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Looking for a comprehensive list of the best Palworld passive skills?
The smash hit from Pocketpair shows no signs of slowing down. And if you’ve just started your in-game journey, you might want a detailed guide to your Pals’ passive skills. We’ve been playing for a while and have tested out some of the passive skills, and we’ve come up with a list of what we believe to be the most useful ones.
We’ve also got guides on how to breed Pals in Palworld and all Palworld achievements.
What are passive skills in Palworld
Passive skills are possessed by every Pal you encounter in Palworld. Better passives enhance their abilities in combat and work. But watch out for passives that grant negative effects. Keep an eye out for higher-tier passives to get the best Pals suited for a particular task.
These apply to all Pals, even the best mining Pals in Palworld. Get the right ones and accelerate your Palworld journey. Look for the higher-tier ones after capturing Pals, even if it takes multiple capture attempts for a single species.
Best passive skills in Palworld and why you need them
While the positive passives are great at enhancing your Pals, some of them stand apart from the rest. Sure, the negative ones are easy to avoid. But when it comes to picking the best, here are the best passive skills in Palword from our resident expert Aden:
- Lord of the Sea – Increases water skill damage by 20%. This one’s just an example that illustrates the importance of finding a Pal with the right damage enhancements.
- Serious – Increases work speed by 20%. This one’s an amazing pick for camp as they can work on resources more effectively.
- Sadist – Increases attack by 15% and decreases defense by 15%. It’s great on attack Pals who need to pack as much of a punch as possible.
- Lucky – increases attack and work speed by 15% respectively. This is great for pretty much any Pal since they can help out at base camp too. We recommend this general work speed buff over targeted ones like Logging Foreman. Artisan (+50% work speed) is perfect for this but it’s pretty hard to find.
- Musclehead – Increases attack by 30% and decreases work speed by 50%. This is great for Pals on your team and not so great for camp ones. While Legend (+20% attack, +20% defense, +15% movement speed) is even better, it’s hard to find in Palworld.
- Stronghold Strategist – Increases player defense by 10% when the Pal is out. It’s a good buff while tackling bosses like Zoe and Grizzbolt.
- Vanguard – Increases player attack by 10%. It’s a great option since it improves your attack and not the Pal’s.
- Motivational Leader – 25% increase to player speed. Can’t say no to quicker movement. Runner and Swift grant movement boosts to your Pal when you use it as a mount so they’re worth considering too.
- Burly Body – Increases Pal’s defense by 20%. It’s a good buff that will let your Pals sustain injuries.
- Workaholic – SAN drops 15% slower. This one’s a great sanity buff for camp Pals to keep them motivated as they work on resources.
All the passive skills in Palworld
There are a variety of interesting effects that Palworld bestows on its Pals. Here’s a list of all Palworld passive skills that your Pal may end up with:
| Passive Skill | Tier | Passive Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Abnormal | 1 | 10% decrease in incoming Neutral damage |
| Aggressive | 1 | Bonus Attack +10%Bonus Defense -10% |
| Artisan | 3 | Work speed +50% |
| Brittle | -3 | Lower Defense -20% |
| Burly Body | 3 | Bonus Defense +20% |
| Blood of the Dragon | 1 | 10% increase in Dragon attack damage |
| Botanical Barrier | 1 | 10% decrease in incoming Grass damage |
| Bottomless Stomach | -2 | Satiety drops 15% faster |
| Brave | 1 | Bonus Attack +10% |
| Capacitor | 1 | 10% increase in Electric attack damage |
| Celestial Emperor | 3 | 20% increase in Neutral attack damage |
| Cheery | 1 | 10% decrease in incoming Dark damage |
| Clumsy | -1 | Work Speed -10% |
| Coldblooded | 1 | 10% increase in Ice attack damage |
| Coward | -1 | Lower Attack -10% |
| Conceited | 1 | Work Speed +10%Defense -10% |
| Dainty Eater | 1 | Satiety drops +10% slower |
| Diet Lover | 3 | Decrease in Hunger is less likely by +15% |
| Destructive | -2 | SAN drops +15% faster |
| Divine Dragon | 3 | 20% increase in Dragon attack damage |
| Downtrodden | -1 | Lower Defense -10% |
| Dragonkiller | 1 | 10% decrease in incoming Dragon damage |
| Earth Emperor | 3 | 20% increase in Ground attack damage |
| Earthquake Resistant | 1 | 10% decrease in incoming Ground damage |
| Ferocious | 3 | Bonus Attack +20% |
| Flame Emperor | 3 | 20% increase in Fire attack damage |
| Fragrant Foliage | 1 | 10% increase in Grass attack damage |
| Glutton | -1 | Satiety drops +10% faster |
| Hard Skin | 1 | Bonus Defense +10% |
| Heated Body | 1 | 10% decrease in incoming Ice damage |
| Hooligan | 1 | Bonus Attack +15% but -10% Work Speed |
| Hydromaniac | 1 | 10% increase in Water attack damage |
| Ice Emperor | 3 | 20% increase in Ice attack damage |
| Insulated Body | 1 | 10% decrease in incoming Electric damage |
| Legend | 3 | Bonus Attack +20%Bonus Defense +20%Movement Speed increases 15% |
| Logging Foreman | 3 | 25% increase in player Logging efficiency |
| Lord of Lightning | 3 | 20% increase in Lightning attack damage |
| Lord of the Underworld | 3 | 20% increase in Dark attack damage |
| Lord of the Sea | 3 | 20% increase in Water attack damage |
| Lucky | 3 | Work Speed +15% and Attack +15% |
| Masochist | 1 | Bonus Defense +15%Bonus Attack -15% |
| Mine Foreman | 3 | 25% increase in player Mining efficiency |
| Motivational Leader | 3 | 25% increase in player speed |
| Musclehead | 2 | Bonus Attack +30%Work Speed -50% |
| Nimble | 1 | 10% increase in Movement Speed |
| Pacifist | -3 | Lower Attack -20% |
| Positive Thinker | 1 | SAN drops +10% slower |
| Power of Gaia | 1 | 10% increase in Ground attack damage |
| Pyromaniac | 1 | 10% increase in Fire attack damage |
| Runner | 2 | 20% increase in Movement Speed |
| Sadist | 1 | Bonus Attack +15%Lower Defense -15% |
| Serious | 2 | Bonus Work Speed +20% |
| Suntan Lover | 1 | 10% decrease in incoming Fire damage |
| Spirit Emperor | 3 | 20% increase in Grass attack damage |
| Swift | 3 | 30% increase in Movement Speed |
| Stronghold Strategist | 3 | 10% increase in player Defense |
| Slacker | -3 | Lower Work Speed -30% |
| Unstable | -1 | SAN drops +10% faster |
| Vanguard | 3 | 10% increase in player Attack |
| Veil of Darkness | 1 | 10% increase in Dark attack damage |
| Waterproof | 1 | 10% decrease in incoming Water damage |
| Workaholic | 3 | SAN drops +15% slower |
| Work Slave | 1 | Bonus Work Speed +30%Lower Attack -30% |
| Zen Mind | 1 | 10% increase in Neutral attack damage |
Note that these are largely percentage values, meaning that they can have a significant impact on your Pals. While some are inoffensive, negative ones can make certain Pals more undesirable than the others you’ve captured.
Capturing more Pals of the same type grants experience
So don’t worry about wasting time capturing new Pals of the same species for better passive skills.
How to check a Pal’s passive skills in Palworld
Unfortunately, you can only find a Pal’s passives after capturing them. Passive skills are randomized right when you capture a Pal. This means that you can’t specifically target Pals with better passives. But you can still grind it out and catch more Pals of the same species because of the bonus experience you gain. Collecting more Pals will help you level up fast in Palworld.
Can you change passive skills in Palworld
There is no way to change the passive skills of a Pal. Child Pals can inherit passive skills from their parent Pals but this isn’t a guarantee. You can even end up with passives that neither parent had after breeding.
That covers the best passive skills in Palworld. Here are the fastest mounts in Palworld if you want to traverse the world quickly. Look out for the appropriate passives too. If you’re looking for the best breeding combos, or all the Alpha Pals, look no further!
Palworld best passive skills FAQs
Is it possible to transfer passive skills between Pals?
While a child Pal can inherit passives, there’s no guarantee of this occurring.
Can you learn passive skills in Palworld?
Unlike Skill Fruits which grant Active Skills, there is no option for Pals to learn passive skills in Palworld.
