As is the case with so many survivalcraft games, Palworld is great for chilling, grinding, and crafting with your pals. The human ones, I mean, but also your Chikipis and Lamballs. Basic Palworld multiplayer allows up to 4-player co-op but community servers and dedicated servers can host up to 32 players. And although there is no crossplay at launch, Pocketpair says that's in its plans for the near future.
Here's what you need to know about starting multiplayer games in Palworld and what you can actually do with your friends once they've joined.
How to start multiplayer in Palworld
The first thing to know about Palworld multiplayer is that every character is tied to the world or server where you made them and can't be transferred between saves. So in every new server or co-op world you join, you'll have a separate character with their own progression. Pocketpair does say that it plans to have a "server/save transfer method later on during development," so that may change eventually.
To host a local co-op session for your friends, here's how to start:
- If making a new world, toggle multiplayer "on" after selecting "Create new world"
- If using an existing world, press "Change world settings" before starting your game, and toggle multiplayer on
- Once you're in your world, open the options menu accessed by pressing ESC to find the invite code
To join a friend's multiplayer world, you can use that invite code in the "Join multiplayer game (invite code)" portion of the main menu. From there you'll enter character creation if it's a world you've not played in yet.
You can also select "Join multiplayer game" to hop onto a public community server, though connecting to those isn't always guaranteed to work and may include long load times. Unlike a world locally hosted by a friend, the community servers stay online so you can play whenever you like.
If you're experienced with survival game hosting, you can also create a dedicated server for Palworld so your friends can log in even when you aren't playing.
What you can do in multiplayer Palworld
When you join a new multiplayer world, you'll start at level 1 and need to uncover the map yourself regardless of how much the host player has explored or leveled. When playing co-op in Palworld, you can do a lot to share resources with other players, particularly if you have them join your guild. You will automatically have a guild when starting a game and can add players who've joined your world by finding and interacting with them directly. Unfortunately it seems you cannot send guild invites through the menu. Guild membership affects what players can and can't do in your multiplayer session.
Players not in your guild:
- Cannot open your storage chests
- Cannot interact with your pals or work sites
- Cannot catch or steal your pals
- Can establish their own bases and catch/fight wild Pals
- Can gather resources and pick up items you've dropped
Players who are in your guild:
- Cannot establish their own base until you level up your Palbox with a higher max number of bases
- Can use your crafting tables and work sites
- Can access your storage chests (but still need a passcode for locked chests)
- Can manage your Palbox by assigning Pals to the base or putting them into their own party
- Can interact with Pals by picking them up or petting them
Is there crossplay in Palworld?
At launch, there is no crossplay between the Steam and Xbox versions of Palworld. However crossplay is on the Palworld roadmap for early access and Pocketpair says it's "working to make this a possibility as soon as possible."
