What you need to know
- After teasing Palworld's first raid boss battle in March, developer Pocketpair has added it to the game in a new version v0.2.0.6 patch.
- The update is available to download now on Steam, though Xbox and Microsoft Store players have to wait; Pocketpair says the patch ""will be released when ready" on these platforms.
- The raid battle is against a dark and gothy Pal called Bellanoir. She's a "powerful evil Pal" you can summon by building a Summoning Altar and then using new items called "slabs." Both you and your base Pals will fight her, and notably, there's an "extreme" version of the fight that's more difficult.
- Bellanoir, as well as future raid bosses, can drop Pal eggs when slain. Also, raid bosses can't be captured like normal Pals can.
- Pocketpair says "a larger, more content-packed update" is planned for Summer 2024. It will feature a new island and new Pals, and new buildings, weapons, and tower bosses in the works as well.
Developer Pocketpair first teased the first raid battle for its explosively popular "Pokemon with guns" survival game Palworld in mid-March, and now it's officially here thanks to a new major v0.2.0.6 update. The patch is available to download now for the Steam version of the game, though Xbox players have to wait a bit for it; the studio says it "will be released when ready," so hopefully fans on Microsoft's consoles don't have to wait long.
The raid boss of the fight is Bellanoir, a "powerful evil Pal" who looks sort of like Pokemon's Gardevoir if she was dark, gothy, and had freaky red eyes on her dress. To summon her, you'll need to build the new Summoning Altar structure somewhere and then spawn her in with items called "slabs." Once she arrives, you, your Pals, and other players in the vicinity have to work together to take her down.
Pocketpair notes that raid boss Pals like Bellanoir "are very powerful and cannot be captured" (perhaps players will discover a new version of the tower boss capture bug that allows them to catch her), and there's an extreme version that's even tougher to beat. When defeated, these Pals can sometimes — but not always — drop Pal eggs you can pop into an egg incubator to hatch.
Bellanoir's arrival is definitely the highlight of the v0.2.0.6 patch, but it's not the only thing Pal Tamers can look forward to. Next time you visit the Palapagos Islands, you'll find that there are a variety of new consumable items and treasures to find and use, including "Training Manuals" that reward XP to selected Pals, "Ancient Technical Manuals" that give you Ancient Technology Points, "Homeward Thunderclouds" that teleport you to your nearest base when used, and more. You'll find some of these in dungeon chests, while others can be crafted at your bases.
A few specific Pals like Kelpsea and Dumud got some buffs that allow them to produce resources when assigned to a ranch, too, and notably, players can now change their appearance at any time by making and using an Antique Dresser. Oh, and the rules for building have been "relaxed," so constructing the Palworld base of your dreams should now be considerably easier than it was. For the full patch notes, make sure you check out the section below.
Overall, this seems like a great update for the explosively successful creature capture game, and it lays a good foundation for future raid battle-focused additions to build upon. Whether the fights against Bellanoir and future Pals like her are actually worth grinding or not remains to be seen — hopefully those eggs they drop are rare ones — but regardless, it's nice that fans at endgame-level have a new challenge to overcome. The only bummer here is that it's delayed on Xbox, though at the moment, it's unclear if this is another case of Microsoft's certification process causing issues like it did earlier this year or if the Xbox version simply needs a little more time in the oven.
Wondering what else is on the way? Pocketpair has confirmed that "a larger, more content-packed update" is planned for Summer 2024, which will feature a "new island, home to many new Pals." The developer says "a large amount of new content including new buildings, weapons, and tower bosses" is on the way, too, so nearly every part of the game is expanding.
Palworld Version v0.2.0.6: Patch notes
Here are the complete Palworld version v0.2.0.6 patch notes, taken directly from Pocketpair's official X (Twitter) post on the update.
New Content
- Implemented the first Raid Boss
- You can summon Raid Boss Pals by using slabs at the new Summoning Altar
- Raid Boss Pals summoned by slabs are very powerful and can not be captured. Work alongside your base Pals to take on these powerful foes.
- Pals Eggs can drop after defeating Raid Boss Pals.
- The "extreme" version of the Raid Boss is incredibly powerful and difficult to defeat
- New "Training Manual" items have been added. These manuals allow you to give experience points to Pals.
- New item "Ancient Technical Manual" has been added. This manual gives you ancient technology points and can be randomly found inside dungeon chests.
- New "Recovery Meds" items have been added. Using these meds will slowly recover your HP over time.
- New item "Homeward Thundercloud" has been added. When used, this item will instantly move you to your nearest base.
- New item "Ability Glasses" has been added. When equipped, you can see Pal's stats.
- New stat boosting items have been added: "Power Fruit, Life Fruit, Stout Fruit". These items will boost Pal's stats when used.
- Added a new passive "Mercy Hit". Pals with this passive cannot reduce enemy HP below 1 when attacking.
- New item "Ring of Mercy" has been added. When wearing this ring, you cannot reduce enemy HP below 1 when attacking.
- New armour "Multiclimate Undershirt" has been added. Protect yourself against both the heat and the cold with just one slot!
- New building "Electric Egg Incubator" has been added. This incubator consumes electricity to automatically adjust the temperature to the optimum temperature for each egg.
- New building "Ore Mining Site" has been added. This mining site allows you to produce ores from the comfort of your base!
Pals
- Kelpsea can now produce Pal Fluids at the ranch
- Dumud can now produce High-Quality Pal Oil at the ranch
- You can now reduce the weight of metal ore while riding Surfent Terra
- Increased the amount of ore dropped while riding Astegon
- You can now raise Pal's rank to the maximum with a single synthesis using the Pal Essence Condenser. (Condensation progress is now accumulated in the individual Pal)
- Negative Pal status will now be resolved after spending some time in the Pal Box
UI
- While aiming a sphere, it will now display how many of the target Pal has already been captured
- You can now check the cooldowns on partner skills for all your Pals on the main screen
- Equipment and item stats are now visible on the technology screen, even if you have not unlocked them first
- The tutorial has been improved and renamed to "Journey"
- You can now show/hide the "Journey" in the game options
- Damage number display size can be changed in the game options. (In Raid Boss battles, the damage numbers tend to overlap a lot and it may be difficult to see, so we recommend adjusting the size)
Player
- Items dropped by players after death on a dedicated server can now be picked up by anyone after 24 hours of real-time have passed
- Added a new "sleeping" player emote (edited)
Base Related
- You can now allow/disallow certain work for base Pals at the Monitoring Stand
- Chest filters have been added. Select item types to allow or disallow inside chests
- Crafted items are now transported from crafting facilities. Selecting "allow transport" when crafting will result in Pals transporting those items to chests when finished
- You can now edit your character's appearance at any time by using the "Antique Dresser"
- Building and building piece placement rules have been relaxed
- You can now connect stairs facing upwards
- Roof pieces can now directly connect to foundations
- Triangular walls can now be connected to stairs
- You can now force a Pal to work and cancel their break by picking them up and throwing them towards a facility (Pals recover their SAN while taking a break, so be careful!)
- Fixed assignments remain fixed, even after bad events occur. Previously, some assignments would change due to certain conditions, but now they will remain fixed unless the Pal is placed inside the Pal Box
Balance Adjustment
- Minimum heat and cold resistance have been added to various armour. You will no longer need to take off your heat-resistance armour when it is cold at night in the starting areas!
- Reduce the button press time in the egg incubator
- Change the pattern for Jormuntide Ignis to something more unique
- Added legendary blueprints for some firearms (Dropped from specific enemies)
- Corrected the selling price of diamonds
- In single-player, it is no longer possible to select the initial spawn point for multiplayer
- Blocked the back of the starting area with rocks to prevent players from getting lost or stuck
- The increased attack power multiplier of partner skills that increase the player's attack power while riding has been uniformly reduced from 2.0 to 1.2
- Eggs now have a small chance to produce Alpha Pals
- Flying and floating Pals are now immune to falling damage
- Shop price adjustments
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a bug where treasure chests would become empty when dying in a dungeon, etc
- Fixed an issue where the effect that increases the player's attack power while riding was duplicating and accumulating under certain conditions
- Fixed an issue where players were not receiving loot when capturing Pals while mounted
- Adjusted the HP of the Legendary Pal and fixed an issue where the difference in HP between the captured Legendary Pal and the bred Legendary Pal was too large
- Fixed an issue where Pal would eat while riding.
- Fixed an issue where spheres thrown close to wild pals would not hit and be lost
Other
- Improved various Pal models and textures
- Added and adjusted some sound effects
- Many other minor bug fixes
Dedicated Server
- Fixed an issue where sorting did not work in the server list
- Improved the server list to allow page transitions
- Dedicated servers now support various log outputs
- Implemented REST API
- Please check the tech guide for details https://tech.palworldgame.com
Cheat Prevention
- Fixed a vulnerability that allowed Steam account spoofing
- Fixed 7 other critical vulnerabilities
Soundtrack
- One new song has been added to the soundtrack. If you have already purchased the soundtrack, please update and enjoy the new song!
- Please note that the soundtrack may take a few days to update
Palworld is available now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One consoles, and Windows PC via either the Microsoft Store or Steam. It's quickly become the biggest and one of the best Xbox games and best PC games of 2024 so far, and it's also playable through Xbox Game Pass.
