Palworld element type chart and matchups: Every advantage and weakness

While Palworld's overall gameplay is surprisingly different than Pokémon's despite the "Pokémon with guns" moniker it's been given by fans, one aspect of it that's extremely similar is how the elemental types of its Pal creatures work. Each Pal in the game has at least one of nine different elemental affinities, with those affinities determining which types the Pal either has an advantage against or a weakness to.

When trying to catch specific Pals or take on a tough Palworld boss, bringing along Pals that have a type advantage against whatever you're fighting is highly recommended, as they'll both deal more and take less damage. Conversely, you'll have a much harder time if you opt to use Pals that are weak against your foe, as their offense and defense will be significantly less potent.

Some elemental type matchups are rather obvious — Water Pals are good against Fire ones, surprised Pikachu face — but others are much less so, leaving many players confused. To help you out, I've put together a full guide on everything you need to know about types below. It's got a full overview of every type matchup, advantage, and counter, along with details on dual-type Pals, a flow chart for quick reference, and more.

Palworld type chart: Matchups and counters

There are nine different element types in Palworld, and for the most part, each of them has one advantage and one weakness. The above flow chart from Palworld's own in-game Survival Guide displays these matchups clearly, with arrows representing the element that each type counters. Below, you'll also find a table with each individual type's strengths and weaknesses written out.

Fire and Neutral are unique in that the former has two advantages, while Neutral has none. Aside from that, though, every type has an advantage and a disadvantage, and performs neutrally against every other element. Notably, attacks that have the same type as the Pal they're hitting also deal reduced damage.

Dual-type Pals are unique in that they have two strengths and weaknesses. Also, depending on what types they have, it's possible for them to nullify some counters. One example of this is Penking, a Water/Ice type. It only takes neutral damage from Fire attacks since Ice is weak to Fire, but Water is resistant to it. Another is Gumoss, a Ground/Grass type that doesn't take extra damage from Grass moves because Grass is one of its elements.

Another thing to keep in mind is that attack advantages are based on the type of move used, not the type of Pal using it. For instance, even though Bushi is a Fire-type Pal, the Icicle Cutter move it learns at Level 15 is Ice-type and will therefore deal bonus damage to Dragon-type Pals. Note that you can swap out your Pal's current moves for different ones in the Party tab.

Does Palworld have STAB?

You probably know what Same Type Attack Bonus — or STAB — is if you've played Pokémon before, but if you haven't, the gist is that it's a damage buff provided whenever the type of the party member you have out matches the type of the move they're using. It's been an instrumental part of Pokémon strategy ever since that franchise began, and many Palworld players are wondering if it has STAB as well.

Though the game doesn't ever actually mention it, Palworld does indeed have STAB; specifically, attacks will deal 20% more damage if their type matches the type of the Pal using them. As a result, you should make sure the majority of the moves your Pals know match their element.

Will Palworld get new Pal types?

While developer Pocketpair hasn't said anything about adding more element types to Palworld, we do know that new islands and Pals will come to the game in future updates. This was first revealed in Palworld's Early Access launch FAQ, and later confirmed again when the developer shared its Palworld roadmap.

To speculate, some of the new types I'd expect to see are Rock, Fighting, Poison, Psychic, and maybe Fairy. Steel could come, too, but I'm not sure there needs to be another type Fire is strong against (maybe that'll be a neutral mashup in Palworld). Others found in games like Pokémon such as Ghost, Bug, and Flying would likely be too similar to existing Pals and types like Dark, Grass, and Neutral.

What's the best Pal type in Palworld?

The best overall type in Palworld is Fire, as it uniquely has an advantage over both Grass and Ice-type Pals. Also, since you'll encounter plenty of the former in the early game and lots of the latter in the late game, Fire will be a consistently high-value type throughout your entire playthrough. Fire-type Pals also perform Kindling tasks back at your Palworld bases, which is one of the most important jobs since it's required for smelting Ore and cooking quality foods.

Another great type is Dragon. Though Dragon-type Pals will struggle against Ice-types in late game snowy regions, they're exceptional everywhere else since they tend to have excellent stats — and you can even get Jormuntide Ignis, a Dragon/Fire type that cancels out the weakness to Ice. They're also strong against Dark-types, which you'll often encounter at night.

Ground-type Pals are notable for being quite potent in the mid-game and late game. They don't fare well against the early game's Grass types, but they're perfect for the battle against Zoe and Grizzbolt, and boast some of the highest Defense stats Pals can have. Many of them, such as Digtoise, Anubis, and Reptyro, are also fantastic Mining Pals and serve well as top-tier workers at Ore farms.

While these three Pal types are standouts, I strongly suggest you to catch a wide variety of Pals and maintain a diverse roster. Even the best Pals will perform poorly in parts of the map where Pals that counter them are plentiful, so don't hesitate to make some party swaps if needed.

Palworld is available now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One consoles, and Windows PC via either the Microsoft Store or Steam. It's quickly become one of the best Xbox games and best PC games of 2024 so far, and it's also playable through Xbox Game Pass.