Best Passive Skills in Palworld, ranked

They are categorized into Tiers.

Cattiva being pet by the player in Palworld
Screenshot by Dot Esports

After capturing Pals, you can get them to help you with your base and in fights. They also come with Passive Skills that can be a great advantage in combat or provide extra benefits while your Pal works at your base.

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Here are the best Passive Skills in Palworld.

How Passive Skills work in Palworld

Every pal you successfully catch will come with their Passive Skills. These Passive Skills range from positive effects to negative ones. You want to focus on the positive ones.

There are over 60 Passive Skills in Palworld, so getting lost in all possibilities is easy. Fortunately for players, a system of Tiers can help you determine easily which ones are better. They can range from Tier -3, which corresponds to very negative Passive Skills, to Tier +3, designating the best you can get in Palworld.

It’s essential to consider a Pal’s Passive Skill because they can impact both combat and building, especially since they can be stacked. You’ll discover them when capturing Pals. The skill is only sometimes positive; passive skills have bonuses and adverse effects.

Tip:

Palworld is in early access, so the content in the game is subject to change. An update to this article will also come when and if that happens.

Best Passive Skills in Palworld for combat and working

A screenshot of a Direhowl being inspected in Palworld.
Who’s a good boy? Screenshot by Dot Esports

Officially, there are 22 Passive Skills categorized as Tier +3. They are the best you can get in the game and will significantly help you in combat depending on your strategy of choice or when building your base. We’ve also added a few Skills from other Tiers that are fairly strong.

Tip:

Upon catching a Pal, you will discover they can have up to 4 random Passive Skills.

Best Passive Skills for combat

5) Vanguard and Stronghold Strategist

Vanguard and Stronghold Strategist are the only player-boost passive skills that affect combat. Vanguard gives a 10-percent buff to attack, while Stronghold Strategist gives a 10-percent buff to Defense. They can even be stacked!

4) Musclehead

On the contrary, Musclehead is very strong, but only for combat. Your Pal won’t be helpful in your base but will deal high damage. Musclehead is a Tier +3 Passive Skill that grants a 30-percent increase to Attack but a 50-percent decrease in work speed.

3) Ferocious and Burly Body

Ferocious grants a 20-percent increase on Attack, while Burly Body grants the same increase on Defense. Both are equally strong, but their impact in combat will depend on how you use them. These Passive Skills are strong even though they’re labeled as Tier +2. 

2) Type-based damage increases of 20 percent

This rank is dedicated to several Passive Skills that serve the same purpose: They grant a 20-percent increase to damage for one specific element. They’re very strong but require a bit of strategic planning. Here is the list for all nine kinds of elemental damage:

  • Flame Emperor
  • Earth Emperor
  • Ice Emperor
  • Celestial Emperor
  • Spirit Emperor
  • Lord of the Sea
  • Lord of Lightning
  • Lord of the Underworld
  • Divine Dragon

1) Legend

Legend is the best Passive Skill you can get for combat. The Tier +3 bonus grants 20 percent more Attack, 20 percent more Defense, and 15 percent more Movement Speed. It’s incredibly versatile while keeping high numbers, making it an obvious choice for the best Passive.

Tip:

You can pass down passive skills via breeding, so try to pick pals with useful passive skills. If you find a heavily positive skill, it would be wise to attempt breeding that Pal for positive results.

Best Passive Skills for work

5) Diet Lover

The adverse effects of Hunger in Palworld shouldn’t be underestimated since your Pals might not be able to work anymore. To prevent this, you’ll have to feed them (and yourself), but the Diet Lover Passive Skills can help you too, with the Hunger decrease becoming 15 percent more likely.

4) Swift

Movement Speed is important in Palworld, which makes the Tier +3 Swift Passive Skill strong, with a 30-percent increase on that stat.

3) Workaholic

Keeping your Pals safe from Hunger is key to productivity, but it’s also the case for Sanity. If it reduces too much, your Pals won’t be willing to work anymore. The Workaholic Tier +3 Passive Skill helps by making Sanity drop 15 percent slower, meaning your Pals can work longer before resting in their Palbox.

2) Logging and Mining Foreman

Logging Foreman and Mining Foreman are strong Passive Skills but have particular uses. The first grants a 25-percent increase in Player Logging Efficiency, while the latter offers the same bonus to Mining Efficiency

1) Artisan

Artisan is undoubtedly the best Passive Skill you can get for your base in Palworld, as it grants a 50-percent increase in Work Speed. It’s an incredibly high bonus, and if you can combine it with other productivity increases, your Pal will become the ultimate workaholic.

For an increase close to that, you can also get the Work Slave Passive Skill, which grants a 30-percent increase at the cost of the same decrease in Attack.

Tip: HM to Lucky

Lucky is a vital Tier +3 Passive Skill due to its versatility, and is strong both for combat and work. Lucky grants a 15-percent increase in work speed and a 15-percent increase in Attack. It’ll best suit the Pals you use for both aspects of the game.


So, there you have it. You know everything you need about the best Passive Skills in Palworld. Good luck!

Author
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Eva Martinello
Eva is a Staff Writer from Paris. Her part-time job is charging into walls with Reinhardt. She has been covering League of Legends esports and other titles for six years. She still believes in a Moscow Five comeback. She also fell into the MMO pit and covers FFXIV and Genshin.