Palworld raid base defense — automated weapons and Pal AI
You built a base. You crafted a mounted missile launcher. You assigned a Pal with a high handgun stat. The raid alarm sounds, the raiders close on your base, and your Pal stands on the launcher doing nothing while your structures get smashed. This is the most-reported raid-defense failure mode in Palworld dedicated server communities, and it has more than one cause. This page covers what works, what doesn't, and how to design a base that survives unattended raids.
Why mounted weapons don't fire
Mounted weapons in Palworld are not autonomous emplacements. A Pal physically mounts and operates them, and the Pal needs to:
- Be assigned to the base where the weapon is.
- Be on Working status (not Resting, not idle in the Palbox).
- Have the correct work suitability to use weapons (Handiwork doesn't help; specific Pals have a hidden "ranged combat" affinity).
- Have line of sight to the raider.
- Not be distracted by a higher-priority task on the work board.
Most failures come from point 5: the Pal is mid-craft on a workbench when the raid starts, and the AI does not interrupt the active task to mount a weapon. The Pal finishes whatever it was doing, by which point the raid is over.
What actually works
1. Dedicated combat Pals, not work Pals
The Pals best at mounting weapons during raids are the ones with no work assignment. Captures specifically dedicated to combat — high attack stat, no Handiwork or Lumbering or Mining assignment. The work board doesn't pull them away because they aren't on it.
Keep 2-4 combat Pals at each base. They will idle during peacetime (visually they walk around or rest), but they engage when raids start because nothing competes for their attention.
2. Position Pals near weapons before the raid
Pals walk to a weapon position when they decide to use it. If your mounted weapon is on the far side of a 40-tile base and the Pal is wandering near the cooking pot, the raid is over by the time it walks to the weapon. Place mounted weapons within line-of-sight of where your combat Pals normally idle.
3. Use multiple weapons of mixed types
Mounted weapons have ammunition requirements and cooldowns. A single mounted launcher firing once every few seconds doesn't keep up with raid waves. Distribute:
- 2-3 mounted handgun emplacements (rapid fire, low damage per shot)
- 1 mounted missile launcher (high damage, slow rate)
- 4-6 stationary defensive structures (spike traps, fire pillars where mod-supported)
Mix matters because a single high-damage launcher missing one shot lets the raid in. Spread fire across positions and weapon types.
4. Walls and choke points do more work than weapons
The biggest raid-defense improvement on most bases is not more weapons; it's geometry. Raiders pathfind toward your base. They take the most direct route. If the direct route runs through three walls and a narrow corridor flanked by Pal positions, the raid grinds against your defenses for the full duration even if your Pals never fire a shot.
Three walls deep is the practical minimum. Anything less and a high-tier raid wave bursts through in seconds.
5. Set raid frequency to something you can defend
If raids consistently destroy your base, your defenses are below the raid tier. Either upgrade defenses or lower raid frequency in PalWorldSettings.ini:
RaidNightRate=1.0 # Default — raids based on day count
EnableInvaderEnemy=False # Disable raids entirelyFor server-side performance, disabling raid AI also reduces sustained server load. The server requirements article recommends bEnableInvaderEnemy=False for higher-population servers as a performance optimization.
Common failure modes and fixes
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Pal on the weapon but never fires | No ammunition or wrong ammo type loaded | Verify ammo container near weapon has the right type stocked. |
| Pal walks toward weapon but goes back to workbench | Work board priority overrides combat | Make this Pal combat-only — unassign all work tasks. |
| Pal at weapon, weapon firing, but raiders still reach the base | Insufficient firepower for raid tier | More weapons, better positioning, deeper walls. Or lower raid difficulty in the settings. |
| Mounted weapon fires once and stops | Ammunition not refilling, or Pal's stamina low | Bigger ammo container nearby, multiple Pals to swap in. |
| All defensive Pals fled when raid started | Pals had Flee status (low HP, fear effect) | Keep Pals well-fed and well-rested so they engage. Higher-level Pals flee less. |
| Base destroyed while you were offline | Server raids continue when no players present | Most servers disable offline raids by default; verify bEnableInvaderEnemy and offline-protection settings. |
Settings that affect raid defense
In PalWorldSettings.ini:
bEnableInvaderEnemy=True # Master switch for raid AI
RaidNightRate=1.0 # Raid frequency multiplier
PalDamageRateDefense=1.0 # How much damage your Pals take
BuildObjectHpRate=1.0 # Wall/structure HP — raise to 2.0 for tougher bases
BuildObjectDamageRate=1.0 # How much damage raiders deal to structuresFor PvE communities that want raids but find them too punishing, the right tune is usually BuildObjectHpRate=2.0 and leaving everything else default. Walls become harder to break; raid duration extends; your Pals have more time to engage.
Server admin checklist for raid-frequent servers
- Set
BuildObjectHpRate1.5 to 2.0 if your community gets frustrated with structure loss. - Watch CPU during raid events. Raid AI is the heaviest sustained load Palworld puts on a server.
- If raids correlate with server lag, lower
RaidNightRateto 0.5 — half as many raids. - Disable raids entirely (
bEnableInvaderEnemy=False) on creative or roleplay servers where combat isn't the focus. - Communicate the raid policy in the server listing. Players opt into the right server.
Want a Palworld server where the raid settings are exposed in a panel and tuned per your group's preference? See Supercraft plans.