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When you unlock potential for a merged unit, all the merge bonus stats gets lost because you reset to the base stat of the new rank.

I have a few duplicate characters. I'm wondering if I should unlock potential to 5 star, then merge all the 3,4 star duplicates into the 5 star.

Or should I keep the best 4 star and merge all the other 3,4 star duplicates into that one?

I'm not sure what the pros/cons are in either case, or when it's better to unlock potential vs merging when I have duplicate units.

3 Answers 3

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tl;dr: If you have 6 of the same 4* unit, then the resulting +5 merged unit will be roughly equivalent to a vanilla 5* unit. If you have more than that, then a super 4* unit will have higher stats than its 5* rarity without merge bonuses.


In general, it really depends on the unit and its general utility. For instance, some heroes do not natively come as 5* summons but are immensely powerful in the Arena, such as Cecilia. The cost to get a 5* +10 Cecilia, assuming you get 11 (1 base plus the 10 merges) 4* Cecilias would be 220,000 feathers. However, due to the fact that she is a relatively common 3 and 4* summon, you can make her more powerful than a base 5* Cecilia by merging a 4*+5 Cecilia or greater. The general consensus is that unless you plan to merge past +5 as a 5*, it is more beneficial to just merge a super 4* unit. In this instance, you'd spend 0 feathers making a 4* Cecilia that is roughly equivalent to a 5* +5 Cecilia that would've cost 120,000 feathers.

Some other heroes that can be merged into 4* units usefully are listed in this guide. These heroes include Olivia, Nino, and Donnel.

A succinct pros and cons list can also be found at that link:

Benefits

  • A +5 4-star is about equivalent to a 5-star in strength.
  • A +10 4-star is about equivalent to a +5 5-star in strength.
  • Lower feather cost.
  • Easier for stat hunting.
  • Rated highly in Arena scoring after fully merging, higher than a vanilla +0 5-star.

Limitations

  • Once a character is +10, it cannot get stronger, as upgrading that character will lose your entire merge bonuses.
  • A 5-star will be stronger if there is enough merges (+6 or higher).
  • Most of the strongest characters are 5-star exclusives.
  • Lack of access to legendary weapons unless you merge a 5-star version of the same character (for example, Chrom and Eliwood).
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Personally, I'd merge new heroes as soon as you get them (if they're of an equal or lower rarity than the one you're trying to build). If nothing else, it's worth it for the easy SP, which helps you unlock skills and weapons faster.

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Just wait. Skill inheritance means that lots of skills that are highly desired are wasted when you merge. If you really want to, check out @Vemonus's answer.

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