Are Lifmunk Effigies reducing Catch Rate in Palworld?

In Palworld, we are told and led to believe that using Lifmunk effigies to improve our Capture Power would… increase our Capture Power. Shocking, I know. Well, it turns out that they may actually be doing the opposite.

The Catch Rate dilemma of Palworld

Many players have been recently discussing how the further they get into the game, the lower their catch chance mysteriously becomes. For many, this has ruined the experience, as catching Pals that they used to catch with a 100% chance now requires more effort.

Some believed this to be the result of an inverse relationship between the capture rate and their level, so the higher their level, the harder it becomes to catch Pals. Whether this is a bug or a feature remains to be seen.

However, a YouTuber by the name of Chalenor recently underwent an experiment to see if it was actually the Lifmunk Effigies at fault here, not the level.

One YouTuber’s test

Chalenor’s experiment consisted of capturing 100 Pals in two runs, with one having zero Effigies collected, and the other having maxed out the Capture Power from the Statue of Power. While mounted, he captured Pals with a set of rules in mind to remain as objective as possible. He didn’t harm any of the Pals and he only went for back hits.

The final results:

In this one experiment, it seems clear as day that having the maximum Capture Power through the Lifmunk Effigies harmed his results, leading to a nearly 20% decline in capture rates.

However, this test is not perfect, and many have criticised this test and therefore its conclusion.

Some players have brought up that mounted actions seem to have a reduced effect when performing tasks. When mining on a mounted Pal, your efficiency seems to be reduced. Perhaps this strange reduction applies to capturing Pals, too. Also, naturally, this is just one test from one person and isn’t exactly a large enough pool to derive a meaningful conclusion.

Despite there being more to be desired from this test, it does open up the conversation that perhaps it is not the level that impedes catch chance but, strangely, your Capture Power. The community will need to do more testing to conclude what it is exactly that is causing late-game players to struggle with their capturing.

Now that you’re up to date with this growing problem, why don’t you check out the best ways to get schematics?