---
title: "How to change the difficulty on your Palworld server"
description: "Step-by-step guide to adjust difficulty and game multipliers (XP, damage, capture rates, death penalty) on your Palworld server."
category: jeux
subcategory: palworld
icon: tabler:file-text
date: 2026-07-24
author: Winheberg
slug: "change-palworld-server-difficulty"
order: 71
image: /statics/images/docs/en/gaming/palworld/change-palworld-server-difficulty.webp
tags: [palworld, difficulty, configuration, pterodactyl, hosting]
keywords: [palworld server difficulty, change palworld difficulty, palworldsettings ini, pterodactyl palworld server, winheberg]
link_fr: "/docs/palworld/modifier-difficulte-serveur-palworld"
---

## Context

Are you hosting a **Palworld** server at WinHeberg and want to adjust the challenge level for your players?

On a Palworld dedicated server, simply changing the overall difficulty keyword (`Casual`, `Normal`, `Hard`) inside the configuration is not enough: the server binary ignores this global preset and strictly relies on individual numerical multipliers. To effectively change difficulty, you must edit the explicit variables inside your `PalWorldSettings.ini` configuration file.


## 1. Access the Configuration File

All difficulty adjustments are performed inside the server's primary configuration file:

1. Completely turn off your server by clicking **Stop** in your Pterodactyl console.
2. Navigate to the **Files** tab in the sidebar menu.
3. Open `PalWorldSettings.ini` according to your server's OS architecture:
   - **For Linux:** `Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/PalWorldSettings.ini`
   - **For Windows:** `Pal/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/PalWorldSettings.ini`


## 2. Adjust Difficulty Multipliers

Open `PalWorldSettings.ini` and locate the `OptionSettings=(...)` line. Modify the desired values directly after the `=` sign for each variable:

| Parameter | Default Value | Difficulty Impact |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| `ExpRate` | `1.000000` | Increase to speed up leveling (`2.0`), decrease to slow it down (`0.5`). |
| `PalCaptureRate` | `1.000000` | Pal capture success rate multiplier. |
| `PlayerDamageRateAttack` | `1.000000` | Damage dealt by players. |
| `PlayerDamageRateDefense` | `1.000000` | Damage taken by players (e.g., `1.5` = players take 50% more damage). |
| `PalDamageRateAttack` | `1.000000` | Damage dealt by Pals. |
| `PalDamageRateDefense` | `1.000000` | Damage taken by Pals. |
| `CollectionDropRate` | `1.000000` | Yield multiplier for resource collection in the world. |
| `DeathPenalty` | `All` | Death penalty setting (`None` = keep all, `Item` = drop items, `ItemAndEquipment` = drop items & gear, `All` = drop everything). |


## 3. Recommended Difficulty Presets

To quickly apply a difficulty profile, copy these recommended variable values into your configuration:

### 🟢 Casual Mode (Easy)
- `ExpRate=1.500000`
- `PalCaptureRate=1.500000`
- `PlayerDamageRateAttack=1.500000`
- `PlayerDamageRateDefense=0.500000`
- `CollectionDropRate=1.500000`
- `DeathPenalty=None`

### 🟡 Normal Mode (Default)
- `ExpRate=1.000000`
- `PalCaptureRate=1.000000`
- `PlayerDamageRateAttack=1.000000`
- `PlayerDamageRateDefense=1.000000`
- `CollectionDropRate=1.000000`
- `DeathPenalty=All`

### 🔴 Hard Mode (Difficult)
- `ExpRate=0.800000`
- `PalCaptureRate=0.800000`
- `PlayerDamageRateAttack=0.800000`
- `PlayerDamageRateDefense=1.500000`
- `CollectionDropRate=0.800000`
- `DeathPenalty=All`


## Troubleshooting

### ❌ Changes are not applying in-game
- **Server running during edit**: You must stop the server **before** saving changes to `PalWorldSettings.ini`.
- **Syntax Error**: Ensure you do not accidentally remove the closing parenthesis `)` at the end of the file or the commas `,` separating each parameter.

### ❌ The `PalWorldSettings.ini` file is empty
- Start your server once, then stop it after a few seconds. The server executable will auto-generate the default configuration line.


## Best Practices

- **Back up your config**: Copy your original `OptionSettings` line into a text file before making edits so you can revert if needed.
- **Adjust Death Penalty carefully**: The `DeathPenalty` variable has the strongest impact on player survival gameplay.


## Need help?

If you run into issues adjusting your Palworld server configuration, feel free to open a support ticket with WinHeberg.