Palworld dedicated server setup: a 2026 guide that doesn't lie about RAM

The Palworld dedicated server is one of the most frequently misconfigured game servers we see. Pocketpair shipped the dedicated tooling later than the game itself, the official docs are thin, and most "how to set up a Palworld server" posts on the open web were written in early 2024 with numbers that no longer match the 2026 build.

Here's what actually works in 2026 — for a self-hosted Palworld dedicated server or for one running on a hosted node like Renzom's.

TL;DR

• RAM: start at 8 GB; expect 12 GB after a week of play (memory leak still partially exists)
• Players: the official cap is 32; sweet spot is 8–16; above 24 you'll see lag spikes regardless of hardware
• Restarts: schedule one every 24h to flush the memory leak; otherwise you'll OOM after 5–7 days
• Settings file: PalWorldSettings.ini (NOT Game.ini) is the only one that matters — read this post before you change WorkSpeedRate or DeathPenalty
• Mods: there's no first-party mod loader; client-side mods don't break the server but server-side mods (UE4SS) do, especially after game updates

Step 1: where the server config lives

After you've installed the Palworld dedicated server (via SteamCMD, app ID 2394010, or via your hosting panel — both end up the same), the config file you actually edit is:

PalServer/Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/PalWorldSettings.ini

(or WindowsServer on Windows hosting).

This file is regenerated from the game-default file at first server boot if it doesn't exist. So:

1. Start the server once (it will fail or accept connections, doesn't matter)
2. Stop the server
3. Edit PalWorldSettings.ini
4. Start again

If you edit PalWorldSettings.ini before the first boot, your edits get overwritten. This is the #1 reason "I changed the settings and nothing happened" — your settings were wiped at first start.

Step 2: the only PalWorldSettings.ini keys most servers need

The file has ~80 keys. Most of them you should leave alone. The ones that matter for almost every server:

[/Script/Pal.PalGameWorldSettings]
OptionSettings=(
  Difficulty=None,
  DayTimeSpeedRate=1.000000,
  NightTimeSpeedRate=1.000000,
  ExpRate=1.200000,
  PalCaptureRate=1.500000,
  PalSpawnNumRate=1.000000,
  PalDamageRateAttack=1.000000,
  PalDamageRateDefense=1.000000,
  PlayerDamageRateAttack=1.000000,
  PlayerDamageRateDefense=1.000000,
  PlayerStomachDecreaceRate=1.000000,
  PlayerStaminaDecreaceRate=1.000000,
  PlayerAutoHPRegeneRate=1.000000,
  PlayerAutoHpRegeneRateInSleep=1.000000,
  PalStomachDecreaceRate=1.000000,
  PalStaminaDecreaceRate=1.000000,
  PalAutoHPRegeneRate=1.000000,
  PalAutoHpRegeneRateInSleep=1.000000,
  BuildObjectDamageRate=1.000000,
  BuildObjectDeteriorationDamageRate=1.000000,
  CollectionDropRate=1.500000,
  CollectionObjectHpRate=1.000000,
  CollectionObjectRespawnSpeedRate=1.000000,
  EnemyDropItemRate=1.500000,
  DeathPenalty=Item,
  bEnablePlayerToPlayerDamage=False,
  bEnableFriendlyFire=False,
  bEnableInvaderEnemy=True,
  bActiveUNKO=False,
  bEnableAimAssistPad=True,
  bEnableAimAssistKeyboard=False,
  DropItemMaxNum=3000,
  DropItemMaxNum_UNKO=100,
  BaseCampMaxNum=128,
  BaseCampWorkerMaxNum=15,
  DropItemAliveMaxHours=1.000000,
  bAutoResetGuildNoOnlinePlayers=False,
  AutoResetGuildTimeNoOnlinePlayers=72.000000,
  GuildPlayerMaxNum=20,
  PalEggDefaultHatchingTime=72.000000,
  WorkSpeedRate=1.500000,
  bIsMultiplay=True,
  bIsPvP=False,
  bCanPickupOtherGuildDeathPenaltyDrop=False,
  bEnableNonLoginPenalty=True,
  bEnableFastTravel=True,
  bIsStartLocationSelectByMap=True,
  bExistPlayerAfterLogout=False,
  bEnableDefenseOtherGuildPlayer=False,
  CoopPlayerMaxNum=4,
  ServerPlayerMaxNum=16,
  ServerName="My Pal Server",
  ServerDescription="A Palworld server",
  AdminPassword="changeme-please",
  ServerPassword="",
  PublicPort=8211,
  PublicIP="",
  RCONEnabled=True,
  RCONPort=25575,
  Region="",
  bUseAuth=True,
  BanListURL="https://api.palworldgame.com/api/banlist.txt"
)

The values above are tuned for a "comfortable" experience: slightly faster XP, slightly more drops, item-drop death penalty (not full inventory loss), 16 player slots, multiplayer enabled, PvP off.

The settings actually worth changing per server:

• ServerPlayerMaxNum=16 — set this to your real cap. Don't put 32 unless you actually have 32 players; it allocates memory ahead of time.
• AdminPassword — set this to something only you know. RCON uses it.
• ServerName, ServerDescription — what shows in the server browser.
• DeathPenalty=Item — None (no penalty), Item (drops items), ItemAndEquipment (drops everything), All (full loss).
• PalCaptureRate, ExpRate, WorkSpeedRate — quality-of-life tuning. 1.0 is vanilla, 2.0 is a generous server, 5.0+ is "creative-mode".

Step 3: RAM sizing — the truth about Palworld

This is what most guides get wrong. Palworld's official "minimum requirements" page says 8 GB RAM. That's actually a usable starting point — but only at server boot. The Palworld dedicated server has had a memory leak since launch that's been partially patched several times but is still measurable in 2026.

Real numbers we see on our nodes:

Player count	RAM at fresh start	RAM after 1 week
1–4 (co-op)	5 GB	8 GB
5–8	7 GB	11 GB
9–16	10 GB	14 GB
17–24	13 GB	18 GB
25–32 (max)	16 GB	20+ GB (will OOM)

Workaround for the leak: schedule a daily restart. In any decent panel (ours, Pterodactyl in general), you can set a cron-style schedule. We recommend 0 5 * * * — restart at 5 AM server time. That keeps memory well below the OOM line indefinitely.

Don't try to fix the leak by buying more RAM. A 32 GB server with no restart will eventually OOM too — the leak grows linearly. The fix is the restart, not the RAM.

Step 4: ports and connectivity

Palworld uses a single UDP port: 8211 by default. RCON (optional, for admin commands) uses TCP 25575.

What you need:

• The hosting panel needs to expose UDP 8211 for the server (or whatever you set PublicPort= to).
• If you're hosting from home (don't, but if you do), you need to forward UDP 8211 in your router. Many home ISPs use CGNAT, which means port forwarding doesn't work — you're stuck.
• The server does not announce itself in the public server browser by default. Your players need the IP and port directly: IP:8211. (There's no SRV-record support in Palworld.)

Step 5: the dedicated-server start command

If you're running it yourself (vs. using a hosted panel):

./PalServer.sh \
  -port=8211 \
  -players=16 \
  -EpicApp=PalServer \
  -useperfthreads \
  -NoAsyncLoadingThread \
  -UseMultithreadForDS

The last three flags are critical for performance — they pre-date a lot of the 2024 guides and are the difference between a 60-FPS server tick and a 20-FPS server tick at higher player counts.

If you're on Renzom's hosted Palworld egg, these flags are baked in. You don't have to set them.

Step 6: backups (do this before you regret it)

Palworld save files live in:

PalServer/Pal/Saved/SaveGames/0/<world-id>/

The directory contains Level.sav, LevelMeta.sav, and a Players/ folder with one .sav per player. Back this up daily. Palworld save corruption is rare but it does happen, especially around game updates.

On any decent panel, set up a daily snapshot of the SaveGames directory. On ours it's two clicks in the schedule UI.

Step 7: updating the server

When Pocketpair pushes a Palworld update, your server is on the previous version until you update. Players on the new client will get a version-mismatch error.

The update path:

1. Stop the server
2. SteamCMD: +app_update 2394010 validate +quit
3. Start the server

On a hosted panel this is usually a one-click "Reinstall" button (which preserves your SaveGames dir but updates the binaries). If it's not, your host is running an outdated workflow — ask them how to update.

Important: game updates frequently change the structure of PalWorldSettings.ini. Always back up your settings file before an update. Sometimes new keys appear with default values you don't want.

Common Palworld dedicated server problems we get tickets for

"Server starts but I can't connect." — Usually PublicIP="" is left empty when it shouldn't be. Or the firewall isn't passing UDP 8211. Or your home router has CGNAT.

"Server lags every few minutes." — Usually one of:

• The memory-leak OOM killer is restarting the process every few minutes
• A base camp has too many Pals working (set BaseCampWorkerMaxNum=15 lower)
• Anti-virus on Windows is scanning the saves directory

"My world disappeared." — Usually a save-corruption event, often around an update. This is why you back up daily.

"Pals disappear from my base when I log off." — bExistPlayerAfterLogout=False (default). Set to True if you want your character to stay in-world.

"Player damage is doing nothing." — bIsPvP=False (default). Set True for PvP, then bEnablePlayerToPlayerDamage=True. Both are needed.

How we run Palworld at Renzom

Our Palworld egg ships with:

• The performance flags above already set
• A daily 5 AM restart already scheduled
• 8 GB RAM minimum required at order time (we won't sell you a 4 GB Palworld server even if you want one — it won't work)
• Daily save snapshots, kept for 7 days
• A pre-tuned PalWorldSettings.ini that you can edit immediately or keep as-is

Order a Palworld server — from €2.49/GB/month (live-priced; 8 GB starts around €20/mo, 12 GB around €30/mo). Daily restart and snapshots are included; we don't sell those as add-ons.

Next steps

• Read our RAM sizing post for context on why "more RAM" doesn't fix the leak
• See Pocketpair's official Palworld dedicated server docs — they're thin but worth skimming
• Join our Discord if you want help tuning settings for your group

Setting up a Palworld dedicated server isn't hard — but the path of least resistance (defaults + no scheduled restart) leads to a server that OOMs after a week. Do the daily restart, size correctly, and you'll have a server that runs for months without intervention.