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Calibrating the Survival Challenge

In the default Palworld environment, the death of a survivor is a highly punishing event, requiring the player to drop their entire inventory, active equipment, and currently deployed Pals at the site of their demise. To cater to different community playstyles - ranging from casual exploration to hardcore survival - you can modify the DeathPenalty variable. This technical adjustment allows you to implement a “Keep Inventory” experience or fine-tune exactly which assets are lost upon failure.

Difficulty

Beginner

Time

3 Minutes

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Technical Configuration Workflow

Follow these steps to modify the death penalty logic on your FREAKHOSTING instance.
1

Access the File Manager

Log in to the Game Panel and navigate to the Files tab.
2

Locate the Registry

Browse to the following path: /Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/PalWorldSettings.ini.
3

Update the Variable

Find the DeathPenalty= parameter within the settings string. Replace the existing value with one of the technical modes identified in the table below.
4

Initialize Changes

Save the file and Restart your server via the console. The engine must re-initialize to apply the updated gameplay logic.

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Available Penalty Modes

You must input the following values exactly as written (case-sensitive) to ensure the engine parses the logic correctly.
Technical ValueFunctional ResultRecommended Use Case
NoneAbsolute Retention: You respawn with your full inventory, active equipment, and all Pals.Casual, creative, or social servers.
ItemMaterial Loss: You drop raw resources (wood, stone, etc.) but retain weapons and armor.Standard survival balance.
ItemAndEquipmentFull Gear Loss: You lose all items and equipment, but your Pals remain in your possession.Competitive PVP environments.
AllHardcore Reset: You drop your entire inventory, all gear, and all currently equipped Pals.High-stakes hardcore communities.

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Verification of Persistence

When a player drops items upon death, the server generates a “Death Chest” or sphere containing the assets. This object is subject to the server’s global entity cleanup timers. If your server uses high-frequency cleanup logic, encourage players to retrieve their items promptly to avoid permanent data loss.

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Need Extra Help?

If you encounter any issues, our support team is ready to assist:

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Last Updated: January 2026 | Palworld: Difficulty tuned.