Lucky Pals: how 'shiny pals' work in Palworld

Palworld - A lucky Hootcrates with sparkling effects stands in a grassy area in front of a player
(Image credit: Pocketpair)

Not to be left out of creature catching convention, Palworld does have rarer, more powerful variants that Pokémon players will likely find themselves calling "shiny Pals" out of habit. Officially Palworld calls shinies Lucky Pals instead. You could easily assume otherwise, though, because Lucky Pals literally sparkle while they walk around with a loud, shimmering sound effect. 

What are Lucky Pals? 

Lucky Pals are rare variants of Pal that have the "Lucky" passive skill, which gives them +15% Attack and +15% Work Speed. More importantly (to me): they are huge. They're like 4x larger than the normal Pal variants, meaning you can essentially have a bunch of Mongos hanging around your base.

Lucky Pals don't seem to inherently have better stats or skills aside from that +15% buff. You can quickly tell Lucky Pals from normal ones in your Palbox by the little sparkle symbol on their portrait.

It doesn't look huge in the stats screen but I promise it is. (Image credit: Pocketpair)

Where to find Lucky Pals 

You can find Lucky Pals out in the wild, and don't worry: they're nearly impossible to miss. As mentioned they're quite large, but they also make a very distinct (and loud) shimmering sound. The spawn rate for Lucky Pals isn't known, so you really do just have to take your chances. Personally I've run into one every 5-6 hours. I'd generally recommend exploring to find them, but as luck would have it I've caught two of mine within sight of my original base. It really is just down to luck.

Catching Lucky Pals is slightly more difficult than regular Pals as well. The percentage catch rate you'll see while aiming at them is lower, and fighting them does take just a bit longer. Be particularly careful about which Pals from your party you deploy to help—killing a Lucky Pal by accident is a real bummer.

Once you have a Lucky Pal, you can breed more Pals with the lucky trait, though they don't retain the big Lucky Pal size when bred (boo!). Check our Palworld breeding guide for more tips on getting started on the cake and egg grind. 

Best PalsPalworld roadmapPalworld modsPalworld multiplayerPalworld dedicated serverPalworld breeding guide

Best Pals: What to catch early
Palworld roadmap: The early access plan
Palworld mods: Best tweaks to install
Palworld multiplayer: How to co-op
Palworld dedicated server: Full-time Pals
Palworld breeding guide: Get started with cake and eggs

Lauren Morton
Associate Editor

Lauren has been writing for PC Gamer since she went hunting for the cryptid Dark Souls fashion police in 2017. She accepted her role as Associate Editor in 2021, now serving as self-appointed chief cozy games and farmlife sim enjoyer. Her career originally began in game development and she remains fascinated by how games tick in the modding and speedrunning scenes. She likes long fantasy books, longer RPGs, can't stop playing co-op survival crafting games, and has spent a number of hours she refuses to count building houses in The Sims games for over 20 years.

Read more
Palworld - A Sweepa and Gumoss stand together in a breeding ranch
Palworld breeding guide and the best breeding combos
Monster Hunter Wilds Palico having a meal
All Palico upgrades and abilities in Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds weird Palico outfits - Artian
Capcom cooked up some extremely cursed Palico outfits in Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds Giant Vigorwasp
Giant Vigorwasp location in Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds raising Kinsects - Beetle hunter posing
How to raise Kinsects in Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds Sandstar - Samin
Sandstar location in Monster Hunter Wilds
Latest in Action
Monster Hunter Wilds' stockpile master studying a manifest
Monster Hunter Wilds' new gyro controls are a fantastic option for disabled and able-bodied players alike
Manhunt 2
I played the notoriously ratings-board-ravaged Manhunt 2 and was quite glad for the censorship actually
Commander Shepard in Mass Effect 3.
Mass Effect's Jennifer Hale, who played femshep, 'saw no line' before she recorded them for Bioware's flagship trilogy: 'It was all cold reading on the spot'
A hunter hefts a massive Mega Barrel Bomb in Monster Hunter Wilds.
Monster Hunter Wilds players can't stop blowing themselves to smithereens with its rollable barrel bombs
A hunter poses with a large hammer as their palico cheers nearby in Monster Hunter Wilds.
Monster Hunter Wilds weapon tier list
Naoe looking at the wrist blade in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Ubisoft backflips, says Assassin's Creed Shadows will support Steam Deck at launch, but I doubt I'll actually want to play it there
Latest in Features
midnight murder club
Five new Steam games you probably missed (March 17, 2025)
Geralt, two swords on his back, in the wilderness
2011 was an amazing comeback year for PC gaming
Alligator skull with glowing eyes on human body and cords coming out sitting at piano with "The Norwood Etudes" ready to play
My new most anticipated RPG let me be a kleptomaniac gourmand set loose in a noir city on a quest to make 'the perfect sandwich'
Monster Hunter Wilds' stockpile master studying a manifest
Monster Hunter Wilds' new gyro controls are a fantastic option for disabled and able-bodied players alike
Manhunt 2
I played the notoriously ratings-board-ravaged Manhunt 2 and was quite glad for the censorship actually
Wyrdsong concept art
Wyrdsong, the RPG from ex-Bethesda talent, isn't dead—but it's no longer an open world: 'We're down to a skeleton crew'