What is Stardust used for?

Capability awakening is the tab where most of that spending happens. It is where an Aniimo's acquired potential gets specialised and raised, and stardust is the currency that opens the door. It is not the only cost. Raising acquired potential also means pouring enhancement materials into individual stats, and Star Essence and Star Sands go into stats and potential as well. So stardust sits alongside a training economy rather than replacing it, and running dry on either one stalls the same creature.

The IV use is the one worth planning around. IV stats can be modified with stardust, which means a creature with the right typing and the wrong rolls is not a write-off. You do not have to hunt for a cleaner copy of something you already like.

Because all three uses draw on the same pile, spreading stardust thinly across a full team gets you very little. Pick the Aniimo you actually intend to bring forward and put the stardust there.

The level 60 cutoff on awakening resets

Capability awakening can be reset freely at any time while an Aniimo is below level 60, and the reset gives back the training materials you invested. Once that Aniimo reaches level 60 or higher, the reset is gone for good.

That turns levelling into a commitment point. If you are still experimenting with how to specialise a creature, do the experimenting early, while mistakes cost you nothing but time. Push an Aniimo to 60 first and then decide the awakening spread was wrong, and you are stuck with it.

Not settled: A reset below level 60 is described as recovering the training materials you invested. It does not extend to the stardust, so plan an awakening as though that part of the spend is gone for good.