Motorsport Manager Online Strategy Guide: Driver Traits, Dilemmas, Paddock Tokens and Car Maintenance Explained

Playsport Games is the company that brought auto racing fans the Motorsport Manager series to iOS and Android devices, and their latest title, of course, is Motorsport Manager Online. Unlike previous editions of the game, this is no longer the PvE game you may have known, where you go from season to season, manage a team of two drivers, and move from class to class while matching wits against AI teams and drivers.

This time, Playsport has introduced a PvP element to the tremendously popular series, which means regardless which of the many tiers you’re in, you will be facing human-controlled opponents in real-time. And while almost all the teams and drivers are fictional, the game now includes all 12 teams and 24 drivers from the Formula-E series — and you will, eventually, have a chance to unlock those real-life drivers!

Due to all the tiers and all the new features, drivers, options, and other things you can unlock in this game, this probably won’t be our final guide for this game. But if you’re looking for something more than what we discussed in the first two guides, preferably if you’re in one of the many classes in Tier 3 or slightly beyond, we strongly recommend reading on and checking out the tips included in this Motorsport Manager Online strategy guide.

If you’ve been playing for some time and have made quite a bit of progress, this article should be right up your alley, though we’ve also included a tip or two that may be applicable to everyone, regardless of experience level.

1. Take Driver Traits Into Consideration

While you will normally want to prioritize the six basic attributes for each available driver in Motorsport Manager Online, experienced players know that driver traits are also an important factor in choosing which drivers to hire.

These are permanent buffs that can impact the driver’s own performance or benefit others in effect, and each driver has a specific trait — in previous versions, there were some negative traits mixed in with the positive ones, but now that Motorsport Manager involves races against human opponents, the negative ones have been removed — at least when it comes to the permanent ones we’re discussing here — thus making things a bit more challenging when it comes to hiring the right drivers. When choosing between multiple drivers with similar stats or attribute-based strengths and weaknesses, it’s the traits that will often prove to be the deciding factor.

Just what kind of traits do the drivers in this game have? In case you forgot the traits of your starter drivers, William Evans is a Pay Driver, which means he gets a bonus 25,000 cash in prize money per race — this, we’d say, makes up for the fact that his stats are all pretty mediocre across the board. Ines Santa Ana, on the other hand, is a Wet Pro, which means she finishes laps one second faster in races with wet weather.

But those are just two of many traits — for example, Tanvir Jha is a seemingly a popular choice for mid-level players because he improves all teammate stats by 3 points each because of his Mentor trait, while Jessica Munroe is another frequently-hired driver as her Team Chemistry trait improves all of her stats (and her teammate’s stats, as well) by 3 if the other driver is also American.

In addition to those traits, other drivers come with traits that may include Leader (-0.2 seconds shaved off per lap as long as they are in first place), Technical (improves Car Reliability by 15 percent), Chaser (-0.2 seconds shaved per lap when not in first place), Tenacious (+25 Performance and +10 Energy Efficiency to car stats), Motivator (improves teammate qualifying and race stats boy 3 points), and Fearless (improves Overtaking, Race, and Race Starts by +10 if in the red zone).

Simply go to the Hire Drivers menu and toggle between Interested Drivers and Show All in the bottom part of the screen, and you’ll be able to view every driver’s traits, may they be actually available to hire or yet to be unlocked, depending on the tier/class you’ve reached so far. This could be a good way for you to plan ahead of your next promotion(s)!

Related: Motorsport Manager Online Beginner’s Guide: Tips, Cheats & Strategies for Winning More Races

Also, it is possible for drivers to get a temporary trait — this would normally happen via random Dilemmas, which we shall be discussing later, or after particularly good or bad race performances. These would only be in place for a few minutes to a few hours, so it’s important that you race as much as possible immediately after the trait is assigned — just as long as it’s positive — so you can take advantage of it!

2. Make Sure You Have A Stable Connection When Playing

This is probably something we should have mentioned way back, but this is also arguably more important for intermediate and advanced players, because this is where you’ll probably be in a tier/class that doesn’t have the promotion-friendly Points for All scoring system. Points may be limited to the top 15 drivers or the top 10, but at this point in the game, having a bad race becomes more costly than ever.

And even if you’re well-prepared ahead of the race — having made sure you’ve installed the newest parts, leveled up your drivers, and such — it is still possible to have a bad race, even if your pit strategy is also on point.

How and when could this happen? In case you missed the heading, this could happen if you’re playing on a fickle internet connection. While the good news is that Motorsport Manager Online will not kick you out of the race if your connection is not stable, the bad news is that once your connection stabilizes, you will be taken straight to the race as it’s happening in real-time — this would usually have you in the third or fourth lap or so, falling behind the pack as you scramble to schedule a pit stop for a tire and/or fuel change.

This could have a ripple effect — not only would you fall behind as you get by on worn-out tires, but the fact that you’d be straining your vehicle at this point could also greatly reduce your Reliability, thus putting you at greater risk of retiring from the race! Plus, there’s also the good chance that you’ll finish among the bottom five drivers, which, of course, means no points for you as long as Points for All is not in play. (Additionally, rage-quitting won’t do you much good either — you’ll still be looped into the race in real-time once you restart the game.)

We understand that this is a fun, if extremely deep game that has arguably become even more enjoyable with the “real players” element integrated into the mix. But if your internet connection seems to be failing you, you’re better off taking a break for a bit and racing once again when you’re confident your provider won’t be giving you any more trouble.

3. Dilemmas – Weigh Every Factor Before Making a Decision

Dilemmas have always been a key element in the world of Motorsport Manager, and in Motorsport Manager Online, they’re still very much a part of the game’s mechanics. They aren’t as common as they used to be, based on our observations, but you will still see them from time to time, popping up at random and asking you to choose one of two options. For example, you may be asked to choose between two positive scenarios, both of which would assign a different temporary driver trait.

You may also be asked to choose where to invest a certain amount of money — while this will cost you some cash either way, you will still benefit one way or another, may it be a permanent stat upgrade to your drivers, improved performance or reliability for your cars, or whatnot.

Then again, there are also those tough scenarios where you’ll be losing out in one way or another — we provided one example, which had us choosing between paying 150k cash for physiotherapy sessions to heal our driver’s bad back, and leaving things as it is and having our driver deal with his sore back as a temporary trait that could affect his performance for a couple races.

In the above example, we chose to pay the 150k cash in order for our driver to heal up right in time for the next race — we had more than enough cash in reserve, and this driver happened to be our de facto No. 1 guy, thanks to his superior base stats and his Qualifying Boost strategy.

However, when it comes to resolving Dilemmas, your choice may vary depending on the circumstances — you may have no choice but to ride that negative trait out if you’re strapped for cash, and certain positive temporary traits may have more weight on your team’s performance than others. Likewise, improving certain facets of your car’s performance may be more important than improving others, so you’ll need to weigh in every relevant factor before making a decision.

There is, of course, a way to work around these Dilemmas if you don’t like the choices, and we admit doing this quite a few times whenever our drivers would be kidnapped for ransom in previous versions of the game. (Thankfully, we haven’t encountered this so far.) That workaround is to exit the app and restart it, though given the fact Motorsport Mobile Online now involves multiplayer action, you may want to tread lightly when it comes to this sneaky little fix for avoiding those rock-and-a-hard-place Dilemmas that occasionally pop up.

4. Compete In The Formula-E Races For A Chance At Season-End Cash And Paddock Tokens

Just to be clear, you’ll really need to be active in these races in order to qualify for the Paddock Tokens we were referring to above — just as long as you’re okay with the catch we will be explaining later on. But just as promised in the game’s description, Motorsport Manager Online now features Formula-E racing as one of the game modes.

That means you can choose from any one of the 12 real-life teams (with corresponding, real-life drivers) from the current season and have them take part in short races (the usual 7 to 10 laps) with randomized grids, so as to highlight one of the key features of this mode — it’s all about driver skill and driver strategy, and less about the quality and the performance of the cars they’re driving.

When choosing a team, you’ll want to take a look at the drivers, then see how they rank in the Hire Drivers menu, typically by using Show All — they, too, can be unlocked eventually as you progress forward in the game! You can also do a Google search for the Formula-E standings for the 2019-20 season, for an idea of which teams and drivers are better than others.

For example, DS Techeetah is a good choice for first-timers in Motorsport Manager Online’s Formula-E mode — they were champions last season, and both drivers, Jean-Eric Vergne and Antonio Felix da Costa, are highly-rated in the game, with the former’s 90 base rating ranking ahead of everyone else.

When talking about the actual race, keep a close eye on the Attack Mode button — this will light up twice in a race, and hitting this will automatically activate Attack Mode and provide a much-needed, if temporary boost of speed. You’ll need to time this properly, though, and hit Attack Mode only when a driver is fairly close to the Activation Zone. Once the driver reaches the Activation Zones, that’s when the speed boost will be most prominent, and this could be a game-changer by helping one of your drivers move quickly through the grid, even if they start out at the back.

Another key feature here is Fan Boost, which can only be used once — this also helps boost a car’s performance in the race, and should ideally be used if you’re trying to make up lost ground or trying to move quickly through the grid in order to earn more points. Also keep in mind that there are no pit stops in these races — don’t manually turn on Attack Mode or wear your tires out too much, because that could lead to you dropping out of the race if you run out of battery or completely wear out your tires!

Related: Motorsport Manager Online Advanced Guide: Tips & Strategies for Improving Your Car, Drivers and Team

The catch we were referring to earlier is the fact that you need to pay an entrance fee of 100k cash per race, and even if you get a podium finish, you won’t get any sort of cash prize! Instead, your points will go toward your total for the ongoing season, and the more points you score over that timeframe, the better your prize will be. Finishing in the bottom 25 percent will earn you a 150k cash bonus by season’s end, and the highest cash prize is 750k, which you can earn if you finish in the top 25 percent.

Finishing in the top 10 percent or better automatically earns you Paddock Tokens — that’s 100 if you’re in the top 10 percent and 250 if you’re in the top 1 percent! That’s not bad once everything is considered, but if you’re trying to save up cash for car and driver upgrades, new driver hires or contract renewals, or other similarly important investments, you might have to go easy on Formula-E mode in order to stay within your budget.

5. Save Those Paddock Tokens For Upgrading A Part’s Maximum Level

While it may be nice to spend Paddock Tokens to speed things up when manufacturing a new part, and while you will definitely need them as part of your entry fee, your main purpose for those Tokens would be in order to acquire additional materials that you’ll need to upgrade a part’s maximum level.

This becomes more important as you advance through the middle and higher tiers, as you wouldn’t want your parts to be outdated for too long. But since races will only earn you so many materials, regardless whether you win or lose, you may reach a point where you need to compete in more races than you’re planning to, just so you have enough materials to increase the part’s highest possible level.

In lieu of this, the game will give you the option to spend some Paddock Tokens to acquire the extra materials you don’t have, so if the price is right, this would be a good way to spend your premium currency. Of course, it wouldn’t be too smart either to pay well over 20 Tokens just to make up the difference, so you’ll need to weigh that consideration.

Alternately, you could also go to the Store and purchase materials at a supposedly discounted price — for example, you can spend nine Paddock Tokens to get 14 units of Copper Wire, or 10 Paddock Tokens for 6 Gears — for both of these items, the game promises 50 percent savings. (You can also spend Tokens for a cash package, though we don’t really recommend this.)

6. Some Advanced Driving / Car Maintenance Tips That Could Help You Win More Races

There are a few situations where you can switch to Attack Mode and stay there with confidence, and these would mainly involve an unexpected change of tires in the middle of the race — say, when some rainfall is expected. As long as your tire wear is still at 50 percent or greater, you can switch to Attack Mode for the final lap before you pit and get a fresh change of tires. Or, if in any situation, your tire wear is at 70 percent or greater in the final two laps (probably 80 percent or greater if you’re on Soft tires), you can also turn Attack Mode on until the end of the race, allowing you to finish strong and hopefully move up a few spots and earn more points.

When repairing worn parts after a race, keep your lead engineer’s stats in mind, as well as the maximum Performance rating per part. For example, if your Gearbox’s maximum rating is 380 and its Performance declines to 372, with your Engineer having a 14 Performance and 7 Reliability rating, you’re probably off improving Reliability or choosing another part to repair, because that’s only going to serve as a waste of the excess 6 Performance points that cannot be applied to the gearbox on account of its maximum rating.

As you move from one class to the next, it would help if you try some of the new Strategies that get unlocked when you get promoted. While the classic, base Strategies are definitely useful, there’s certainly merit to choosing a Strategy such as One-Stop Strategy, for instance, as this could literally allow you to limit yourself to just one pit stop, thanks to the 50 percent reduction in pit stop time and the 15 percent slower tire wear.

And if you’re the type who prefers starting with Softs in order to get the best possible qualifying time, then switching to Hards for your first and only pit stop, you can partially mitigate the decrease in speed when using Hards by using the Hards Setup Strategy, as that reduces lap times by one second and increases the Race Start stat by 50 points!

Be careful not to let the race go on idle for too long! We’ve noticed that if the game notices you’ve been idling, meaning not making any adjustments to strategy, scheduling pit stops, or even changing camera angles or moving the current angle around, it will automatically choose strategies for you. Motorsport Manager Online’s AI doesn’t seem to be so smart — we’ve seen the game arbitrarily switch our drivers to High Power Mode or Attack Mode after going idle, so you need to actually be in front of your phone and not doing too much multitasking while playing!