PokéSurvivor Moves

A partner has four move slots, but only the selected active group attacks. On desktop, press 1–4 or Q/E to change the selection. Adding an attack to another slot does not make that separate slot fire alongside the current one. Check which group is selected before concluding that a newly learned attack is weak or inactive.

Bonded moves are the exception to thinking of a slot as one attack: a bonded group holds up to four moves, occupies one slot and fires its members together, each with its own cooldown. Selection still operates on the group. A buff can therefore contribute differently when it shares an active group with attacks than when you select a separate support slot.

Choice Band increases damage but blocks switching away from an existing active group. When deciding whether to equip it, inspect the group you will be committing to. Held items modify your current run; compare attacks using their base values before adding your equipped item's effects.

Each base move has a five-level track. The four upgrades are shared by behavior, but the resulting values start from that particular move's base stats. Projectile upgrades add shots, raise damage, reduce cooldown and then add another shot plus piercing. Buff upgrades instead increase the stack limit, strengthen each stack, extend duration and finally add another stack while strengthening the effect again.

Tackle illustrates why an upgrade is not always just damage. Its track starts at 16 damage with a 0.5-second cooldown; later levels raise damage, increase reach, reduce the cooldown to 0.375 seconds and expand the hit arc. Will-O-Wisp follows a turret track with a separate firing interval and an increase in simultaneous turret count. Open either record to see the exact values rather than applying one generic upgrade formula to both.

Each move's level-five values include all four earlier upgrades. These values exclude partner attack multipliers and other run modifiers. They let you answer whether the next card improves damage, coverage, contact frequency or support duration without claiming to predict complete combat output.

For an evolvable move, reach its maximum level, take its required stat card in the current run, then choose the golden evolution card when offered. The stat card can have been taken earlier in that run. Reaching level five alone does not perform the evolution automatically. Tackle needs Vigor and becomes Take Down; Ember needs Power and becomes Fire Blast; Hex needs Magnet and becomes Poltergeist.

Check the evolved attack's name and required stat card before spending level-up choices. Five buffs have no evolution: Swords Dance, Agility, Harden, Aqua Ring and Dragon Dance. They improve through level upgrades and cannot receive a golden evolution card.

Damage divided by cooldown is a one-event reference ratio, not total DPS. Projectile count, repeated contact, terrain, targeting, attack geometry and status conditions all affect actual hits. An orbit, a turret and a melee arc execute differently even if their stored damage and cooldown happen to produce similar ratios. Buffs do not have damage to divide in the first place.

Start with the attack shape you need, inspect the five-level track, then check which partners can learn it. Use the type chart for offensive coverage: the game uses softened factors of ×1.6 for a single weakness, ×0.6 for resistance and ×0.3 for an immunity matchup. A dual-type defender combines the two factors and clamps the result to ×0.3–×2.4. These are additional inputs, not replacements for the move's behavior.