Tips for Old People with Bad Reflexes

[skythian]

I'm old. I imagine many of us have been around since the original wipE'out" on PS1, and I wanted to lay down some tips that might help those of us who aren't quite as quick as we used to be... (i.e. me). I managed to "Transcend" on HD/Fury, and this game hasn't been too difficult (actually maybe just a bit easier?). Still frustrating though, and any help is valuable if you're struggling with the speed. The upside to getting old is that you have more patience (and I happen to have some time off work). :D

Feel free to add your own tips.

Disclaimer: I've only just beaten the races on elite in the HD campaign. About to start work on Fury. I'll update this post when I (hopefully) finish it.

So, we can probably all agree that the main challenges in the HD campaign are all in Meltdown: the Chenghou and Sebenco single races on Phantom and the 8-race Phantom tourney.

SEBENCO: This was the toughest track for me. Tougher than Chenghou. Biggest two tips were:
1) I used Feisar. In my opinion, the only thing that matters in Phantom is maneuverability. Even with Feisar, you have to lead the turns on phantom a lot more than you think. I aimed to try to scrape the inside apex. After 20 or 30 laps of trying this, I was able to consistently pass the Elite AI in the turns.
2) Kind of a shortcut. If you manage to get a turbo in the race, save it for the part just before the tight chicane towards the end of the track. The track slopes up slightly here, and if you use the turbo at the right time, you can skip the whole chicane. You wouldn't think that this would help since, with the right line, you can drive straight through the chicane, but I always managed to get a few places by doing it. Throw on a barrel roll and you've got a nice, reliable timesave.

CHENGHOU: It's all about conserving energy here. I absorbed most items unless it was a turbo or autopilot.
1) You can drop off the side of the big ramp at the end, making it easier to hit the boost pad on the track below.
2) As with all races, sometimes you just get a bad AI spawn. If you find that 1st and 2nd place are consistently finishing multiple seconds in front of everyone else, just "Return to Grid" and get a new spawn. This was the difference in spending 30 minutes finishing 3rd vs winning on my first try at this track.
3) On the first section of repeating drops after the tight chicane, I did a barrel roll and aimed for the tip of the second drop-off, so I'd get the boost but wouldn't get launched into the air, making the next declining corner difficult.
4) The place to make up time is in the middle of the track, just before the big drop-off. Taking the turns tight here (see above) I was consistently able to pass the AI in the turns.

PHANTOM TOURNEY:
1) Open a large beer and relax. :D
2) You're always going to get mines when you're still in 8th place. You're frequently going to get rocketed as soon as you pass someone. And when you're in last, 7th place will always fight you to the death. Get used to it.
3) Now that you've accepted that, as has been mentioned before, you only need about 40 points to have a good shot at winning the tourney. The first couple of races (Vinetta K and Anulpha Pass) shouldn't be too much trouble. I'd argue that if you're having difficulty with these, you might not be ready for this tournament. I would usually get 1st or 2nd in these without too much trouble. If you're able to do that, try to win Metropia (next) and then just try not to get eliminated in Chenghou. You should be around 24-30 points here, in which case as long as you don't get eliminated, you've got a decent shot at getting the tourney trophy.
4) Phantom races are LONG. Don't give up and try not to get eliminated because of energy loss because there's a good chance 1 or 2 of the AI ships will die during the race - meaning as long as you finish, even if it's a terrible race, you'll get a couple of points even if you finish last.

Many of this has been mentioned previously, so forgive me, but hopefully these tips and the ones that follow will help some of us old farts! Good luck!

[mannjon]

I've got some good advice, as well as a question I'd like to pose for some zone battle masters.

I'm probably a bit ahead of you skthian, only because I wrapped up HD on Friday, but I pretty much followed the exact same strategy of just doing everything at Elite difficulty all the way through. Surprisingly, despite dreading the Phantom stuff, I had an easier time than I thought I would. My specific problems were with Sol 2. I personally like Harimau for the Phantom stuff, but the methods will work with any ship.

To add to your already good strategies for Chenghou, I only rolled on the easy to land rolls.
1.When you go around the first hairpin, try to hit the boost pad to the left. This can be difficult due to the angle you have to take to make it around the hairpin, but if you hit the boost pad just after, you'll get enough boost to get a barrel roll off the first "hump" and completely clear the second one. I can confirm this is faster based off of time trial experimentation.

2.When you go around the extended raised turn immediately after, push and hold down+left on the dpad to reduce getting any air around the turn and try to stay as low as possible.

3.Save your turbo for the last straight off the huge drop off, and try to fall off the left side between the track and the post instead of going off the center and make a straight low boost and then barrel roll. Don't be afraid to slam on the airbrakes for the final chicane, and side shift to hit the double boost pad.

-This way you only really need to do two barrel rolls each lap which saves on energy.

Sebenco is more technical, but resist the urge to land all 10+ of the barrel rolls. There are really only 2 worth doing.
1. the first barrel roll over the hump right after the starting hard left turn isn't worth doing. Instead, nose down to minimize air time. In fact, though easy enough to do, none of the barrel roll spots are worth doing until you get to the top of the hill (where the downhill starts and there is the double boost pad to the right side of the track).

2. ALWAYS try to get the barrel roll mentioned above. You can side shift just before the downhill and land on the boost pad which makes the following straight pretty quick. You'd be surprised how much time you can shave by this alone.

3. Save turbos for the exit of the uphill tunnel that leads into the chicane. If you boost just before you exit the tunnel you can fly over the chicanes, barrel roll, and shave a lot of time. If you don't have a turbo, aim for the boost pad to the left just before the chicanes and nose up and sideshift to get enough air to barrel roll over the chicanes. You won't be able to completely clear them this way, but you can aim for the middle of the chicanes and it should be a straight shot.

4. It is possible to barrel roll after the chicanes too, but when racing AI, I wouldn't advise it, because you'll lose all the momentum almost instantly when you have to hit the hard right hand turn before the finish line.

5. That first turn sucks. Go wide right and brake hard left. It will line up your approach much better than trying to stick to the left side without first swinging wide, and it is slightly faster.

For that 8 race tournament, I've noticed that by comparison to HD on the PS3, it seems to be easier. Mainly because on the PS3, there always seemed to be one ship that dominated the others. Basically, you'd have to get first place on 6 or 7 of the races to assure first place in the tournament. I cannot confirm this, but this has been my personal experience. That being said, it is better to settle for 3rd or 4th and not try anything risky as opposed to doing something risky to try to get 1st. 9 times out of 10 you'll fall off the track instead. In my experience, the most likely first place tracks are: Vineta K (although I get 2nd pretty frequently), Anulpha Pass, Moa Therma, Metropia and Uber Mall. If you can get first on these, and not get eliminated, you have a pretty good shot at first. If you don't get 1st or 2nd on both Anulpha Pass and Vineta K, I'd reset because you'll pretty much have to win out, and you'll save time by starting over.

Additionally, I've found the autopilot for Omega to actually be useful. Normally I would always absorb, but I've gotten better race times by using autopilot just for the hard turns (like turn 1 on Chenghou, the middle turn going uphill on Metropia, the Hello Kitty turn on Uber Mall, 1st turn on Sebenco, Chicane turn on Sebenco if you botch the barrel roll, and the turn series on Sol 2). You'll have enough autopilot on each of these turns to cover it. But if you do this, be sure to "absorb" (aka cancel out of) the autopilot as soon as you are through because it is much easier to take control back when your ship is lined up, otherwise it is a guarantee that autopilot will slam you into a wall otherwise.

Ok, so my question is this: Any tips for the Modesto zone battle? If you get the 4 boost pads just before the hard turn at the start, it puts you at 1.1. If you do this however, there is about a 75% chance one of the AI ships will boost immediately after that turn which on Elite means you just lost; time to reset. I don't remember this one being so hard. Every other race I've been able to beat first try, but this one has resulted in 24 failed attempts. So my strategy seems to not work. Is there a safe non 8.0 boost you can do that will get you out of the initial fustercluck? If so, what is a good number to settle for? If you get lucky, you can get the full 8.0 boost right past the chicanes after that tough turn I just mentioned, but that rarely happens. The track is just so narrow that the likelihood to get pushed into a barrier on the first lap is super high. I'll probably have lucked my way through it before I get a reply, but it would be useful for others to know later.

[mannjon]

Keeping this post separate as this applies to the Fury campaign which I wrapped up on Sunday. Also as previously mentioned, I don't fool around with normal or skilled, I go straight through elite. But the strategy should apply to any skill level.

The toughest challenges for me were specifically Aftermath challenges. Those were: The HORRIBLE Zone Battle on Modesto Heights, the Zone Battle on Talon's Junction, and the HORRIBLE 460,000 point Detonator on Tech De Ra (it might have been reverse). Another notable challenge is the Detonator on Corridon 12, but there is a simple strategy for that one.

Zone Battle (in general)
The best way to do these is to stick to waiting until you save up a 7.9 or 8.0 boost. AI ships will loosely follow the same paths, but they also are notorious for dropping a barrier right around when you have 3.0 or so saved up. I don't recommend boosting with anything lower than 6 because the AI ships will almost certainly steal a gold from you if you do. This especially applies to Elite. This is very problematic and difficult on narrow tracks like Modesto.

Freakin' Modesto
For Modesto, the main thing to focus on is hitting the first 4 boost pads so you have 1.1 saved by the time you take the first hairpin. After that, there is a 75%ish chance that an AI ship will make a barrier right after the double boost pad. It is worth skipping those in instead of risking it because there are double pads shortly after that. If you do however, here is the key thing to do to catch up: Barrel Roll just after the bump before the final straight and turn. There are enough pads to get 0.3 before lap 2, and if you barrel roll and immediately make a barrier after hitting the pads to get the 0.3, it will knock off the leader. That was what I was missing. There is a lot of luck involved in this one though mainly through the first part.

Talon's Junction
This is another place where luck is involved, but it isn't as bad. Just when you hit the dip on the downhill, you will be blind when you start uphill again. I found that ships like to boost here, but the barriers are typically in the center, and there are boost pads right and left anyway, so just get in the habit of boosting away from the center.

Detonator
This one should trouble anyone with good reflexes and is an outright nightmare for diminished reflexes past zone 10. You will likely earn about half of your total points from zones 9-14 though, so keeping up ship energy is almost more important than blowing up mines for the other previous 8 zones. Bombs are worth way more if you don't use your blast. In fact, even if you don't get a chain bonus, it is worth more points to avoid using the blase when you can. Each clip has 15 shots, and you get an extra 100 points for each mine after the first. For example, if you hit 9/15 mines before reloading, the last mine is worth 900 points. If you blast them, each one is only worth 100, but it will clear out an area. So for the first 8 zones, try to empty each clip and not reload. Past 8, things start to get hectic, and you'll need to just get in a rhythm of reloading when safe regardless of how many shots are left. During zones 11+, I hold down fire and reload rhythmically.

Don't hold down fire until you need to. Try to make one shot at a time. Your scores will thank you.

If you can, try to build up a full blast and let it loose just before the end of a lap. All the mines you missed will still be active until you cross the finish line which will clear up the first part of the track from dead mines without clearing out the next round's fresh mines. This is a good strategy for the first 8 zones on any race.

When you do use a blast, get in the habit of reloading at the exact same time. This sounds unimportant at first, but even the smallest blast wave gives you enough time to reload safely. I forget sometimes and it is always a bad move.

Lastly, and this is yet another general strategy: save blasts for track parts when you are blinded, or track parts you have difficulty with. If you can't see around the walls of a chicane series, use your blast there every lap. Consider this just a part of the race if you chose this route. This might seem obvious, but if plan it out first, you'll know what to expect.

Corridon 12
There is a trick to this one. It isn't really that hard of a track to navigate, but I failed to get enough points after zone 14 to Elite pass this once or twice. The reason is the split at the start of the race. Try alternating paths to hit more bombs. It is still random, but I was consistently hitting 8 or 9 bombs by alternating paths. This worked for me, but another angle would to be to only chose one path and stick to it. Mines that become inactive don't spawn new mines around them as much, so if you are consistently clearing the mines on your chosen side, most of the new mines will spawn in their place. You will lose out on Bombs though and with such a narrow point margin it could be significant.

Since this is a pretty wide track, save up your blast until just before the finish line and fire down both splits. This will clear up the mines on the side you missed earlier and give you enough additional points to get an Elite gold.

[skythian]

Good tips! Did you get all golds on Fury?

[mannjon]

Yep. I got my Gold PS4 trophy for beating everything on Elite and the silver HD/Fury campaign legend, AND the bronze Meltdown all back to back. I breezed through everything except Modesto Zone Battle and the Detonator. Those took about 20 tries EACH. Fury's race campaign was much easier than I remember but the zone stuff was much harder.

As someone who does a lot of single race, speed lap and time trial, I think they raised the bar for elite passes and made it a little harder. I'm pretty good and have a top 50 rank on just about everything speed lap or time trial, with a top 10 time on most of the flash and a #1 rank (for the time being at least) on many venom courses and I was just beating the minimum pass time for gold by a second or two, so there is a razor thin margin for error if you are going for the Elite golds. I didn't get a single gold for speed laps on the first lap, but that was mainly due to trying to get some records up in the process. What I lack in reflexes I seem to have an overabundance of muscle memory. But that is kind of hard to pass along as a"tip" for others.

I don't know why, but it seems like some of the challenges are different. I don't remember the Zone 50 requirement for Elite on Syncopia. But then again I'm ok with that considering that Airbraker is no longer a trophy and Zone Zeus isn't either.

How goes your progress? Any new road blocks?

[blackwiggle]

As someone who does a lot of single race, speed lap and time trial, I think they raised the bar for elite passes and made it a little harder.

I agree, they said they had made the AI harder for A+ in 2048, but I think they might of tweaked the AI on a few of the other tracks/speed combos in HD/Fury, I was having a particularly hard time trying to beat Elite on Sol2 at Venom speed,where I could do it first time every time on the PS3 version.
I also think the range of travel on the PS4 controller isn't as much as on the PS3 controller, I'm finding I'm having to air brake at slightly different places than usual to keep the line I want using the PS4 controller, not much in it if you haven't done a lot of hours playing SL & TT, but if your like me I think you will have noticed a slight difference

[skythian]

How goes your progress? Any new road blocks?
I took a bit of a break after beating the HD campaign. Working on Fury now, I'm only up to the second grid and it's a cinch so far, but I can see Detonator and Zone battles being a huge pain later on. Overall I'm having less issue than I did with the original HD/Fury, which is nice.

[mannjon]

I took a bit of a break after beating the HD campaign. Working on Fury now, I'm only up to the second grid and it's a cinch so far, but I can see Detonator and Zone battles being a huge pain later on. Overall I'm having less issue than I did with the original HD/Fury, which is nice.

It's really just the Tech De Ra Detonator and the Modesto Zone battle on grid 8 (Modesto might be 7). I struggled briefly on Syncopia. With the level glitch, I wound up doing more speed laps and time trials than actual zone.

It appears that zone is harder for HD/Fury? I'm struggling majorly with elite passes on 2048 campaigns. Does anyone know if reducing the airbrake sensitivity helps for zone? Haven't tried it, but I am wobbling a lot.

[skythian]

It appears that zone is harder for HD/Fury? I'm struggling majorly with elite passes on 2048 campaigns. Does anyone know if reducing the airbrake sensitivity helps for zone? Haven't tried it, but I am wobbling a lot.

Yeah, I'm worried about 2048, especially if you're struggling with Elite passes. I'm going to completely finish all the HD/Fury trophies before I move on though. Thanks for blazing the trail!

[KazzyMac]

I did the tech de ra detonators first try. In fact the second one I finished it ... :/

As for being on topic: I don't think the medals for Zone are different in HD/Fury. The medals in the lattermost grids (I can't remember the name of the one in HD, but Aftermath in Fury definitely) may have been changed; the Gold for Syncopia is 50, but most of the others I remember being in the 20-30 range and being super-easy to get without much trouble.

The pass/elite passes for 2048 have definitely been toughened; a friend of mine who owns both Omega and 2048 on Vita confirmed that, for example, the zone requirements for Rockwell Stadium are 20/30 on Vita, but the elite pass on Omega is 60.


That's not what you wanted to hear, I know. :'( But at least you know what to expect now. HD/Fury is generally very easy in Zone, save for a few end-game ones. 2048 is far, far tougher.



As for airbrake sensitivity, the description is misleading. Lowering the value actually makes the airbrakes *more* sensitive (think of the number as being 'how far you have to pull the trigger down before the airbrakes reach full lock). 10% means you only need to press 10% of the way to get full airbrake strength, 50% means half way, 100% means all the way. I don't know how it affects side-shifting. :)

Having the value higher might help for Zone, imo, since it's easier to modulate the precise amount of airbraking required for cornering, and generally you only need to apply the same amount regardless of the zone (The turning response increases with speed, which is why on a few tracks it's possible to complete them using only airbrakes for steering). It should help at the least with making sure you don't steer too hard, but might take some practice. ((At the end of the day it comes down to personal preference, really.))

[mannjon]

So the zones are definitely harder. But also the zones do not match up either from game. I can consistently hit super zen on all of the hd fury tracks no problem, which is zone 42 I think? But that is about as far as I go on non pure 4 zone tracks and a few tracks I know well and anulpha which was meant to be a zone track anyway.

In 2048 though I was getting to just zone 30 on my first try in the campaign and I can pretty consistently get to zone 45 now having done 2048 a few days now. I just need more practice but there is an elite pass zone race on Altima that worries me: zone 70. I know that was not on the vita version. I'm positive.

That will likely be the last elite pass I get. The combat challenges seem easier though.

I'll check to see if the brake settings make a difference. I kept mine at 100% for both games in the past.

*Update*
Finally got the Completist award. Not elite though. I'm literally missing all the elite zone stuff. But in the process I unlocked the Piranha Speed, which seems to work better for me on zone. This brings up a question: Are zone ships the same in terms of stats like HD was, or do the stats affect the way it handles? I've had much better luck with the Piranha, and got within 1 zone of elite passing the zone challenge on 2048, and got up to 62 on Sol.

I have not much advice to offer here unfortunately unless my Piranha theory turns out to be true. This sucks for people with waning reflexes (I think I may just need glasses).

@skythian, bad news my friend, Sol's elite pass is 75 zones. I'm going to get it eventually. 55% progress on Transcendence.

[Danterich]

Thank you all for this helpful thread! Every cell of HD and Fury campaign one elite, finally! Back in the days on ps3/vita i´ve thought it´s impossible for me. Have platin on both though.
I´m very grateful for being member in this community.
Best wishez from an old wipeout-pilot.

[mannjon]

Yay Danterich is back! We had some close races back in HD/Fury. Glad to see you back!

Are you still rockin' the Mirage?

[skythian]

@mannjon, you weren't kidding. The final Tech De Ra detonator was a beast. Took me probably 10 tries but I eventually got it. The key for me (as with all detonator events for those with waning reflexes), is to just focus on staying alive. If you can make it to level 14 you'll probably be at or very close to the required point total, even if you haven't played all that well. The key is staying alive. For Tech De Ra, I ended up using my blast either right at the beginning of the lap or after the long straight part towards the end, since I was routinely taking quite a few mines in those parts.

Not the most frustrating challenge ever, but pretty tough. Now I just have the 8 race tourney, the Modesto reverse race (which is proving surprisingly tough for me), and the Syncopia detonator. Slowly but surely... ECL here I come!

- - - Updated - - -

Am I correct in assuming that the Zone 65 trophy will take care of itself during the process of Elite Passing the 2048 campaign?

- - - Updated - - -

@mannjon, did you get the 75 zone Sol elite pass?

[mannjon]

@mannjon, you weren't kidding.

- - - Updated - - -

Am I correct in assuming that the Zone 65 trophy will take care of itself during the process of Elite Passing the 2048 campaign?

- - - Updated - - -

@mannjon, did you get the 75 zone Sol elite pass?

First, the trophy for reaching zone 65 happens automatically. Oddly enough I managed to get to zone 65 on Rockaway Stadium, so I didn't have to rely on the 65 zone elite pass requirements to get it.

Long time no chat ;) So an update: Last night was an extreme mental torture round of 2048 zones challenges. I managed to get all the elite passes for 2048 and 2049 a few days ago, and all that remained were the zone challenges for 2050. The ones that gave me the most trouble by far were Altima and the Subway. The 50 on Capital Reach was also tough but once you learn that weird extended tunnel section, it isn't too bad.

Sol 2 turned out being the easiest. I was kind of exhausted when I tried it, but it took two tries, and I got to zone 83 I think. Sol is the easiest despite the highest zone requirement. I chose to not use the AG-SYS Agility for that one because I fell off the track with a ship with more handling oddly enough. The easiest route is to hang left at the first fork (the lower path) and not go for the skill cut after you cross the little jump. I also avoided the final skill cut. I had a TON of perfect laps, and I didn't hit a single wall, and eventually subjected to death by falling.

Rockaway is also really hard, but the pass requirement isn't as high. I resorted to AG-SYS Agility for that one for that insane haripin and didn't take any of the skill cuts.

Subway was a nightmare for me. I eventually elite passed it, and I used Agility AG-SYS for that as well, despite wobbling a lot. For that one, at the big fork, hang right, and take the magstrip option. It is far easier, despite the uncomfortable shape of the magstrip path. I found it easier to avoid the skillcuts after that though. This one took about 8 tries total.

Altima was a beast. I started out using the wrong ship. Once again, AG-SYS Agility is the best choice. Initially I tried taking the skill cut option (towards the end of the track) but couldn't get past zone 60. So I tried again going around it. It is a harder curve, but it wound up being much easier in the end. After I switched my route, it took an additional 3 tried to get it. The hardest part was controlling my ship at points where it got airborne. The chicane series towards the end is pretty benign with a little practice.

Those were my last elite passes, so... Done with 2048 Elite Completist! Yay! When I was done with zone, I was around rank 46, and I've been farming experience. Since you will likely have to deal with this later, the most efficient way to get XP is probably the Feisar Prototype challenge. Eventually I got a time of 7.52.14, which was good enough for rank #61. I'm getting about 4000K XP per 8 minute race.

All that remains is the Piranha Prototype Elite Pass, and reaching rank 50 (currently rank 49). Then Plat time. But at least the hard stuff is out of the way.

So for the zones, expect it to take a while. I kept creeping up by one or two zones each attempt. It is also a good idea to just focus only on zone challenges to take advantage of being familiar with higher speeds. But if I can do it, I'm sure you can too! Look me up, we should race sometime.

[dontmindlosing]

Do you people have a preferred ship for the 2048 campaign zone stages? Or do you select different ships, depending on the stage? I'm looking for that ship that has the best balance between shields and handling to help me get those elite passes for zone.

[mannjon]

I struggled with this too at first. I didn't realize that there were no specific zone ships (like in HD). But here are some very basics to get you started. There is not a "best ship" per say, but the AG SYS Prototype will take twice the damage from scrapes or impact, but regain twice the energy back for each perfect zone. It also has the extended sideshift distance. That being said, I do NOT recommend using the prototype for zone challenges, especially if you are just looking to elite pass them all (like I was). I've seen some people using that particular ship for world records, but for just passing, it is too tricky to use.

Similarly, the Fighter ships (or any ship in with full shields) will NOT take damage on wall scrapes unlike HD. You won't get a "perfect lap" but it will count as a perfect zone and you can recover energy even if you scrape a few times as long as no damage occurs. It may very well be the case that the shield stat does not effect this and this is part of the mechanic, but I didn't use enough ships to find out. The important part is that scrapes don't hurt you, and won't mess up a perfect zone. Strategically scraping every now and then is useful for difficult turns. Sideshifts are way more meaningful in 2048 too because ships retain their stats. Keep that in mind, because unlike HD, SS will be necessary on certain tracks.

Now on to specifics. For the 2048 year, I used the Qirex Agility ship. I chose a ship with lower handling because I initially kept wobbling out of control on higher speeds. This works well for tracks like Empire Climb and Queens Mall where there most of the track is a wide open space because the stiffer handling seemed to help me to stay on track better.

I used the same ship for all the 2049 challenges too, but I realized my mistake when I started the 2050 year. Don't get me wrong here, the advice above still stands, for wider less technical tracks, stiffer handling is the way to go at first. But half way through 2049, you start to have more difficult tracks. So here is what I specifically used:

Unity Square - Qirex Agility (don't take any skill cuts)
Metro Park - Qirex Agility (don't take skill cuts)
Queens Mall - Qirex Agility (don't take skill cuts)
Capital Reach - AG SYS Agility (for the opening series go: left, right, left for most direct path, don't take other skill cuts)
Empire Climb - Qirex Agility (don't take skill cuts)
Rockaway Stadium - AG SYS Agility (don't take skill cuts)
Downtown - Qirex Agility (don't take skill cuts, after zone 45 or so you'll get airborne on the lefthand turn mid-track)
Subway - Qirex Agility/AG SYS Agility (take first skill cut only, veering off the left at the fork)
Sol - Qirex Agility/AG SYS Agility (use first skill cut to veer right, despite a 75 requirement this is one of the easiest tracks)
Altima - AG SYS Agility (don't take skill cuts, the last one is almost tempting though)

I also suggest not doing any other events until you elite pass all zones. Once you start to experience Mach 1.1+ speeds, you'll be primed to better handle those on different tracks too. I just sat down and did each zone challenge, and it seemed to help. Don't look at anything except the track too. It may be tempting to look at shield or zone level, but I always got further by ignoring everything except the track. Actively remember NOT to barrel roll. There is nothing more annoying that getting to about 5-10 zones shy of pass and barrel rolling away that much needed energy.

Personally for me, if I wasn't at full energy (or at least 80%) by zone 30, I restarted. It didn't happen often, but if you are playing that bad that early you won't recover and since zone takes so much time, it isn't worth it to try to stick it out. However for me, having less than 80% was fairly common by zone 12-15 due to the horrid track color scheme design. B Class is the worst by far, because the track and walls all turn white. I only started getting perfect laps on B class speeds after I really knew the tracks well. This is a design flaw, nothing to do with technical ability. But A Class and A+ Class are easy enough to recover what you lost (if you did). If you don't recover (ie less that 80% by zone 30 or so) time to restart.

I always hated zone. It feelsnlike a chore and I personally don't enjoy it at all, but by doing the 2048 zone elite passes, you'll unlock the zone 65+ trophy (if you haven't already) as well as likely get the Elite Completist (for me zones were the last things to elite pass).

[dontmindlosing]

Thank you a million times over, mannjon. This is the kind of golden wisdom I was looking for. I will go with this and persevere! Bring on the zones! :)

[skythian]

Great info mannjon. I'm about to dive into 2048 because...

I got ECL!!! Tech de Ra detonator was the biggest time consumer. Syncopia detonator wasn't bad (I think struggling with Tech de Ra made me better at detonator), and the 8 race tourney was cake. I got killed in two races and still won the gold on my first try with 43 points.

I also knocked out Hold your Fire at Syncopia. Took me a few tries but not terrible. Currently working on Zico HD and I'll reinforce the tip I've seen elsewhere. Remap your left and right controls in the PS4 accessibility settings to L1 and R1. This makes the barrel roll onto the ramp WAY easier. I'm down to 30.92 after 15 laps so I think another tenth shouldn't be a problem, especially after spending 300+ laps beating Zico the first time.

[mannjon]

The most important things on Beat Zico HD to do are the double turbo rolls on the first long straight. Obviously boost before start too.

The easy method, is to boost before next lap. Learn how to get all three boost pads without braking leading to the straight. Boost on the hump, roll, land on the top of the next little hill, and roll again. Try to aim for the narrow gap. SS at the next boost pad, then SS again (to the right) and try to hit 2 of the boost pads in the clump. Then... that damned roll on to the bridge.

Don't SS. It makes things harder if you are just going for the pass. With enough practice (or luck) you'll get that roll without falling off.

This last part is also crucial: when on the bridge, DON'T ride it out all the way. On the boost pad just before the bridge ends, instead SS off to the left and roll there. Not only is it faster distance wise, but you can hit an extra boost pad after you land back on the track. This is not nearly as hard as the bridge roll, but it will take a few times to master it enough to do this every lap.

I personally don't typically recommend switching to the L1 R1 if you can manage, because SS is a little harder to do with those mappings, and that last SS off the bridge is pretty important (worth an extra 0.25 seconds or so). But hey, if that works, others might find it useful! Personal preference really. My muscle memory is committed to L2 R2 and the d-pad. I can't do it any other way. If you are "driving stick" this is indeed a useful tactic.

[skythian]

Yeah, I got it tonight with a 30.77. Only sideshift I did was the one off the bridge.

L1 R1 mapping is definitely an adjustment, but I remember only hitting the BR onto the bridge maybe 1/10 laps on the original WOHD. With L1 R1 I was doing it almost every lap. Took me 84 laps total to get the trophy this time (which is less than an hour of work) and without the two glasses of scotch I probably could have done it in half that.

[mannjon]

Yeah, I got it tonight with a 30.77. Only sideshift I did was the one off the bridge.

L1 R1 mapping is definitely an adjustment, but I remember only hitting the BR onto the bridge maybe 1/10 laps on the original WOHD. With L1 R1 I was doing it almost every lap. Took me 84 laps total to get the trophy this time (which is less than an hour of work) and without the two glasses of scotch I probably could have done it in half that.

You know, that should be a handicap for us older folk. I don't race with at least a beer or 4. I would love to have a drunken master tournament! Congrats though! I always hated that trophy in HD, and I got it my second freakin' lap this go round. It was the first trophy I got too! Too bad there isn't a lapped out trophy, I definitely did that tonight trying to get top 3 on Moa Therma SL. That damn BSB start is a killer to get, and I finally pull it off, and miss the barrel rolls at the end for a lousy 7th place :/

I think I got sub 30 on HD on Anulpha Pass. Don't know if I want to try that again.

[skythian]

Totally down for a drunken master tournament. Actually I think a drink or two helps me on Zone. Takes a little bit of edge off. More than that and things go downhill... :D

[mannjon]

How do we confirm alcohol progress? Hey here is an idea, wine takes a shot. If they keep winning they keep drinking until they don't until the next pilot gets wasted. Sounds exhausting but fun.

[BlackReign]

I don't exactly have poor reflexes but I do have some joint issues with my hands. It make doing side shifts and some BRs a little hard sometimes. Especially left side shifts (my left hand is a bit worse than my right). I'm curious on what controllers or mappings some of you might be using. I've tried a few things that mostly didn't work. Right now I'm using a Strike Pack for my Dual Shock and I have acceleration mapped to the right paddle. It's a bit easier on my finger/thumb for me to hold that paddle down than the x button.

[tug_14]

i have same probs with my left hand ... quick ss and br are more difficult :--

Im using classical mapping without sensor only change L2/R2 to L1/R1 for aerobrakes and set them to 40%

[skythian]

The only tip I would have for bad joints is to remap left and right to L1 and R1, as mentioned above. Takes a while to get used to but makes a world of difference in the dexterity requirement for barrel rolls.

@mannjon I think we take people at their word. If you win and you know you weren't drinking then you're a douche. Sucks to be you!

[BlackReign]

i have same probs with my left hand ... quick ss and br are more difficult :--

Im using classical mapping without sensor only change L2/R2 to L1/R1 for aerobrakes and set them to 40%

Hey tug_14. I remember you from PS3 but have yet to see you online in Omega. Thanks for the tips. I tried changing the airbrakes to L1/R1 but had a very hard time adjusting to it. What do you mean by
'without sensor"?

- - - Updated - - -


The only tip I would have for bad joints is to remap left and right to L1 and R1, as mentioned above. Takes a while to get used to but makes a world of difference in the dexterity requirement for barrel rolls.


skythian,
Thanks. I saw the earlier posts and tried that left/right to L1/R1 remapping to. I found it a bit hard to get used to and still had roughly the same difficulty doing some BRs. But I only did about 30-40 speed lap tests while trying that method. I might give it another go.

[tug_14]

Im talking about motion detect setting

i don't activate motion detect...

You have 2 types of settings with ,and my icaras seems to be a feisar when i activate motion detect

[BlackReign]

Im talking about motion detect setting

i don't activate motion detect...

You have 2 types of settings with ,and my icaras seems to be a feisar when i activate motion detect

Oh ok. Got it. Thanks!

[Unison_Phoenix]

I get this distinct impression that the tips for the courses near the start of this thread run the presumption that you play with the D-pad... I'm still seriously struggling to navigate Chenghou Project on Phantom class and i usually play with the left stick as opposed to the D-pad. my problem is with maintaining pitch and properly getting through the sloped turn, even after watching Hellfire's tutorial on it a few times (except I don't use Goteki 45), I still keep scraping along most of that freaking turn. what's the trick about going into that turn...?

i also still have trouble with the hairpin, but that i can figure out... but I don't encounter enough situations that involve pitching down...

if it helps much, i tend to use Van-Uber, Harimau, and occasionally AG systems or FEISAR

[BlackReign]

Personally I use the d-pad because I'm old school and that's what's comfortable for me (even after trying the left stick). What I do for the sloped turn after the hairpin is careful use of the airbrakes. Very brief taps here and there. Unless you're using a ship with bad handling like Piranha, you don't need heavy use of the airbrakes. I tend to try to stay a little more just right of center (unless someone is right behind me). Then a few feet before the end of the turn (right before you go through the tunnel I left side shift to get a little more air then do a BR right before going through the tunnel.

Pitching down can be important because sometimes you don't want a lot of air. If you get enough air to do a BR you want to get back to the ground more quickly and pitching down can help. There are also spots where pitching down right before dips in the track then pitching up will give you enough air to do a BR that you wouldn't be able to do otherwise. Here's a couple examples.

On Sebenco Climb right after the first turn (hairpin) there's a little hill in the track. When you go over this your ship bounces up a bit. If you don't pitch down while you go over this you'll generally notice that your ship bounces more when it hits the hill and the nose of your ship will point up. This isn't good for keeping a straight line so forcing the nose of the ship down helps and keeps your ship pointed forward instead of up.

On Vineta K just after the second tunnel right before the final straight there's a weapon pad on the left and a speed pad on the right. There's a dip right before the speed pad making pad sit on a very little bump/hill. If you pitch down right before the speed pad then pitch up just before hitting the pad you get just enough air to do a BR. I know you can do this on rapier and phantom, not sure about flash or venom.

Last example, On Ubermall right after the track splits and reconnects you go up a small hill in the track. If you have a turbo here you can use it boost past that whole section. If you haven't done this yet you've probably seen others do it. But let's say when you use the turbo get too much air and/or will hit the wall. If you pitch down you'll avoid the wall and get back to the track faster.

[Unison_Phoenix]

Personally I use the d-pad because I'm old school and that's what's comfortable for me (even after trying the left stick). What I do for the sloped turn after the hairpin is careful use of the airbrakes. Very brief taps here and there. Unless you're using a ship with bad handling like Piranha, you don't need heavy use of the airbrakes. I tend to try to stay a little more just right of center (unless someone is right behind me). Then a few feet before the end of the turn (right before you go through the tunnel I left side shift to get a little more air then do a BR right before going through the tunnel.

what exactly qualifies as "brief taps" of the air brakes on the analog L2/R2 triggers (I'm using the default controls)?

[BlackReign]

what exactly qualifies as "brief taps" of the air brakes on the analog L2/R2 triggers (I'm using the default controls)?

Just that. I usually do brief taps or holds on the triggers for airbrakes. And by brief I mean nothing really longer than like a half second or so excluding hairpins and other really tight turns. I say this knowing that I prefer more maneuverable ships like AG or Harimau, etc. Ships that are harder to turn require more braking. Too much airbraking and you might find others passing you during turns.