- Race base speed is multiplied by the speed strategy–phase coefficient for each horse. As the name suggests, SSPC is - different per running style and per race phase. It's the thing that makes runaways take off in early race, and the thing that - makes pace chaser promotion scary in late race (for those not using any of the correct running style). + Race base speed is multiplied by the speed strategy–phase coefficient for each horse. As the name suggests, SSPC is + different per running style and per race phase. It's the thing that makes runaways take off in early race, and the thing that makes + pace chaser promotion scary in late race.
Front runners, and even moreso runaways, have particularly punishing SSPC for late race. This makes sense; if they weren't @@ -373,12 +382,11 @@ the acceleration value.
- The running modes for all other running styles are pace-up, which is similar to speed-up, and paced-down, which activates + The running modes for all other running styles are pace-up, which is similar to speed-up, and pace-down, which activates whenever a horse gets what their style defines as too close to first place.
- Watch a UC late surger with 1200+ power and wit in a daily legend race. As long as they don't get blocked, they should slide forward throughout the early race. Then, around when they reach the pace chaser pack, they'll suddenly start moonwalking back to the rest of the late surgers, often near the back of the group. That's PDM.
On styles with PDM, early race and sometimes mid race speed skills are effectively converted from distance gain into HP - conservation. The thing that really makes front runners strong is that they don't have to worry about that – they aren't - subject to PDM at all. Their mid race speed skills always gain distance. + conservation. One of the things that really make front runners strong is that they don't have to worry about that – they + aren't subject to PDM at all. Their mid race speed skills always gain distance.
In medium+ races, the extra HP consumption is a serious consideration; front runners need more stamina and recoveries than @@ -478,9 +486,11 @@ precise analysis.
- However, while the details aren't yet known, it appears that spot struggle reduces conserved power, - which means that front runners who spot struggle are less likely to full charge, and the probability falls as the spot - struggle duration rises. + While the details aren't yet known, it appears that spot struggle reduces conserved power. This + means that front runners who spot struggle are less likely to full charge, and the probability falls as the spot struggle + duration rises. In my experience, this stops being a problem for 1600m and longer; my CM18 Chocobon with qualifying power + fully charged whenever she wasn't rushed. Perhaps fortunately, full charge is weakest on sprint, where spot struggle is + strongest. So, if you can make the build work, it may still be worth trying a guts build for short races.
Entering downhill accel mode requires passing a wit check. The success rate scales linearly with wit. Style aptitude does affect the chance to pass the check. Its duration is random with a geometric distribution; it does not scale with stats. + > affect the chance to pass the check. Its duration is random with a geometric distribution (win an RNG roll every second); it does + not scale with stats.
Since competitive horses in the MANT+ era tend to have similar stat lines, skills are especially important.
+Since competitive horses in the current era tend to have similar stat lines, skills are especially important.
Speed skills are especially valuable for front runners, because they assist in overtakes and defense. Some skills are worth special mention. @@ -740,7 +751,8 @@
GW is an absolutely mandatory skill for all front runners. Even runaway blockers should have it, otherwise they will be passed
@@ -774,24 +786,27 @@
of EL,
Conc is less critical. It's worth taking on horses who have it, but it isn't worth using support card slots just to get it. On
the other hand, its white version,
Because they are post-Angling, skills that activate in the final spurt are typically less interesting to front runners.
- Notable exceptions are
- The spurt speed calculator analyzes this situation. A 1200 speed front runner with a 0.25 speed - skill active has speed equivalent to an 1187 speed pace chaser. In other words, as long as that pace chaser is built the way Global + The spurt speed calculator analyzes this situation. A 1600 speed front runner with a 0.25 speed + skill active has speed equivalent to a 1581 speed pace chaser. In other words, as long as that pace chaser is built the way Global players tend to build, Pulse does not allow the front runner to pass back. So, if you happen to inherit it off a grandparent, it is not worth taking.
@@ -864,10 +879,6 @@ Obviously, CM is run in teams of three. While spamming the highest stats you can manage is a valid strategy that will get wins, building a team holistically will lead to higher win rates. -- N.B. This section has only partially been updated for the 1 Jul balance patch, which means that some of the advice especially - relating to runaways and spot struggle is out of date. A full update here probably won't come until after CM17 Virgo Cup. -
@@ -881,25 +892,13 @@ chasers tend to see their highest win rates in zero front races.
- If you feel a given CM will have a low population of front runners, you can build specifically for pace promo. Burgh on
- the GameTora Discord server
- ran extensive tests
- and found that
- On the other hand, if you want to run an end closer or late surger as your ace, but front runners may be rare and Christmas Oguri Cap a pace chaser is meta for the race, preventing pace promotion could be a reason to run a solo front build instead.
+ If you want to run an end closer or late surger as your ace, but front runners may be rare and Christmas Oguri Cap a pace
+ chaser is meta for the race (or COC is the meta end closer), preventing pace promotion could be a reason to run a solo front build
+ instead.
Building for second place to bunny with NN does not mean manipulating stats and skills to force one of the front runners into
second. Both fronts need to be strong enough to be adjacent at late race start, and you have to beat other people's front
- runners, too. (Especially since VC and
If you're feeling adventurous, runaway is another consideration for double (and triple) front on long distances. Your ace
@@ -1013,13 +1014,7 @@
showing. In addition to the normal front win cons, it's potentially strong to take unconditional gambles like
- Now that conserving power is a game mechanic, SS supports have the problem that spot struggle risks
- taking away full charge, which means losing a strong accel. This can be alleviated to some degree by managing
- Dodging Danger to keep your ace out of the spot struggle – either the ace has lane combo and the
- other two don't, or the ace doesn't have it and the other two do.
+ />,
- If this build ever had an era, it was during the first pass of Unity Cup, when NSM was essentially free and there was no VC. - We have reworked UC for one CM before Our Grand Concert releases, but it's a sprint CM that overwhelmingly favors pace - chasers. I don't think it's viable now. + If this build ever had an era, it was during the first pass of Unity Cup, when NSM was essentially free and there was no VC. I + don't think it's viable now.
Most front runners enjoy easy careers thanks to strong kits and little chance to be blocked.
-- Currently, this chapter is about MANT (a.k.a. Trackblazer). Current data for CM16 following the URA and UC reworks suggests - that MANT horses win approximately just as much as UC horses relative to their respective populations, despite the lower stat - caps. So, I am going to leave this section largely untouched until the next scenario releases. -
@@ -1061,24 +1050,28 @@ have changed a bit.
- A future sight advisory: Maruzensky's speed SSR is coming in early July. At this point, you should probably be saving all your
- carats for her. She is an extremely strong stat stick and gives
Contrary to advice I sometimes see, you can, in fact, take skills during career without Fast Learner. When you take skills mid-run without Fast Learner, and you happen to get it later, you effectively lose 10% of the SP you spent to that point. However, you also prune hints: taking the first level of a skill removes it from the pools for support card hint bubbles, - MANT rivals, UC bursts, and everything else except events that grant specific hints. Each front-specific skill you own improves - your chance of getting skills you don't have hints for. + GL shops, MANT rivals, UC bursts, and everything else except events that grant specific hints. Each front-specific skill you own + improves your chance of getting skills you don't have hints for.
- On parent runs, or exactly one of your three CM horses,
- I've had debate about this one, but I feel that
- Niigata Junior Stakes is the first non-sprint graded race in career, which means it's very likely to be one you run in MANT. - It's also an oddly anti-front race. Late race starts a good bit past the final corner, which means front runners don't have - any skills that can secure a win. (Unless you're inheriting Pasta? But VPP isn't really a good take mid-career.) + Niigata Junior Stakes is the first non-sprint graded race in career, so if you're committed enough to do parent runs in MANT, + it's very likely to be one you run. Howeevr, it's an oddly anti-front race. Late race starts a good bit past the final corner, + which means front runners don't have any skills that can secure a win. (Unless you're inheriting Pasta? But VPP isn't really a + good take mid-career.)
- An interesting consequence of the shape of Niigata 1600 is that duels can start before late race. If you're doing a guts - build, having that happen will give quite a good chunk of accel and speed for the entire spurt, which is usually enough to get - the win. Duels are also pretty likely, because career races have more runners—as long as you're not a solo front. + An interesting consequence of the shape of Niigata 1600 is that duels can start before late race. Having that happen will give + quite a good chunk of accel and speed for the entire spurt, which is usually enough to get the win. Because career races have + more runners, duels are also pretty likely—except for fronts.
+If you do commit to the race, consider switching to pace.
- If you do commit to the race and find yourself as the only front runner, consider switching to pace. Moreso than other races, - you are unlikely to win this race as a solo front. Even one or two other fronts will be rough. -
-- As a corollary, you also cannot win this race with B mile. A miraculous start can get to 350 speed for this race; a B mile - runner with 350 speed is equivalent to an A mile runner with only 207 speed in career. See the spurt calculator. (This race is why I made it.)
-An even more anti-front track is Ooi 1200 Dirt. This one is actively malicious. Visually, it looks like late race starts on a corner, but the portion before the stretch is a special neither corner nor straight property. That means Angling won't activate, @@ -1171,34 +1151,38 @@
Fortunately, JBC Sprint is after summer, which means you should be able to stat diff your opponents. If you are planning to - win this race, e.g. for the +30 stat epithet for doing it twice, you may want to prioritize a bit of extra speed training, or - take Front Straights/Corners. Don't be too surprised if you lose a clock or five to a Taiki Shuttle rival. + win this race, you may want to prioritize a bit of extra speed training, or take Front Straights/Corners. If MANT, don't be + too surprised if you lose a clock or five to a Taiki Shuttle rival. +
++ Since the 1 Jul update, the JBC races take place at a randomly selected one of the NAR courses (Ooi, Kawasaki, Funabashi, + Morioka) each year. If you're hunting for a completionist title on a front runner, you have the option of just not picking an + Ooi JBC Sprint; the others are all Angling tracks.
- The main concern with 3K races is always stamina. Front runners are punished on long distances because they convert stamina to - HP less efficiently than other styles, and because Spot Struggle drains an extra chunk. + The main concern with 3K races is always stamina. Front runners tend to be punished on long distances because they convert + stamina to HP less efficiently than late or end, and because Spot Struggle drains an extra chunk.
- A stat line like x/400/x/500/600 should be enough for a guts/wit build to win Kikuka Sho against most rivals, possibly at the - expense of a clock or two. TSS seems to need something more like x/700/x/700/700 if you don't have any recoveries; I haven't - tested much without them, because I don't like throwing away my runs. + A stat line like x/400/x/400/600 should be enough to win Kikuka Sho. TSS seems to need something more like x/650/x/500/800 if + you don't have any recoveries; I haven't tested much without them, because I don't like throwing away my runs.
-
An alternative option to buying a recovery is to switch to Late Surger for those races. I've won Kikuka Sho with circa 300 stamina this way.
- All that said, the stamina requirement is instantly much higher if the rival is Super Creek, Matikanetannhäuser, Mejiro - McQueen, or Rice Shower. As rivals, those four will have very strong HP-oriented builds: on TSS, 650 stamina and at least one - gold recovery, in addition to the recovery unique in Creek's and Mambo's cases. You will burn clocks rolling for them to fail - wit checks unless you also have a gold. + In MANT, the stamina requirement is instantly much higher if the rival is Super Creek, Matikanetannhäuser, Mejiro McQueen, or + Rice Shower. As rivals, those four will have very strong HP-oriented builds: on TSS, 650 stamina and at least one gold + recovery, in addition to the recovery unique in Creek's and Mambo's cases. You will burn clocks rolling for them to fail wit + checks unless you also have a gold.
One last consideration for front runners on 3K races: Angling is a dead skill. If you're borderline on stamina, you'll have a @@ -1209,14 +1193,9 @@
Kitasan Black doesn't get the easy careers that other front runners do. For one thing, if you're training Kitasan, you probably don't have Sei as a parent since their uniques don't mesh (except on Nakayama 2500). Kitasan's own unique is also - very weak outside of long races and unable to even activate on some miles, notably Niigata 1600. And for early races, notably - Niigata 1600, you likely won't even have the opportunity to get Front Straights/Corners, especially since you don't need - Bourbon Wit. -
-- Kitasan benefits a lot from running as a Pace Chaser early on, just for the higher effective speed. Rivals are best defeated - with your intended style, but in career, winning is more important than front running. + very weak outside of long races and unable to even activate on some miles.
+Kitasan benefits from running as a Pace Chaser early on, just for the higher effective speed.
@@ -1291,7 +1274,7 @@
- Now that MANT lets well-equipped players make SS horses at will, there are two broad approaches to building veterans for + Now that auto mode lets well-equipped players make SS horses at will, there are two broad approaches to building veterans for inheritance. The first is to take the cards that lead to SS, because that gives white sparks (only) a dramatically higher chance to be 2★ or 3★. The other option is to take cards for their skills regardless of their stats, enabling choices like Seiun Sky stamina and Silence Suzuka gacha SSR even at LB0, with the goal being to maximize the number of sparks in the short @@ -1309,8 +1292,8 @@
Front runners are uniquely capable of making good use of wit sparks, since wit governs early- and mid-race speed, which is unusually important for them. Power sparks are typically still best, and stamina sparks can help to forgo a stamina card or - two for 2400m+ builds. Fronts have a disproportionate representation of horses with high speed talent, which makes speed - sparks a bit less valuable. + two for 2400m+ builds. Fronts have a disproportionate representation of horses with high speed talent, which arguably makes + speed sparks a bit less valuable.
Pink sparks are more interesting, because – at least until other styles finish catching up on accels – they're @@ -1322,8 +1305,8 @@
- The 1 Jul balance patch redefined everything for everyone, and front runners are suddenly actually quite bad. - I guess the stakes are lower for my triple front mandate. -
-- An additional interesting detail is that this track has no straights before late race. That means straight velos are much less - important. -
-- I had some amazing luck with support card pulls and got both Maruzensky and Nakayama Festa to MLB in 400. Are these runs what - it feels like to not be F2P? -
-
- This CM is interesting as the first opportunity to use multiple runaways and not have them be vaporized by spot struggle.
- However, after getting a high roll with an S Sprint Palmer, I found that using two runaways was actually pretty bad. Even with
- 1300 power,
- Kitasan's unique ends about a sixth of a second before late race starts, which means massive carryover potential (although - being just a 0.25 skill is sad). I see on Hakuraku that runaways are unusually prevalent, and as much as I think it's a bad - build, I kind of want to try rabbiting this time. -
-Win rates are a bit messy because I experimented with a few different comps and Throne reworks. After 80:
-Lost finals to two COCs, one getting Pump and the other NSM, while Chocobon blew velos during accel.
- -- The ultimate lane combo map, and also the ultimate no-overtake zone map, and also the ultimate dueling map. - Dueling is so good that everyone needs guts builds, not just front runners. Kinda hoping that message doesn't get out, because duels - generally benefit other styles more than fronts. We get VPP instead, though, which gives similar accel to 1000 guts dueling. -
-- Win rates after 40: Falco 47.5%, Bourbon 27.5%, Suzuka 5%. While this is my best round 1 by a substantial margin, I'm pretty - sure I'm going to get torn up in round 2; my stats aren't good enough to beat correctly built end closers. -
-- Win rates after 80: Falco 36.25%, Bourbon 22.5%, Suzuka 6.25%. Not as bad as I expected; most round 2 entries finished with - three wins. I'll take it. -
-- Unfortunately lost to a bad mid race and a Taishin getting a perfect Radiant. At least it was only one this time. Second - place. -
- -
- Maruzensky's unique,
- Ended up running the same composition as in CM12, for the same reasons. This time, I knew better than to waste runs on guts - builds for Sei and VBourbon. -
-- Win rates after 40: I didn't actually record it anywhere, but I had a 3/3/3/5 day 1 and got five-win streaks on both VBourbon - and Sei, so pretty good. I want to say it was something like VBourbon 35%, Sei 25%, Suzuka 15%. -
-- Win rates after 80: Sei 30%, VBourbon 25%, Suzuka 7.5%. Very confusing 3/5/1/1 - 1/1/4/4 records in round 2. -
-Finals saw two COCs both get perfect ults and Radiant during accel. You can always simply lose to better luck.
- -- One of COC's best tracks, because U=ma2 is at worst only slightly less good than 777 as a trigger. If there is any other front - runner, triple front pushes pace COC out of range for U=ma2, making her at best as reliable as the usual. -
-Win rates after 40: VBourbon 35%, Sei 17.5%, Suzuka 15%. Not quite executing the plan, but I'll take the wins.
-- Win rates after 80: VBourbon 30%, Sei 22.5%, Suzuka 12.5%. I believe this is my best round 2 performance ever. I lose more to - other fronts than to COC. "Most dominant racing horse for a year" continues to get trounced by the wacky triple front build. -
- -N.B. This CM was before I started writing this document, so henceforth, there is much less info.
-Late race starts on the back stretch, which means the end closers are out to play.
-- I floundered on parenting and ended up with not enough time to make runners. Suzuka had more wit than Kitasan could handle, so - I rarely got Kitasan uniques. -
-Win rates after 80: VBourbon 31.25%, Kitasan 21.25%, Suzuka 2.5%.
-Extremely unlucky finals gave me third place for the first time ever.
- -- Everyone is terrified of Taiki Shuttle, who has a 3-4 ult. Triple fronts would like to have a word. It's a dirt track, but - every horse can run dirt if you're brave enough. -
-- This is probably the strongest gameplan I've been able to use, but I failed to execute it properly. In particular, this was - the CM that taught me through experience how important mid race speed skills are for front runners. Final win rate was a bit - over 50%. Insane luck with Unrestrained at the same time as Angling made Suzuka the champion of the Aquarius Cup. -
- -- A race with no Angling, and also with the largest proportion of downhill in any race. If you build wit, you literally cannot - finish a career without enough stamina for a full spurt. -
-As a sprint, this is also where spot struggle shines. Time for Unity Cup guts builds.
-
- I forgot that
- The plan worked exactly as I hoped, but what the plan lacked was