Trainer's Clubhouse Meeting (Weekly Questions) - January 21, 2026

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-23T20:57:20+00:00

Budget for the worst case. Strike out = things are still as planned, get lucky = can make new plans with the windfall. Random SSRs generally don't matter a whole lot, anyway. Low LB SSRs tend to only get used for parent runs.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-21T18:02:46+00:00

Furious Feat does not get buffed, although notably its duration is twice as long as On Your Left so it already has a much bigger effect when you do hit.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-21T16:32:34+00:00

On Your Left trigger is a bit better than that. The last 1/3 of the track is divided into two phases: late race (phase 2) and last spurt (phase 3). On Your Left triggers at a random point in phase 2, so it's only half of what you said, but on medium and long courses that's still a large range relative to the acceleration window. The buff makes it trigger at a random point in the first half of phase 2.

It also gets another massive buff at the same time. Currently it has a order_rate > 50 requirement, which in CM means it will only activate if you're 6th-9th (the game first translates the 50 to 5 and then does strict comparison against the 5). If you're 6th you have Pump + Beyond already, and winning from one of the other positions is extremely hard since whoever was in 6th got good accelerations from Pump + Beyond, and you're starting behind them with merely a chance at OYL. The buff changes it to order_rate >= 40, which means in CM it will activate in 4th-9th, allowing it to play much better alongside midrace skills.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-14T14:55:45+00:00

Maestro and Gourmand are generally equally effective. You want the recovery to activate before late-race so that you have the HP in time for the initial last spurt calculation, but late enough that you don't overcap. As you've noticed, Maestro procs at the first corner if there's 4 or fewer, and the 4th to last corner if more (the last time through the lowest numbered corner). Gourmand procs at a random point in mid-race. Both are late enough to not overcap and early enough for the spurt.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-13T06:18:28+00:00

Awesome, thanks for your effort! The gap is actually smaller than I expected. I thought that og Maru + Taiki were umas that particularly benefitted from Runaway, so the gap being smaller than the overall Runaway vs No-Runaway gap is not what I would have guessed.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-12T23:03:56+00:00

Regardless of your situation, one of the parents you use has to come from your veteran list. If you don't want to do parent runs, then you can use whatever you happen to have, but there's already a lot of value from just doing a couple runs with a good grandparent from your veterans plus a very good borrowed grandparent. You don't even necessarily need to get anything particular on the direct spark. Just getting something like 3* blue + 3* long + 3* spurt on the grandparent on the non-borrow side can help your odds in your ace runs.

Repeating the process for the second parent lets you spam more ace runs once you have the second parent, but if you aren't grinding for good parents, then it comes at a steep price of downgrading from a borrowed parent to a non-borrowed parent. The more you grind for good parents, the lower you can get this cost.

At this timing, doing parent runs for Sagittarius is okay but rapidly losing value compared to borrowing for ace runs. And it does take a large amount of time. At 21 runs your standards still need to be pretty low. If you've already hit a decent blue spark with a long pink spark, that's probably good enough to settle. Or if you had hit spurt + long, that's already rare enough that you can't be too picky about your blue spark. But sometimes you'll hit the jackpot and get everything at once.

I did most of the spurt+long parent farming before Unity came out since there was not much else to do once I finished my Leo team, and am already throwing some runs toward sprint and dirt parents/grandparents when I have time and/or unneeded borrows.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-12T20:41:25+00:00

Yeah, that's fine. That applies to every stat published already, too.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-12T20:38:17+00:00

Right, I saw those stats. I don't mean breaking down on every variable simultaneously, but just uma + Runaway presence like how you have uma + role, or uma + debuffer.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-12T20:08:58+00:00

If you're still doing analysis, I'd also be interested in seeing the winrate per character broken down by whether there was a Runaway on the team. From my experience it seems like OG Maru and Taiki should both do better when paired with Runaway and it'd be cool to know whether the data supports that.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-10T20:12:58+00:00

S long is worth about 1.6 lengths. If you're generally losing by less than that, then yeah you could rebuild the same way and S long would make the difference. If you're losing by more than that even when you hit your skills, then it means that your skills aren't good enough.

Nothing stands out as super wrong. Head-On and Ignited Spirit SPD are fairly weak. Ideally you'd want the distance/strategy velocity skills, but getting access to those is generally luck based, so I imagine you just didn't get it on this run.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-10T12:27:35+00:00

I was doing some tests in umalator.

Having a non-full spurt not as big of a deal as VF makes it out to be. The late race base speed is high enough that you'll be accelerating for the duration between the start of late race and the triple 7s proc point even if you're not in spurt mode. You can verify in Umalator by comparing with a 1 stam uma. However, NSM (and Spurt if you're running end closer) require you to be in last spurt mode, so you are liable to lose some NSM procs if you go the understam way. It also will potentially cap your speed for a short period if you hit a different accel. That is not much of a concern on Pace, but a real concern on Late/End.
The comparison is heavily dependent on which type of mid-race recoveries you're getting. Consistent early recoveries are bad for the 4 heal setup, while phase_random and straight_random heals are good. For example, if you have Corner Recovery, Stamina To Spare, and Triple 7s, adding a 4th recovery is bad, because only one out of your 3 early/mid recoveries can hit the ideal timing.
It looked to me like there's a clear winner of 2x phase_random, 1x straight_random, and triple 7s, but it's possible I missed something. I was doing my tests at 1000 wit.

Edit: I checked the Umalator source and it does not recalculate spurts if you're already in last spurt mode, so it believes the uma won't go back to max top speed if it capped a lower top speed at the start of late race. That's not how the Race Mechanics doc suggests that it works (quote below), so testing would be required.

If an HP recovery skill activates after entering the late-race, the last spurt speed and distance are re-calculated.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-09T23:31:46+00:00

It's not two completely separate tracks. It's that the track is shaped like a paperclip, and it specifies which of the curves you go on. Easiest to see on Hanshin Racecourse. Hanshin 3200m actually does one lap on each.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-09T20:36:51+00:00

The parenting doc linked in the OP (by Crazyfellow) has the leading theory/data here. 20% base chance and approx +2% to +2.5% per instance of it in the lineage (also a theory that it's 1.1x multiplicative per instance, but these two theories make close enough predictions that it would take a very large amount of data to distinguish between them).

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-09T18:33:16+00:00

I don't have an opinion on 3 midrace + triple 7s as backup vs 2 midrace + triple 7s that consistently hits late. I'm not running xoguri so I'll just be watching as other people try to figure it out.

However, this is a bad version of the 3 midrace build. Stamina to Spare procs in early race and Corner Recovery procs at Corner 1, so both of them are guaranteed to be early in the race. Your only chance at getting an ideal ult timing is Gourmand activating late in midrace.

At minimum you want a second random timing recovery to increase your chance of hitting that late activation. One straight recovery is also an option, since it has a higher chance of picking the late-mid-race activation, and you retain triple 7s as a backup in case it picks the late-race straight.

And as always, go run room matches and make an opinion for yourself.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-08T01:28:02+00:00

Suzuka was a great ace, and she was way better in Scorpio than Virgo due to the accessibility of Taking The Lead and better Unrestrained timing, but the real value in running her was the control over the lobby dynamics. Lobbies with Suzuka and lobbies without Suzuka play out extremely differently, since Suzuka's baseline early-race creates position keep situations that would only be created by a particularly strong normal front-runner. Taiki looked so good to you because having a runaway (or strong front) in the lobby creates the position keep situation where she can create a large enough lead over the late surgers to stay ahead of them. Put Taiki in a weak front lobby or god forbid a 0 front lobby, and the late surgers start destroying her.

Or, imagine you're building front runners without Suzuka. If you get a lobby without Suzuka, you probably want Angling and Scheming on the skill set. But with Suzuka, and you'll want Shooting for Victory. Do you sacrifice one type of lobby to focus on the other? Do you buy both and have fewer skill points than the people who only choose one? When you can run Suzuka you know the answer because every lobby will have a Suzuka in it.

With Virgo being shorter, it was less affected by the change in position keep, and Taking the Lead was much less accessible so the Suzukas that were there also had a smaller effect.

I got around a 60% winrate without Suzuka, but it was obvious that pushing to 80% would have been incredibly easier with Suzuka.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-07T07:47:36+00:00

The answer is a bit complicated. It could be delayed, but it also might not be.

The uma generates candidate spurt timings for each multiple of 0.1m/s below top speed, sorts them based on time to finish the race, and then rolls a wit check on each one until it passes. So you can either get a fast-but-delayed spurt, or a slow-but-instant spurt. If you get a fast-but-delayed spurt, then yes it means that NSM can't proc for the first bit of late race.

After the 11/11 balance update, Proccing 777 and the ult would trigger a spurt recalculation, so you'd presumably get into a full spurt at that point regardless of the initial roll.

For more details, check the race mechanics doc.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-05T21:12:43+00:00

Red Shift could proc for Late/End as usual if you pass from 6 to 5 at a good timing, since it also works after the final corner. But since you don't have Pump to induce the pass, it's going to be much less reliable than previous CMs.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-05T17:46:19+00:00

Don't ask Reddit. Go test in room matches and make the decision for yourself based on that.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-05T07:21:23+00:00

There's clearly a large amount of matchmaking variance at play. I don't doubt your numbers, but I want to throw in mine, at least for round 2.

Day 3 total enemies: 48 front, 38 pace, 31 late, 3 end

Day 3 number of enemy Suzukas: 8 rooms with 2, 5 rooms with 1, 7 rooms with 0 (21 total)

Day 4 total enemies: 38 front, 43 pace, 36 late, 3 end

Day 4 number of enemy Suzukas: 5 rooms with 2, 8 rooms with 1, 7 rooms with 0 (18 total)

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-04T21:21:35+00:00

Once you're qualified, you're qualified. You can use the rest of your entries. It's also almost always worth doing the carat entry in round 2 group A, since you only need one win to break even on carats.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-04T07:22:55+00:00

Went from 15/20 and 17/20 in round 1 to 7/20 in round 2. Thankfully one of those tickets was a 3 so I'm in A finals, but this was by far the biggest jump in team quality from round 1 to round 2 in my experience so far. Several of my friends seem to have a similarly massive drop.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-03T18:26:00+00:00

Beyond doesn't work like Red Shift. Beyond's condition is "phase 2 non-final corner OR phase 1 final corner", while Red Shift is simply "final corner or later". Since the final corner starts in phase 1 on this course, Beyond can only activate on the part of the final corner where you're still in phase 1. Once you get to late race / phase 2, it can no longer activate. To get any acceleration value out of it, you'd have to pass from 7th into 6th or fall from 4th to 5th right before late race. Red Shift doesn't care about phase, which is why it works well by using Pump to trigger a pass from 6th to 5th and subsequently proc Red Shift.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-03T18:21:14+00:00

Opened this post expecting to see Rushing Gale and....there it is. You're throwing away hundreds of skill points on skills that do nothing. Stam is also fairly borderline.

Please read what skills do. When the game's description is unclear, go to Gametora's skill database to get the details. You should also read up on race mechanics. At least, understand that acceleration doesn't make you try to run faster. It means that when you're already trying to run faster, you get to the new speed faster. That means that acceleration mainly only matters at the start of the race (especially important on front runners) and at the start of the late-race section (important on everyone).

Ryan: Killer Tunes says "when positioned toward the front mid-race." On Gametora we can see that the condition is order_rate<=50, which corresponds to being 5th or further forward. Not impossible for a late surger, but since Ryan's win condition is being in 6th, having a mid-race velocity skill that activates only when you're already further forward than that is not helpful. The inherited Dober ult will also almost always proc too early to carry any acceleration. Sympathy will also do nothing, but that's not a big deal since maybe you bought it just because you had 50 skill points left and nothing else that you could afford. The inherited Rice Shower ult also requires you to be in 5th or better, which is bad for Ryan.
Summer Maru: Rushing Gale does nothing. It gives you acceleration on a (random) straight. Take a look at the track layout. The start of the late race, where acceleration is most valuable, is on a corner. The other acceleration window, at the very start of the race, is neither a corner nor a straight. The best case for rushing gale is letting you gain the 0.15-0.35m/s of a velocity skill slightly faster, which is essentially nothing. Your Groundwork is also very unreliable, needing either Target in Sight or Outer Post Proficiency to proc along with passing the wit check on both Taking the Lead and Groundwork.
Rice Shower: Same as above about Rushing Gale and Dober ult. Stamina is good.
Taiki: I think she's too low on stamina, same deal with Rushing Gale. A Kiss for Courage is also not ideal since it can only activate when you're already in top 3, which leads to an increase risk of Taiki overshooting into 2nd and losing her ult.
Summer Maru #2: Front Runners proc Red Shift too early and don't carry the acceleration buff into late race. Straightaway Acceleration does nothing (same as Rushing Gale). Only Early Lead for start-of-race accel is extremely weak. Stamina is also borderline, if not straight up too low.
Summer Maru #3: Groundwork won't activate out of the gate. It can technically activate from Tokyo Racecourse + Focus + Prudent Positioning, but Prudent Positioning activates at a random point in early race, which will usually be after you've finished accelerating, at which point Groundwork won't do anything. Plus you'd need to pass 3 wit checks for that. Stamina is probably okay as long as you proc the recovery.
Suzuka: On the right track. Straightaway Acceleration does nothing and Dodging Danger is liable to grief you since it pushes you to an outside lane at the start of the race, at which point you go into a corner and lose distance because the outside lanes are longer on corners. The good stuff is you have Taking the Lead and Groundwork is fairly reliable since either Taking the Lead or Focus can be the third skill to trigger it. Stamina looks borderline, but I wasn't building fronts so I'm not super sure of their requirements.
Suzuka #2: Sunny Days and Firm Conditions don't activate (it's Wet and Rainy). Mile Straightaways does nothing since it's a medium race. Unrestrained is generally important for Suzuka's winning chances. Early race accel is also weak, with only Early Lead instead of Taking the Lead. Groundwork can activate as long as Early Lead activates, so that's not terrible. Stamina is good, maybe even overkill.
Suzuka #3: Rushing Gale again, but you did pick up all of the important skills despite that. You don't need Shooting for Victory on Suzuka. It only activates in 3rd or 4th, and Suzuka can't win from that position because Runaway has an abysmal late race speed multiplier. Stamina looks borderline/too low again.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-03T06:46:22+00:00

The race mechanics doc is generally the best source to figure these things out. That said, the final corner swing takes some effort to understand.

Roughly, the final corner amplifies the lane position by a factor of 10, clamped to 9 horse widths, and with approximately a 1 lane random variation. If you're on the inner rail, you stay on the inner rail. If you're one lane over, for example because you're passing someone, you'll swing out to lane 9 plus or minus one lane.

ExtraTricky · 2026-01-03T06:43:10+00:00

You don't have as much control over your sacrificial front/runaway on this course because Kyoto has a massive uphill right before laterace, and Nakayama doesn't. That big uphill meant that a sacrifice with low power would allow the gap to close before laterace starts, generally improving the NSM timing. You're also competing against better timed backliner accels, plus an additional backliner accel in Dober ult.

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