When can you start building a home?

Guide scope

The answer is straightforward: if you can put Palbox in, you can start

beginners shouldn’t wait to find the fabled perfect mineral spot before building a home. The mission of the first stronghold is very simple: let you have a return point, a bed, a chest, a workbench, a Pal to work on, and a place to process food and Spheres. As long as the ground is relatively flat, there are wood, rocks and basic resources nearby, and Pal won't be stuck all the time, it's enough to get started.

The opening tutorial of Palworld actually uses stronghold tasks to help you understand the system. If you never build a stronghold, you are skipping the production line that the game teaches you, and you will be stuck on food, Spheres, materials, and resurrection/fast travel. The first base is not the end point, but a temporary base where you can safely make mistakes.

Eligibility criteria for the first base

A qualified first base does not need to be beautiful, but it must be able to run. At a minimum, you need a Palbox, a chest, a primitive workbench, a bed, a feed box, a campfire or cooking point, a basic gathering/production facility, and a few Pals that can craft, carry, fire, gather, or mine. After completing these, you will have a closed loop every time you go out and come home.

If you don't know what to do next in the base mission, look at the Palbox/Terminal upgrade requirements. It will require you to build certain facilities and gradually increase the number of Pals that can be stationed. This set of tasks is one of the best ways for beginners to understand the base. Don't treat it as an optional branch.

Base Line and Palbox Mission

In the construction interface, the most commonly used are placing, rotating, canceling, dismantling, repairing and confirming materials. In the early stage of the base, don't pursue beauty to the point of sacrificing movement, because Pal can't find the path or the box is too far away, which will make you think that workability is useless. Start by placing the palbox, chest, workbench, bed, feed bin, campfire, or cooking point in a short, easy-to-travel path.

Palbox/terminal is responsible for stronghold management, Pal deployment, transmission and upgrade tasks. Many beginners don't realize that stronghold level tasks will gradually release more pals who can be stationed, which is more important than manually making a few more materials. Before each upgrade, read the terminal missions and fill in whatever facilities you need. This will naturally teach you the base system.

When is it time to move or open a second base?

When you start to encounter three situations, you can consider moving or dividing your base: first, the terrain of the first base is too narrow and the Pal path is stuck for a long time; second, you need to stabilize mines, coal or other resource points; third, you have unlocked more base slots, which can separate production, mining, ranching or merchant functions. This is when it makes sense to look for a better location.

A common moving method discussed by players is to use palboxes/boxes at both ends to transfer materials together in batches. This also shows that the first base does not have to be perfect, because as long as the logistics are well planned, it can be moved later. Don’t end up without a bed and boxes two hours before starting just because you’re afraid of moving in the future.

How to check the level and number of Pals?

If you only have one or two Pals, you can still build a first base, but the automation is limited. A more comfortable rhythm is to first grab a few Pals who can only supplement their functions, and then put them into the stronghold; after the base level increases, the number of people who can be stationed increases, and the production line will slowly take shape. This is more reasonable than building a home before the character level reaches a certain number.

The main function of level is to unlock technology, equipment, facilities and further exploration radius. The first base should be built at a low level; the second or professional base can wait until you have mounts, more materials, more Spheres, and more specific resource needs. By separating the "first home" and the "final base", the pressure on newbies will be much less.

The first home must be able to serve exploration

Building a home does not mean to stop exploration, but to give exploration a fulcrum. Starting from the first base, you should be able to open nearby teleporters, grab low-risk Pals, collect basic materials, go home and make Spheres and food, and then go out. After this cycle is run, the game will change from "I don't know where to go" to "What should I make up for on the next trip".

Therefore, the best judge of when to build a home is not the level, but whether you are already short of a safe round point. As soon as your backpack starts to fill up, the nights get cold, food runs out, Spheres run out, and Pal has no place to work, it’s time to build a home instead of looking further afield for your dream terrain.

Don’t think too much about moving costs

Many beginners hold back on Palbox because they are afraid of regrets in the future. This mentality is understandable, but it will cause you to miss the most important stage of learning. As long as the first base can support sleeping, storage, crafting, food, and dispatching workers, the mission has been completed. Moving in the future will cost money, but not having a base will cause delays earlier and more frequently.

Moving does not mean completely replicating the entire old base at once. Moving the core first: Palbox new points, boxes, crafting tables, beds, feed boxes, food and ball materials. Then move minerals, organs, equipment, decorations and long-term inventory. The earlier you regard the first base as a training ground, the less psychological burden you will have on it as "it cannot be changed or dismantled."

If you play multiplayer, the first base also has rally point value. After friends join, they need to get basic equipment, food, Spheres and beds; everyone can be teleported back to the same point, so the exploration will not be scattered. At this time, the location of the first base should be more convenient and clear, rather than pursuing the best coordinates for a single person.

Once you begin to know that you like mining, building, catching pals, fighting bosses, or running maps, use your second base to reflect that preference. If you like mining, look for mineral points. If you like building, look for large flats. If you like merchants, look for settlements or teleports. The first base doesn't have to take on all the future imaginings, it just takes you through the beginning.

The minimum closed loop that the first base must complete

If you are not sure whether the first base is qualified, see if it can complete a closed loop: get food and Spheres before going out, unload and repair after returning home, turn materials into the next batch of supplies, Pal can continue to work when you leave, and can sleep at night or wait safely. If this closed loop can run, the base will already have value.

On the other hand, if a base only has a Palbox and a few scattered buildings, without food, beds, chests, and division of labor, it is just a map marker. What beginners want is not the appearance of the house, but a system that converts exploration gains into capabilities for the next exploration.

Don’t be overwhelmed by “the best base in the guide” either. Many high-scoring locations are suitable for players who already have mobility, technology, and a large amount of materials; beginners may only get a point that is difficult to reach, defend, and expand if they copy it. The scoring criterion for the first base should be: can it allow you to play more smoothly today, rather than whether it can meet all the end-game needs fifty hours later.

Version 1.0 turns bases into travel hubs

While inside a base, version 1.0 lets you fast travel directly from the map without interacting with the Palbox. Your first base should still prioritize short routes between the Palbox, nearby storage, food, and basic crafting.

Common mistakes

• Treat the first base as the final base and spend too long looking for the perfect spot at the beginning.
• Not checking the Palbox upgrade tasks leads to stagnation in the number of bases that can be stationed and facilities.
• The base only builds houses but does not run production lines. There is no food, boxes or workers.

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