Pal Gear & Saddles in Palworld 1.0: Costs, the ×1.2 Rule & What to Build First
You cannot ride a Pal until you have built its saddle, and you cannot build any saddle until you have the Pal Gear Workbench. That much every player works out quickly. What is far less obvious is that Palworld's Pal Gear follows a strict cost rule for elemental variants — every Ignis, Cryst, Lux, Noct, Terra and Aqua saddle costs exactly 1.2× its base version — and that the same workbench builds the mounted weapons that turn Grizzbolt and Mossanda into gun platforms. Here is the whole system.
The Pal Gear Workbench
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Technology Level | 6 |
| Build cost | 10 Paldium Fragment, 30 Wood, 2 Cloth |
| Work Suitability | Handiwork |
| Builds | Saddles, harnesses, mounted weapons, gloves and necklaces |
It is the cheapest gateway structure in the game and it unlocks at Technology 6, so there is no reason to delay it. Every mount you will ever ride passes through this bench.
The ×1.2 Variant Rule
Palworld 1.0 added a great many elemental variants, and each needs its own saddle. The pricing is not arbitrary — it is a flat multiplier:
| Base saddle | Cost | Variant | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mammorest | 50 Leather, 70 Fiber, 10 HQ Pal Oil, 100 Wood, 60 Paldium | Mammorest Cryst | 60, 84, 12, 120, 72 |
| Eikthyrdeer | 5 Leather, 20 Fiber, 10 Ingot, 3 Horn, 15 Paldium | Eikthyrdeer Terra | 6, 24, 12, 3, 18 |
| Surfent | 5 Leather, 5 Aquatic Pal Fluids, 10 Paldium | Surfent Terra | 6, 6 Ingot, 12 |
Every quantity is multiplied by 1.2 and rounded. Once you have costed a base saddle you have costed its whole family, which makes planning considerably easier than it looks.
The tech level is not on the same rule. Mammorest is Technology 28 but Mammorest Cryst is 41; Eikthyrdeer is 12 and Terra is 21; Surfent is 16 and Terra is 25. Variants unlock later, sometimes much later, even though they only cost 20% more. If you want a variant early, the technology point is the barrier rather than the materials.
The Cheap Ones and the Expensive Ones
The cheapest mounts are genuinely cheap:
| Gear | Tech | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Rushoar Saddle | 6 | 3 Leather, 10 Stone, 5 Paldium Fragment |
| Foxparks' Harness | 6 | 3 Leather, 5 Flame Organ, 5 Paldium Fragment |
| Melpaca Saddle | 7 | 3 Leather, 5 Wool, 5 Paldium Fragment |
| Grintale Saddle | 19 | 10 Leather, 10 Paldium Fragment — two materials |
| Sweepa Saddle | 20 | 3 Leather, 8 Cloth, 10 Paldium Fragment |
Build the Rushoar Saddle immediately. At Technology 6 for three common materials it is your first mount and costs almost nothing.
The expensive end is a different game:
| Gear | Tech | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Jetragon's Missile Launcher | 70 | 70 Leather, 48 Soralite Ingot, 12 AI Core, 210 Paldium Fragment |
| Relaxaurus Lux's Missile Launcher | 48 | 120 Refined Ingot, 42 Polymer, 120 Ingot, 102 Paldium Fragment |
| Paladius / Necromus Saddle | 61 | 36 Leather, 24 Hexolite, 36 Pal Metal Ingot, 102 Paldium Fragment |
| Frostallion Noct Saddle | 62 | 43 Leather, 43 Coralum Ingot, 72 Venom Gland, 96 Paldium Fragment |
Jetragon's gear is the single biggest Pal Gear investment, and note that v1.0.3 moved Jetragon's technologies from Level 79 down to 70 and reduced the materials — so any guide quoting the old figures is out of date.
Paldium Fragment is the thread. Every single piece of Pal Gear in the game needs it, from 5 at the bottom to 210 for Jetragon. If your saddle plans are stalled, this is usually the material.
Mounted Weapons and Partner Gear
The Pal Gear Workbench is not only saddles. It builds the equipment that activates a Pal's Partner Skill:
| Gear | Tech | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Foxparks' Harness | 6 | Hold Foxparks and attack with it as a flamethrower |
| Lifmunk's Submachine Gun | 11 | Lifmunk rides your head and fires at enemies |
| Tanzee's Assault Rifle | 12 | Tanzee enters gunner mode |
| Pengullet Rocket Launcher | 17 | Fire Pengullet at enemies — "after firing, Pengullet will become incapacitated" |
| Tocotoco's Gloves | 18 | Fire explosive eggs |
| Mossanda's Grenade Launcher | 32 | Grenade launcher while ridden |
| Grizzbolt's Minigun | 40 | Minigun while ridden |
| Relaxaurus' Missile Launcher | 45 | Missile launcher while ridden |
| Nyafia's Shotgun | 52 | Barrage of shotgun blasts |
| Jetragon's Missile Launcher | 70 | Missiles while ridden |
These are the weapon-platform mounts, and their advantage is that the mounted weapon does not consume your own ammunition or weapon durability. Given that Heavy Assault Rifle Ammo costs 10 Gunpowder per round — 40 Wood and 10 Sulfur each — a free-firing minigun is worth more than it first appears.
Grizzbolt for single targets, Mossanda for crowds is the standard split, and both are reachable well before the missile tier.
Jolthog's Gloves deserve a mention as the strangest entry: they let you "throw Jolthog as a shock grenade", and Jolthog Cryst's Gloves throw it as an ice grenade instead. Since Freeze multiplies capture chance by ×1.09, that is a catching tool as much as a weapon.
Practical tips
- Build the Pal Gear Workbench at Technology 6 — 10 Paldium, 30 Wood, 2 Cloth. Nothing rides without it.
- Elemental variant saddles cost exactly ×1.2 the base — cost one, and you have costed the family.
- Variants unlock much later than their base, though. Technology is the gate, not materials.
- Rushoar Saddle at Technology 6 is your first mount for three common materials.
- Grintale Saddle is only 10 Leather and 10 Paldium — the cheapest late option.
- Jetragon's gear moved to Technology 70 in v1.0.3 and got cheaper. Older guides say 79.
- Every piece needs Paldium Fragment, from 5 up to 210.
Running your own Palworld 1.0 server
Saddles are gated on materials that a working base produces on its own — Leather from a Ranch, Ingot from a mine and furnace, Paldium Fragment from ordinary mining — none of which ticks while the game is closed. A dedicated Palworld 1.0 server keeps that production running so the next saddle is affordable when you reach its technology level rather than a gathering trip after it. Full crossplay lets a group pool materials, and one-click backups protect the gear you have built.
Conclusion
All Pal Gear in Palworld comes from the Pal Gear Workbench, unlocked at Technology 6 for 10 Paldium Fragment, 30 Wood and 2 Cloth — the cheapest gateway structure in the game. The rule worth remembering is that every elemental variant saddle costs exactly 1.2× its base version, so costing one saddle costs its whole family; technology level is where variants really differ, unlocking far later than their base. Start with the Rushoar Saddle at Technology 6 for three common materials, and note that the same bench builds the mounted weapons — Mossanda's Grenade Launcher at 32, Grizzbolt's Minigun at 40 — whose ammunition costs you nothing. At the top sits Jetragon's Missile Launcher, moved to Technology 70 by v1.0.3 and needing 12 AI Core and 210 Paldium Fragment.
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