How breeding works in Palworld 1.0
The child is the Pal whose breeding power is closest to half the parents' total, rounded up, unless the pair is one of 136 special recipes. Same species always breed true. Gender only matters for Katress + Wixen. Children inherit 1 to 4 pooled passives (40/30/20/10%) and 1 to 3 talent values from the parents.
Data: Palworld 1.0.5 game files (Steam build 25247047)Updated
This page sets out the rules our calculator uses, so you can check any result yourself. They come from data-mined game settings documented by the open-source Pal Calc project and match Palworld 1.0 behaviour. Species: add the two parents' breeding power, add one, halve and drop the fraction, then pick the Pal with the nearest value, skipping Pals that only come from special recipes. Ties follow the game's priority order. Special recipes override the maths, and two Pals of the same species always make that species. Gender: you need one male and one female; only Katress + Wixen changes with gender. Passives: both parents' passives are pooled with duplicates removed, the child takes one to four of them (40, 30, 20 and 10% odds), then may gain up to three random ones, to a maximum of four. Special Cake forces the four-passive roll. Talents: the child copies one, two or all three of HP, Attack and Defense from a parent (50, 33 and 17%) and rolls the rest. Active skills come only from each parent's three equipped skills.
The formula
Add the two parents' combi ranks, add one, and halve, rounding down. Among all Pals that can hatch from normal breeding, the child is the one whose combi rank is closest to that target. When two Pals are equally close, the game uses a fixed priority order (non-variant Pals win over variants).
Example: Eye of Cthulhu (3,100) + Xenovader (1,820) → (3,100 + 1,820 + 1) / 2 = 2,460, and the closest breedable Pal is Kelpsea Ignis (2,470).
Exceptions
- Two Pals of the same species always hatch that species.
- 136 special recipes always hatch a fixed child; a few of them also check which parent is male or female.
- Pals that only come from a special recipe never appear as a normal result.
Setting up a Breeding Farm
- Build a Breeding Farm. Unlock the Breeding Farm in the technology tree and place it in your base.
- Bake a Cake. Cook a Cake at a cooking station and put it in the Breeding Farm's box. Each egg uses one Cake.
- Assign two parents. Put one male and one female Pal on the farm. Check the calculator first so you know what they will hatch.
- Collect the egg. When breeding finishes, the egg appears in the farm's box.
- Hatch it. Place the egg in an Egg Incubator and wait; the right temperature makes hatching faster.
Passives and IVs
Children inherit passive skills from the pooled passives of both parents, and a random chance adds extra ones. Stats (IVs) are partly inherited too. The passive skills list covers what each one does.
Next step: get the child of any two Pals, every parent combo and the shortest breeding path in the Palworld breeding calculator.
Frequently asked questions
#What decides the child in Palworld breeding?
The parents' breeding power, averaged and rounded up; the child is the nearest Pal. Special recipes and same-species pairs override that.
What are the passive inheritance odds?
1, 2, 3 or 4 inherited passives at 40%, 30%, 20% and 10%, then 0 to 3 random passives at the same 40/30/20/10 split, capped at four.
How are IVs (talents) inherited?
One stat is inherited 50% of the time, two stats 33% and all three 17%. Each inherited stat comes from either parent at even odds; the rest are random.
Which moves does a child inherit?
Since 1.0, only moves from the three active skills each parent has equipped, chosen at random.
Does gender affect the child?
Only for Katress + Wixen: a female Katress with a male Wixen gives Katress Ignis; a female Wixen with a male Katress gives Wixen Noct.
What does each Cake do?
Cake: standard. Mushroom Cake: slightly better talents. Vegetable Cake: two eggs at once. Extravagant Vegetable Cake: more mutations and better talents. Special Cake: more passives inherited.