If you played Early Access, you remember the tower boss routine. Walk in, dump damage into a health sponge for ten minutes, walk out. Functional, but nobody’s favorite part of the game.
Palworld 1.0 rebuilt the whole ladder. There are now nine tower fights, they gate the entire story, and the biggest change nobody warned you about: the timer is now 5 minutes, not 10. Here’s every fight in order and how to win with the hours you actually have.
What Changed in 1.0
- Nine fights, one story. Eight main towers each drop a Key Sphere, and all eight Spheres unlock the finale inside the World Tree. Towers are no longer optional flex content, they are the main quest. Each first clear also pays out 5 Ancient Technology Points.
- The 5-minute timer. Half the time means slow attrition builds are dead. Bring counter-element burst, buff your team at a Statue of Power first, and remember every tower entrance is its own fast travel point.
- Hard Mode got rebalanced around the new Level 80 cap for the post-story chase.
- That recruitment rumor: mostly false, with one confirmed exception. After beating Zoe and Grizzbolt, the Don’t Get Cocky sub-mission lets you recruit Zoe herself (she can also be caught near the Desolate Church). No other tower boss has a confirmed recruitment path, whatever the rumor mill says.
The Full Ladder, In Order
- Zoe & Grizzbolt (Lv10), Rayne Syndicate. Electric, so bring Ground. Your first wall and still a decent skill check for fresh saves.
- Lily & Lyleen (Lv20), Free Pal Alliance. Grass with self-healing, so this is a damage race. Stack Fire and burn through the heals.
- Axel & Orserk (Lv30), Brothers of the Eternal Pyre. Dragon and Electric. Ice and Ground Pals feast here.
- Marcus & Faleris (Lv40), PIDF. A Fire bird that never lands. Water Pals that can hit airborne targets (Jormuntide, Suzaku Aqua) make it painless.
- Victor & Shadowbeak (Lv50), PAL Genetic Research Unit. Dark, hits like a truck, can one-shot squishy teams. Dragon counters plus disciplined dodging.
- Saya & Selyne (Lv55), Moonflower Tower in Sakurajima. Dark again, Dragon again, but faster patterns. The 5-minute timer bites hardest from here on.
- Bjorn & Bastigor (Lv60), Feybreak Tower. Ice, so pack Fire. Win this one and note the altar at the top of the tower: it’s your portal to Sunreach.
- Auri & Shaolong (Lv68), Azure Covenant Tower. The new fight, detailed below.
- Zenara & Astralym (Lv80), the World Tree finale. Typeless, 420 thousand HP, no weakness to exploit. Covered in our World Tree guide.
The New Fight: Auri & Shaolong
Getting there: beat Bjorn, take the altar atop Feybreak Tower to Sunreach, then find and disable the six defense modules marked by light beams around the floating region. Kill all six and the maelstrom guarding the Azure Covenant Tower dissolves.
The fight: Shaolong is a Level 68 Water and Dragon duo-partner, so Electric and Ice damage are your friends. Three mechanics decide it. First, the flood phase: mid-fight, Shaolong raises the water level, leaving stone pillars as your only footing, so bring a flying mount or a strong swimmer. Second, the center drag: the boss periodically pulls your Pal to the middle of the arena and punishes it, so recall your Pal or reposition fast when it starts. Third, the hitbox: the fur does not register damage. Aim for the blue body, the same trick as fighting Rayne’s Grizzbolt with headshots.
Recommended prep: Level 70, a Statue of Power buff session, and an Electric attacker paired with something like Univolt to amplify electric damage. On the 5-minute clock, a legendary-tier ranged weapon matters more than perfect Pal IVs.
Struggling? Do This First
The single highest-impact fix on the new timer is your weapon, not your Pals. A tier-appropriate ranged weapon with counter-element Pal support beats a perfect team backing a peashooter. After that: Statue of Power buffs, then levels. And there’s no shame in leaving, coming back three levels later, and winning in ninety seconds. That’s not failure, that’s playing smart with the time you’ve got.
Which reworked boss surprised you most? War stories welcome in the TAG Discord: https://discord.gg/bp2qn6mwC3
