Best Palworld passive skills – Find the perfect Pals with our list

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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. 

Palworld best passive skills - A screenshot of Wixen with their passive skills displayed in Palworld. Image captured by VideoGamer.
A screenshot of Wixen with their passive skills displayed in Palworld. Image captured by VideoGamer.

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 SkillTierPassive Effect
Abnormal110% decrease in incoming Neutral damage
Aggressive1Bonus Attack +10%Bonus Defense -10%
Artisan3Work speed +50%
Brittle-3Lower Defense -20%
Burly Body3Bonus Defense +20%
Blood of the Dragon110% increase in Dragon attack damage
Botanical Barrier110% decrease in incoming Grass damage
Bottomless Stomach-2Satiety drops 15% faster
Brave1Bonus Attack +10%
Capacitor110% increase in Electric attack damage
Celestial Emperor320% increase in Neutral attack damage
Cheery110% decrease in incoming Dark damage
Clumsy-1Work Speed -10%
Coldblooded110% increase in Ice attack damage
Coward-1Lower Attack -10%
Conceited1Work Speed +10%Defense -10%
Dainty Eater1Satiety drops +10% slower
Diet Lover3Decrease in Hunger is less likely by +15%
Destructive-2SAN drops +15% faster
Divine Dragon320% increase in Dragon attack damage
Downtrodden-1Lower Defense -10%
Dragonkiller110% decrease in incoming Dragon damage
Earth Emperor320% increase in Ground attack damage
Earthquake Resistant110% decrease in incoming Ground damage
Ferocious3Bonus Attack +20%
Flame Emperor320% increase in Fire attack damage
Fragrant Foliage110% increase in Grass attack damage
Glutton-1Satiety drops +10% faster
Hard Skin1Bonus Defense +10%
Heated Body110% decrease in incoming Ice damage
Hooligan1Bonus Attack +15% but -10% Work Speed
Hydromaniac110% increase in Water attack damage
Ice Emperor320% increase in Ice attack damage
Insulated Body110% decrease in incoming Electric damage
Legend3Bonus Attack +20%Bonus Defense +20%Movement Speed increases 15%
Logging Foreman325% increase in player Logging efficiency
Lord of Lightning320% increase in Lightning attack damage
Lord of the Underworld320% increase in Dark attack damage
Lord of the Sea320% increase in Water attack damage
Lucky3Work Speed +15% and Attack +15%
Masochist1Bonus Defense +15%Bonus Attack -15%
Mine Foreman325% increase in player Mining efficiency
Motivational Leader325% increase in player speed
Musclehead2Bonus Attack +30%Work Speed -50%
Nimble110% increase in Movement Speed
Pacifist-3Lower Attack -20%
Positive Thinker1SAN drops +10% slower
Power of Gaia110% increase in Ground attack damage
Pyromaniac110% increase in Fire attack damage
Runner220% increase in Movement Speed
Sadist1Bonus Attack +15%Lower Defense -15%
Serious2Bonus Work Speed +20%
Suntan Lover110% decrease in incoming Fire damage
Spirit Emperor320% increase in Grass attack damage
Swift330% increase in Movement Speed
Stronghold Strategist310% increase in player Defense
Slacker-3Lower Work Speed -30%
Unstable-1SAN drops +10% faster
Vanguard310% increase in player Attack
Veil of Darkness110% increase in Dark attack damage
Waterproof110% decrease in incoming Water damage
Workaholic3SAN drops +15% slower
Work Slave1Bonus Work Speed +30%Lower Attack -30%
Zen Mind110% 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.

Many Cremis in Palworld. Catch them for bonuses.
Image by VideoGamer

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.

About the Author

Antony Terence

Antony Terence is a Guides Writer for VideoGamer. While he is particularly fond of city-builders, shooters, and strategy titles, he won’t turn down a good JRPG or a turn-based roguelike.

Palworld

  • Platform(s): PC, Xbox, Xbox Series S/X
  • Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Indie, RPG, Shooter
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