~7 min
Gold Coins and Ancient Technology Points are Palworld's two progression currencies, and they are earned in completely different ways. Gold is farmed passively (gold-digging Pals on a ranch, the Gold Coin Press) and actively (selling loot to merchants, looting chests, beating Black Marketeers), while Ancient Technology Points come only from defeating bosses once each. This guide covers the fastest routes to both, and how the 1.0 changes shifted the math.
Two 1.0 details matter up front: treasure chests were rebalanced to pay out more, giving exploration and dungeon runs a bigger gold return, and the new base-raid negotiator lets you spend gold to cancel an incoming raid - a fresh gold sink that makes a steady income stream more useful than ever. Here is how to build one.
The Two Currencies at a Glance
Gold Coins | Ancient Technology Points | |
|---|---|---|
What it buys | Items and Pals from merchants, canceling raids | Ancient Technology recipes (purple tree column) |
Main source | Ranch gold Pals, selling to merchants, chests, Gold Coin Press | Defeating Tower, World, and Alpha bosses (once each) |
Farmable repeatedly? | Yes - passive and active methods both scale | No - one payout per boss, so you explore for more |
Best early method | Mau or Vixy on a ranch; grilled berries to merchants | Tower bosses (5 each) and roaming Alpha/World bosses (1 each) |
Best late method | Gold Coin Press (Tech 48) + high-value loot sales | Sweep remaining Alpha Pals and Bounties across new regions |
Gold Coins: Passive Farms
The lowest-effort income runs itself while you play. Build a Ranch (Technology Level 5) and assign a gold-digging Pal:
- Mau and its variant Mau Cryst have the Gold Digger Partner Skill, digging up Gold Coins directly on the ranch. Mau is the easier early catch, found in dungeons and the Hillside Cavern near the Rayne Syndicate Tower entrance; Mau Cryst lives in the tundra biome.
- Vixy is the flexible alternative: on a ranch it digs up Gold Coins, arrows, and Pal Spheres. The spheres are the hidden value - they stack light and sell in bulk, and higher-condensed Vixy find higher-tier spheres.
The scaling trick is volume and Condensation: breed a stable of gold Pals, condense them up (max rank now needs only 48 copies instead of 116, so this is realistic), and give them work passives. A second base dedicated to ranch farming multiplies the output while your main base does everything else. Pure Mau gold income is modest on its own, so treat the ranch as the always-on baseline, not the whole plan.
Gold Coins: The Gold Coin Press
The endgame money machine is the Gold Coin Press (also called the Gold Coin Assembly Line), unlocked in the Technology Tree at Level 48. It converts metal ingots straight into coins - roughly 100 Gold per ingot - so paired with a mining outpost and Pals smelting a constant ore supply, it becomes a fully automated mint. The one cost to manage: pressing coins drains worker Sanity quickly, so keep beds, food, and a hot spring running or your mint grinds to a halt. This is the method that turns a dedicated base into serious late-game income.
Gold Coins: Selling to Merchants
Active selling is where the big early numbers come from. The staples:
- Keep a merchant at base. Catch a Wandering Merchant or Pal Merchant and house them in a Viewing Cage (which stops them getting hungry or sick) so you can offload loot without traveling. There is no limit to what you can sell them.
- Grilled berries - the classic starter: a Berry Plantation (Level 5) plus a campfire turns cheap berries into grilled berries that merchants buy, a reliable trickle before better options open.
- Sell surplus Pals. Every Pal has a gold value scaling with species, level, and traits; high-value catches and Alphas fetch the most. Selling spares from your capture-bonus farming turns leftover Pals into cash.
- Watch for blue-highlighted items in your inventory - the game flags the higher-value goods worth selling.
One economy tip that pays forever: breed and condense Pals carrying the Noble and Fine Fur passives - they stack into a large discount on purchases and a bonus on sale prices, quietly improving every transaction you make.
Gold Coins: Combat and Loot
The map itself is full of money for players who fight for it:
- Black Marketeers are the jackpot: a high-level one can drop around 20,000 Gold plus a key for treasure chests. They are dangerous until you approach the level 40 range, so bring cover and strong Pals.
- Syndicate Thugs and hostile NPCs scattered across the world drop gold on defeat - easy income while you explore.
- Treasure chests pay more after the 1.0 rebalance, and higher-tier chests (some needing Copper, Silver, or Gold keys) hold the biggest hauls. Dungeon runs stack chest gold with boss loot and are one of the best active earners at every stage.
- High-value collectibles like lotus flowers sell for thousands each - grab them whenever you pass one.
Ancient Technology Points: How They Work
Ancient Technology Points (ATP) are the separate currency for the purple Ancient Technology column of the tech tree - the Egg Incubator, Grappling Gun, mining sites, Homeward Thundercloud, and other essential structures. Unlike gold, you cannot farm them repeatedly: each boss pays its ATP only the first time you defeat or capture it, so gathering ATP means finding new bosses rather than rerunning old ones. The good news is the game contains enough total ATP to unlock every Ancient Technology recipe if you clear the content.
Ancient Technology Points: Every Source
Source | ATP (first clear) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Tower Bosses | 5 each | The densest source - prioritize these |
World Bosses | 1 each | Map-marked bosses; easier and less durable than towers |
Alpha Pals | 1 each | Roaming field bosses; capture or defeat both count |
Bounties (Human Alphas) | 1 each | Aggressive human bosses at fixed locations |
Two things do NOT give ATP, and both catch players out: repeat kills of a boss you have already cleared, and dungeon bosses (they drop loot and XP, but no ATP). The efficient route is to prioritize Tower Bosses for their 5 points, then sweep Alpha Pals and World Bosses as you explore, since they are spread across every region. Capturing an Alpha counts the same as defeating it for ATP and gives you the Pal, so throw a sphere when you can. Our Tower Bosses guide lists every tower fight in order.
What to Unlock First with ATP
Because ATP is finite and gated behind tough fights, spend the early points where they change your game the most:
- Egg Incubator (1 ATP) - the gateway to breeding; unlock it as soon as you can. See our breeding guide for what it opens up.
- Pal Essence Condenser - powers up existing Pals through Condensation, the backbone of a strong roster and economy.
- Ore Mining Site (Level 24, 2 ATP) - automates the ore that feeds the Gold Coin Press, linking your two currencies together.
- Grappling Gun and Small Feed Bag - quality-of-life picks that speed up every farming loop.
- Homeward Thundercloud (Level 30, 2 ATP) - instant teleport home, a huge time-saver for hauling loot to your base merchant.
The Money Route: Early, Mid, Late
Stage | Gold plan | ATP plan |
|---|---|---|
Early | Mau/Vixy on a ranch; grill and sell berries; loot chests; sell spare Pals | Beat the first Tower Boss (5) and every roaming Alpha/World boss (1 each) you pass |
Mid | Base merchant in a Viewing Cage; dungeon runs for chests and loot; hunt Black Marketeers near Lv40 | Clear remaining Tower Bosses; sweep Alphas while leveling; grab Bounties |
Late | Gold Coin Press (Tech 48) on a mining base; sell high-value loot and legendary spheres | Mop up new-region Alphas in Sakurajima, Feybreak, and Sunreach for the last points |
The two economies feed each other: ATP unlocks the Ore Mining Site and Egg Incubator, mined ore drives the Gold Coin Press, and gold buys the gear and cancels the raids that keep your farming bases alive.
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Farming Mistakes to Avoid
- Re-killing bosses for ATP. The points come once per boss - a second win gives loot and XP only. Always move to a fresh boss.
- Expecting dungeon bosses to give ATP. They do not - run dungeons for gold and loot, get ATP from Tower, World, and Alpha bosses.
- Relying on Mau alone. Ranch gold is a baseline, not a fortune; pair it with selling and, later, the Gold Coin Press.
- Letting the Press drain Sanity. Coin pressing burns worker morale fast - beds, food, and a hot spring keep the mint running.
- Ignoring the Fur discount. Noble and Fine Fur Pals shift every buy and sell price in your favor; skipping them leaves gold on the table.
- Selling legendary spheres too early. They fetch thousands, but keep enough for tough catches - the capture bonus is still your best XP.
FAQ
What is the fastest way to get Gold Coins in Palworld?
Passively, assign Mau or Mau Cryst (Gold Digger skill) or Vixy to a Ranch for hands-free income. Actively, sell loot and spare Pals to a merchant kept at your base, run dungeons for chests, and at Technology Level 48 build the Gold Coin Press to convert metal ingots into coins automatically.
How does the Gold Coin Press work?
Unlocked in the Technology Tree at Level 48, the Gold Coin Press (Gold Coin Assembly Line) turns metal ingots directly into Gold Coins at roughly 100 gold per ingot. Pair it with a mining outpost feeding constant ore for a fully automated mint - just note that pressing coins drains worker Sanity, so keep them rested and fed.
How do you get Ancient Technology Points?
By defeating or capturing bosses, each of which pays once: Tower Bosses give 5 points, while World Bosses, Alpha Pals, and Bounties give 1 each. You cannot farm the same boss twice for points, and dungeon bosses give none, so gathering ATP means finding new bosses across the map.
Can you farm Ancient Technology Points repeatedly?
No. Each boss awards its Ancient Technology Points only the first time you beat or capture it - repeat kills give loot and XP but no more points. The game does contain enough total ATP across all its bosses to unlock every Ancient Technology recipe if you clear the content.
What should I spend Ancient Technology Points on first?
The Egg Incubator (1 ATP) to start breeding, then the Pal Essence Condenser for powering up Pals. After that, the Ore Mining Site automates ore for the Gold Coin Press, and the Grappling Gun and Homeward Thundercloud are strong quality-of-life picks that speed up every farming loop.
Where do you sell things for the most gold?
Keep a captured Wandering Merchant or Pal Merchant at your base in a Viewing Cage and sell there - blue-highlighted items are the high-value ones. Black Marketeers are the biggest single payout (around 20,000 gold from a high-level one), and high-value collectibles like lotus flowers sell for thousands each.
What is the best Pal for farming gold?
Mau and Mau Cryst dig Gold Coins directly on a ranch via Gold Digger, while Vixy digs gold, arrows, and Pal Spheres - the spheres sell in bulk for strong extra value. Breed and condense a stable of them for scaling passive income, and add Noble and Fine Fur Pals to improve your buy and sell prices across the board.
