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Combat racing screen 2

Race cars in combat.

Race cars are dune buggy-like vehicles used in combat racing, featured only in Jak X: Combat Racing. They are driven by racers on race tracks, both of which feature some familiar and some new names. Similar to the buggies used in the Wasteland during Jak 3, these vehicles are not anti-gravity, unlike many other standard vehicles such as zoomers and airships, and instead rely on four wheels (sometimes off-road style and sometimes treadless).

All race cars use an on-board weapons system, with dual submachine guns being the standard default. An additional arsenal may be utilized by collecting red and yellow eco pick-ups, giving you defensive and offensive weapons, respectively. Furthermore, blue and green eco pick-ups may be used to charge the vehicle's turbo reserve and repair damage to the race car, respectively. As with buggies, these vehicles possess jump jet capabilities as well, allowing the racer to perform small hops on command. Additionally, dark eco can be collected by killing enemies (and slightly by engaging the turbo and taking damage), a full meter of which will vastly upgrade your current weapons, lasting until your vehicle is destroyed.

Types[]

There are three classes of race cars, each class belonging to a certain Eco Cup and possessing four cars each. Generally for each class there is at least one of each type of car: all-rounder, brawler, speedster, and hybrid. All-rounders have neither outstanding speed nor armor, but are not inadequate by any means and work as needed. In fact, they can even excel in some areas, particularly when upgraded. Brawlers are bulky and fortified, specializing in armor and straight-up combat. Speedsters most of the time resemble minicars and specialize in speed but are usually very frail and have inferior handling. Hybrids combine two types, usually the speed of a speedster or all-rounder and the strength of a brawler.

Racers will be provided with an all-rounder and a brawler to start with, unlocking two more vehicles via medal points. The two vehicles that you start out with are the most conducive to the type of tracks you will encounter, including the usual circuit race tracks (all-rounder) and combat-based arenas (brawler).

Aside from the Eco Cup, there are also three unlockable cars not belonging to any class. These can be unlocked via the Secrets Shop and purchased with Precursor orbs, and in some cases connected to the save file of other games (see below table for details).

Statistics[]

Race cars have four categories of critical statistics: Engine, Gearbox, Armor, and Turbo. The max level of a race car's statistic depends on the car itself, and for this reason comparing the statistics between multiple cars is futile. Instead, the statistics are used to indicate the current level and can be upgraded by spending Precursor orbs earned from races.

The engine statistic determines your vehicle's top speed. A vehicle with a low engine statistic will have a hard time either keeping up with the other racers or maintaining a steady lead once ahead. The gearbox statistic is subtle but important, improving your vehicle's initial acceleration and slightly augmenting your engine's top speed. The armor statistic reinforces your vehicles existing armor, increasing your vehicle's hit points (that is, the amount of hits it can take before being destroyed). The turbo statistic increases your vehicle's turbo efficiency, allowing it to boost for a longer amount of time per turbo capsule.

Category 1st unit 2nd unit 3rd unit 4th unit 5th unit 6th unit 7th unit 8th unit 9th unit 10th unit
Engine 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000 18,000 20,000 22,000 24,000 26,000
Gearbox 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000 18,000 20,000 22,000 24,000
Armor
(HP)
3,000
(43.6)
4,000
(47.2)
5,000
(50.8)
6,000
(54.5)
7,000
(58)
8,000
(61.6)
9,000
(65.2)
10,000
(68.6)
11,000
(72.4)
12,000
(76)
Turbo 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000 10,000 11,000

Trophies[]

The PlayStation 4 version has four related trophies named "Adrenaline Junkie", "Road Resilience", "Swift Shifter" and "All Jak'd Up". Upgrading all vehicles' respective engine, gearbox, armor and turbo stats to a minimum of 50% each will reward you with a silver trophy for each statistic.

Driving[]

Control Button
Steer Left analog stick
Move camera Right analog stick
Accelerate X
Brake Square or Circle
Powerslide Square + Left analog stick
Rear view Triangle (hold)
Engage red weapon L1
Engage yellow weapon L1 (hold, depends on weapon)
Jump L2
Turbo R2 (hold) or
X + X
Pause menu Start
First person view Select

As you will learn in the initial training session with Keira, press and hold X to accelerate, and use either the Square or Circle button to activate the brakes. You can also hold the brake button to reverse the vehicle.

Powersliding occurs when the vehicle drifts and receives a turbo boost from it. This can be accomplished by pressing the brakes and turning hard right or hard left out of a high speed. Powersliding allows you to maintain momentum when taking a sharp corner, and can also add to your turbo meter when in need (as can a small jump with L1). Without going into the drift from a high speed your vehicle will do a quick 180-degree turn.

Turbo boosting propels the vehicle at a noticeably faster rate. Aside from powersliding and hang time, your vehicle can also fill its turbo meter via blue eco pick-ups, in the form of large blue capsules. The amount of time your vehicle has before depleting its turbo reserves is dependent on its turbo system, upgradeable with the Turbo statistic. As useful as boosting is, it usually corresponds with a loss of proper handling in most cars, making accurate turns impossible without drifting, and even some of the faster cars are prone to crashing if the turbo is not used properly while entering a powerslide.

The key to properly using the turbo is incredibly difficult for some of the fastest cars. To start with, ideally one will not turbo while entering a powerslide, as this causes you to spin out. Instead, slowly let go of the turbo and begin the powerslide, when you have passed about half of the turn, activate it again to minimize the loss of top speed while you were not using it and proceed as normal from there.

The PlayStation 4 version of this is related to a trophy named "Getting Sideways". Drifting 600 meters or more at once will reward you with a bronze trophy.

Information[]

Class Race car How to unlock Description Racer(s)
Class 1
(Red Eco Cup)
Road Blade Complete the five training courses An all-rounder with overall average capabilities, but an efficient turbo system and decent drifting albeit with a tendency to spin out of control with an unpracticed driver. Ashelin Praxis, Cutter, Jak, G.T Blitz
Basher Complete the five training courses A brawler with high durability, good handling, low engine speed, efficient turbo system, but poor drifting. Torn, Shiv
Dragonfly Collect 15 medal points in the Red Eco Cup A minicar speedster with a powerful engine but an outstandingly inefficient turbo system, also suffering from a low turning rate despite otherwise decent handling. UR-86, Keira
Howler 99 Collect 33 medal points in the Red Eco Cup A hybrid car with impeccable strength and engine speed, while suffering from poor handling and an inefficient turbo system. Sig, Edje
Class 2
(Green Eco Cup)
Street Grinder Complete the Red Cup Grand Prix A nimble all-rounder with a good acceleration rate and accurate handling, this car is otherwise simply an innocuous choice, with decent capabilities overall. JakAshelin Praxis, Cutter
Hammer Head Complete the Red Cup Grand Prix A brawler that also excels in acceleration, responsiveness, stability, and steering accuracy. Its engine speed and armor is more similar to that of a hybrid, however. Shiv, Torn
Firebat Collect 15 medal points in the Green Eco Cup While boasting the highest maximum engine and gearbox statistics, this microcar speedster's top speed is hard to utilize properly due to an inefficient turbo system, and also suffers from incredibly weak armor. Rayn, UR-86
Roadhog Collect 33 medal points in the Green Eco Cup This hybrid has two main strong points: its armor and its acceleration. Its wide berth imparts stability but also makes it difficult to take sharp turns while boosting or avoid rear weapons and other objects. Sig, Edje, Kleiver
Class 3
(Blue Eco Cup)
Javelin X Complete the Green Cup Grand Prix A culmination of what it means to be an all-rounder, the Javelin lacks any true downsides other than the fact that its average statistics can be outmatched, but is still one of the most reliable choices among the Class 3 cars. Jak Keira Ashelin Praxis, Torn G.T Blitz Rayn
Anvil RTX Complete the Green Cup Grand Prix This hybrid between an all-rounder and a brawler has enough acceleration and top speed to keep up with the other cars, with steering that is adequate until turbo boosting or taking tight corners. Sig, UR-86

Kleiver

Boomer Collect 15 medal points in the Blue Eco Cup A culmination of what it means to be a brawler, the Boomer is the single strongest race car throughout the whole championship. However, it does suffer as a bulky car that can lose momentum around tight corners and is also prone to rolling over due to its top-heaviness. Shiv, Edje
Havoc V12 Collect 33 medal points in the Blue Eco Cup One of the fastest cars in the championship, this hybrid is also one of the hardest cars to use effectively. Although it has good acceleration, steering, and drifting capabilities, the Havoc pales in control stability at high speeds, proving to be tough to handle even for experienced racers. Cutter, Razer
Secret cars Naughty Dog Complete adventure mode to unlock it at the Secrets Shop for 50,000 orbs Performance-wise it is fairly well-rounded, though the vehicle is very slow, making any other potential problems and factors (like rolling or spinning out of control, even while boosting and powersliding) a non-issue. Jak Keira Ashelin Praxis

Rayn

Sand Shark With a Jak 3 save file on your memory card, complete the Blue Cup Grand Prix to unlock it at the Secrets Shop for 40,000 orbs. An awkward car to drive, this novelty buggy-turned-racer has adequate performance, with the primary issue of a very noticeable pavement grip effect, particularly amplified by the turbo system. This grip effect can make it hard to steer, especially at high speeds. Jak
Daxtermobile Connect a 100% finished Daxter PlayStation Portable save file to your PlayStation 2 and scan for Secrets.

If you're on PlayStation 4, with a "Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection" savefile on your HDD, scan for Secrets.

Once the turbo is engaged this car will leave behind nearly all competitors on a straight track. Similarly fast cars have handling issues at high speeds, something of which the Daxtermobile suffers only slightly, with a loss of control not yet a thing of the past as taking a sharp turn while boosting is still risky during sharp turns. Daxter

Gallery[]

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