Can you change difficulty on an existing world?

Some individual sliders can be adjusted after world creation depending on your version, but certain foundational settings are locked in at world creation.

Where is PalWorldSettings.ini located?

It's found in the dedicated server's configuration folder under the save data directory, and is edited with a plain text editor.

What settings matter most for a casual server?

XP rate, Pal capture rate and drop rate multipliers have the biggest impact on how quickly a casual group progresses, so start by adjusting those.

Mechanics

How do you change server settings and difficulty in Palworld?

Answer

In single-player or when hosting, adjust settings from the World Settings menu when creating a new world, including difficulty presets and individual sliders for XP rate, drop rate, capture rate and more. Dedicated server owners edit the same values directly in the server's PalWorldSettings.ini configuration file.

Palworld exposes a large number of tunable settings, whether you're playing solo or running a dedicated server for friends.

Quick answer

In single-player or when hosting from the game client, adjust difficulty and individual sliders in the World Settings screen at world creation. On a dedicated server, the same values live in the PalWorldSettings.ini configuration file and are edited directly with a text editor before restarting the server.

1. In-game world settings (single-player / host)

When creating a new world, a World Settings menu appears with:

A difficulty preset (Easy, Normal, and custom options)
Individual sliders for day/night cycle speed, XP rate, Pal capture rate, drop rate, damage taken/dealt, and more

Selecting a preset fills in reasonable defaults, but every slider can be fine-tuned afterward on the same screen.

2. Common settings to adjust

Setting	Effect when increased
EXP Rate	Faster character and Pal leveling
Pal Capture Rate	Higher chance to catch Pals
Item/Pal Drop Rate	More loot from kills
Pal spawn rate	More wild Pals in the world
Death penalty	Harsher loss on death

3. Dedicated server configuration

If you're running a dedicated server, the equivalent settings live in PalWorldSettings.ini inside the server's configuration directory. Open it in a text editor, adjust the relevant values (they mirror the in-game sliders), save, and restart the server for changes to take effect.

4. Changing settings on an existing world

Some sliders remain adjustable after creation, but certain foundational choices made at world creation may be locked in depending on your game version — always back up your save before experimenting with settings changes on a world you care about.

5. Good starting points for groups

For a relaxed group aiming to see more content without a full grind, raising XP rate and capture rate moderately while leaving combat difficulty closer to default tends to keep the game engaging without trivialising it.

6. Apply and restart

Whether in-game or via the .ini file, changes typically require restarting the world or server session to fully apply, so test settings changes before a planned group session rather than mid-play.

/ — Palworld hub
/answers — more Palworld mechanics answers
/map — plan sessions around your settings

Frequently asked questions

Can you change difficulty on an existing world?: Some individual sliders can be adjusted after world creation depending on your version, but certain foundational settings are locked in at world creation.
Where is PalWorldSettings.ini located?: It's found in the dedicated server's configuration folder under the save data directory, and is edited with a plain text editor.
What settings matter most for a casual server?: XP rate, Pal capture rate and drop rate multipliers have the biggest impact on how quickly a casual group progresses, so start by adjusting those.