If you’ve spent even a few hours roaming Palpagos Island, you’ve definitely asked yourself what is the best pal in Palworld at least once. Between catching hundreds of unique Pals, building sprawling bases, fending off poacher raids, and gathering resources for your next big craft, picking the right companion for the job can make or break your play session. I’ve logged over 200 hours across three separate playthroughs, from a casual builder run to a hardmode combat focused save, so I’ve tested nearly every popular Pal in every possible scenario. This guide doesn’t just pick a single “best” Pal, because the right choice always depends on what you’re trying to do that day.
What is the Best Pal in Palworld for Combat and Raid Defense?
For most players focused on taking down tower bosses or defending their base from high-level poacher raids, the clear top pick is Anubis. This ground-type Pal hits like a truck, has a massive health pool, and comes with a built-in area-of-effect attack that clears groups of enemies in seconds. I’ve used Anubis to take down the level 50 Tower Boss on my first attempt, and it barely dropped below 30% health during the entire fight.
If you’re more of an aerial combat fan, Jetragon is unbeatable for taking down flying bosses or clearing groups of enemies from above. It has the highest base attack stat of any Pal in the game, and its fire breath attack can melt even the tankiest opponents in seconds. That said, Jetragon is a late-game spawn that you can only catch once you hit level 50, so it’s not a viable pick for new players.
If you’re below level 30 and still building up your team, Vanwyrm is a great budget alternative. It’s easy to catch in the volcanic biomes, has solid fire damage, and doubles as a flying mount for early exploration. You’ll want to prioritize Pals with passive skills that boost attack speed or elemental damage for combat roles, even if their base stats are slightly lower. A common mistake new players make is picking the highest base stat Pal without considering skill synergy, which can leave them underperforming in tough fights.
Top Pals for Base Building and Resource Gathering
Base Pals don’t need high combat stats, but they do need high work suitability scores for the tasks you need done most. If you’ve ever wondered what is the best pal in Palworld for keeping your base running smoothly, the answer will almost always be a mix of these work-focused Pals, not a high stat combat beast. If you’re running a mid-game base focused on mass resource production, these are the non-negotiable Pals you should have on your team:
You don’t need to fill your entire base with rare high-level Pals for work tasks either. Common Pals like Cattiva have high transporting suitability, and they’re easy to catch in the starting zones, so they’re great for early game base setups when you don’t have access to rarer spawns. Just make sure you match each Pal’s work suitability to the jobs you have available, or they’ll wander around the base doing nothing most of the time.
Best Pals for Exploration and Fast Travel
Roaming Palpagos Island on foot gets old fast, especially once you start unlocking areas far from your main base. For late-game players, Jetragon is again the top pick here, since it’s the fastest flying mount in the game and can cross the entire map in just two minutes. It also lets you shoot fireballs while riding, so you don’t have to dismount to take out random poachers or wild Pals that get in your way.
If you’re still in the early or mid game, Nitewing is the best flying mount you can get. You can catch it as early as level 15 in the forest biomes, it has enough stamina to cross most of the map without stopping, and it can even carry a second player if you’re playing co-op. For ground travel, Direhowl is perfect, since it’s fast, can carry extra resources, and has decent combat stats to fend off random attacks while you’re traveling.
Don’t sleep on swimming Pals either, if you’re trying to reach the small islands off the main coast. Surfent is a fast swimming mount you can catch in the starting beach zones, and it’s far faster than swimming on your own, even if you have upgraded stamina. It also has decent water damage if you run into hostile sea Pals while you’re out exploring.
How to Pick the Right Pal for Your Specific Playstyle
At the end of the day, there is no single universal best Pal for every player. If you’re a casual builder who spends most of your time designing bases and growing crops, you don’t need to waste 10 hours trying to catch a high-level Anubis. You’re far better off investing in work-focused Pals that will cut down the time you spend on boring chores around the base.
If you’re the type of player who lives for dungeon runs and boss fights, you can skip leveling up a full roster of work Pals early on, and focus on building a strong combat team first. The best Pal for you is always the one that solves your biggest current pain point, not the one that tops random tier lists you see online.
If you’re not sure which Pal to invest in next, take 10 minutes to look at your recent gameplay. Are you spending most of your time running back and forth between resource nodes? Grab a fast mount. Are you constantly running out of ore for crafts? Add a few mining focused Pals to your base. Are you dying to the same tower boss over and over? Level up a strong combat Pal with a type advantage against that boss. It’s that simple.
At the end of the day, asking what is the best pal in Palworld is less about finding a single universal answer, and more about matching your Pals to the tasks you care about most. You don’t need to collect every top tier Pal to have fun, and some of my most memorable playthroughs were done using only common early game Pals that fit my playstyle perfectly. Experiment with different Pals, test out their unique skills, and don’t be afraid to swap out your team whenever your needs change. You might be surprised by how useful some of the less popular Pals can be when you use them for the right job.