CSR Racing – FAQ/Walkthrough

Guide Name: CSR Racing Guide 2016

Platform: Android, iPhone, iPad
Guide By: Gareth Parkinson (GazNicki / BigGaz1982 / GazNicki2504)
Guide Release Date: March 7th 2016Guide Version: 1.00

INTRODUCTION

There are a lot of places online where you can find tips on how to get the most out of CSR Racing, which is the fastest car in each tier, which is the best car for a certain race, or which car costs the least. What I found though was that none of the tips or guides helped me to prepare for the future of the game. Maybe they are outdated or maybe what I wanted was too specific or not specific enough.

Eitherway, I made a few mistakes along the way. I wanted to share with you my experiences in the form of a guide to help you to get the best out of the game in the shortest possible time-frame.

If you are looking to climb the ranks of CSR online quickly, this isn't the guide for you.
If you are looking to just wizz through the game and buy the best cars in class, this isn't the guide for you.
If you are looking to get the best out of the game and give yourself an easier ride through into the World Series - this IS the guide for you.

I make no claims to be the best racer, or even one of the decent ones, but I have compiled this guide using my own experiences and from things I have learned from others along the way.

My highest online position has been Top 15% with a top 2% in an event - so I am far from the amazing caliber of thousands of other racers - but maybe one day eh?

INITIAL TIPS

Firstly, a few tips before you start out which should hopefully put you on the right path.

1. You don't need to spend real money on this game, unless you want to.
2. If you do want to spend real money, your best bet is to buy the first promo pack that you can which is cheap and gives a great deal of cash and gold.
3. Gold isn't as important as you think for the day-to-day playing of the game, but don't spend it recklessly.
4. You make more money in Single Player than in Multiplayer. Multiplayer is not to be used for grinding.
5. If you buy the extended tank, it will last you forever on all cars - so it makes it a good purchase if you want to spend the real-world moolah.
6. Adding a facebook account to your game gives you a boost in gold with a one-off deposit to your account. Take this ASAP.
7. Max out your car before taking on the Tier Boss. Don't take them on without a car at Max, you need to beat them to win their car.
8. Daily Races can be run more than once. You should maximise your income by racing them as many times as possible.

PLAYING THE GAME

HOW TO GRIND FOR CASH

Cash is king in this game (isn't it always?) but it isn't as hard to get as you would think. As you progress through the game, your winnings increase - but so do your costs. You need to bear this in mind before you start.

In order to maximise your income from your cars, you should buy the best possible decal for your car as this gives you cash bonus for every race you win! This is often payable in GOLD and not cash, but it is often worth it. When you buy your first car, you won't have any money or gold to buy this decal - so hang fire on your first motor. On any subsequent purchases though, this should be purchased immediately or as soon as possible.

GETTING STARTED

Once you get started in the game you will be presented with some money from an anonymous backer. This is only $25,000 and is just enough to buy a Tier 1 (T1) car. Your choice of car isn't vital as any maxed car can take on the boss. It should be noted though that the T1 boss is running a Mini Cooper, so personally I went for something different. I chose the Ford Focus ST.

With your first car you have likely spent all of your money on your first car - so upgrades or decals are out of the question, but fear not for now. Follow the on-screen instructions and hit the races you are told to until the tutorial ends.

You have limited fuel, 10 'pips' in total. Each race costs a minimum of 1 pip each (boss races can cost 2 pips per race). Fuel is the biggest hinderence in the game, so the game offers two premium upgrades for you:

1. Extended Fuel Tank. This ups your fuel capacity to 15 and gives you a free refill in the process. This is a good buy if you want to spend the money as the fuel tank is not car specific so will always be 15 pips big.
2. Unlimited Fuel. This gives you unlimited fuel for 24 hours. This is a good buy if you want to hit the big time in the Multiplayer section of the game, but it isn't much good in the early stages of the game.

Once you run out of fuel for the first time, you will be given a free refill. This is the only free full refill you will be given. You will be presented with random offers to watch a video for free fuel (max of 2 pips each) or you can also tap the fuel tank and choose to watch a video for 1 pip of fuel. Fuel regens a about 8 mins per pip - 2hrs sees a full tank re-emerge.

Now that you have your first car, you should start to grind the races to build up your cash stockpile, upgrading your car as you go. I find it best you upgrade evenly, so don't just focus on one type of upgrade first. Upgrade everything to stage 1, then stage 2, then stage 3 and so on.

Stage 4 and 5 upgrades take time to deliver, but you can speed this up with a video - so do that.

Since you are new to the game too, you should add your Facebook Account for a bonus delivery of gold. Use this gold to buy your first decal on the car you are using - the BEST decal you can afford. If you have selected the Ford Focus ST as your first car you can select one that gives $450 per win for 10 Gold, one that gives $350 for 5 gold, or one that gives $250 for 2 gold. Personally, on the first car I would opt for the $250 for 2 gold as this gives the best return on inestment.

Keep grinding your way through the races and the crew races until you have upgraded your car.

DO NOT RACE THE BOSS - YET.

RULING THE TIERS

The whole point of the game is to beat the Tier Boss to become the best driver in the game, moving from one tier to the next. Each tier gives better and more powerful cars with Tier 5 being the best tier.

You need to race the tier crew, and the more you beat the closer you get to racing the boss. Before you take on the boss, which is 3 races, you need to have a decently tuned car.

You don't NEED a maxed car to beat the boss, but you SHOULD have a maxed car to beat the boss. As a minimum, you should be maxed BEFORE you hit the boss for the third and final time.
Each time you beat the boss, their car is upgraded. By the time you hit the final race, their car is maxed out. Better still, you get a nice pay-out and 2 gold for beating them. But it doesn't end there.
Once you beat them for the third time, they come back and challenge you again for their gold back. If you win, you keep their car which is an overtuned version that is for the next tier. So, the boss car for T1 is actually a T2 Mini Cooper!!
With a maxed out car, you can beat them. But if you want to make sure, have the mechanic fettle your engine. Winning this car is key to running through the game as efficiently as possible.

If you hit the first boss race with a maxed car, all proceeds are going into your bank ready for your next tier. Cars and upgrades in the next tier become more expensive, so by grinding from the beginning you are giving yourself a boost.
If you take the boss car, you are likely to be able to hit the first 1-2 crew members in the next tier and a few other races. So max out your car, hit the boss for the last 4 races and take your newly aquaired car into the next round.

If you rinse and repeat this method, you will have a great advantage at the start of each tier and find you can speed through the tiers.

WHICH CAR - TIER BY TIER

There are lots of ways you can do this, but I like to plan for the future. Once you beat the 5 tiers, you open up a new world in the game. A new world where money is needed. A world where you need MILLIONS to compete. By playing the game with the following strategy, you can give yourself a boost.

TIER 1 - Opt for the Focus ST as your first car and fully upgrade it. Take the boss down and win a T2 Mini Cooper
TIER 2 - Use the Mini Cooper you won in T1 to build up a cash stockpile. Buy the Alfa 4C and max it out. This car comes in handy later on again too - so make sure you MAX IT OUT!
TIER 3 - Buy the Mustang Boss 302 for this level and MAX IT OUT. You will win a T4 BMW M3.
TIER 4 - Buy the Ferrari F430 and MAX IT OUT. This will land you Carlito's T5 ZR1. This car comes in handy later on again too and will save you a fortune.
TIER 5 - Buy the Ferrari 458 Speciale. This is NOT the best car in the T5 range, but it will again save you a fortune later on - so buy it and MAX IT OUT. You will win an Audi R8 LMS for your efforts.

MOVING ON FROM THE TIERS

Once you have beaten the tiers, you are into the World Series. This is a cash-heavy part of the game where each area has a crew boss and 4 underlings. Each underling has their own car and you need to compete with their car. This means you need to buy multiple cars.

Over in the Italian Section you have the following:

Romeo - Drives a Ferrari 458 Speciale (which if you followed this guide you already have maxed out). Take him down.
Donnesta - Drives a Ferrari F430 (which if you followed this guide you already have maxed out). Take her down.
Alberto - Drives a Ferrari F40 (you will need to buy and upgrade this).
Felix - Drives a Ferrari F12Berlinetta (you will need to buy and upgrade this).
La Stella - Drives a Ferrari LaFerrari - one of the best cars in the game. You get one for free if you take down her underlings.

You also have the following races to help boost your money in this section:

Alfa 4C Restriction
Ferrari F430 Restirction

Since you already have these maxed out, completed these sections too!

You should be able to max out the F40 and the F12Berlinetta easily with your winnings and donated money, making getting the LaFerrari a cakewalk.

GRINDING IN THE WORLD SERIES

I have only made it to Italy so far, and I haven't stuck to my guide as I made mistakes I have now learned from, but I use my Ferrari F430 to dominate the Pro races in the Match Race section. This nets me just under $20k per race, which gives me arounf $200k per tank. Plus free fuel and daily races, I can hit over $300k per session - enough to upgrade my Ferrari 458 Speciale with each run.

Once you have mastered the Italian section, you have the rest of the World Series to get through. This really is a case of grinding away to get the money for the cars you need.

MULTIPLAYER MADNESS

Multiplayer is NOT the best way to generate cash. The payouts are weak in comparrison to the payouts you get in-game, especially as you hit the higher tiers. There are advantages though to Multiplayer which shouldn't be sniffed at. The remainder of this guide is aimed at hitting multiplayer and getting as high a ranking as possible.

TIPS FOR MULTIPLAYER

In multiplayer, you race for Money and Reputation Points (RP). The higher your RP, the higher your ranking. The higher your ranking, the greater the prize rewards. The following tips will help you in gathering the maximum amount of RP that you can.

1. Own more cars. You can get cars by:
   - maxing out cars and racing them against friends in Single Player Mode to get 3-Stars. This will award you with another car.
   - Racing online, and completing streaks of 4-6 will net you cards from the card shark. These cards have different random prizes which include car parts for PRO cars.
   - Buying them in Single Player - once you hit Tier 5, it is cheap to buy the cars in T1 and T2 to gain more RP bonuses.
2. Win RP Boosts through the cards from the card shark.
3. Watch a video to boost your RP bonus for a while
4. Race in PRO events for 2x the RP or in the random limited events for upto 5x the RP.
5. Win streaks. By winning a streak you are offered the chance to continue with an RP bonus. The more streaks you win in a row, the bigger the RP bonuses are.
6. Check for when RP bonus events are being held.

WHAT YOU CAN WIN IN MULTIPLAYER

By winning RP you move up the ranks. Each season in Multiplayer there is a car for grabs, and the RP from all events in the season adds together to your ranking. Come in the top 1% and you get a PRO car. Come in the top 3% and you get the same car but in standard form. Come in the top 10% and get a gold coin payout. There are other prizes but these are not listed.

Events also have their own prizes, but as these vary from event to event it would be difficult to list them here. These can range from cash payouts to free upgrades, RP boosts, Gold Coins or more.

You also win money. The Card Shark (Frankie the Fish) puts you onto a streak which you can cash out on at any time. However the prizes increase as you complete the streak. The top prize comes nowhere near the cosh prizes you get in single player, but you can also win up to three cards from Frankie.

Cards - These cards offer various random prizes, just like a lucky dip. These can be; Money, Gold Coins, Pro Car Parts, Free Upgrades, RP Boosts or Pro Tuners for limited times.

Free upgrades are the best prizes, but they are rare. You should use them wisely on the cars you want to upgrade in your garage - but opt for the most expensive upgrades to get the best out of your prize.

CLOSING

There is a lot to this game, a lot to learn and a lot to do. There are records to beat, a garage to complete, cars to upgrade and so much more. It's not the most difficult game to play, but it is highly addictive.

I hope that my guide helps some of you to play CSR and enjoy it.