How to Set Up PvP on Your Palworld Server

Turning on PvP in Palworld is not one switch. Three separate settings decide whether players can hurt each other, and a server with only one of them on behaves in a way that looks broken. Here is what each one does and which combination you actually want.

1Open the PvP Settings

• Log in to your game panel and click your Palworld server.
• Click Game Settings in the left menu under GAME SERVER.
• Scroll to the Players and PvP group, or type pvp into the search box at the top.

2Know What the Three Switches Do

• PvP turns on player versus player mode for the server. This is the master switch.
• Player-to-Player Damage decides whether players can actually damage each other directly.
• Friendly Fire decides whether members of the same guild can damage each other.

The one that catches people out is the second. With PvP on but Player-to-Player Damage off, players can attack and nothing happens, which reads as a bug rather than a setting.

3Pick a Combination

• Fully peaceful: all three off. Nobody can hurt anybody. This is the default and it suits most groups of friends.
• PvP between guilds: PvP on, Player-to-Player Damage on, Friendly Fire off. Rival guilds fight, and your own teammates cannot hit you by accident.
• Everyone for themselves: all three on. Guildmates can damage each other too. Only pick this if your players know it is on.

4Apply the Change

• Settings save as you go, and an amber banner appears: Settings saved. Restart the server to apply your changes.
• Go to Console and press Restart.
• Tell your players before you restart. Switching PvP on without warning, on a server where people are carrying everything they own, is how you lose players.

Good to Know

• Death penalty is the other half of PvP. With PvP on, Death Penalty in the Difficulty and Death group decides what a defeated player actually loses. Set to All, they drop items, equipment and Pals. That combination is far harsher than most groups expect.
• Pals fight too. Pals Defend Against Other Guilds in the Guilds group decides whether base Pals attack intruders. On a PvP server that is usually what you want.
• Base damage is separate. PvP settings do not govern structures. Structure Damage Taken in Building and Base decides how vulnerable bases are.

Finished

PvP is set up the way you meant it. To tune what a defeat actually costs, see how to change the difficulty of your Palworld server, or read every Palworld server setting explained for the full picture.