If you’ve spent any time exploring Palpagos Island, you’ve probably stumbled on locked chests, exclusive pal skins, or base upgrades that only unlock with medals. Figuring out how to get medals in Palworld doesn’t have to be a confusing grind, even if you’re only 10 hours into your first playthrough. I’ve spent over 80 hours testing every method to farm medals, and I’ve cut out all the useless, slow tactics to leave only the ones that actually work for both casual and hardcore players. You don’t have to follow a strict meta to build up a solid stock of medals, either—there are options for every playstyle and skill level.
Core Methods for How to Get Medals in Palworld Fast
There are four consistent, reliable ways to earn medals no matter what level you are, and you can mix and match them to fit your play schedule. I usually combine two or three of these in a single play session to maximize my gains without getting bored. All of these methods work for both single-player and multiplayer runs, so you don’t have to team up with other players if you prefer to play solo.
- Complete Paldeck entries: Every time you fully register a pal (catch 10 of the same species) you get 50 to 200 medals depending on the pal’s rarity. I’ve gotten over 1,200 medals just filling out my Paldeck for common pals like Cattiva and Lamball in my first 20 hours, no extra effort needed.
- Clear Tower Boss fights: Each tower boss you defeat for the first time gives 300 medals, and repeat runs on higher difficulty give 100 per clear. If you have a strong team of level 40+ pals, you can run the first three towers in under 20 minutes total for a quick 300 medal payout.
- Find hidden treasure chests: Golden chests scattered across high-level zones and hidden cave systems give between 20 and 100 medals each. I keep a metal detector on my hotbar at all times now, since it cuts down chest hunting time by 70%.
- Complete guild and NPC side quests: Rare side quests from wandering merchants and guild tasks often reward 50 to 150 medals on top of gold and items. Prioritize quests that ask you to catch or defeat a specific pal, since you can knock those out while you’re farming Paldeck entries anyway.
You don’t have to stick to just one of these methods, either. I usually set a goal to fill out two Paldeck entries and clear one tower run per play session, and I end up with 400+ medals every two hours without feeling like I’m grinding. The only mistake I see new players make here is ignoring Paldeck entries for common pals—those small 50 medal payouts add up way faster than you’d think. These low-stakes tactics are perfect if you’re still learning the basics and want to figure out how to get medals in Palworld without risking losing all your gear to high-level bosses.
Beginner-Friendly Medal Farming Tactics for Low-Level Players
If you’re still under level 20 and can’t take on tower bosses yet, you don’t have to wait to start stocking up on medals. The easiest low-effort method for new players is to catch every pal you see, even the common ones you already have. Each 10th catch of a common pal gives 50 medals, and you’ll also get extra experience points to level up your character and your pals at the same time.
You can also farm low-level raid events that spawn near starting zones for easy medals. These raids only have level 10 to 15 enemy pals, and you get 30 medals for every successful defense. I set up my first base near the starting beach specifically because low-level raids spawn there every 45 minutes, and I got enough medals in my first 10 hours to unlock the upgraded storage boxes and fast travel points I needed to explore the rest of the island.
Just don’t waste your medals on cosmetic skins early on—save them for utility upgrades first, they’ll make your entire playthrough much smoother. I made the mistake of blowing 200 medals on a cute character skin in my first run, and I had to wait three extra days to unlock the higher base build limit I needed to expand my farm.
Advanced Medal Farming Strategies for Endgame Players
Once you hit level 50 and have a full team of strong legendary pals, you can scale your medal farming to get over 1,000 medals per hour if you plan your runs right. The most efficient endgame method is to run the highest difficulty tower boss runs back to back with a group of friends. Each run takes about 10 minutes, and you get 150 medals per clear, plus rare pal drops you can use to fill out the rest of your Paldeck.
You can also hunt for alpha boss pals in high-level zones—each alpha boss you defeat for the first time gives 100 medals, and you can catch them to add to your Paldeck for an extra 100 to 200 medal payout on top. I usually map out 5 alpha spawn points near each other before I start a farming run, so I can run between them without wasting time fast traveling back and forth.
One thing to note here: alpha bosses respawn every 2 hours of real time, so you can’t farm the same one over and over in a single session. Switch between different spawn points to make the most of your time. If you’re playing solo, you can also set up automated farms near high-level spawn points to catch extra pals while you’re doing other tasks, which adds a small but steady stream of passive medals from Paldeck completions and releases.
Common Medal Farming Mistakes to Avoid
Even if you’re following all the best farming tactics, small mistakes can slow down your medal gain by half without you even noticing. The first mistake I see all the time is selling extra pals for gold instead of releasing them. Releasing extra pals gives you a small number of medals per release, and if you release 100 extra common pals you caught while farming Paldeck entries, that’s an extra 100 medals you would have missed out on if you sold them.
Another common mistake is wasting medals on temporary buffs from merchants. Those 10-medal experience buffs might seem nice, but you’re better off saving those medals for permanent upgrades like larger base limits or exclusive pal eggs that will give you long-term value. I once wasted 150 medals on experience buffs early on, and it didn’t even cut my level up time by that much.
You also don’t want to ignore guild missions if you’re part of a multiplayer guild. Weekly guild missions often give 500+ medals as a reward for completing simple group tasks, and you can get those medals without doing any extra work if you’re already playing with your friends regularly. I once missed out on 600 medals in my first guild because I forgot to check the mission tab for two weeks, so I now set a reminder to check it every time I log in. Avoiding these small errors will make your process of how to get medals in Palworld far more efficient, so you can spend less time grinding and more time catching pals and building your base.
At the end of the day, figuring out how to get medals in Palworld is all about working smart, not working hard. You don’t have to spend 10 hours a day grinding to get enough medals for every upgrade and item you want. Pick the tactics that fit your playstyle, avoid the common mistakes, and you’ll have a full stock of medals before you know it. Whether you’re a casual player who only plays a few hours a week or a hardcore endgame farmer, there’s a method that will work for you without making the game feel like a chore.