Best Base Locations – Palworld

Choosing where to set up shop in Palworld can be tricky. You will be tempted to set a base down wherever there is some open land, and while that is a good thought, it can lead to you missing out on some valuable resources. This guide will help you figure out where is the best place to put down your base, including where on the map to look, what resources to include, and features that a good base location should have.

How to Set Up a Base

In Palworld, you start only being able to set up a single base. To do so, you need to enter the “Build” menu (“B” on Keyboard by default) and then navigate the radial menu to “Palbox”, select it by clicking, and then you will be able to place it down wherever you need.

Be aware that you CANNOT move your Palbox one you place it. To change the location of an existing base, you will need to dismantle the Palbox and place it back.

Once you have completed the requisite tasks to get your Base up to Level 10, then that will open up the option for you to place down a second Palbox. At Base Level 15, you can place down a third.

Where to Set Up Bases

Since you only have 3 Palboxes you can place down over the course of the game, and you can’t easily move bases, you will need to be strategic about where you place your bases. Here is our map for recommended placement areas. Each of these markers has some distance from fast travel locations, good resources for the biome, and other positive features.

To explain the different types of base demarcated on the map above:

• Starting Base: Your starting base should be on or near one of the starting islands, near low-level Pals, plentiful resources, and in relative safety. Your primary concern here should be resources nearby, geography of the location, and room to build.
• Secondary Base: Think of this as your “forward base”. By the time you can build this base, you should be able to maintain a base near more dangerous Pals somewhere on the central islands, or on the periphery of the extreme islands. You should prioritize being near resources, chests, and powerful Alpha Pals that you can take on easily.
• Extreme Base: At Base Level 15, you should have everything you need to start braving the toughest areas in the game, those which require specialized equipment to survive in. These Extreme Bases should prioritize covering Fast Travel gaps, being near very powerful Alpha Pals, and being in very defensible positions. Resource extraction from these bases is less important than the other types, and this base is more useful to dismantle and move than the other types.

What to Look For

Selecting the location for your base is a surprisingly complicated affair, and many factors should go into it. As such, you want to check off as many of the following points as possible when selecting a base, prioritizing based on your own needs:

• The Base has Resources in its range: Using the blue radius to see what is in range, you want to make sure your Palbox/Base has as many resources as possible within it, especially as all resources eventually regrow. Specifically, you want:
  • Wood
  • Stone
  • Ore
  • Paldium Fragment
• The Base has useful Pals in range: Pals all have unique drops, and you will want to make sure to set up shop in or near the habitat of Pals whose drops will be the most valuable, usually meaning Pals who drop something that can’t be easily farmed. Some of the most useful Pals to be near will drop the following:
  • Wool
  • Leather
  • Flame Organs
  • Electric Organs
  • Ice Organs
  • Pal Fluids
  • Bones
  • Beautiful Flowers
  • High Quality Pal Oil
• The Base has an Alpha Pal nearby: Having a strong Alpha Pal spawnpoint near your base is very useful: so long as you are strong enough to take it on, you will have an easy source of XP, Ancient Technology Parts, and powerful Pals for your party. Alpha Pals also tend to be hard workers.
• The Base is not near Fast Travel Points: Since the base serves as a Fast Travel location, you want to make sure that your bases aren’t too close to any of those points, so you can get the most use out of them to aid you in your travels.
• The Base is Near Cliffs or Rocks: The AI for many enemies in Palworld is known to…. struggle with elevation. Setting your base up on top of a cliff or near difficult terrain will help protect it.

There are, of course, other things that can go into your base, but those are the basics. If a location you find has some or all of the above criteria, it will make for a good base of operations!

Hopefully this guide has helped you get a home set up somewhere on the dangerous islands of Palworld. If so, let us know below where you decided to set up shop in the comments below!