Palworld: 9 Worst Active Skills

Palworld is home to over 100 different species of Pals, each coming with a specific elemental type and set of attacks. These attacks are referred to as Active Skills, and Pals can equip up to three moves at a time, though they can be swapped out for other Active Skills at any time. Like the Pals that use them, Active Skills are tied to specific elemental types, and are usually learned naturally by the Pals of an equivalent type. Fortunately, for the players looking to mix and match, and provide their Pal with a versatile arsenal of Active Skills, Special Skill Fruits can be used to teach specific moves to any Pal. These specialty items can be obtained in various locations across the map.

Early into the Palworld playthrough, base Active Skills will help players create a team that covers most elemental types, which in turn will help catch more Pals in each location. As players progress, new Active Skills are learned, replacing the weaker ones of their type with some hard-hitting moves that can change the pace of a battle. Identifying which Active Skills are not as useful isn’t as easy as limiting Pals to the strongest moves, as charge times come into play. Some of the strongest Active Skills can be shackled to long charge times, while one that does half the damage could take less time to charge, and thus hit more frequently. This list will help identify which Active Skills can be replaced early on.

Spirit Fire

Ignis Blast Does More Damage In Half The Time

At the bottom of the Fire elemental attacks is Spirit Fire. An active skill learned by most Fire-type Pals, and some off-type Pals, like Jetragon, Spirit Fire is one of the very first Active Skills of the Fire element that players will encounter. It has a cast time of 7 seconds and has 45 power, sending an explosion of large fireballs at the enemy which explode, creating a scatter effect of smaller fireballs. Spirit Fire is an Active Skill that can hit all targets caught in the blast.

While Spirit Fire is an excellent starting Active Skill, especially for players experiencing their first Pal of the Fire element, it quickly tapers off. It’s already outclassed by Ignis Blast, another starter Fire attack that does 30 damage but has a casting time of 2 seconds. The discrepancy in casting time between the two Active Skills allows players to launch multiple Ignis Blast attacks that can do more damage than a single Spirit Fire. For every one Spirit Fire and its 45 power, players can land three Ignis Blasts in less time, and combine the attacks for 90 power.

Aqua Gun

The Water Pistol That Will Be Permanently Holstered

Not only is Aqua Gun considered as the weakest Water-type Active Skill in Palworld, it also makes a case for one of the worst of all elements. Most Water-type Pals will have this Active Skill already, and some Grass and Ground types can learn it naturally as well. This Active Skill launches a giant ball of water at the enemy, which holds a power output of 40 with a casting time of 4 seconds. It’s also one of the first Water-type Active Skills players will pick up, and will be very effective at taking down Fire-type Pals and obtaining Flame Organs.

For players looking to maximize their damage per second output, Aqua Gun is easily replacable as Hydro Jet’s 30 damage and 2 second casting time make it second-rate among the starting Water Active Skills. Not only does Hydro Jet hit faster, but two beams of this water attack will do more damage than one Aqua Gun in the same amount of time. The only downside to Hydro Jet is the limited number of Pals that can learn it naturally, but a Special Skill Fruit can teach it to any Pal.

Seed Machine Gun

Reloading Times Are Way Too Long

One of the most appealing things in Palworld, at least when the game was first announced, was watching Pals like Lifmunk and Tanzee carry guns and fire their weapons at enemies. Seed Machine Gun is the Grass element version of this attack, as the Pal using this Active Skill will fire a barrage of seeds at their target, mimicking the effects of a machine gun. This Active Skill carries a casting time of 9 seconds and has a decent 50 power rating. Unfortunately, as fun as the animation may be, this Active Skill is quite flawed.

Wind Cutter is another base-level Grass Active Skill, and when comparing its damage per second rating to that of Seed Machine Gun’s, it’s no contest. With a casting time of 2 seconds and 30 power, players can fire away up to four of these attacks in under less time than one Seed Machine Gun attack, and do significantly more damage. Wind Cutter is also able to knock the enemy Pal or NPC back, causing them to stagger and delay their own counterattack. If it comes time to choose a faster attack, Seed Machine Gun takes a back seat to Wind Cutter.

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Ice Missile

The Weakest Ice Attack Of Them All

Among all Ice-type Active Skills, Ice Missile ranks below the rest of the pack. This attack summons numerous ice lances into the air before launching them directly into the enemy Pal. Ice Missile takes 3 seconds to charge and has 30 power, making it the weakest Ice active skill of Palworld‘s frozen fighters. Most Ice types come with this move already unlocked, and other elemental Pals can learn it naturally, like Paladius, Ribbuny, and Bristla.

Unfortunately, there are a number of exclusive Ice Active Skills that rank above it, despite holding longer casting times. Their potential for doing more preliminary and secondary damage to enemy Pals outranks the damage per second advantage that Ice Missile holds. Ice Missile is great for the early game, as it will deal with Dragon-type Pals such as Dinossom, who appear in the first few areas and pose a greater challenge compared to the Lamballs and Chikipi around.

Shockwave

The Electric Attack With Little Charge

Shockwave may come as an attack-all active skill, but that’s about all it has going for itself. Releasing this active skill will zap anything within its proximity, making it a decent early-game electric attack to wipe out waves of Water Pals. It has a power level of 40 with a 4-second casting time, and can be learned by most Electric Pals and a few Neutral Pals too, such as Melpaca and Cremis. In terms of faster active skills of its element, Shockwave isn’t the best option.

Spark Blast has 10 less power but casts twice as fast, making it more powerful over time compared to Shockwave. Shockwave has good utility for an Electric-type active skill when it’s time to stockpile items dropped by Water Pals, as players can plow through several Pals at a time, but it drops off from there. Moves like Electric Ball and Plasma Tornado take longer to cast, but when paired with Spark Blast, both moves can do plenty of damage, making Shockwave a relic of the past.

Stone Blast

A Slower And Weaker Sand Blast

Stone Blast may come off as intimidating at first, but knowing its ability and how much time it takes to cast makes it an easy active skill to counter. This active skill summons a barrage of stones and launches them towards the target, and the damage can be quite high. With 55 power and a cast time of 11 seconds, Stone Blast will have plenty of players struggling against early-game Pals like Fuddler, Rushoar, and Gumoss.

The lack of Pals that learn this move is a bit concerning, as only 20 gain this active skill naturally. Not all Pals are Ground-type Pals either, as the likes of Verdash, Mozzarina, and Grintale are all a part of the pool. The 11-second cast time is enough to scare most people from using Stone Blast, considering Sand Blast can be used two times in eight seconds, combining for 80 power and offering players with a better-suited quick active skill to take advantage of.

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Dark Ball

Perfect For Starters But Falls Off Fast

Dark Ball is not exactly useless for early-game Dark Pals, but it quickly becomes a chore to use in battle. This active skill creates a large, dark ball of dark matter and directs it towards the target. This active skill has a tracker, meaning it will follow the target until it either makes contact with the Pal or an obstacle in its way. It has a 40 base power and takes 4 seconds to cast, making it one of the fastest Dark-type active skills available.

Dark-type active skills have a nice mix of power, speed, and status effects, creating one of the more versatile move pools in Palworld. Poison Fog could have made this list due to the fact that it doesn’t do any base damage, but its ability to poison numerous targets makes it perfect for chip damage. Poison Blast also has a chance to cause poison, and it has an advantage in power compared to Dark Ball, carrying a base of 20 with a 2-second cast time, making it slightly more effective.

Dragon Cannon

Weaker Than Any Other Dragon Attack By Far

Having to pick one of the few Dragon-type active skills was tough, but Dragon Cannon pales in comparison to the rest of the crop. This active skill creates a large ball of matter, imbued with Draconic energy, and sends it crashing into the target. With a base power of 30 and a cast time of 2 seconds, it’s both the fastest yet weakest Dragon active skill in Palworld. For players’ first Dragon Pal, likely Chillet, due to its availability, this move will be relied upon to handle Dark-type Pals in caves, but falls off immediately after.

Dragon Pals are extremely powerful in Palworld, and it’s favorable to pack them with one or two strong Dragon active skills, and a third of another element. This leaves Dragon Cannon on the outside looking in, which isn’t a major loss, considering not all Dragon-type Pals learn this move naturally. In fact, some of the strongest Dragons of Palworld, such as Jetragon, are not part of the active skill’s learning pool. Use Dragon Cannon early and then promptly discard it for better Dragon active skills, like Dragon Burst and Draconic Breath.

Roly Poly

The Worst Active Skill In Palworld

Of all the active skills, of any element type, Roly Poly may be the worst and most useless one of the bunch. Only Lamball has access to this active skill, and it’s for the best. Lamball’s Roly Poly is an active skill that has it hurling towards the target, crashing into it for minimal damage. The move has a base power of 35 and a shocking cast time of 35 seconds, making it one of the worst damage-per-second active skills in Palworld.

This active skill almost feels like a novelty in Palworld, as it’s hard to take it seriously. There are plenty of moves in any element class that hold three times the power, or more, with the same cast time. Factoring in that only Lamball can learn this active skill naturally tells the player that this isn’t one to keep for very long, unless they enjoy watching their Pal tumble around. The cherry on this sundae is that after using Roly Poly, Lamball briefly becomes incapacitated, unable to move or attack.

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Palworld

Released

January 19, 2024

Developer(s)

Pocket Pair, Inc.