If you’re a new Trainer in Umamusume: Pretty Derby, understanding how the gacha system works is essential. The game blends horse racing with anime-inspired characters—yes, the horses are girls, and no, don’t think too hard about it. To unlock new Umas, you’ll use the Scout feature, which functions like a typical gacha system with various banners to roll on.

While Umamusume shares many core mechanics with other gacha RPGs, it introduces a unique twist with its unconventional pity system.

Here’s a breakdown of how the gacha system works, including what you can expect when pulling for new characters or Support Cards. The image below highlights all of the key information, so use it as a reference to the information we list below!

Use Carats to Scout on Banners

Carats are the primary currency used for pulling characters and Support Cards from banners. While they can be purchased, players can also earn Carats through standard gameplay such as completing missions and progressing in various modes. It is particularly easy to collect Carats in Umamusume, making the game a great free-to-play experience. 

Managing Carats is important, especially if you're saving for limited-time banners or targeting a specific SSR (Super Secret Rare) card. In your game, your Paid Carats will be categorized in a different section, placed next to your standard Carats.

How the Gacha System Works in Umamusume

In Umamusume, you use Carats to perform pulls on banners. You’ll have the option to perform single pulls or directly make 10-pulls at once. A single pull costs 150 Carats, while a 10-pull costs 1,500 Carats.

The banners in Umamusume offer either trainable Umas or Support Cards. While some banners are permanent, several are limited-time. 

While pulling one at a time sounds cost-saving in hindsight, we recommend performing 10-pulls at once as the game features a soft pity system that slightly increases your chances of obtaining higher-rarity cards with each multiple pull.

Umamusume Pity System: Exchange Points

In Umamusume, there is no standard 50:50 pity system that you might’ve seen in most popular gacha titles. But there is a pity system that’ll guarantee you to land on the featured characters of a banner.

Umamusume’s pity system comes in the form of Exhange Points. With every pull you make, you earn 1 Exchange Point. At 200 pulls, you can use the 200 Exchange Points for the featured SSR card on the banner. However, Exchange Points are not shared between banners. It is limited to the banner you’ve pulled on. 

Limited-time banners usually last for only a week, so you’ll have a short period of time to accumulate 200 Exchange Points. This can be a struggle for a free-to-play player as you’ll need to collect a substantial amount of Carats beforehand. And as with many gacha cases, this means you’ll need to plan and strategize your pulls for banners you desire.

What Happens to Unused Exchange Points?

If you do not reach 200 Exchange Points before the banner ends, the unused points are automatically converted into Clovers, a secondary in-game currency. Although Clovers are not as valuable as Exchange Points, it can help cushion spending costs on other materials and more pulls. Clovers can be spent in the shop on various items, including to purchase Scout Tickets, upgrade materials, and more.