Palworld Fighting Guide: Get Ready for Fisticuffs!

Below: the combat changes that came with version 1.0, how to command your party, how active skills and elements work, which gear to get first, how to handle wild Pals, Tower Bosses and raids, and the settings that make fights easier.

Last updated 9 October 2026. Checked against Palworld 1.0.5. Pocketpair's 1.0 release notes and later patch notes describe the combat changes; skill, Pal and technology figures are read from the game's data files for version 1.0.

Palworld combat basics: dodge, dash and attack

Version 1.0 reworked the player's motions. The parts that change how you fight:

• Dodging while attacking or aiming is now a dash. It lets you close the distance or shift position while keeping your aim. When you are not attacking or aiming, you still get the traditional roll.
• You can attack while dashing, so you can go from running in to swinging without stopping.
• Reloading continues during a dodge, and you keep control during a roll, so you can change direction mid-roll.
• Rolling shortens Burn and Muddy. If you catch fire or get covered in mud, a dodge roll cuts the duration of the status.
• Toggle Sprint stays on after a dodge if you have that option enabled.

Enemies got fairer to dodge, too. Pocketpair extended the charge time of some active skills to make them easier to dodge, so the telegraph (the pause before a big attack) is your cue to move. Wild Pals also behave differently: dog-type Pals can bite, horse-type Pals can charge repeatedly, and fast Pals may step back or reposition after an attack. Don't stand still waiting for the same move twice.

How to command your Pals in a fight

Your party does most of the damage, so use it:

• "Attack that enemy!" Aim at an enemy and press the mouse wheel, or click the right stick on a controller, to tell your Pal to go for it. Patch 1.0.2 added key rebinding for this command if the default doesn't suit you.
• Party Pals are stronger. After the 1.0 damage rebalance, Pals in a party can deal damage equal to or greater than the player.
• They target near you. Pocketpair adjusted party Pals to more easily target enemies near the player, and to move quickly only during combat. Patch 1.0.4 also changed summoned and base Pals to prefer skills expected to deal higher damage.
• Partner skills matter. Many Pals boost your team just by being in the party. Our passive skills guide covers the strongest fighting passives.

Active skills: power, cooldown and range

Every Pal learns active skills as it levels up, and each skill has an element, a type (melee or shot), a power value, a cooldown and a range. Pals have three active skill slots, so you choose which three they bring. As an example, this is the whole skill ladder of Melpaca from the game's data. Notice how power and cooldown rise together:

The top of the range is where the rebalance landed. Version 1.0 raised the power of the best skills of each element to bring them in line with Holy Burst, which was capped to 700 power after it dealt excessive damage to large enemies. These are the strongest skills any Pal can learn in each element (skills that belong to one specific Pal are left out):

*The table leaves out Neutral's self-destruct skill, Megaton Implode (1200 power, 60 second cooldown), whose description says the Pal risks its life to use it. Some elements have more than one skill at the top power: Electric also has Lethal Laser and Thunderstorm at 600, and Ice also has Absolute Frost at 700.

Skills can also add a status effect. In the game data, 56 skills apply Burn, 34 Freeze, 34 Electrical, 31 Wetness, 30 Darkness, 28 Ivy Cling, 21 Muddy, 8 Poison and 1 Stun, so pick skills that fit what you're fighting and your team. Our Pals list shows every Pal to build a team from.

Elements in Palworld combat

The game has nine elements: Neutral, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Ground, Ice, Dark and Dragon. Every Pal has one or two, and every active skill has one. We don't reprint the matchup table here because Pocketpair doesn't publish one and the game's data files don't contain it; our elemental weakness chart keeps it on a page of its own. Use the Palpedia entries for a Pal's element, and build a party that covers different elements so one boss can't wall you.

Weapons and armour to get first

You don't need endgame gear to survive the early game. These starter items unlock at low levels, according to the game's technology data:

What 1.0 changed about gear:

• 13 new weapons: Mechanical Bow, Combat SMG, Prototype Shotgun, Heavy Assault Rifle, Tactical Grenade Launcher, Laser Sword, Beam Scatter, Drone Launcher (up to nine drones at once), Plasma Rifle, Beam Launcher, Primitive Sword, Metal Bat and Enhanced Lily's Spear.
• Up to six weapons once you craft an Extra Weapon Holster.
• Arrow types are swappable on compatible weapons, so fire and poison arrows no longer need their own weapons. The separate fire and poison arrow weapons were removed from the technology tree.
• Overheating shows a warning when the weapon you hold overheats (the Beam Launcher is one to watch during long fights).
• Armour is less prone to breaking after the durability rework, and some armour now has passive effects.
• Cooking helps: flinch, knockback and explosion resistance can be gained from food.

For the full list of weapons and what they do, see our weapons guide.

Fighting bosses, towers and raids

• Tower Bosses now have a 5 minute time limit (it was 10), and their stats were adjusted to match. Bring skills with short cooldowns as well as your big ones. Our boss order and locations guide lists them.
• Arena matches are 2 minutes long (they were 5), with a new Arena Legend rank on top.
• Raids come in waves. The base raid system was reworked so enemies attack in successive waves, and you get your rewards for beating them all. See our base defenses guide for how to prepare.
• Heavyweight Pals can't be knocked back, because some large Pals now carry the Heavyweight passive. Don't build your plan around pushing one away.
• Pals avoid hopeless fights. Pals and NPCs generally won't attack enemies whose level is far above their own.
• The level cap is 80 (it was 65 before 1.0).

Making Palworld fights easier or harder

If a fight is too much, change the difficulty before you rage-quit. Pocketpair says that on Normal difficulty players no longer drop equipped items on death (these defaults apply when you reset world settings or start a new game), and that default dedicated server settings were adjusted to be close to single-player Normal. If you run a server, the official docs list multipliers you can set yourself: PlayerDamageRateAttack and PlayerDamageRateDefense (damage dealt and taken by players), PalDamageRateAttack and PalDamageRateDefense (the same for Pals), and DeathPenalty with four levels: None, Item, ItemAndEquipment and All. Our guide to the best world settings for Palworld shows sensible values. Fighting on a shared world is more fun with friends, so see how to play Palworld with friends.

Palworld combat FAQ

How do you dodge in Palworld?

Use the dodge button. If you're attacking or aiming, you'll dash instead, which keeps your aim and closes distance. If you're not, you roll. Controls stay responsive during the roll, and reloading carries on while you dodge.

How do I make my Pal attack a specific enemy?

Aim at the enemy and press the mouse wheel (or click the right stick on a controller) to give the "Attack that enemy!" command. You can rebind it in the controls since patch 1.0.2.

How many active skills can a Pal use?

Three. The game talks about the three active skill slots set on a Pal, and you choose which of its learned skills go in them.

What are the best combat tips for a new player?

Learn to roll and dash, put on the Cloth Outfit and Common Shield as soon as they unlock at level 4, take a Pal with you and command it to attack, and watch for the pause before big enemy attacks, because Pocketpair made many charged skills slower so they can be dodged.

Can Pals really out-damage the player?

Yes. Pocketpair's 1.0 notes say that after the damage rebalance, Pals in a party can deal damage equal to or greater than the player.

Playing on your own world? Our Palworld server guide covers the difficulty and PvP settings, and if you want a world that is always online for your group, you can rent a Palworld server and set it up your way.