Palworld launchs on January 19th, entering early access on PC. It appears to be a robust addition to the survival crafting and creature collection genres. 

Given the game's considerable hype and its comparison to "Pokemon with guns," what can you anticipate when diving into the experience? Explore 15 essential aspects you should be aware of before making a purchase.

1. Personalize Your World Settings

In the realm of world settings, there exists a variety of options to personalize your experience. 

Whether you're a newcomer seeking a relaxed adventure or a seasoned survival crafting enthusiast eager for higher challenges, you have the flexibility to modify several aspects. Adjust the pace of daytime and nighttime, the EXP earning rate, Pal Capture Rate (including their frequency of appearance), damage inflicted and sustained by Pals, and more. 

Opt to enable or disable raid events, or configure the outcome of death to involve dropping all your Palworld Items and Pals. Even after the world's creation, you retain the ability to make adjustments.

2. Craft Your Character

Upon establishing the world, the next step involves crafting your character. 

Diverse presets are at your disposal, allowing you to fine-tune the dimensions of arms, legs, and torsos. Choose from over 20 face types, 27 hairstyles, and 6 distinct voice types. While it may not be the most intricate character creator, it effectively fulfills its purpose. 

Notably, post-game initiation, you lack the ability to modify your appearance. A forthcoming update will introduce this feature later, so bear that in mind during the character creation process.

3. More Than 100 Pals

Exceeding 100 in number, Palworld introduces a diverse collection of Pals for players to gather. 

This assortment includes uncomplicated ones like Cattiva and Lamball and more intricate ones like Suzaku and Katress. Additional Pals are anticipated to be introduced throughout the early access phase. 

While there is no evidence of evolutions based on encountered Pals so far, enhancing a Pal's power is achievable by sacrificing duplicates to the Pal Condensation machine, thereby elevating their tier. Pal Souls, discovered during exploration, can be utilized at a Statue of Power to augment their statistics.

4. Types Of Pal & Their Passives

The world of Pals is categorized into 3 types – the standard ones, the Alpha Pals (details coming up shortly), and Lucky Pals, akin to Shinies. 

Standard Pals present the usual array of elemental affinities such as fire, water, grass, and neutral. They come with three customizable skill slots (don't forget to customize skills). 

Additionally, they possess random passive skills; for instance, one Cattiva may exhibit a ten percent boost in movement speed, while another might deal 10 percent less damage. 

Lucky Pals may feature the rare passive, with a 15% increase in both work speed and attack, making them particularly suitable for capturing.

5. Partner Abilities

Irrespective of their passives, each Pal is inherently tailored for specific tasks. For instance, a Penking, whether Standard or Alpha, is always adept at crafting items, transporting materials, watering farms, mining, and cooling. 

As you advance in the game and amass more Pals, you'll encounter others proficient in various tasks. 

Take note of the distinct Partner Abilities each Pal offers. Some abilities can be activated in battle (with certain equipment requirements), while others are passive, contributing effects like elemental damage to player attacks.

6. Build Your Base

Constructing a base is a pivotal aspect of Palworld. 

It involves establishing beds for your Pals to rest, ensuring a steady supply of food to sustain both them and yourself, and incorporating facilities like spas to safeguard their sanity. 

The Primitive Workbench proves handy for crafting fundamental Pal Spheres, weapons, armor, and materials. However, as you progress, additional features like smelting furnaces for ore refinement, power generators supplying electricity to oversee Production Line Factories, and Medicine Workbenches for crafting medicinal items for Pals become available. 

The completion of missions not only elevates your base levels but also grants the capability to create multiple bases.

7. Combat

Engaging in combat within Palworld involves dispatching your Pal to confront adversaries and utilizing your weaponry, such as crossbows, guns, and explosives. 

The combat operates in real-time, with Pal abilities subject to cooldown. While you can only have one Pal active at a time, certain equipment permits the companionship of others, like Dazzi and Daedream, for continuous assistance. 

In the absence of such assistance, the strategy remains consistent – exploit elemental weaknesses to the best of your ability for a triumphant outcome.

8. Various Regions

Commencing your journey in the Plateau of Beginnings, Palworld unfolds a myriad of regions for exploration. 

The surroundings transition from the neighboring plains to rugged areas featuring expansive bridges. Before long, you'll encounter volcanic regions, vast dunes, and enigmatic sites. 

For those with a penchant for exploration, Palworld's diverse landscapes will provide ample opportunities for engagement, particularly when in pursuit of Lifmunk Effigies to enhance your Capture Power.

9. Dungeons

Palworld's dungeons maintain simplicity and are categorized into 2 types. 

The initial type encompasses navigating a sequence of caves, confronting human adversaries and wild Pals, and uncovering chests containing loot. At the culmination of this journey, an Alpha Pal presents itself, and dispatching or capturing it concludes the dungeon. 

The second type of dungeon, Sealed Realm, is even more uncomplicated. Interaction with the luminous circle in a designated area results in teleportation to the Alpha Pal's location for the purpose of vanquishing it.

10. Alpha Pals

Consider Alpha Pals as somewhat akin to world bosses. They boast a larger stature, significantly more health than the average Pal, and can inflict substantial damage. 

Occasionally, they engage in battles accompanied by other Pals, but overcoming them is not obligatory. You have the option to capture Alpha Pals, and from the observed encounters, it appears that only Alpha Pals provide positive passives such as reduced damage from a specific elemental type or a decreased likelihood of getting hungry. 

Whether you choose to defeat or capture them, the reward is an Ancient Technology Point for successfully clearing an Alpha Pal for the first time.

11. Settlements & Wandering Merchants

Beyond the realm of Pals and Dungeons lies additional facets within the archipelago. 

You'll come across settlements where human NPCs lead their daily lives, offering insights into the surrounding region and the broader world. These settlements serve as prime locations for encountering Wandering Merchants who peddle materials, items, and even Pals in exchange for Palworld Gold.

12. Technologies & Ancient Technologies

Advancing in levels within Palworld rewards you with Technology Points, akin to the system in Ark: Survival Evolved. 

These points allow you to unlock new crafting items, with the more advanced and resource-intensive options becoming accessible at higher levels. 

In addition to regular Technologies, there are Ancient Technologies that necessitate Ancient Technology Points obtained from defeating Alpha Pals. 

These Ancient Technologies can grant access to items such as the Egg Incubator for nurturing eggs into Pals, Feed Bags for automatic sustenance for yourself and Pals in your party, and even a Grappling Gun.

13. Day/Night Cycle & Climates

As mentioned earlier, Palworld experiences a day/night cycle that holds significance, as specific Pals are exclusive to either daytime or nighttime. 

Additionally, various regions exhibit distinct climates, ranging from extreme heat to cold (sometimes both, contingent on the time of day). 

To navigate these regions, armor is essential to resist the adverse effects, as failure to do so results in sustained damage over time.

14. The Towers

In your journey, you'll come across two main adversaries – humans and Pals. 

However, there are specific locations where you'll face rival Pal trainers. These trainers are situated in towers scattered throughout the world and can pose a significant challenge if you enter them without adequate levels and preparations. 

Notably, the tutorial section begins with conquering the Rayne Syndicate's Tower. Subsequently, you have the freedom to travel to any other tower and make an attempt to defeat the trainers inside.

15. No PvP In The Early Access Version 

Players can collaborate in co-op mode, with up to four participants sharing the same world. 

Furthermore, the option to establish a dedicated server supports a larger community, accommodating up to 32 players and providing the ability to form guilds. 

However, it's important to note that PvP is not accessible in the early access version. According to Pocketpair, they are currently conducting internal tests and exploring various approaches to PvP. The aim is to identify the most suitable PvP experience for Palworld, and updates will be shared when PvP is ready for implementation.