Palworld Dedicated Server: Setup and Settings

Coop session vs dedicated server, the actual difference

A coop session runs inside your normal game. One player hosts, everyone else joins through Steam or a direct IP, and the world only exists while the host is online. It is fine for a quick weekend with two or three friends.

A dedicated server is a separate program that runs the world on its own, usually on a spare PC, a home server, or a rented box from a host like PAL. Nobody has to stay logged in for the world to keep going. If you want a base that survives overnight, a bigger friend group, or just a server that does not lag because someone alt tabbed, this is the way to go.

Setting up the dedicated server

How you set this up depends on whether you are running your own machine or using a game hosting panel.

If you are on a hosting panel

Most panels, including PAL, already have Palworld installed the moment your server is created. You pick a Palworld template when you order, and the panel handles the install and the port setup for you. From there you just need to log into the panel, open the file manager or config editor, and go straight to editing PalWorldSettings.ini. Starting and stopping the server is a button in the panel, not a command you type. Check current PRICE options if you have not signed up yet.

If you are self hosting on your own PC

1. 1Install SteamCMD on the machine you plan to use as the server.
2. 2Use SteamCMD to download App ID 2394010, which is the Palworld Dedicated Server tool. It is free even if you do not own the game on that machine.
3. 3Run PalServer.exe (Windows) or PalServer.sh (Linux) once to generate the default config files.
4. 4Forward UDP port 8211 on your router, and open it in your firewall too.
5. 5Give the server a name and description inside the settings file, then start it again.
6. 6Share your public IP and port with friends so they can connect from the in game server browser or by direct connect.

PalWorldSettings.ini, the settings worth changing

This file controls almost everything about how your world plays. It sits in Pal/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/PalWorldSettings.ini after your first server run. Open it in a text editor and look for these first.

1. 1DifficultySetting, choose Normal or Difficult for base game rules
2. 2DayTimeSpeedRate and NightTimeSpeedRate, speed up or slow down the day night cycle
3. 3PalCaptureRate, how easy it is to catch Pals
4. 4ExpRate, how fast players level up
5. 5DeathPenalty, decide what players drop when they die
6. 6ServerPlayerMaxNum, your player cap

Most people only need to touch a handful of lines. Change one setting at a time, save, restart the server, and check that it applied before moving to the next.

Rates: capture, breeding, EXP, damage

These are the settings that shape how the whole server feels, so it helps to know what each one actually does.

Capture rate controls how likely a Pal Sphere throw is to succeed. Raise it if your group finds catching tedious, lower it if you want that part of the game to matter.

Breeding speed comes from PalEggDefaultHatchingTime and related values. Lower numbers mean eggs hatch faster, which matters a lot if your friends want to breed for the best stats. Our guide on best pals to breed in Palworld is worth a look before you tune this.

EXP rate is a straight multiplier. Doubling it roughly halves the grind to max level, useful for groups who want to reach late game content together without weeks of playtime.

Damage settings split into PlayerDamageRateAttack and PalDamageRateAttack, plus the versions ending in Defense. Turning these up makes fights end faster in both directions, which some groups like for PVP style servers.

Player cap and performance

ServerPlayerMaxNum sets how many people can be on at once, and it goes well past the default. Before you raise it, think about your hardware. Palworld is CPU heavy, and each extra player and their base adds real load.

As a rough guide, 8 GB of RAM is fine for four or five players, but a full sixteen player server runs a lot smoother with 16 GB or more, plus a decent multi core CPU. If your server chokes with lag or crashes as more people join, RAM and CPU headroom are usually the first things to check, not your internet connection.

Setting WorkTimeSaveTick and adjusting how often the server auto saves can also help on busier servers, since saving briefly pauses the game for everyone.

Save transfer and backups

Your world save lives in Pal/Saved/SaveGames on the server. To move a save from a coop world to your new dedicated server, copy that save folder over and rename it to match the server's save ID, then restart the server so it loads the new data.

Back up that folder regularly, especially before changing settings or updating the server. Palworld is still getting frequent patches, and a quick copy paste of the save folder before any update means a bad patch never costs you your world.

Joining and troubleshooting connections

To join, friends open the in game multiplayer menu, pick direct connect, and enter your IP and port, or search the server browser if you gave your server a public name.

If people cannot connect, work through this order.

1. 1Confirm the server is actually running and shows no errors in the console.
2. 2Recheck that UDP port 8211 (or whatever port you set) is forwarded and not blocked by your firewall or antivirus.
3. 3Double check the IP you shared. Home internet often changes your public IP, so confirm it again if it has been a while.
4. 4Restart your router if port forwarding was recently changed, since some routers need a reboot to apply it.
5. 5If you are on a rented host, check their status page or support chat for outages before assuming it is your setup.

Most connection problems come down to ports, not the game itself, so start there before changing anything in the settings file.

FAQs