seed used when randomisation is enabled, for reproducible results |
ServerReplicatePawnCullDistance | 15000 | Distance (cm) at which Pals sync around players — lower eases server load, higher improves visual accuracy at a performance cost |
Player stats & survival
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
DeathPenalty | Item (1.0 build) | What players lose on death — None/Item/ItemAndEquipment/All. 1.0 softened the default from All to Item |
bEnablePlayerToPlayerDamage | False | Master PvP toggle — see PvP section for the fine-grained controls |
bEnableFriendlyFire | False | Whether players in the same guild can damage each other |
bEnableInvaderEnemy | True | See Pal Combat section — recommend False for stability |
bActiveUNKO | False | Toggles Pal “byproduct” drops used for fertiliser |
bEnableAimAssistPad / KeyboardMouse | True / False | Aim assist toggles by input method |
DropItemMaxNum | 3000 | Server-wide cap on items lying on the ground before oldest despawn |
DropItemAliveMaxHours | 1.0 | Hours dropped items stay in the world before despawning |
bAllowGlobalPalboxExport / Import | True / True | Whether Palbox data can be exported/imported between servers |
Base & guild settings
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
BaseCampMaxNum | 128 | Total base camps allowed on the server — a server-wide limit, not per player |
BaseCampWorkerMaxNum | 15 | Max Pals working at a single base. Known bug: this doesn’t apply to worlds that already exist via the .ini — use a matching WorldOption.sav instead |
BaseCampMaxNumInGuild | 4 | Bases per guild, max 10 — each added base increases server load |
GuildPlayerMaxNum | 20 | Max players allowed per guild |
MaxBuildingLimitNum | 0 (unlimited) | Server-wide building piece cap — set above 0 to enforce a limit |
BuildObjectDamageRate | 1.0 | Multiplier for damage dealt to base structures |
BuildObjectDeteriorationDamageRate | 1.0 | Speed at which unrepaired structures decay |
EquipmentDurabilityDamageRate | 1.0 | How fast equipped items lose durability |
ItemContainerForceMarkDirtyInterval | 1.0 | Save-sync interval for storage containers — leave default unless debugging |
PvP & system settings
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
bEnablePlayerToPlayerDamage | False | Master switch — must be True for any PvP damage to register |
bEnableFriendlyFire | False | Allows guild members to damage each other when PvP is on |
bEnableFastTravel | True | Toggles fast travel between fast travel points |
bIsMultiplay | True | Should always stay True on a dedicated server |
bIsPvP | False | Server-wide PvP flag shown in the browser and used by some panels alongside the damage toggle above |
PalLostActionTakeBackItem | True | Whether lost Pals can be recovered with their items intact |
bHardcore | False | Permadeath mode — death removes the player’s Pals/items permanently |
bPalLost | False | Whether Pals are permanently lost on player death in hardcore-adjacent setups |
ChatPostLimitNum | 10 | Anti-spam cap on chat messages per interval |
bBuildAreaLimit | False | Restricts building to a defined area radius when enabled |
New in Palworld 1.0
The 10 July 2026 update added 11 new settings and changed the defaults on three existing ones — worth reviewing even if you’re running an established server.
🎙️ Proximity voice chat
New VoiceChatAudibleDistance and VoiceChatZeroVolumeDistance settings control how close players need to be to hear each other (in cm, 100 = 1m).
🥚 Faster hatching
PalEggDefaultHatchingTime default dropped from up to 72 real hours to 1 hour — a much friendlier baseline out of the box.
💀 Softer death penalty
DeathPenalty default changed from All to Item — players no longer lose equipment by default on death.
👥 Ranch work speed
A dedicated multiplier for ranch-assigned Pals was split out from the general WorkSpeedRate, giving finer control over ranch output specifically.
🏛️ Inactive guild handoff
A new setting automatically hands guild-master status to another member if the current master has been inactive past a configurable threshold.
🗺️ Map-select spawn
The option letting new players choose their spawn point on the map is now off by default — enable it explicitly if you want that flow.
A handful of physics and performance caps were also added specifically for server clustering, introduced in 1.0 to spread heavier, high-population worlds across multiple server instances.
Recommended presets by playstyle
Three starting points — drop the relevant multipliers into your OptionSettings=(...) line, keeping your existing ServerName, passwords and player cap untouched.
🌿 Casual co-op
⚖️ Balanced
💀 Hardcore
Prefer a visual builder? Several hosts, including Host Havoc and XGamingServer, offer free web-based PalWorldSettings.ini generators that output a ready-to-paste line and can also export a matching WorldOption.sav for worlds that already exist.
PalWorldSettings.ini — frequently asked questions
Setting up your server from scratch?
