Vortex Gaming

· Awakening Levels 6 and 7, which were mentioned in last year's developer letter, are finally being added.
· The main content includes the addition of awakening skills and an increased hint level enhancement cap.
· The most notable point is that an event will occur where you can definitively acquire the 'Kiremono' condition upon reaching Awakening Level 7. (Voice actor mentioned 2x probability, but its credibility is low)
· 'Kiremono' is so important that it can create about a 1000 skill point difference, and using Special Week can create 1000 more skill points than existing Umamusume, making it a viable option.
· Awakening level-ups, especially reaching Level 7, require the 'Hero's Medallion' item.
· This item can only be acquired about 13 times per month in total (max 9 from PvP races, max 4 from the shop), so it's important to collect them steadily each month.

· One new character is scheduled to be added in March, April, and May respectively. There are criticisms that the character addition frequency is very slow.
· Special Week and Tokai Teio will acquire skills corresponding to Tokyo 2400m, while Silence Suzuka will acquire skills corresponding to Tokyo 1800m.
· In particular, Silence Suzuka is already frequently used in mile races, so there's a high possibility she will become very powerful with this enhancement.
· Characters with added Awakening Levels 6 and 7 will also have their unique skills changed.
· Special Week's unique skill 'Shooting Star' has its duration increased from 5 seconds to 6 seconds, boosting both acceleration and speed effects.
· 'Harapeko Taishi' has had a Chaser condition added to its existing Leader skill, making it easier to operate as a Chaser.

· Awakening Level 6 skill 'Star's Sparkle' has a non-inheritable mark (blue) and provides a current speed of 2500 (2 seconds) and acceleration for 2 seconds. It's very powerful when activated during the final spurt.
· Awakening Level 7 skill 'Flowing Fortune' is a very powerful evolved skill that grants speed 4500 (4 seconds) in Tokyo 2400m races.
· However, Special Week's other evolved skill, 'Full Throttle,' can be acquired in the scenario, which effectively means she's missing one gold skill.
· Although the June Champions Meeting will be held at Tokyo 2400m, 'Full Throttle' is guaranteed to be acquired in that scenario, reducing Special Week's merit.
· Aside from the advantage of easily selecting 'Kiremono,' other powerful characters like Almond Eye, Jungle Pocket, Still in Love, and Orfevre might be more viable.
· This Champions Meeting is expected to be an unprecedented melee.

· A 6-month event plan has been announced, making it easier to plan for inheritance farming and training.
· Late July is expected to be a long-distance race (predicted: Kyoto 3200m), August a turf middle-distance (predicted: Sapporo 2000m), and September a turf mile (predicted: Tokyo 1800m, considering Silence Suzuka's enhancement).
· Official training tips from the management for the April Champions Meeting (Dirt) have been released.
· The increase in speed skill effect is greatest when Intelligence stats are between 1400 and 1600, and there's no need to force it above 1600.

· The Masters Challenge has been held, providing an opportunity to acquire jewels.
· Taiko Blazky's evolved skill 'Exchange Heavy Injury Demon' has had its activation condition changed from 'if it's an exchange heavy injury' to 'if in perfect condition,' increasing its utility in races like Dirt 2000m.
· While Falco and others are strong in the Pretty Derby Gacha, it's better to prioritize the ongoing Step-Up Gacha.
· The Intelligence Gacha is not recommended except for Forever Young.
· In mid-April, an Agnes Tachyon inheritance research event will take place, which can be used for inheritance farming for the Champions Meeting or League of Heroes.

· Sakura Bakushin O is expected to be very powerful in the next League of Heroes short-distance race.
· Growth Rate: Speed 15%, Power 15%, Intelligence 5%, which is decent.
· Unique Skill: Speed increases when in the lead or leading at the midpoint of the race, and in short-distance races, current speed further increases. Effectively a mid-race speed skill of 6000 speed (4 seconds), with very high mid-race power. LoH condition is 1st-5th place.
· Evolved Skill 1 'Flashing Spark': A short-distance skill that grants current speed 2500 (2.4 seconds) at the start, advantageous for maintaining an early lead.
· Evolved Skill 2 'Fierce Charge': An evolved skill of 'Oshinoitte,' acceleration increases when in the lead or attempting to overtake early in the final spurt. Acceleration 4000 (1.5 seconds) is very effective in short-distance races and highly stable.
· New Skill 'Ose Mood': A skill that grants random acceleration 2000 (1.8 seconds) in the latter half of the final spurt, essential for LoH.
· Overall: Possesses powerful acceleration skills on her own and has very high mid-race power, potentially surpassing Aston Mach's specs. This character is a must-have if aiming for League of Heroes 96. Careful selection of 'Kiremono' is important.

· North Flight is not weak, but her operation is somewhat tricky.
· Aptitude: Chaser A, operated as a Chaser.
· Growth Rate: Speed 15%, Power 5%, Intelligence 10%. 15% Speed might be excessive for mile training.
· Unique Skill: Speed increases when in the middle to late part of the race, and in mile races, the duration increases if she maintains a rear position. While it grants speed 3500 (6 seconds) when maintaining 5th-9th place in mile races, the rank condition is unstable, leading to low reliability.
· Evolved Skill 1 'Passion': Mid-to-late race random, speed 3500 (2.4 seconds) under Champions Meeting 4th-9th place condition. Upon evolution, it consumes 200 stamina in the final straight and grants current speed 2500 (2.4 seconds). Stamina consumption can be a burden.
· Evolved Skill 2 'Exceptional Sharpness': Increased acceleration early in the final spurt when maintaining a rear position, increased current speed early in the final phase. Acceleration 4000 (1.2 seconds) + current speed 1500 (3 seconds). Condition relaxation is the main improvement.
· Overall: Can be considered for Chaser mile training, but due to unstable rank conditions and many powerful Leader/Betweener characters in the mile environment, her adoption priority is low.

· Guts Dialing Tact:
· Unique Bonus: Skill Point Bonus + Speed Bonus each 1 when bond is 80 or higher.
· Performance is not bad, but its possessed skills ('Broadcast Instinct', 'Rushing Soul') are biased towards the final spurt, making it unsuitable for the current meta where mid-race skills are important.
· Common Skill 'Aun's Breath': Mid-race random speed 1500 (2.4 seconds). When 1 blue inheritor is added, speed becomes 2500, making it very powerful and an essential skill for inheritance farming.

· Guts Dialing Heart:
· A superior version of Dialing Tact, generally excellent with 10% higher training effect, 5% higher friendship bonus, higher race bonus, and relaxed unique bonus conditions.
· Possesses many versatile skills like 'Favorable Formation' (mid-race skill) and 'Preparation,' and 'Aun's Breath' can also be acquired.
· It is only efficient in mile and middle-distance 2000m races; for 2200m or longer, stamina training is often more advantageous, limiting its use.
· While its performance is good, its narrow scope of use means it might be more efficient to borrow it rather than pull it directly.

· You can acquire the 'Makinaoshi' skill from the distributed support card.
· 'Makinaoshi' is a skill with very good efficiency, so it's worth utilizing for inheritance farming.