While finding and catching Pals is unarguably the most exciting aspect of the game, building and maintaining a reliable base is the crux of survival in Palworld, and thankfully your own Pals are there to help.
They can handle an impressive variety of tasks, whether it’s crafting items, producing resources, or defending the base from enemies.
It’s important to know which Pals are best suited to certain tasks, especially for pivotal ones like Mining. If you’re wondering which Pals are the best for picking up a pickaxe, here’s our handy guide to the best mining Pals in Palworld.
How to Tell Which Pals Can Mine in Palworld
As you wander the wilds of Palpagos and catch all kinds of Pals, while going for certain elements and traits is undoubtedly important, it’s just as crucial to figure out what base-related tasks they can handle. If your base is lacking in a certain area of production/labor, you’ll then want to seek out Pals that are skilled at it.
To figure out what a Pal is capable of doing, you can simply go to your Paldeck Menu, and for Pals you’ve captured at least once, you can view their attributes, including their ‘Work Suitability’. The tasks lit up are the ones that Pal is capable of doing, along with its respective level. The higher the level, the more efficient that Pal will be at that task, and the higher tier items they can produce/transport.
Ideally, you want Pals who can both perform tasks like gathering, lumbering, watering, mining, and planting, and subsequently transport their produced items to storage. Multi-taskers allow you to have more room for other Pals suitable for other needs.
The Best Mining Pals in Palworld (By Level)
While there are a number of Pals who can performing Mining tasks on base in general, some are more proficient than others, and we’ve made note of those in particular, by their default Mining level.
Also note that you can craft a Pickaxe and Helmet furnishing for your base that passively boosts the work speed of any task, queued or not, that requires Mining.
Cattiva (Level 1)
Cattiva is one of the first Pals you encounter in the game (Lvl 1-5 avg), and thus usually very easy to catch. They’re quite versatile in their skill set (handiwork, transporting, gathering, etc), useful for passively increasing your carry capacity while in your Party, and they’re also conveniently the best option for Level 1 Mining on a beginner base.
They’ll tackle any Stone nodes within the vicinity of your base, and work at any Stone Pits you’ve established. Do keep in mind that some of them like to be a bit finicky in nature, as they can get stressed easily and not always want to work. So make sure you catch and place Cattivas with optimal Passive Skills.
Side Note: A unique runner-up in the Lvl 1 category is also the warthog-like Pal called Rushoar. They’re only capable of Mining, but they do have a handy Partner Skill called ‘Hard Head’ that they can use while mounted to charge and smash into nodes, breaking them down quicker than a pickaxe can.
Tombat (Level 2)
This was a hard toss-up with Penking, who is technically the biggest multi-tasking Miner at Level 2, but we chose Tombat as it’s easier to catch (at dusk/nightfall) usually around Lvl 7-8 in the wilds, and it’s not as voracious of an eater as Penking. It also still handles mining, transporting, and gathering all very well, and is actually the favorite of many players for early to mid-tier working.
With Level 2 Mining, they can not only mine Stone but Ore nodes if there are any in the vicinity of your base. If not, you should highly consider a second base that’s heavy in Ore nodes, as you will need A LOT of ingots for a huge chunk of crafting and repairing needs for a good portion of the game.
Tombats are found quite literally all over the map at night. With their purple flames glowing around their bodies, they’re very hard to miss.
Digtoise (Level 3)
This was another toss-up alongside Anubis, who is the most versatile Level 3 Miner, but also far more difficult to obtain into much later into the game. Therefore we opted for Digtoise, who is again quite popular for its skill range. Granted, Mining is the only Work skill they’re actually capable of, but they’re still very adept and efficient at it. Its Drill Crusher Partner Skill is specifically suited for tearing apart Ore nodes.
Digtoise also far easier to find and catch starting around Level 19 (according to our findings). Mega Spheres will do the trick with them, and they’re found during the day in a patch of desert to the north around (-134, 135).
Astegon (Level 4)
Astegon sits proudly as the only Pal in the game (so far) with a Level 4 Mining skill. It’s adept at digging up just about any type of rock, ore, or precious materials you need from the ground. Its ‘Black Anklyosaur’ Partner Skill is especially proficient for these needs as well. On top of that, it can also help you craft items with its Handiwork skill.
As it is the only Miner of its skill level, Astegon is also exceptionally difficult to find and catch. To find this fearsome dragon you’ll need to travel all the way northeast, to literally near the corner edge of the map past the Dessicated Desert. The closest Fast Travel statue is the Deep Sand Dunes one at (531, 518), from there you can use a flying mount to get to the small island with abandoned, strange structures. Do be prepared with your best gear as the lowest level we’ve found them at is Level 43.
If and when another Level 4 Miner comes into the game in future updates, we may amend this entry.
That concludes our guide to the best mining Pals in Palworld. We hope you found this helpful, and let us know which Mining Pals you like best, or if there’s one you like that isn’t on our list.
Be sure to check out all of our other guides for Palworld, including our first impression review of the game in Early Access.
