Palworld: Structure Damage Rate

Introduction

Palworld allows you to control how much damage structures take and how quickly they decay over time. In this guide, you will learn how to manually edit the correct configuration file in your ZAP-Hosting game server administration and apply the new structure damage settings.

Preparation

Before you begin, make sure that your Palworld server is already installed and that you can access its web administration.

Required Access

You need access to your ZAP-Hosting game server administration panel and the Configs area for your Palworld server.

Manual Configuration

This setup is performed by manually editing the Palworld configuration file. The exact settings are not changed through a separate one-click toggle in this guide.

Open the correct configuration file

To change structure damage and decay, you need to edit the PalWorldSettings.ini file.

In your ZAP-Hosting game server administration:

1. Open your Palworld server.
2. Navigate to Configs.
3. Open the file PalWorldSettings.ini.

This file contains the main gameplay configuration values for your server, including structure-related multipliers.

Edit the structure damage settings

The relevant values are stored in the server settings entries inside PalWorldSettings.ini.

Relevant configuration keys

Use the following settings to control structure damage behavior:

Config key	Description	Default value
BuildObjectDamageRate	Controls how much damage structures take	1.0
BuildObjectDeteriorationDamageRate	Controls how quickly structures decay over time	1.0

A value of 1.0 is the normal default rate. Lower values reduce the effect, while higher values increase it.

Example configuration

Depending on your current file content, these values are typically part of the server option list in PalWorldSettings.ini.

BuildObjectDamageRate=1.0
BuildObjectDeteriorationDamageRate=1.0

If your configuration uses a combined option string, make sure you only change the values and keep the surrounding syntax intact.

For example:

OptionSettings=(BuildObjectDamageRate=1.0,BuildObjectDeteriorationDamageRate=1.0)

Keep Existing Syntax Intact

PalWorldSettings.ini may contain many settings in a single OptionSettings=(...) line. If this is the case on your server, do not remove commas, brackets, or other existing entries when editing the file.

Choose suitable values

You can adjust the multipliers based on how durable you want player-built structures to be.

Structure damage multiplier

BuildObjectDamageRate changes how much direct damage a structure receives.

Value	Effect
0.5	Structures take half damage
1.0	Default structure damage
2.0	Structures take double damage

Structure decay multiplier

BuildObjectDeteriorationDamageRate changes how quickly structures deteriorate over time.

Value	Effect
0.1	Very slow decay
1.0	Default decay speed
2.0	Faster decay

Recommended Decay Minimum

It is recommended to keep BuildObjectDeteriorationDamageRate at 0.1 or higher. Very low or disabled decay can leave unused structures behind for longer, which may negatively affect cleanup and server performance over time.

Save the file and restart the server

After editing the values in PalWorldSettings.ini, save the file in the Configs section.

You then need to restart the Palworld server so the new structure damage settings are loaded.

Required action after editing

Action	Required
Save PalWorldSettings.ini	Yes
Restart the server	Yes
Additional console command	No verified command required

Restart Required

Changes to BuildObjectDamageRate and BuildObjectDeteriorationDamageRate are not applied reliably until the server has been restarted.

Verify the changes

Once the server is back online, join your Palworld server and test the new behavior.

You can verify the changes by checking whether:

• structures take more or less direct damage than before
• abandoned or exposed structures decay at the expected rate

If the changes do not appear to apply, reopen PalWorldSettings.ini and confirm that:

• the setting names are written exactly as BuildObjectDamageRate and BuildObjectDeteriorationDamageRate
• the values are placed in the correct section or OptionSettings line
• the server was restarted after saving

Conclusion

Congratulations, you have successfully changed the structure damage and decay rates on your Palworld server. For further questions or assistance, please don't hesitate to contact our support team, which is available daily to assist you!