The best Palworld 1.0 base locations for early game builds, resource-rich farms, or raid safe havens

• Pros: Several crude oil nodes, easy to defend during raids
• Cons: No nearby ore
• Closest teleport: Sunlit Isle

It's not the best spot for ore or stone, but the Sunlit Isle just east of Palworld's starting area makes early game crude oil farming a breeze with six nodes scattered across the land. It's not difficult to defend, and the pals living here are under level 10. I like building at the highest point along the island's south side, but there's a cute spot northeast with stone steps leading up to it that works just as well. Even if you intend to go elsewhere for ore farming, this is a great place to build a second base for a steady crude oil supply.

• Pros: Abundant nearby ore, easy to defend in raids, accessible early on
• Cons: Tight squeeze for building
• Closest teleport: Windswept Island Watchtower

This was my starting point with a group of three, and we lived the easy life harvesting the area's tightly clustered ore nodes and dense forests. I've also seen plenty of other players sharing builds here, so I can't be the only one who thinks it's one of the best early game base locations in Palworld. The only problem I had was expanding the base as it grew. As my group's resident building friend, I tore the whole thing down and rebuilt it more than once. You don't have to do all that; I'm just annoying.

• Pros: Easy to farm hardwood, nearby ore and sulfur
• Cons: No natural raid protection, needs thoughtful defensive builds
• Closest teleport: Investigator's Fork

I always make a base near Palworld's starting spawn and leave it as soon as possible. The move took me here, just south of the Twilight Dunes where you run into Anubis. I plopped my base down in a nice, flat clearing with plenty of ore nodes and easy access to hardwood from the desert. Just be careful when venturing into the sandy biome; it's significantly harder in the early game, but I found the occasional, frustrating death from my own hubris well worth it.

• Pros: Location may not trigger raids (unconfirmed), untouchable in raids
• Cons: No nearby resource spawns
• Closest teleport: Icy Weasel Hill Watchtower

The whole 'being secluded on a towering, ancient ruin' thing makes it impossible to farm resources here, but who cares when you're untouchable? I've seen this spot recommended countless times as one of the best locations safe from Palworld's raids, and after finally trying it out, I see why. I only had a raid trigger here once when I first began building, though I suspect it was due to bad Palbox placement. When I moved the structure to the center, I never saw another raid at this location. Even if you are raided, no one is messing with you up here.

• Pros: Hard to raid cliffside, situated between several biomes
• Cons: Short commute for ore, tight fit building around ruins
• Closest teleport: Sealed Realm of the Swift

This location was a spontaneous move I made with friends as we nursed our egos following a particularly nasty raid. Their world settings were just a bit harder than the default Palworld configuration, but it's a spot I would've considered in my own singleplayer run. It's not the easiest place for resource farming, but by this point we were just looking for something easy to defend and raids here spawned near the neighboring enemy camp (they often got stuck on the house there, too). We settled on the cliff edge with a few ruins, but there's another ledge to the northwest with more open land.

• Pros: Isolated high up with tons of ore, coal, and wood
• Cons: Resources are so plentiful they can be difficult to build around
• Closest teleport: Verdant Stream Watchtower

I can't believe I didn't camp out here sooner, but this little mountain-top just south of Frostbound has to be one of the best spots for farming ore and coal. There's clusters of both early game materials everywhere, and the trees peppered all over make wood convenient as a nice bonus, too. Just be careful you don't build on top of the actual ore or coal nodes after harvesting them so they can respawn. I didn't get raided in the brief time I was here, but I'm assuming it's a relatively safe spot considering the height and difficult climb up.

• Pros: Large flat area for building; coal, sulfur, and oil nodes, nearby dungeon
• Cons: No natural raid protection
• Closest teleport: Secluded Cemetery

This is where I camped at while preparing for the World Tree, and even after I moved elsewhere, I kept coming back to my little Sakurajima home. It's a big flat area—your only obstacle is building around the oil nodes—and there's a dungeon at the foot of a nearby waterfall. On that note, the view here is one of my favorites. Even if there's not much to do in Palworld's lakes and streams, I prioritize building on or beside the water in most survival games; this one is no different.

• Pros: A crude oil node surrounded by quartz, ore, coal, and stone
• Cons: Exposed to raids, hard to defend if unprepared
• Closest teleport: Thawtide Cape

This little corner of Palpagos' snowiest island is safe from the cold, but perfect for ore, quartz, coal, and even a little crude oil. The incline is a real pain if you build at the very eastern edge, so try settling down closer to the mountain on the largest stretch of flat surface. I also recommend building out from the highest point and covering your bases to work with the easiest surface here, and maybe get your defenses up ASAP. Out of all my bases, this one seemed to get raided the most, and it's an easy target out in the open.

• Pros: Secluded, only buildable World Tree-like biome
• Cons: No resources, limited flat terrain
• Closest teleport: Foot of the World Tree

You can't build inside the actual World Tree region, but you can set up camp at its front door. After catching Panthalus and visiting the new zone's entrance, I fell in love with this little secluded corner of the map. There aren't any nearby bosses—it's totally devoid of wildlife—and you won't even find wood or stone, but that's what I like about this spot so much. It's the endgame, the point when I have fast pals, tons of unlocked teleports, and the Wing Pack glider.