You get four base camps per guild, each a fixed cylinder of roughly 35 metres, so a good spot is one where a resource cluster, flat ground and a fast travel point already overlap. The five clusters documented with coordinates are Desolate Church (71, -403) and Cinnamoth Forest (-76, -317) for Ore, Sealed Realm of the Winged Tyrant (-159, -91) for Coal, Unthawable Lake (-212, 249) for Pure Quartz and Eternal Pyre Tower Entrance (-597, -519) for Sulfur.
Base 1: Desolate Church (71, -403) — ore, flat, low level. Base 2 (unlocks at base level 8): coal at (-159, -91). Base 3 (level 15): Pure Quartz at (-212, 249). Base 4 (level 25): breeding and flex. The radius cannot be increased.
Verified on patch 1.0.3 (12 August 2026).
How many bases you actually get
The cap is raised by Base Camp level, which is a per-base progression bar, not your character level. There is no "Palbox upgrade" mechanic, despite how often that phrase appears in older guides.
| Base level | Max bases | Worker Pals | Objectives at this threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Deploy 1 worker Pal; build a Wooden Chest and Primitive Workbench |
| 8 | 2 | 8 | Deploy 8 worker Pals; build 1 Metal Chest and 1 Sphere Workbench |
| 15 | 3 | 15 | Build 1 Guild Chest and 1 Electric Kitchen |
| 25 | 4 | 25 | Build 2 Advanced Chests |
| 35 | 4 | 30 | Max base level since 1.0 — more workers, not more bases |
Worker capacity climbs one Pal per base level up to 25, then flattens: the last ten levels are worth only five more workers. The 1.0 update raised the level ceiling from 20 to 35, which is why a 2024-era guide will tell you 20 workers is the cap.
Your second, third and fourth bases each start at level 1 and level up on their own objectives. Only the highest base level counts towards unlocking the next base slot, so it is faster to push one base hard than to spread objectives across three.
The radius is fixed — plan around it
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Shape | Cylinder (not a dome) |
| Radius | ~35 metres |
| Width in Foundation tiles | ~9 (only ~8 usable, because the footprint is circular) |
| Vertical extent | Ground to build limit, roughly 250 foundations above sea level |
| Can it be increased in game? | No — no level, tech or structure changes it |
| Server setting for radius? | None exists |
Because the volume is cylindrical and reaches the build limit, the cheapest way to "grow" a base is to build upwards. A three-storey base fits three times the workbenches without touching the footprint.
The official server documentation exposes BaseCampMaxNum, BaseCampMaxNumInGuild and BaseCampWorkerMaxNum — counts of bases and workers. None of them touches size. Any guide promising a config line for a bigger radius is describing a mod.
Server settings that do exist
| Setting | What it does | Default | Max |
|---|---|---|---|
BaseCampMaxNum | Total bases across the whole server | 128 | Not stated |
BaseCampMaxNumInGuild | Bases per guild | 4 | 10 |
BaseCampWorkerMaxNum | Pals working at one base | Unverified for 1.0 | 50 |
Use docs.palworldgame.com as the authority here — the community copies of the PalWorldSettings.ini reference are stale. The docs warn that raising either of the last two increases server processing load.
What makes a spot good
Rank candidate spots against these, in order. The first two are the only ones you cannot fix later.
| Criterion | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Flat ground for the Palbox | The Palbox needs floor slope under about 15°, and every foundation you lay on a hillside costs materials and vertical room |
| Resource nodes inside the circle | Nodes respawn, so a cluster inside the radius is infinite automated income; a cluster 40 m away is worth nothing |
| Fast travel point nearby | Your Palbox is itself a fast travel point, but a nearby statue lets you leave and return without flying |
| Ambient level of the region | Base raids and wandering Pals scale with the area; a level 45 volcano base will be attacked by level 45 things |
| Temperature | Cold and volcanic bases need heaters, coolers and armour before they are livable |
| Room to build up | Overhangs and cave ceilings cut the cylinder short and waste the free vertical space |
Place the Palbox, then check whether the nodes you came for glow inside the boundary. If a node sits outside, pick the Palbox up and move it — it refunds, and a base built around a node you cannot reach is a base you will abandon.
The spots documented with coordinates
These are the five clusters documented with in-game coordinates and node counts. Each one fits inside a single base radius, which is what makes them base spots rather than mining trips.
| Spot | Coordinates | Resource | Nodes | Best as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desolate Church | (71, -403) — open on map | Ore | 9 | Base 1, main |
| Cinnamoth Forest | (-76, -317) — open on map | Ore | 9 | Alternative base 1 |
| Sealed Realm of the Winged Tyrant | (-159, -91) — open on map | Coal | 9 | Base 2 |
| Unthawable Lake | (-212, 249) — open on map | Pure Quartz | 9 | Base 3 |
| Eternal Pyre Tower Entrance | (-597, -519) — open on map | Sulfur | 8 | Base 4, late |
Desolate Church (71, -403) — the default first base
Nine Ore nodes in one circle, flat ground and a fast travel statue on the doorstep. Ore only needs a Mining Lv2 Pal, so this base produces from the moment you can catch a Digtoise or a Lv2 miner.
The measurable reason it beats Cinnamoth Forest: identical node count, but the surrounding region is lower level and the terrain needs fewer foundations. Ore is the resource you will consume for the entire game, so this is the base you should over-build.
Cinnamoth Forest (-76, -317) — the same job, different neighbourhood
Also nine Ore nodes. Pick it over Desolate Church if your route through the map runs west, or if you want your ore base closer to the coal cluster at (-159, -91).
Sealed Realm of the Winged Tyrant (-159, -91) — coal
Nine Coal nodes. Coal requires Mining Lv3, so staff it with Lv3+ miners or it will sit idle — this is the single most common failure of a coal base.
Ore plus Coal is Refined Ingots, and Refined Ingots gate most mid-game gear, so bases 1 and 2 want roughly equal throughput.
Unthawable Lake (-212, 249) — Pure Quartz
Nine Pure Quartz nodes in the Astral Mountains, feeding Circuit Boards. Pure Quartz also needs Mining Lv3, and the cold needs handling: heaters inside, cold-resistant armour outside.
Eternal Pyre Tower Entrance (-597, -519) — sulfur
Eight Sulfur nodes, and sulfur only needs Mining Lv2. The catch is Mount Obsidian itself: heat damage, level 40+ residents and raids to match, so treat this as a late base rather than an early one.
No primary source publishes a ranked "best base locations" list with coordinates. Rather than invent numbers, this guide gives coordinates only where published node tables provide them, and describes everything else by region. Those ore-node tables are themselves marked work in progress, so more clusters certainly exist than are documented.
Regions worth settling, described rather than pinned
| Region | What it gives you | Caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Plateau of Beginnings and the Windswept Hills | Flat, low level, several fast travel statues; the standard tutorial base area | Thin on high-tier nodes — you will move |
| Mount Obsidian, the volcanic south-west | Sulfur, coal and oil ponds; sulfur deposits and oil are the region's documented resources | Heat damage and high-level raids |
| Astral Mountains, the northern snowfield | Pure Quartz and coal | Cold damage; Mining Lv3 required for both |
| Sakurajima | Coal and Pure Quartz nodes, plus its own loot table | Node density is lower than the Palpagos clusters |
| Feybreak | Chromite and Hexolite Quartz; the endgame material island | Chromite is underground and dungeon-bound, so it does not automate from a base |
The three oil rigs sit at (169, -297) (Lv30), (579, -423) (Lv55) and (-1722, -1462) on Feybreak (Lv60). They are combat sites, not base sites — you cannot plant a Palbox on a rig, so treat them as raid targets your base supports.
A four-base plan that works
| Base | Unlocks at | Job | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Base level 1 | Main: crafting, cooking, storage, ore | Desolate Church (71, -403) |
| 2 | Base level 8 | Coal, feeding your Furnaces | Sealed Realm of the Winged Tyrant (-159, -91) |
| 3 | Base level 15 | Pure Quartz for Circuit Boards | Unthawable Lake (-212, 249) |
| 4 | Base level 25 | Breeding farm and Ranch — no nodes needed | Anywhere flat and temperate |
Base 4 is the one people misplace. A breeding and ranch base needs flat ground, a Feed Box and space for Breeding Farms — nodes are irrelevant, so put it wherever the terrain is friendliest and the raids are weakest.
Palboxes can be dismantled and re-placed, so a base slot is not a permanent commitment. If a node cluster is documented later, move the least productive base rather than agonising over the first placement.
About "water bases"
Plantations are watered by Pals with the Watering work suitability, not by the terrain, so no crop needs a river. A waterside base buys you fishing and boat access, and costs you buildable flat ground.
Build on the shore rather than in the shallows: the base cylinder extends from the ground up, and a Palbox placed on a slope towards the water wastes a large slice of an already small circle.
What to do next
- Read base building and automation for what to put inside the circle once you have picked the spot.
- Match Pals to jobs with the Work Suitability Finder — a coal base staffed at Mining Lv2 produces nothing.
- Plan bases 1 and 2 together using the ore and coal guides; Refined Ingots need both in equal measure.