Fire Emblem Heroes (FEH)

When Should You Unlock Potential? Will IVs Change?

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When Should You Unlock Potential.png

Unlocking Potential is one of the many ways where you can power-up your favorite units in FEH! Because this process costs quite a lot of resources, you might be wondering when it is the best time to use this feature. To know more about Unlock Potential, please read on!

What is Unlock Potential?

Raise a Character's Rarity or Number of Stars

Unlock Potential raises a characters' number of stars. This gives better stats and access to more powerful skills. Access to these skills opens them both up for combat usage or for fodder.

A Hero's Level is Reset Upon Unlocking Potential

Cordelia Unlock Potential.jpg

Take note that upon unlocking a unit's potential, their level is reset to 1 regardless of how much EXP they have. You can take advantage of this feature to get lots of EXP! It is discussed in the next section of this article.

Hero Feathers are Required

You will need Hero Feathers to unlock a unit's potential. Below is a table that lists the number of feathers required according to a unit's rarity.


Rarity
Hero Feather Icon Hero Feather
1 ⇨ 2 20
2 ⇨ 3 200
3 ⇨ 4 2,000
4 ⇨ 5 20,000

Recommended Conditions for Unlock Potential

Unlock Potential at Lv. 40 for Useful/Favorite Units

Since SP is kept upon Unlock Potential, you can take advantage of the SP gain in lower rarities, then use your Hero Feathers, then have SP gained through training through levels again. However, it will be tedious to train 1★ to 3★ units. So, you may want to unlock their potential when they hit Lv. 20.

Unlock Potential at Lv. 1 for Fodder Units

A skill does not need to be learned in order for you to be able to fodder it off. This means that you can unlock a unit's potential off the bat if you just intend to get a skill at a certain rarity.

Best Heroes for Unlock Potential

Arvis IconArvis Black Knight IconBlack Knight Xander IconXander Reinhardt IconReinhardt
Camus IconCamus Winter Cecilia IconWinter Cecilia Kronya IconKronya Klein IconKlein

Above are some units available at 4★ and 3★ rarities that get a huge powerboost upong reaching 5★. All but Klein in this sample size are obtainable from using Heroic Grails. This means that you can obtain your own 5★ +10 unit in time if you focus enough resources on getting one.

Alfonse - Prince of Askr IconAlfonse
[7.5/10]
Sharena - Princess of Askr IconSharena
[7.5/10]
Anna - Commander IconAnna
[7.5/10]

The Askr trio are featured in Aether Raids and the Arena as rotating bonus units. This means you can use them for you to be able to score more in these game modes. They are also featured in many quests that you can complete to get valuable resources such as Orbs.

These use cases jusitfy the small fee of 20,000 Hero Feathers per Askr member as the investment will definitely help you in the long run.

4 Star Hero Unlock Potential Tier List

Reyson PNG.png

See the 4 Star Hero Unlock Potential Tier List to know more about the heroes most worthy of promotion.

4 Star Hero Unlock Potential Tier List

Will IVs Change if I Unlock Potential?

IVs Do Not Change

IVs do not change upon unlocking potential. Both banes and boons will be kept. Make sure you know the IVs of the unit you are upgrading before promoting them to a higher rarity!

IV Checker and Calculator

Should I Unlock Potential or Just Make 4 Star Merges?

4★ +10 Merge?

Since 5★ +10 units are very expensive, it may be best to aim for 4★ +10 units depending on the situation. Of course a 5★ +10 is more powerful and 4★ units will never get access to some weapons, but for something like Arena Assault, Squad Assault or Rival Domains, you may want to opt for a large number of cheap but effective 4★+10s.

4★ +10 Merge > 5★ +0

Stat-wise 4★ +10 merges are stronger than 5★ units without merges. In fact, they are equivalent to 5★ +5 units, but are extremely cheaper. Take all these factors into consideration before deciding on which type of unit to go for!

Useful Infomation Related Links

Useful Links

Useful Information

Useful Information and Guides

Building Units

Building Your Heroes
Level Grinding | How to Level Up Fast How to Gain SP Quickly
How to Use Inherit Skill Merge Allies Guide
Heroes You Should Unlock Potential For Which Heroes Should You Send Home?
When Should You Unlock Potential? How to Use the Training Tower
Trait Fruits: How to Change IVs How to use Dragonflowers
How to Get Divine Codes How to Grind Summoner Support
How to Increase Ally Support General Tips for Building Units

Building Specific Roles

Hero Roles
Heroes with Refresher Skills List of Staff Users
Physical Wall Heroes (Tanks) Magic Wall Heroes (Res Tanks)

Beginner Guides

Beginner Guides
Five Things to Know Before Starting Reroll Tier List
Hero Building Beginner's Guide
List of All Skills How to Get Free Orbs
My Summoner Guide Should I Merge or Fodder Off Units?

Arena

Arena Guides
Arena Guide Best Arena Teams
Win 5 Battles in Arena With No Deaths Arena and Aether Raids Seasons

Aether Raids

Aether Raids Articles
Aether Guides List of Aether Raids Structures
Aether Raids Offense Guide Best Aether Raid Defense Units

Summoner Duels

Summoner Duels Articles
Summoner Duels Guide

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