RUN THESE STREETS

Y’all already know Need for Speed™ is about white-knuckle moments - whether you’re tearing up the road in a sprint, lap race, or just high-tailing it from the cops. We’ve talked about how you can Turn Up the Heat in Need for Speed™ Unbound, increasing your rewards and Bank to upgrade your vehicles and driver. 

This week we’re bringing the deets about driving, events, challenges, and owning the roads of Lakeshore City.

DRIVE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT!

Get sideways!

Don’t forget, you have options on how you initiate a drift. You can always use the handbrake/e-brake to enter a drift - but remember, tap it. You don’t want to hold it as you’re entering the drift or you will swing too far and end up sideways, or worse. In addition to using the handbrake/e-brake to initiate a drift, you can choose from Gas or Brake Tap (on by default), Gas Tap, or Brake Tap, or you can turn those options off. Your angle of attack or entry into the corner will determine your aggressiveness of the drift - and may impact which way you initiate your drift. Grip Turning is also available, holding you to the road as you curve around the turns and blast out into the straightaways. Drifting and Grip Turning will build up your Burst Nitrous bar, giving you a nice jolt of boost when you need it coming out of a turn.

When in the starting grid, pay attention to your RPMs during the countdown. There’s a sweet spot that will give you an extra jump off the line when the race starts. You gotta have a feather touch - but if you hit it right, hold on tight. Too high or too low, and you’ll be pulling out at the back of the pack.

Once the race has started, drafting behind the pack will help fill up that Burst Nitrous bar quickly - so get ready to smash on the gas and hit that Burst Nitrous to overtake, or use it as you enter a drift to blast you through the turn and get an edge on your competitors.

The roads aren’t the only route - but keep in mind the way you’ve set up your ride. If you’ve got your car dialed in for Drifting or Street Racing, going off-road can end up being a bad choice. Unless you’ve got Off-Road parts, you’ll lose speed, traction, and overall control. It is a great way to ditch the cops, though.

TAKEOVERS

A$AP Rocky announcing a Takeover

Takeovers are unique events and they get you a nice payday or maybe even a new set of wheels - if you win. When you jump into a Takeover, you’re competing against the other racers’ scores - but it’s you all by yourself on the closed track. Takeover events are all about steez over speed, drifting through turns, crashing through barrels and barricades, and upping your multiplier while keeping your speed up to push your score higher to take home the win. The more destruction you cause, the more it adds up to your combo, and that matters when it comes to the leaderboards in a Takeover.

Combos increase your score in Takeovers

When you win, you’ll get your payday - but make no mistake, while you were tearing up the track, the cops were on their way. Be ready to run, race, hide, or take out your pursuers as soon as the Takeover ends, because they’re waiting for you.

LAKESHORE CITY ACTIVITIES, CHALLENGES, AND COLLECTIBLES

Car Delivery Jobs - Is This Thing Stolen?

From time to time, you’ll get a call to pick up a ride that got.. misplaced. It happens, right? Depending on who calls, your focus will be speed or keeping the car in one piece. For the Low Heat Deliveries, it’s about getting there quickly. You’ll have a set time limit with a fixed point-to-point route, and the faster you go, the higher your payout. For High Heat Deliveries, it’s a bit trickier. You’re not really worried about time as much as the pack of cops in your rearview mirror the moment you climb into the driver’s seat. Get the car to the delivery spot as quickly as possible, but note: you’re rated on how much damage you do/don’t do to the car. The more pristine the car is when it’s dropped off, the more cash for you to Bank. Had a bit of an oopsie and it’s barely driving? Might want to hit a Gas Station to tighten it up before dropping it off. You won’t be able to drop it off during an active chase, but if you’re in Cooldown, slip in and get rid of it.

Passenger Delivery Jobs - Are You A Taxi? 

As you’re heading to your next Meetup or Takeover, you may get a call from a fellow racer who is stuck out and needs a lift. Get there as quickly as possible to begin the delivery - you’re on the clock. Avoid getting the attention of the cops as best you can. If they spot you, lose ‘em fast and get the racer to their destination in time to get the biggest payout. If you get busted, they get busted - and nobody gets paid. Get them to the Safe House successfully, and you unlock a new Safe House you can dip into when it gets too hot on the streets.

Just like car deliveries, you gotta wait until the chase is over. Get that Cooldown going and get them home.

Drift Zones - Get Sideways

Slippin’ and slidin’, through Lakeshore City we’re ridin’. Drift Zones are throughout the city and start by entering the first gate. As soon as you enter a Drift Zone, you’ll be timed and scored as you follow the course. Objective is to accumulate the most amount of distance while drifting - and get to the finish - before the time is up.

Speed Traps - Radar Enforced

Speed Traps gauge if you truly have a need for speed, or if you’re just cruisin’. Get that speed up as you blast through the Speed Traps to see what star rating you get (based on your speed). The higher the speed, the higher the star rating, the more cash for you to Bank.

Speedruns - Go, go, go!

Speedruns are scattered throughout the city, testing your driving skill and nerve. You’ll pass through the starting marker, beginning the event, then need to hit every marker through the finishing. Keep your top speed up, use your Nitrous and Burst Nitrous, and beat your last best speed to get more stars. Don’t try to go through them the wrong way - it won’t work. We tried.

Jumps - If you had wings, you could fly

We told you Lakeshore City was designed with racers in mind - and you’ll see this evidenced by the amount of Jump ramps throughout the city. Hit the ramp and get airborne - but be ready to hit the ground hard and get control of your ride. (You can adjust the pitch and direction of your car mid-air, but don’t count on this saving you if you hit the ramp at the wrong angle -  or with 2 wheels.) The more speed you have when you hit the ramp, the further you’ll fly and the higher you’ll score.

CHALLENGES

Challenges are available for everything you do in Lakeshore City - drifting, escaping from cops, getting stars for activities, and adding to your collectibles. Completing Story Challenges will net you some new Driving Effects and some cash to Bank. Skill Challenges focus on winning races of various tiers and escaping the cops to snag some. Activities Challenges are all about the Activities and collecting stars for completing them. Collectibles Challenges feed the need to grab them all for the completionist in you. Rewards for completing Challenges range from cash to pad your Bank, Poses, Driving Effects (Tags and Samples), and even some new rides.

COLLECTIBLES

You know we’ve got stuff for you to grab as you navigate the highways and byways of Lakeshore City - billboards, bear collectibles, and street art collectibles are yours for the taking. The more you collect, the more customization you’ll unlock, like Driving Effects, Poses, and more. 

There’s always more to discover - and we can’t wait for you to jump into Lakeshore City with us. Our next Under the Hood will focus on Multiplayer - or as we call it “Lakeshore Online”.