What to do if Pal doesn't go to work: Adaptability, paths, boxes and monitoring stations

Guide scope

First make sure it can do this

When Pal is not working, the first step is not to re-enter the game, but to check the work suitability. Those who can carry things may not necessarily know how to do it by hand, those who can mine may not necessarily know how to cut down trees, and those who can make fire may not necessarily know how to make. Many beginners regard Pal as a general worker. As a result, they throw Pal, who cannot do manual work, next to the workbench and wait for it to help. Of course, there is no result.

When choosing a job Pal in the early stage, you should not only look at the level, but also whether the suitability is concentrated. Reddit's high-interaction compilation mentioned that Pal, who is too adaptable, may have been distracted from doing other things; local content also regarded specialization and monitoring desks as the core of subsequent efficiency. In the beginners stage, first look for a Pal that "can do what you are lacking now". It is more stable than grabbing a Pal who looks all-powerful but runs around.

Paths and boxes are often more deadly than abilities

Just because Pal can do something, doesn't mean it will get the job. The workbench is against the wall, the boxes are too far away, the bed is in the way, the slope is too narrow, and the doorway is too small, all can cause Pal to get stuck or move back and forth in a daze. The prettier and more crowded the base, the easier it is to make bad moves in the beginners stage.

Box location also affects the production line. If the materials are scattered in many boxes, or the boxes are too far away from the work station, transportation and production will be slow. There is no need for a luxurious warehouse in the first base. First, place the boxes of commonly used materials near the Palbox, workbench and main production line, so that Pal and players will have less to walk. This is the same logistics problem as the backpack/trading article, not a pure AI problem.

Food, bed, hot springs and SAN are the bottom-level supplies

Pal looks back at feed bins, beds, spas, and work stress when he's been lying down, sick, lazy, or very unproductive. Without food, it will starve; without beds and recovery facilities, the SAN will drop; the work intensity is too high, which may seem fast in the short term, but will shut down the base in the long term. These problems cannot be completely solved by grabbing higher Pals.

beginners should first prepare berries, feed boxes, beds and simple rest facilities, and then discuss scheduling. If you are short of food and require Pal to mine, transport, and craft for a long time, it is inevitable that the base will be out of state.

When SAN keeps sliding: fix the new official facilities first, then look at these 7 passives

1.0 added two facility lines aimed squarely at SAN: the Clinic and the Ancient Clinic, which curb SAN loss and illness among base Pals according to the Medicine Production suitability level of the Pal assigned to them; the High-Quality Monitoring Stand and Ancient Monitoring Stand were also added, keeping the standard stand's assignment function and adding SAN suppression on top. Both are spelled out in the official notes, so when base SAN will not hold after 1.0, build this layer before tinkering with the Pals themselves.

On the passive side, exactly seven entries in the site's data layer move SAN, and the numbers are worth memorising: on the plus side Heart of the Immovable King slows the drop by 20%, Workaholic by 15%, Positive Thinker by 10%; on the minus side Unstable speeds it up by 10% and Destructive by 15%. Two more belong to the World Tree passive category introduced in 1.0 — powerful, and both come with a price: Demon's Hand grants +90% work speed but drains SAN 15% faster, while Hermit Sage halves SAN consumption outright at the cost of 20% work speed.

Those two numbers drive how you staff a base — assuming you already have the passive, since how World Tree passives are obtained has no verifiable data here: for transport or gathering roles that barely care about work speed, a single Hermit Sage (-50%) is cleaner than stacking all three positive passives (-45%); conversely, for the mainstays on handiwork and production lines, Demon's Hand and its +90% work speed is usually worth keeping, with facilities and food covering the extra 15% drain. Do not judge both kinds of role by the same passive checklist.

Manual assignment and positioning of monitoring stations

In the early stage, you can try to get Pal to do designated work by picking it up/throwing it near the work station, but this is not a panacea. If the suitability is wrong, the work station is out of materials, or the path is stuck, manual assignment will only be effective temporarily. Use it as a troubleshooting tool: throwing it away without doing it means that you need to go back and check the conditions instead of throwing it away repeatedly.

In the middle and later stages, the monitoring station can limit the work and adjust the intensity in more detail; but beginners should not regard the monitoring station as their first solution. What you really need to learn in the early stage is to leave space at workstations, cluster boxes, full-time Pal, food supply, and not to make the base a maze.

Check order

It is recommended to check in this order: whether the suitability matches, whether the work station requires materials, whether the materials are in the box, whether Pal can walk to the work station, whether there is enough food and bed, whether it is sucked away by other tasks, and whether there are any status problems. Change only one or two items at a time and see if they improve.

If all are reasonable, consider version bugs, server delays, or redeploying Pal. Don't start by tearing down bases or blaming the AI; most early problems are actually base design that prevents Pal from working well.

Use a small test area to find problems

If the entire base is in disarray, don't tear it all down yet. Find an open space to do a small test: a box, a workbench, a Pal that needs to be clearly adapted, and a road without obstacles. If this works, the problem is probably with the original base routing, boxes, materials, or interference stations; if it doesn't work, then it may be a suitability, status, server delay, or version issue.

This test prevents you from blaming all the fault on the AI. In many cases, it's not that Pal doesn't want to work, but that it is sucked away by other workstations, cannot get materials, cannot reach the workbench, or is stuck on beds and boxes along the way. After simplifying the environment, the real problem will be much clearer.

After the base becomes larger, divide the work into areas: food area, production area, mining/wood area, rest area, and storage area. beginners don't need to make an endgame base from the start, but at least make it so that Pal doesn't have to go through the entire base to complete a simple mission.

Version 1.0 Work Suitability and troubleshooting

Version 1.0 split Work Suitability into 10 levels and rebalanced every Pal; the Monitoring Stand can also assign sleeping Pals. Check the current suitability level and facility warning first, then inspect routes, storage, food, SAN, and fixed assignments.

Common mistakes

• Put Pal, who doesn't know how to do things, next to the workbench and wait for him to help.
• The walkways in the base are too narrow and the boxes are too scattered, but it's only Pal AI's fault.
• When food and bed are insufficient, work pressure increases and the pursuit of efficiency is increased.
• Judging every base Pal by one passive checklist — transport and gathering roles want SAN suppression, production roles want work speed, and the optimal passives are not the same set.

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