Palworld Passive Skills Explained: Full Tier List & How to Get the Best Buffs

Ever wondered why some Pals in Palworld seem to hit harder, move faster, or just never seem to tire? It’s all about their passive skills! Whether you’re breeding for that perfect companion or just want to know which Pals to keep, understanding passive skills is a total game-changer. Below, we’ve put together a friendly, no-nonsense guide to how passive skills work in Palworld, plus a full, updated list—including those fresh from the Tides of Terraria update. Let’s jump in!

What passive skills are and how they affect your Pals
How breeding and catching influences passive skills
Complete, tiered list of all known passive skills in Palworld
Links to extra resources and wikis for deeper dives

How do passive skills work in Palworld?

Every Pal you catch comes with a set of random passive skills. Some give you a big boost to attack, defense, or movement speed, while others might slow you down or make your Pal a bit more fragile. The goal? Stack as many positive skills as you can and avoid those negative ones! And here’s a neat trick: when you breed Pals, their skills can be passed on, letting you create a super Pal with the best possible traits.

There are a few special cases. For example, lucky Pals (the big, sparkling ones) always have the “lucky” skill, and legendary Pals always get the “legend” skill. Easy to remember!

All Palworld passive skills: Full list and effects

Ready for the good stuff? Here’s a breakdown of every passive skill we know about. If you want to check out even more details or stay up-to-date, the community at Palworld Wiki has your back!

Top Tier (Rainbow) Passive Skills

Demon God: Attack +30%, defense +5%
Diamond Body: Defense +30%
Eternal Engine: Max stamina +75%
Eternal Flame: 30% increase to fire & lightning attack damage
Heart of the Immovable King: Sanity drops 20% slower
Invader: 30% increase to dark & dragon attack damage
King of the Waves: 50% increased movement speed on water
Legend: Attack +20%, defense +20%, movement speed +15%
Lucky: Work speed +15%, attack +15%
Lunker: 20% boost to water, ice, and defense
Master of Fasting: Hunger decreases 20% slower
Remarkable Craftsmanship: Work Speed +75%
Siren of the Void: 30% increase to dark & ice attack damage
Swift: 30% increase to movement speed
Vampiric: Absorbs a portion of dealt damage to restore. Does not sleep at night and continues to work

High Tier (Tier 3) Passive Skills

Ace Swimmer: 40% increased movement speed on water
Artisan: Work speed +50%
Burly Body: Defense +20%
Celestial Emperor: 20% increase to normal attack damage
Diet Lover: Hunger decreases 15% slower
Divine Dragon: 20% increase to dragon attack damage
Earth Emperor: 20% increase to earth attack damage
Ferocious: Attack +20%
Flame Emperor: 20% increase to fire attack damage
Ice Emperor: 20% increase to ice attack damage
Infinite Stamina: Max stamina +50%
Logging Foreman: 25% increase to player logging efficiency
Lord of Lightning: 20% increase to lightning attack damage
Lord of the Sea: 20% increase to water attack damage
Lord of the Underworld: 20% increase to dark attack damage
Mine Foreman: 25% increase to player mining efficiency
Noble: Sale price +5%
Philanthropist: Breeding speed +100% on breeding farm
Serenity: Active skill cooldown -30%, attack +10%
Spirit Emperor: 20% increase to grass attack damage
Stronghold Strategist: 10% increase to player defense
Vanguard: 10% increase to player attack
Workaholic: Sanity drops 15% slower

Mid Tier (Tier 2 & 1) Passive Skills

Motivational Leader: 25% increase to player speed
Musclehead: Attack +30%, work speed -50%
Runner: 20% increase to movement speed
Serious: Work speed +20%
Abnormal: 10% decrease to incoming neutral damage
Aggressive: Attack +10%, defense -10%
Blood of the Dragon: 10% increase to dragon attack damage
Botanical Barrier: 10% decrease to incoming grass damage
Brave: Attack +10%
Capacitor: 10% increase to lightning attack damage
Cheery: 10% decrease to incoming dark damage
Coldblooded: 10% increase to ice attack damage
Conceited: Work Speed +10%, defense -10%
Dainty Eater: 10% decrease to satiety depletion
Dragonkiller: 10% decrease to incoming dragon damage
Earthquake Resistant: 10% decrease to incoming ground damage
Fine Furs: Sale price +3%
Fit as a Fiddle: Max stamina +25%
Fragrant Foliage: 10% increase to grass attack damage
Hard Skin: Defense +10%
Heated Body: 10% decrease to incoming ice damage
Hooligan: Attack +15%, work speed -10%
Hydromaniac: 10% increase to water attack damage
Impatient: Active skill cooldown -15%
Insulated Body: 10% decrease to incoming lightning damage
Masochist: Defense +15%, attack -15%
Nimble: 10% increase to movement speed
Nocturnal: Does not sleep and continues to work at night
Otherworldly Cells: Attack +10%, fire & lightning damage reduction 15%
Positive Thinker: Sanity drops 10% slower
Power of Gaia: 10% increase to earth attack damage
Pyromaniac: 10% increase to fire attack damage
Sadist: Attack +15%, defense -15%
Sleek Stroke: 30% increased movement speed on water
Suntan Lover: 10% decrease to incoming fire damage
Veil of Darkness: 10% increase to dark attack damage
Waterproof: 10% decrease to incoming water damage
Work Slave: Work Speed +30%, Attack -30%
Zen Mind: 10% increase to neutral attack damage

Low Tier (Negative) Passive Skills

Clumsy: Work speed -10%
Coward: Attack -10%
Downtrodden: Defense -10%
Easygoing: Active skill cooldown +15%
Glutton: Satiety drops 10% faster
Mercy Hit: Pacifist, will not reduce the target’s health below 1
Shabby: Sale price -10%
Sickly: Max stamina -25%
Unstable: Sanity drops 10% faster
Bottomless Stomach: Satiety drops 15% faster
Destructive: Sanity drops 15% faster
Brittle: Defense -20%
Pacifist: Attack -20%
Slacker: Work speed -30%

Want more Palworld guides?

If you’re just getting started, check out our beginner’s guide, full Pal list, and type chart. For advanced players, we’ve got info on breeding, eggs, and a breakdown of multiplayer. Need resources? Here’s how to get ore, coal, polymer, leather, sulfur, wheat seeds, pure quartz, Ancient Technology Points, and ancient civilization parts. Want to find every boss, flying mount, or the best base locations? We’ve got you covered!