If you’ve spent hours sprinting across the Palpagos Islands chasing fluffy, fiery, or straight-up bizarre creatures to add to your base crew, you’ve probably wondered how many pals are there in Palworld at some point. The number has shifted a lot since the game first launched in early access, with regular updates dropping new Pals alongside new biomes, boss fights, and quality of life changes. We’ve pulled together all the latest official counts, plus context on what counts as a unique Pal, and how to speed up your collection grind if you’re chasing 100% Paldeck completion.
How Many Pals Are There in Palworld (Base Game + Latest Updates)
As of the latest official content update, there are 137 unique base Pals listed in the official Paldeck. If you've been scouring forums asking how many pals are there in Palworld to hit 100% completion, this official count is the number you need to target. That number doesn’t include alternate variants of existing Pals, which many new players accidentally count as new entries when they first start tracking their collection. I thought I had hit 100% completion last month until the latest biome update dropped 12 new Pals, so I ended up grinding for a whole weekend to fill the gaps in my Paldeck. Base Pals are the only entries that count towards your Paldeck completion progress, so you don’t have to waste time catching every alternate version to get the completion reward.
What Counts as a Unique Pal for Your Collection?
A lot of new players get confused when they catch a rare glowing Pal or defeat a giant world boss, and it doesn’t add a new entry to their Paldeck. That’s because only base Pal species count as unique entries, not special variants. We’ve broken down the most common variants that don’t count towards your Paldeck total below:
- Lucky Pals: Shiny, rare versions of base Pals with higher stat totals and a distinct golden glow, but share the exact same Paldeck ID as their standard counterpart
- Alpha (Boss) Pals: Larger, more powerful overworld and dungeon bosses that drop rare loot and rare crafting recipes, but are still classified as the same Pal as their smaller standard version
- Summoned Pals: Temporary Pals summoned via items, partner skills, or boss abilities, which don’t get added to your Paldeck even if you defeat or temporarily capture them
- Mod-added Pals: Custom creatures created by the Palworld modding community, which are not counted in the official Paldeck count and only work on mod-enabled PC servers
If your only goal is to fill out your Paldeck, you only need to catch each base Pal once. A lot of players spend hours grinding for Lucky Pals thinking they’re required for completion, but that’s not the case. You don't need to catch every variant to unlock the full Paldeck completion reward, though collecting rare variants is a lot of fun if you want to build the strongest possible battle team.
Tips to Track Down Every Missing Pal Fast
Chasing down the last 10 or so Pals for your Paldeck can feel frustrating if you don’t know where to look, but there are a few simple tricks to cut down your search time drastically. First, use the built-in filter in your Paldeck to see exactly which biomes each missing Pal spawns in, and what time of day or weather conditions they prefer. I once spent three full in-game days wandering the northern beaches looking for a Relaxaurus Lux before I realized it only spawns during thunderstorms, so don’t skip that Paldeck info tab.
You can also use type-specific baits to draw rare Pals out of hiding, or bring a Pal with the tracking partner skill to highlight nearby Pals you haven’t caught yet on your minimap. Using type-specific baits cuts down your search time for rare Pals by up to 70% in our testing, so it’s worth crafting a stack of baits for the type of Pal you’re looking for before you head out. Some rarer endgame Pals don’t spawn in the wild at all, so if you can’t find a Pal no matter how long you search, it’s probably only obtainable via breeding. Some endgame Pals can only be unlocked by breeding two specific base Pals together, so make sure you have a high-level breeding farm set up if you’re going for full completion.
Will More Pals Be Added to Palworld in Future Updates?
The 137 count isn’t final, by the way. Pocketpair, the developer of Palworld, has confirmed that they plan to add at least 50 more base Pals over the course of the game’s development leading up to its full 1.0 release. Most new Pals are tied to new biome updates, so you can expect 10-15 new Pals every time a major new area drops for the game. There are also rumored cross-over Pals coming from other popular indie games, though no official announcements have been made about which franchises will be included.
Modders are also creating hundreds of custom Pals for PC players, but those won’t ever be added to the official count, and they won’t work on console servers or unmodded PC lobbies. Official Pal additions are always announced at least two weeks before an update goes live, so you can plan your collection grind ahead of time if you want to fill your Paldeck as soon as new content drops. I’m personally most excited for the rumored deep ocean biome Pals coming in the next update, since there are way fewer water-type Pals than fire or grass types right now.
At the end of the day, the answer to how many pals are there in Palworld will keep changing as the game grows, but the current 137 base Pals give you more than enough creatures to collect, train, and assign to base work for months of gameplay. Even if you knock out all 137 entries and earn your Paldeck completion reward, hunting for rare Lucky or Alpha variants is a fun endgame activity that keeps the game feeling fresh long after you beat the main story. If you’re just starting out, don’t stress about catching every Pal right away—take your time exploring the islands, and you’ll fill most of your Paldeck without even trying before you know it.