Palworld dedicated server settings that change the game

Editing DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini changes nothing, and Pocketpair's documentation says so outright. The server reads PalWorldSettings.ini in Pal/Saved/Config/WindowsServer (LinuxServer on Linux), a folder that only appears after the first start; you copy the default file there and edit the copy. The settings that change the game most are the rates, DeathPenalty, raids, and the guild and base limits.

The defaults moved recently. Palworld left early access with version 1.0 in July 2026, and the changelog says dedicated server defaults were adjusted "to closely match single-player Normal difficulty", so numbers in older guides may be stale. This piece names keys and leaves values to the DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini your version shipped with; the official server docs were at 1.0.4 when it was written.

Where the file lives

On Windows, through SteamCMD or the Steam client, the path is steamapps\common\PalServer\Pal\Saved\Config\WindowsServer\PalWorldSettings.ini. On Linux it ends in LinuxServer instead. The docs note that these directories are only created once the server has been started, so the order is: install (app ID 2394010 in SteamCMD), start once, stop, copy, edit, start again. On Linux, from inside the PalServer folder:

cp DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/PalWorldSettings.ini

One line, one section

Every setting sits on a single line under one section header, and the line does not have to carry every key: the example in Pocketpair's official Docker README sets just a password and the death penalty. A short file looks like this:

[/Script/Pal.PalGameWorldSettings]
OptionSettings=(ServerName="Example Pals",ServerPassword="change-me",DeathPenalty=Item,ExpRate=2.000000)

Keys are separated by commas, text values sit in double quotes, and enum values such as DeathPenalty=Item do not. Pocketpair's original 2024 guide warned against breaking the line partway, and older versions of the docs said to make changes with the server stopped. Keep doing both.

The settings that change play

These keys decide what kind of server it is:

DeathPenalty is the one players ask about first. None drops nothing, Item drops everything except equipment, ItemAndEquipment drops all items, and All drops the Pals in the player's party as well. The rates set the pace of the whole game, and people picking a Palworld server read them, so publish yours. The base limits cost CPU: the docs say raising either of them raises processing load.

PvP is not one switch. The PvP page asks for three keys set to True (bIsPvP, bEnablePlayerToPlayerDamage and bEnableDefenseOtherGuildPlayer) and calls the mode a trial feature that support does not cover. bHardcore removes respawning, and with bPalLost Pals lost on death are gone for good.

Admin password, RCON and the REST API

AdminPassword in the file does nothing until someone types /AdminPassword followed by it in chat. After that, /Save, /ShowPlayers, /KickPlayer <SteamID>, /BanPlayer <SteamID> and /Shutdown [Seconds] [MessageText] work from the chat box.

RCONEnabled and RCONPort (25575 by default) still exist, but the RCON page is marked deprecated and says RCON is scheduled to stop working in an upcoming update. How RCON works still applies to other games; here the replacement is the REST API. Set RESTAPIEnabled=True, choose RESTAPIPort, and call endpoints such as /v1/api/players, /v1/api/announce, /v1/api/save and /v1/api/shutdown with HTTP Basic authentication. The docs' examples use port 8212.

Both pages carry the same warning: these APIs are not designed to be exposed directly to the internet and should be used inside the LAN. If you need them from elsewhere, put a VPN or tunnel in front instead of forwarding the port, as keeping remote admin off the open internet describes.

Ports and the community list

The game port is UDP 8211 unless you pass -port=, and it is the port players need forwarded (port forwarding, step by step). Leave the RCON and REST ports closed.

A plain dedicated server is reached by IP and port. Adding -publiclobby to the launch line, or picking the community server option when starting from Steam, lists it in the in-game server list, and the docs say Xbox and PS5 players can only join a server listed that way. If automatic detection advertises the wrong address, -publicip and -publicport override it without changing the port the server listens on. One quirk catches home hosts: without hairpin NAT on the router, you cannot join your own community server from inside the same network.

Older guides add -useperfthreads -NoAsyncLoadingThread -UseMultithreadForDS as standard. The arguments page now says that from v1.0, leaving them unset may improve performance, so test both before copying an old launch line.

Saves and backups

bIsUseBackupSaveData=True makes the server keep a backup directory inside its save directory, on schedules the docs give as 5 saves per 30 seconds, 6 per 10 minutes, 12 per hour and 7 per day. It adds disk load, and those backups share a disk with the world, so they help with a bad save and do nothing for a dead drive. Run /Save, then copy the whole Pal/Saved folder, which holds the saves and the settings, to another machine on a schedule. Pocketpair's Docker README also says to back up before every update. What to save and how covers the rotation.

Changing settings on a world that already exists

Stop the server, edit, start it again, and tell players first if the change touches DeathPenalty, the rates or PvP. People plan around those, and finding out by dying is the worst way to learn.

The quieter trap is the copy you made. Your PalWorldSettings.ini holds whatever the default file contained on the day you copied it, and updates replace DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini, never your copy. A server set up before 1.0 still runs its old values unless someone changed them. After a major update, open the two files side by side, look for keys that did not exist when you copied, and decide deliberately what your world should have. Voice chat is a good example: it arrived in 1.0 as bEnableVoiceChat, the changelog says it only works on a dedicated server when enabled in the world settings, and a file copied before 1.0 has no line for it at all.