Palworld: How to Beat Hard Mode Zoe and Grizzbolt

Hard Mode Zoe and Grizzbolt is a fully end-game fight at the Rayne Syndicate Tower. The boss keeps its Ground weakness, but its health jumps to 464,000, its damage is tuned to burst you down, and it now gains Grass attacks that specifically punish Ground-type Pals. Winning comes down to a maxed Ground team, damage buffs stacked correctly, and keeping Grizzbolt’s Electric output suppressed.

Quick answer: Run a fully condensed, awakened, level 80 Ground attacker (Knocklem, Pierdon, or Anubis) with support Pals like Orserk and Turtacle Terra, wear the Ancient Armor set, kill the Syndicate Gunner and Syndicate Crusher first, then keep Muddy applied on Grizzbolt while you deal player damage until the health bar empties.

Hard Mode boss stats and unlock

Hard Mode Zoe and Grizzbolt is a level 72 fight with 464,000 HP, weak to Ground. You unlock it after defeating Auri and Shaolong. The arena also spawns extra enemies alongside the boss, so plan for a two-front fight from the start.

Boss	Detail
Zoe and Grizzbolt	HP 464,000 · Level 72 · Weakness: Ground
Unlock	Defeat Auri and Shaolong
Extra enemies	Syndicate Gunner x1, Syndicate Crusher x1

The tower sits northeast of the Small Settlement at coordinates 111, -431. Activate the fast travel statue nearby so you can respawn and re-enter quickly if a run goes wrong.

Rewards

Reward	Notes
Zoe Hat	Guaranteed on first clear
Legendary Beam Scatter Schematic	10% drop chance
Speed Lotus (L)	Material
Training Crystal	Material

Minimum Pal requirements before you enter

This is a level 80 encounter in practice. A strong build with the wrong preparation still gets flattened, so your main attacker has to be fully invested before you walk in. Meet every requirement below on your ace attacker.

Type matchup does most of the heavy lifting here. A high-attack Pal of the wrong element barely dents the boss, which is why raw stats alone are not enough against Hard Mode towers.

Best Ground-type attackers

All three attackers below hit Grizzbolt’s Ground weakness. Anubis lets you play as the main damage dealer while it activates its Partner Skill, while Knocklem and Pierdon push huge damage through their own skills.

Pal	Why it works
Knocklem	Partner Skill massively boosts its Attack and Defense; Ground Cutter has high damage and accuracy.
Pierdon	Partner Skill greatly boosts damage to Muddy targets; Horn Burst is an exclusive 600 Power move. Needs Muddy applied first.
Anubis	Has a built-in dodge, comes with Earth Emperor by default, and lets the player become the main DPS.

Quick-swap Knocklem team

This setup runs two Knocklem and swaps between them whenever the Partner Skill hits cooldown. That gives near-permanent uptime on the Attack and Defense boost. Both Knocklem carry Serenity, Earth Emperor, Immortality, and God of Destruction.

Role	Pal
Active	Knocklem x2 (swap on cooldown)
Support	Turtacle Terra
Support	Orserk
Support	Silvegis

Turtacle Terra adds an extra Ground damage boost, Orserk stacks a universally useful Attack and Defense buff, and Silvegis buffs your shield for extra survivability.

Muddy Pierdon team

Pierdon deals enormous damage to Muddy targets, so this team is built to keep Grizzbolt Muddied and stack Ground buffs. Pierdon carries Serenity, Earth Emperor, Immortality, and God of Destruction.

Role	Pal
Active	Pierdon
Support	Turtacle Terra
Support	Orserk
Support	Celesdir Noct
Support	Surfent Terra

Surfent Terra helps apply Muddy through your attacks. You can swap it for Dumud if you would rather not apply Muddy manually. Note that enemies grow resistant to Muddy the more you apply it, so time it to land right before Pierdon fires a Ground move.

Best weapons, armor, and accessories

Because you contribute a large share of the damage yourself, your loadout matters as much as the Pal team. The Drone Launcher is the priority pick since it rapidly stacks Orserk’s Partner Skill buff while you stay near the boss.

Weapon	Lv.	Attack	Durability
Drone Launcher	77	200	6500
Plasma Rifle	78	1860	25000
Megaboost Gun	63	250	400
Mechanical Bow	67	20000	2000

Plasma Rifle is the strongest all-purpose gun, Megaboost Gun adds a buff to your active Pal, and the Mechanical Bow is handy for applying status effects like Poison when needed.

Armor

Use the highest-Defense gear you can craft. The full Ancient Armor set is the minimum standard for a Hard Mode tower, and you can upgrade to a higher-tier version if you have one.

Item	HP	Def	Added effect
Ancient Shield	N/A	2200	None
Ancient Helm	1200	500	Neutral Damage Reduction Lv.1 / Dragon Damage Reduction Lv.1
Lightweight Ancient Armor	2400	840	Cold Resistance Lv.2 / Heat Resistance Lv.2 / Max Carrying Capacity Lv.4

Accessories

Prioritize accessories that boost Ground damage, since that is Grizzbolt’s weakness. The Dogen Emblem is the common go-to because it raises both your Attack and your Pal’s.

Item	Effect
Dogen Emblem	Greatly raises your Attack and your active Pal’s Attack.
Earth Emperor’s Baton	Raises your Pal’s Attack and significantly increases Ground damage.
Anubis’s Talisman	Raises your Pal’s Defense and significantly increases its Ground damage.
Menasting Terra Ring	Greatly reduces incoming Electric damage and increases your Pal’s Ground damage.

Food buffs and healing to bring

Tower fights have a time limit, so favor food that increases damage output over defensive food. Running out of time with the boss still alive is a common way to lose an otherwise good run.

Type	Items
Damage food	Broncherry Fried Noodles, Mammorest Curry
Healing	High Quality Recovery Meds, Advanced Recovery Meds, Revival Potion

Keep several healing items and at least one revival potion in your bag so a big hit or a downed Pal does not end the run.

Grizzbolt’s Hard Mode attacks

The dangerous part of Hard Mode is that Grizzbolt now carries Grass moves to counter your Ground team. Grass attacks can leave you ivy-covered, which stops you from rolling. If that happens, use a Grappling Gun to reposition and dodge the follow-up.

Fight strategy step by step

You know the fight is won when the shared health bar empties and the results screen appears. First-clear players receive the Zoe Hat automatically, with a 10% chance at the Legendary Beam Scatter Schematic on top.

The recurring reason runs fail is a mismatch between investment and matchup. Even a maxed Pal of the wrong type does almost nothing, and a Ground Pal that eats a Grass attack can get one-shot. Lock in the type advantage, keep Muddy applied, and the boss’s health drops far faster than its 464,000 pool suggests.