Looking for a mobile racing experience reminiscent of Mario Kart and other similar racing titles? KartRider Rush+ just might be up your alley, and as it was developed by Nexon (MapleStory M, AxE: Alliance vs. Empire, Overhit, etc.), you can expect stunning anime-style graphics, an immersive and deep Story Mode, and a plethora of other modes and features, including the option to take part in eight-driver multiplayer races, including conventional “Speed Races,” Item Races, Relay Races, and many others. You can also kick back, relax, and test newly unlocked karts and racers in Time Trial, or climb up the tiers and earn respect and rewards in Ranked Mode.
Although, there’s definitely a casual feel to this game, you’ll have to keep in mind that this game has quite a steep learning curve, or at least a steeper one than what most players might be expecting. KartRider Rush+ is a title that is packed with different modes and features, a whole lot of content to unlock, and an intricate social element that would allow you to interact with other human players.
But before we get to these intricacies and focus on certain modes and features, you’ll need to start out with the basics. Our KartRider Rush+ beginner’s guide is mainly designed for players who are at level 1 to 10 — we won’t be discussing all the features just yet, but we’ll certainly be focusing on the more important ones as we hope to get you started on the right foot in your first few days of playing the game. With that said, let’s get started with our KartRider Rush+ beginner’s guide, as we share with you a bunch of tips, cheats and tricks to level up fast and earn more rewards!
1. The Basics Of KartRider Rush+
As the name of the game suggests, KartRider Rush+ is all about two things — racing and drifting. Fortunately, the game does make a few things easy for players, and that includes accelerating — this is done automatically once you hit the Turbo Start button and start a race. Depending on the type of equipment you’re currently wearing, you may be given a few hints along the way, such as the right part of the track to start drifting, though we’re going to get to that later.
However, everything else in the game is on you — that includes turning left and right, drifting, and most other facets of handling the go-karts you can collect as you complete more races and keep leveling up in the game.
Before everything else, you will first be asked to choose a character — there are two to choose from at the start of the game, specifically Dao (male character) and Diz (female). Eventually, you’ll get a chance to unlock the other characters at some point in the game, but once you’ve chosen your driver, you can then choose your name and choose whether you want to use a male or female voice to represent yourself in voice chat.
You will then be taken the tutorial stage, where the game will guide you through your first race and teach you about the basic controls. These include the aforementioned Turbo Start button, the left and right turn buttons on the left half of the screen, the red nitro card boost button on the right side, and the “turbo taps” mechanic in long straights that could give your kart a significant boost of speed if you repeat this often enough.
You will also be introduced to the Drift button, which you’ll need to hit simultaneously with the left or right turn buttons before gently — emphasis on gently — tapping on the opposite directional turn button in order to stabilize your kart. It is very important to master this mechanic, as this could mean the difference between first and second place, regardless of the type of kart that’s currently equipped or how weak or strong your opponents are.
The nitro buttons, meanwhile, are also there for that quick, if temporary speed burst. You can activate the red nitro card boost by drifting successfully, as this will fill up the yellow meter on the bottom of the race screen. Better yet, a clean drift without bumping into other karts or the barriers or obstacles on the track will allow you to activate the blue flame nitro boost, which has a more impactful effect than the conventional red one.
Related: KartRider Rush+ Advanced Guide: Tips & Strategies to Stay Competitive and Win More Races
After you’re done with the first tutorial race, you will then get a taste of Speed Race mode and be placed in a race against seven other human drivers, for a total of eight. You don’t need to worry about getting beaten here — the game’s matchmaking system, as it seems, will match you against your fellow first-time drivers. It also appears that your kart will automatically be much faster than those of your opponents, even if everyone is using the same stock kart for first-time players.
That’s all designed to wean you into the KartRider Rush+ experience as you keep playing, keep unlocking new modes, and keep earning rewards, which, at this point, we can tell you include two primary forms of currency — Lucci, which is the game’s equivalent of gold/common currency, and K-Coins, which are the game’s premium form of currency.
2. Master Your Drifts Before Getting Your First License
Until you take your first License Test in the game, you will remain in the Rookie Division, where the races are easy and the opposition is largely made up of cream puff opponents. We’re going to get to Licenses eventually, but the reason we’re briefly mentioning them has something to do with what we mentioned in the above tip — you must master the art of drifting before you can even think of facing more challenging opponents in the higher divisions.
It won’t be easy at first, and you may come in contact with far too many barriers for comfort, but you can essentially use those early Speed Races as a way of practicing for the real competition while still being able to race against other human players. The Time Trials are arguably a better mode for practicing, as you are, for the most part, racing against yourself.
When drifting in any of the tracks or any of the available modes, it is best that you only briefly hold on to the Drift button (along with one of the turn buttons, of course) for best results. Holding on for too long will cause your kart to veer out of control and possibly head toward the opposite direction, so even if you lightly tap on the opposite turn button, you’ll still be losing significant ground against your opponents and adding costly seconds to your lap/overall time. Yes, it’s true that drifting is executed by tapping and holding, but make sure you aren’t holding on for too long, especially if it’s just a soft turn that doesn’t require much of a drift.
It’s also important to practice drifting without crashing into something, because bumping into external objects does, in one way or another, count as a negative stat — it could prevent you from reaching certain objectives, and it will definitely slow you down. Bumping into something may not be the end of the world, but you will surely want to get that blue nitro boost for a clean and properly executed drift, rather than a rough and awkward one.
3. Use Practice And Training Camp To Brush Up On Your Fundamentals
Building on what we said above, it’s arguably best to consider those Speed Races in the Rookie division and Time Trials as training on the job. For the former, you’re racing against other “real people,” and for the latter, you’re racing to beat your best time. But there are two other modes you can race in if you want to get some practice in without having to worry about the presence of other human players or the pressure of beating your previous best time.
At some point, the game will suggest that Practice mode is the best place to go if you want to learn some “tips and tricks.” That’s because this mode actually doubles as a manual of sorts, albeit one where you can apply what you’ve learned and even take a quiz to see if you’ve mastered what the game is teaching you.
Take note that the option for a “free drill” is only available in certain parts of this unusually named in-game manual; specifically, these free attempts at practical application are available in the Skills and Nitro Charge sections, and if you complete them, you can earn some Lucci and add to your common currency totals. Otherwise, the Practice menu allows you to read through different topics in five different categories, and in all cases, you’ll be able to view some pictures and watch some videos of the skill being discussed, even if the free drill option is not available.
Training Camp, on the other hand, will initially tell you about some of the other buttons you can hit in the middle of the race, such as the Brake button and the one that allows you to automatically stabilize your kart if it ever veers wildly out of control after a bad drift. Once you’ve learned those things, however, you’re free to drive any kart of your choice around the track, practice your drifting, and hone your skills without any kind of distraction or pressure to throw you off.
4. Use The Storage Tab To Compare Different Karts, Racers, And More
As you level up in KartRider Rush+, the game will give you some nice rewards on top of the standard Lucci and K-Coins — you will, for example, get to unlock a new kart and drive it in any applicable game mode, though in most cases, you will only be able to drive those vehicles for a limited time before they become locked once again until you’re willing to pay some currency or other resources to buy them permanently — or for 10 or 30 days.
In other words, these karts are essentially loaners. You can also earn a plethora of items and other goodies for leveling up, and these include new racers, pets, badges, basic “items,” and more. But let’s start out with the different unlock able karts and racers, which you can view in the Storage menu.
Each of the karts are classified in terms of rarity (Rare, Epic, or Legendary) and on the type of race they are best suited for (Speed Race or Item Race), with five different stats or attribute for each of them. You can view these attributes on the upper right side of the screen when viewing Karts under Storage, and if you’re not used to viewing diagrams, you can tap on the pentagon-shaped figure to see the karts’ numerical ratings for Drift, Acceleration, Curve, Acceleration Duration, and Nitro Charge Speed.
Generally speaking, Epic and Legendary karts are more powerful overall than the Rare ones (strangely, Rare is what they call common karts and other items in this game), but depending on your playstyle, you can take stock of the stats you see for each kart and choose the one that suits your style the best. For example, the Skelemech (672) is more advisable than the Deuce Coupe (635) if you’re looking for a kart that corners well, while the Spyder’s Acceleration of 697 makes it better than the Marathon (655) for those who want karts that can pick up speed quickly.
Likewise, you can also compare the different Racers, or drivers that are available in the game. Unlike karts, Racers do not have specific stats, but they have some basic information that’s viewable on the upper left — date of birth, type of driver, and bio. Some characters may have multiple variants, such as the male starter character Dao, who has a regular variant and a “Slugger Dao” variant where he’s dressed in a baseball uniform. By tapping on the Outfit button on the bottom right, you can also view a Racer’s different pieces of equipment to see what benefits they provide.
Related: KartRider Rush+ Karts and Drivers Guide: The Best Karts and Racers Available in the Game
For example, the Smart Helmet clues drivers in on when they can hit on the Drift button — the fact that it has the word Assistance signifies that it has a tangible benefit for anyone who wears it. The rest of the items in the Outfit category largely play a role in the Item Race, so make sure you’re long-pressing on each item to see what exactly it does — in the rare event it only changes things cosmetically, you’re bette off not equipping it.
5. Complete The Quests And Earn Tons Of Rewards
The second-to-right button on the bottom menu (on the left side of Storage) allows you to access KartRider Rush+’s Quests, and these are divided into three categories — Growth, Curve, and Daily. How do these differ from each other and what can you expect when you complete a quest in these three categories?
First of all, Growth Quests are largely based on your current level at the time, which means if you’re currently in player level 8, you can only complete quests and claim rewards up to level 8 in this category. These are basically the quests you want to follow if you want to be up to speed for your current level — for example, for the level 6 Growth Quests, you will need to reach player level 6, use Nitro 50 times across all applicable modes, and clear episode 2-4 in Story Mode.
The first quest will earn you 200 Lucci, the second rewards you with 50 Turbo Crystals (for upgrading your karts), and the third gifts you with an Ultra Megaphone, which is an item that you will be using for the social features of the game. While Lucci and Turbo Crystals are the usual rewards you can receive by completing Growth Quests, you can also win various items like the aforementioned Ultra Megaphone, as well as K-Coins.
The Curve Quests are more like minigame-type or bonus races that do not pit you against any real, human players. You’ll still be racing against the clock, however, and as you can see in these quests, you will need to reach a certain time in order to reach a one-, two-, or three-star rating. For the first quest, as an example, you’ll need to finish the race within 28.87 seconds for a perfect rating, below 29.27 seconds for two stars, and below 31 seconds for one star. Rewards for these quests include Turbo Crystals, with additional rewards of K-Coins and Outfit Medals at the end of the Curve Quest series depending on how many stars you’ve collected across the six races.
Our primary advice here is to have your drifting technique down pat in order to lower your time — simply hitting on the turn buttons will result in your kart “crashing” or bumping against obstacles and barriers, but executing a good drift could help you shave those precious seconds! As these are bonus races, there’s no limit as to how many times you can retry a race if you don’t get any stars, or if you want to see if you can get two or three stars after a merely satisfactory one-star outing.
Lastly, Daily Quests, as their name so clearly suggests, reset once a day, and these are basically tasks that you can accomplish organically. You can, however, get them done faster if you visit the Quests menu and see what they are — they may include using Nitro, drifting, entering certain modes such as multiplayer races (Speed Races, Item Races, etc.) at least once, or taking the Time Trial at least once.
Remember that you have only 24 hours to get these done, but if you do, you can earn EXP (for increasing your player level), Lucci, and Season Points, which are a resource you will be using to upgrade your S1 Pass and earn leveling rewards. (The Pass feature is unlocked once you reach level 9, though we’ll be discussing this hopefully at a later time!)
6. Compete In Item Races For A More Mario Kart-Like Experience
While you’ll probably be spending most of your time taking part in Speed Races as far as the multiplayer races are concerned in KartRider Rush+, it is highly advisable that you also give Item Races a try — these are available in the Arcade Mode menu, and are the very first option you can choose on the left side of your screen. So what are Item Races anyway and what’s in it for you when you take part in them?
Simply put, Item Races offer KartRider Rush+ players something akin to the gaming experience in Mario Kart, where finishing ahead of the pack is just one of the many things you need to prioritize in the race. These are not your conventional races, as tracks tend to have shortcuts wherein you can divert from the recommended path and take another one in order to avoid attacks from the opposing team or simply get an edge over their racers in terms of placement.
While racing, you’ll need to drive into the various boxes that appear on the track — these contain items which may be used for offensive or defensive purposes. We won’t elaborate too much on them, but you can, for example, use missiles to target opposing karts, first by tapping on the missile icon to automatically lock in on a target, then tapping it again to fire the missile.
You’ll also need to use a defensive item — if available — if you see a red exclamation point right behind your kart, so you can guard yourself from the attack. A full list of different items is available in the Items sub-menu under Practice, as are instructions on how to use these items and information on what they can do for you/your team or your opponents.
The rewards for completing Item Races may typically include Lucci and EXP, but you can earn more and maybe even better rewards by being crowned MVP once the race is over. Now the MVP isn’t necessarily the one who finishes first in the race — rather, this is awarded to the player who scores the most points by successfully launching or avoiding an attack. There is, however, a merit to finishing first in the race — the first-placer’s team is automatically guaranteed the win, thus allowing everyone on the team to collect some rewards once the race is over!
Our best advice for those taking part in Item Races for the first time is to read the item descriptions via the Practice menu, familiarize yourself with how the items look like and work, and try to split your focus evenly, concentrating on being in good position to win, properly attacking or defending, and sticking to the track’s main route if you’re still not familiar enough with the track to know which shortcuts to take.
7. Level Up Fast By Taking Part In Story Mode
It should probably go without saying that leveling up, which is quick enough as it is in KartRider Rush+, unlocks all the useful features that we will be discussing in detail in another guide at a later time. But aside from matching driving skills with other human players in a simple Speed Race or combining battle and race-winning strategies in Item Races, you should also complete the episodes in Story Mode if you want to fast-track your way through the game and level up faster by earning a ton of EXP.
Lucci, Boost Crystals, K-Coins, and other rewards are also available in Story Mode, (with some types of rewards mainly given out for earning so many stars), so make sure you’re getting at least a few episodes in per day, even if it might not sound like too much fun (in comparison) to be racing against AI characters with static strategies.
Probably the most important thing to keep in mind when playing Story Mode is the fact that you will be assigned to play as a specific character and drive a specific kart, depending on the episode. For example, in 1-4 (The Chase Continues), your “Designated Racer” will be Ethen, while the “Designated Kart” will be the Turbo Tortoise, even if you haven’t actually unlocked said racer or kart for the other game modes. You’ll also earn a certain basic reward for finishing with one, two, or three stars — typically, one star gets you EXP, two stars gets you both the EXP and some Lucci, while three stars gets you EXP and two separate Lucci rewards.
Like the Curve Quests we mentioned earlier, Story Mode episodes can be replayed as often as possible, so this could also be a good way to grind for resources, especially if you need to reach a specific number of stars in order to get the K-Coin reward, for instance!
And this wraps up our beginner’s guide for KartRider Rush+. Stay tuned, as we will back with more tips and tricks for the game in the nearest future!