Hardwood is one of the materials Palworld players will need once they begin working through more advanced crafting recipes, especially High Quality Wooden Boards. Unlike basic wood, which can be collected almost anywhere by chopping trees or running a Logging Site at base, hardwood is a more specific resource that requires players to target the right trees and come prepared for a longer gathering run.
The simplest way to get hardwood is to chop down larger, sturdier trees in forested areas. These trees are not the same as the standard small trees that provide regular wood and fiber. When harvested, they can drop hardwood directly, giving players the base ingredient needed before they can refine it into High Quality Wooden Boards at the appropriate crafting station.
Where to look for hardwood
Players should search wooded zones rather than open grasslands or rocky regions. Areas with dense tree coverage are generally the best places to start, particularly if the trees appear thicker or more mature than the ordinary early-game trees near the starting plateau. Bring an axe before heading out, because bare-handed harvesting is slow and inefficient.
As with most resource farming in Palworld, better tools improve the process. A metal axe or stronger tool will cut trees faster than the starter axe, reducing the amount of time spent in exposed areas. Players can also bring Pals with the Lumbering work suitability to help gather wood-related materials. While a Pal may not always prioritize the exact tree you want in the wild, Lumbering Pals can still speed up clearing an area and reduce the grind.
If hardwood is not dropping from the trees nearby, move to a different forest biome and test a few more tree types. Palworld often separates resources by location and object type, so farming the wrong trees can leave players with a large stockpile of regular wood but no hardwood. Once you identify trees that drop the material, mark the area mentally or place a nearby fast travel route into your regular resource loop.
How to use hardwood
Hardwood’s main early use is in crafting High Quality Wooden Boards. These boards are a refined building component, meaning players will need to process hardwood rather than use it only as a raw resource. Check the recipe at the relevant workbench or production structure, then confirm whether any additional ingredients are required before starting a large crafting batch.
Because High Quality Wooden Boards can become a bottleneck, it is smart to collect more hardwood than a single recipe requires. A good approach is to dedicate one trip entirely to hardwood farming, return to base, refine the boards and store the surplus. That prevents repeated back-and-forth travel whenever a new structure, weapon, tool or upgrade asks for the same material.
Players who are expanding a base should also keep ordinary wood production running separately. Hardwood does not replace basic wood in most recipes, and using all of a gathering trip on advanced materials can leave a settlement short on simple building supplies. Keeping both resources stocked will make the transition into higher-tier crafting smoother.
In short, the fastest path is to find dense forests, chop the correct larger trees with an upgraded axe, bring Lumbering Pals for support and turn the resulting hardwood into High Quality Wooden Boards at base. Once a reliable farming spot is found, the material becomes much easier to manage.
Key questions
- What is hardwood used for in Palworld?
- Hardwood is used to primarily to craft High Quality Wooden Boards, which are required for some advanced crafting and building recipes.
- What is the fastest way to farm hardwood in Palworld?
- The fastest method is to search dense forest areas, chop larger hardwood trees with an upgraded axe and bring Pals with Lumbering to help speed up wood gathering.
