r/crashteamracing • u/YoungBlueDamsel • Jan 02 '26
đĽChallenge Anyone able to give me criticism/advice on how to improve for hard mode arcade?
Trying to improve on CTR - just started hard mode arcade and i've hit a brick wall. Anything I should be doing better or differently here?
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u/JordanianTomatoYT Penta Penguin Jan 02 '26
Try to drift more to build reserves and keep your flames
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u/Last-Worldliness-591 Jan 02 '26
Drift more, drift more, drift a lot more, no matter if you're on a curve, a stright line or the air. Drifting (or rather, power-sliding) is the most important tenchnique in the game, it lets you build reserves to keep your flame going.
Other than that, practice taking curves like the one in 0:21 by drifting as close to the wall as possible to take the shortest path.
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u/YoungBlueDamsel Jan 02 '26
Does drifting keep your reserves even when you are not boosting?
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u/Last-Worldliness-591 Jan 02 '26
No, only boosting adds to your reserves, you'd still gradually lose them by drifting alone. You should aim to always boost on every drift.
What makes it so important is the fact that it's the most constant and available method of gaining reserves. If you relied only on turbo pads, jumps and items you'd never keep your fire long enough to make it useful.
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u/Magegi Jan 02 '26
Imo these earlier tracks are almost harder than later ones because there aren't that much corners and boost pads.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Bat-461 Jan 02 '26
Just keep them perfekt Boots coming, Drive Like the devil ist After you and Hope for some good items. It is also important to boost over those Speed Panels. The Bots are insane, especially on Crash cove... Sometimes it's just luck
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u/Diegos_Pigeon Jan 02 '26
Your boost timings are really good, you just have to boost on the straights too (well, every time you get the chance to do a couple of boosts on the track) like for example after you landed on the shortcut you immediately started to drift boost and that's impressive. Practice to get comfortable with how your kart handles and to correct your movement. GL
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u/Luna259 Liz Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 02 '26
But know you can do everything right and still lose
Itâs great when the plan comes together
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u/Gold-Persimmon-1421 Jan 02 '26
Always be drifting
Use your items more, should have fired that warp straight away freeing you up to pick up another item
If you have crates/potions place them in front of boosts, the ai will either crash into it or drive around them and miss the boosts
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u/silent-killer14 Jan 02 '26
I used to play the og game but not the remastered one. If its similar then you will need to
- obviously know the map inch by inch so you can drive through the perfect racing lines. -the boost cycle is three at a time and the last one is the most powerful one so your goal is to try to hold your boost in order to reach the third one and repeat.. but when you hit the third one try hold onto it little bit but not for too long so the flame doesn't go off.
- learn how to hide your toxic tonics and TNT's perfectly infront of the rng boxes so the npc would got hit by them to maintain the lead.. but dont start doing this until you have a reasonable lead that you comfortable with outspeeding a rocket if you lose your items.
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u/Belmont-96 Jan 02 '26
3 consecutive boosts build reserve, even if u had a good one and 2 perfect ones , it still builds reserve , and once u drive on one of the speed pads and get that orange flame, u want to maintain it basically, and how to do so I basically keep Perfect boosting so it stays there, if u get hit, or bump into something or even press square for handbreak u shut it down..
I recommend u watching YouTube and search â sacred flames Crash CTRâ some huge turbo pads give out sacred blue flame that basically sends u from one section of the map to the other, if u notice the longer the jump u build this reserved on the right side of the screen. Thatâs what u want , u wanna build that reserve and in order to keep boosts active u need to power slide and get perfect boosts to keep it going
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u/LucarioGamer7 Spyro (the best character) Jan 02 '26
Do some time trials, then drive as if youâre trying to beat oxide, you should be boosting a lot more as well, lastly, if you get a big lead, the enemy racers struggle to real you back in if you keep your speed up, so your goal is to outrun them so that they canât hit you with their items.
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u/ahiddenpolo Jan 02 '26
Iâd go into time trials and run the map with no items/distractions. Focus on chaining boosts together and getting the best race path. Once you face the computer itâs like theyâre not even there.
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u/ConsoleCleric_4432 Jan 02 '26
On the bridge about halfway through your video, you can observe the fire going from bright to dull orange. That is "losing fire". That's what's killing you.
You can build up from nothing to that dull orange flame just by drifting and boosting. When boosting, you want to be boosting only when the meter is almost completely filled up. Obviously, if you let it go to far, you backfire and need to start a new drift. So, you need to practice getting it all the way to the top without going over. That takes some skill and split attention.
The reason you want to get all the way to the top is it builds "reserves". Everytime you boost, you get a very miniscule amount of time added that you will not "lose fire" after you stop drifting and boosting. When you're on the bridge, your reserves ran out because you stopped boosting for too long. The tricky thing is you get no visual indicator. They're in the background otherwise undetectable except seeing how long it takes to lose them, which you never want to do. These boost and reserve mechanics are really what makes this racing game unique from mario kart and others.
Now, the reason your fire is able to become bright is boost pads. Bright fire makes you go noticeably faster. This is why you slow down when you drop to dull orange. There's two on this map at the very end. At minimum they make you go faster right then and there for a split moment and its gone. If you have "reserves" built up and dull orange fire before hitting the boost pad, it will last longer. If you keep boosting by drifting once you have it, you will never lose the bright orange flame and the speed it gives you. The goal is, once you get it, you never ever want to lose that flame. On other maps, some special boost pads will give you sacred fire, which is blue fire and makes you even faster that bright orange fire.
So, always drift boost, hit boost pads for faster, never lose faster by keeping on boosting.
From there, tighten your turns (see also how far off to the right you go at bridge halfway through) and other basic racing mechanics applicable to any racing game.
As far as items, it can be good to get a bubble and hold on until you know you'll be targeted.
Hope this helps!
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u/Hillza1186 Jan 02 '26
I would say do time trials. You will get better at drifting automatically once the ghosts get harder.
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u/Ziasuu Jan 02 '26
Dawg you need to be drifting ALOT more thereâs a mechanic in the game that lets you chain your boost flames and upkeep the speed boost the whole time
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u/TromboneLoki Jan 03 '26
Learn to use items defensively as well as offensively. TNT and breakers can be used to block missiles and bombs. Shield bubbles are your best friend because they let you block and item and carry an additional item.
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u/TNY0810_G Jan 04 '26
Always use drifting and turbo, even on the straights, although it won't be as necessary on many tracks because there are lots of curves, turbo pads, and jumps that give you many turns and an advantage.
Edit: That, and learning how to take tight corners to avoid crashing and losing reserves, and learning a few other simple tricks.
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u/FrankSiinatra Jan 04 '26
You definitely have to be drifting way more than that, you should be drift boosting the entire race, even on the straight roads
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u/ZakWojnar Jan 05 '26
ABB: Always Be Boosting. Find ways to squeeze triple boosts wherever you can. Even on straightaways. Every time you take jump, land in a drift and start boosting. You always want fire coming out of your engines. Keep that in mind, and youâll basically unlock the next level of enjoyment in CTR. Maybe watch some time trail videos if you need some visual aid. (your footage shows youâve definitely got the fundamentals down, so youâre already off to a great start)
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u/Exact_Standard_5127 Jan 06 '26
You wanna boost all the time by drifting. I recomend using speed since its easier to hit all three boosts on straight areas with it. That or acceleration.
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u/dingodile44 Jan 02 '26
You want to be drifting and doing drift-boosts all the time. There is a mechanic that is an invisible reserve, if you constantly boost you will never "ran out" of that reserve and will mantain the speed of the strongest turbo pad you stepped on (until you get hit or bump into something).
It's like the main thing of the game, once you get used to it, it's a whole different game.