Palworld Dedicated Server Setup Guide on RamNode VPS

Recommended VPS Specifications

Server Size	RAM	CPU Cores	Storage	Max Players	Recommended Plan
Minimum	8GB	4	20GB SSD	4-8	Premium Cloud VPS
Recommended	16GB	6-8	30GB SSD	8-16	Premium Cloud VPS
High Performance	32GB	8+	50GB SSD	16+	Dedicated CPU VPS

→ View Premium Cloud VPS Plans → View Dedicated CPU VPS Plans

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

System Requirements

• Minimum: 8GB RAM (16GB+ recommended)
• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
• Root or sudo access
• SSH client installed locally

Before You Begin

• Basic Linux command line familiarity
• Steam account (for SteamCMD)
• Static IP address (included with VPS)
• Palworld game client for testing

Initial Server Setup

Connect to your RamNode VPS and prepare the system:

Connect via SSH

ssh root@your_server_ip

Update System Packages

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Install Essential Utilities

apt install -y curl wget tar software-properties-common ufw

Create a Dedicated User

Running game servers as root is a security risk. Create a dedicated user:

Create Palworld User

adduser --disabled-password --gecos "" palworld
usermod -aG sudo palworld

Configure Firewall

Configure UFW to allow SSH and Palworld server traffic:

Configure Firewall Rules

# Allow SSH
ufw allow 22/tcp

# Allow Palworld server ports
ufw allow 8211/udp
ufw allow 27015/udp

# Enable firewall
ufw --force enable

# Verify the rules
ufw status

✓ Port 8211/udp is the main game port. Port 27015/udp is used for Steam queries.

Install SteamCMD

Palworld's dedicated server is distributed through Steam, so we need SteamCMD:

Add i386 Architecture & Install SteamCMD

# Add i386 architecture (required for SteamCMD)
dpkg --add-architecture i386
apt update

# Install SteamCMD dependencies
apt install -y lib32gcc-s1 steamcmd

# Create symbolic link for easier access
ln -s /usr/games/steamcmd /usr/local/bin/steamcmd

Alternative: Manual Installation

If your distribution doesn't have steamcmd in the repositories:

Manual SteamCMD Installation

# Install dependencies
apt install -y lib32gcc-s1 lib32stdc++6

# Create SteamCMD directory
mkdir -p /home/palworld/steamcmd
cd /home/palworld/steamcmd

# Download and extract SteamCMD
wget https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd_linux.tar.gz
tar -xvzf steamcmd_linux.tar.gz
chown -R palworld:palworld /home/palworld/steamcmd

Install Palworld Dedicated Server

Switch to the palworld user and install the server:

Switch User & Create Directory

su - palworld
mkdir -p ~/palworld-server

Install Server via SteamCMD

steamcmd +login anonymous \
  +force_install_dir /home/palworld/palworld-server \
  +app_update 2394010 validate \
  +quit

⚠️ The initial download is approximately 12-15 GB and may take several minutes depending on your connection.

Configure the Server

Navigate to the server directory and create the configuration file:

Navigate to Config Directory

cd ~/palworld-server/Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer
nano PalWorldSettings.ini

Key Configuration Options

Server Identity

• ServerName - Your server's display name
• ServerDescription - Brief description
• ServerPassword - Leave empty for public, or set for private

Player Settings

• ServerPlayerMaxNum - Maximum concurrent players (32 default)
• CoopPlayerMaxNum - Players per party (4 default)
• GuildPlayerMaxNum - Maximum guild size (20 default)

Gameplay Balance

• ExpRate - XP multiplier (1.0 = normal, 2.0 = double)
• PalCaptureRate - Capture success rate multiplier
• DeathPenalty - None, Item, ItemAndEquipment, All
• bEnablePlayerToPlayerDamage - Enable PvP

Performance & Admin

• DropItemMaxNum - Max items in world
• BaseCampWorkerMaxNum - Max Pals per base
• AdminPassword - Admin commands password
• RCONEnabled - Remote console access

Create Systemd Service

Exit back to root user and create a systemd service file for automatic startup:

Create Service File

exit
nano /etc/systemd/system/palworld.service

palworld.service

[Unit]
Description=Palworld Dedicated Server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=palworld
Group=palworld
WorkingDirectory=/home/palworld/palworld-server
ExecStartPre=/usr/games/steamcmd +login anonymous +force_install_dir /home/palworld/palworld-server +app_update 2394010 +quit
ExecStart=/home/palworld/palworld-server/PalServer.sh -useperfthreads -NoAsyncLoadingThread -UseMultithreadForDS
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=30
StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

This service configuration:

Automatically updates the server on start
Restarts on failure after 30 seconds
Uses optimized launch parameters for dedicated servers
Logs output to systemd journal

Enable Service

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable palworld.service

Start the Server

Start the Palworld server and verify it's running:

Start & Check Status

systemctl start palworld.service
systemctl status palworld.service

View Live Logs

journalctl -u palworld.service -f

✓ The first startup may take several minutes as the server initializes the world. You should see messages indicating the server is listening on port 8211.

Connecting to Your Server

From the Game Client

Launch Palworld
Select "Join Multiplayer Game"
Choose "Connect to Server"
Enter your server's IP address and port: your_server_ip:8211
Enter the server password if you set one
Click "Connect"

Using Steam Server Browser

If you want your server to appear in the community server list:

Ensure PublicIP is set in your configuration (or leave empty for auto-detect)
Set bUseAuth to True
Restart the server
Your server should appear in the browser within 5-10 minutes

Server Management

Starting, Stopping, and Restarting

Service Control

# Start server
systemctl start palworld.service

# Stop server
systemctl stop palworld.service

# Restart server
systemctl restart palworld.service

# View status
systemctl status palworld.service

Viewing Logs

Log Commands

# Real-time logs:
journalctl -u palworld.service -f

# Last 100 lines:
journalctl -u palworld.service -n 100

# Logs from today:
journalctl -u palworld.service --since today

Manual Updates

The systemd service automatically checks for updates on start. To manually update:

Manual Update

systemctl stop palworld.service
su - palworld
steamcmd +login anonymous +force_install_dir /home/palworld/palworld-server +app_update 2394010 validate +quit
exit
systemctl start palworld.service

Backup Configuration

Your world save data is stored in:

Save Location

/home/palworld/palworld-server/Pal/Saved/SaveGames/

Create Backup Script

backup-palworld.sh

#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_DIR="/home/palworld/backups"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
SAVE_DIR="/home/palworld/palworld-server/Pal/Saved"

mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR
tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/palworld_backup_$DATE.tar.gz -C $SAVE_DIR .

# Keep only last 7 backups
ls -t $BACKUP_DIR/palworld_backup_*.tar.gz | tail -n +8 | xargs -r rm

echo "Backup completed: palworld_backup_$DATE.tar.gz"

Setup Automated Backups

# Make script executable
chmod +x /home/palworld/backup-palworld.sh
chown palworld:palworld /home/palworld/backup-palworld.sh

# Add to crontab for daily backups at 3 AM
su - palworld
crontab -e

# Add this line:
0 3 * * * /home/palworld/backup-palworld.sh

Performance Optimization

Memory Management

If you experience memory issues with larger player counts, add swap space:

Add Swap Space

# Create 8GB swap file
fallocate -l 8G /swapfile
chmod 600 /swapfile
mkswap /swapfile
swapon /swapfile

# Make permanent
echo '/swapfile none swap sw 0 0' | tee -a /etc/fstab

CPU Optimization

Set Performance Governor

apt install -y cpufrequtils
echo 'GOVERNOR="performance"' | tee /etc/default/cpufrequtils
systemctl restart cpufrequtils

Monitoring Resources

Monitor Server

# Install htop for real-time monitoring
apt install -y htop
htop

# Check Palworld's resource usage
ps aux | grep PalServer

Troubleshooting

Server Won't Start

Check logs for errors:

Check Logs

journalctl -u palworld.service -n 50

Common issues:

Port already in use: netstat -tulpn | grep 8211
Insufficient permissions: Ensure palworld user owns all files
Missing dependencies: Verify all packages installed

Players Can't Connect

Verify firewall rules: ufw status
Check if server is listening: netstat -tulpn | grep 8211
Verify server is running: systemctl status palworld.service

High Memory Usage

Reduce ServerPlayerMaxNum in configuration
Lower BaseCampWorkerMaxNum
Decrease DropItemMaxNum
Consider upgrading to a higher-tier VPS

World Corruption

If your world becomes corrupted:

Stop the server
Restore from backup
If no backup exists, delete save files (this resets the world)

Reset World (Last Resort)

systemctl stop palworld.service
rm -rf /home/palworld/palworld-server/Pal/Saved/SaveGames/*
systemctl start palworld.service

Advanced Configuration

Setting Up RCON

Remote Console allows you to send commands to the server remotely:

RCON Configuration

RCONEnabled=True
RCONPort=25575

Install & Use RCON Client

apt install -y rcon
rcon -H localhost -p 25575 -P YourAdminPassword

Automatic Restarts

Add automatic daily restarts for maintenance:

Setup Daily Restart

crontab -e

# Add (restart at 4 AM daily):
0 4 * * * /bin/systemctl restart palworld.service

Security Best Practices

1. Keep System Updated

Regular Updates

apt update && apt upgrade -y

2. Use Strong Admin Password

Change the default AdminPassword in configuration using complex passwords with mixed characters.

3. Enable Fail2ban

Install Fail2ban

apt install -y fail2ban
systemctl enable fail2ban
systemctl start fail2ban

4. Limit SSH Access

Secure SSH Config

# Edit SSH config
nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

# Add or modify:
PermitRootLogin no
PasswordAuthentication no

5. Regular Backups

Automate backups with cron and store backups off-server (use Backblaze B2, S3, etc.)

Setup Complete!

You now have a fully functional Palworld dedicated server running on your RamNode VPS! This setup provides:

Automatic server updates on startup
Systemd service management for easy control
Automated backups
Optimized performance settings
Comprehensive logging

Your server is ready for you and your friends to explore the world of Palworld together!

Need Help? If you encounter issues or need assistance with your RamNode VPS, our support team is available 24/7 to help you get your Palworld server running smoothly.

Deploying Palworld Dedicated Server on RamNode VPS