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Mewgenics Collarless Class Guide: All Abilities, Skill Share, and Strategies

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Collarless is the default class of every cat in Mewgenics. All cats start Collarless before being assigned a collar, and any cat can be sent on adventures without a collar equipped. It has no stat modifiers, no class-specific combat identity, and the smallest effective ability pool of any class. On the surface, it looks like a strictly worse option than any proper collar.

But Collarless has a hidden depth that makes it one of the most strategically important "classes" in the game. Its 172 shared abilities (108 active + 64 passive) form the foundation of every other class's ability pool, since roughly one-in-four level-up options offered to any class will be Collarless abilities. It is the only class with unique Mono-Collar run unlocks. It houses Skill Share, one of the most powerful passives in the entire game, which shares its bearer's other passive ability with every cat in the party. And its coin-based spells (Vet Visit, Buy Catnip, Subway Ride, Hire Hitman) convert accumulated gold into combat actions at zero mana cost.

This guide covers everything about Collarless: how it works, its three basic attacks, the complete ability pool, Skill Share mechanics, key abilities, recommended strategies, team composition, class-specific unlocks, and when to intentionally run a Collarless cat.

How Collarless Works

Collarless is not unlocked; it is the default state of every cat. To send a cat on an adventure as Collarless, simply do not assign a collar when departing. Unlike all other classes, Collarless can be "assigned" to cats without the use of a collar, which means you can depart with any number of Collarless cats on the same adventure. Other classes require either a class collar or a Blank Collar (purchased from Tracy) to duplicate.

Stat Bonuses: None

Stat Penalties: None

Basic Attack: One of three random options (Melee Attack, Short Shot, or Short Lobbed Shot)

Class Set Bonus: Not confirmed in sources; Collarless may not have a standard class set bonus since it lacks class-specific armor.

When a Collarless cat levels up, its first passive ability (gained at Level 1) is randomly chosen for you. You get to choose the second active ability from a standard draft of four. Collarless cats also receive a level-up stat bonus at Level 1, something other classes' starting cats do not get.

Three Basic Attacks

Collarless cats are unusual in having three different possible starting attacks, assigned randomly:

Melee Attack — Similar to the Fighter's basic attack. Close-range, Strength-based damage.

Short Shot — A ranged attack that travels in a straight line and is interrupted by obstacles.

Short Lobbed Shot — A ranged attack that flies over obstacles in an arc, similar to the Hunter's lobbed shot but with shorter range.

The basic attack you receive is random and shapes how you play the cat for the rest of the run, similar to how the Jester's basic attack is randomly assigned.

The Collarless Ability Pool

Collarless has 172 abilities total: 108 active and 64 passive. This is the shared pool that forms the backbone of every other class in the game. When any class levels up, roughly one-in-four options offered will be from the Collarless pool (lower Luck means more Collarless abilities appear).

The wiki.gg page notes that although the Collarless pool is large in raw numbers, it is technically the "smallest" effective ability pool because every other class has access to their own 75 class-specific abilities PLUS all 172 Collarless abilities. A Collarless cat can only learn from the 172 shared pool, giving it fewer total options than any collared class.

However, Collarless cats have a unique interaction with certain items. Because Collarless cats more easily fill their spell slots with Collarless active abilities, they get the full benefit from Mind Stone and Steven Stone. Other classes don't get the mana reduction from Skill Stone on their Collarless abilities, but Collarless cats do. These stone items reward having a fully Collarless ability loadout.

Key Active Abilities

The Collarless active pool contains a distinctive suite of coin-based spells that cost zero mana but require gold. These are particularly powerful in mid-to-late game runs where accumulated coins exceed what you'd normally spend.

Vet Visit (0 mana) — Spend 5 coins to heal 10 HP. Once per turn. Zero mana healing that bypasses the need for a Cleric in some situations.

Buy Catnip (0 mana) — Spend 5 coins to gain +10 mana. Once per turn. Converts gold into mana, enabling expensive spell combos on any class.

Subway Ride (0 mana) — Spend 5 coins to teleport to any tile. Zero mana teleportation is extremely powerful for positioning. Comparable to the Mage's Teleport but costs coins instead of mana.

Hire Hitman (0 mana) — Spend 7 coins to summon a bounty hunter. Once per turn. Creates a familiar that fights for you. The most expensive coin ability but potentially the most impactful since it adds an extra unit to the board.

Copycat (5 mana) — This spell is a copy of the most recent spell cast by a party member. Extremely versatile since it lets the Collarless cat duplicate whatever the most powerful spell on your team is. If your Mage just cast Meteor Storm, Copycat repeats it.

Hose Off (5 mana) — Spray a unit with water to cleanse its debuffs and make a puddle. Once per turn. Provides debuff removal, which is normally a Cleric specialty.

Second Wind (8 mana) — Refresh your basic attack, movement, weapon, and trinket actions. Once per battle. A full action refresh that essentially gives you a second turn. Extremely powerful but limited to one use per fight.

Boost (3 mana) — Gain +1 magic damage until the end of your turn. A simple damage buff.

Key Passive Abilities

The Collarless passive pool contains 64 abilities, many of which are universally useful. The standouts:

Skill Share — Does nothing on its own. However, it shares the effect of the bearer's other passive ability with every other cat in your party. When upgraded (at Level 7), it ensures that the bearer's other passive ability is inherited by all of their children. Skill Share cannot be passed down to kittens itself. This is arguably the most impactful passive in the entire game, since it multiplies a single powerful passive across your whole team. Pairing Skill Share with a powerful passive like Merciless, Thrill of the Hunt, Frenzy, or any other scaling passive effectively gives every cat on your team that passive. Unlocked by completing The Boneyard with a Collarless cat.

Bare Minimum — Your stats can't go below 5. This negates stat penalties from injuries, diseases, and quest item shenanigans. GameSpot's skill guide specifically calls this out as a passive every player should look for. It's a safety net that prevents stat-reduction spirals from ruining a run.

Avenger — Triggers when allied cats get incapacitated. Also triggers when allied cat minions are downed (zombie cats, robo cats, clones, permanently charmed units). The upgraded version grants an extra turn when triggered. GameSpot notes that pairing Avenger with summoner classes (Necromancer, Druid, Tinkerer) creates frequent triggers since summoned minions dying counts as allies being downed.

Strength in Numbers — Provides bonuses based on the number of allied familiars on the board.

Leader — Boosts familiars in various ways. The wiki.gg Build Turret page notes that Leader boosts turret range by 1 tile.

Serial Killer — Presumably provides bonuses for consecutive kills.

Unrestricted — Actions with a once-per-battle restriction can be cast once per turn instead. This is extremely powerful on classes with strong once-per-battle abilities like Kamehameha or Second Wind.

Natural Healing — Provides passive healing each turn.

Protection (Collarless) — Provides some form of damage reduction or shielding.

Death Boon / Death's Door / Deathproof — Various death-related passives that provide benefits when near death or upon dying.

The full list of 64 Collarless passives (from wiki.gg) includes: 180, Amped, Amplify, Animal Handler, Bare Minimum, Butcher's Soul, Careful, Charming, Cleric's Soul, Daunt, Dealer, Death Boon, Death's Door, Deathproof, Dirty Claws, Druid's Soul, E-Tank, Fast Footsies, Fighter's Soul, First Impression, Furious, Gassy, Hot-Blooded, Hunter's Soul, Infested, Jester's Soul, Late Bloomer, Leader, Longshot, Luck Drain, Lucky, Mage's Soul, Mange, Mania, Metal Detector, Might of the Meek, Mini-Me, Monk's Soul, Natural Healing, Necromancer's Soul, Overconfident, Patience, Protection (Collarless), Psychic's Soul, Pulp, Rockin', Santa Sangre, Scavenger, Self-Assured, Serial Killer, Skill Share, Slugger, Strength in Numbers, Study, Tank's Soul, Thief's Soul, Tinkerer's Soul, Unrestricted, Unscarred, Void Soul, Whipcracker, Wiggly, Worms, and Zenkai Boost.

Note that every class's "Soul" passive (Fighter's Soul, Mage's Soul, etc.) is technically a Collarless passive, meaning any class can learn another class's Soul ability through the shared pool.

Class-Specific Unlocks

The Collarless class has unique unlocks tied to area completion with Collarless cats. Unlike other classes, Collarless also has unique Mono-Collar run unlocks (runs where your entire party is Collarless).

Legendary Head Armor:

Legendary Weapon:

Legendary Neck Armor:

Key Ability Unlocks:

The +1 to all stats from both Normal Ears and Mundane Collar is particularly fitting for Collarless since the class has no stat modifiers of its own. These items partially compensate for the lack of collar bonuses.

When to Run Collarless

Most guides agree that Collarless is not optimal for primary combat roles. GameSpot ranks it as a generalist with predominantly weak abilities. Community tier lists place it at or near the bottom. However, there are specific strategic reasons to run Collarless:

Skill Share deployment. The primary reason to run a Collarless cat is to carry Skill Share + a powerful second passive. The Collarless cat itself might not contribute much damage, but sharing a passive like Merciless, Thrill of the Hunt, or Frenzy with your entire team can be more valuable than whatever a fourth collared cat would contribute.

Mono-Collar run unlocks. Collarless has unique unlocks that require all-Collarless party runs. With breeding passing down strong class passives (or items like Chaos Controller), these runs are achievable even without collar bonuses.

Mid-adventure pity cats. Stray cats encountered mid-run join your party as Collarless. They receive a random passive at Level 1, and you choose their second active ability from a draft of four. They don't qualify for completion marks but return home with your party if you survive.

Stone item synergy. If you acquire Mind Stone, Steven Stone, or Skill Stone, Collarless cats get the full benefit since their entire ability loadout is Collarless abilities.

Team Composition

When intentionally running a Collarless cat, the rest of the team needs to compensate for the Collarless cat's lack of specialization.

Collarless (Skill Share) + Fighter + Cleric + Hunter — The Collarless cat carries Skill Share + a powerful passive that benefits the whole team. The Fighter, Cleric, and Hunter handle all combat roles. Whatever passive the Collarless cat shares (e.g., Frenzy for +2 STR on kill) amplifies the entire team's output.

Collarless (Skill Share) + Necromancer + Druid + Cleric — Skill Share combined with a summoner-friendly passive (like Strength in Numbers or Leader) amplifies every familiar on the board.

Tips for Playing Collarless

Skill Share is the reason you run Collarless. Without Skill Share, most guides agree that any collared class would be stronger. With Skill Share, the Collarless cat becomes a force multiplier for the entire party.

Save your coins for coin spells. Vet Visit, Buy Catnip, Subway Ride, and Hire Hitman all cost coins, not mana. In late-game runs where you've accumulated significant gold, these spells provide powerful effects without touching your mana pool. A Collarless cat with enough coins can heal, teleport, restore mana, and summon allies every turn.

Copycat is your most flexible spell. It duplicates the most recent spell cast by a party member. If your Mage just cast Meteor Storm, your Collarless cat can repeat it for 5 mana. Position your Collarless cat to act after your strongest spellcaster for maximum Copycat value.

Second Wind is a once-per-battle power spike. Refreshing all actions effectively doubles your turn. Save it for critical moments when burst output matters most, like a boss's vulnerable phase.

Bare Minimum protects against stat spirals. Injuries and diseases reduce stats. Quest items sometimes carry stat penalties. Bare Minimum prevents any stat from dropping below 5, which can save a run from cascading debuffs.

Breed Collarless cats for Skill Share runs. Since Collarless cats have no collar bonuses, base stats from breeding matter enormously. Breed for high base stats across the board. If you've upgraded Skill Share (Level 7), the Collarless cat's other passive will be inherited by all children, creating a lineage of cats that start with a powerful passive from birth.

Lower Luck increases Collarless ability draft rates. For collared classes, roughly one-in-four level-up options will be Collarless abilities, and lower Luck means more Collarless abilities appear. This is relevant because some of the best passives in the game (Skill Share, Bare Minimum, Unrestricted) are Collarless abilities available to any class.

Trivia

Collarless is a portmanteau of "collar" and "colorless," a reference to colorless mana in Magic: The Gathering. The class was originally called "Colorless" and is still referred to as such in the game's files. The Collarless class description simply reads: "It's a cat!"