Two Anubis of the same level can have noticeably different stats. The hidden reason is talent, which players usually call IVs. Talents never change once a Pal hatches or is caught, so the only way to get better ones is to catch lucky or breed for them.
What talents are
- Each Pal has three talents: HP, Attack and Defense.
- Each ranges from 0 to 100.
- A talent of 100 is worth up to +30% of that stat (roughly 0.3% per point).
- Work speed isn't a talent. It comes from work level, passives and condensation.
How to see them
Craft Ability Glasses (an accessory, Technology Level 34) and wear them. You will see the talent numbers on your own Pals and on wild ones before you catch them, with high values shown in green. This makes it easy to catch high-talent parents instead of breeding up from zero.
How talents are inherited
You may have seen a "30% father / 30% mother / 40% random" rule of thumb. The data-mined breeding settings documented by the open-source Pal Calc project are more precise:
| Number of stats inherited from parents | Chance |
|---|---|
| 1 | 50% |
| 2 | 33% |
| 3 | 17% |
- Each inherited stat is copied from either parent at even odds.
- The stats not inherited are rolled fresh.
- At least one stat is always inherited.
So even two perfect parents (100 in all three) give a perfect child only about one egg in six on a normal Cake, because all three stats must be inherited; the rest of the time at least one stat is re-rolled.
Cakes that help
| Cake | Effect on talents |
|---|---|
| Mushroom Cake (Tech 30) | Talents of the child grow slightly more easily |
| Extravagant Vegetable Cake (Tech 60) | Better talents, plus a higher mutation chance |
Neither changes the passive odds, so use them once your passives are settled. More in the Breeding Farm guide.
A practical plan
- Passives first. Get the four passives you want, using inheritance and the Surgery Table.
- Catch high-talent parents. Wear Ability Glasses while exploring and keep any Pal with 90+ in the stat you care about (Attack for fighters, HP and Defense for tanks).
- Breed talents in with Mushroom Cake, keeping children that improved at least one stat without losing passives.
- Mutated Pals are shortcuts. They hatch with talents between 90 and 100 (see mutations).
- Stop at "good enough". A few points of talent matter far less than a missing passive or a condensation star.
Other ways to raise stats
- Condensation: about +5% HP, Attack and Defense per star, +20% at four stars. See the condensation guide.
- Statue of Power: spend Pal Souls to permanently raise a Pal's stats.
- Levels: stats grow with level, and talent scales that growth.