If you’ve spent your first few hours in Palworld running from aggressive Chillet and hoarding every stone you find, you’ve probably hit a wall pretty fast when it comes to building anything better than a rickety wooden shack. That’s where learning how to research in palworld makes all the difference between a base that gets raided every other night and a self-sustaining compound that lets you take on the game’s toughest bosses. I’ve put 120+ hours into the game across multiple playthroughs, and I’ve messed up my research path more times than I can count, so I’m breaking down exactly what works, what wastes your time, and how to get the most out of every tech point you earn.
How to Research in Palworld: Core Basics You Need to Know First
First, let’s cover the fundamentals so you don’t get confused by the two different types of research points the game throws at you right out the gate. Regular tech points are earned every time you level up your player character, and they cover most common craftable items from tools to base structures. Ancient tech points are far rarer, earned by defeating alpha bosses, opening dungeon chests, or completing high-level challenge missions, and they unlock high-tier, endgame items like automatic factories and legendary weapons.
You can’t unlock any research without first building a tier 1 research station, which you get access to as soon as you hit level 2. You don’t need any rare materials to build it, just 10 pieces of wood and 5 stone, so you can put it up within your first 10 minutes of play. Regular tech points are non-refundable, so you don’t want to waste them on low-priority items early on. There’s no way to reset your research path without starting a new save, so a little planning goes a long way. Even if you’re brand new to figuring out how to research in Palworld, sticking to the priorities I cover below will keep you from wasting points on items you’ll never use.
Prioritize These Research Items First for Fast Progression
When you’re first starting out, it’s tempting to unlock every shiny new item that pops up in your tech tree, but that’s a surefire way to run out of points when you need them most. After testing dozens of research paths across multiple playthroughs, these are the items you should unlock first, no matter what your playstyle is:
- Wooden Storage Box (unlocked at level 2): You’ll collect way more berries, stone, and wood than you can carry in your first hour, and this stops you from wasting time running back and forth to drop off items every 10 minutes. You can stack up to 10 of them in a small space, so you never have to leave valuable resources on the ground again.
- Pal Sphere (unlocked at level 2): It might seem obvious, but skipping extra tools to unlock higher quality Pal Spheres as soon as you can will let you catch stronger Pals faster, which speeds up every other part of the game. Higher tier Pals gather resources faster, fight harder, and even craft items for you while you’re away from base.
- Stable Mount (unlocked at level 12): Being able to ride a Rushoar or Eikthyrdeer cuts your travel time across the map in half, and lets you haul far more resources back to your base without getting overencumbered. You’ll also be able to outrun most aggressive Pals that would otherwise chase you across the map.
- Heated Fountain (unlocked at level 17): If you’re building your base in a cold or hot biome, this eliminates the need to carry temperature regulation items at all times, and keeps your Pals from getting sick and slowing down work. Even if you’re in a mild biome, it’s a great low-cost upgrade that makes base life far less stressful.
I used to waste my first 5 tech points on fancy pickaxes and clothing that I didn’t even need for the first 10 hours of play. Once I switched to prioritizing storage, capture items, and travel upgrades first, I got to late-game content 30% faster on my last playthrough. You can always go back and unlock cosmetic or niche items later once you have extra tech points to spare. Never waste early ancient tech points on cosmetic items like building skins, those do nothing to boost your progression, and you’ll regret it when you need points for high-tier item factories later.
Max Out Your Research Point Gain Without Grinding
A lot of new players assume they have to grind hundreds of Pals just to earn enough tech points to unlock everything they want, but that’s not true at all. There are tons of easy, low-effort ways to earn extra points without spending hours doing the same task over and over. Completing the in-game tutorial challenges (the ones listed on the left side of your screen) give you bonus tech points for every set you finish, so you don’t have to grind levels just to get extra points. Most of these challenges are things you’d be doing anyway, like catching 5 Pals or building your first storage box, so you might as well claim the extra rewards when you finish them.
Exploring high-level biomes even early on, just to open chests, can net you extra ancient tech points without fighting bosses, as long as you stay out of sight of high-level aggressive Pals. I usually sneak around the edges of the volcanic biome in my first 5 hours of play, and I almost always walk away with 2 or 3 extra ancient tech points just from hidden chests. Catching 10 of every Pal type gives you a permanent XP boost that makes leveling up (and earning tech points) far faster. That’s one of the most underrated tips in the entire game, and most players don’t find out about it until they’re 20+ hours in. If you’re struggling to earn enough points to unlock the items you want, these tips make figuring out how to research in Palworld far less grindy. You don’t have to spend all your time fighting Pals to get the points you need, you just have to know where to look.
Common Research Mistakes to Avoid At All Costs
Even if you follow all the tips above, it’s easy to fall into common traps that waste your tech points and slow down your progression. I’ve made every single one of these mistakes at least once, so you don’t have to. The first big mistake is unlocking every single item as soon as you have a tech point. A lot of new players do this, and they end up short on points when they need to unlock a critical repair bench or farming station. Ask yourself if you’ll actually use the item in the next 2 hours of play before you unlock it, and if the answer is no, save the point for later.
Another common mistake is wasting ancient tech points on early game items like better food, when those are easily craftable with regular research. Ancient points are so rare that you should only ever use them for items you can’t get any other way. I once unlocked a metal workbench at level 15, only to realize I didn’t have the ability to mine iron yet, so it sat useless in my base for 3 levels. Always unlock the resource gathering tool you need for an item before you unlock the item itself. That means unlocking the iron pickaxe before you unlock any iron structures, for example. A lot of players only focus on building and weapon upgrades, but upgrades that make your Pals work faster, carry more, or take less damage will do more to speed up your base progression than almost any other research item. Pal work efficiency upgrades pay for themselves in less than an hour of real time, because your Pals will gather resources and craft items while you’re off exploring the map. You don’t need to unlock every single item in the tech tree to beat the game, so don’t stress if you don’t have points for every single cosmetic or niche tool.
At the end of the day, research is one of the most flexible parts of Palworld, and you can adjust your path to fit whatever playstyle you prefer, whether you want to focus on base building, Pal collection, or boss fights. Taking a little time to plan out your research path instead of unlocking random items will save you hours of frustration down the line, and help you get the most out of every minute you spend in the game. If you remember nothing else from this guide, remember that learning how to research in palworld is all about prioritizing upgrades that save you time first, and everything else second. You’ll have way more fun, and build a way stronger base, if you stop wasting points on items you’ll never use.