Difficulty
Palworld's presets are a starting point, not a final answer. For multiplayer, custom values usually feel better than copying the stock difficulty label because combat, base labor, death penalties, and capture rates do not all need to move in the same direction.
What To Tune First
| Damage dealt and received | Use these to decide whether bosses feel like progression checks or long attrition fights. |
|---|---|
| Drop penalty on death | This setting changes the mood of the whole server. Harsh death rules create tension but also punish new players heavily. |
| Stamina and hunger | Good for shaping exploration tempo. Lower drain makes large map sessions friendlier. |
| Spawn rates and resource yield | Great for small groups that want to build quickly without converting the game into pure creative mode. |
Good Multiplayer Presets
| Relaxed co-op | Lower incoming damage a little, keep item loss light, and increase gather rates just enough to reduce repetitive farming. |
|---|---|
| Default-plus | Leave damage near normal, keep moderate penalties on death, and adjust capture and incubation times for smoother group play. |
| Hard survival | Increase boss damage, keep death penalties meaningful, and avoid high XP boosts so progression still has weight. |
Balance Mistakes To Avoid
- Raising enemy damage and raid frequency at the same time before your group has stable base defenses.
- Stacking fast XP with generous resources, then wondering why the server runs out of meaningful goals after a weekend.
- Using a severe death penalty on a casual server where friends mainly want to explore and build.
Verified 2026 Detail
The official Palworld server configuration reference exposes difficulty as a collection of values such as `DeathPenalty`, `PalCaptureRate`, `ExpRate`, and multiple player or Pal damage multipliers. That is why "hard" or "easy" becomes much more meaningful when you describe which subsystem is being made harsher, instead of only naming a preset.
Current Official Note
The current official Palworld server guide exposes difficulty-related values directly through server settings and the REST API, including fields such as Difficulty, DeathPenalty, PalCaptureRate, damage multipliers, and WorkSpeedRate. In other words, your server difficulty is not a single switch so much as a bundle of related systems you can tune independently.
Need a stable place to test changes before you touch a live world? Launch your Palworld server with Supercraft.