Base building and Pal labour
A base is a production line staffed by creatures with opinions. Getting it right is mostly about two things: unlocking structures in an order that does not leave you stuck, and understanding that a Pal's job level is a starting point rather than a fixed trait. The 1.0 release changed both of those materially.
Base levels and what they give you
Base level is the spine of base progression. In 1.0 the maximum is 35, raised from 30.
- Working Pal cap rises by exactly one per base level from level 1 through 30, then holds at 30 for levels 31 to 35.
- Extra base slots arrive at base level 8 for the second base, 15 for the third and 25 for the fourth. Four is the most that base level grants, and it stays at four through level 35.
- Both limits can be raised in World Settings if you would rather not play around them, up to 50 Pals and 10 bases.
Early build order that does not get you stuck
These come from the base level objectives themselves, so following them levels the base as a side effect rather than as extra work.
| Base level | What to put down |
|---|---|
| 1 | Wooden Chest, Primitive Workbench |
| 2 | Campfire, Shoddy Bed, Repair Bench |
| 3 | Feed Box and three Straw Pal Beds |
| 4 | Pal Gear Workbench, Berry Plantation |
| 5 | Crusher, Stone Pit, Logging Site |
| 6 | Primitive Furnace, Statue of Power, Hot Spring |
| 7 | High Quality Workbench, Medieval Medicine Workbench, second and third Berry Plantation |
The Feed Box is not optional. Pals that cannot reach food stop working and then start getting ill. A Feed Box with something in it at level 3, and beds so they can sleep, prevent most of the problems people later blame on the Pals themselves.
From there the milestones that change how the base feels are the Cooking Pot, Wheat Plantation and Mill at level 9, the Power Generator at 11, the Refrigerator at 14, the Electric Furnace at 17 and the Item Retrieval Machine at 19. Late base levels open the ancient tier: the Skillfruit Orchard and Ancient Power Generator at 33, then the Ancient Material Synthesizer and Ancient Farm at 34.
Work suitability after the 1.0 rebalance
There are twelve jobs: Kindling, Watering, Planting, Generating Electricity, Handiwork, Gathering, Lumbering, Mining, Medicine Production, Cooling, Transporting and Farming.
The important change is that 1.0 expanded work suitability from four levels to ten and rebalanced every Pal's values. So the number you see on a Pal is its innate level, and it is not a ceiling. Each rank up from condensing a Pal raises one of its work suitability levels by one, and reaching maximum rank raises all of them. Maximum rank also got dramatically cheaper in 1.0, costing 48 Pals in total instead of 116.
That reframes how you pick workers. A Pal with a slightly lower innate level in the job you care about, but which you can actually obtain in quantity, may end up better than a rarer one you can never rank up.
Two partner skills buff the whole base. Cinnamoth gives every other base Pal Farming plus one, and Ribbuny gives every other base Pal Handiwork plus one. Neither stacks, so one of each is the most you can benefit. The new Ranch Master passive gives Farming plus two.
Which Pal is actually best for each job is a data question rather than an opinion, so it lives on its own pages: there is a ranked list for every one of the twelve jobs.
Keeping base Pals working
Base Pals get ill, and an untreated illness is a permanent drag on output. Each ailment has a specific penalty and a specific tier of medicine that fixes it.
| Ailment | Penalty | Cure |
|---|---|---|
| Sick | minus 5 work speed | Low Grade Medical Supplies |
| Sprain | minus 5 movement | Low Grade Medical Supplies |
| Overfull | hunger depletes 50 faster | Low Grade Medical Supplies |
| Ulcer | minus 10 work, minus 5 movement | Medical Supplies |
| Fracture | minus 5 work, minus 10 movement | Medical Supplies |
| Weakened | minus 10 work, minus 20 movement | High Grade Medical Supplies |
| Depressed | minus 20 work speed, minus 10 movement | High Grade Medical Supplies |
This is why the Medieval Medicine Workbench at base level 7 matters more than it looks, and why a Medicine Production Pal is worth a slot. Depressed alone costs twenty work speed.
Two 1.0 changes that reduce the babysitting. Base and party Pals no longer lose SAN from taking damage, and the Repair Kit item was removed entirely, so Pals with Handiwork now repair structures without consuming anything.
The Cake chain, because breeding depends on it
Breeding needs a Breeding Farm, and the farm needs Cake. One whole Cake is consumed per egg, and the farm stops the moment the feed box runs dry. Cake is the real limit on breeding, not the Pals.
One Cake takes five Flour, eight Red Berries, seven Milk, eight Egg and two Honey, cooked at a Cooking Pot with a Kindling Pal working it. Flour means wheat and a Mill, while Milk, Egg and Honey mean a ranch with the right Farming Pals on it. So a serious breeding operation is really a food operation, and most players find their breeding pace is set by the farm behind the farm.
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum number of Pals that can work at a base in Palworld 1.0?
Thirty by default. The cap rises by one per base level from 1 to 30 and then holds, even though base levels continue to 35. World Settings can raise it as far as 50.
How many bases can you have in Palworld 1.0?
Four through normal progression, unlocking at base levels 8, 15 and 25. World Settings allow up to 10.
Is a Pal's work suitability level fixed?
No. The number is innate. The 1.0 release expanded work suitability to ten levels, and each rank up from condensing raises one of a Pal's job levels, with maximum rank raising all of them. Maximum rank now costs 48 Pals instead of 116.
Why have my base Pals stopped working?
Usually food, sleep or illness. Keep a stocked Feed Box and enough beds, then check for ailments. Depressed costs 20 work speed and Weakened costs 10 work and 20 movement, and each ailment needs a specific tier of medical supplies to clear.
What do you need to breed Pals in Palworld?
A Breeding Farm, one male and one female Pal, and Cake. Each egg consumes one whole Cake, made from five Flour, eight Red Berries, seven Milk, eight Egg and two Honey at a Cooking Pot with a Kindling Pal assigned.
Sources
Facts on this page that do not come from the game data files were checked against these.
Read next
- Palworld beginner guide: your first hours What to do in the opening hour of Palworld 1.0, where to put your first base, and how to spend status points. Includes the beginner advice the 1.0 release made wrong.
- What Palworld 1.0 changed Palworld left early access on 10 July 2026. New regions, 72 new Pals, Awakening and Mutation, reworked towers and the balance changes that made older guides wrong.
- The technology tree, and what to unlock first How Technology and Ancient Technology Points work in Palworld 1.0, plus the full weapon and armour unlock ladders by level after the 1.0 technology rebalance.