A lot of people would agree that “convenience” and “rush” does not normally blend into just one idea and that is why stunt racing games like Nitro Jump Racing holds a special place in every gamer’s mobile phone. This game from Miniclip, the company behind popular titles such as 8 Ball Pool, Golf Strike and Mini Football, offers exactly that: a feeling of rush from the pressure of competition in matches that require just a short span of time.
Nitro Jump Racing is a 3D, side-scrolling racing game designed with interesting physics and simple controls. Experience in racing games does help set a good mindset and having played stunt racing games in the past may help as well, but you’d need more than those to beat the other racers in Nitro Jump Racing.
Don’t worry, though, we came up with a detailed Nitro Jump Racing beginner’s guide to help you ace each race while enjoying the spectacular tricks and features the game has the offer. Buckle up, as we’re about to step on the gas in a bit. For now, let’s get you familiar with the game’s multiple access points.
1. Understanding The Basics Of Nitro Jump Racing
The main screen displays your currently selected toy monster truck; all the configurations and decorations you have set for it will be shown as is.
At the top of the screen from left to right, you’ll see your avatar, a progress bar and your trophy count, the amount of the different resources you currently have, and then a gear icon which is a shortcut to the game’s settings. Let’s focus on the one here that matters the most, the progress bar and trophy count.
Tapping on it will open what is called the Trophy Road which are rewards that you can claim as you advance through the game for reaching a certain number of trophies. Advancing here means you will get to earn coins and unlock different cups. On the upper right of that screen, you’ll see another tab for Car Mastery.
Car Mastery is similar to the Trophy Road but your progress in it will be based on a vehicle. Technically, what counts here are the trophies you’ve earned using a particular vehicle. If you have purchased a vehicle apart from the default Firestarter, it will have a separate Car Mastery progress and its own set of claimable rewards.
Back on the main screen, you can see five options at the left hand side: Shop, Free, Social, Rankings, and Garage.
The Shop has five sub-sections:
Offers: Bundles that lets you get more value from your real currency purchases.
Daily: Regularly changing items ranging from avatars, vehicle cards or Power Points, and most importantly (and also the reason why it is the screen we have chosen to show) is a free claimable chest. The items in this section changes every 24 hours and the free chest also replenishes after such period.
Chests: Lets you purchase a big, epic, or legendary chest each with scaling, random loots in them. Essentially, chests act as the game’s main reward feature because it can give Power Points, Perk Points, and coins.
Event: This where you can spend the gold bars that you can earn in events to buy vehicles or chests.
Resources: The section where you can buy gems, the most valuable currency in Nitro Jump Racing, tickets – a requirement for event races – and of course, coins.
Free will open the Reward TV section which is one of the farming opportunities in the game. In here, you can watch up to 10 ads to unlock all the rewards. They replenish every 24-hour updates. We highly encourage that you maximize this feature as it helps you earn coins which is essential for upgrades, add to that the fact that it is the only space where you are guaranteed to earn gems.
Harvesting the TV chests is always a good idea because they are essentially epic chests and such chests may give you rare finds such as avatars, rare Perk Points, and even gems.
Social is a great way to earn resources. Attaching your game data to your Facebook account will award you with 50,000 coins. Apart from that, this section will allow you to invite your Google/Apple contacts to share your Nitro Jump Racing experience and compete with them. You can invite as many friends as you want, but you only need to get five of them to begin the game for you to claim all rewards.
Rankings is effectively the Nitro Jump Racing’s leaderboards. There, you check where you’re currently ranked locally or globally in terms of the number of your current trophies per vehicle or your rank while accounting all trophies in total. It also has a Best Times tab which lets you check your fastest finish for each track of the different cups see and how your best performance ranks against that of other users locally and globally.
The Garage is where you need to go when you want to upgrade your vehicles or put accessories on them. Nitro Jump Racing also uses a card collection systems which means you need to collect a certain amount of vehicle or perk cards (or what the game calls as Power Points and Perk Points, respectively) before you can upgrade them aside from the game’s main currency, coins.
You can also browse in the garage the other purchasable and unlockable stunt toy cars by swiping left. The expensive options there have naturally higher base stats than our trusty first vehicle, Firestarter. Please note, however, that if you have multiple vehicles unlocked, the random Power Points you get from chests will be “scattered” across among them. Let’s say that you have already unlocked Renegade; when you open a chest, the Power Points may still be for Firestarter.
If you see a green upwards arrow, it means that you have already collected enough cards to proceed with an upgrade. Even if you don’t have enough coins yet for an upgrade, one will show for each perk as if the game is seemingly tempting you to purchase more currency or inspire you to ace more races to farm, depends on how you look at it.
In the event that you have already collected enough coins for upgrade, the game will kindly prompt you about it, therefore it’s hard to miss a chance when you can improve your vehicles once your resources allow. After some time, the game will stop putting bots in your matchmaking and you’ll eventually be pitted against other human racers.
A good way to tell that you’re competing against human players is by checking if their vehicle has equipped perks at the start of each race. Upgrading is crucial, so once one is available and you are not saving up coins for a particularly different upgrade (say you prefer to level up a perk first before increasing your vehicle’s power rating), you simply got to go for it.
The Stats tab lets you check a vehicle’s current stats and it is also where you can upgrade or see upgrade requirements. The Perk tabs lets you check all the different perks; those that are not yet available to you are grayed out. You may equip up to three perks at a time once you have unlocked all slots and it would not take much game time to achieve that.
The objects on the Customize tab are purely cosmetic. You can equip or purchase different body designs, antennas, and wheels for your vehicle. Again, these are purely cosmetic and will have no impact on a vehicle’s performance.
At the main screen again, at the right hand side, is the chest cluster; this where you manage your most bulk of farming. It shows your current progress for Medal Chest, a shortcut to Quests, and the space where you can open the chests you’ve won from participating in races. You can earn up to four chests at a time. If you have already collected four, you can begin unlocking one to eventually free up its slot.
We’ll tell more details about unlocking later in this guide. At this of the main screen, you may also occasionally see promotions that are only available for a limited time.
The one with one with a progress bar is the Medal Chest which will produce a “special” chest every 10 gold medals that you earn. Medal Chests contain more coins than regular chests and they also give rare and epics cards that can be Power Points or Perk Points. They also observe a 24-hour replenish rate.
Next to the Medal Chest, you have Quests. In it you can check the three quests assigned to you for the day; meet the conditions each one says to gain the corresponding reward. Except for the VIP one, all quests give coins and keys. Collecting a set amount of keys will award you with yet another type of special chest.
While quests get refreshed each day, your key collection progress will be retained. This section also has the free reward feature, this lets you earn an increasing amount of coins in exchange of watching ads and it can be done up to three times per day.
Now that you know what the game’s main screen offers, let’s talk about how your Nitro Jump Racing experience would be in general.2. Aligning Your Aim With The Game
Like in every racing game, your goal in Nitro Jump Racing is straightforward: to be the first to cross the finish line. Its stunt race nature, however, means that the game is not all about speed. You need to be able to perform stunts as clean as possible, stick your landings right, and time your boosts well to ensure a good finish.
A racing game is not complete if it cannot give a player the feeling of frustration in each defeat. Imagine leading a race and then suddenly committing a mistake that cost you the victory. You would have such moments in the game and therefore your aim is to feel that less and win more. To win, you have to carefully remember about the dynamics of the game we’re about to discuss.
Stunt Points
In Nitro Jump Racing, stunt points do more than just boosting your race-end score or give you extra post-race rewards; in the game, performing stunts will help fill your nitro. There are three different stunts in the game: back flip, front flip, and wheelie. Performing stunts will also give you race-end bonus coins. The game will also check your airborne time and it does count toward earning bonus points and nitro charging too.
Getting the groove in when to control the tilting of your truck may take a while, but you will eventually develop the skill and discernment on when to prioritize securing an upright position on impact or getting more flips to fill your nitro up. Nitro Jump Racing has been designed to have a relatively easy learning curve, so you will have plenty of track time to figure things out.
Head-to-Head with Other Racers
At your earlier races, you will compete against bots which are more beatable than human competition. Add to that the fact the game will “force” you to do a few upgrades which takes your vehicle out of its default state; racing in your upgraded car will further improve your chances at smoking bots. Eventually, however, you will be pitted against other human racers.
The race will not be a real-time, head-to-head contest, rather it will be a match against “ghost” recordings of other racers on how they fared at a particular course. Ghost records is a common dynamic in racing games and devs tapped into this so players can compete even if they exist and play at different time zones.
Your power rating is what serves as your MMR or matchmaking ranking and the system uses this to group you with players at your apparent skill level. You will usually be matched with racers that are just 5-10 points higher or lower than you. In event races, however, the game may pit you against players that are up to 40 points higher or lower as there is understandably a limited game data of other racers compared to normal matchmaking or cups.
What to Expect in Play
Your go-to button for action, Play, opens up a variety of modes. The Trophy Race is essentially the main option for when you want to race competitively and earn trophies. Be wary, though, to only tap it when you are ready to play as it will immediately prompt the matchmaking system bringing you to a race. Each race may have two to three “legs” depending on what cup is displayed.
There is an option to participate in event races/grand prix which are single-leg matches that gives gold bars as race-end rewards. Event races normally have a two to four-day cycles. As mentioned earlier, you need a ticket to participate in event races; you always have one ticket by default it replenishes every four hours. You can skip this wait time and get up to five more free tickets in exchange of watching ads.
The rewards in the different event varies from coins, Perk Points, Power Points and, avatars and there is absolutely no reason to not seize the chance on attempting to get them, especially that losing in event races will does not have any penalty. Losing races will have penalties and will touch this one as we go through this guide.
Another Play option is to engage in Boss Battles; here you must defeat an AI of particular vehicle in a 1v1 race. You get unlimited chances to battle the bosses and each win has a different reward ranging from coins, Power Points, Perk Cards, chests, and even accessories. Naturally, the difficulty increases as you progress through each boss; if the next boss is not one Power rating higher than the previous, its equipped perks will be of a higher level or maxed.
If you have multiple vehicles already, you can challenge the bosses for each class and this presents another farming opportunity.
The two other Play options are Challenge Friends and Practice which are quite explanatory. Challenge Friends allows you to stage a friendly competition against the people you have added in the game. There are no rewards, just bragging rights.
Practice is yet another option that offers no direct rewards, but can be a useful tool in getting familiar with the different cups you have unlocked. When you practice, you are able to select any track from your different unlocked cups.
If you are the perfectionist type or simply want to do a reconnaissance of a cup you’ve just unlocked, it is a wise decision to check its courses in Practice Mode. In the same way, if there are some twists and other tricky areas that surprised in a Trophy Race, you can get yourself familiar with the course so you won’t be caught off guard again.
In Practice Mode, if you already have game data and have selected a particular track, you will battle against two ghosts of yourself which is your best finish for and your last run in it. Alternatively, you can opt to use the Race Cup option which sets you in a practice race against three bots: Easy Rider, Medium Driver, and Hard Racer.
Utilize the Practice Mode whenever you can to form a strategy in dealing with the different tracks and sharpening your instincts as you deal with all the in-race dynamics.
3. Dealing With The Race Dynamics To Tame The Tracks
As previously hinted, performing stunts is the heart of Nitro Jump Racing and you have a number of things to consider when you execute them.
The most common stunt and the one we’d rather focus on is the backflip. Backflips occur naturally if you approach any slope or ramp with enough speed.
Depending on how fast your car was when you took a jump and the height you reached, you can keep on flipping until you land, but that is a high-risk move. Performing multiple flips in one jump does put more points into your nitro, but it makes you vulnerable. Back flipping means that along the jump, there will be moments where your car’s roof will be parallel to the track and if you land in a such a position, your car may end up upside down, this is the worst scenario.
If you are unable to re-pitch your car in an upright position, the game will reset your vehicle; you will be transported at a segment before you got overturned, normally before the ramp that caused you the bad flip.
In the early game, the native tutorial phase will tell you about the left pedal. It is meant to get your front bumper closer to the ground. We are emphasizing here its importance because actively tapping it to tilt your car forward will be faster than just waiting for your car‘s front wheels to land on their own.
If your vehicle is approaching a ramp and it is far from its top speed, there is a big chance that it will simply jump with its front bumper up and land on its rear. Landing in such a position may cause you precious seconds as you need to control its tilt once it has landed before you can zoom forward again.
Knowing When to Use Nitro
By this point, you are already aware about accumulating nitro points. Let’s proceed then with the considerations for when you must use it.
As nitro boosts last for a very short time, try your best to only activate it when all your 4 wheels are in contact with the ground. Doing so will guarantee that you maximize its speed boost. Naturally, a jump with the help of nitro can send your vehicle higher and further than a jump without.
On the contrary, landing with a “lower” front bumper will only result to a brief slowdown and you can quickly resume revving your car up to negotiate the hurdle.
Consider your position in the race
Like what is true in all racing games, minding your position is also important in Nitro Jump Racing. You should be aware of your position and adapt your approach through the course when you’re ahead of the pack, right at the middle, or lagging behind everyone.
A good way that can help you take an early lead is to make sure that you’re be able to achieve the Great Start boost. Hitting the right pedal revs your engine up and if the needle is at the Great Start area when the race-start countdown ends, your car will be in a brief nitro-boosted phase. This ensures that your car reaches its top speed as early as possible, thus covering more distance.
If you managed to get ahead of the pack, you have the privilege to take risks because you can accommodate one or two small errors. Also, if you are able to maintain your lead for most of the course, you would have the option to conserve a nitro boost and use it at the homestretch or the final part of the race to clinch the win. Tight races are common in Nitro Jump Racing especially as you elevate your Power Rating. Sometimes, a last second nitro can steal the first place finish.
When you aren’t leading, your main focus is to avoid errors. Your chance to seize the lead will eventually open if the leading car commits an error or if you are able to save up a nitro and use it on a promising ramp.
Meanwhile, if you are behind everyone, it is unlikely for you to steal the lead just by waiting for the other racers to make mistakes. Since losing is more likely than winning being the race’s tail, keeping a safe run is not an option; in ramps, try to do more than just one flip to fill your nitro faster.
You should then abandon the thought of “safe flipping” or immediately trying to pitch your car upright after just one flip. Your target is to out-earn the other racers in terms of nitro points. Being the last finisher in a leg drastically hurts your chances of earning enough points to make it out of a cup unscathed.
Clinching Cups
Cups usually have two to three tracks in them. Of course, the most ideal thing to do is to be the 1st Place finisher in each leg. It is, however, tricky to consistently be on top for there will be times that you might forget about certain twists and obstructions that a track has. As such, if you slump on the first leg, you should put extra focus in winning the subsequent races.
Claiming a 1st Place finish in a race will earn you three points, 2nd Place gives you two, 3rd Place awards you one, and 4th Place earns you zero. The points gained by the racers through the courses will determine the ranking at the end. This means, that if there are three courses, you should be the 1st Place finisher in at least two to clinch the cup. Meanwhile, if there are only two courses, you can’t afford to be the 3rd or 4th Placer in either if you’re gunning for the top spot.
The points will be tallied to determine the results and only the racers ranked as 1st and 2nd will earn trophies; the 3rd Placer will lose some and the last placer will lose the most.
The results will be solely based on the points earned and finishers that took the least amount of time to conquer the courses will not be given an edge. We’re sharing this to cast positive light on how the game generously awards the top-placer rewards accordingly if two racers were able to amass the same total points. If all racers ended up with the same total points, a rare four-way tie is also possible.
4. Miscellaneous And Other Key Tips
At the end of every cup, basing on how you rank at the end, you will gain an equivalent number of star points. The star points can be collected up to 100 at a time; once you reach 100, you will be given a chest which you can start to open.
Chests have varying opening times: at the very early game, there are chests that only requires 30 seconds to two minutes; later on, there will be chests that requires 10 to 30 minutes. Eventually, there will be chests that will take up to eight hours to open. You can collect up to four chests, but you can only open one at a time through the “natural way” which is by waiting.
Overriding the waiting time in opening chests is only possible by spending gems; the longer the opening time, the more gems it will costs. At times, however, when all the four slots are occupied, the game may offer an option to quickly open one in exchange for watching an ad.
Nitro Jump Racing is a free-to-play game and the presence of multiple ad viewing opportunities is understandable. The good thing about it is that the mandatory ad watching only happens at the end of each cup, event race, or boss battle and there is a guaranteed reward of 100 coins. Quite a breath of fresh air compared to how most free-to-play games are structure with forced-ad phases offering no reward at all.
Also, we must state that there is an option to watch an ad when you open chests and doing so gives you a decent amount of coins, Power Points, or Perk Points depending on the type of chest. These extra rewards are claimable right away for VIP subscribers. Yes, Nitro Jump Racing is offering non-paying players a perk designed just for VIPs. Watching ads is therefore a win-win situation at all ends.
As we wrap this guide up, here is a summary of our main recommendations for Nitro Jump Racing:
- Capitalize on every opportunity to watch ads because the extra resources you can get from them will help you earn upgrade resources.
- In races, always be mindful on how you land from jumps because no matter how far ahead you are, a bad landing may cost you the race. Remember the point in performing stunts is to help fill your nitro up, but even a nitro boost can’t save the race for you if you are far behind after sustaining a bad landing.
- Enjoy the game as it is, don’t feel too bad for failing. If you keep on racing, you will eventually get good; as Nitro Jump Racing is a skill-based game, you can excel in it even if you are taking a pure free-to-play path.
Speaking of enjoyment, we hope that you enjoyed reading this article as much as we enjoyed learning the game’s basics and figuring out ways to ace each race. We’re optimistic that you were able to pick up neat tricks and strategies from this Nitro Jump Racing beginner’s guide.
If you are already an experienced Nitro Jump racer and have other tricks to share that we missed to mention, please feel free to impart your knowledge in the comment section below. You can also comment what your favorite cup and track is and see if other racers like it too. We wish you the best in performing stunts! May you always grab a 1st place finish!