Palworld Server Settings: Every PalWorldSettings.ini Option

Once the dedicated server is up, what decides whether the world is any fun is the settings file. Palworld packs dozens of parameters into a single line of config, documents each option in a single line, and so most people change the EXP rate and never touch the rest — while the settings that actually break a group are the ones nobody looks at: death penalty and base camp limits. And one switch, raids, decides whether waves of extra AI hit your bases while nobody is online.

This walks through all of them in five groups by what changing them affects, and flags the defaults that 1.0 changed. If the server isn't running yet, start with the complete setup guide.

Every option below also exists as a labelled field in the Palworld server settings generator — change things as you read, then take away a finished file instead of hand-editing that one long line.

Where the file lives and when it is read

On a Linux dedicated server:

Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/PalWorldSettings.ini

Windows swaps LinuxServer for WindowsServer. The file is not created until the server has started successfully once — on a fresh install the directory is empty, which is where a lot of people conclude they installed something wrong.

The install root holds a separate DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini. That one is a template and the server never reads it. Editing it does nothing, silently, and it is the most common wasted hour in Palworld hosting. Copy its contents into the file above, then edit that.

What you'll find inside:

[/Script/Pal.PalGameWorldSettings]
OptionSettings=(Difficulty=None,DayTimeSpeedRate=1.000000,NightTimeSpeedRate=1.000000,ExpRate=1.000000,PalCaptureRate=1.000000,...)

It is one single line. All the options live inside one pair of parentheses, comma-separated — not one per line. Four things go wrong when editing by hand:

• A missing or doubled comma makes the whole line fail to parse, and the server silently falls back to every default. The world still loads. None of your settings applied.
• String values need double quotes (ServerName="..."); numbers and booleans don't.
• Booleans are True / False, capitalized.
• Stop the server before editing. A running server writes the old settings from memory back over the file on its next save or exit, and your edit is gone.

The first three are avoidable entirely: the Palworld server settings generator writes that line for you, with every option named and explained. Paste the file you already have and it hands the same file back with only the values you changed — the settings it doesn't manage come through untouched.

And the one that catches everyone: the process reads this file only at startup. Save, then restart. Editing a running server changes nothing.

The defaults 1.0 changed

Half of every old "change these first" list is obsolete, because 1.0 moved a few of the most-edited defaults to values that make sense on a group server:

If your server has been updated from an earlier build, the values in PalWorldSettings.ini don't change by themselves — it reads whatever number is in your file, not the new default. Update them yourself if you want the new behavior.

The options that change how the game feels

This group sets the pace. Getting them wrong won't break anything — it just makes progression feel off.

The two backwards ones are flagged above: lower CollectionObjectHpRate is faster, higher NightTimeSpeedRate is shorter nights.

The options that change what players can do to each other

This group costs nothing in performance but decides whether the server survives its first accident. Settle these before anyone joins — changing them later means someone has already paid for the old value.

The four DeathPenalty tiers, loosest first:

• None — drop nothing
• Item — drop inventory items, keep equipment
• ItemAndEquipment — drop both
• All — drop everything, including the Pals in your party

That last tier is where arguments come from. Fall into lava with a freshly caught rare Pal and the whole party stays behind, in a death bag sitting in high-level territory you probably can't reach again. For a group of friends, keep Item; go stricter only if everyone agreed to it.

The options that decide whether the server stays healthy

This group maps directly onto memory. A Palworld server's memory grows with the world: everything built stays simulated after players log off, so a world a month in uses a good deal more than it did on day one. On top of that, memory climbs while people play, and a restart puts that part back. These options are where the growth comes from:

BaseCampWorkerMaxNum is the one to be careful with. It reads like "how many Pals can work here," but every one of them runs its own behavior simulation — the cost lands on CPU, on a single core. Going from 15 to 50 across forty bases is a visible frame drop.

BaseCampMaxNumInGuild limits a guild, not a player. On a server where everyone runs a one-person guild, it is effectively the per-player base limit.

The player cap gets its own article — why 32 is not always 32 — because the number you set and the number the machine can hold are two different things. What memory does over uptime and how often to restart are in keeping a Palworld server running 24/7.

The options for management and connectivity

This group decides who can get in, from where, and how you manage the server. They don't touch gameplay, but two must be set and two must be understood.

Crossplay needs one launch argument on top of that option to be complete — console players who can't find the server are almost always missing -publiclobby, and the whole recipe is in the crossplay guide. Using the REST API to kick, ban and force saves is in the REST API guide.

What to change before you invite anyone in

If you'd rather not read the whole list, this is the minimum set. Everything else can be tuned later; these can't:

Save, restart, then connect with Join Multiplayer Game (Dedicated Server) and confirm the settings took. Mind the parenthetical — the title screen has a separate invite-code route that cannot reach a dedicated server.

Common questions

I edited PalWorldSettings.ini and nothing changed. Why?

The four usual causes: you edited DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini (the server never reads it), you didn't restart (the file is read once at startup), a stray comma broke the line and the server silently fell back to defaults, or the server was running while you edited and wrote the old values back over yours.

Which option makes nights shorter?

Raise NightTimeSpeedRate. It's a speed, so higher means that phase passes faster — the opposite of how it reads.

Which DeathPenalty tier should I pick?

For a group of friends, Item: you drop inventory but keep equipment. Since 1.0 that's the default. All takes the Pals in your party with it, and that's where the arguments start.

What is the default egg hatching time in Palworld 1.0?

1.0 changed the PalEggDefaultHatchingTime default from 72 hours to 1 hour, so a new server doesn't need it changed. Set 0 for instant hatching. A server updated from an older build keeps the old value in its file — change it yourself.

Which settings make the server lag or crash?

bEnableInvaderEnemy (raids — waves of extra entities at once), BaseCampWorkerMaxNum (every working Pal costs single-core CPU), PalSpawnNumRate (wild Pal density), and BaseCampMaxNum with DropItemMaxNum (total entities in the world). ServerReplicatePawnCullDistance is the reverse case — don't lower it below 5000 or Pals stop syncing.

How do I set a password on a Palworld dedicated server?

Stop the server, write ServerPassword inside the OptionSettings line of PalWorldSettings.ini in double quotes (ServerPassword="..."), and start it again. Players are asked for it when they connect through Join Multiplayer Game (Dedicated Server). Left empty, anyone who has the address or finds the server in the community list walks straight in.

What is the difference between ServerPassword and AdminPassword?

ServerPassword is the one you hand to friends so they can join. AdminPassword unlocks admin commands in game and doubles as the REST management API password, so whoever holds it can kick, ban and shut the server down. Keep the two different, and don't share the admin one with anyone.

Does Palworld have a server whitelist?

Not among the official options — nothing limits the server to a list of named players. ServerPassword decides who can get in, and a REST API ban (/ban with that player's userId) keeps one specific person out. If the password has spread too far, change it and restart; anyone who only knows the old one is refused the next time they try to join.

Handing it off

Every option above is a line you edit by hand, in a file where one stray comma silently reverts all of it, followed by a stop, a restart and by remembering three months from now why you set that value.

With Palworld server hosting from KeepWorlds, the same settings are a form, each with its own description and valid range, and the stop and restart happen for you — raids, workers per base and the other performance-related options included.