These suspicious patches have changed Palworld

Palworld introduced a couple of patches in the past two weeks that have completely changed the game. The game does not feel the same anymore despite this small change. But it is a launch feature that helped players on their strategy, technique, and combat.

Patch Notes: v0.3.11

• The reticle will only display when aiming.
• Changed the behaviour of summoning player-owned Pals so that they are always summoned near the player.

Patch Notes: v0.3.12

• Fixed a bug that caused Pals to get stuck in the ground when summoning them.
• The reticle will now always be displayed when riding a Pal (When not riding a Pal, the reticle won’t be displayed unless you aim).

The fate of the Pal sphere now looks sus.

I HONESTLY THOUGHT after reading the patch notes: “So when I throw my sphere, my pal will come running close to me? That’s so cute.“ I was absolutely wrong.

What changed?

The reticle, or crosshair, will only appear when players aim their weapon. Players will no longer throw a Pal sphere to summon their Pal. The Pals will magically appear close to the players when summoned. The throwing mechanic to capture Pals remain. “But for how long?” I whisper.

The reticle was removed since players are no longer throwing spheres to summon Pals; such as initiating combat with the enemy Pal from a distance. Some speculate that these unexpected changes may have something to do with the Nintendo lawsuit against Pocket Pair.

It is difficult to think that Pocket Pair is now choosing this summoning-jutsu style mechanic due to “game design decisions”. I can’t lob my Pal over to clear an enemy camp anymore. Is it really a game design decision to have players catch Pals by throwing a sphere at them, and not summon them by throwing a sphere on the ground? Now, Naruto may have something to say.

Meanwhile… more content!

Palworld also dropped a big announcement about an upcoming December update. Just when we were frisking for content, Palworld will add an island 6x bigger than Sakurajima Island. I’m glad to see island growth on the map. More islands are coming! How many Islands? The answer is YES!

Palworld will also run a collaboration with Terraria. We’re still not sure what the collaboration looks like. But it is interesting to have a sandbox side-scrolling Palworld. Speaking of side-scroller, Pocket Pair also will release their side scroller game Never Grave. Which appears to be a side-scroller with building and creature mechanics.