Can you play Palworld without killing pals?

Yes, it is largely possible to play Palworld while actively minimizing or even avoiding the direct killing of Pals, particularly for resources. There's even a known method to acquire materials from Pals without causing their demise.

Acquiring Resources Without Killing: The Butchering Trick

In Palworld, acquiring materials from Pals often involves using the "Butcher" command, which typically results in the Pal's death. However, players have discovered a clever workaround that allows for resource generation without harming the creature:

• The Crucial Trick: By mounting a Pal while initiating the butchering process, you can obtain the intended resources from that Pal without actually killing the creature. The Pal remains alive and can continue to be used or interacted with. This unique interaction provides a viable path for players who wish to avoid animal cruelty within the game's mechanics while still gathering essential crafting components like Pal Fluids, Leather, or specific Pal-dropped items.

This method allows players to maintain a more "pacifist" approach to resource gathering, aligning with a playstyle that seeks to preserve Pal life.

Navigating Combat and Pal Survival

While the butchering trick addresses resource acquisition, combat is an inherent part of Palworld. Here's how Pal deaths can be managed in combat scenarios:

• Capturing vs. Defeating:
  • When engaging wild Pals, you can primarily focus on capturing them using Pal Spheres rather than defeating them outright. Successfully capturing a Pal prevents its "death" and adds it to your collection or Palbox. This is the primary non-lethal interaction with wild Pals.
  • However, if your Pals defeat an enemy Pal (whether wild or belonging to an enemy human faction like the Syndicate or Poachers) without a successful capture, that Pal will be "killed" and despawn. While direct killing can be minimized, completely avoiding instances where enemy Pals are defeated in combat might be challenging depending on playstyle and the nature of encounters.
• Player Pals: Your own Pals that faint or become incapacitated during combat are not permanently killed. They simply become unable to fight and can be revived either by waiting for a cooldown or by returning them to a Palbox. This allows them to rejoin your adventures, ensuring your companions are not permanently lost.
• Bosses and Alpha Pals: Many powerful Pals, including Alpha Pals and Tower Bosses, are designed as significant combat encounters. While many can be captured, weakening them often involves extensive combat that could lead to their defeat if not careful, particularly if your goal is only to defeat them for progression rather than capture.

Other Considerations for a Pacifist Playthrough

• Environmental Factors: To prevent accidental Pal deaths, ensure your base is well-managed. Provide ample food, beds, and maintain their sanity to prevent them from becoming ill or starving, which can lead to death.
• Avoiding Accidental Deaths: Pals can sometimes die from environmental hazards like falling from high places or specific elements if not managed well. Careful base design and Pal management can mitigate these risks.
• Ethical Play: Palworld's mechanics, including the non-lethal butchering trick and the emphasis on capturing, offer tools that allow players to pursue a more "ethical" or non-lethal approach to resource gathering and Pal interaction, catering to different playstyles and moral preferences.

Here's a summary of common interactions and their outcomes: