Umamusume Pretty Derby can feel quite challenging to learn and master, especially in the early stages when you're learning the systems. If you've felt overwhelmed by the 200+ skills with several categories, you're not alone. That's why we've compiled a list of the best skills in Umamusume Pretty Derby.
All Meta Skills List in Umamusume Pretty Derby Explained
Some skills in Umamusume are definitely superior to others and can be considered meta. Even with the best characters and best Support cards, you need the right skills. Not every skill is universally applicable, and most skills will shine or be useless depending on the situation you're in.
However, certain skills will yield the most consistent performance. We're going to review the top meta skills in Umamusume Pretty Derby from each category. We've included all the S-tier skills that are must-picks if you can get them.
Best Passive Skills
The best passive skills in Umamusume have simple activation conditions and are generally useful in most situations.
| Skill Name | Conditions | Description (EN) | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| End Closer Savvy | You're an end closer | Boosts your FOV and wisdom while chasing near the end of the race | Wisdom up (60) FOV up (10) |
| Front Runner Savvy | You're a front runner | Widens your FOV and gives a big wisdom boost when leading | Wisdom up (60) FOV up (10) |
| Late Surger Savvy | You're a late surger | Enhances FOV and wisdom when making a late push | Wisdom up (60) FOV up (10) |
| Left-Handed | Race runs counterclockwise | Grants a strong speed boost on counterclockwise tracks | Speed stat up (60) |
| Lone Wolf | You're the only one with this skill | Increases your speed if you're the only one in the race with Lone Wolf | Speed stat up (40) |
| Pace Chaser Savvy | You're a pace chaser | Improves FOV and wisdom during mid-race when pacing behind leaders | Wisdom up (60) FOV up (10) |
| Right-Handed | Race runs clockwise | Grants a strong speed boost on clockwise tracks | Speed up (60) |
Best Stamina/Recovery Skills
Stamina is akin to your health in Umamusume, and stamina recovery skills enable your Uma to maintain its pace and acceleration, especially towards the end of the race. These skills are incredibly important, so you should always look to pick the most consistent ones.
| Skill Name | Conditions | Description (EN) | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coner Recovery | A random corner is selected. | At a random corner, your stamina will slightly recover. | Stamina Recover (0.015) |
| Gourmand | You're a pace chaser. Activates at a random point in the mid-race. | Leader – Slightly recover stamina in the middle leg. | Stamina Recover (0.055) |
| Hydrate | You're a pace chaser. Activates at a random point in the mid-race. | Leader – Slightly recover stamina in middle leg. | Stamina Recover (0.015) |
| Preferred Position | You're a pace chaser. Activates mid-race when you're in the first half of the pack. | Leader – Become slightly harder to tire during the middle leg. | Stamina Recover (0.015) |
| Race Planner | You're a pace chaser. Activates mid-race when you're in the first half of the pack. | Leader – If you're in the first half of the pack at a random point during the middle leg, recover stamina. | Stamina Recover (0.055) |
| Swinging Maestro | A random corner is selected. | At a random corner, your stamina will recover. | Stamina Recover (0.055) |
Skills such as Swinging Maestro are incredibly useful, as each track has corners.
Best Speed Skills
At ProGameGuides, we believe speed is a crucial factor in winning races. Here are some of the best speed skills to increase your Uma's velocity. The skills chosen below are all fairly cheap, straightforward, and are great to use if you can acquire them for your Uma. All of these skills provide a flat speed boost of 0.25.
| Skill Name | Conditions |
|---|---|
| End Closer Corners | End Closer, on a corner |
| End Closer Straightaways | End Closer, on a straight |
| Front Runner Corners | Front Runner, on a corner |
| Front Runner Straightaways | Front Runner, on a straight |
| Late Surger Straightaways | Late Surger, on a straight |
| Later Surger Corners | Late Surger, on a corner |
| Long Corners | Long race, on a corner |
| Long Straightaways | Long race, on a straight |
| Medium Corners | Medium race, on a corner |
| Medium Straightaways | Medium race, on a straight |
| Mile Corners | Mile race, on a corner |
| Mile Straightaways | Mile race, on a straight |
| Pace Chaser Corners | Pace Chaser, on a corner |
| Pace Chaser Straightaways | Pace Chaser, on a straight |
| Sprint Corners | Sprint race, on a corner |
| Sprint Straightaways | Sprint race, on a straight |
Best Acceleration Skills
Similar to speed, but also different, acceleration impacts how quickly your Uma can reach its top speed. There are several great options to choose from.
| Skill Name | Conditions | Description (EN) | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burning Spirit GUTS | Late-race | Speed and acceleration scale with total Guts stat. | Speed ↑ (0.25 base), Accel ↑ (0.3 base) |
| Burning Spirit PWR | Late-race | Acceleration scales with total Power stat. | Accel ↑ (0.4 base) |
| Encroaching Shadow | End closer, last spurt, on straight | Boosts acceleration during the last spurt straights. | Accel ↑ (0.4) |
| Furious Feat | Mile race, back half, late-race | Boosts acceleration if behind in the mile final leg. | Accel ↑ (0.4) |
| Ignited Spirit GUTS | Late-race | Speed & acceleration scale with total Guts stat. | Speed ↑ (0.05 base), Accel ↑ (0.1 base) |
| Ignited Spirit PWR | Late-race | Acceleration scales with total Power stat. | Accel ↑ (0.2 base) |
| On Your Left! | Late surger, back half, late-race | Boosts acceleration when not in the lead in the final leg. | Accel ↑ (0.4) |
| Slick Surge | Late surger, back half, late-race | Slight accel boost when behind in final leg. | Accel ↑ (0.2) |
| Straightaway Spurt | End closer, last spurt, on straight | Slight accel boost during the last spurt straights. | Accel ↑ (0.2) |
| Updrafters | Mile race, back half, late-race | Slight accel boost when behind in mile final leg. | Accel ↑ (0.2) |
Best Debuff Skills
Debuff skills can make a huge impact on your races as they can inflict panic or reduce opponent stats. They can help close the gap by slowing down the leader or by debuffing chasers. They're incredibly useful, and there are plenty of good ones to choose from. Here are 10 of the best debuff skills in Umamusume.
| Skill Name | Conditions | Description | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-Seeing Eyes | Late surger, back half | Flusters nearby rivals in the final leg. | Stamina drain (-0.03), all in FoV |
| Frenzied End Closers | Rushing end closer present | Extends panic duration for enemy chasers. | Panic time +5s, enemy end closers |
| Frenzied Front Runners | Rushing front runner present | Extends panic duration for enemy runners. | Panic time +5s, enemy front runners |
| Frenzied Late Surgers | Rushing late surger present | Extends panic duration for enemy betweeners. | Panic time +5s, enemy late surgers |
| Frenzied Pace Chasers | Rushing pace chaser present | Extends panic duration for enemy leaders. | Panic time +5s, enemy pace chasers |
| Hesitant End Closers | End closer in the race | Slows enemy chasers in the final leg. | Speed ↓ (-0.15), enemy end closers |
| Hesitant Front Runners | Front runner in a race | Slows enemy runners in the final leg. | Speed ↓ (-0.15), enemy front runners |
| Hesitant Late Surgers | Late surger in a race | Slows enemy betweeners in the final leg. | Speed ↓ (-0.15), enemy late surgers |
| Hesitant Pace Chasers | Pace chaser in a race | Slows enemy leaders in the final leg. | Speed ↓ (-0.15), enemy pace chasers |
| Sharp Gaze | Late surger, back half | Flusters visible rivals during the final leg. | Stamina drain (-0.01), all in FoV |
That concludes our list of the best S-tier skills in Umamusume Pretty Derby. A deserved shoutout to the community spreadsheet, which helped inform this list. Meanwhile, be sure to check out our Umamusume: Pretty Derby Character Tier List.
Hamza is first and foremost someone who loves videogames and has matched his love for gaming with journalism for the past 4 years. Whether it's the biggest hype release or the new flavor of the month he'll be there to cover it. Guilty pleasures include League of Legends, TFT, Wuthering Waves and Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel. He's always looking for that new game world to get lost into.