To enable player-versus-player combat, stop the Palworld dedicated server, edit the active PalWorldSettings.ini file, set the three required PvP switches to True, save, and restart the server. The settings file is platform-specific; changing DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini alone does not affect a running server.
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What enabling PvP changes
Pocketpair documents dedicated-server PvP as a trial feature and states that it is not covered by official support. Enabling it changes more than whether one player can damage another. It also changes base defenses, loot access, construction rules during attacks, visibility, movement options, and missions.
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- Players can damage one another.
- Base Pals attack hostile players who trespass into a base.
- Airborne players and ride Pals receive increased damage.
- Damage dealt by players to summoned Pals and base Pals is reduced.
- Players can open chests owned by other guilds.
- Melee damage against structures built by other players is reduced.
- Base Pals detect and engage enemies across a wider area.
- The minimum permitted distance between bases increases.
- The distance at which player names and damage numbers appear changes.
- A base-attack notification is sent, and building or repairing inside the attacked base is disabled while the battle continues.
- Some weapons use PvP-specific range and damage tuning.
- Missions are disabled.
Because these rules affect the whole world, decide on loot, mobility, guild size, and building limits before inviting players. The three switches turn on the feature; the other values determine whether the resulting server feels like a light skirmish world or a high-consequence survival server.
Before changing the server
- Have access to the machine or hosting panel that stores the dedicated-server files.
- Use an account that can stop and start the Palworld server process and save files in its installation directory.
- Stop the server before editing. A running process can overwrite the file when it shuts down or reloads.
- Keep a copy of the current configuration so you can restore the previous rules if players dislike the change.
- Plan a maintenance window. Every connected player must leave while the server is stopped, and the new rules do not apply until the process starts again.
Find the active PalWorldSettings.ini file
The file that controls a running dedicated server is PalWorldSettings.ini in the platform-specific configuration directory. The default template has a different name and is not read as the live configuration after you have created the active file.
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| Platform | Active file path |
|---|---|
| Windows | steamapps\common\PalServer\Pal\Saved\Config\WindowsServer\PalWorldSettings.ini |
| Linux | steamapps/common/PalServer/Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/PalWorldSettings.ini |
If the directory is missing
Start the dedicated server once, then stop it. The official setup guidance says the configuration directories are created after startup. Once the directory exists, copy DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini into the matching WindowsServer or LinuxServer directory and rename the copy to PalWorldSettings.ini if an active file is not already present.
Do not edit the template in place and expect the change to take effect. DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini is a source template; the server reads the platform-specific PalWorldSettings.ini instead.
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- Stop the dedicated server completely and wait for its process to exit.
- Open the active
PalWorldSettings.inifor the platform on which the server is running. - Find the existing entries for the PvP settings. If they are absent, add them inside the settings line using the same comma-separated format as the other options in the file.
- Set all three values exactly as follows:
bIsPvP=True
bEnablePlayerToPlayerDamage=True
bEnableDefenseOtherGuildPlayer=TruePocketpair’s PvP instructions require the three parameters together. The first enables the PvP ruleset, the second permits player-to-player damage, and the third enables defense by Pals against players from other guilds. A misspelled key, a lowercase or otherwise different value, or a missing third switch can leave the server appearing to start while the expected combat behavior is absent.
- Preserve the file’s existing syntax, including commas, parentheses, and quotation marks around list values. Do not replace the complete settings line with a bare three-line file if the server already contains other options you need.
- Save the file in the same location and with the exact name
PalWorldSettings.ini.
Restart and verify PvP in game
- Start the dedicated server again after saving the file.
- Have two players join from separate accounts or characters.
- Move to a safe, agreed testing area away from valuable bases and storage.
- Have one player attack the other and confirm that the hit removes health.
- Test a second player entering a guild base to confirm that the base Pals respond as expected.
- Check a chest owned by another guild, where appropriate for your rules, to confirm the changed access behavior.
- Observe the attack notification and attempt to build or repair inside a base while it is under attack; those actions should be disabled during the battle.
Use a controlled test rather than relying only on the server console. A successful startup does not prove that the live file was edited or that every PvP rule is active.
Balance the rules beyond the three switches
The official guide gives administrators example controls that can be adopted or adjusted. None is required to turn on PvP, but each changes the severity or pace of combat. Apply them in the active configuration file and restart the server after saving.
| Goal | Setting and example value | Result or trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Stop stat escalation | bAllowEnhanceStat_Health=FalsebAllowEnhanceStat_Attack=False |
Blocks allocation of enhancement points to health and attack, reducing the advantage created by those upgrades. |
| Restrict dominant technology | DenyTechnologyList |
Use the deny list for technologies that strongly affect balance, including fast-movement Pal Gear, Grappling Guns, and Guild Chests. |
| Limit fast travel | bEnableFastTravelOnlyBaseCamp=True |
Restricts fast travel to base camps, making territory and route control more important. |
| Prevent logout escapes | bExistPlayerAfterLogout=True |
Leaves a player’s character in the world after logout, so disconnecting cannot be used as an immediate escape from combat. |
| Use full-loot deaths | DeathPenalty=AllbCanPickupOtherGuildDeathPenaltyDrop=True |
Applies the all-items death penalty and allows another guild to pick up the dropped death items. This is suitable only when full-loot PvP is intentional. |
| Make territory visible | bInvisibleOtherGuildBaseCampAreaFX=False |
Shows the boundaries of other guilds’ base areas, making protected territory easier to identify. |
| Protect restricted locations | bBuildAreaLimit=True |
Prevents construction in locations covered by the building-area restriction. |
| Limit guild growth | GuildPlayerMaxNum=4BaseCampMaxNumInGuild=2MaxBuildingLimitNum=1000 |
Constrains guild membership, the number of base camps per guild, and total building growth. The figures are example limits, not universal requirements. |
| Slow guild switching | GuildRejoinCooldownMinutes=60.0 |
Adds a 60-minute cooldown before a player can rejoin a guild, reducing rapid switching during conflicts. |
| Increase respawn cost | BlockRespawnTimeRespawnPenaltyDurationThresholdRespawnPenaltyTimeScale |
Use these controls together to create escalating respawn delays. The exact values determine how quickly the penalty grows. |
| Reward PvP kills | bAdditionalDropItemWhenPlayerKillingInPvPMode=True |
Enables an additional reward drop; the guide’s example reward is one Champion’s Emblem. |
| Display reward counts | Map-display settings for PvP items | Can show PvP-item counts at bases and on players, giving combatants information about available rewards. |
Choose the death and escape rules first
Loot loss, logout behavior, and respawn delay determine how costly a defeat feels. A server using DeathPenalty=All with cross-guild pickup enabled is fundamentally different from a server that leaves death drops protected. Likewise, bExistPlayerAfterLogout=True removes the simplest disconnect escape, while base-only fast travel changes how quickly a defender can return. Set these values with your community’s tolerance for risk in mind.
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Fast-movement Pal Gear, Grappling Guns, Guild Chests, and unrestricted fast travel can shorten the time needed to reach or leave a fight. The deny list and bEnableFastTravelOnlyBaseCamp=True provide separate controls: one removes selected technologies, while the other changes the travel rule for everyone.
Set territory and construction limits
PvP already increases the minimum distance between bases and changes base-defense behavior. Adding bInvisibleOtherGuildBaseCampAreaFX=False makes boundaries visible, while bBuildAreaLimit=True protects restricted locations. Guild, base-camp, and building caps limit how much territory a single group can occupy. These restrictions are especially important on servers with many guilds competing for the same map space.
Decide whether to add rewards
bAdditionalDropItemWhenPlayerKillingInPvPMode=True adds a PvP-kill reward drop. Pocketpair’s example is one Champion’s Emblem, and map-display options can expose PvP-item counts at bases and on players. Reward visibility can encourage fights, but it also makes high-value locations more obvious, so enable it only if that information fits your server’s rules.
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Troubleshoot PvP that is not working
Players still cannot damage one another
- Stop the server and reopen the active platform-specific file, not the default template.
- Compare the three-key block above character by character, including capitalization, spelling, and the
Truevalues. - Check that the file is under
Pal/Saved/Config/WindowsServeron Windows orPal/Saved/Config/LinuxServeron Linux. - Save the file, then perform a full server restart. Changing the file while the process is running does not apply the rules to the current session.
- Test with two players after both have rejoined the newly started server.
The configuration directory or file does not exist
Start the dedicated server once and stop it again. Startup creates the platform-specific directories. Copy DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini into the appropriate directory, create the active PalWorldSettings.ini, and then add the PvP values before restarting.
Some PvP effects appear but others do not
Check that all three required switches are enabled together. Player damage, other-guild base defense, chest access, attack notifications, and the remaining world changes are part of the same trial ruleset; they are not separate toggles for ordinary PvP activation. If you are testing an additional restriction or reward, verify that optional setting independently and restart after changing it.
Changes disappear after a restart
This usually indicates that the wrong file was edited or that the server process was still running when the file was saved. Stop the server first, edit the active file in the matching platform directory, save, and only then start it again. Keep the template untouched as a reference and do not rely on it as the live configuration.
Operational limits to tell your players
- PvP is documented as a trial feature and is not covered by Pocketpair’s official support.
- Missions are disabled when the PvP ruleset is active.
- Airborne players and ride Pals take increased damage, while player damage against summoned and base Pals is reduced.
- Base attacks can trigger notifications and temporarily prevent building or repairing inside the attacked base.
- Other guilds may access chests, and the exact loot outcome depends on the death-penalty settings you choose.
- Weapon ranges and damage can differ from the non-PvP experience.
Publish the selected optional values alongside your server rules so players know whether death drops, logout persistence, guild limits, respawn delays, and PvP rewards apply. The server’s behavior is determined by the active configuration and the restart that loads it, not by the default template file.
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