Gakumas Contest: What a Memory Is, How Power Is Calculated, How to Climb
Contest (コンテスト) is asynchronous PvP: you never fight a live opponent, only the line-up they left behind, run by the AI. What you field is NOT the idol you are currently raising — it is a Memory (メモリー), the record of a completed produce run, carrying that run's stats, skill cards and P-items. Contest unlocks once you push the early mission line far enough. In one line: a good run makes a good memory, and a good memory makes a strong contest team. You cannot out-play a weak memory.
What a Memory Is, and Why It Is the Whole Game
A memory is the record of a produce run you finished: it stores that idol's final stats, its skill cards and its P-items. Memories do two jobs:
- They field your contest team — your contest line-up literally is a set of memories.
- They get carried into new produce runs — an equipped memory puts its skill cards into your deck GUARANTEED, instead of leaving them to chance.
So the healthy habit is: treat every run as an attempt to mint a usable memory — either one with big stats, or one carrying a skill card you genuinely want to reuse.
The Contest Power Formula: Four Parts
A memory's power is the sum of four parts:
- Stats: 3 × (Vocal + Dance + Visual)
- Stamina: 24 × Stamina
- P-items: the power value of each item
- Skill cards: the power value of each card
On top of that, each customisation on the memory adds 36 power. GameVika's Contest Simulator runs exactly this formula, so you can swap a P-item or a card and watch the number move before you burn a whole produce run finding out.
Why Raw Stats Dominate the Number
Look at the magnitudes and it is obvious. Item and card power sit on a small scale:
- P-idol signature P-items: R 150 (240 upgraded), SR 225/300, SSR 300/420. Support-sourced P-items: SR 135, SSR 180 (welfare versions 159).
- Skill cards: P-idol signature cards 3 (15 upgraded), support-sourced cards 96/126, produce-obtained cards R 30-60, SR 75-141, SSR 150/204.
Meanwhile stats are multiplied by 3 and stamina by 24. An idol on Master with all three stats near the 1800 cap already contributes 3 × 5400 = 16,200 — far more than every card and item combined. The practical conclusion: if you want contest power, produce on a higher difficulty to raise your stat ceiling, rather than hunting individual cards.
How to Actually Climb in Contest
The order of operations:
- Unlock a higher difficulty — push the mission line to open PRO. On PRO the stat cap and the per-lesson gains are both higher, and you pick up stronger P-items. A memory minted on PRO beats the same idol minted on Regular.
- Spread your effort across idols — a contest team needs several slots, and the mission line asks for 25,000 total unit power, roughly 8,500 per formation. Three decent idols clear that far sooner than one monster plus two neglected ones.
- Read the season's plan — the plan used in contest CHANGES by season, so check what the current season asks for before you decide who to produce.
Card cost caps by rank, seasons, and the 再演 keyword
Beyond raw power, a lineup is also bound by the total cost of the skill cards attached to a memory — it must fall inside the range for the rank you're targeting (official COST_RANGES constants): SSS+/SSS 546-858 · SS+ 651-858 · SS 651-804 · S+ 546-741 · S 546-642 · A+ 441-594 · A 441-519 · B+ 306-423 · B 306-363. Going over or under invalidates the lineup for that rank — the Contest Simulator checks this automatically when you enter a deck.
Contest runs in seasons, and each season also pays a Contest medal/coin exchangeable at a dedicated shop (including for support cards). Finally, some skill cards carry the 再演 (Replay) keyword: once the condition printed on the card is met (e.g. finishing a particular effect, or a status counter reaching a set number), the card plays itself again — up to 2 times total, no more than once per turn. This is NOT a "replay an old stage" mode; it's a capped self-retrigger mechanic, and each card's condition differs, so always read that specific card.
Related tools
Frequently asked questions
What exactly is a memory?
A memory is the record of a completed produce run, storing that idol's stats, skill cards and P-items. You field memories in contest, and you can also bring a memory into a new produce run to put its skill cards into your deck guaranteed.
How is contest power calculated?
Power = 3 × (Vocal + Dance + Visual) + 24 × Stamina + P-item power + skill card power + 36 × number of customisations. GameVika's Contest Simulator implements exactly this formula.
Why do stats matter more than fancy cards?
Because the scales are nothing alike. An SSR card picked up in produce is worth roughly 150-204 power, while three stats near the 1800 Master cap already give 3 × 5400 = 16,200. Raising stats by producing on a higher difficulty is by far the biggest lever.
Should I build one monster idol or several decent ones?
Several decent ones. The mission line asks for 25,000 total unit power, about 8,500 per formation, so three evenly raised idols get you there sooner than pouring everything into one.
What does the 再演 keyword on a skill card mean?
It's an effect keyword, not a game mode. Once the card's printed condition is met, it plays itself again (up to 2 times total, no more than once per turn) — each card has its own trigger condition.