You're standing in the middle of a plateau, surrounded by a half-finished stone wall and three depressed Cattiva. You want that second base. You need it. But your Pal Box is staring back at you with a list of chores that feels more like a second job than a monster-catching adventure. Raising your Palworld base levels isn't just about unlocking more slots for your workers; it’s the literal backbone of your progression in the Palpagos Islands. Without a high-level base, you're stuck manual-crafting arrows like a caveman while the rest of the community is busy automating legendary spheres.
It's a grind. Honestly, it's a bit of a slog if you don't know which missions to prioritize.
The game doesn't always explain the "why" behind these requirements. It just tells you to build a cooler or a heater and expects you to figure out that these items are basically useless until you have the right Pals to power them. But the payoff? Going from a cramped circle of dirt to a sprawling industrial complex is the most satisfying part of the game.
The Reality of Scaling Your Base
Base levels in Palworld dictate three major things: how many Pals can work at a single location, how many total bases you can have across the map, and your overall technology tier access. Most players hit a wall around level 10. That's when the resource costs start to spike. You aren't just looking at Wood and Stone anymore. Suddenly, you need Ingots. Lots of them.
Pocketpair designed the leveling system to be a tutorial in disguise. Each mission usually forces you to engage with a new mechanic. Need to build a Weapon Workbench? Well, now you have to learn how to mine Ore. Need to build a Fluffy Pal Bed? Time to go hunt some Lamball for Wool or set up a Ranch. It’s a breadcrumb trail that leads you toward total automation.
🔗 Read more: Why the GTA Vice City Hotel Room Still Feels Like Home Twenty Years Later
One thing people get wrong constantly is thinking they need to build everything inside the base circle. While the structure needs to be within the blue perimeter to count for the mission, you can actually build decorative or secondary structures outside if you're willing to deal with the rapid decay setting. But for the sake of the Palworld base levels missions, keep it inside. The game is picky. It won’t check the box if that Straw Pal Bed is even an inch over the line.
Why Level 15 Is the True Game Changer
If you're wondering when the game actually "starts," it’s level 15. This is the magic number. Why? Because that’s when you unlock your third base.
Think about the logistics.
Base one is usually your "home." It's where your beds are, your storage, your breeding pens.
Base two is almost always an Ore farm. If it’s not, you’re probably struggling to keep up with metal demands.
Base three? That’s your flex spot. Usually, players use this for Coal, Sulfur, or a dedicated Quartz farm in the late game.
Without hitting those Palworld base levels, you’re stuck trekking across the map with a Grappling Gun, praying you don't get encumbered by a single stack of Ore. It’s miserable. Leveling up the base is less about the "level" and more about the freedom to move your operations where the resources actually are.
💡 You might also like: Tony Todd Half-Life: Why the Legend of the Vortigaunt Still Matters
Common Missions and How to Cheese Them
Some of the missions feel like a waste of resources. Looking at you, "Build a Sign." You’re going to build it, get the level, and then immediately deconstruct it to get your wood back. That's a pro tip: you get 100% of your resources back when you dismantle something. If a base mission requires a high-tier structure you don't actually want, build it, ding the level, and tear it down.
- The Breeding Farm Mission: This is a big one. It takes up a massive amount of space. If your base is on uneven terrain, you'll struggle to place it. My advice? Build a massive wooden or stone platform. Flat ground is a luxury in Palworld.
- The Hot Springs: Your Pals get stressed. Low SAN (Sanity) leads to "slacking off" or the dreaded "Major Injury" status. The game forces you to build these because it knows you’re probably overworking your Pals.
- Multiple Workbenches: Eventually, the game asks you to upgrade to the Production Assembly Line. Don't keep the old workbenches. They’re redundant. Clear the space.
Automation is the Only Way Forward
You can't do it all. You really can't. As your Palworld base levels increase, the number of Pals you can deploy increases—up to a cap of 15 (or 20 if you change the world settings).
Choosing the right Pals for these slots is more important than the base level itself. A level 20 base with 20 Lamballs is useless. You need specialized labor. Anubis is the king of Handiwork. Jormuntide Ignis is the only way to smelt late-game ores without waiting three real-world days.
If you're stuck on a "Level Up" requirement because you lack resources, look at your Pal composition. Are your mining Pals actually mining, or are they getting stuck on top of a tree? Pathing is the secret boss of Palworld. A level 19 base can function worse than a level 5 base if the layout is a mess. Keep your chests near the resource nodes. Keep the beds near the food box.
📖 Related: Your Network Setting are Blocking Party Chat: How to Actually Fix It
The Grind for Palworld Base Levels 15-20
The final stretch is brutal. You’ll be asked to build things like the Electric Furnace and the Large Power Generator. These require Electric Organs and refined materials that usually require a trip to the desert or the northern tundra.
At this stage, you should be focused on:
- Refining your breeding lines: Get Pals with "Artisan" or "Serious" traits to speed up the builds the base missions require.
- Defenses: Higher base levels attract nastier raids. If you haven't built walls yet, the level 18+ raids will delete your progress in minutes. Freezing-type Pals like Pengullet or Chillet are surprisingly good for base defense because they CC the raiders.
- Condensation: Use the Pal Essence Condenser to level up your base workers. A 4-star Anubis crafts items so fast the progress bar is basically a blur.
The jump from 19 to 20 feels like a victory lap. Once you hit that cap, you have the maximum number of Pals allowed by the standard game rules. You can finally stop worrying about the "checklist" and start building the aesthetic castle or the optimized factory of your dreams.
Actionable Steps for Fast Leveling
If you want to blast through these levels today, stop wandering around catching everything that moves and focus on these specific steps.
- Hoard Fiber and Paldium: These are the two resources you will always run out of during base upgrades. Build a Crusher early and keep it running.
- Flatten the Land: Use the "Foundations" tool to create a giant flat deck. The AI pathing in this game hates hills. If your Pals can't reach the structures you built for the mission, sometimes the game won't register them as "active."
- The "Build and Break" Method: As mentioned, don't feel obligated to keep the mission structures. If the game wants a High Quality Workbench but you already have an Assembly Line, build the workbench, get your level, and smash it.
- Check the Missions at the Box: It sounds simple, but always hover over the Pal Box to see the specific requirements for the next level. Sometimes it's just "Deploy 12 Pals," and you're sitting there with 11 like a chump.
The journey to maxing out your base is basically the story of your rise from a castaway to a tycoon. It’s tedious, sure, but seeing a level 20 base humming with activity while you sit on a couch made of Pelt? That’s the dream. Get back to the Pal Box and start building that second Hot Spring. Your Pals' Sanity depends on it.