Palworld: Do Pals despawn when you die in Hard Mode?

Setting the save file’s death penalty in Palworld to its hardest difficulty means you not only drop every item upon death but also, all of your Pals. But if this happens, are they gone forever, and do Pals despawn when you die in Hard Mode?

How to retrieve lost Pals in Palworld hard mode

You would expect your Pals to simply despawn and be lost forever. It’s the maximum death penalty, after all. Therefore, it seems like a fair price to pay if you’re willing to make your game that hard. But your items don’t disappear when you die, they only drop on the ground. So if your Pals don’t drop by your items, where are they if not gone forever?

Turns out, they don’t despawn. Your Pals are retained in the world after you die. But getting them back is not easy, either.

Pals that are lost upon death can be found being sold by Black Marketeer NPCs in the game. They will, of course, be extremely expensive to purchase back, but they can be bought. This leaves the challenge of tracking a Black Marketeer down, as they’re pretty rare and menacing NPCs to find in the overworld, and there’s no guarantee the one you find will have your Pals. Here’s a more thorough guide on how to find Black Marketeer NPCs.

So, no, Pals don’t despawn when you die in Palworld hard mode, and there is a way to retrieve your lost Pals. You are perfectly capable of retrieving your precious babies even with the worst difficulty settings enabled. To prepare the gold for it, though, expect to have to turn to money-making strategies, unless you’re simply a lot better at not dying constantly than I am. Best of luck with hunting down and rescuing your Pals again!