What Is Uma Musume Affinity?
In Uma Musume: Pretty Derby, affinity (also called compatibility) is the hidden metric that governs how strongly your main character benefits from her legacies (parents) and sub-legacies (grandparents) during inspiration events in training. Before you start any training run, the game shows you a compatibility symbol in the corner — triangle, single circle, or double circle — based on your character combination.
The affinity system is one of the most important and most overlooked mechanics in the game. A good compatibility score means you receive stronger bonuses during inspiration events — more stat points, better skill inheritance probability, and higher chances of getting the specific colored factors (blue, red, green) you want. A bad score means weaker bonuses that can limit how good your trained character turns out.
Why Affinity Matters
Inspiration events occur during training when you reach certain milestones. The bonuses you receive from them — stats, skills, and factor sparks — are directly scaled by your affinity score. A double circle (◎) setup can provide dramatically stronger bonuses than a triangle (▽) setup for the exact same characters.
Affinity vs Spark vs Legacy — What's the Difference?
- Affinity / Compatibility — How compatible your main character is with her chosen legacies. Determines inspiration event bonuses. This is what this calculator measures.
- Legacies (Parents) — The two previously-trained characters you select before starting a new training run. Their stats, skills, and sparks influence your current trainee.
- Sub-Legacies (Grandparents) — The legacies of your chosen legacies. Also affect affinity and contribute to inspiration bonuses.
- Sparks — The specific stat, aptitude, and skill attributes your character accumulates by the end of her Career. These are inherited by the next generation when she becomes a legacy.
How Uma Musume Affinity Is Calculated
The affinity calculation is more complex than it first appears. There are multiple components that add together to form your total compatibility score.
The Affinity Formula
Total Affinity =
+ (Main ↔ Legacy 1 group points)
+ (Main ↔ Legacy 2 group points)
+ (Legacy 1 ↔ Legacy 2 group points)
+ (Main + Legacy 1 + SL 1-1 group points)
+ (Main + Legacy 1 + SL 1-2 group points)
+ (Main + Legacy 2 + SL 2-1 group points)
+ (Main + Legacy 2 + SL 2-2 group points)
+ (G1 Race Bonuses × 3 pts each)
Step 1 — Main ↔ Legacy Affinity
The game first checks all affinity groups to see if your main character and each legacy share any groups. For each group they both belong to, the game adds that group's point value to the total. This is checked separately for each legacy (Legacy 1 and Legacy 2).
Step 2 — Legacy ↔ Legacy Affinity
The two legacies' own relationship is also checked. If both Legacy 1 and Legacy 2 share affinity groups with each other, those points are added to the total as well. This is why selecting legacies that are compatible with each other — not just with your main character — matters for maximizing your score.
Step 3 — Sub-Legacy (Grandparent) Affinity
For sub-legacies, the calculation requires all three of [Main Character + Legacy + Sub-Legacy] to be in the same affinity group. If all three are present in a group, you get those group's points. Sub-legacies therefore have a smaller but still meaningful impact — especially when they belong to well-connected affinity groups.
Step 4 — G1 Race Win Bonus
An additional "hidden" factor adds +3 points for each G1 race won by both a legacy and her sub-legacy — or by both legacies. These bonuses stack. For example, if Legacy 1 and SL 1-1 both won Arima Kinen, that's +3. If Legacy 1 and Legacy 2 also both won Tenno Sho (Spring), that's another +3. See the full G1 bonus section below.
Important Note
The exact affinity group data is not officially published by Cygames. The values used by community calculators — including this one — are based on data mining and community research. Results are accurate estimates but may not perfectly reflect in-game behavior in all edge cases.
Triangle ▽, Single Circle ○, and Double Circle ◎ Explained
Your total affinity score is converted to one of three compatibility symbols that appear in the top-right corner of the training screen. The game never shows you the raw score — only these symbols. That's why using an external calculator is essential if you want to understand exactly how compatible your setup is.
| Symbol | Score Threshold | Meaning | Impact on Inspiration Events |
|---|
| ◎ Double Circle | ~150+ points | Excellent Compatibility | Maximum bonuses — highest factor inheritance probability |
| ○ Single Circle | ~50–149 points | Good Compatibility | Solid bonuses — good for most training runs |
| ▽ Triangle | 0–49 points | Low Compatibility | Weak bonuses — avoid if possible for high-value training |
Always Target Double Circle ◎
For any training run where you care about the result — especially for legacy-building characters — always aim for double circle (◎). The difference in factor inheritance probability and inspiration event bonuses between a triangle and a double circle is significant and can make or break your character build.
Why You Can't Always Get Double Circle
Not every character combination can reach double circle. Some main characters have limited affinity group overlaps with available legacies, especially if you're training a newer or less popular character. In these cases, maximizing your sub-legacy choices and the G1 race bonus points becomes even more important to push toward the highest tier you can achieve.
Affinity Groups — How They Work
Affinity groups are the core of the compatibility system. Every character in Uma Musume belongs to multiple hidden groups based on their real-life racing history, relationships, story connections, and shared traits. When characters from the same group appear in your training setup, their shared group's point value is added to your total affinity score.
Types of Affinity Groups
Relationship-Based
Roommates, classmates, teammates, rivals, best friends, same school year. Example: Special Week and Silence Suzuka (roommates and teammates at Tracen Academy).
Era-Based
Same generation of racing, competed in the same years, shared the same racing circuit. Example: Tokai Teio, Mejiro McQueen, Narita Brian, and Biwa Hayahide.
Historical Racing Connections
Real-life races directly competed against each other, or share the same famous jockey (e.g., Yutaka Take's horses). Example: El Condor Pasa and Grass Wonder.
Aptitude-Based
Shared track type (turf vs dirt), distance specialization (sprint, mile, medium, long), or running style (front-runner, stalker, closer). Similar aptitude increases compatibility.
Known High-Affinity Pairings
Based on community research, these pairings consistently produce high affinity scores due to their strong group overlaps:
| Main Character | High-Affinity Legacies | Connection Type |
|---|
| Special Week | Silence Suzuka, Seiun Sky, El Condor Pasa, King Halo | Roommate / Classmate / Same generation |
| Tokai Teio | Mejiro McQueen, Narita Brian, Mihono Bourbon | Rivals / Same era / Anime cast |
| Daiwa Scarlet | Vodka, Agnes Tachyon | Rivals / Same era |
| Oguri Cap | Tamamo Cross, Super Creek, Nice Nature | Historical racing opponents |
| Symboli Rudolf | Biwa Hayahide, Narita Brian | Historical connection |
| Kitasan Black | Satono Diamond, Gold Ship | Same era / Rivals |
G1 Race Win Bonus Points — The Hidden Factor
In addition to the base affinity group points, Uma Musume: Pretty Derby adds +3 bonus points for each G1 race won by both members of specific character pairs in your setup. This is a hidden mechanic that most players don't fully understand.
G1 Bonus Rule
+3 points for each G1 race that BOTH a Legacy AND her Sub-Legacy won
+3 points for each G1 race that BOTH Legacy 1 AND Legacy 2 won
These bonuses stack — each qualifying pair/race combination adds another +3
How the G1 Bonus Works in Practice
If your Legacy 1 (Tokai Teio) and Sub-Legacy 1-1 (Mejiro McQueen) both won Arima Kinen during their respective careers, you get +3. If they also both won Tenno Sho (Spring), that's another +3. If Legacy 2 also won Arima Kinen alongside Legacy 1, that's yet another +3. These can stack to add significant points on top of the base affinity.
Major G1 Races That Generate Common Bonuses
| G1 Race | Distance | Common Winners Among Characters |
|---|
| Arima Kinen | 2,500m Long | Tokai Teio, Mejiro McQueen, Narita Brian, Biwa Hayahide, Oguri Cap |
| Japan Cup | 2,400m Long | Special Week, El Condor Pasa, Symboli Rudolf, T.M. Opera O, Oguri Cap |
| Tenno Sho (Spring) | 3,200m Long | Mejiro McQueen, Tokai Teio, T.M. Opera O, Oguri Cap, Mayano Top Gun |
| Tenno Sho (Autumn) | 2,000m Medium | Special Week, El Condor Pasa, Seiun Sky, T.M. Opera O |
| Takarazuka Kinen | 2,200m Medium | Tokai Teio, Narita Brian, Oguri Cap, Symboli Rudolf |
| Nippon Derby (Tokyo Yushun) | 2,400m Long | Special Week, Oguri Cap, Narita Brian, Winning Ticket |
| Kikuka Sho (St. Leger) | 3,000m Long | Biwa Hayahide, Mihono Bourbon, Rice Shower, Seiun Sky |
What Is the Legacy Loop?
The legacy loop (also called the inheritance loop or breeding loop) is a strategy of selecting a small group of characters with high mutual affinity and continuously using them as legacies for each other — cycling through the group until all characters have strong builds.
The idea: if Characters A, B, C, and D all have high affinity with each other, you can train A using B and C as legacies, then train B using A and C, then train C using A and B, and so on. Each trained version becomes a stronger legacy for the next, gradually improving all four characters in the group.
Legacy Loop Is an Older Strategy
The legacy loop was very popular during Uma Musume's Japanese server early days, but it has largely fallen out of favor. The strategy's major weakness is that you become dependent on a small character pool — and if any of your loop characters fall behind the meta, the whole loop suffers. Modern play tends to prioritize flexibility and using the strongest available legacies for each run regardless of loop considerations.
When the Legacy Loop Still Makes Sense
Legacy loops are still useful for:
- Players with a limited roster who can't access top-tier legacies
- Targeting specific sparks — cycling through a small group to accumulate specific skills or stat sparks across generations
- Early game when you don't have many maxed legacies yet
- Characters with very limited high-affinity options in the wider roster