If you’ve spent any time building up your Palworld base past the early stone and wood stage, you’ve probably run into a roadblock when trying to craft advanced gadgets like electric generators, high-tier Pal Spheres, or automatic feeders. The missing piece for almost all of these upgrades is knowing how to make circuit boards palworld, and it’s far easier to unlock than most new players assume. I spent three hours running around the wrong biomes trying to source rare materials for my first circuit board before I realized I’d skipped a key tech unlock, so I’m putting together everything I wish I knew to save you the same frustration. Circuit boards aren’t just for fancy decor either—they’re the backbone of every late-game base automation system, so getting a steady supply going early will save you hours of manual work down the line.
What You Need to Know Before You Make Circuit Boards in Palworld
First, let’s clear up a common misconception that trips up almost every new player working toward their first circuit board. You don’t need to fight any boss Pals to unlock circuit board crafting. A lot of online misinformation claims you have to beat a mid-game boss to get the recipe, but it’s actually a standard tech tree unlock available as soon as you hit character level 35. You only need 2 technology points to purchase the recipe, plus an extra point to unlock the required crafting station if you haven’t already grabbed that.
You can also find circuit boards as rare drops from chests in high-tier dungeons or military outposts scattered across the map. I once found 4 circuit boards in a hidden chest at a snowy mountain outpost during a routine resource run, but I burned through all of them in 10 minutes building my first power grid. Relying on drops is never a reliable long-term strategy, especially if you want to automate your base or craft high-tier weapons, so learning to craft them yourself is non-negotiable for late-game progress.
One quick note before you dive in: circuit boards require a powered crafting station to make, so you’ll need to have at least one basic electric generator set up in your base before you can start production. If you haven’t unlocked electricity yet, you’ll want to prioritize that tech line first before you start gathering materials for circuit boards.
Required Resources and Crafting Station Setup
Before you can start cranking out circuit boards, you’ll need to get a few key pieces of infrastructure and resources in place. I’ve put together a quick checklist to make sure you don’t miss anything:
- Level 35 character level to unlock the Production Assembly Line II and circuit board recipe in the tech tree
- 3 unused technology points to purchase both the assembly line upgrade and circuit board crafting recipe
- A steady supply of Pure Quartz, mined from large white crystal nodes mostly found in the northern snowy mountain biomes
- A steady supply of Plastic, crafted from 2 Oil per unit at a standard Refinery station
- A dedicated power source for the Production Assembly Line II, as it won’t run without a consistent electricity supply
Let’s break down the trickier resources so you don’t waste time hunting in the wrong areas. Pure Quartz nodes are easy to spot when you fly over the northern biome, since they glow bright white against the snow. You’ll need a pickaxe of at least iron quality to mine Pure Quartz, so make sure you upgrade your tools before heading up the mountain. The cold can drain your stamina fast too, so bring along heat resist armor or a Fire Pal like Foxcicle to keep you warm while you farm nodes.
For Plastic, you can get Oil from dark, bubbling oil seeps in the southwestern desert biome, or from killing Pals like Relaxaurus Lux, who drop small amounts of Oil when defeated. Setting up a small outpost near a cluster of oil seeps with a few mining Pals assigned will keep your Plastic supply flowing without you having to make regular trips across the map. I have 2 Digtoises assigned to my desert outpost, and they produce enough Oil for 50 Plastic a day without any input from me.
Step-by-Step Process to Make Circuit Boards in Palworld
Once you have all your resources and infrastructure ready, the actual crafting process is straightforward, but there are a few small mistakes that can derail your first run. First, place your Production Assembly Line II somewhere covered in your base, near your power generator. I made the mistake of placing mine outside during a rainstorm once, and it shorted out for 10 minutes until I built a roof over it, so don’t skip that simple step. Make sure your power generator is connected directly to the assembly line, even if you have a wider base power grid, because sometimes power glitches happen if you have too many devices connected to one generator.
Next, add your Pure Quartz and Plastic to the assembly line’s inventory, or connect it to a storage chest that holds those materials using a conveyor belt system if you have automation set up. If you’re just starting out, you can manually add materials to the station, but setting up a conveyor system will save you a lot of time long-term. Interact with the assembly line, select the circuit board recipe from the tech menu, and choose how many you want to craft.
Each circuit board takes 10 seconds to craft, so you can make 6 per minute if you have a full stock of materials. If you want to speed up production, assign Pals with high Handiwork skill to the assembly line—Pals like Anubis or Grizzbolt can cut crafting time almost in half if their skill level is maxed out. If you don’t have access to the snowy biome yet, you can sometimes buy circuit boards from wandering merchants for 1000 gold each, but that’s way too expensive for mass production. I only recommend buying them if you need one or two right away to unlock a specific building, otherwise crafting is far cheaper.
Best Uses for Circuit Boards and How to Optimize Your Supply
Now that you can make circuit boards, you’ll probably be tempted to use them for every fancy new gadget you unlock, but it’s smart to prioritize your upgrades first to avoid running out at a bad time. The most essential uses for circuit boards early on include Electric Generators (need 5 circuit boards each), Automatic Feeders (need 3 each), and High Tier Sphere Launchers (need 10 each). These three upgrades will cut down on your daily grind more than any other late-game items, so build those first before you waste boards on decor or non-essential gadgets.
Your first 20 circuit boards should always go to building a second Production Assembly Line II, so you can double your circuit board output while you craft other materials. Most players run out of circuit boards constantly when they first unlock the recipe, and adding a second production line will fix that issue immediately. If you’re still running low on supply, focus on setting up dedicated mining outposts for Pure Quartz first—most players run out of Quartz long before they run out of Plastic, since Quartz nodes are less common across the map.
I have two small outposts in the northern snowy biome with 4 mining Pals each assigned to Quartz nodes, and they produce enough Quartz for 100 circuit boards a day without me having to lift a finger. You don’t need to go that big if you’re playing solo, but even one small outpost with 2 mining Pals will keep your supply steady. Also, don’t waste circuit boards on low-tier gadgets you don’t need—you don’t need an electric heater for every room in your base, for example, so save those boards for automation tools that actually make your gameplay easier.
Once you get the hang of the recipe and set up a steady supply chain, knowing how to make circuit boards palworld will open up every late-game feature the game has to offer, from fully automated base systems to powerful weapons that let you take on the toughest boss Pals. Don’t get discouraged if you struggle to find Pure Quartz the first time you head up the mountain—once you mark a few node locations on your map, you’ll have more than enough to keep your production lines running. If you’re still stuck on any part of the process, try testing the recipe with just a few materials first to work out kinks in your base setup before you invest in mass production.