Palworld has been working diligently to try and distance itself from the frequent comparison to Pokemon games. One way it's done this is by adding new items unfamiliar to Pokemon fans. But the giant of the monster collection genre might now want to take a cue from one of Palworld’s inventions.

In its recent 0.2.0.6 update on April 4, Palworld introduced a new accessory called the Ability Glasses. Players can either buy or craft Palworld's Ability Glasses which, when worn, allow players to see the IVs of their Pals. IVs, or Individual Values, are typically invisible stats unique to each Pal assigned to their health, attack, and defense stats. The higher a Pal’s IVs in each stat, the more that stat will grow upon leveling up. IVs play a nearly identical role in the Pokemon games, but in those games, the way of finding out the IVs of the creatures is often very tricky. Ability Glasses, therefore, are one addition to Palworld that Pokemon may want to borrow for themselves.

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Why Do Players Care About Pal and Pokemon IVs?

In Palworld, players have many different reasons for capturing Pals, such as helping players in their bases, or defending them as they explore the Palpagos Islands, so named in Palworld's mysterious castaway journals. Players might want to know the IVs of their Pals, or Pals they are considering capturing, in order to best strategize. A pal with strong IVs would be wasted cooped up in the player’s base instead of being trained for battle. Utilizing Pals with high IVs will lead to them growing stronger than the same Pal with low IVs. So, if a player is stuck on a difficult raid boss, they might want to check the IVs of their Pals to ensure they are bringing along the strongest ones they’ve got.

The Pokemon games handle IVs in the same way that Palworld does, randomly assigning a number to each Pokemon to decide how much their stats will grow. While Pokemon only focuses on battling, many players still want to know the IVs of their Pokemon. This becomes incredibly important for players who like the competitive scene. When battling others, players know that the stronger team is more likely to win, even if they're using the best competitive Pokemon moves, so they want to ensure that their team outclasses their opponent's. IVs are one way to do that. Some competitive players even spend more time looking for Pokemon with strong IVs than they do completing the game’s story.

Palworld rates IVs on a scale from 0 to 100.

Pokemon rates IVs on a scale from 0 to 31

Why Ability Glasses Make a Difference

One might think that Palworld’s mechanics are set in stone, but as an early access game, it’s still growing and changing. The way players respond to its updates will change the way the game grows moving forward. Palworld is set to open a PvP arena soon, and IVs will surely be important for players who plan on battling others. It’s an incredibly smart decision to include the Ability Glasses in an early update to allow players time to find and train Pals with better IVs. That way, they can be ready for battle when Palworld's PvP arena opens. Ability Glasses were added at just the right time, and are sure to be an important item for the game’s future.

Meanwhile, Pokemon still lacks a simple way to check IVs. Some of the games in the series lock the ability to see them behind completing the game’s story, and even then, it can be tough to figure out how to check a Pokemon's IVs. The competitive aspect of the series has grown very deep as the series has evolved. Some Pokemon players have made it clear that they only play for the competition; including an item like Palworld’s Ability Glasses could only help them.