How to Catch Pals
Catching Pals is one of the basics of Palworld and will lead to easier battles and more efficient base construction. Learn how to catch Pals, tips for catching them, how to increase your capture chances, reasons to catch Pals, and other ways to get Pals in this guide!
List of Contents
How to Catch Pals
| How to Catch Pals | |
|---|---|
 |
Obtain Pal Spheres |
|
Weaken a Wild Pal |
|
Throw a Pal Sphere |
How to Get Pal Spheres
Craft Using a Workbench
| Technology | Materials Required |
|---|---|
 Pal Sphere
|
・ Paldium Fragment x1 ・ Wood x3 ・ Stone x3 |
Pal Spheres can be easily crafted using Paldium Fragment, Wood, and Stone once you've unlocked them in your Technology Tab for 1 Technology Point.
Higher-level Pal Spheres can also be unlocked through Technology as you level up.
List of All Pal Spheres and How to Farm
Vixy Gets Pal Spheres in a Ranch
If you want to get a lot of Pal Spheres using less resources and time, you can build a Ranch on your base and place a Vixy in it.
Go out and about on your usual business, and when you come back, you should be able to find a surplus of Pal Spheres in your Ranch.
Best Base Locations and How to Move Bases
Pal Spheres Can Be Picked Up in the Wild
Sometimes, you can find Pal Spheres lying around on the ground, including higher-level Pal Spheres! Keep an eye on them as you explore through your World.
Weaken a Wild Pal
Upon encountering a Pal out in the wild and deciding to capture it, the first step will be to weaken it as much as possible without actually eliminating it.
To do this, simply reduce the Pal's HP as low as you can by attacking. Targeting the Pal's elemental weakness can expedite this process.
Use the Appropriate Weapons
In light of our goal to simply weaken a Pal, it's important to know which weapon would be suited for the job. One of the best starting weapons for catching Pals is a bow, but even a bow can take out a Pal completely if you're not careful.
Should the Pal's HP fall close to your desired amount, you can switch to weaker weapons, such as a bat, or even strike the Pal unarmed!
List of Weapons and How to Craft
Inflict Status Conditions
Weapons like the Fire Bow and the Poison Bow will allow you to directly inflict Status Conditions, which make Pals easier to catch. Some Pals also have Active Skills, which can inflict Status Conditions, so check your Pals' Active Skills in advance and understand their effects.
Throw a Pal Sphere
Pal Spheres are the key to capturing any Pal you come across. After weakening the Pal you're up against, simply throw a Pal Sphere at it and wait for the Sphere to work its magic.
Pal Spheres are craftable, so you can make as many as you want, provided that you have ample materials for it.
List of All Pal Spheres and How to Farm
How to Throw a Pal Sphere
To throw a Pal Sphere when playing on your PC, hold the Q key on your keyboard, aim with the mouse at a Pal, then release the Q key to throw.
For those using an Xbox controller, you can use RB to throw a Pal Sphere.
Same Process for Lucky Pals
While Lucky Pals may be larger and more intimidating, they act the same as every other regular Pal you find in the wild. Just make sure that you keep your eyes and ears out for one while roaming the wild.
Lucky Hunting Guide: How to Hunt Lucky Pals
Tips for Catching Pals
| Tips for Catching Pals | |
|---|---|
|
Recall Your Pal Before Catching |
|
Use a Mounted Pal |
|
Human NPCs Can Also Be Caught |
|
Bring Ranged Weapons for Flying Pals |
Recall Your Pal Before Catching
Pals sent out to battle will automatically attack anything aggressive towards the player. Because of this, it is recommended to recall your Pal before catching so that it doesn't accidentally knock out the Pal that you're trying to catch.
You can also bring up the Radial Menu (the 4 key on PC or pressing the Right Stick on controller) and select Don't attack to prevent your Pal from attacking without recalling it.
It is also recommended not to use Pals with Partner Skills that automatically have them out in battle, like Daedream, since you can't recall them and they will always automatically attack their target unless you turn off attacking via the Radial Menu.
Use a Mounted Pal
Having a Pal that you can ride on is very useful for catching Pals in the wild for two reasons.
The first reason is that it makes your travel speed a lot faster, speeding up the process it takes to find the Pal you're looking to catch.
Secondly, you also gain direct control of the mounted Pal's attacks and actions. This prevents it from automatically attacking your target and accidentally knocking it out before you can catch it.
Best Mounts and All Mount Pals
Human NPCs Can Also Be Caught
Certain NPCs like Merchants and Officers can be caught in Pal Spheres. While they aren't useful in farming, you can capture a bunch of Merchants to have one hub of items to buy or just start a zoo of people if you want.
Bosses Cannot Be Caught
The glitch enabling players to capture tower bosses has been addressed in the latest update, effectively resolving the issue.
Palworld Boss Glitch: How to Catch Tower Bosses
Other People's Pals Cannot be Caught
You can admire other players' Pals as much as you'd like but don't think about catching them because you won't be able to.
Bring Ranged Weapons for Flying Pals
Flying Mount Pals are some of the more sought-after Pals since they let you fly around the world. Make sure to bring ranged weapons to easily damage them!
Fastest Flying Mount Pals Tier List
How to Increase Catch Rate
Reduce a Pal's HP as Low as Possible
Lowering a Pal's HP as low as you possibly can without killing it will make for a greater capture chance. Use your arsenal wisely, and be careful not to eliminate your desired Pals!
Use a Better Sphere
| Level | Technology | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2 |
Pal Sphere
|
Capture Pals when thrown. The basic model is only effective on low level Pals. |
| 14 |
 Mega Sphere
|
Captures Pals when thrown. Improved capabilities let it catch a wider range of Pals. Requires Sphere Workbench to craft. |
| 20 |
 Giga Sphere
|
Captures Pals when thrown. Can capture moderately powerful Pals. Requires Sphere Workbench to craft. |
| 27 |
 Hyper Sphere
|
Enhanced capabilities allow it to capture even more powerful Pals. Requires Sphere Assembly Line to craft. |
| 35 |
 Ultra Sphere
|
Captures Pals when thrown. Not many Pals can escape its highly efficient design. Requires Sphere Assembly Line II to craft. |
| 44 |
 Legendary Sphere
|
Captures Pals when thrown. Very few Pals can escape its perfected design. Requires Sphere Assembly Line II to craft. |
| 51 |
 Ultimate Sphere
|
Captures Pals when thrown. Almost no Pals can escape its flawless design. Requires Sphere Assembly Line II to craft. |
As you level up, you will gain access to more Pal Spheres in your Technology tab. Once you unlock these more powerful Spheres, you will be able to craft them at a compatible production station.
Raise Your Level
It goes without saying that taking on a Pal that's significantly stronger than you can resist your attempts in every manner possible. Should you come across a Pal that's way too strong for you, raise your level by defeating opponents and exploring Palapagos.
By doing this, you also raise the level of your Pals, which can help when either taking down or capturing strong Pals.
View Your Capture Chance by Aiming a Sphere at a Pal
Aiming a Sphere at a Pal will provide you with a preview of how high your chances are when it comes to capturing it. Use this to ascertain your chances of victory.
Do take note that upon attempting to capture a Pal with a Sphere, the capture chance will continue to raise itself as much as it can for 3 times. The higher it is, the more likely the Pal will be captured.
Eliminate Surrounding Opponents
Trying to catch a specific Pal can be difficult if you have other wild Pals surrounding and distracting you.
Eliminating unwanted Pals can increase your chances of capturing your desired Pal, provided that you don't use weapons that deal AoE damage.
Increase Capture Power at the Statue of Power
As you collect Lifmunk Effigies around the world, you will be able to sacrifice them at a Statue of Power to increase your Capture Power.
The more Effigies you sacrifice, the easier it will be to capture Pals out in the wild, especially high level ones.
Backstrike the Pals
You can also sneak up on Pals and strike them with your Pal Sphere when they least expect it. This will give you a Back Bonus which will make it easier to catch Pals.
This can be an effective way of catching Pals that are sleeping, so that you don't have to engage them in battle. This is a good strategy to use at night when many Pals are asleep. That said, the Catch Rate of Pals is much lower when they are at full health, so you might need to use a higher-level Pal Sphere like the Mega Sphere for this to work.
Pile Up Negative Status Effects
| Stun Baton Overview | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Stun Baton
|
|||
| Category | Rarity | Damage | Durability |
| Melee | Common | 10 | 300 |
| Weight | 10 | ||
| Description | Close range weapon that sends out an electric jolt upon contact. Pals are easier to capture when electrocuted. Requires High Quality Workbench to craft. | ||
A Pal afflicted with multiple negative status effects is more likely to be successfully captured compared to capturing them during a standard encounter.
It is advisable to equip a Stun Baton to immobilize a Pal, then switch to another weapon capable of inflicting any negative status effect or use a Pal that can do the same effect, such as Poison or Burning damage, on the enemy Pal.
Negative Status Effects Stack
You can inflict multiple negative status effects to an enemy, with each one boosting the capture rate.
Combining this with attacking the enemy from behind will greatly enhance the capture rate.
Customize Your World Settings
You can Improve Catch Rate from the Main Menu
When you start a new world, you can customize Catch Rate by adjusting the Slider labeled so. However, in Multiplayer, this only works if you are the host. Note that the Catch Rate cannot be increased beyond the rate already used in Casual mode.
Best World Settings for Palworld
Reasons to Catch Pals
| Reasons to Catch Pals | |
|---|---|
|
Fight or Ride with Pals |
|
Additional Workforce in Bases |
|
Obtain Item Drops |
|
Fast Way to Level Up |
Fight or Ride with Pals
While you can do many things on your own, having Pals in your party can open up more opportunities. You can fight alongside your Pals to give you more options in combat, while mountable Pals allow you to travel faster.
Additional Workforce in Bases
Bases are key to getting resources efficiently, and they'll only operate when you assign Pals to work in them. Catching the right Pals for the job will ensure you'll get the most out of your bases.
Obtain Item Drops
You don't need to defeat Pals to get items from them! Capturing them will still reward you with items.
List of All Materials, Consumables and Drops
Fast Way to Level Up
One of the fastest ways to level up is by catching 10 of a single type of Pal. This is because you get Bonus Experience for catching duplicate Pals.
For any information about an XP farming glitch, please check out our XP Glitch page.
Other Ways to Get Pals
Breed Pals and Hatch the Eggs
It's possible to breed Pals with each other. Breeding Pals will give you an egg, which you'll need to hatch to get a new Pal. With the right combination, it's even possible to get entirely new Fusion Pals!
Purchase from Pal Vendors
In Palworld, you may encounter merchants who buy and sell Pals. There are also secret vendors known as Black Marketeers that carry rarer Pals.
Palworld Related Guides
Sakurajima Update Tips
All Sakurajima Update Features
General Palworld Tips
Pal Catching Tips
| Pal Catching Tips | |
|---|---|
| How to Catch Pals | How to Catch and Sell Humans |
| How to Get Lucky Pals | Pal Sphere Farming Guide |
| How to Reroll Dungeon Bosses | - |
Survival and Exploration Tips
| Best Base Locations | |
|---|---|
| Coal Base | Paldium Fragment Base |
| Ore Base | Sulfur Base |
| Skill Fruit Base | - |
