How to Unlock the Fish Sword in Palworld (Using Skutlass & Fish Fillet)
The Palworld 1.0 trailer didn’t just introduce a pile of fresh Pals and new gimmicks—it also spotlighted a weapon fans immediately wanted to get their hands on: the Fish Sword. Under the hood, this “sword” is actually a Katana form that you can unlock by triggering a specific Pal ability: Fish Fillet, using Skutlass.
If you’re trying to understand how that ability works and how to actually wield the Skutlass Katana, you’ll want to track down Skutlass first. This guide explains where to find it and what you need to do once you do.
To locate this distinctive black sand Palworld ingredient—Skutlass—you’ll need to head out after dark, because it’s tied to a glowing presence in the environment.
How to Find Skutlass in Palworld
Skutlass is a fish-type Pal added with Palworld 1.0. You can find it along the coasts near the Twilight Dunes, close to the Anubis Boss location. Expect it to be around level 30, and plan on using at least a Giga Sphere if you want to catch it.
Once you have Skutlass, its signature ability is Fish Fillet. When activated, Skutlass transforms into the Katana weapon form (the Fish Sword). In combat, it can chain fast, hard-hitting attacks, dealing 2600 damage per strike at level 1—making it a strong mid-fight option. The catch is strict timing: if you don’t turn the ability off within 5 seconds, Skutlass will become incapacitated.
Here are the key details on Fish Fillet you should know before you commit to using it:
- You can extend how long the Katana stays usable without incapacitating Skutlass by raising the Pal’s Rank using the Pal Essence Condenser. As the skill level increases, the window to keep using the weapon grows too, and the overall power rises along with it.
- There’s also an alternate version called Skutlass Ignis. Its Seared Fish Fillet ability swaps the damage type, turning the attacks into fire damage and landing for 2900 per hit. The same rule applies: if you fail to disengage before 5 seconds pass, Skutlass Ignis will also be incapacitated.
How to Use Fish Sword (Katana) in Palworld
To bring out the Fish Sword Katana, you’ll need to send Skutlass out and press F on PC. Skutlass will drop to the ground, and for a short period you can wield its spine like a sword—until it becomes incapacitated.
If you press F again, that deactivates the ability and cancels the effect. After doing so, the weapon goes on a 60-second cooldown. When the cooldown finishes, you can activate it again for another burst of heavy damage, then deactivate it before Skutlass is forced into incapacitation.
In practice, this isn’t a permanent weapon—it’s a timed offensive window. The payoff is that you can execute a powerful 4-move combo (with a 5-move sequence available if you’re willing to let Skutlass die). That combo structure makes it especially useful for melting bosses.
Finally, upgrading Skutlass Rank increases the amount of time you can keep using the ability before your Pal weakens, so it’s worth investing if you want a strong mid-game weapon that doesn’t require constant repairs every run.
