Configuring PvP on Your Palworld Server

Enabling PvP

PvP is disabled by default. Turn on PvP Enabled (bIsPvP) in Settings under Gameplay to allow players to damage each other.

You also need Player-to-Player Damage (bEnablePlayerToPlayerDamage), which is also off by default. Both must be on for PvP to function.

IMPORTANT: PvP Enabled only takes effect on a NEWLY CREATED WORLD. Turning it on for a world that already exists does nothing, no matter how many times you restart. Decide before you generate the world, or reset it - see the World Reset guide. Player-to-Player Damage is not new-world-only and does apply on a restart.

A note on the key name: the setting Palworld actually reads is bIsPvP. Older guides sometimes name bPVPEnabled, which does not exist and is silently ignored. The GameGrid Settings panel writes the correct one.

Death Penalty Options

The DeathPenalty setting controls what players lose when they die. This is especially important on PvP servers where deaths happen more frequently.

None - Players keep everything. Good for casual PvP or training servers.

Item - the DEFAULT. Players drop their inventory items but not equipped gear. A balanced option for most PvP servers.

ItemAndEquipment - Players drop inventory and equipped weapons and armour. High stakes, encourages careful play.

All - the most punishing option. Only for hardcore servers.

On PvP servers, Item or ItemAndEquipment are common choices. None makes deaths meaningless; All can drive players away.

Hardcore Mode

Hardcore Mode (bHardcore) enables permanent character death: when a player dies their character is deleted and they start from scratch - no levels, no Pals, no inventory.

Like PvP Enabled, it is NEW WORLDS ONLY. Turning it on for an existing world does nothing. Set it before the world is generated.

Turning it on reveals two more fields in the panel: Pal Loss on Death (whether the player's Pals go with them) and Character Recreation (Hardcore).

This is the most punishing setting in Palworld. It is popular for challenge runs and community events, but not for standard public servers.

Hardcore stacks with Death Penalty. Most hardcore servers set Death Penalty to None, since the character deletion is already the penalty.

Balancing a PvP server

Pocketpair's own PvP guide recommends a few more settings. In the panel they are together in Settings, under Gameplay, PvP Balance and Respawn. Each one needs a restart, like every Palworld setting, and none of them is new-worlds-only.

Stat points. Players earn status points as they level up and spend them on their character's stats. Five switches, all on by default as in the game, decide which stats players may spend them on: Allow Health Stat Points (bAllowEnhanceStat_Health), Allow Attack Stat Points (bAllowEnhanceStat_Attack), Allow Stamina Stat Points (bAllowEnhanceStat_Stamina), Allow Carry Weight Stat Points (bAllowEnhanceStat_Weight) and Allow Work Speed Stat Points (bAllowEnhanceStat_WorkSpeed). Pocketpair's guide turns Health and Attack off for a PvP server.

Blocked Technologies (DenyTechnologyList). Technologies players on your server cannot unlock. Type their technology IDs separated by commas, for example GrapplingGun, GuildChest, SkillUnlock_JetDragon. IDs use letters, numbers and underscores only, written exactly as the game names them. Leave the box empty to allow every technology, which is the default. Pocketpair's guide blocks thirteen: the five grappling guns (GrapplingGun, GrapplingGun2, GrapplingGun3, GrapplingGun4, GrapplingGun5), the guild chest (GuildChest) and seven Pals' gear (SkillUnlock_JetDragon, SkillUnlock_IceHorse, SkillUnlock_IceHorse_Dark, SkillUnlock_SaintCentaur, SkillUnlock_BlackCentaur, SkillUnlock_DarkMechaDragon and SkillUnlock_PoseidonOrca). GameGrid writes the list into PalWorldSettings.ini in the form the game reads, so you never type brackets or quotes.

Respawn Cooldown (BlockRespawnTime). How many seconds a player waits after dying before they can respawn. The default is 5, and Pocketpair's guide keeps it.

Respawn Penalty Survival Time (RespawnPenaltyDurationThreshold) and Respawn Penalty Multiplier (RespawnPenaltyTimeScale). A player who dies having survived less than the survival time has their respawn cooldown multiplied by the multiplier, so dying again and again quickly costs more waiting. The defaults are 0 seconds, which never applies the multiplier, and 2. Pocketpair's guide sets the survival time to 1800 (30 minutes) and keeps the multiplier at 2.

All of these can be changed by an Event Manager event too, so you can run a PvP evening with stricter rules and have the server put your normal values back afterwards. Like any settings event, it restarts a running server to apply them and again to put them back; a stopped server stays stopped.

PvP vs PvE Considerations

PvE (default): Players cooperate against the environment. No friendly fire. Good for community-building servers.

PvP: Players can attack each other. Adds tension and competition but can lead to toxicity and griefing. Consider adding rules or using mods for structured PvP (arenas, factions).

Hybrid: Some servers run PvE but host scheduled PvP events. This requires mods or manual management - vanilla Palworld doesn't support PvP zones.

If you are running a public PvP server, set clear rules and have active admins. Deal with griefers using /KickPlayer and /BanPlayer in game, the Console tab in the panel (KickPlayer and BanPlayer, without the leading slash), or the Banned Players list in Settings > Player Management.

Both PvP Enabled and Hardcore Mode are new-world-only, so plan the server's rules before you generate the world rather than after.