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How Potential Grades Work
Potential is what makes one Aniimo worth keeping and another worth passing on. Here is how the grades, the 20-point cap and the stat icons fit together, and why a Perfect catch is the start of the judgement rather than the end of it.
The short version
- The grade ladder runs Common, Good, Elite, Perfect, and Perfect is where min-maxing starts
- Each of six attributes is a mix of innate potential and acquired potential, capped at 20 combined for standard attributes
- Innate potential is fixed at capture or birth and only special items like fruits raise it
- Higher innate potential means less Astranite to max a stat, so good rolls save resources twice over
- A thumbs up marks a favorable stat, a crown marks one at maximum potential
- Two Perfects of the same species can have different stat distributions, so the grade alone does not settle it
Two Aniimo of the same species are not worth the same amount. Their potential varies, and that variation is what decides whether the one you just caught is a keeper or a release.
The system has two halves. There is a grade, which is the quick summary, and there is the stat screen, which is the actual detail. Most players learn the grade first and then discover that it only narrows things down.
This is the reference for reading both. Everything here comes from beta footage, so treat specifics as build-dependent where they look like tuning numbers.
The four grades, and what Perfect actually promises
The ladder runs Common, Good, Elite, Perfect. Perfect is the top of it, and it is the point at which players start min-maxing their creatures rather than simply using them.
That wording matters. Perfect is not a guarantee that the creature is finished. Two Perfect Aniimo of the same species can have different stat distributions. The grade tells you the creature is in the bracket worth investing in. It does not tell you which of the six attributes the potential landed on.
So the grade is a filter, not a verdict. Aniimo of the same species carry different values because their potential varies, and that stays true inside the top grade.
- CommonThe lowest rung of the potential grade ladder.
- GoodThe second rung, sitting above Common.
- EliteThe third rung, one step below Perfect.
- PerfectThe top grade, and the point where players begin min maxing. Two Perfect Aniimo of the same species can still have different stat distributions.
Innate and acquired potential, and the 20-point cap
An Aniimo has six base stats: HP, Attack, Physical Defense, Regen, Magic Defense, and Break. Each one is determined by two things, innate potential and acquired potential.
Innate potential is the fixed set of starting points a creature has the moment you capture it or it is born. It works like an individual value. You do not raise it through normal play. Raising it takes special items such as fruits.
Acquired potential is the part you build. For standard attributes, the two halves share a ceiling: a combined maximum total of 20 between innate and acquired.
That shared cap is the whole design. A high innate roll does not raise your ceiling, it lowers the distance to it.
20
Combined cap on a standard attribute
Why a good roll pays twice
The cap explains the first benefit. A creature that starts closer to 20 needs less work to get there.
The second benefit is cost. Innate potential scales enhancement costs, and higher starting potential means less total Astranite to max out that stat. You are not only saving time, you are saving the currency you would otherwise spend on a worse creature reaching the same place.
This is the practical reason to be picky at the catch. Two creatures can end at identical numbers while one of them cost you noticeably more to get there.
Reading the stat screen: thumbs up, crowns, priority attributes
The stat screen marks its own conclusions. A thumbs up icon on a stat means that stat is favorable. A crown icon means that stat has hit maximum potential.
Players call maxing an attribute crowning, and doing it on two of them double crowning. That is the target most people are chasing when they talk about a finished creature.
The game also designates two of a creature's stats as its priority attributes. Those are the ones worth checking first, because a favorable roll on a priority attribute is worth more to you than the same roll somewhere the creature does not lean.
Three things that are not potential
A sparkling potential aura is easy to misread. It is not the same as a shiny variant. Seeing the sparkle tells you about potential, not rarity of appearance.
Alpha status is the second trap. An Alpha does not guarantee a high-potential Aniimo. You still have to open the stat screen.
And low potential does not mean worthless. Creatures with low potential can still hold value, so a bad roll is not automatically a release. Worth knowing early: both starter Aniimo already have maximum potential for combat rating, so the first two creatures you own are not a fair sample of what you will be catching.
Where to start
Use the grade as a first filter and the stat screen as the real check. Perfect tells you a creature is worth investing in. The six attribute values, the two priority stats, and the crowns tell you whether this particular Perfect is the one you keep.
Questions this answers
Each of these is answered on its own page, with the sources behind it.
Built from 13 facts gathered before launch, each checked against the sources it came from. How we know this, and who we learned it from.