Hillside Cavern Guide: Pals, Bosses, and Loot
Hillside Cavern is the first dungeon most players enter in Palworld — here's every Pal inside, the full 30-Pal boss pool at level 10–13, and the chest loot that makes early runs worth it — and its PvP-island twin, Isolated Island Cavern.
Hillside Cavern is the grassland starter dungeon — the one you'll stumble into first, tuned for level 5–10. Runs are quick, the danger is low, and the payoff is real: early spheres, a Copper Key, and a boss room whose winner might become the strongest Pal on your team for the next ten levels. Every cavern rotates its entrance spots, so check the List of All Dungeons for what else is out there.
Why Run It Early
Two things make this cavern worth detouring for before level 10. First, chests: Mega Spheres this early trivialize catches that would take five Pal Spheres otherwise, and the Copper Key opens the locked chests you've probably been walking past. Second, the boss room — an oversized boss Pal at level 10–13 that, once caught, outclasses nearly anything wild at this stage.
| Chest Loot | Why Grab It |
|---|---|
 Mega Sphere | A big capture-rate jump at this level |
 Copper Key | Opens early locked chests |
| Pal Sphere | Stock up for the boss |
 Training Manual (M) | Fast EXP for a fresh catch |
 Bread | Cheap hunger management |
 Frag Grenade | Real burst damage before you have guns |
 Gold Coin | Early spending money |
 Arrow | Free bow ammo |
 Low Grade Medical Supplies | Patch up mid-run |
The Pals in the Corridors
The regular spawns are a small dark-leaning crew at level 5–10 — nothing a starter team can't handle, and Fuddler is a genuinely useful early catch for base mining. Turtacle paddles in the water pockets.
| Pal | Elements | Best Work |
|---|---|---|
 Daedream | Dark | Handiwork |
 Fuddler | Ground | Handiwork |
 Killamari | Dark, Water | Transporting |
| Mau | Dark | Farming |
 Turtacle | Water | Watering |
The 30-Pal Boss Pool
Hillside Cavern has the widest boss lottery of any cavern — 30 possible bosses, one rolled per run at level 10–13. Standouts worth re-running for: Eikthyrdeer (your first proper mount), Direhowl (a fast, cheap ride), and Dinossom (a sturdy grass bruiser). The full pool:
| Possible Boss | Elements | Best Work |
|---|---|---|
 Caprity | Grass | Farming |
 Cattiva | Neutral | Handiwork |
 Celaray | Water | Watering |
 Chikipi | Neutral | Farming |
 Clovee | Grass, Neutral | Planting |
 Cremis | Neutral | Farming |
| Daedream | Dark | Handiwork |
 Depresso | Dark | Farming |
 Dinossom | Grass, Dragon | Planting |
| Direhowl | Neutral | Gathering |
 Eikthyrdeer | Neutral | Lumbering |
 Foxparks | Fire | Kindling |
 Fuack | Water | Watering |
| Fuddler | Ground | Handiwork |
 Gumoss | Grass, Ground | Planting |
 Hoocrates | Dark | Gathering |
 Jelliette | Water | Watering |
 Jolthog | Electric | Generating Electricity |
| Killamari | Dark, Water | Transporting |
 Lamball | Neutral | Farming |
 Lifmunk | Grass | Planting |
| Mau | Dark | Farming |
 Melpaca | Neutral | Farming |
 Pengullet | Water, Ice | Watering |
 Rooby | Fire | Farming |
 Rushoar | Ground | Mining |
 Tanzee | Grass | Planting |
 Teafant | Water | Watering |
 Tombat | Dark | Mining |
 Vixy | Neutral | Farming |
Isolated Island Cavern: The Same Dungeon, Different Door
One quirk worth knowing: Isolated Island Cavern, out on the PvP island, is this exact dungeon wearing a different name — same corridor crew, same 30-boss pool, same chest loot, same level 5–13 tuning. If you run into it there, everything on this page applies unchanged.