How to unlock mounts in Palworld

Palworld mounts - Three big bird Pals
(Image credit: Pocket Pair)

Getting yourself a Palworld mount is one of the quickest ways to move around the map at speed, exploring new regions, and finding undiscovered Pals to catch. There are multiple mounts to collect in the game, and as they grant you their combat skills while you're in the saddle, it's more than viable to ride your Pal into a fight.

Since mounting a Pal counts as a Partner Skill, you'll first have to research the relevant Technology and craft the Pal Gear, which I'll explain in-depth down below. Here's how to unlock mounts in Palworld, plus some details about flying mounts.

How to get mounts in Palworld

There are multiple mounts you can ride in Palworld, but first you'll have to catch the relevant Pal, and then reach the appropriate level to unlock its saddle in the Technology tab. Once you craft the relevant saddle at the Pal Gear Workbench, you'll be able to ride them.

The first mount you can get early-ish in the game is Eikthyrdeer—a Pal that resembles a deer with purple markings and big antlers. Head out to capture one after you've captured some other Pals to help you. You then need to reach level 12 and unlock the Eikthyrdeer Saddle in Technology.

You can craft it at the Pal Gear Workbench for:

The two trickiest materials to get here are Leather, which you can get by killing other Eikthyrdeer in the world, and Ingots, which require you to make a Primitive Furnace, mine ore, and find a Pal with kindling like Foxpark to smelt them. 

After you've crafted it, simply summon Eikthyrdeer while away from your base and hold F to mount it. Since you inherit your mount's skills, this form is actually pretty strong in combat. You can also sprint by pressing shift and jump with the spacebar.

If your base is invaded by Man-Eating Pals and you manage to capture one of the attacking Direhowls, you can also mount it. You'll need to unlock the Direhowl's Saddled Harness in Technology at level nine and craft it at the Pal Gear Workbench same as with the Eikthyrdeer. Though it's tricky to wrangle one of these, its saddle is much cheaper to craft. 

Can you get a flying mount in Palworld?

Yes, you can. The first flying mount you're likely to be able to get is Nitewing. You will have spotted these big birds hovering over the land out of reach. You'll first need to capture one, which requires attacking it with a bow or crossbow so it'll fly down and fight you. They do occasionally land on the ground on their own, but it seems pretty rare. You'll also need a strong squad of Pals to deal with their attacks. 

Once you've captured one, you need to reach level 16 in order to unlock the Nitewing Saddle in the Technology tab. Luckily, crafting it at the Pal Gear Workbench requires the same material types as the Eikthyrdeer Saddle, so it won't be too hard to make once you get there.

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Sean Martin
Guides Writer

Sean's first PC games were Full Throttle and Total Annihilation and his taste has stayed much the same since. When not scouring games for secrets or bashing his head against puzzles, you'll find him revisiting old Total War campaigns, agonizing over his Destiny 2 fit, or still trying to finish the Horus Heresy. Sean has also written for EDGE, Eurogamer, PCGamesN, Wireframe, EGMNOW, and Inverse.