If you’ve ever hit a wall trying to build a high-tier workbench or upgrade your Pal’s cooling armor, you know how frustrating it is to track down rare crafting materials. One of the most sought-after mid-game resources you’ll run into is polymer, and many new players struggle to find a consistent supply without wasting hours wandering the map. Learning how to get polymer in Palworld cuts down on that grind, so you can spend more time catching rare Pals and expanding your base instead of hunting for random drops. I’ve spent over 80 hours testing different farming methods, and I’ve broken down the fastest, lowest-effort ways to stock up below.
How to Get Polymer in Palworld: 3 Legitimate Methods
You don’t need to use exploits or mods to get all the polymer you need, even if you’re still working through the early mid-game. There are three core ways to get polymer without cheating, and each fits a different playstyle and level range:
- Pal drops: Defeat or capture synthetic, tech-adjacent Pals to get 1-3 polymer per kill, no crafting recipe required. This is the only option for players below level 40.
- Crafting: Once you unlock the recipe at level 40, you can turn crude oil into polymer at a Production Assembly Line II for a steady, automated supply.
- Loot: Find small quantities of polymer in gold chests in high-level dungeons, abandoned research facilities, and military outposts scattered across the map.
Pal drops are the most accessible method for new mid-game players, even if it feels a bit grindy at first. The Pals that drop polymer are almost all electric or ice-type, and they spawn in consistent clusters once you know where to look. Loot runs are best if you’re already exploring dungeons for new schematics, but you won’t get enough polymer from chests alone to cover all your crafting needs. If you’re still figuring out how to get polymer in Palworld without fighting high-level Pals, start with low-tier Beakon spawns near the eastern coast of the starting island first.
The Best Polymer Farming Spots for Consistent Drops
The biggest mistake new players make when farming polymer is wandering random biomes hoping for rare spawns. You can cut your farming time in half by heading to locations where polymer-dropping Pals spawn in large, consistent groups. The northern section of the Arid Desert biome has a 70% spawn rate for Beakon groups, with each group having 3 to 5 Pals between level 25 and 35. You can loop the 1-kilometer stretch of road near the abandoned research outpost there every 10 minutes, and you’ll walk away with 15 to 20 polymer per run.
But you don’t have to rush to the desert right away if you don’t have heat resistance armor. The frozen mountain biome on the northwest edge of the starting island has consistent Cryolinx spawns, and each kill drops 2 to 3 polymer on average. Just make sure you have at least tier 2 cold resistance armor, or you’ll take constant damage while you farm. If you’re level 45 or higher, the volcanic biome’s Relaxaurus Lux spawns are even more efficient, since each kill drops up to 4 polymer, and they often spawn in groups of 2 to 3.
I recommend setting up a small outpost near whatever farming spot you pick, with a fast travel point and a few beds for respawns. That way you don’t have to run 10 minutes across the map every time you die or run out of healing items. I set up my first polymer farming outpost near the desert Beakon spawns, and it saved me hours of travel time over my first two weeks of play.
How to Craft Polymer (And When It’s Worth The Effort)
Once you hit level 40 and unlock the Production Assembly Line II recipe, you can start crafting polymer instead of farming it from Pals. Each polymer requires 2 units of crude oil to craft, plus 5 units of electricity to power the assembly line. Crude oil spawns in large nodes in the desert and volcanic biomes, and you can mine it with a tier 3 pickaxe or have mining Pals like Digtoise collect it for you automatically.
Crafting polymer is the best option long term, because you can fully automate the process. Set up a base near a cluster of crude oil nodes, assign 2 to 3 mining Pals to collect oil, assign 1 transport Pal to move oil to the assembly line, and assign 1 crafting Pal to run the line. The entire system will run without any input from you, so you can go catch rare Pals or explore dungeons while you stock up on polymer.
That said, crafting isn’t worth the effort if you only need a small amount of polymer for a one-off upgrade. If you only need 10 polymer to build a new workbench, it’s faster to run 10 minutes of Beakon farming than it is to build an entire oil farming base and unlock the crafting recipe. Save the crafting setup for when you need 50 or more polymer for endgame base upgrades or gear sets.
Top Uses for Polymer You Should Prioritize First
Polymer is used in dozens of crafting recipes, but you should avoid wasting it on low-priority items early on, since it’s still fairly hard to get in large quantities until you set up a crafting farm. High-tier workbenches and assembly lines should be your first use for polymer, since they unlock all the endgame crafting recipes you’ll need for the rest of the game. Without these workbenches, you can’t build endgame armor, Pal gear, or base defense systems.
Next, use polymer to build heat and cold resistance armor sets. These armor sets let you explore harsh biomes without taking constant damage, which gives you access to more rare resources and higher level Pals. You should also save some polymer for advanced Pal Spheres, which have a 3x higher catch rate for legendary Pals than regular hyper spheres.
Don’t waste your early polymer supplies on cosmetic items like fancy wall signs, decorative lights, or non-essential furniture. I made that mistake early on, spent 12 polymer on a neon sign for my base, and then couldn’t build the heat resistance armor I needed to explore the desert for 3 extra days. Save cosmetic builds for after you have a fully automated polymer crafting farm running, so you don’t slow down your progression for no reason.
At the end of the day, there's no one right way to stock up on this versatile resource, but the method you pick will depend on your level, available gear, and playstyle. Whether you prefer farming Pal drops, crafting it from crude oil, or looting it from dungeons, you now have all the info you need to build a steady supply. Once you learn how to get polymer in Palworld, you'll blow past the mid-game grind and unlock all the endgame content you've been waiting for. Don't forget to stock up extra, because you'll always need more than you think for last-minute upgrades or raid repairs.