Palworld: How to beat Zoe and Grizzbolt, the first boss, at Rayne Syndicate Tower

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While there are a few tough Alpha Pals to clash with in Palworld's opening areas, your first true combat test will be the battle against Zoe and her gigantic Grizzbolt at Rayne Syndicate Tower. This is the first of the game's five "tower bosses," which are significantly tankier and deadlier than normal or miniboss Pals — and while Zoe and Grizzbolt are the weakest of the lot, the duo is still quite a challenge for early game Pal Tamers.

Struggling to make it through the fight, or not sure how you should prepare for it? I've written up an in-depth guide that's full of tips, tricks, and suggestions. This includes an overview of the best weapons, gear, and Pal summons to use, as well as details about the boss' behavior and moveset in the bout.

Palworld: Best weapons, armor, and gear for Zoe and Grizzbolt

Once you hit Level 13, unlock the Crossbow as soon as possible. (Image credit: Windows Central)

While it's totally possible to get through this fight with early Palworld weapons and gear pieces such as the Old Bow, the Stone Spear, and a Cloth Outfit, it'll be much, much easier with better equipment. Here are some of the best options I recommend:

• Crossbow (Level 13): Though it has a slower rate-of-fire than a bow, it deals significantly more damage, especially with headshots. Requires 50x Wood, 40x Stone, 10x Ingot, 5x Nail
• Metal Spear (Level 13): Melee is risky in this fight, but there are times where you can get your hits in — and this spear hits very hard. Requires 27x Wood, 12x Stone, and 10x Ingot
• Feathered Hair Band (Level 10): It doesn't look like much, but it's cheap, and gives 15 Defense when worn. Requires 10x Fiber, 5x Paldium Fragments
• Pelt Armor (Level 12): The 35 Defense from this armor can save your life if you get hit by one of this boss' hardest-hitting attacks. Requires 10x Leather
• Common Shield (Level 4): This is one of the earliest crafts, so you probably have one already. Damage absorbed by your shield is damage you don't have to take. Requires 10x Fiber, 20x Wood, 20x Stone, 10x Paldium Fragments

You should also make sure you (and your Pals) go into the fight well-fed, and keep some food in your inventory in case you get hungry during the encounter, too. Being hungry depletes your stamina faster, and having enough to move around is critical for this battle.

What level should I be for the first boss?

I wouldn't go into the Zoe and Grizzbolt fight unless you're at least Level 12, and ideally, you should be Level 14 or 15. You just won't have the health and damage you need to come out on top at levels lower than this, nor will you have access to quality weapons like the Crossbow or the Metal Spear. Spend some time hunting and capturing Pals in the open world if you need to level up.

Palworld: Best Pals for Zoe and Grizzbolt

In Chillet we trust! Capable of freezing Zoe and Grizzbolt solid for several seconds, this Alpha Pal was my favorite companion for the battle. (Image credit: Windows Central)

You can take down Zoe and Grizzbolt with any combination of Pals you want to use, but some are definitely better than others. Below, you'll find a list of the ones I used and had great success with, all of which can be caught in Palworld's early game zones. Note that while I've included details about each Pal's location, you can also use this nifty Palworld interactive map to find specific Pals.

• Chillet: Specifically, I'm talking about the Alpha Pal variant you can catch directly east of Zoe and Grizzbolt's Rayne Syndicate Tower location, south of the Fort Ruins area. This miniboss-tier Pal deals great damage, has a good amount of HP, and can even periodically freeze Zoe and Grizzbolt in place.
• Caprity: This big berry bush of a Pal is quite underrated. It's pretty tanky and can attack from long range with high-damage leaf blades, making it a great combat companion in Zoe and Grizzbolt's large boss arena. Found in the Fort Ruins area northeast of Rayne Syndicate Tower.
• Rushoar: Being a Ground-type Pal, this boar takes less and deals more damage against Electric Pals like Grizzbolt. It's also extremely aggressive, and excels as a Pal to throw if you need a distraction while you run away to regenerate your shields and/or health. Found west of Rayne Syndicate Tower, just south of the autumn-like area.
• Gumoss: This acorn-shaped slime Pal is a Ground/Grass hybrid, and does great damage to Grizzbolt with its Ground-type moves. Compared to Rushoar, it's more of a ranged support unit. Found directly north of Rayne Syndicate Tower.
• Foxparks: This adorable fox does lots of damage-over-time with its fire attacks, and generally doesn't get hit as often as other Pals do thanks to its small size. Its special ability even lets you pick it up and use it as a flamethrower. Found both northeast and southeast of Rayne Syndicate Tower.

If you're having trouble staying healthy throughout the fight, you could swap one of these Pals for a Teafant. Though it's generally a poor fighter and will faint quickly against Grizzbolt since it's a Water-type, you can use its Soothing Shower special ability to quickly regain your health.

Regardless of which Pals you use, make sure you train them all up so they're at the same level you are. This is best done by having them out while hunting or capturing wild Pals, or by putting them to work at your base. Keep in mind that every Pal in your party passively gains small amounts of experience from pretty much everything you can do, as well.

Palworld: How to beat Zoe and Grizzbolt

You'll probably get some projectiles fired at you the second the fight starts, so be ready to dodge them. (Image credit: Windows Central)

Even with all the prep in the world and a team of the best Palworld Pals, you'll be in for a tough fight once you challenge Zoe and Grizzbolt — especially since the fight has a strict 10-minute time limit. With that said, once you get used to the pace of the boss battle and understand how to avoid its attacks, you shouldn't have trouble for long. Here's everything you need to know (and do) in order to emerge from the Rayne Syndicate Tower victorious:

• Zoe's Grizzbolt is extremely aggressive for the entirety of the fight; constantly run away to stay out of close range. Grizzbolt's up-close attacks hit very hard, though they are fully dodgable.
  • If you have a Grappling Gun, you can use it to rapidly zip across the stage and distance yourself. This is a great way to distance yourself from Grizzbolt quickly.
• Weave between and behind the arena's pillars to put distance between you and Grizzbolt. Grizzbolt often gets caught on these or has to navigate around them, slowing it down.
  • You can also use the pillars as a shield from Grizzbolt's projectiles. This is an easy way to avoid taking chip damage from afar.
• Immediately throw one of your Pals far away from you, and stay away from them yourself so Grizzbolt's attention is split. It'll be forced to either target you or your companion; whoever's being ignored gets to dish out damage for free. 
• When Grizzbolt lifts its claws to its face while in close range, it's about to hit you with a stunning shockwave; dodge roll away to avoid it. The shockwave's range is very small, so as long as you react in time, you won't take any damage or get stunned.
• When Grizzbolt throws its arms wide at medium range, it will attack with three slams; roll quickly for the first two, and then wait a second before dodging the third, as it's delayed. The final slam does the most damage, so above all else, make sure that's the one you don't get hit by.

To be honest, I should be farther away from my Foxparks here, and also at an off-angle. Still, the fact it's distracting Grizzbolt means I can safely dish out damage. (Image credit: Windows Central)

• When Grizzbolt lifts its claws to its face from afar, it will either send a straight line of thunderbolts towards you or fire a spread of electric balls; avoid these with side dodges or the pillars. Though its projectiles don't do a ton of damage individually, getting hit by multiple will blow through your health, and the thunderbolts are all-but-guaranteed to knock out your shielding, wound you badly, or finish you off if you're injured already.
• If you see Grizzbolt aiming at you with a targeting laser, either get behind a pillar or get ready to dodge a laser beam in a few seconds. This attack is very telegraphed, but also extremely deadly.
  • If the laser's being aimed at your Pal, recall them before it goes off, then throw them back out afterwards. This is an easy way to make sure they don't get hit by it.
• Hit Grizzbolt in the head with arrows every chance you get, as these will chunk it down bit by bit with critical damage. Its head is quite large, so this should be very easy to do.
• Go in for melee damage whenever you're close and Grizzbolt is distracted by your Pal. You can safely get tons of hits in this way, so take advantage of the opportunity.
• Switch to a new Pal when your current one is weak so it can recover. Your companions will regen a good portion of their lost HP fairly quickly as long as they're well-fed, but if you let them get knocked out, they'll be out of comission until you put them back in your Palbox.

And that's all there is to it! Continue to kite Zoe and Grizzbolt around the arena, landing headshots and splitting its attention between you and your Pals, and the fight will be over in no time. Just make sure you're dealing damage consistently, as if you fail to defeat the boss before the time limit is reached, you'll have to start all over again.

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 one of the best Xbox games and best PC games of 2024 so far, and it's also playable through Xbox Game Pass.