# Genes, Stats & Rarity

A **CAThlete** is an *in-game character* that takes part in competitions, can be upgraded and crossbred. The word comes from *‘cat’ + ‘athlete’*, hinting on both their appearance and running skills. Each CAThlete is generated with a unique set of **genes** that determine their ***appearance, stats, and rarity***. The values of the stats significantly affect the chance to win in a particular running discipline.

The total sum of a CAThlete's stats + bonus points by the clothes it wears make up **CAThleticism**, the major parameter for CAThlete classification in PvP.\
There are 6 **genes** (body parts) that each CAThlete has:

* tail;
* body;
* ears;
* environment;
* color;
* muzzle.

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Each gene is attributed with stats points and has its rarity, which determines the **max potential stats** of a CAThlete and its **rarity**. There are 5 **rarity** categories of CAThletes, genes and NFT items:

* common;
* uncommon;
* rare;
* epic;
* legendary.

<mark style="background-color:green;">**A CAThlete’s rarity is defined by the highest rarity of its genes**</mark><mark style="background-color:green;">.</mark>

Rarity affects the <mark style="background-color:yellow;">**energy pool**</mark> of a CAThlete: rare, epic and legend CAThletes have more energy points than common and uncommon once.

**Rarity also affects Energy cooldown time**: the *higher the rarity* of a CAThlete is, the *less time* it will take to restore 1 energy:

��*Common* - 3 energies; 2 hours per unit;

��*Uncommon* - 4 energies; 1 hour 45 minutes per unit;

��*Rare* - 6 energies; 1 hour 30 minutes per unit;

��*Epic* - 8 energies; 1 hour 15 minutes per unit;

��*Legendary* - 12 energies; 1 hour per unit.

{% hint style="info" %}
Learn more about a special attribute - [Rainbow Eyes](https://docs.walken.io/cathletes/rainbow-eyed-cathletes).
{% endhint %}

There are three main characteristics or stats that each CAThlete has: **strength**, **speed** and **stamina**. Its set of genes is random and unique, and there are **genetically predetermined maximums** on stamina, strength and speed.

The stats of a CAThlete grow with each **level-up by 10%** of their potential maximums. Moreover, **items** from the Marketplace and Mysberries also boost stats. So there is always room for improvement!