If you’ve ever spent 20 minutes trekking across open grasslands with a full inventory of ore, only to get jumped by a roaming Alpha Pal and lose half your loot, you know how brutal Palworld’s early game travel can be. Sprinting uses up your stamina in seconds, swimming drains it even faster, and climbing even a small hill feels like a chore when you’re loaded down with resources. The good news is you can skip all that frustration once you learn how to ride pals in palworld. Mounted pals let you move 2-3x faster than on foot, carry extra weight, and even avoid hostile mobs entirely if you pick a flying option. I’ve put 120+ hours into Palworld across three playthroughs, and I still unlock riding as fast as possible every time I start a new save.
Prerequisites You Need Before You Can Learn How to Ride Pals in Palworld
You can’t just grab any random Pal you catch and hop on its back right away. There are a few core requirements you have to hit first, and none of them are too hard to unlock even if you’re a brand new player. I recommend prioritizing these as soon as you hit level 10, so you can get your first mount within an hour of starting your save.
First, you need to hit Level 12 player rank to unlock the Pal Gear Workbench in your Technology Tree. It only costs 2 Technology Points to unlock, so you won’t have to grind for extra points to get it. You’ll need 50 wood, 20 stone, and 10 fiber to build the workbench, so keep an eye out for those resources as you level up.
Next, you need the Pal-specific saddle crafting recipe for the Pal you want to ride. Every mountable Pal has its own unique saddle, which unlocks at a specific player level. For example, the Rushoar saddle unlocks at level 13, just one level after you get the workbench. You don’t have to craft a new saddle every time you catch a new Pal of the same species, either. Once you make one saddle for a species, it stays in your key items forever, and works for every Pal of that type you own.
Last, you need to have the Pal you want to ride in your active party. You can’t call a Pal from your Palbox to ride it, so make sure you leave a slot open for your preferred mount when you’re heading out to explore. Some Pals can’t be ridden at all, even if you have a saddle for them. You can check if a Pal is mountable by looking for the “Rideable” tag on its stat screen, or checking the Technology Tree for its saddle recipe.
Step-by-Step Process to Equip Saddle and Ride Your Pal
Once you’ve got all your prerequisites sorted, riding your Pal is actually really straightforward. I’ve walked dozens of my friends through this process, and most of them get it right on the first try. You don’t have to do any fancy quests or beat any bosses to unlock basic riding, either.
First, spend the required Technology Points to unlock the saddle recipe for your chosen Pal. Most early-game saddles only cost 1-2 TP, so you won’t have to skip unlocking other useful items like torches or better tools to get them. Next, gather the required materials to craft the saddle at your Pal Gear Workbench. Early saddles only require common materials like cloth, wood, and leather, which you can get from killing low-level Pals or harvesting plants around your base.
Once the saddle is crafted, it will automatically be added to your key items inventory. You don’t have to equip it to your Pal or keep it in your regular inventory, so you don’t have to worry about it taking up space you could use for loot. Add the Pal you want to ride to your active party, then summon it by pressing the summon button (X on PC, right D-pad on Xbox and PlayStation).
Walk up to the summoned Pal, and you’ll see a ride prompt pop up above the interaction menu. Hold the interaction button to mount up, and you’re good to go. You can sprint while riding by holding the same sprint button you use on foot, and you can jump to clear small obstacles. If you want to dismount, just press the interaction button again. When you’re done using your mount, you can recall it to save it from taking damage from random mobs.
Not sure which Pal to pick for your first mount? These are the best early-game options for every playstyle:
- Rushoar: The earliest land mount you can unlock, requires level 13 saddle, perfect for carrying heavy loot across grassy biomes. It has 50% extra carrying capacity, so it’s ideal for mining runs.
- Chillet: Ice-type land mount with 20% faster sprint speed than Rushoar, unlocks at level 15. It also can mine low-tier ice resources while you ride it, so it’s great if you’re exploring the snow biome early.
- Nitewing: The first accessible flying mount for most players, saddle unlocks at level 21. It lets you skip over mountains, hostile mob clusters, and bodies of water entirely, so it’s worth grinding to level 21 as fast as possible.
- Surfent: The best early water mount, unlocks at level 17. It lets you cross oceans without losing stamina or taking drowning damage, and it moves 3x faster than swimming on foot.
Pro Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Mounted Pals
Once you get the hang of basic riding, there are a ton of little tricks you can use to make the experience even better. I picked most of these up after 50+ hours of playing, and they’ve saved me hours of wasted time and hundreds of healing items.
Always carry multiple saddle types once you unlock them. I keep the Rushoar, Chillet, Nitewing, and Surfent saddles unlocked on every save, so I can swap out mounts depending on where I’m going. If I’m heading out to mine ore, I bring Rushoar for the extra carrying capacity. If I’m exploring new biomes, I bring Nitewing so I can escape dangerous situations fast. Since saddles are stored in your key items, they don’t take up any inventory space, so there’s no downside to unlocking as many as you can.
Level up your mount’s stamina stat whenever you can. Every time your Pal levels up, you get to assign a point to one of its stats, and putting points into stamina will let it sprint or fly for much longer before needing to rest. A level 30 Nitewing with full stamina points can fly across the entire map in one go, which is a total game-changer for long exploration runs. You can also feed your mount stamina-enhancing food to get a temporary boost if you need to travel a long distance quickly.
If you’re carrying a full inventory of resources, you can offload extra items onto your mount’s personal inventory to free up space. Most mountable Pals have extra inventory slots, especially heavy-duty options like Rushoar or Mammorest. You don’t have to dismount to access their inventory, either. You can open it while you’re riding to drop off ore or crafting materials as you collect them.
One of my favorite little tricks is using your mount to avoid fall damage. If you fall off a cliff or a tall building, you can summon your flying mount mid-fall and mount up before you hit the ground to avoid taking any damage at all. This trick has saved me from dying so many times when I misjudge a jump while exploring mountain biomes. Just make sure you have your flying mount in your active party before you go climbing, so you can summon it fast if you fall.
You can also use your mount’s abilities while you’re riding it, if it has offensive or utility skills. For example, if you’re riding a fire-type Pal like Foxparks, you can use its fire breath to clear out trees or small mobs without dismounting. This is a great way to gather resources fast while you’re traveling from one point to another.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Riding Pals in Palworld
I’ve made almost every mistake possible when it comes to riding Pals, so you don’t have to. These are the most common errors new players make, and they can lead to you losing your loot, dying, or getting stuck in weird places.
First, don’t make the mistake I made on my first playthrough: thinking you can ride a Pal as soon as you catch it. I spent 10 minutes running around my base clicking on my Rushoar trying to find the ride button before I realized I hadn’t crafted the saddle yet. Save yourself the frustration and double-check you’ve unlocked and crafted the correct saddle before you head out with a new mount.
Don’t ride a Pal with a type disadvantage into a hostile biome. For example, if you ride an ice-type Pal like Chillet into the volcano biome, it will take continuous burn damage and can die in less than a minute, leaving you stranded in a very dangerous area with no way to escape fast. Always pick a mount that is resistant to the biome you’re exploring, or stick to a flying mount that doesn’t touch the ground if you’re heading into a high-risk area.
Don’t forget to recall your mount before you enter small spaces like caves or tiny buildings. Large mounts like Rushoar or Mammorest can get stuck in doorways or tight cave tunnels, and you won’t be able to move or dismount until you recall them. I once got stuck in a cave for 15 minutes with my Rushoar before I remembered I could recall it with the party menu. Save yourself the hassle and just call them back before you go inside.
Don’t ignore your mount’s stamina bar when you’re flying. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been flying across the map, not paying attention, and had my Nitewing run out of stamina mid-flight and drop me into a pack of Alpha Pals. Always keep an eye on the stamina bar, and land to let it rest if it gets low. You can also carry a glider as a backup, so if your mount does run out of stamina, you can glide to safety instead of falling to your death.
Last, don’t attack neutral Pals while you’re riding your mount unless you’re prepared to fight a whole pack. If you hit one neutral Pal, every other Pal of the same species in the area will turn hostile and attack you and your mount. If your mount dies, you’ll be stuck on foot surrounded by angry Pals, which is almost always a death sentence for new players.
Riding Pals isn’t just a fun extra feature in Palworld, it’s a core mechanic that completely changes how you play the game. Once you learn how to ride pals in palworld, you’ll never want to travel on foot again. You’ll save hours of travel time, carry more resources, and be able to explore areas you couldn’t reach when you were limited to walking, climbing, and swimming. Don’t rush to unlock the most powerful mounts right away, either. The early-game options like Rushoar and Chillet are more than enough to get you through the first 20 hours of the game, and they’re much easier to craft and level up. Next time you load up your save, spend a few extra Technology Points on a saddle, and see how much faster you can build your base and explore the map.