Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Your beginner's guide to horse-girls

Don’t be the trainer that misses out on crucial info when they first start. The tutorial may be lengthy, but it’ll give you a basic overview of Umamusume, how they function and what you need to know mechanics-wise. Admittedly, it’s very much ‘on rails’, but that means you won’t be at risk of failing, and it also offers a brief overview of the Umamusume world to boot.

Before you can use your Umamusume in another mode, you’ll first need to complete a Career with them. Completing Career mode helps boost their stats and is crucial to performing well in other modes. You’ll need to do this for every Umamusume you scout, by-the-by, but you’ll easily recognise those that’ve made it because they’re marked as ‘Veteran.'

The Make Debut is the most crucial part of any Career. Unless you win this first, you won’t have access to other races until you win a Maiden Race. So even if you’re just starting, try to pick a certain stat to boost and push for it. That way, you’ll have a feasible strategy that gives you the best chance of winning the debut.

Friend Support Cards aren’t just flavour. Equipping the right ones means that you can gain Skill Hints, which open up new skills to be learned. Don’t fret too much about picking the correct one, as you’ll have the ‘auto-equip’ option to take advantage of, which will automatically assign some top cards to make use of. When you pick a training option, take a look at the top right corner and see which characters will help with training.

Umamusume is not a simple numbers game, and while it may be tempting to train all the time with only breaks to rest, this means you may miss out on both story and other opportunities. Keeping your bond with an Umamusume lets you get to know each individual racer, and the right Friend Support card will unlock a chain of events that offers many buffs, potentially including another skill hint!

Started a Career playthrough? Good trainer, you’re on the way to success. But notice that little ‘Potential Level’ marker? Well, that’s the key to even greater heights. Because that signifies how high you can bring up a Trainee (non-Veteran) Umamusume’s level. Go to ‘enhance’ and use gathered materials to increase their potential level and unlock new skills they can learn. Remember, Veterans have fixed stats, but you can train up more ‘versions’ of a single Umamusume and raise their potential with this system.

In Umamusume: Pretty Derby, once the race starts, it’s out of your hands. Depending on all manner of attributes, your Umamusume may pull a real rabbit out of the hat or suffer an unexpected loss. However, learning more skills ensures you have plenty to choose from, especially as some only activate in certain circumstances. An Umamusume will also have their own distinct skills they already know and can be further upgraded. Be careful! Because you won’t be able to reset them, despite what the button says, that’s only for before you actually buy the skills!

For those not used to the gacha genre, you may wonder where all those goodies that showed up for your login rewards have gone. Tap the ‘present’ icon (it’ll bounce around and have a number next to it) to claim them and actually add them to your inventory, else they’ll languish there. As of the time of writing (early August) the recent global release means’s now is a good time to jump in with plenty of login rewards and boosts. And be wary of the fact that certain presents will expire if unclaimed.

In the Menu, you’ll find that the bottom has a Help & Glossary button. Simply tap that to open the official glossary and Help page. This is especially useful since you don’t have tooltips for individual words that might require clarification. It works best on mobile, though, so desktop players are a little out of luck where that’s concerned.

While we’ll get into this in our Umamusume: Pretty Derby tier list, there’s a surprising amount of leeway for performance. Take Gold Ship, for example, who is exactly as temperamental as her real-life inspiration. But for every race she throws, there’s another that she really shouldn’t win that this wonder will blaze through. Don’t hesitate to show a little favouritism if you want your personal favourite to get a chance to shine.

I’m a firm believer that there are very few solely mobile or PC players out there. Maybe console, but even that’s a line which is blurring. In which case, why not link your Umamusume account between mobile and PC? You’ll get the best of both worlds and be able to play via the big screen when at home, or small screen when out and about!

Overall, Umamusume is a surprisingly player-friendly gacha. And when it comes to enticing people who’d otherwise be sceptical to try, the innovative idea, flashy graphics and of course that familiar campy charm are always welcome in a market that’s increasingly swinging between being super-serious or super-cheesy.

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Umamusume: Pretty Derby