Active skills are the attacks your Pals use in combat, and in Palworld 1.0 they fall into three groups by how you obtain them. Skill Fruits can be applied to any Pal with an empty skill slot, breeding-only skills pass down through egg pairing, and exclusive skills stay locked to specific Pals. The best pick almost always depends on how large the target is, because many attacks hit far harder against big hitboxes than small ones.
Quick answer: Against large-hitbox bosses, the top damage comes from Twin Spears (128 DPS), Thunder Rail (60 DPS), Circle Vine and Blizzard Spike 4★ (56 DPS). For consistent single-target damage that works on any Pal, teach Comet Barrage or Radiant Barrage through breeding, or apply the Blast Cannon and Hydro Slicer Skill Fruits.
How power and DPS are measured
Every attack has a base Power value, but the real damage changes with the size of the target’s hitbox. Power (S) is what an attack deals against a small hitbox, and Power (L) is what it deals against a large one. Damage per second (DPS) is the Power delivered over time once cooldown is factored in.
Some skills have a cooldown shorter than the time it takes to fire three attacks, so those use a baseline cooldown of 5 seconds for DPS math. Multi-hit or wide attacks such as Circle Vine, Apocalypse, and Thunder Rail land several times on a large body, which is why their large-hitbox DPS is far higher than their small-hitbox DPS.
Note: A few high-damage skills come with a catch. Flame Funnel can be physically blocked by other Pals if they are tall enough, and Absolute Frost can block your own attacks, so swap it out if it interferes with the rest of your loadout.
Best Skill Fruit attacks
Skill Fruits drop from Skill Fruit Trees, dungeons, the arena merchant, Oil Rig rewards, and other late-game activities. Because you can apply them to any Pal with a free slot, these are the most flexible damage upgrades in the game. The ranged options below lead the pack once you account for hitbox size.
| Attack | Element | DPS (S) | DPS (L) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volcanic Rain (melee) | Fire | 126 | 126 |
| Poison Shower (melee) | Dark | 96 | 96 |
| Blizzard Spike 4★ | Ice | 56 | 56 |
| Circle Vine | Grass | 19 | 56 |
| Lightning Streak | Electric | 42 | 67 |
| Air Blade | Neutral | 25 | 50 |
| Splash | Water | 24 | 50 |
| Apocalypse | Dark | 20 | 50 |
| Blast Cannon | Dragon | 30 | 44 |
| Hydro Slicer | Water | 31 | 42 |
| Geyser Gush | Water | 15 | 38 |
| Lightning Strike (melee) | Electric | 38 | 38 |
| Beam Slicer | Dragon | 26 | 37 |
Melee skills like Volcanic Rain and Poison Shower post the highest raw numbers, but they require your Pal to stand in melee range. For ranged safety against bosses, Lightning Streak, Blast Cannon, and Hydro Slicer stay reliable across both small and large targets.
Best breeding-only attacks
Some attacks have no Skill Fruit and can only reach a Pal through breeding. You pass them down by pairing parents that already know the skill, so plan the chain before you hatch your final Pal. Thunder Rail is the standout here, hitting 60 DPS on large bodies thanks to multiple contacts.
| Attack | Element | DPS (S) | DPS (L) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder Rail | Electric | 20 | 60 |
| Comet Barrage | Dragon | 34 | 34 |
| Radiant Barrage | Neutral | 32 | 32 |
| Meteorain | Dragon | 25 | 25 |
| Double Blizzard Spike | Ice | 23 | 23 |
| Lethal Laser | Electric | 20 | 20 |
| Megaton Implode | Neutral | 20 | 20 |
| Raid Cutter | Grass | 20 | 20 |
| Wind Edge | Grass | 17 | 28 |
Comet Barrage is the most broadly useful of these because it holds 34 DPS regardless of hitbox size, making it a safe fill for tower bosses of many elements. Radiant Barrage is close behind and covers Neutral matchups.
Best Pal-exclusive attacks
Exclusive attacks belong to individual Pals and cannot be taught or bred onto anything else. If you own the right Pal, these are among the strongest hits in the game, especially against large targets where multi-hit skills stack up.
| Attack | Element | DPS (S) | DPS (L) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twin Spears | Dark | 23 | 128 |
| Nightmare Bloom 4★ | Dark | 50 | 50 |
| Nightmare Ray 4★ | Dark | 50 | 50 |
| Nightmare Claw 4★ | Dark | 50 | 50 |
| Poison Scatter | Dark | 22 | 44 |
| Jumping Claw 4★ | Dark | 40 | 40 |
| Servant Call | Dark | 36 | 36 |
| Polykeraunos | Electric | 26 | 32 |
| Dark Nova | Dark | 29 | 30 |
| Heavy Thunder Tank | Electric | 29 | 29 |
| Aegis Charge | Dragon | 28 | 28 |
Twin Spears tops every list against big bodies at 128 DPS, though it drops to 23 DPS on small ones, so treat it as a boss and raid tool rather than an all-rounder. The 4★ Nightmare skills stay flat at 50 DPS across hitbox sizes, giving them the most consistent output among exclusives.
Recommended tower boss loadouts
Tower bosses reward attacks that exploit their element weakness and their large hitboxes. The pairings below list the strongest applied skills for each fight, with a breeding-only option where one meaningfully raises damage.
| Boss | Recommended attacks | Breeding option |
|---|---|---|
| Zoe & Grizzbolt | Rocky Impact, Sand Twister, Rock Lance | Comet Barrage |
| Lily & Lyleen | Flame Wall, Flame Funnel, Fire Ball | Comet Barrage |
| Axel & Orserk | Rocky Impact, Sand Twister, Blizzard Spike | Double Blizzard Spike |
| Marcus & Faleris | Hydro Slicer, Splash, Geyser Gush | Thunder Rail |
| Victor & Shadowbeak | Blast Cannon, Beam Slicer, Circle Vine | Comet Barrage |
| Saya & Selyne | Blast Cannon, Beam Slicer, Comet Strike | Comet Barrage |
| Bjorn & Bastigor | Flame Wall, Flame Funnel, Fire Ball | — |
| Auri & Shaolong | Lightning Streak, Lightning Bolt, Tri Spark, Diamond Rain, Absolute Frost | Thunder Rail |
| Zenara & Astralym | Sand Twister, Apocalypse, Circle Vine | — |
Recommended raid boss loadouts
Raid bosses often shift between phases, so bring skills that stay effective in both. Where a fight has two phases, the split below shows which attacks to prioritize for each.
| Raid boss | Recommended attacks |
|---|---|
| Bellanoir Libero & Ultra | P1: Beam Slicer, Dragon Meteor, Lightning Streak. P2: Flame Wall, Flame Funnel/Flare Storm, Fire Ball. Breeding: Comet Barrage (P1) |
| Blazamut Ryu & Ultra | P1: Geyser Gush, Hydro Slicer, Splash. P2: Sand Twister, Rock Lance, Stone Beat |
| Xenolord & Ultra | Diamond Rain, Blizzard Spike, Absolute Frost/Icicle Bullet. Breeding: Comet Barrage, Double Blizzard Spike |
| Moon Lord & Master | Beam Slicer, Hydro Slicer, Wind Burst |
| Hartalis & Ultra | P1: Lightning Streak, Lightning Bolt, Blast Cannon. P2: Dark Laser, Psycho Gravity, Apocalypse, Dark Whisp. Breeding: Thunder Rail (P1) |
To pick the best attack for any Pal, start with the target you fight most. Against large-hitbox bosses, prioritize multi-hit skills like Twin Spears, Thunder Rail, Circle Vine, and Apocalypse. For general use where hitboxes vary, lean on flat-DPS options such as Comet Barrage, Blast Cannon, and the 4★ Nightmare skills, and keep an element that matches your usual matchups.
