Aniimo is a creature-collecting RPG where two Aniimo of the same species and level can have noticeably different stats. This comes down to the Potential system, a set of individual values that increase an Aniimo's core attributes. Because of this, it is worth checking a creature's Potential before investing heavily in it and spending rare materials. In this guide, we'll explain how Potential works in Aniimo, the difference between Common, Good, Elite, and Perfect ratings, how to increase Acquired Potential through Capability Awakening, and which attributes you should prioritize.
What Is Potential in Aniimo?
Potential is calculated separately for six core attributes:
- HP — Health.
- ATK — Attack.
- P.DEF — Physical Defense.
- M.DEF — Magic Defense.
- REGEN — EP Regen.
- BREAK — Break.
Each point of Potential increases the corresponding attribute by 4%. At the maximum value of 20, this gives an 80% bonus to the base stat. For example, if an Aniimo has a base ATK of 100, an ATK Potential of 10 will increase it to approximately 140.
Potential consists of two parts:
- Innate Potential is determined when you obtain an Aniimo, for example by catching it or hatching it from an egg. It usually cannot be increased, except through special items such as Capafruit.
- Acquired Potential is developed after obtaining the creature through Capability Awakening. This requires special training materials.
What Do Common, Good, Elite, and Perfect Mean?
After catching an Aniimo, you need to appraise its Potential at a Research Console in an Outpost. The game assigns the creature one of four ratings:
- Common — the lowest rating.
- Good — the next tier.
- Elite — a high rating.
- Perfect — the highest rating.
The rating depends on the Aniimo's total Innate Potential, with the two recommended attributes for that particular species carrying more weight in the appraisal. This means Perfect does not necessarily mean that all six attributes are already maxed out. It is an overall assessment of that individual compared with other members of the same species.
For a regular wild Aniimo, the approximate rating chances are 66% for Common, 26% for Good, 7.2% for Elite, and 0.8% for Perfect. Umbral Aniimo are guaranteed to have Perfect Potential, while an Aniipod Ultra guarantees at least an Elite rating. A Sparkling Cube guarantees a Sparkling Aniimo with Perfect Potential.
Do You Really Need a Perfect Aniimo?
No. The main advantage of high Innate Potential is that it saves resources during further progression.
Both a Common and a Perfect Aniimo can eventually reach a total Potential of 20 in an individual attribute. The difference is how much Acquired Potential you will need to add yourself.
For example, if the attribute you need already has an Innate Potential of 8, you have effectively skipped the costs of the first eight levels. That Aniimo will require significantly fewer materials than one starting with an Innate Potential of 2 or 3.
For normal progression, an Elite Aniimo is perfectly suitable for long-term investment, especially if its recommended attributes rolled high values. Perfect creatures are worth keeping, but there is no need to delay all progression until you find one.
How Capability Awakening Works
Capability Awakening allows you to increase the Acquired Potential of a selected attribute. Each upgrade adds one point and always succeeds. The number of Capability Awakenings available gradually increases with the Aniimo's level, growth stage, and Resonance Star Rank.
Important: the cost depends on the final Potential value after the upgrade. The higher the attribute, the more expensive the next point becomes.
- 1-4 — Star Dust: increasing the attribute to 1, 2, 3, and 4 costs 1, 2, 3, and 4 units respectively. Total: 10.
- 5-8 — Star Sand: 1, 2, 3, and 4 units respectively. Total: 10.
- 9-12 — Starcryst Essence: 1, 2, 3, and 4 units respectively. Total: 10.
- 13-20 — 5 Starcryst Essence per point. Total: 40.
For example, if an Aniimo's Innate ATK Potential is already 8, the first upgrade will raise the total value to 9 and immediately cost one Starcryst Essence. You will not need any Star Dust or Star Sand for that attribute.
This means that raising a single attribute from 0 to 20 requires 10 Star Dust, 10 Star Sand, and 50 Starcryst Essence.
Where to Get Potential Upgrade Materials
Star Dust and Star Sand can be earned from Elite Training, defeating Alpha Aniimo, Pathfinder Challenges, leveling up, and other activities. Star Dust can also be exchanged for Star Sand.
Starcryst Essence is considerably more valuable. You can obtain it by defeating Omega Aniimo, completing Elite Training, playing Holo-Battle Interlink and Holo-Battle Sim, and from certain progression rewards.
Another option is collecting Star Shards. Ten Star Shards can be exchanged for one Starcryst Essence at an Outpost Item Exchange.
Buying large amounts of Starcryst Essence with Credits is extremely expensive, so this method is best reserved for picking up the last few pieces you need.
Which Attributes Should You Upgrade First?
Your main guideline should be the recommended attributes for the specific Aniimo. The game highlights two stats that best match its role and abilities, and these should usually be upgraded before anything else. For example, Stellarys has ATK and REGEN as its recommended attributes, Helmut has BREAK and P.DEF, while Leafy has HP and REGEN.
This is why there is no universal rule saying that every damage-focused Aniimo should upgrade ATK first. Damage, healing, Energy recovery, and Break effectiveness can scale from different attributes.
For an Aniimo focused on breaking enemies, BREAK is usually important, but its second priority might be HP, P.DEF, or another attribute. For support and healing Aniimo, check which attributes their skills scale with.
Don't Upgrade All Six Attributes at Once
The early levels are relatively inexpensive, so it can be tempting to raise every attribute evenly. Once Starcryst Essence becomes necessary, however, this approach quickly becomes far too expensive.
Focus on the two recommended attributes first. Then invest your rare materials into whichever of the two contributes more to the Aniimo's main role. Secondary attributes can be upgraded later.
If you are only using an Aniimo temporarily or rarely bring it into battle, it is better to stop before reaching the expensive upgrade tiers.
What Does Capafruit Do?
Capafruit is a Legendary training item that adds +1 Innate Potential to each of the six attributes. Each Aniimo can consume only one Capafruit.
This means a single Capafruit effectively provides six additional points of Innate Potential at once.
You also do not need to save it exclusively for a Perfect Aniimo. The effect of Capafruit transfers through Inherit, so you can use it on a strong member of a family you plan to develop long-term, then transfer that progress to a better individual later.
How Inherit Works
If you have already invested in an Elite Aniimo and later catch a Perfect member of the same family, you do not need to start over. You can check related forms and their evolution requirements in our guide to every Aniimo evolution.
For 20,000 Credits, Inherit allows you to transfer level, Resonance, Capability Awakening progress, and other investments to a less-developed Aniimo from the same family. The effect of any Capafruit you have used is also transferred automatically.
This means there is no need to hoard every resource while waiting for the perfect individual. You can safely start developing a suitable Elite Aniimo from the first few hours of the game.
Can You Reset Capability Awakening?
Yes. Capability Awakening upgrades can be reset for 200,000 Credits, returning the training materials you spent.
The reset is available before the Aniimo reaches level 61. It does not alter Innate Potential or allow you to reroll the creature's rating. Only the resources spent on Acquired Potential are returned.
This means you can experiment relatively freely with your attribute distribution before reaching the maximum level.
Should You Raise Potential to 20?
It makes the most sense to max out the key attributes of your main team members first. For other Aniimo, it is generally more efficient to take the inexpensive Potential levels, increase Resonance, equip suitable Held Items, and only then spend large amounts of Starcryst Essence.
Levels 13 through 20 are particularly expensive, with each point requiring five Starcryst Essence. That part alone costs 40 units of the rare material for a single attribute.
