One of the best things about Palworld is the way the game allows you to use your captured Pals for so much more than just combat and transportation. That mechanic encourages you to build a much larger roster of creatures and consider their potential in a wider variety of areas. Ultimately, though, most of your rostered and utilized Pals will end up performing one of several Work Suitability functions at your bases.
Since that aspect of the game can be a little overwhelming at first, here’s a breakdown of the various Work Suitability base functions in Palworld and which Pals are best equipped to perform them.
Palworld: What Are Base Pals?
As the name implies, “Base Pals” are Pals that you assign to work at the various crafting/gathering stations at your bases. They not only expedite those processes by allowing them to be completed while you’re away from your base, but they enable many of those functions in the first place. So while choosing the Pals you travel with is certainly important, choosing the right roster of Pals to work at your base is arguably the most important decision you’ll make in terms of actually getting things done.
So how do you choose the best base Pals? I’m glad you asked
Palworld: Work Suitability Ratings Explained
When looking for the best base Pals in Palworld you’ll want to pay attention to three main attributes: Work Suitability, Work Speed, and Passive Skills.
Work Suitability is the Pal attribute that tells you what work a Pal is capable of performing. These are the 12 Work Suitability attributes currently in Palworld:
Cooling
Electricity
Farming
Gathering
Handiwork
Kindling
Lumbering
Medicine Production
Mining
Planting
Transporting
Watering
Simply put, each of those attributes corresponds to certain tasks within the game. So, if you want to start Farming, you’ll need a Pal with at least one level in the Farming Suitability attribute to help you with that task. If a Pal doesn’t have the Work Suitability attribute that corresponds with the required task, they will not be able to complete that task. By assigning Pals with the appropriate Work Suitability attribute to the corresponding task, you can begin automating production/gathering tasks at your base and eventually work your way toward bigger projects.
Just keep in mind Pals with higher Work Suitability levels are better equipped to perform similar tasks. In other words, a Pal with Level 4 Work Suitability (the max Work Suitability level) in a particular area will outperform a Level 1 Pal at that same task.
However, that seemingly simple system is complicated slightly by a Pal’s Work Speed and Passive Skill attributes. The Work Speed attribute affects the amount of time it takes a Pal to complete a given task, while the Passive Skill attribute can affect a Pal’s task performance both positively and negatively. For instance, one Pal may have a detrimental Passive Skill that reduces their overall Work Speed, while another may benefit from a buff that allows them to work longer without needing rest.
While you will generally prioritize assigning Pals with higher Work Suitability rankings to the appropriate tasks, Pals with equal initially equal Work Suitability rankings can be further affected by those additional attributes. As such, you’ll want to pay attention to those Pals’ full stat sheets to ensure you’re choosing the one that is not only suitable for the job in the first place but most capable of completing it efficiently.
Palworld: Best Base Pals For Every Work Suitability
More of than not, the best base Pals in Palworld will be determined by your needs at a given time and the roster of Pals available to you. So, if you need to focus on a task that requires Kindling, you’ll want to assign your best available Kindling Pal to the task. The endgame goal is to try to acquire the best available Pals for every conceivable task and put them to work.
Early on, though, the best thing you can do is acquire Pals who are proficient in as many Work Suitability categories as possible. That will help you get the most out of your initially small roster of available Pals.
With that in mind, here’s a brief rundown of some of the best all-around base Pals you should prioritize acquiring at various points in the game:
Best All-Around Base Pals: Lifmunk, Cattiva, Tanzee, Pengullet, Penking, Flopie, Wumpo, Anubis, Lyleen, Quivern, Petallia, Bristla, Robinquill, Beegarde
Those are the Pals you’ll want to capture if you’re looking to fill your base with workers who excel at the widest possible variety of tasks. Just note that Pals like Lifmunk, Tanzee, and Pengullet will be easier to acquire early in the game, while some others will take you slightly longer to find and catch. At that point, you may want to consider focusing on specialized Pals instead. Still, those all-around workers are always easy to rely on in a pinch.
If you are looking to focus on a specific Work Suitability task, though, then these are the Pals you’ll want to prioritize capturing:
Best Cooling Pals: Frostallion (Level 4), Cryolinx (Level 3), Pengullet (Level 1)
Best Electricity Pals: Orserk (Leve 4), Grizzbolt (Level 3), Sparkit (Level 1)
Best Gathering Pals: Verdash (Level 3), Jetragon (Level 3), Cattiva (Level 1)
Best Handiwork Pals: Anubis (Level 4), Lyleen (Level 3), Lifmunk (Level 1)
Best Kindling Pals: Jormuntide Ignis (Level 4), Blazehowl (Level 3), Foxparks (Level 1)
Best Lumbering Pals: Wumpo (Level 3), Bushi (Level 3), Lifmunk (Level 1)
Best Medicine Production Pals: Lyleen (Level 3), Vaelet (Level 3), Lifmunk (Level 1)
Best Mining Pals: Astegon (Level 4), Anubis (Level 3), Cattiva (Level 1)
Best Planting Pals: Lyleen (Level 4), Petallia (Level 3), Lifmunk (Level 1)
Best Watering Pals: Jormuntide (Level 4), Azurobe (Level 3), Pengullet (Level 1)
Best Transporting Pals: Wumpo (Level 4), Mossanda (Level 3), Lamball (Level 1)
As you can see, the recommendations above include a variety of options that begin with your Level 4 choices. Level 4 is the highest level of Work Suitability a Pal can have, so you’ll want to prioritize capturing those Level 4 Pals as soon as possible.
Some Work Suitability categories do not currently support a known Level 4 Pal, so you’ll need to “settle” for a Level 3 Pal instead. Thankfully, every profession offers multiple Level 3 options, and the names listed above are simply preferred in that category thanks to their other attributes.
Before you start hunting down those creatures, though, you’ll probably want to try to roster one of the Level 1 Pals listed above so that you at least have access to those basic work functions in the early game. Again, multiple Pals in the game offer at least Level 1 proficiency in the various Work Suitability categories, but I recommend the names above due to their overall value elsewhere. That’s also why Lifmunk and Cattiva are two of the best base Pals to have in the early parts of Palworld.
Finally, you’ll notice that there are no recommended Pals for Farming. That’s because different FarmingPals produce different resources, and you’ll eventually need a variety of Farming Pals at your base to acquire all of them. However, here are some of the Pals that are the only currently known generators of specific Farming resources:
Mozzarina – Milk
Woolipop – Cotton Candy
Mau – Gold
Vixy – Randomized items that include Pal Spheres
Chikipi – Eggs
Caprity – Red Berries
Beegrade – Honey (extremely valuable)
Flambelle – Flame Organs
Sibelyx – High Quality Cloth (extremely valuable)