PALWORLDBASE
🧬 Palworld Breeding Explained
The formula, breeding power system, special combos, and how to plan your breeding chains.
The Breeding Formula
When you breed two Pals, the child is determined by a simple formula:
Child BP = ⌊(Parent A BP + Parent B BP) ÷ 2⌋
The child is the Pal whose Breeding Power is closest to this average.
What is Breeding Power?
Every Pal has a hidden stat called Breeding Power (BP). It ranges from 1 (hardest to breed) to ~2520 (easiest). The BP determines which child is produced when two Pals are bred.
Key points about Breeding Power:
- Low BP = late-game/legendary Pals (harder to use as breeding parents)
- High BP = early-game/common Pals (easier to catch and use in breeding)
- The average BP of two parents determines the child — always rounds down
Special Combos
Some Pal variants can only be produced through specific parent combinations — these are called Special Combos. For example:
- Frostallion Noct = Frostallion + Helzephyr (special combo)
- Jormuntide Ignis = Jormuntide + Blazehowl (special combo)
- Blazehowl Noct = Blazehowl + Felbat (special combo)
Our Calculator automatically checks special combos first before applying the standard formula.
Parent Pair Difficulty
Not all breeding pairs are equal. When looking at parents for your target Pal, they fall into three groups:
Both parents are catch-only — they can't be produced through breeding. The simplest path: catch both, breed them together, done.
One parent must be bred first, the other can be caught directly. A two-step chain: breed the intermediate parent, then breed it with the caught parent for your target.
Both parents need breeding first. The longest path — but also the most options since each parent can be produced from multiple pairs.
The Breeding Tree automatically groups all pairs this way — just search for your target Pal to see every option.
Planning Your Breeding Chain
Two tools to plan your chain — use whichever fits your workflow:
🧬 Calculator
Pick two parents → instantly see the child. Or pick a target → see the shortest breeding path with estimated steps.
Open Calculator →🌳 Breeding Tree
Search any target → see ALL parent pairs grouped by difficulty. Click 🔗 Trace to walk back the full chain.
Open Tree →General strategy:
- Pick your target Pal in the Breeding Tree
- Start with ⭐ Direct Catch pairs if available — they require no chaining
- For ⚡ Short Chain pairs, use 🔗 Trace to see the full path
- Use the Calculator to test specific parent combinations you're unsure about
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "catch-only" mean in the Breeding Tree?
A catch-only Pal is one that has zero breeding combinations that produce it — the only way to get it is to catch it in the wild. About 66 of the 323 Pals are catch-only. In the Breeding Tree, these show up as parents in ⭐ Direct Catch pairs (the easiest path).
Can I breed Legendary Pals like Frostallion or Jetragon?
Yes, most Legendary Pals can be produced through breeding — but only from specific high-BP parents. For example, Frostallion (BP 260) can be bred from a wide range of parent combinations. However, these Legendary Pals are never "catch-only" parents themselves: they must be bred from other Pals first, so they always appear in 🔴 Full Chain pairs rather than ⭐ Direct Catch pairs.
Why do some Pals show zero ⭐ Recommended pairs?
⭐ Recommended pairs require both parents to be catch-only (no breeding required). If a target Pal has a very low or very high Breeding Power, it may not have any catch-only Pal pair that averages to its BP. This is common for Legendary and late-game Pals. Try the ⚡ Short Chain or 🔴 Full Chain tabs instead — these show pairs where one or both parents need breeding first.
How many breeding steps does it take to get a specific Pal?
It depends on the target Pal and which parent pair you choose. ⭐ Direct Catch pairs take 1 step (breed the two caught parents). ⚡ Short Chain pairs typically take 2 steps (breed one parent first, then breed that result with a caught Pal). 🔴 Full Chain pairs can take 3+ steps. Use the 🔗 Trace button in the Breeding Tree to see the exact chain for any pair — it walks back through every intermediate breeding step until all paths end at catch-only Pals.
What's the difference between the Calculator and the Breeding Tree?
The Calculator answers two specific questions: "What child do these two parents produce?" and "What's the shortest path to breed this target?" The Breeding Tree answers a different question: "Show me ALL possible parent pairs for this target, grouped by difficulty." Use the Tree to explore your options, then the Calculator to test specific combinations. Both tools share the same underlying data and respect special combos.
Does the order of parents matter in breeding?
No. The breeding formula is symmetric: (Parent A BP + Parent B BP) ÷ 2 gives the same result regardless of which Pal is Parent A or Parent B. Special combos also work in either order — Frostallion + Helzephyr produces the same child as Helzephyr + Frostallion.
How long does breeding take?
Default breeding time is 5 minutes per egg in a Breeding Farm, but this varies with world settings. A large egg takes the same time as a regular egg — the timer starts when both parents are assigned to the farm. On dedicated servers, breeding continues even when you're offline. The real time investment isn't the egg timer — it's catching the right parents and planning the chain.
Can I breed for specific passive skills?
Yes! Passive skills are inherited randomly from parents during breeding. To pass down a desired passive, breed parents that have it — the more parents with the skill, the higher the chance. Pro tip: Lock in passives early in your chain. Start with catch-only parents that have the traits you want, then breed toward your target — this is much easier than trying to add passives at the last step. The Calculator and Breeding Tree focus on which Pals to breed, not passives — check the Pal Finder to filter by stats and find ideal trait donors.
Ready to plan your breeding chain? Explore all 257 breedable Pals with the Breeding Tree or Calculator.
🌳 Open Breeding Tree → 🧬 Open Calculator →