How to Catch Mau in Palworld (Location, Skills & Drops)
Mau digs up Gold Coins at a Ranch, and it is the clearest demonstration in Palworld of a mechanic most players never notice: Ranch output scales with a Pal's Partner Skill level, and condensing is what raises it. At Partner Skill Lv1 a Mau produces a flat 10 gold. At Lv5 it produces 10 – 50. Same Pal, same building, up to five times the income — and Mau is a rarity-1 Pal you can catch at Level 5.
Mau at a Glance
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Element | Dark |
| Paldeck # | #27 |
| Partner Skill | Gold Digger — sometimes digs up Gold Coin when assigned to a Ranch |
| Work Suitability | Gathering Lv1, Farming Lv1 |
| Ranch output | Gold Coin |
| Notable Drops | Gold Coin (100 – 200, 50%), Leather (1, 100%) |
| Egg | Dark Egg — CombiRank 3,040 |
| Rarity | 1 — the lowest tier |
Where to Find Mau
- Hillside Cavern — Level 5 – 10.
- Isolated Island Cavern — Level 5 – 10.
- Ravine Grotto — Level 12 – 15.
- Aerial Cage: Forest — Level 15 – 25.
- Frozen Coral Hill Watchtower — Level 64.
A basic Pal Sphere is enough. At 70 HP and 60 base Attack, Mau is not a fight at any level it appears.
Catch a lot of them. That is not a throwaway line here — the entire value of this Pal is unlocked by duplicates, and the caverns at Level 5 – 10 are where you get them cheaply.
Bring Dragon attackers if you want it down fast — Dark is weak to Dragon — but at these levels it barely matters. Do not bring Neutral Pals; Dark beats Neutral.
Gold Digger, Level by Level
Here is the exact output curve, and it is the best-documented example of Ranch scaling in the game:
| Partner Skill | Gold per drop | How you get there |
|---|---|---|
| Lv1 | 10 (flat) | Base — no condensation |
| Lv2 | 10 – 20 | ★ — 4 duplicates |
| Lv3 | 10 – 30 | ★★ — 8 more |
| Lv4 | 10 – 40 | ★★★ — 12 more |
| Lv5 | 10 – 50 | ★★★★ — 24 more |
Every condensation star raises the Partner Skill level by one, and Lv5 on a four-star Pal is the cap you can actually reach. The full cost is 4 + 8 + 12 + 24 = 48 duplicates.
What that buys you: the floor stays at 10, but the ceiling goes from 10 to 50. On average a four-star Mau produces roughly three times what an uncondensed one does, and its best rolls are five times better.
This is why condensing is mis-sold. It is normally described as a combat upgrade — those same 48 duplicates give a +5% to +20% stat bonus. That is true, and on a Ranch Pal it is the less important half by a wide margin.
And Mau is the cheapest possible place to prove it to yourself. Rarity 1, cavern spawns at Level 5 – 10, and fodder level is irrelevant — a Level 5 Mau condenses exactly as well as a Level 60 one. Forty-eight of them is an afternoon in the caverns, not a project.
The same rule applies to every Ranch producer — wool from Melpaca, eggs from Chikipi, milk from Mozzarina, honey from Beegarde. Mau just happens to output a number you can read directly.
Gold Without a Ranch
Mau is also worth killing. Its drop table carries a genuine jackpot:
| Drop | Quantity | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Gold Coin | 100 – 200 | 50% |
| Leather | 1 | 100% |
A coin flip for 100 – 200 gold from a Level 5 Pal is a real early-game income source, and better per kill than the Ranch gives per cycle. The difference is that the Ranch runs while you are elsewhere and hunting does not.
As an Alpha it drops Ancient Civilization Parts (1 – 2, 100%) and Precious Claw (1 – 2, 100%).
Where the gold goes: merchants, the Arena, and — relevant here — the Crusher, which converts 2 Medium Pal Souls into 1 Large for 10 gold. A condensed Mau quietly funds your soul conversion.
Work & Stats
At base Mau is Gathering Lv1 and Farming Lv1 — both the floor of a scale that runs to Lv8. Farming Lv1 is exactly the minimum a Ranch requires, so it qualifies and no more.
The upside of having only two jobs, both at Lv1: nothing outranks the Ranch for it. Unlike Beegarde with seven suitabilities or Dumud with four, a Mau will not be pulled away by work priority to go and haul something. It stays on the Ranch.
At Level 80:
- HP: 3,700 – 4,540
- Attack: 460 – 568 — the lowest documented anywhere in this series
- Defense: 470 – 596
Never take it into a fight. It is a building fixture.
How to Catch Mau
- Throw a Pal Sphere. Nothing else is required.
- Go to the Hillside or Isolated Island Cavern at Level 5 – 10.
- Catch every one you see — you want 48 of them eventually.
- Fodder level does not matter for condensing, so take the cheapest population.
- Do not bring Neutral Pals into the fight; Dark beats Neutral.
Practical tips
- 10 gold flat at Lv1, 10 – 50 at Lv5. Condensing is the entire point of this Pal.
- 48 duplicates — 4, 8, 12 and 24 — takes a Ranch Pal to Partner Skill Lv5.
- Fodder level is irrelevant. A Level 5 duplicate is as good as a Level 60 one.
- Killing one is a 50% chance at 100 – 200 gold — a real early income source.
- Two jobs, both Lv1, means nothing distracts it from the Ranch.
- The same scaling applies to wool, eggs, milk and honey — Mau just makes it legible.
Running your own Palworld 1.0 server
A Ranch is passive income, and passive income is worth exactly as many hours as your world stays live. On a dedicated Palworld 1.0 server a four-star Mau keeps digging while you are offline, so the gold that funds your merchant runs and soul conversions accumulates on its own. Full crossplay lets a group share one Ranch, and one-click backups and automatic updates protect a producer that took 48 duplicates to build.
Conclusion
Mau is a rarity-1 Dark Pal found in the Hillside and Isolated Island Caverns at Level 5 – 10, catchable with a basic Pal Sphere. Its Gold Digger skill digs up Gold Coin at a Ranch, and the exact output curve makes it the best proof in the game that Ranch production scales with Partner Skill level: 10 flat at Lv1, and 10 – 50 at Lv5, reached by condensing to four stars for 48 duplicates. That is up to a five-fold increase from the same Pal in the same building — and the same rule silently governs your wool, egg, milk and honey producers. Killing one is separately worth it for a 50% chance at 100 – 200 gold. With 460 – 568 Attack at Level 80 — tied with Chikipi, and above only Mozzarina's 400 – 490 — it is a Ranch fixture and nothing else.
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