Palworld's 2026 Global Popularity Poll results landed October 20: Sekhmet took first with 49,637 votes, Solenne second with 37,425, and Chillet third with 34,625 (source: Palworld official Steam announcement, 2026-10-20, Community Announcements channel). Palworld best pals guide logic says otherwise: first place in a poll is not first place in throughput, and those are two different questions.
| Item | Verdict | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Handiwork | Solenne Lv8 plus Sekhmet Lv6 | Food 9 versus 7; output and food cost trade off |
| Gathering | Sort by suitability; bark needs Lv.1 | The v1.0.4 change |
| Base bonuses | Ribbuny, Shroomer, Woolipop | +1 suitability each |
| Winter update | Side by Side, winter 2026 | Official October 20 announcement |
Palworld 1.0.5 snapshot: poll results and the winter update
Applicable version: v1.0.5 (2026-09-15, official Steam channel announcement)
Version v1.0.5 is current, pushed September 15, 2026, and mainly fixes some players loading terrain and building textures at visibly reduced resolution (source: Palworld official Steam announcement v1.0.5).
The poll and the winter update
Pocketpair also announced the new update Palworld: Side by Side, arriving winter 2026, with a teaser showing three character silhouettes (source: Palworld official Steam announcement, 2026-10-20).
The silhouettes are unconfirmed. The community reads them as Zoe, Auri and Saya based on the character poll top three, but the official channel has not confirmed identities.
The character poll
Character top three: Zoe with 133,221 votes, Auri with 114,226, and Saya with 85,957. Fourth and fifth are Zenara with 78,857 and Lily with 62,865 (source: 4Gamers report 2026-10-20, citing official figures, third-party).
The spread is far wider than the Pal poll: the character winner leads the tenth place by several multiples, meaning preferences concentrate harder on characters.
Palworld poll top ten: votes against utility
| Rank | Pal | Votes | Work suitability highlight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sekhmet | 49,637 | Handiwork Lv6, Mining Lv3, Transporting Lv2 |
| 2 | Solenne | 37,425 | Handiwork Lv8, Gathering Lv4, Transporting Lv2 |
| 3 | Chillet | 34,625 | Combat and mount oriented |
| 4 | Ribbuny | 23,235 | Gathering and ranch oriented |
| 5 | Astegon | 20,428 | Combat oriented |
| 6 | Frostallion | 18,480 | Combat and mount |
| 7 | Jetragon | 17,497 | High-speed travel |
| 8 | Lunaris | 17,045 | Combat oriented |
| 9 | Bellanoir | 15,420 | Combat oriented |
| 10 | Wixen | 14,573 | Night work |
Vote counts come from official figures via 4Gamers (third-party). Work suitability values come from GameWith and OP.GG Pal archives (third-party databases); confirm against the in-game Pal details.
Sekhmet: why first place makes sense for production
Sekhmet is Ground element, Paldeck #140, with a total base stat of 425 and Food 7 (source: GameWith Pal archive, third-party). Handiwork Lv6 is the standout, with Mining Lv3 and Transporting Lv2 alongside.
The Desert Empress partner skill does two things: at a base, Anubis work speed increases 20% (non-stacking), and her own work speed at a workbench or assembly line rises 30% to 60% by skill level. (Source: Palworld official Steam announcement)
That is the practical basis for first place: she is both a high-tier Handiwork worker and an accelerator for Anubis in the same base.
Solenne: Lv8 costs you food
Solenne is Dark/Neutral, Paldeck #182, base stat 440, Food 9, nocturnal (source: GameWith and OP.GG archives, third-party). Handiwork Lv8 is the highest tier in the archive, with Gathering Lv4 and Transporting Lv2.
Her Lone Princess partner skill grants the player 30% to 80% attack when the party is in the field and every Pal in it is a different species. Useful for solo exploration, but the all-distinct requirement is restrictive. (Source: Palworld official Steam announcement)
The price is Food 9. Stack several Solenne in one base and food consumption climbs noticeably, which means your farms must scale with it.
Palworld base layout: splitting Handiwork and gathering
Base production splits into Handiwork-heavy lines (workbench, assembly, medicine) and gathering-heavy lines (logging, mining, planting).
Who goes on the Handiwork line
Solenne (Lv8) and Sekhmet (Lv6) first. The former is top throughput but expensive to feed; the latter is slightly lower but accelerates Anubis.
A working pattern: Anubis as the main crafter, Sekhmet beside it absorbing the 20% speed bonus, and Solenne on a separate line so the high-food Pals do not cluster. (Source: Palworld official Steam announcement)
Who goes on the gathering line
Sort by suitability for Gathering, Logging and Mining. Solenne's Gathering Lv4 doubles as a second job, and Sekhmet's Mining Lv3 suits a base near ore nodes.
Do not miss the base pair bonuses
The archive lists base pairings: Ribbuny raises Handiwork suitability by 1, Shroomer raises Gathering by 1, and Woolipop raises Transporting by 1 (source: GameWith archive, third-party). These are global bonuses worth reserving slots for.
Palworld work suitability: levels and the v1.0.4 change
Work suitability runs 1 to 10, with higher levels producing more per unit time. v1.0.4 lowered the suitability required to gather Ancient Bark to Lv.1 (source: Palworld official Steam announcement v1.0.4, 2026-09-07).
Why that change matters
Ancient Bark is a key material in the base construction chain. It used to need a higher suitability tier; now Lv.1 is enough, meaning any early Pal can gather it.
The result is that early construction pacing moves up sharply. You no longer wait for a specific Pal; the build chain opens from the start.
Level is not the only variable
At the same job, Lv8 versus Lv6 is not a 33% linear gap. Work speed, movement speed and nocturnality all matter. Solenne's nocturnality means she does not sleep, so her actual daily output beats her listed level. (Source: Palworld official Steam announcement)
This is not "higher level always wins." It is "level times effective hours times food cost," all three together.
Palworld resource planning: the base food ledger
The hidden cost of a base is food. Pals at Food 7 to 9 each consume a meaningful amount, so ten high-consumption Pals demand farm output that keeps up.
Three base scales
Small (4 to 6 Pals): one Solenne, one Sekhmet, two Anubis and one or two gatherers. Food pressure is manageable.
Medium (8 to 12): three to four on the Handiwork line, three to four gathering, two transporting, with two or three plots.
Large (12+): dedicated farm and ranch lines, or the ledger runs a permanent deficit.
One food-saving rule
High-consumption Pals belong only on core lines. Put Solenne on an outlying ore node and you are paying the highest food cost for the lowest-value work.
Palworld poll Pals: should you catch them?
Verdict: this is a survival-crafting game with no gacha cost, so you catch and raise them; the tradeoff is only where they sit.
First, base production focus. Sekhmet outranks Solenne. Food 7 plus the Anubis acceleration beats Lv8 at Food 9.
Second, solo exploration and combat. Solenne's Lone Princess gives the player 30% to 80% attack with an all-distinct party, which outweighs her base output. (Source: Palworld official Steam announcement)
Third, pure poll collecting. The top ten are all worth catching, and votes need not match utility. Chillet is third in votes but is a combat and mount Pal.
Palworld base common mistakes
- Reading only suitability level and ignoring Food. Solenne at Lv8 but Food 9 will drain a base.
- Treating Sekhmet's accelerator as stackable. The partner skill is explicitly non-stacking.
- Ignoring the v1.0.4 Ancient Bark change. Lv.1 is enough, so stop catching Pals specifically for it.
- Forgetting nocturnality in output math. Solenne does not sleep.
- Treating community silhouette guesses as official. Side by Side's three characters are unconfirmed.
Where do you farm Ancient Bark fastest?
Ancient Bark comes from logging, and since v1.0.4 it needs only Lv.1 work suitability (source: official v1.0.4 notice). There is no daily cap; efficiency depends on gatherer count and tree density, so a base in dense forest wins.
Palworld 1.0.5 FAQ
Who won the popularity poll?
A: Sekhmet won the Pal poll with 49,637 votes; Zoe won the character poll with 133,221 votes (source: official Steam announcement, 2026-10-20).
Sekhmet or Solenne?
A: Sekhmet for base lines, with Food 7 and a 20% Anubis work speed boost; Solenne for solo combat, granting the player 30% to 80% attack with an all-distinct party. (Source: Palworld official Steam announcement)
When does the winter update launch?
A: Winter 2026 per the official announcement; the exact date is unannounced, and the three silhouettes are unconfirmed.
Does Ancient Bark still need high suitability?
A: No. Since v1.0.4 the required suitability is Lv.1 (source: official v1.0.4 notice, 2026-09-07).
What is the maximum work suitability level?
A: 10. Solenne's Handiwork Lv8 is the highest in the current archive, with Sekhmet at Lv6 next.
Action list
- Decide whether your base lacks Handiwork or gathering before catching anything.
- Put Solenne on the Handiwork line with Sekhmet beside Anubis for the speed bonus.
- Keep high-food Pals on core lines only.
- Reserve base slots for Ribbuny, Shroomer and Woolipop bonuses.
- Lay the Ancient Bark line before winter; Lv.1 is all it takes. Work suitability values come from third-party archives; confirm in-game. Version details follow official Steam announcements. For more Palworld base and breeding breakdowns, see the guide hub at gghubs.com.