Is There Character Customization In Palia?

Character customization, or the ability to customize your character’s appearance, is a long-standing mechanic prominent in most RPGs and MMOs. As this feature allows players to create the best in-game character possible, players are hoping to have access to a range of unique options, presets, clothing, and more when at the character creation screen.

As Palia is promoted to be a cozy MMO, players looking to jump into the game during the upcoming Closed and Open Beta will want to know how in-depth the character customization will be. This explainer guide details if players can customize their character and how they can get more clothing options in Palia.

19th July 2023 Update: We've updated this guide to reflect new information detailed in the recent Palia Gameplay First Look livestream regarding character customization in Palia. The original reporting continues below.

Can You Customize Your Character In Palia?

The simple answer is yes but to a certain extent. Palia doesn’t feature robust or in-depth character customization; however, it does have a few customization options for players to change their in-game appearance aesthetically. 

As explained during the recent Palia Gameplay First Look livestream, the developer gave players a first look into the game's character creation UI and available options. While the game will only give two body presets; however, this will be expanded on post-launch to include more options.

As of now, players will have access to plenty of customization options such as face shape, skin tone, eyes, voice, hair options including styles and cuts, colors, and clothing options like tops and bottoms. This allows you to express yourself and your identity through what your character looks and wears in-game, rather than it being geared towards equipping pieces to improve your stats.

According to the developers, some of these gear items will be visible to other players; however, it won’t hinder you from creating the perfect look. At launch, these cosmetic items will be somewhat limited but will continuously add more items for you to acquire and add to your wardrobe post-launch.

This creation feature will include a few default presets for players, including body types, gender, and hair options. However, it doesn’t appear that players can change their hairstyles as the game won’t have a dedicated barber or stylist at launch but have mentioned it could be expanded on in the future.

Players can also change the color scheme of their gear by choosing from the available color palettes called variants in-game. These color variants could also include different designs, patterns, and themes, as it was stated that a system for this customization option would be added to the game for its launch.

Speaking of customization systems, the developer will also add a system allowing you to save multiple “outfit configurations” to make changing between outfits more streamlined. This will likely be available from your character’s wardrobe furnishing, making finding your favorite looks easier to locate and saving new ones more straightforward.

How To Get Clothing & Costumes In Palia?

According to the game’s Business Model blog post, we know that cosmetic items will be monetized, meaning players will be spending currencies to afford various gear items. This will not include items obtained through gameplay progression, which may include a few cosmetic items, but this has yet to be confirmed.

As of writing, players could likely use Palia Coins, the primary in-game currency, to make purchases of various cosmetic items like clothing and costumes from the dedicated store. In addition, accommodations will be in place for other currencies to be used to buy items from the store, which is stated to have items in rotation.

There will also be specialty stores to access more cosmetic items; however, details on this unique shop are limited. But generally speaking, players will and should have access to all available store items at any given time of the day.

According to the developer, their approach to monetization in Palia is, “If you can’t buy the things you earn, it also means you won’t be able to earn the things you can buy.” This approach allows the developer to create the best gameplay experience possible while designing products worth selling for player consumption.