100% Legacy Route (Skips, Upgrades) OUTDATED

**1. Foreword:**


The physics engine in this game uses frames to determine certain physical effects on the podracer. This means that on a different framerates pod racers will have different characteristics. For a more detailed list of differences check https://www.speedrun.com/swe1r/thread/kel5z

Due to the gravity being stronger on high frame rates most of the big skips are harder to pull off on 60 fps and more hence it is recommended to play on 30 fps for doing any kind of skip.
Now this wouldn't be a problem for the 100% skip route if it wasn't for high framerates having significantly lower load times (1-2 seconds) per track which adds up pretty fast in such a long category. This is why we will spend the majority of the run in the uncapped/60 fps framerate.

Video of all 4 big skips done in succession
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/302997329


**2. Route:**
Main Variant (Galactic Circuit first)

1. Sunken City (unlock Bullseye)
2. Galactic Circuit (first 6 races)
3. Semi-Pro Circuit (first 6 races)
4. Amateur Circuit
5. Boonta Classic (reset game to skip credits, cap framerate to 30)
6. Bumpy's Breakers skip
7. Abyss skip
8. Gauntlet skip
9. Inferno skip
10. Ando Prime Centrum

**3. Detailed route explanation and upgrade paths:**

-Start with Ebe Endocott on Sunken City to unlock Bullseye.
-After the race immediately check the junkyard for Plug3/5.
-Switch to Bullseye, repeat Junkyard step if needed.
-After Executioner's check Junkyard again for block5/6 or level5/6 cooling upgrade (if you get cooling buy a repair droid)
NOTE: It is recommended to max out top speed first but sometimes it can be worth it to delay it one race and get a good cooling part instead (especially if you get a good cooling upgrade first try).
-After Sebulba's Legacy buy the part you didn't buy after the previous race (Top speed/ Cooling).
-After finishing Grabvine Gateway buy the first acceleration upgrade you find in the junkyard and buy all remaining repair droids.
NOTE: If you got an early Block 5 Top speed, look out for a block6 on every Junkyard visit you do.
-Upon finishing Andobi Mountain Run look to max out your acceleration via the Junkyard, now the RNG part is over.
-Finish the rest of Galactic Circuit BUT Boonta Classic.
-Finish Semi-Pro Circuit BUT Bumpy's Breakers.
-Switch to Booles Roor for Boonta Training Course, after that finish the rest of Amateur Circuit with Bullseye
-Complete Boonta Classic and reset your game as soon as the podium cutscene starts. Cap your Framerate to 30 fps with Riva tuner, Nvidia Control panel or similiar.
-Start Bumpy's breakers with Bullseye (equip the upgrades you feel most comortable with on this skip). Remember you only have one try per lap to get the skip right and if you miss it you lose 35 seconds.
-Switch to Mars Guo, buy max airbrakes and acceleration from the Shop ( NOT JUNKYARD), Finish Abyss skips
-Start Gauntlet with Mars Guo, execute the skips
-Start Inferno With Mars Guo, execute the skips
-Switch to Ben Quadrinaros, max out both turning upgrades in the shop and start the last race, Ando Prime Centrum.


Variants of this would be doing Semi-pro or Amateur Circuit before you do Galactic Circuit. It is however not recommended because of the following reasons:
Doing Amateur Circuit first means you can't do Boonta Training Course with Booles roor which looses a lot of time.
Doing Semi-Pro first means you would do Howler without upgrades which loses between 40 and 55 seconds compared to the time loss from no upgrades Executioners (30-40 seconds). So Executioners loses less time to do without upgrades even though it is the longer track.
Another good reason for doing Galactic first is that it is by far the hardest Circuit.

Note: It is possible to execute the skips even on higher framerate but is is MUCH harder. It would save a little bit of time considering you don't have to cap your framerate while resetting and you save a few seconds of load time in the last races.
So if you feel really confident in the skips you could try to leave out the framerate switch.

100% No Upgrade Route Strategy Guide

While there already has been a guide made for the 100% Route, it only works with Upgrades. The effective strategies for No Upgrade runs are radically different from upgrades, and even between 24FPS on the N64, and 60FPS on the PC.   

The reason for this No Upgrade run split is that the two pods used for the fastest NU routes on the PC at 60FPS in Boles Roor and Aldar Beedo have traction so low and handle so poorly on the N64 and at 24 FPS that they are too unreliable for RTA runs on the N64 version. In the PC version of the 100% NU run, the goal is to unlock Boles Roor as soon as possible to blaze through the rest of the run as he is the fastest pod without upgrades in the game, and can be unlocked fairly early in the run when Zugga Challenge is 5th track of the Semi-Pro Circuit that already has the bonus of unlocking the safest pod to use in the game in Bullseye Navoir on the very first track of the circuit. 

However, the next 3 fastest pods without upgrades in the game in Ben Quadinaros, Sebulba, and Mars Guo are much harder to unlock than Boles Roor. Ben you can only unlock after beating all 3 Podracing Circuits in the Amateur, Semi-Pro, and Galactic in full. Mars Guo you unlock on the final track of the Amateur Circuit, meaning that he is only usable in 100% runs. The exact same unlocking factors with Mars Guo apply to Sebulba too, only on the Galactic Circuit. 

N64 and 24FPS Routes:

Because of Boles Roor and Aldar Beedo being too unreliable for RTA Runs on the N64 at 24FPS, you should be aiming to speedrun the Amateur or Galactic Circuit right after unlocking Bullseye Navoir on Sunken City when he is still significantly faster than Ebe Endocott that you start off with, and slightly faster than Toy Dampner that is used on Any% runs after Ebe.

As for which path to take, lets first digress off to the main differences between: Sebulba and Mars Guo before any route plans are mentioned:

Sebulba:
Sebulba has the highest raw top speed in the game at 600 that is even higher than Boles Roor’s 590, and can quite literally coast to victory without using his abysmal booster often. (Which only has an 185 unit gain that is worse than all but Wan Sandage.) However, the rest of Sebulba’s stats are average to very poor, and while his traction is poor, he is still relatively easy to control. His abysmal booster though ironically allows him to have more control under boost than almost every other pod in the game. He heats up extremely slowly with one of the longest boost durations, but his cooling and heat to cool ratio are among the worst in the game. His chart topping raw top speed though makes that low tier cooling and heat to cool ratio significantly more tolerable when you are unable to use the booster as often in NU runs compared to upgrade and especially fully upgraded runs by default with every pod.

Mars Guo:
Mars Guo is one of the most well rounded podracers in the game even without upgrades. He shares Ebe Endocott’s Traction, Turning, and Handling scores that are all in the top 5, making him exceptionally easy to control. He also has the 4th highest raw top speed in the game at 540, the 6th strongest booster in the game with a 315 unit gain, the 4th highest boost thrust top speed at 855, near Bullseye like Air Brakes and Acceleration, and heats up the slowest with a strong heat to cool ratio despite taking a long time to cool down without upgrades. His major weaknesses are his chart topping width, and a poor repair stat.

Overall, Sebulba is faster, but has a much higher learning curve compared to Mars Guo that still has an exceptionally high raw top speed. Mars Guo is probably the easiest pod to learn in the game after Ebe Endocott, Bullseye Navoir, and Toy Dampner in fact. This makes Mars Guo a much safer and more reliable bet than Sebulba, and especially if you have a tendency to take a bump or two due to Mars Guo’s higher acceleration. Sebulba’s acceleration though is deceptively slow as his speed bulb does not light up green at speeds higher than the bottom third’s raw top speed max that they will never reach.

The result of these speed, stat, and learning curve differences between Sebulba and Mars Guo has resulted in 5 possible routes for the 100% Run, with all of them ending by saving the Invitational Tracks for last. The reason to save all the Invitational Circuit tracks for last is to use the fastest no upgrade pod on the N64 version in Ben Quadinaros for at least The Gauntlet and Ando Prime Centum after unlocking him on Inferno, as he is much faster than both Sebulba and Mars on both tracks. Abyss can use Mars, Ben, Sebulba, or Bullseye on Full Track, or Mars or Wan Sandage for the skip depending on what you want and/or willing to do.

Route #1: Bullseye to Mars Guo Dash Route:
Sunken City
Amateur Circuit
Rest of Semi-Pro Circuit
Galactic Circuit
Inferno
Rest of Invitational Circuit

This route aims to unlock Mars Guo as soon as possible using Bullseye Navoir to speed through the Amateur Circuit and switching to Mars Guo for the Semi-Pro and Galactic Circuits after restarting the game to speed through the victory celebration. Given Mars Guo is much easier to learn than Sebulba, this is easily the safest of the 5 routes as a direct result.

Route #2: Bullseye to Sebulba Dash Route:
Sunken City
Galactic Circuit
Rest of Semi-Pro Circuit
Amateur Circuit
Inferno
Rest of Invitational Circuit

This route aims to unlock Sebulba as soon as possible by using Bullseye Navoir to speed through the Galactic Circuit and switching to Sebulba for the Semi-Pro and Amateur Circuits after restarting to game to speed through the victory celebration and staff roll.

Route #3: Bullseye to Mars Guo to Sebulba Dash Route:
Sunken City
Amateur Circuit
Galactic Circuit
Rest of Semi-Pro Circuit
Inferno
Rest of Invitational Circuit

This route aims to unlock Mars Guo using Bullseye Navoir on the Amateur Circuit, Switching to Mars Guo for the Galactic Circuit to unlock Sebulba, and use Sebulba and/or Mars Guo on the Semi-Pro Circuit.

Route #4: Bullseye to Sebulba to Mars Guo Dash Route:
Sunken City
Galactic Circuit
Amateur Circuit
Rest of Semi-Pro Circuit
Inferno
Rest of Invitational Circuit

Similar Pattern to Route #3, only using Bullseye Navoir on the Galactic Circuit, Switch to Sebulba for the Amateur Circuit to unlock Mars Guo, and use Sebulba and/or Mars Guo on the Semi-Pro Circuit.

Route #5: Any%+ Route:
Galactic Circuit
Amateur Circuit
Semi-Pro Circuit
Inferno
Rest of Invitational Circuit

Do a full Any% NU run using the regular routine of Ebe on Executioner and switching to Toy Dampner for the remainder of the Any% run, and instead of ending the run at The Boonta Classic, restart the game and switch to Sebulba to blaze through the Amateur and Semi-Pro Circuits. This is probably the fastest route, but it is also the most difficult as Toy Dampner compared to Bullseye Navoir, and Sebulba compared to Mars Guo are much harder to use.

Rejected Route: Amateur Circuit+ Route
Amateur Circuit
Semi-Pro Circuit
Galactic Circuit
Inferno
Rest of Invitational Circuit

In theory it may seem like a good idea to do just a plain Amateur Circuit Run and continue with it after Spice Mine Run, but there are two factors that significantly compromise the speed of this run over the previous 5.
1. The fastest podracer for the Amateur Circuit Run by far in Aldar Beedo is too unreliable to use for NU RTA runs on the N64’s fixed 24 FPS.
2. The next best option of Ebe Endocott from Race 1 to 4 and switching to Clegg Holdfast for Races 5 to 7 is still slower than using pure Bullseye Navoir from race 1 to 7, with lower reliability on top of it.
For these two reasons, this route will be for certain slower than the other 5 routes mentioned here.

Things to consider:
Sebulba saves significant time on the Amateur Circuit over pure Bullseye Navoir.

Mars Guo saves significant time on the Galactic Circuit over pure Bullseye Navoir when he is nearly equal to even faster than Bullseye on Grabvine Gateway, Fire Mountain Rally, and The Boonta Classic with a little extra practice on those tracks, and much faster than Bullseye Navoir by default on Executioner, Sebulba’s Legacy, Andobi Mountain Run, and Dethro’s Revenge. However, Bullseye Navoir is still significantly safer and easier to use than Mars Guo on Grabvine Gateway, Fire Mountain Rally, and The Boonta Classic due to his sheer agility, narrow width, and rapid repairing advantages over Mars. On these three tracks, it is extremely easy to take enough damage to need repairing, and you will be losing a significant amount of momentum on Grabvine Gateway and Fire Mountain Rally by default on every lap. Something that Mars Guo struggles with far more than Bullseye Navoir.

The Amateur Circuit is much shorter than the Galactic Circuit, meaning that the potential gains for Sebulba are more limited compared to Mars Guo on the Galactic Circuit. However, it is easier for Sebulba to make gains on the Amateur Circuit than for Mars Guo to make gains on the Galactic Circuit.

The Semi-Pro Circuit can be often a cross over between Mars Guo and Sebulba. Mars Guo is exceptionally easier to use on Dug Derby and Baroo Coast than Sebulba, and Mars can even follow the most optimal path through the winding parts of Baroo Coast like Bullseye can, only much faster without upgrades. Sebulba has a much easier time unleashing his chart topping raw top speed on Scrapper’s Run and Zugga Challenge that are among the straightest tracks in the circuit. Howler Gorge and Bumpy’s Breakers can often be a toss up between the two. The ice and turns on Howler Gorge make Sebulba much harder to control than Mars Guo on the track, and especially on the ice due to Sebulba’s much lower traction, turning, and handling. Bumpy’s Breakers tons of turns can be hair raising with Sebulba as he swings wide when turning due his low traction, turning, and handling yet again.

On Sunken City, the amount of time NU Bullseye Navoir makes up on the Amateur or Galactic Circuit well offsets the time lost on Sunken City to using NU Ebe Endocott to unlock him on Sunken City. His significantly higher boost thrust at 300 vs. Toy Dampner's 240 along with Toy only being 5 units faster in raw top speed and having much stiffer turning than NU Bullseye makes Bullseye slightly faster than Toy for the rest of the Galactic Tracks too.

Inferno’s long straights are much more optimal with Sebulba than Mars Guo due to his higher raw top speed, but Mars Guo is much better able to handle the bends of Inferno that make up the rest of the track after the two long straights. However, the most optimal pod in terms of boosting without upgrades on this track is Bullseye Navoir due to his rapid cooling and high boost thrust number of 300, but he is much slower than both Mars and Sebulba on the track overall.

Both Mars and Sebulba have poor to very poor repair stats, which means that if you take heavy damage, you may have more luck gutting through the damage until you crash to even deliberately crashing if it gets extremely bad. They also have a tendency to crash on hidden textures in the game.

Mars Guo beats Sebulba significantly in boost thrust top speed at 855 vs. Sebulba's 785, and can hold the booster longer with a far better heat to cool ratio than Sebulba.

If you do not plan to use Ben Quadinaros for Abyss, you should clear it out of the way as fast as possible being the most difficult track in the game. NU Ben is supremely difficult to use on the track in a RTA run setting, and your safest bet is by far Mars Guo when he can recover unlike Ben, Bullseye, and Sebulba. 

PC and 60FPS Routes:

There is a notable precedent for this type of run done by Nimputs here: https://www.speedrun.com/swe1r/run/mk9v205z

The route path done on the run was:
Semi-Pro Circuit
Abyss
Amateur Circuit
Ando Prime Centrum
Galactic Circuit
Gauntlet
Inferno

Key points on the progression of Nimputs' run:
Starts on Sunken City with Ebe Endocott to unlock Bullseye Navior.
Uses Bullseye Navior for Semi-Pro Circuit Races 2 through 5.
Switches to Boles Roor for Semi-Pro Circuit Races 6 and 7.
Switches back to Bullseye Navoir for Abyss.
Switches back to Boles Roor for the Amateur Circuit, Ando Prime Centrum and Galactic Circuit Races 1 and 2.
Switches back to Bullseye Navoir for Galactic Circuit Race 3 in Grabvine Gateway.
Switches back to Boles Roor for Galactic Circuit Races 4 and 5.
Switches back to Bullseye Navoir for Galactic Circuit Races 6 and 7 in Fire Mountain Rally and Boonta Classic.
Switches back to Boles Roor for The Gauntlet.
Switches back to Bullseye Navior for Inferno.

Refining on the 100% No Upgrade PC 60FPS Route with 4 possibilities:

Route refinement 1:
Semi-Pro Circuit
Amateur Circuit
Abyss
Ando Prime Centrum
Galactic Circuit
Inferno
Gauntlet

The first part of the run in using Ebe on Sunken City to unlock Bullseye, using Bullseye Navoir on Semi-Pro races 2 through 5, and using Boles Roor on Semi-Pro Circuit races 6 though 7 remains the same.
Instead of going straight to Abyss however, use Boles Roor to blaze through the Amateur Circuit so you can unlock Mars Guo who even more reliable than Bullseye Navoir on Abyss due to being faster and able to recover on the track.
After using Mars on Abyss, switch back to Boles Roor for Ando Prime Centrum and Galactic Races 1 and 2.
At race 3 which is Grabvine Gateway, you have the option of playing it safe by switching back to Bullseye Navoir, or if you have extreme guts and skills switch back to Mars Guo who is faster but has a much harder time regaining momentum on the track.
Galactic Races 4 and 5 use Boles Roor, and races 6 and 7 gives you once again the chance to play it safe with Bullseye or be gutsy and use Mars Guo, though Mars Guo is a bit easier to use well on race 7 in The Boonta Classic.
On the final 2 tracks in the Gauntlet and Inferno, it would be best to do Inferno first either with Boles Roor who is most optimal but supremely hard to control on the track, or Mars Guo who is far more reliable but slower.
The reason to do Inferno first in this case is if you want to use Ben Quadinaros instead of Boles Roor for The Gauntlet. While Ben is slightly slower than Boles, Ben is far easier to use and has a better boost heat safety margin on the critical off road short cut compared to Boles.

Route Refinement 2:
Amateur Circuit
Semi-Pro Circuit
Abyss
Ando Prime Centrum
Galactic Circuit
Inferno
The Gauntlet

Start by doing a regular run of the Amateur Circuit by using Ebe Endocott Races 1 through 3, and switching to Aldar Beedo for races 4 though 7, and instead of ending the run there, use Aldar Beedo for Semi-Pro Circuit Races 1 through 5 before switching to Boles Roor for races 6 and 7.
On Abyss, use Mars Guo and then switch back to Boles Roor for Ando Prime Centrum and Galactic Races 1 and 2. Then you are up with the same choice between super safe Bullseye Navoir and faster but more difficult to use Mars Guo on race 3 in Grabvine Gateway.
Switch back to Boles Roor for races 4 and 5, then use Bullseye Navoir or Mars Guo for races 6 and 7.
Once speeding through Boonta Classic, do Inferno first with Boles Roor for speed or Mars Guo for safety in case you want to use Ben Quadinaros for The Gauntlet.

Route Refinement 3:
Amateur Circuit Races 1 through 3
Semi-Pro Circuit
Amateur Circuit Races 4 through 7
Abyss
Ando Prime Centurm
Galactic Circuit
Inferno
Gauntlet

Doing the 100% Upgrade Route acE. pioneered of using Ebe on Amateur Circuit races 1 through 3, detouring to the Semi-Pro Circuit with Aldar Beedo races 1 through 5 so to use Boles Roor on the remaining Amateur and Semi-Pro Circuit tracks. Make sure to complete both the Amateur and Semi-Pro Circuits in full so you you can use Mars Guo for Abyss, and the rest of the run follows the same pattern and pod usage options of the 2 previous routes.

Mad Man Ultimate Speed 100% No Upgrade Route:
Amateur Circuit Races 1 through 3
Semi-Pro Circuit
Abyss
Amateur Circuit Races 4 through 7
Ando Prime Centrum
Galactic Circuit
Gauntlet
Inferno

This route takes speed and difficultly the absolute max, and it would take a mad man to do well when it maximizes using Aldar Beedo and Boles Roor that are the fastest but most difficult to control pods for this run. Start with the Amateur Circuit and use Ebe Endocott Races 1 through 3 to unlock Aldar Beedo, Detour to Semi-Pro Circuit to use Aldar Beedo Semi-Pro Circuit Races 1 through 5, then use Boles Roor the remainder of the run. This is without a doubt the fastest possible 100% No Upgrade Route in the game, but it is also without a doubt the most difficult 100% No Upgrade Route. NU Boles Roor takes practically super human effort to use on Abyss, Grabvine Gateway, Fire Mountain Rally, and The Boonta Classic, and NU Aldar Beedo will probably take super human effort to use on Sunken City, Howler Gorge, Dug Derby, Scrapper's Run, and Zugga Challenge too.

Final note on Nimputs' 100% No Upgrade Run Precedent:
Nimputs' run came in at just over 2 hours by a second or two. Odds are that all 4 refined route options here will certainly produce a Sub 2 hour 100% No Upgrade Run on the PC at 60 FPS, and likely by a wide margin.

May The Force be with you.

100% route

This guide describes the old upgrade route. This can still be used to have a relatively RNG save route, but faster routes in the early with more RNG are possible. Additionally, more skips have been found since this guide was written

_____

The main idea of the 100% routes is that you do Semi-Pro first, to unlock Bulleye and Abyss. Bullseye because he is the overall best racer to do the run with, and Abyss to get it out of the way as early as possible. From there there's different variants you can do



VARIANT 1:

Track order:
1. Semi-Pro Circuit
2. Abyss
3. Galactic Circuit
4. Gauntlet
5. Amateur Circuit
6. Ando Prime Centrum
7. Inferno

Upgrades:
- starts with Ebe, switch to Bullseye after Sunken City
- speed upgrade from junkyard before Scrapper's Run. Block 5 or Block 6
- buy all pit droids before Zugga Challenge
- buy the best cooling upgrade available from the store before Andobi Mountain Run
- reset the game after the "Saving Game" text on the podium cutscene after beating The Boonta Classic to skip the credits
- buy the best cooling and accelleration upgrade available before Gauntlet
- in case you got a Block 5 speed upgrade in the junkyard, buy a Block 6 in the store before Beedo's Wild Ride



VARIANT 2:
(beneficial for especially Dreamcast runs to save on loadscreens [see below])

Track order:
1. Semi-Pro Circuit
2. Abyss
3. Amateur Circuit
4. Ando Prime Centrum
5. Galactic Circuit
6. Gauntlet
7. Inferno

Upgrades:
- starts with Ebe, switch to Bullseye after Sunken City
- speed upgrade from junkyard before Scrapper's Run. Block 5 or Block 6
- buy all pit droids before Zugga Challenge
- buy the best cooling upgrade available from the store before Aquilaris Classic
- buy the best cooling and accelleration upgrade available before Ando Prime Centrum
- in case you got a Block 5 speed upgrade in the junkyard, buy a Block 6 in the store before Grabvine Gateway
- reset the game after the "Saving Game" text on the podium cutscene after beating The Boonta Classic to skip the credits




VARIANT 3:
(for skip runs)

Track order:
1. Semi-Pro Circuit
2. Amateur Circuit
3. Abyss
4. Ando Prime Centrum
5. Galactic Circuit
6. Gauntlet
7. Inferno

Upgrades:
- starts with Ebe, switch to Bullseye after Sunken City
- speed upgrade from junkyard before Scrapper's Run. Block 5 or Block 6
- buy all pit droids before Zugga Challenge
- buy the best cooling upgrade available from the store before Aquilaris Classic
- buy the best cooling and accelleration upgrade available before Abyss
- switch to Mars Guo for Abyss
- in case you got a Block 5 speed upgrade in the junkyard, buy a Block 6 in the store before Grabvine Gateway
- reset the game after the "Saving Game" text on the podium cutscene after beating The Boonta Classic to skip the credits
- switch to Mars Guo for Gauntlet and Inferno




NOTE FOR DREAMCAST:

The original route (variant 1) is the route I got from Tolarus, and from there I adapted variant 2 to optimize it for Dreamcast.

The reason for that is, in all versions of the game, when you enter a certain planet for the first time in that session of the game running, it plays a rendered cutscene introducing the region. However, since Dreamcast loads are so slow, loading these cutscenes takes about 3 seconds each time. So what you do before starting a run, you enter a track on every planet once, to skip the loading of that cutscene.
Since the 100% route involves a game reset, which will make you lose all the pre-loading you have done, you want to do the reset as late as possible in the route, to only have as few races as possible for which the game still loads the intro cutscene.

100% Skips/Upgrades (In depth guide) WIP

**1. Foreword**
You want to beat the entire game as fast as humanly possible? Well look no further than 100% Skips/Upgrades.
The goal of this category is to finish all 25 tracks in first place, starting from a new save file.
This guide will cover the different routes you can take, their positives and their negatives.

**2. Prerequisites**
It is recommended to do this run on either 48 or 60 fps because of the skips. If you go lower than 48 fps you might have trouble getting some of the skips to work, same thing goes for if you go above 60 fps.

Pod Racers:
Ebe Endocott, Aldar Beedo, Mars Guo, Anakin Skywalker, Bullseye Navior, Wan Sandage, Ben Quadinaros.
If you haven't already you should get familiar with all of them before you attempt to run this category.

Skips used in this run:
Dug Derby, Zugga Challenge, Bumpy's Breakers, Executioner, Sebulba's Legacy, Boonta Classic, Ando Prime Centrum, Abyss, Gauntlet, Inferno
I will link a in depth skip tutorial in the future, for now watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmiMp9Uqjok
Later in this guide there will also be a section going into detail about some of the skips

**3. Junkyard and Upgrades**
First of all, read this: https://www.speedrun.com/swe1r/guide/498gh
Why use the junkyard to get upgrades?
By using the junkyard we can get high level parts in the early game, which wouldn't be unlocked in the normal shop until you win a certain amount of races. Getting the best parts as early as you can is essential for the fastest possible times in upgrade categories in general.
You always want to prioritize Top Speed first, followed by Cooling, Turning and Acceleration. Top Speed and Cooling have by far the biggest impact, Turning and Acceleration are not as important and can be bought in Wattos shop alternatively.
For every UPGRADED part you have beyond the first you need to buy 1 Pit Droid!!

Note that the time you will get certain upgrades always varies. If you get lucky with the RNG you might have a lot more money than you are used to earlier in the run and can therefore buy upgrades earlier sometimes.

Top Speed caps for popular pods:
Ebe Endocott: Block 5
Elan Mak: Block 6 (Block5 nearly maxes out at 640) 
Bullseye Navior: Block 6 (Block5 nearly maxes out at 640)
Aldar Beedo: Block 5 (Plug8 nearly maxes out at 637)
Mars Guo: Plug8
Boles Roor: Plug5
Ben Quadinaros: Plug5

This means that by using the Advanced 100% route (Rush Beedo-Rush Mars), you can get away with just buying a plug8 (or better) in the junkyard early. 


Optimal Junkyard route:
-Get Plug 3 before starting Race 1 
-Get Plug 5 before starting Race 2
-Get Plug 8 or better before starting Race 3
-Get Dual/Turbo Cooling before starting Race 4 (If you got lucky you have enough money here to buy Accel and Turning from the shop was well)
-If you didn't get Accel and Turning get it before starting Race 5
-Visit Watto's Shop after Race 12 and 16 to upgrade your non maxed parts.

Conservative Junkyard Route:
-Get Plug 3/5 after Race 1
-Get Plug 5 after Race 2 if you went for Plug3 after Race 1
-Get Plug 8 or better after Race 3
-Get Cooling after Race 4
-Get Turning and Accel after Race 5 if you haven't yet (You can get these 2 parts from Watto's shop if you don't want to gamble in the junkyard again)
-Visit Watto's Shop after Race 12 and 16 to upgrade your non maxed parts.

In case you use the Advanced 100% route (which basically starts with an AMC run) you should check out this guide going into detail about optimal junkyarding: https://www.speedrun.com/swe1r/guide/al5i

**4. Routes**
On Grabvine Gateway and Fire Mountain Rally you always use Bullseye.
It is optimal to do Inferno first in the Invitational Circuit to unlock Ben, that way you can complete Ando Prime Centrum and the Gauntlet with Ben (altho beware this adds quite a bit of risk especially on Gauntlet).
This is also the reason why it is completed last (Inferno unlocks after you get 1st on all 21 base tracks)

1. Bullseye Route (Beginner)
This is basically the legacy 100% route that aims to unlock Bullseye asap and complete the majority of tracks with him. 
Sunken City > Complete SPC > Complete AMC > Complete GC > Complete Invitationals
In this route you can basically stick to Bullseye for the entire run apart from Executioner, Boonta Classic, Abyss, Gauntlet and Inferno Skips (For these you want to use Mars [Anakin for Bumpy's])
Use this route if you are new to the category and/or are still learning the skips

2. Bullseye-Mars Route (Intermediate)
Similiar to the Bullseye only route you start on Sunken City to unlock Bullseye, however after that you complete AMC to unlock Mars Guo and switch to him for the rest of the run.
Sunken City > Complete AMC > Complete SPC > Complete GC > Complete Invitationals
This route is slightly faster but also slightly harder to do.
You can switch to Bullseye on any track you are not comfortable on with Mars but it will lose some time

3. Beedo-Mars Route (Advanced)
Currently the fastest viable route, but also very difficult. This time we ignore Bullseye and straight up rush Mars Guo by completing AMC. After beating Beedo's Wild Ride, switch to Aldar Beedo for the rest of AMC
Beat AMC 1-3 > Switch to Beedo > Complete AMC > Switch to Mars > Complete SPC > Complete GC > Complete Invitational
Be aware that the early game can get extremly difficult on Aldar Beedo. If you attempt this route consider buying Traction before Vengeance (sell it after) and if you can't, switch to Clegg Holdfast for only Vengeance.
If you use this route you are essentially doing an AMC Upgrades run to start off your 100% run with, so you can double submit ;)

**5. Skips**

Amateur Circuit, (Upgrades) Guide [Routing]

The Amateur Circuit with upgrades category is one of the most technically difficult categories to race and has a very huge dependence on good junkyard routing. With "Winner Takes All", you gain only 2200 truguts from each race that you win, making money a very tight resource. Most successful upgrade routes aim to try and get at the very least, a plug 8 before Beedo's Wild Ride, allowing you to peak your speed by Aquilaris Classic. The entire run hinges on the upgrades and value-add to your parts that you get along the way before Beedo's. If you do not get the top speed required, your run takes a huge hit on Aquilaris, which is one of the longer runs in the category. It is still possible to get a plug 8 before Beedo's without any upgrades, and independently, attempt to try and get lucky with upgrades before Aquilaris itself, but you would be taking a huge risk, because with how tight your money is, it is extremely unlikely you'll be able to get an affordable upgrade in time.
--------------------------------
Basic things to note:
-Set the prize distribution to "Winner Takes All"
-You need to place 1st to win prize money (2200 truguts) with the above setting
-You need to place 1st on Beedo's Wild Ride to unlock Aldar Beedo
-You need at least 3rd place on Spice Mine Run for your run to qualify for completion
-You start with 1 droid, that can repair (and keep) an upgraded part to maxmium health
-You need an extra droid for every other damaged part.
-Top speed takes priority, then cooling, then the handling upgrades
-The value of your current part will always be traded in when buying a different part.
--------------------------------
Optimal podracers:
Races 1 - 3 Ebe Endecott
Races 4 - 7 Aldar Beedo
--------------------------------
Critical positions in the run:

Aquilaris Classic:
-Switch to Beedo
-Your top speed upgrade ideally needs to be maxed out by here. You should also have a decent cooling upgrade with Aldar Beedo
-On laps 2 and 3, you will probably be lapping the AI, which can be dangerous obstacles on the track.
-The doors are not fully opened or closed if you are entering them with AI. Some attention to how the doors are changing is required.
-The figure 8 at the end of the track requires you to brake before you enter it.

Malastare 100:
-Ideally you want to get both tier 3 handling upgrades before you start the race
-The hairpin is extremely difficult with Beedo who has poor handling even with upgrades.
-You'll be lapping the AI in narrow areas on laps 2 and 3

Vengeance:
-Extremely difficult track with non-stop high tension areas

Spice Mine Run:
-AI is quite unpredictable and glitchy and are very dangerous obstacles on laps 2 and 3

--------------------------------
Part costs, with junkyard price ranges:

Top Speed:
Plug 2 - 1000
Plug 3 - 2400, (960 - 2160)
Plug 5 - 6000, (2400 - 5400)
Plug 8 - 14000, (5600 - 12600)
Block 5 - 17500, (7000 - 15750)
Block 6 - 20000, (8000 - 18000)

Cooling:
Coolant radiator - 50
Stack 3 - 100 (40 - 90)
Stack 6 - 300 (120 - 270)
Rod - 900 (360 - 810)
Dual - 2700 (1080 - 2430)
Turbo - 5400 (2160 - 4860)

Traction:
R-20: 250
R-60: 400 (net cost 150)
R-80: 600 (net cost 350)

Turning:
Linkage: 200
Shift Plate: 400 (net cost 200)
Vectro-Jet: 700 (net cost 500)

--------------------------------
Best case scenario: Plug 3 (before race 1) -> Plug 5 (before race 2) -> Damaged Block 5 + Damaged Dual (before race 3) -> Re-rolled healthy block 5/6 + Healthy turbo (before race 4) -> Tier 3 Turning + Tier 3 Traction (before race 5)
--------------------------------
Routes: (note: worst case scenario means you get the most healthy item available, which is the worst case if you're trying to build money value since you get less money after repairing it, vice versa for best case scenario, however healthier items help with in-game race times)

Plug 3 (before race 1) -> Plug 5 (before race 2) route:
Value before race 1: 1000 + 400 = 1400
Value before race 2 (worst case scenario): 1000 + 400 + 1000 + 2200 = 4600
Value before race 2 (best case scenario): 1000 + 400 + (2400 - 960) + 2200 = 5040
Value before race 3 (worst case scenario): (6000 - 5040) + 2200 + 5040 = 8200
Value before race 3 (best case scenario): 5040 + (6000 - 2400) + 2200 = 10840
--------------------------------
Plug 3 skip route:
Value before race 1: 1400
Value before race 2: 3600
Value before race 3 (if you take a plug 5) (worst case scenario): 6000 + 2200 = 8200 [Note: Your range of available plug 5 is lower than if you took the plug 3 before race 1, i.e. you only can afford a Plug 5 worth 2400 - 3600]
Value before race 3 (if you take a plug 5) (best case scenario): 3600 + (6000 - 2400) + 2200 = 9600
Value before race 3 (if you take a plug 3) (worst case scenario): 3600 + (2400 - 2160) + 2200 = 6040 (! you can't take a block 5 anymore, maximum plug 3 cost to make block 5 available = 1200)
Value before race 3 (if you take a plug 3) (best case scenario): 3600 + (2400 - 960) + 2200 = 7240
--------------------------------
Plug 3 -> Plug 3 route [IMPORTANT: YOUR TOP SPEED WILL SUFFER IF YOU DO THIS]:
Value before race 1: 1400
Value before race 2 (worst case scenario): 1000 + 400 + 1000 + 2200 = 4600
Value before race 2 (best case scenario): 1000 + 400 + (2400 - 960) + 2200 = 5040
Value before race 3 (worst case scenario): 5040 + (2400 - 2160) + 2200 = 7480
Value before race 3 (best case scenario): 5040 + (2400 - 960) + 2200 = 8680
--------------------------------
Notable traps:
1. The total cost of 2 droids and the maximum handling upgrades is 2850, the prize for winning a race is 2200, if you have less than 650 truguts before Aquilaris, you won't be able to afford both tier 3 handling upgrades before Malastare 100.
2. If you have only a Plug 3 before Beedo's Wild Ride, you are extremely unlikely to be able to afford a Block 5
3. If you get a Plug 8 / Block 5 / Block 6 that leaves you with less than 960 truguts, you won't be able to afford even the most damaged Turbo the next race.
4. You will most likely not be able to afford both top speed and cooling before Beedo's. You are much more likely to get a cooling upgrade before Aquilaris.
5. Buying droids before you need them can save you time in menuing, but you're extremely likely to go bankrupt.
--------------------------------
Salvaging a run:

Scenario 1: Before Aquilaris, you do not have minimally a plug 8
-Try to get a plug 8 / Block 5 / Block 6
-If you still have money and a cooling part is available, buy it and a droid. If no affordable part is available or you can't buy the droid, do not buy the upgrade and just start the race.

Scenario 2: Before Aquilaris, you have a plug 8 / Block 5 / Block 6 but you can't afford tier 4 or above cooling and the droid
-Buy whatever cooling you can afford and the droid
OR
-Buy cooling and not the droid, and just gamble on not taking damage on your top speed part (risky)
OR
-Look for a damaged Block 5 / Block 6 and try to get a part that gives you money (very risky)
-Use the money to buy cooling + droid

Scenario 3: Before Malastare 100, you cannot afford both tier 3 handling
-Do not attempt to re-roll your top speed part, it's extremely unlikely to get something favorable.
-Get turning and a droid, get traction and another droid before Vengeance

(re-posted for authorship purposes)

Amateur Circuit, No Upgrades demos

(Updated as of 18/11/2019)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO0zrz8gTz4qcweIhRXUDyl4-ilf2LgWs

The above playlist shows all the best known times on each track in the category, with a focus on optimising each individual track according to standard frame rates used (currently 60 FPS or 48 FPS) and no upgrades.

This is not to say that the strategies shown are necessarily the best. The principles behind the strategies are more important and conclusive. (e.g. Longer boosts are better, don't sacrifice lines too much for boosts, and maximise time in high speed terrain)

FPS used
The Boonta Training Course - 48
Mon Gazza Speedway - 48
Beedo's Wild Ride - 48
Aquilaris Classic - 60
Malastare 100 - 48
Vengeance - 60
Spice Mine Run - 60

Any% guide

Note: If you're completely new to this game, it is recommended to try to the Amateur Circuit and Semi-Pro Circuit runs first, as they have easier tracks and are a good training to get familiar with the game's mechanics. This guide is specifically for any%, though some things apply to the other categories as well. The upgrade routes do not work identically in the other categories, though, as you earn less money from the races in the other circuits.

Note2: This route is actually slightly outdated, but anything else still applies

**GOAL**

Any% is beating the game as fast as possible by getting to the credits from a new savefile. To get to the credits, you need to finish The Boonta Classic in 3rd place or better. Boonta Classic is the last of 7 races in Galactic Circuit, one of 3 circuits in the game. All 3 circuits are accessible from the beginning, therefore the only requirement for beating the game is beating the 7 races in Galactic Circuit. To progress, you need to finish the races on 4th place or better.

**CONTROLLER / KEYBOARD INPUT**

PC has the advantage over console that you can change your button mapping to whatever you want. While on console you have to hold up on the same analog stick which you also use for turning to charge a boost, on PC you can change it to a different button. Like this you are able to charge boosts at any time and can use the boost much more efficiently than on console.
A possible controller setup on a Xbox360 controller could be:
A – thrust
B – slide
X – boost
Y – tilt
LB – repair
RB – brake
LT/RT – nose down/up

**CHARACTER CHOICE**

Ebe Endocott is used throughout most of the run because his stats are the most beneficial out of all the starting characters, especially the very good cooling stat, which allows you to boost a lot. Later when you have upgrades equipped, you can switch to Elan Mak. By this point he has a very good top speed and a very long boost, which makes him beneficial especially for Andobi Mountain Run, Dethro's Revenge and Boonta Classic. To counteract the bad handling and traction stats, you buy extra upgrades for those before the first race with Elan. Using Elan is riskier than using Ebe for the whole run, but saves a huge amount of time if played well.

**UPGRADES**

The fastest way to beat the game is to get the best upgrades as early as possible. You start with 400 Truguts, and you earn 4400 Truguts from each win (if you choose the setting "Winner takes it all"). In the Junkyard, you can get randomized upgrade parts which are damaged and therefore cheaper. If you enter the junkyard and it does not have any upgrade you want, you can leave the junkyard and reselect your character. This re-rolls the RNG and allows you to retry for the piece you want. You only have a few tries though until re-rolling takes too much time and results in a reset. Since the parts you buy from the junkyard are damaged, the stats as they show when you buy them vary for each type of upgrade, and will be better in the next race once they're repaired. Therefore, when buying upgrades, don't look at the stat bar, but look at the upgrade name to know which parts you'll want. The stat a part has when buying is not representative of how good that part really is for the rest of the run.

**PIT DROIDS**

Every pit droid that you have can repair one upgrade part that you have installed after a race to ensure it is at its full performance in the next race. Therefore, you ideally need as many pit droids as you have upgrades so that all your upgrades are always at maximum performance. You have one pit droid from the beginning. So starting at the 2nd stat after the first one that you buy an upgrade for, you need an extra pit droid. A pit droid costs 1000 Truguts. If you do not have enough pit droids, one or more of your upgrade parts will have significantly worse stats and you will lose significant amount of time throughout the race.

**FASTEST UPGRADE ROUTE**

*Before Executioner*: Plug 3 (speed)
*Before Sebulba's Legacy*: Plug 5, Plug 8 [unlikely], or Block 5 [extremely unlikely] (speed)
*Before Grabvine Gateway*: Block 5 or Block 6 (speed) and Dual Coolant Pump or Turbo Coolant Pump (cooling)
*Before Andobi Mountain Run* (only if Elan Mak is used, get these from "Buy Parts" and NOT from the junkyard, we don't need even more RNG): Control Vectro-Jet (turning) and R-80 Repulsorgrip (traction)
This upgrade route is very inconsistent, as it has several junkyard trips, the first of which only has a 5% chance of succeeding per visit. Furthermore, the money is very tight, so if one of the parts you buy ends up costing too much (remember, damage on the parts is random, so you may end up getting one that is almost new and therefore very expensive) you are at risk of running out of money and not being able to afford another part or pit droids. Therefore this route is not recommended for new runners.

**BACKUPS**

Should you run short on money, a possible backup can be that you do not switch to Elan Mak in order to avoid buying the extra pit droids for the handling and traction upgrade. You can also skip buying the cooling upgrade before Grabvine Gateway and move it until before Andobi Mountain. This does not lose time on Grabvine Gateway, but will lose time in Andobi Mountain, since when entering the race you just bought the part from the junkyard and is therefore not yet repaired by the pit droids.

**SAFER UPGRADE ROUTES**

These upgrade routes are recommended for new runners, or for no-reset settings, such as SRL races or marathon runs.

Minimum RNG:
*Before Grabvine Gateway*: Block 5 or Block 6 (speed)
*Before Andobi Mountain*: any cooling upgrade, or try to gamble for Dual Coolant Pump or Turbo Coolant Pump

Medium RNG:
*Before Sebulba's Legacy*: Plug 3 or Plug 5 (speed)
*Before Grabvine Gateway*: Block 5 or Block 6 (speed) and any cooling upgrade (if you can afford it + the pit droid)
*Before Andobi Mountain* (if you don't already have it): Dual Coolant Pump or Turbo Coolant Pump (cooling)

**STRATS AND SKIPS**

This game's biggest emphasis is optimization of movement and avoiding crashes. For movement mechanics for beginners, please refer to this guide: https://www.speedrun.com/swe1r/guide/1ic60
However, there are some tricks that can help you save time or avoiding crashes:

*Avoiding random deaths*: Sometimes, you will just seemingly randomly die. However, the spots on which this happens are consistent. If something like this happens, remember the spot, so that you can avoid it next time. You can either dodge these spots by going around or jumping over them, or in most cases tilting your pod avoids the crash. For a detailed description of these spots, refer to this guide: https://www.speedrun.com/swe1r/guide/fsqjp

*Executioner tube entry wallride*: The entry for 2nd gravity tube is a hole in the floor. If you race along the track and just let yourself get dragged into the hole, you get a really awkward angle entering the tube and there is a chance that you will hit the wall of the tube immediately upon entering. To avoid this, you can do a little wallride on the slanted wall before the tube to get a bit of extra height, which will get you a better angle to consistently avoid crashing when entering the tube. To do this tilt your podracer and stir into the wall. You will quickly gain a little bit of height, then go off the wall, stop tilting, and push your nose up until you go into the tube.

*Executioner gravity tube controls*: Controls in the gravity tubes are very stiff, which makes it very hard to dodge the rocks. This is mostly a problem in the 2nd tube. If you hold the slide button while in the tube, you have much more freedom to move, making it possible to dodge the rocks if you learn where they are.

*Sebulba's Lagacy wallride*: You can skip the large turn at the end of Sebulba's Legacy by bumping over the the hill on the inside of the turn. To do this, go off the track and hold Nose Up, curve to the right and hit the hill at an angle that will allow you to use it as a ramp. Keep holding nose up. Once you hit the hill, curve back left towards the track on the other side and curve to right to line yourself up with it. When bumping on the hill, make sure to not have a too flat angle, otherwise you will not gain any height as you you're not able to use the slope of the hill to your advantage.

**NOT A FAN OF RNG AT ALL?**

Check out the no-upgrades category! Not as fast, but 100% RNG-free. Note though, that for beginner runners, No upgrades runs are slightly harder to finish, as the upgrades give you an advantage over the AI. If you are familiar with the tracks and the mechanics of the game, though, it should not be much of an issue.

Average Speed of all Pods (adjusted for boosting)

It is possible to calculate the average speed of a pod, even while factoring boosting and cooling. I'll get to the boring details later.

In other words, this guide tells you the average speed of a pod throughout a race if you go full throttle, boost as much as you can, and never underheat. (Obviously this is a theoretical limit, and will not be possible on some tracks or with certain pods.) It does not account for acceleration, dying, hills/terrain, braking, or the length of the track. Keep the difficulty of a track, and your skill, in mind when selecting a pod.

I also made a tool in Excel so you can account for underheating and different upgrade combinations (e.g. 'how fast is Boles with a Plug8 and Dual Coolant Pump on a tight track?'). It also contains the full handling data for each pod and is easier to read than this table. You can download it from the Resources page, or at the following link:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AuLe1aNbxgMfjddxfb59TqYvxmlKzA


AvgSpeed | UpgradedAvgSpeed | BoostDuration | StockCoolTime | UpgradedCoolTime | Pod
572 | 763 | 7.7 | 11.1 | 5.9 | Anakin Skywalker
538 | 748 | 7.1 | 16.7 | 7.1 | Teemto Pagalies
634 | 747 |11.0 | 50.0 |10.0 | Sebulba
608 | 806 | 8.3 | 20.0 | 7.7 | Ratts Tyerell
625 | 846 | 9.5 | 22.2 | 8.0 | Aldar Beedo
603 | 838 | 7.7 | 14.3 | 6.7 | Mawhonic
565 | 772 | 9.5 | 15.4 | 6.9 | Ark "Bumpy" Roose
525 | 749 |11.0 | 33.3 | 9.1 | Wan Sandage
609 | 831 |13.3 | 47.6 | 9.9 | Mars Guo
580 | 756 | 6.6 | 9.10 | 5.3 | Ebe Endocott
557 | 776 |11.6 | 40.0 | 9.5 | Dud Bolt
547 | 785 | 8.0 | 58.8 |10.3 | Gasgano
587 | 811 | 8.7 | 20.0 | 7.7 | Clegg Holdfast
552 | 834 |10.0 | 40.0 | 9.5 | Elan Mak
542 | 789 | 8.7 | 30.3 | 8.8 | Neva Kee
548 | 786 | 8.5 | 28.6 | 8.7 | Bozzie Baranta
676 | 857 |10.5 | 37.0 | 9.3 | Boles Roor
544 | 777 | 9.1 | 22.7 | 8.1 | Ody Mandrell
578 | 787 | 8.3 | 15.4 | 6.9 | Fud Sang
655 | 872 |12.5 | 50.0 |10.0 | Ben Quadinaros
561 | 761 | 6.3 | 8.30 | 5.0 | Slide Paramita
592 | 792 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 5.6 | Toy Dampner
607 | 818 | 6.7 | 9.10 | 5.3 | Bullseye Navior

(UpgradedAvgSpeed means all speed and cooling upgrades.)
(Lower acceleration is better. Boost and cool times are in seconds.)


Takeaways:
We see that when stock Boles Roor is slightly faster than Ben Quadinaros, if you can handle him. But Ben becomes faster with upgrades. Boles is 11% faster than Bullseye stock, and 5% faster after upgrades.
Generally, pods with good cooling benefit little from cooling upgrades (e.g. Bullseye and Ebe), and pods with poor cooling benefit greatly from early cooling upgrades (Boles and Ben).
See my other guide for details on how speed upgrades work (How the Game Calculates Speed.)



Boring Details:

Average speeds calculated with this formula (both with and without upgrades):

averagespeed = ((totalboostspeed x boosttime) + (basespeed x cooltime))/(cooltime + boosttime)

Best Podracers

**1. The main characters**
These four characters are the most commonly used ones. In each category where they are available, they should be used even by beginners. 

**Ben Quadinaros**

The overall best podracer in the game and the king of time attack. His turning is slow, especially when boosting, and he is huge. But he more than makes up for those things by having the best boost in the game. No other podracer even comes close to Ben's boost. If you're going for IL times, you need to learn how to control this guy. The only tracks where he isn't used are tracks with very sharp turns like Grabvine Gateway. 

**'Bullseye' Navior**

If it wasn't for Ben Quadinaros and his insane boost, you'd probably see this guy a lot more in time attack. Bullseye is fast and has the most direct controls out of all the podracers. His weakness is his low health, which makes you explode even from the smallest collisions. In time attack, Bullseye is used on tracks where Ben's turning is too slow. For full game runs, you would use him in the 100% and Semi-Pro Circuit categories.

**Mars Guo**

The largest podracer in the game. He has high speed, a great boost and surprisingly good turning. The reason Mars is mentioned here, is his ability in doing some of the skips. The skips in Abyss and Inferno work best with Mars and while he's not the fastest in Gauntlet, the trick is still way easier to do with him. You can also use Mars if you just want faster times than Bullseye can get, but still haven't learned yet how to use Ben.

**Ebe Endocott**

Ebe is used at the start of every single RTA category, as he has excellent cooling and turning. Always use Ebe when learning the any% and Amateur Circuit categories. Even if you start implementing faster but harder to use alternatives (see below), Ebe is always a good fallback option. 

**2. Characters for advanced strats**
These four characters are often faster than the above ones, but harder to use and therefore only recommended for advanced players. 

**Boles Roor**

Boles Roor is basically the equivalent to Ben Quadinaros when playing without upgrades. He has a very high top speed and is hard to control, so he won't always be a viable option. Semi-Pro and 100% are the categories where Boles Roor is used.

**Elan Mak**
This guy is only used in any%, as a faster but harder to use alternative to Ebe after the third race. 

**Mawhonic**
Mawhonic fulfills the same role that Boles Roor does, but for any%. He can be faster than Ebe in every track after he is unlocked, if you can handle the controls. Compared to Elan Mak, Mawhonic is faster in Dethro's Revenge. 

**Aldar Beedo**
Aldar Beedo is the optimal character for Amateur Circuit runs. Vengeance is the hardest track for him, so you might want to go back to Ebe there until you've mastered Beedo.

Best Podracers for the No Upgrade Categories

**Amateur Circuit:**

Ebe Endocott until you unlock Aldar Beedo after Beedo's Wild Ride.

Race 1-3: Ebe Endocott
Race 4-7 Aldar Beedo

Note: If you have problems on Vengeance with Beedo you can switch to Clegg Holdfast for that track.
If you play on N64, Clegg is also a viable alternative on M100 and Spice Mine Run however he is significantly slower than an (optimally played) Beedo.



**Semi-Pro Circuit**

Ebe Endocott for Sunken City to unlock Bullseye, from there take Bullseye until you unlock Boles Roor after Zugga Challenge.

Note:
Boles Roor is supremely difficult to control but he is the fastest no upgrade pod in the game due to his incredible high base speed. I highly reccommend learning him if you aim for a good time in SPC No upgrades.
You can use Bullseye instead of Boles on the last 2 tracks if you do not feel comfortable however be aware that it is a huge timeloss by default

Race 1: Ebe Endocott
Race 2-5: Bullseye Navoir
Race 6-7: Boles Roor



**Galactic Circuit (any%)**

Complete Executioner with Ebe Endocott to unlock Toy Dampner. Toy saves time on all remaining tracks and is the fastest option (tied with Mawhonic on the later tracks but significantly easier to use).

Note:
This Circuit has by far the hardest tracks so its a valid option to use Ebe on the most difficult ones when you are still learning the category (Grabvine, Fire Mountain, Boonta Classic).

Race 1: Ebe Endocott
Race 2-7: Toy Dampner

Build Up Lap Tips for Each Track

In time attack mode where ILs are set, there are two categories in 3 lap and 1 lap of which 1 lap records have a build up lap or laps. Here are some basic strategies for each track. A "Nothing Special" means you just coast without firing the boost on the build up lap and taking the same path as the boost lap. 

General: Most lap records are done in 2 or 5 lap runs. 5 Lap runs are the most optimal, but they can be extremely fatiguing unless the tracks are short and straight-forward. 2 Lap runs are the least fatiguing, but not quite as optimal. 

The Boonta Training Course: Going for the lap record involves deliberately going backwards to clear all the boulders and finishing up by purposely crashing your pod. You then spend a few minutes going in circles before under going a build up lap or 4 before flooring it on the final lap. 

Mon Gazza Speedway: A 5 lap run where you build up speed the first 4 laps than give it the beans on the final lap. 

Beedo's Wild Ride: This is tough track to do a build up lap on with the ice and slow terrain on this track. MU, you just floor it down the path you took on the first lap, NU you floor it once you hit the ice path. 

Aquilaris Classic: Nothing special about a build up lap on this track. 5 Laps is optimal, but can be tricky to maintain speed in some of the bends 4 laps before gunning it.

Malastare 100: The final hairpin can put an extreme damper on a build up lap if you are not careful. The build up lap should preserve the most amount of momentum possible in the hairpin before flooring it coming out of the hairpin. 

Vengeance: The boulders and tube can easily ruin build up laps to the point where it is best to clear the boulders and take a crash so you can boost down the track safely. 

Spice Mine Run: Nothing special about a build up lap on this track. 

Sunken City: Same as Aquilaris Classic.

Howler Gorge: Make sure to tilt on the ramp so you don't crash and ruin your build up lap. Going into your boost lap, don't fire the booster until you enter the ice tunnel. 

Dug Derby: Nothing special about a build up lap on this track. 

Scrapper's Run: The speedboosting tunnel can easily kill your build up lap, and despite the loss in speed, can be safer to brake for it. Do not gun the boost on the build up lap until you drop hard onto the lower ramp at the bitter end to get the longest boost length. 

Zugga Challange: Optimizing a build up lap on this track is maddeningly difficult because the Dozer at the end just keeps throwing off your build up and boost lap attempts. 1 lap is the least frustrating as a direct result. 

Baroo Coast: Nothing special, but be careful with all the bends on this track. 

Bumpy's Breakers: This twist and turning track can be tough for a build up lap simply due to the one hairpin at the end. 

Executioner: Frame rates determine how to attack your build up lap on the no skip run. Because tilting in the tubes is certain death at 24 FPS, you will have to brake for the tube drop on the build up lap at 24 FPS. This is not as big a problem at 60 FPS. There is though one pesky boulder the you will have to crash into in the tube to save you some misery in your boost lap. 

Sebulba's Legacy: On both the skip and no skip runs, take the long loop so you can gun the booster longer going into your boost lap. 

Grabivine Gateway:  You are forced to use the brakes on this track in every lap, so a build up lap is pretty pointless. Just go for the lap record on your 3 lap run. 

Andobi Mountain Run: Same as Howler Gorge, but be extremely careful to lose as little momentum as possible in the crevasse before once again waiting until you hit the ice tunnel to fire the boost. 

Dethro's Revenge: Nothing Special about a build up lap here other than forcefully dropping down at the bitter end to get the longest possible boost on. 

Fire Mountain Rally: Same as Grabvine Gateway 

The Boonta Classic: Start like you do with Boonta Training, but do a 2 lap run instead when the track is so long and speedrun killing. An engine fire on this track is still probable to happen on this track in the Tusken Dune Turn, so you will have to reset your run should you catch fire at any point. 

Ando Prime Centrum: The build up lap or laps involve taking the lower left path and exiting down the ramp as the fastest path involves a loss of momentum in sharp bends. 

Abyss: A similar case to Scrapper's Run and Dethro's Revenge, but the track is a speed run trap. On the skip, 2 laps work best.  

The Gauntlet: Stay offroad and on the pavement in the surface part of the build up lap on the no skip run to avoid the risk of engine fire. 

Inferno: NU cooling will result in taking more heat in a build up lap for the no skip run than just gunning for it on the first lap NU. The skip on the track is two prong, so it is least fatiguing to just do one lap for it.

Detailed upgrade path for Semi-Pro Circuit (Outdated)

**Index:**  
                                   (Level1-6)
Top Speed upgrades: (Plug2/Plug3/Plug5/Plug8/Block5/Block6)
Cooling upgrades:      (Stack1/Stack3/Stack6/Rod/Dual/Turbo)

Be sure to check this thread out before you continue: https://www.speedrun.com/swe1r/guide/498gh

**Notes:**
Cooling upgrades only have minor effect on your times compared to top speed so don't excessively reroll the junkyard for cooling upgrades.

Since you use Bullseye in the Semi-Pro Category compared to Ebe Endocott in the other Circuit categories a Block5 top speed upgrade will only max out your top speed to about 95% and while it is not neccessary to have a Block6 for good times it certainly helps out a bit.

While Amateur and Galactic Circuit basically only have one viable upgrade path, Semi-Pro has two.



**1. Path**
Get Plug5 after Sunken City
If the condition of the Plug 5 is >~60% when you buy it
-->Start Dug Derby without visiting the Junkyard after finishing Howler's Gorge
Get Block 5/6 after Dug Derby; Also buy any Cooling upgrade you find in combination with one pit droid.

Depending on the exact condition of your plug 5 you can run into money problems here if you happen to find a high level cooling upgrade and you might not be able to afford the pit droid (1000 Truguts). Should this happen you have 2 options:

1. Gamble, buy the cooling upgrade even though you can't afford the pit droid, which results in a 50% chance of your Top speed upgrade not being repaired (10-15 seconds time loss in Zugga Challenge). Buy the pit droid after Scrapper's Run!!

2. Don't buy the Cooling upgrade, either reroll the junkyard or buy cooling upgrade plus pit droid after Scrapper's Run



**2. Path**
Get Plug 5 after Sunken City
If Plug 5 condition is <~60%
-->Pray to Watto --> Get Block 5/6 after Howler's. 
After Dug Derby get either of the best 3 cooling upgrades plus pit droid

Note: In rare cases (both Plug 5 and Block 5 were in really bad condition) you might be able to afford a Stack6/Rod cooling upgrade and pit droid on top of the Block5/6 after Howler's

The time differences of the 2 path's, assuming 1st try on every part depend on the exact part conditions. A rough estimate:
1. Path loses 10-15 seconds on Scrapper's Run due to block5/6 not being repaired yet
2. Path loses 6-10 seconds on Howler's Gorge due to low condition Plug 5




**Best case scenario vs RNG impact**
From the above it should be obvious that the 2. Path is generally faster. However due to the part condition ranges being much smaller, especially if you want to avoid the 3rd junkyard visit, it is also more reset heavy.

That is the reason I made this guide.

From my experience the 60% threshold of the Plug5 part is a good guideline for balancing out best possible time for any given run and the chance of actually getting the parts you need without much rerolling.
I have however not done any math on this so the 60% is purely anecdotal.

If you are doing the run with Skips you have the option to buy any acceleration upgrade from the junkyard or alternatively the level 3 acceleration upgrade from the shop after completing Baroo Coast. It's worth the small time loss if it makes you more comfortable with the Skip. Failing the Skip costs at least 35 seconds.

Differences Between Max Upgrades and No Upgrades

While I made a whole guide about this game, I realized after doing No Upgrade Runs that it fails utterly at the No Upgrade Track Strategies, and No Upgrade Tier listing. 


Before going into more detail, there are 3 NU Pods that have much different strategies compared to the rest of the NU pods in the game. The 3 outliers are NU Boles Roor, Ben Quadinaros, and Mars Guo due to extremely high raw top speeds, boost thrust numbers, and super slow heat rates. These factors make them more reliable and consistent using the fastest upgraded track lines for some tracks, though it takes extreme boost discipline to make it work.

By Track: 

Basic differences across all tracks:
On every track NU, you will be using the booster much less often than with upgrades as all pods NU heat up faster than they cool down. The top 5 fastest NU Pods in Boles Roor, Ben Quadinaros, Sebulba, Mars Guo, and Aldar Beedo all take an extremely long time to cool down NU, and the fastest NU pod you can boost more often with is Bullseye Navoir, but his raw top speed is much lower than all the NU pods faster than him.

Note about the lists:
While Boles Roor is the fastest pod NU and theoretically the fastest on every track without upgrades, he is supremely difficult to control, with significant reliability and consistency problems at lower frame rates (24FPS) that are fixed on the Dreamcast and N64 versions of the game. NU Aldar Beedo is in the same boat as NU Boles Roor when it comes to consistency and reliability at low frame rates. Both NU Boles Roor and NU Aldar Beedo are not recommended for marathon RTA runs of multiple tracks at low frame rates, and especially on the icy Ando Prime tracks and the anti-gravity tubes on all Oovoo IV Tracks. Both careen out of control so badly on the ice and in the tubes at low frame rates that you will almost certainly crash with them in these spots. Because of this, you are much better off using the top 3 Max Upgrade pods in Ben Quadinaros, Mars Guo, and Bullseye Navoir for NU runs at 24 FPS that are still excellent and top tier even NU.

The only major difference between upgrade and NU on most tracks is the ability to boost on the track. Odds are your first lap is going to be the fastest on NU runs regardless of pod used.

Amateur Circuit:

Boonta Training:
Not much difference apart from boost ability.

Mon Gazza Speedway:
Only main difference is how often you can boost on the track. This an exceptionally scary track to run on in NU Amateur and 100% runs as you will be certainly overlapping the pack on this track no matter who you use.

Beedo's Wild Ride:
This track NU can be extremely hazardous with a low traction pod and especially at low frame rates, You can avoid most of the ice hazards by jumping over them, but only NU Mars, Ben, and Boles have enough raw top speed and boost thrust to boost over the hazards safely without extreme skill. While the ice tent tunnel is bypassed in max upgrade runs, all NU pods are faster taking this tunnel, but your traction will take a huge hit. While using the ice path, take advantage of the boost in raw top speed to cool down. The fastest NU route on the track involves taking the max upgrade route on Lap 1, and the ice tent tunnel on Laps 2 and 3.

Aquilaris Classic:
One major piece of advice for this track with NU runs is to stop boosting before the drop into the valve gates, boost on the climb out of them, and to stop boosting before the final chicane so you can make the sharp turns safely NU. High traction pods are much safer on this track and especially at low frame rates as a direct result.

Malastare 100:
An extremely narrow and winding track that requires saving a part of the boost gauge and pulling up for the final jump as you run the risk of failing to clear the jump at the lower NU Raw Top Speeds otherwise.

Vengeance:
The giant anti-gravity tube that makes up a bulk of this track is an absolute death sentence for a low traction pod at low frame rates, and especially when boosting. You need to max out your boost heat before the anti-gravity tube for maximum optimization which mitigates the significant headache of using the booster in the tube unless your pod cools down fast. Make sure to stick with an average or better traction NU pod like Ebe Endocott, Bullseye Navior, Clegg Holdfast, Mars Guo, or Ben Quadinaros for this track at 24 FPS and on the N64.

Spice Mine Run:
There are so many straights to boost on this track that it takes extreme boost discipline even max upgraded, and even more so NU. You should start by doing one solid boost at the start of lap 1 or the single lap, and then take the long time to cool down the pod until coming off the right side conveyor belt where you should floor the boost and then use the drop and chicanes for a cool down before boosting for the upslope into the corkscrew tunnels. This strategy especially applies to all the NU speed demon pods in Boles Roor, Ben Quadinaros, Sebulba, Mars Guo, and Aldar Beedo.

Semi-Pro Circuit:

Sunken City:
Most of the advice for Aquilaris Classic applies to Sunken City too when they almost completely overlap. The one major difference is at the busted tunnel coming out of the valve gates where you should split off at the 2nd short cut (First one shown on track map) and the not the very first one as it is extremely difficult with every NU pod to nail the sharp over 90 degree turn and ultra narrow passage without losing a significant amount of momentum and/or crashing even with extreme skill.

Howler Gorge:
With the exception of NU Boles Roor, Ben Quadinaros, and Mars Guo where you can floor the booster over the giant Howler Gorge drop and land on the ice like you can with upgrades, all NU pods are much safer dropping straight down onto the ramp and taking the second jump onto the ice due to the lack of a slow heat rate, extremely high boost thrust number, and/or extremely high raw top speed. The fastest path on the track demands taking the tent ice short cut on laps 2 and 3, and you need to take advantage of the speed boost to cool down and save the boost for when you get off the ice by taking advantage of the spike in top speed for the boost. An average or better traction pod is recommended for the track and especially on the N64's 24 FPS due to being on the ice for certain. On the Pipe Line, take advantage of the boost in speed to cool down so you can save it for the final climb and slalom.

Dug Derby:
This extremely winding and narrow track does not have much difference between upgrade and no upgrade runs apart from boost frequency, with NU Mars Guo and Bullseye being the safest bets for this track by a wide margin due to their agility.

Scrapper's Run:
This track with upgrades is well known to kill you exiting the speedboosting tunnel either by slamming hard into the wall or failing the skip jump, and it is the same thing NU. Braking while exiting this tunnel is justifiable here when the wall has terrifying tendency to be almost certain death when hitting it at speed. You should boost on the straights and use the tunnel speedboost to cool down NU.

Zugga Challenge:
The Dozer's Pattern is radically different NU than Max Upgraded, and that can throw your boost patterns out of whack if you got to used to doing the track with Max Ben for ILs. You should get one decent boost at the start of the lap, and then save the boost until you hit a steep climb into the town strip you saw on Spice Mine Run. Once you hit the town interior, save the boost for the first part of the corkscrew, and do not use it until you reach the jump where you need to use the boost and pull up to safely clear it NU, and then wait until you fall into a tunnel where you gun the boost for the steep climb out of it.

Baroo Coast:
The only major difference besides boost patterns between NU and Upgrades is making sure to take the left path as it is much safer and gives a speedboost. NU Mars Guo and Bullseye Navoir are the safest bets for the track.

Bumpy's Breakers:
The most unique Aquilaris track has a straightaway with multiple jumps perfect for flooring the boost on before going on a winding path back to the parts shared with the other two tracks where the strategies for those tracks still apply. On the unique portion, take advantage of the bends to cool down while boosting on the sloped ramps. Drop down onto the lower path where you can floor the booster again before finally ending up back at the overlap. Before entering the grand arena, you are met with a sharp turn that is extremely difficult to avoid hitting without slowing down in some fashion.

Galactic Circuit:

Executioner:
This track has major diversion from Max Upgrades in that NU pods are faster taking the middle hole tube where you get a speed boost in the anti-gravity tube. However, the max upgrade path is still significantly safer than the middle hole tube, and especially with NU Mars Guo, Boles Roor, and Ben Quadinaros where they can unleash the extremely high boost thrust max speeds much more safely. Optimally but much riskier, you should aim to max out your heat before the anti-gravity tube speed boost, and use the tube's boost to cool down. However, it can be difficult to max out heat with NU Boles, Ben, and Mars on the first lap before the middle tube path, and therefore it might be more useful to take the Max Upgrade path for lap 1 to max heat before the tube drop. You will have to use the brakes to enter it, and take advantage of the speed boost to cool down in the tube, though you may have to use the brakes to safely navigate and exit the tube if you are not extremely skilled. Coming out of the tube is perfect for unleashing the boost, but watch out for the rotating gate at the end of it that leads into another part you can use the boost on. Unless you are using a pod that cools down fast like Ebe Endocott or Bullseye Navoir, or get your boost patterns thrown out of whack by a crash, the final anti-gravity should be used to cool down only.  Going into laps 2 and 3, you will be heated to the point where you will need to use the booster sparingly after the final tube if you want to floor it down the fully upgraded path. This makes the riskier route of taking the middle tube faster as a result, and  you can use the turns and anti gravity tube to cool down as it will be easy to max heat before the tube hole on laps 2 and 3 even with NU Boles, Ben, and Mars. However, that middle hole path is much harder to use well with NU Boles, Ben and Mars.

Sebulba's Legacy:
This short and winding track has a very distinctive boost pattern to it NU. On the first lap, you should be able to fire off a decent boost down the first bend and straight, then fire off another boost down the long stretch before taking a break on the booster and then using it to climb up the fastest path on track, saving it for a climb out of it, and then fire off one solid boost down the final stretch. The 2nd and 3rd laps are the same apart from not doing the boost down the first bend and straight unless you are using Ebe Endocott, Toy Dampner, or Bullseye Navoir where they cool down fast enough to do that same boost on laps 2 and 3, though not quite as long as the first lap.

Grabvine Gateway:
This is the most winding track in the game, and it has the least amount of difference between upgrade and NU boost patterns simply due to how difficult it is to boost on the track period. On the winding swamp portion, it is easy to lose enough momentum to not be able to boost on the climb out of the swamp portion even with Ebe Endocott, Toy Dampner and Bullseye Navoir. On the 2nd and 3rd laps, the earthquake shortcut is so sharp and abrupt that it is slower taking the path NU than continuing on the 1st lap path. Ebe Endocott, Toy Dampner, and Bullseye Navior are the safest bets for this track, but you can easily use Mars Guo here to go significantly faster.

Andobi Mountain Run:
The same advice for Howler Gorge applies to Andobi Mountain Run too, with two major differences. On the final winding path that ends in a steep climb, it is extremely easy to lose enough momentum to boost the whole way up the final climb. Make sure to use the pipe's downward slope to cool down with a speed boost, though you may need to fire off a short boost down the pipe to avoid underheating.

Dethro's Revenge:
While there is not much difference apart from boosting patterns from a plain track perspective, it is one of the most hair raising tracks in NU Galactic/Any% and 100% Runs as the AI rubberbanding is exceptionally extreme on this track. One crash at an inopportune time and/or point on this track in a Galactic/Any% or 100% NU run can easily make you lose the whole run here.

Fire Mountain Rally:
Another exceptionally difficult and winding track that results in not much difference in boosting patterns between Upgrade and NU. Like Grabvine Gateway, the quake shattering shortcut on laps 2 and 3 is not worth it to take NU. Ebe Endocott, Toy Dampner, and Bullseye Navoir are once again the safest bets for this track on Any%/Galactic and 100% Runs due to their ability to recover fast, and especially if you happen to take an accidental dip into the lava. Mars Guo can easily be used here too, but it is exceptionally hard for him to recover from an accidental dip into the lava with his poor repair and cooling. 

The Boonta Classic:
This track is still a brutal killer of speedruns even NU, and you need to take the off road short cut at the start of the track to stand any chance of building a recoverable lead on the track during Any%/Galactic and 100% Runs. Ebe Endocott, Toy Dampner, and Bullseye Navoir are the safest bets, but there are long enough straightaways where you can easily use Mars Guo for this track on 100% runs if you have the skills and guts to use him.

Invitational Circuit:

Ando Prime Centrum:
Not much difference between upgrade and NU runs for this track. Ideally since you cannot use Boles Roor reliably on 100% NU Runs for the N64, you should save this track for stone dead last so you can use NU Ben Quadinaros for this track when he is much faster than both Mars Guo and Sebulba. Ando Prime Centrum also has the distinction of having the highest AI difficultly of all 25 tracks in the game, and it is extremely easy to get lost with all the path options on this track.

Abyss:
No track has killed more speedruns in this game than Abyss, and it is even more deadly and agonizing NU. Without a doubt the safest pod for this track is NU Mars Guo when no other pod comes close to his ability to recover on this track if you fall off the top ledge or fail the full skip which is common on an 100% run.

The Gauntlet:
No track has such radically different boosting patterns from upgrade to NU as The Gauntlet. From the start of the lap to the off road portion, you need to use the booster as sparingly as possible so you can maximize the boost time on the off road short cut. After the off road portion, save the boost for the long straight after the sharp 180 turn to get one long boost on it where you stop the boost at the bowl use the downward slope to cool down before boosting on the steep climb before the anti gravity tube, and use tube's speed boost to cool down before doing a quick boost on the final climb to the finish line. Repeat the same cycle on laps 2 and 3. On 100% Runs on the N64 at 24 FPS, make sure to save this track for the bitter end so you can use NU Ben Quadinaros on it, who happens to have the greatest reliability of making the off road shortcut under boost using this super frugal use of the booster. This strategy for the off road short cut also works with NU Boles Roor and NU Mars Guo.

Inferno:
Being the last one you will unlock in the game, this track was not intended to be run with NU cooling like you will be doing in NU runs of any kind. This track you have to deliberately underheat with your pod NU as the whole track practically heats your engines up without even using the booster, and even more so using the booster where the heat rate is accelerated over these portions. Since all NU pods heat up faster than they cool down, it is extremely easy to catch fire badly on both engines, and especially from a miscalculated boost even minuscule. On N64 100% Runs, it is actually most optimal to save all the Invitational Tracks for last just so you can do this track first to unlock the fastest super reliable NU Pod in the game in Ben Quadinaros.

By Tier Lists:

Two stats in raw top speed and heat to cool ratio made for an exceptionally different Tier List between NU and Max Upgrade. In the case of raw top speed, every pod tops out at 650 max upgraded, while NU it ranges from 600 with Sebulba to 475 with Slide Paramita and Ody Mandrell. With heat to cool ratio, almost every pod NU heats up much faster than it cools down to the point where it is agonizingly slow unless the NU top speed is extremely high, and all pods NU heat up faster than they cool down too. In sharp contrast, Max Upgrade heat to cool ratios result in all but 4 pods cooling down faster than they heat up, with 1 tie, and 3 that still heat up faster than they cool down. Both Max and NU, the best heat to cool ratio is Toy Dampner, and the worst is Gasgano.

As a control, here is the Tier List for Max Upgrades:
Top Max:
Ben Quadinaros
'Bullseye' Navior
Mars Guo
Mawhonic
Aldar Beedo
Boles Roor

High Max:
Elan Mak
Neva Kee
Ratts Tyerell
Clegg Holdfast
Toy Dampner

Mid Max:
Slide Paramita
Ebe Endocott
Gasgano
Dud Bolt
Ody Mandrell
Bozzie Baranta
Anakin Skywalker
Ark 'Bumpy' Roose

Low Max:
Fud Sang
Teemto Pagalies
Wan Sandage
Sebulba

And here is the Tier List No Upgrades:
Top NU:
Boles Roor
Ben Quadinaros
Sebulba

High NU:
Mars Guo
Aldar Beedo
'Bullseye' Navior
Ratts Tyerell
Toy Dampner
Mawhonic
Clegg Holdfast

Mid NU:
Ebe Endocott
Anakin Skywalker
Slide Paramita
Fud Sang
Dud Bolt
Bozzie Barranta 
Neva Kee

Low NU:
Elan Mak
Gasgano
Ark 'Bumpy' Roose
Ody Mandrell
Teemto Pagalies
Wan Sandage

Higher Tier NU than MU: 
Sebulba: Low MU to Top NU
Fud Sang: Low MU to Mid NU

Lower Tier NU than MU:
Elan Mak: High MU to Low NU
Mawhonic, Mars Guo, Bullseye Navoir, and Aldar Beedo: Top MU to High NU 
Neva Kee: High MU to Mid MU 
Gasgano, Ark 'Bumpy' Roose, and Ody Mandrell: Mid MU to Low NU 

Same Tier MU and NU:
Top: Boles Roor and Ben Quadinaros 
High: Ratts Tyerell, Toy Dampner, and Clegg Holdfast
Mid: Anakin Skywalker, Ebe Endocott, Slide Paramita, Dud Bolt, and Bozzie Barranta 
Low: Teemto Pagalies and Wan Sandage 

All the top tier NU pods in Ben, Boles, and Sebulba have such a high raw top speed NU that they only need a Plug 5 to hit the 650 max, and the only ones to do so. 

The pods of Mars Guo, Aldar Beedo, and Bullseye Navoir border between the top and high tiers NU. While they are significantly slower compared to Ben, Boles, and Sebulba, they are also significantly faster (Aldar Beedo) or significantly more agile and easier to use (Mars Guo and Bullseye Navoir) then the other high tier pods of Clegg Holdfast, Ratts Tyerell, and Toy Dampner.

General Controls and Strategies

Podracer Engine Status Screen: 
In the bottom left corner, you will see a status screen for the left and right engines that is divided into the front, middle, and back for each engine surrounded by thin line that shows the engine temp. At rest, the temp line is blue, and as the temp shoots up from boosting and/or going over lava it will go from blue to orange to finally glowing orange when you are about to catch fire. As you take damage, your engines will start making thicker and thicker smoke and smoke trails, and the color status will change from green at full health to yellow at moderate health, orange at marginal health, red at low health, flashing red at very low health, and finally flashing red with flashing “Warning,” which means that you will blow up for certain if you do not use repair immediately. When the engine is in the red and especially flashing red and flashing red “Warning” health, you will start veering in the direction of the most heavily damaged engine. Repair usually engages around yellow orange in engine health, and automatically with engine fires regardless of engine health. An engine fire on an already heavily damaged engine can even make you blow up before having a chance to engage the repair function.

Tilt Controls:
You can turn your podracer on its side left and right to fit through tight gaps. Tilting will also affect your ability to turn as you will get degraded turning, and especially against the direction of the tilt. In the Oovoo IV anti-gravity tubes however, tilting results in an extremely hard to control spin that is even harder to get out of, and especially at lower framerates.

Push Down/Pull Up: 
If you push down, you will have slightly decreased turning ability and is also the only way to engage the booster. If you pull up, you will go slightly slower, descend slower down drops, and have slightly increased turning ability. You can push down to engage boost and then later pull up while in boost mode too. 

Repair/Taunting: 
Ideally you should not have to use the repair function, and it only triggers when the damage gets great and/or an engine fire happens. Holding down on the repair function in those situations will have you in repair mode until the situation is solved or you let go of it. While under repair, the engine getting repaired dials back in power resulting in veering in the direction of the engine getting repaired. This results in progressive drop in speed until the repair is done or letting go of repair. Tapping repair twice makes you taunt, and if you use Sebulba, activates his flame jet. 

Map cycles: 
There are several maps you can use in Episode One Racer: Broad Scatter-Plot Point, Narrow Scatter-Plot Point, Track Progression, Racer Positioning, and No Map. 

Podracer Views: 
Your default view has a narrow view of the whole pod. There is also an engine view, front view, and far view of the whole pod, with the far view giving you the widest view around your pod. All of these you can look behind with, and the default and far view share the same back view. 

Slide: 
By holding down on the slide, you will maintain momentum turning much better than without it. You will be holding down on the slide most of the time in this game.

Boost Controls:
To engage in boost, you have to accelerate to where the light on top turns green. Once it is green, push down to engage boost mode. When the light on top turns yellow, it means you can now boost. Tap the accelerator to engage boost and the light will turn red, meaning you are now in boost mode. In boost mode, your turning ability will drop sharply, and you will go significantly faster for a limited period of time indicated by the engine temp gauge showing a steady increase in temp. You will know when your boost time is running out when you see the “Temp Warning” sign flashing, and a repeating chime along with starting to see smoke. (When this starts, you have used half of your booster.) If you continue boosting past the Temp Warming, a second more urgent “Overheat” warning will start flashing, and a much faster and sharper chime will sound and thicker smoke. This means you have used 80% of your booster, and that your engines will certainly catch fire in no more than a few seconds of further use. If you hold the boost all the way through the Overheat warning, you will have your engine catch fire, and be forced to use the repair function to fix the damage with a massive drop in speed. You can exit boosting anytime during the cycle by letting go of the accelerator and/or tapping on the brakes. Tapping the brakes though saps out of boost speed momentum.

Boosting Strategies:
The key thing to clocking the fastest runs is how you strategize your boosting. One of the most important skills is to know the heating and cooling rates of your pod. Ideally you should be boosting right up to the point of engine fire and killing it just a fraction of a second before the engine catches fire. This only comes out of long practice that turns into strong gut intuition. When it comes to killing the boost, tapping the brakes is much more reliable than letting go of the accelerator since you might accidentally reactivate the boost again if you just let go of the accelerator, but the payoff in not using the brakes is getting higher speeds out of boost. You can further save an enormous amount of damage from boosting over jumps with long drops by killing the boost just a fraction of a second before landing too. 

Emergency Repair Strategies: 
Ideally you should have to not use the repair function, but depending on the track and/or podracer, you may take enough damage to trigger it. The safest place to repair is on the straights, but that is also the place for boosting making for a hard choice when doing speedruns. It is best to use the repair function as an impromptu brake in a place you know have to slow down in or before a place on the track that you know you will be taking some serious hits in. If you manage to take enough damage to go flashing red, repair immediately until it stops flashing at the bare minimum. However with an engine fire and/or taking enough damage to trigger the flashing red with “Warning”, it is best to use repair immediately as it will only get worse until you blow up for certain if you do not use repair. In the absolute worst case of running double or more flashing reds with a Warning, it is best to deliberately crash your pod to reset your pod to a clean bill of health, and especially if your pod as a slow repair rate.

How the Game Calculates Speed

How Speed is Calculated

Thanks to the folks working on the OpenSWE1R project for the pod and upgrade statistics ( https://github.com/OpenSWE1R/openswe1r/wiki ). Stock pod statistics taken from https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wZHRtJj4cwPrnzPsaRHf1QMlhBLRIODayRAvwrhS3AI/edit?usp=sharing

Given these resources, screen recording, and frame-by-frame analysis, I was able to reverse-engineer how the game calculates speed. Some users may find this useful for optimizing runs, especially for upgrade runs.


Speed | Boost | Accel. |        Pod
 490  |  200  |  3.00  |  Anakin Skywalker
 479  |  195  |  1.70  |  Teemto Pagalies
 600  |  185  |  3.20  |  Sebulba
 520  |  300  |  4.00  |  Ratts Tyerell
 517  |  360  |  4.00  |  Aldar Beedo
 480  |  350  |  3.75  |  Mawhonic
 485  |  210  |  1.00  |  Ark "Bumpy" Roose
 480  |  180  |  1.90  |  Wan Sandage
 540  |  315  |  2.30  |  Mars Guo
 500  |  190  |  2.50  |  Ebe Endocott
 505  |  230  |  3.00  |  Dud Bolt
 510  |  310  |  3.30  |  Gasgano
 495  |  303  |  1.75  |  Clegg Holdfast
 480  |  360  |  3.75  |  Elan Mak
 480  |  280  |  1.00  |  Neva Kee
 485  |  275  |  2.10  |  Bozzie Baranta
 590  |  390  |  2.85  |  Boles Roor
 475  |  240  |  1.80  |  Ody Mandrell
 490  |  250  |  2.85  |  Fud Sang
 575  |  400  |  3.00  |  Ben Quadinaros
 475  |  200  |  1.95  |  Slide Paramita
 485  |  240  |  1.75  |  Toy Dampner
 480  |  300  |  1.80  |  Bullseye Navior
> lower acceleration is better

Each pod has a base speed, a boost modifier, and an acceleration value. The podracer will continuously (asymptotically) approach, but never reach, its maximum speed at a rate determined by its acceleration value. (Lower acceleration values are better.) The formula is as follows:

currentspeed = basespeed x (1 - accel / (time x 1.5 + accel))
(time is in seconds)

It should be noted that turning, sliding, tilting, and gently hitting walls do not affect speed. However, losing speed in any way (not counting hills or terrain, which will be covered later) can ruin your time.

Because the pod never truly reaches top speed, the pod will continue to slowly accelerate throughout the race. This means that if you brake or die you will never recover the speed you would have had. This has a few ramifications:
>>Do what you can to never brake.
>>When flying pods with poor acceleration, like Beedo and Boles Roor, braking and dying can ruin your speed.
>>An upgraded pod with good acceleration (such as Bullseye) will minimize the speed loss due to braking, dying, etc, but never nullify it.
>>Boosting improves your pod's acceleration value. So if you need to brake, save as much boost as you can to accelerate back up to speed. (The reason this works is covered in the boosting section below.)
>>Shortcuts that require braking may end up being slower in the long run because of lost speed. Especially for pods with bad acceleration. (Consider the shortcuts on Sunken City, Bumpy's Breakers, Grabvine Gateway, Fire Mountain Rally, Abyss (the end turn at the second stay-on-top section), and Ando Prime Centrum.)
>>The fastest possible lap time on a time attack would be on the 5th lap, after 4 laps of continuous acceleration.



Speed Upgrades:
Each level of speed upgrade increases the pod's base speed by 40, TO A MAXIMUM OF 650.

+Speed | Part
 +40 | Plug-3
 +80 | Plug-5
+120 | Plug-8
+160 | Block 5
+200 | Block 6

There are two very important take-aways here:
1) When fully upgraded, all pods have the same top speed (not counting boost).
2) Not all pods benefit from the highest speed upgrades. The three fastest pods (Sebulba, Boles Roor, and Ben Quadrinaros) only benefit from a Plug-5. For example, Ben with a Plug-5 has a speed of 575 + 80 = 655, which is capped down to 650. Mars Guo benefits from nothing more than a Plug-8, and a few benefit from nothing more than a Block 5. There are a few note-worthy cases:
Bullseye Navior: Speed with Block 5 is 640. He gets 1.6% faster with a Block 6.
Toy Dampner: Speed with a Block 5 is 645. A Block 6 raises his speed only 5 points, which is less than 1% faster.
Aldar Beedo: Speed with a Plug-8 is 637, which is only 2% slower than he is with a Block 5.
Ebe Endocott: Needs a Block 5.
Boles Roor: Plug-5.
Ben Quadrinaros: Plug-5.



Acceleration Upgrades:
Each level of acceleration upgrade multiplies the pod's base acceleration by a fixed value. For example, Ben Quadrinaros has a base acceleration of 3.0. With a Mag-6, it becomes 3.0 x 0.3 = 0.9. (The game limits acceleration to values between 0.1 and 5.0, but no pod reaches these limits.)

Accel | Part
x 0.86 | 44PCX
x 0.72 | Dual32PCX
x 0.58 | Quad32PCX
x 0.44 | Quad44
x 0.30 | Mag-6

 Because the pods never reach top speed, acceleration upgrades are certainly worth it on long runs or for slowly-accelerating pods, especially if you die a lot. For example, Aldar Beedo, with a top speed of 517, takes 30 seconds to reach 475 and 3 minutes to reach 510. With a Quad32 injector (level 3 upgrade), these times would be 18 seconds and 2 minutes, respectively.
 
 
 
 Boosting:
 Boosting is weird.
When you boost, your new top speed becomes your pod's base speed (with or without upgrades) plus the pod's boost speed. Speed upgrades do not change the boost modifier. For example, stock Ebe's boost speed is 500 + 190 = 690. Upgraded Ben's boost speed is 650 + 400 = 1050, which is the highest in the game. Bullseye's boost speed is 780 stock and 950 with upgrades.
 
 Of course, when you boost you have to accelerate up to your new speed, and this is where it gets really weird. (I need to do more research to confirm what I say in this section, but my initial results seem to match this well.) Let's say you are flying stock Ebe (speed 500, boost 190) and are at 480 right now. You boost (new top speed = 690) for just a second, and then let off. When you let off the boost, your speed does not drop to your normal top speed of 500, instead it drops back down to about where you were before at 480.
 
 The game seems to keep track of both your normal speed and your boost modifier separately, and adds them together in real time. So your speed while boosting is dictated by the following formula:
 
 //    boosting    // currentspeed = basespeed x (1 -  0.5 / (time x 1.5 + 0.5)) + boost-speed x (1 - 0.5 / (time x 1.5 + 0.5))
 //not boosting// currentspeed = basespeed x (1 - accel / (time x 1.5 + accel))
 
 As you can see, the game keeps the boost speed separate from the basespeed. Also, it appears that the boost acceleration of all pods is a flat 0.5. And weirdly, boosting seems to apply this acceleration value to the pod's base acceleration. If this is correct (as it seems to be), then all pods accelerate at the same fast rate while boosting. This is critical for pods with bad acceleration.
 
 Going down hills (or on certain fast terrain) increases the pod's speed in a manner similar to boosting, and even seems to modify the pod's base acceleration like boosting does. Going up hills or on slow terrain decreases speed momentarily. (I haven't yet thought of a way to test this rigorously.)
 
 
 
 Boost Starts:
 The game doesn't seem to handle boosting and boost starts in the same way. Based on my preliminary results, a boost start applies the pod's normal acceleration to the pod's maximum boost speed (e.g. 690 for stock Ebe).
 
 
 
 Appendix (other part upgrades):
 >> Badly-damaged upgraded parts should always be better than the stock parts. (Let me know if you ever find an exception.)
 >> The game has a hard-coded minimum and maximum value for each of the upgrade categories. While all pods reach the maximum speed when fully upgraded, only a few pods reach the limit for the other categories. Here are ALL examples:
 >>>> Traction: Wan Sandage and Neva Kee reach max with the level 4 upgrade. (Bullseye comes close with a level 5.)
 >>>> Turning: No pod reaches the limit.
 >>>> Acceleration: No pod reaches the limit.
 >>>> Speed: All pods reach the limit. (See above for details.)
 >>>> Airbrake: No pod reaches the limit.
 >>>> Cooling: Slide Paramita reaches max at level 5 (exactly).
 >>>> Repair Rate: Slide Paramita reaches max at level 4, and Bullseye at level 5 (exactly).
 
 
 
 Please let me know if I got anything wrong. On a related note, if anyone can figure out how to remove the 650 speed cap, that would be awesome. Boles Roor with an upgraded base speed of 790 would be bonkers. :)

How to get the best possible parts in the end

The parts of the podracer will get damaged when you race. But if you only buy parts in 4 different categories of choice, and have 4 pit droids, the parts will be repaired to perfect condition after each race.

When you have completed all races with 1st place, you can buy the rest of the parts from "Buy Parts" a.k.a. Watto's Shop. They will all be available when everything is completed. BUT they are quite expensive.

Therefore "The Junkyard Strategy" is my suggestion to follow:

1 ) Earn some credits and buy the 3 pit droids (so you have 4 total) as fast as you can. Tip: You can press the left arrow on your keyboard when you are at map-selection inside each map. This way you can change to "Winner takes it all", which gives you way more credits if you win.

2 ) Earn about 10.000 credits more.

3 ) When you have about 10.000 credits choose a map and go to the junkyard. Choose your 4 categories, and buy the best part (one of the ones listed below) in one of the categories of choice. Lower durability is cheaper and it is an advantage to buy as cheap as possible, because it will be repaired after 1 race.

If none of the best parts listed below are available, press ESC and go to change vehicle > choose your character and map again > and go to junkyard where the part selection have been refreshed. Repeat until you get the desired part.

The name of the best parts in each category is:

Traction: R-600 Repulsorgrip
Turning: Control Stabilizer
Acceleration: Mag-6 Injector
Top Speed: Block6 Thrust Coil
Air Brake: Quadrijet Air Brake
Cooling: Turbo Coolant Pump
Repair: Cluster2 Power Plug

4 ) Now you have the best part in 1 category and default in all others. Now win a race you haven't completed yet.

5 ) You can now go to the "Vehicle Upgrades" to confirm that the part you bought now is in perfect condition thanks to the pit droids.

6 ) Repeat step 2-5 until you have the 4 best parts of choice in perfect condition.

7 ) As you progress through the game, buy some of the best parts from the junkyard you already have after each race. Why? Because Watto will pay you for the now repaired parts in the junkyard, so you earn credits by trading in your repaired parts for damaged ones. The damaged parts you trade for will be in perfect condition after next race is completed.

8 ) When all races are completed with 1st place, you can buy the rest of the parts from "Buy Parts" with all the credits you have earned. All the parts will forever be in perfect condition by then, since the parts only get damaged in races you haven't yet completed with 1st place.

9 ) Enjoy setting new lap records.

It doesn't matter so much which 4 part categories you choose when you progress, but if you need recommendations I usually buy: Top Speed, Cooling, Turning, Acceleration. Don't know if it is the best one for you, but it will be pretty fast.

Edit: Updated and expanded the guide after I tested it.

Junkyard price ranges

This is a list of the known price ranges of parts being offered at the junkyard. You can use these prices for the purpose of routing. 

**Top Speed**
Block6: 	18000 / 8000
Block5: 	15750 / 7000
Plug8: 	12600 / 5600
Plug5: 	5400 / 2400
Plug3: 	2160 / 960

Value of default part: 1000

**Cooling**
Turbo Coolant Pump: 4860 / 2160
Dual Coolant Pump: 2430 / 1080
Rod Coolant Pump: 810 / 360
Stack-6 Radiator: 270 / 120
Stack-3 Radiator: 90 / 40

Value of default part: 50

For more information about the upgrade system itself, check out this guide: https://www.speedrun.com/swe1r/guide/498gh

Key Pod Stats according to Star Wars Theory

As a bit of fun I thought I'd list some of my research from years ago regarding the pod stats as they were meant to be in the movie. Please note that these stats do not apply to the game, only the film and are for entertainment purposes only.

According to theory, Anakin's pod was clearly intended as the most superior pod in pretty much every aspect with a top speed of 947 km/h and powerful acceleration and turning capabilities.

Ben's Pod is not too inaccurate to that of the game, as the second fastest pod with a top speed of 940 Km/h. Ben had supposedly weak acceleration and turning.

Ratts Tyrell is also an honourable mention as one of the fastest pods with a top speed of 841 Km/h. All his other stats were average (acceleration, turning, traction)

Sebulba's pod was also one of the fastest with a top speed of 829 Km/h and I believe also one of the largest (if not the largest). His pod had great acceleration and average turning.

Aldar Beedo was also fast with a top speed of 823 Km/h with strong acceleration and weak turning.

Gasgano's pod also had a top speed of 823 Km/h with below average turning and very bad cooling. His acceleration was somewhere between average and one of the strongest.

Clegg Holdfast's pod had a top speed of 800 Km/h with great acceleration and average turning.

Mars Guo's pod had a top speed of 790 Km/h with good acceleration and average turning ability.

Boles Roor also had a top speed of 790 Km/h with average acceleration and turning, meaning Mars's pod would be superior in the film.

Ebe's pod had a top speed of 785 Km/h with all other stats being average.

Wan Sandage's pod (Sandwich) was one of the slowest pods with a top speed of 785 Km/h and poor acceleration and turning, which is lived up to in the game.

Neva Kee's pod also had a top speed of 785 Km/h but with far superior acceleration and cornering ability.

Mawhonic's pod was somewhat disappointing with a top speed of 775 Km/h as one of the slowest, average acceleration and just above average turning.

Arc Bumpy Roose's pod also had a top speed of 775 Km/h with poor acceleration and even worse turning, making it one of the poorest pods in the movie.

Teemto's pod also had a top speed of 775 Km/h but with excellent acceleration and average cornering.

Elan Mac's pod is yet another disappointment with a top speed of 775 Km/h average cornering ability and poor acceleration.

Dud Bolt's pod - as expected is very slow (if not the slowest pod) with a top speed of 760 Km/h, poor acceleration and turning ability.

Ody Mandrell's pod had a top speed of 750 Km/h making it the slowest pod from the boonta classic race with above average acceleration and turning.

Physics and FPS

For RTA runs, it is best advised to run the game with the in-game vsync on (this is in your config file for video), and no FPS cap. This will automatically put your in-game FPS at whatever your refresh rate is. 60 Hz is recommended. The reason is so that you have the best possible loading times with the most playable physics.

For ILs, this is especially important to maxing out a track. If you use the wrong FPS, you'll lose significant amounts of time to critical positions on the track, which require a certain FPS to execute certain maneuvers. This is more for PC players who can play on different frame rates.
--------------------------------------------
Known effects of running the game at a higher frame rate:

-Stronger gravity
-Loss of sliding control
-Loss of control in anti-gravity tubes (tendency to stay centre even when turning left or right)
-Increased traction on walls (easier to climb)
-Increased damage taken
-Increased repair rate
-Easier to stay on course through uneven terrain (if a track has a gentle drop for instance, your racer will stick to the track instead of 'crashing' into the ground when it normally would)
-Easier to crash into uneven terrain which are now counted as walls (eg Dethro's Revenge transition from tube to platform) (chances of random death in certain areas is higher, but can also be negated on other tracks, really depends)
-Faster load time and menuing

Applications to racer scenarios:
-Easier to perform skips that involve climbing walls (overall execution is a lot faster)
-Harder to take bends with slide
-Harder to perform skips involving drops (less time to react due to stronger gravity)
--------------------------------------------
When deciding the best FPS for a track. It is important to look at where the most time stands to be gained or lost on the track. (i.e., the critical positions) You also do not want to lose time to absurdly high fps causing you to take turns slower because of the weaker slide even in cases where it's better to have a good frame rate.

If you stand to gain the most time from holding a boost that is only possible on higher frame rates, then the minimum required fps for it is probably the best choice.
If you stand to gain the most time from execution of a skip, whatever FPS will get you through it the fastest is the best.
If you have to take sharp turns with sliding, 24 or 30 is probably good.

It is recommended to run the game between 24 (n64 physics) and 60 at max. Going lower or higher than this can potentially break the game and may result in your run being rejected. However, this is left to the discretion of the moderators and will not be addressed here.
--------------------------------------------
FPS used in current IL PC WRs as at 12/04/20: (Disclaimer: This is not to say these are the best possible frame rates for each course)
Unless specified, the same frame rate is used for both 1-Lap and 3-Lap records.

The Boonta Training Course - 60
Mon Gazza Speedway - 24
Beedo's Wild Ride - 48 (skip) and 36 (no skip)
Aquilaris Classic - 36 (1-Lap), 24 (3-Lap)
Malastare 100 - 24
Vengeance - 60
Spice Mine Run - 38 (1-Lap) and 60 (3-Lap)
Sunken City - 36
Howler Gorge - 38
Dug Derby - 24 (skip and no skip)
Scrapper's Run - 42 (1-Lap), 60 (3-Lap)
Zugga Challenge - 28 (skip), 24 (no skip) 
Baroo Coast - 24
Bumpy's Breakers - 24 (skip and no skip)
Executioner - 24 (skip 3-Lap), 27 (skip 1-Lap) and 60 (no skip)
Sebulba's Legacy - 38 (skip) and 60 (no skip)
Grabvine Gateway - 28 (1-Lap), 30 (3-Lap)
Andobi Mountain Run - 28 (skip) and 60 (no skip)
Dethro's Revenge - 32 (1-Lap), 24 (3-Lap)
Fire Mountain Rally - 28
The Boonta Classic - 48 (skip) and 60 (no skip)
Ando Prime Centrum - 24 (1 Lap skip), 38 (skip and no skip)
Abyss - 60 (skip) and 30 (no skip)
The Gauntlet - 24 (skip 3-Lap), 48 (skip 1-Lap) and 60 (no skip)
Inferno - 60 (skip) and 38 (no skip)

Podracer 101

Pre-Loading for Dreamcast

In all versions of the game, when you enter a certain planet for the first time in that session of the game running, it plays a rendered cutscene introducing the region. However, since Dreamcast loads are so slow, it is only really relevant here, since loading these cutscenes takes about 3 seconds each time.

So what you do before starting a run, you enter a track on every planet once, to skip the loading of that cutscene, which will save quite some time over the course of the run.

The 100% route involves a console reset. If you run 100%, you want to route it so that the reset comes as late as possible, to have the cutscene skip active for as long as possible, since for every race you do after the reset, the game will load the intro cutscene. For more info on the 100% route, go here: http://www.speedrun.com/swe1r/guide/p9xqq

RTA vs. IL Runs Short Summary

With RTA runs becoming more common and having done both RTA and IL runs, I felt that there needs to be a guide on these differences. 

IL Runs: 
IL Runs are the oldest and most common type of run in this game, and attacking an IL run be it with and without upgrades, and skip or full course follows pretty much the same strategy: Maximum Optimization. In an IL run, the goal is to get the fastest time possible with the fastest possible pod. 
In the fully upgraded IL category that is the oldest and largest record category, this has resulted in using only 4 pods now: 
Ben Quadinaros: Ben Quadinaros is the fastest pod in the game, and holds almost every single IL record now as a direct result.  
Bullseye Navior: Bullseye Navoir is by far the most agile and reliable pod in the game, and holds the IL Records for Grabvine Gateway and Fire Mountain Rally that are most winding tracks. Both tracks are so winding that Bullseye Navior is actually faster than Ben Quadinaros on them. Bullseye also holds the Abyss Skip Lap Record, but Bullseye can only pull it off at 60 FPS and higher.
Mars Guo: Mars Guo holds the Inferno Skip Records, and is extremely agile and reliable despite his chart topping width. He is also the fastest pod at the Abyss Skip Lap Record at 24 FPS. 
Wan Sandage: Wan Sandage holds the Abyss Skip 3 Lap record where he is by far the most energetic pod on the skip, though Mars Guo beats him in the Abyss Skip Lap Record at all framerates, and Bullseye at 60 FPS and higher. 
On the no upgrade IL category, Boles Roor is theoretically the fastest on every track, but he is so supremely difficult to control (Especially at 24 FPS that is standard on the N64 and Dreamcast) that he is brutal to use, and most would have far better luck and go faster using Ben Quadinaros and Mars Guo that are still extremely fast but much easier to use than Boles Roor. 

RTA Runs: 
RTA runs are much newer, and require a much different approach compared to IL Runs. Whereas ILs are all about optimizing a single track, RTA runs are about running through multiple courses as fast as possible. The number of tracks in RTA runs ranges from 7 for a single circuit run of the Amateur, Semi-Pro, and Galactic Circuit, to 25 for all track and 100% runs. 
With 100% runs, you will not be able to use to most optimal pod for each track for the most part. In single circuit runs, you will be stuck with using pods playable from the start, and the pods you unlock from tracks 1 through 6 if they are unlockable. 
This leads to a greater focus not on what is the most optimal pod like in IL runs, but what pod is the most reliable. By reliable in RTA runs, it means being fast with the least amount of fatigue over a marathon RTA run session. A pod that is not fatiguing to use for long periods of time is exceptionally critical with 100% and All Track Runs without upgrades as both types of runs clock in at around 2 hours long. On the Galactic and Invitational Circuit tracks in Galactic Circuit and 100% Runs, you absolutely can not afford to crash often. One crash can easily have you lose the lead permanently, and especially on no upgrade runs. On Abyss, a crash isn't even needed to lose the lead permanently with and without upgrades. Simply falling off the top level one time dooms you by default in a full track run. Reliability also takes a drop at 24 FPS standard on the N64 and Dreamcast. The lower frame rate results in lower traction that renders low traction speed demons Aldar Beedo and Boles Roor unusable in no upgrade RTA runs on these systems. 
The RTA run reliability champions are the top 3 max upgraded pods in Ben Quadinaros, Bullseye Navoir, and Mars Guo. All 3 are the top 3 most reliable no upgrade pods for RTA runs too.

Seemingly random deaths and how to avoid them

**Foreword**

On some tracks, especially on high framerates there are certain spots on several tracks where your pod seems to blow up for no reason. While this is much more noticeable on high framerates, some of these spots will even kill you on 24 or 30 fps if you don't know how to avoid them.
The majority of these deaths can be avoided simply by tilting your pod to either side when driving over the "danger zones"

**List of known examples in order of their appereance and how to avoid them**

**Amateur Circuit**

**Race 3, Beedo's Wild Ride:**
After the Ice field section with the long jump, the first part of the snowy track goes a little bit downhill and will frag your pod if you go over there normally. Tilting your pod will prevent this as long as you don't boost but for the sake of being fast you should start your boost just as the ice field ends and jump over the danger zone by holding nose up.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/471243387794751488/514432102293569551/vlcsnap-2018-11-20-14h24m17s573.png
Ben flying over danger zone

**Race 4, Aquilaris Classic:**
After the long straight with the moving doors you take a left turn, on the following straight the floor is very uneven so if you plan to boost over that part you should tilt your pod to either side while doing so or you run a high risk of crashing to the uneven terrain.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/471243387794751488/514432723989823600/vlcsnap-2018-11-20-14h25m25s142.png
Ben tilting to boost over the danger zone


**Semi-Pro Circuit**

**Race 2, Howler Gorge**
After the hairpin section you approach the mountain jump. If you go down the slope normally you run a high chance of crashing at the last third of the slope due to uneven terrain, this happens 100% of the time if you boost over there.
To avoid it simply tilt your pod to either side while going down the slope.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/471243387794751488/514434178029453327/Bulls_howler.png
Bullseye tilting at the danger zone

**Race 5, Zugga Challenge**
At the end of the lap, just as you approach the area with the big machine, there is a huge downslope in the middle of it. Theres a good chance you can randomly crash at the bottom of that little slope and this is one of the few instances where tilting won't 100% guarantee your safety
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/471243387794751488/514435532403638292/zugga_death.png
Bullseye about to die to the floor bump

**Galactic Circuit**

**Track 1, Executioner**
This one has 2 of these spots:
The first one is near the start of the lap where the track splits on the downslope. The precise location of this one is where the terrain changes.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/471243387794751488/514437374147559424/ebe_exe.png
Ebe approaching the terrain change while tilting

The second one is the entrance of the 2nd Oovoo tube, avoided by using a wallride to jump into the tube.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/471243387794751488/514438491971518476/ebe_jump_exe.png
Ebe while preparing the jump with a wallride

**Track 2, Sebulba's Legacy**
After taking the shortcut through the tunnel theres a left corner followed by a downslope and a slight right turn. This slope has a high chance of killing you if you touch it. Avoided by jumping over it by holding nose up.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/471243387794751488/514439609170657280/ebe_legacy_jump.png
Ebe starting to hold nose up to jump over the danger zone

**Track 3, Grabvine Gateway**
This one is really rare and in my experience only happens on higher speeds. It's located near the end of the lap when you cross the half destroyed bridge. Avoided by tilting.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/471243387794751488/514440539341455360/ebes_final_moment.png
Ebe about to crash (You can see the engines take the fatal hit in this frame)

**Track 4, Andobi Mountain Run**
Same one as Howler Gorge.

**Track 5, Dethro's Revenge**
This one is right at the edge of the 2 ramps at the end, avoided by tilting your pod to either side.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/471243387794751488/514441446590251028/elkan_dethros.png
Elan tilting just in time to avoid the edge

**Track 6, Fire Mountain Rally**
Near the start of the track, the edge of the jump. Avoided by tilting.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/471243387794751488/514442340346363927/ebe_fmr_jump.png
Ebe tilting cause he loves life

**Track 7, The Boonta Eve Classic**
Near the start of the track, The edge of the cliff after the service ramp. Avoided by tilting.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/471243387794751488/514443323436433422/vlcsnap-2018-11-20-15h13m28s529.png
Mars really should be tilting his pod right here. Very risky to go over this edge without tilting.


**Invitational Circuit**
No idea, I use skips here

Speed/Boosting theory, revised.

An update to the previous guide (i.e. "Boosting theory").

I go over things like track features, boosting, how the speedometer works and some important things about some useful podracers.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hEgwuFtRBhMPztOKtNMLyctDkq6Wjmh0cQe-1L7nETo/
Updated as of: 10 Dec 2019

stick down? N64

for constant boosts start your n64 with controller stick down, you can also do most of the menus this way.
(as seen in some golden eye 007 speedruns)

The Two Universal 100% Run Routes

While there have been several guides on the 100% Run, there are two 100% routes at a beginner and intermediate level that work so well both Upgrade and No Upgrade, Skip and No Skip, and PC and N64, that they might as well be the runs that start players off. 

The two universal routes are here:

Universal Beginner Route: 
Ebe Endocott Sunken City, Bullseye Navoir for every other track in the game.
When it comes to beginner routes, nothing tops the reliability and ease of use of Bullseye Navoir, and you can literally unlock him on the very first track of the Semi Pro Circuit in Sunken City. Once Unlocking Bullseye Navoir, you should either detour to the Amateur Circuit to build your chops, or faster but slightly more difficult continue the rest of the Semi-Pro Circuit, then decide one whether go to the Amateur Circuit, Galactic Circuit, or put Abyss out of the way as soon as possible. 
Ideally you should get Abyss out of the way as fast as possible as it is by far the most difficult track in a no skip run, and the ultimate speedrun trap in the game. With Upgrade Runs, it is probably most effective to run Semi-Pro, Abyss than the Galactic Circuit with pure Bullseye as they offer significantly more prize money to afford high level part upgrades from the Junkyard. With No Upgrade runs, there is a bit more freedom, but the route that requires the least amount of menuing involves completing the Semi-Pro Circuit after unlocking Bullseye when you are already on it. 

Universal Intermediate Route: 
Ebe Endocott Sunken City, Bullseye Navoir Amateur Circuit, Mars Guo Rest of Semi-Pro, Abyss, Galactic Circuit, and Inferno, Ben Quadinaros Gauntlet and Ando Prime Centrum. 
This intermediate route has an excellent blend of speed, reliability, and consistency by using the 3 pods that are the most optimal for speedrunning with upgrades, and the most consistent without upgrades in Bullseye Navoir, Mars Guo, and Ben Quadinaros. Without upgrades, you only need to switch 3 times during the run. (Bullseye after Sunken City, Mars Guo after Spice Mine Run, and Ben Quadinaros after Inferno) With upgrades, the pattern is the same apart from switching briefly back to Bullseye Navoir on the Galactic Circuit for Grabvine Gateway and Fire Mountain Rally when Bullseye is the fastest pod on both tracks with upgrades. The goal of the route is to unlock Bullseye and especially Mars Guo as fast as possible. Mars Guo has by far the best blend of speed and consistency for the 100% run both with and without upgrades, skip and no skip, and PC and N64. Mars Guo is exceptionally integral in skip runs when he is the most reliable at pulling off all skips but the Bumpy's Skip.

To find the most optimal 100% Routes, check out the other 100% run and route guides on here.

The upgrade system

The upgrade system in Star Wars Episode I: Racer is quite complex and can be used to make speedruns faster. It allows to incorporate different routes into the runs, the faster a route is, the more luck you need. 

The stats of a podracer:

* Traction
* Turning 
* Acceleration
* Top Speed (the stat you want to upgrade in a run)
* Air Brake
* Cooling
* Repair

You start out with a default set of parts, that can be replaced by better ones. Additionally, you will start out with a single droid so you can repair one part.

**Damaging and repairing parts**

After a new race is over, parts will randomly become damaged. Damaged parts will reduce your stats, in the worst case you will have worse stats than with a lower leveled part. There are some rules to this:

* The default parts never get damaged
* Parts can only be damaged when finishing a race for the first time
* Each droid you own will prevent one part from being damaged
* Droids will repair damaged parts after a race if they have no damage to prevent

**Buying and unlocking parts**

Watto's shop offers parts for each stat at the full price in perfect condition. The available parts depend on the number of completed races:

0 races: All level 2 parts
2 races: Level 3 (Tra, Tur, Top, Rep)
4 races: Level 3 (Acc, Air) 
             Level 4 (Rep)
6 races: Level 3 (Coo)
             Level 4 (Tra, Tur, Air)
8 races: Level 4 (Acc, Top, Coo)
             Level 5 (Rep)
10 races: Level 5 (Tra, Acc, Air, Coo)
12 races: Level 5 (Tur, Top) 
               Level 6 (Acc, Rep)
14 races: Level 6 (Tra, Air, Coo)
16 races: Level 6 (Tur, Top)
(races of the invitational circuit don't count towards this number!)

The price that you pay for a part is not the actual price of the part. Instead, the game subtracts the value of your current part from the price. Let's use the most basic speed upgrade as an example:

Current part: Plug2 thrust coil (value: 1000)
New part: Plug3 thrust coil (price: 2400)
2400-1000=1400

If you have 1400, you can buy it. 

**The junkyard**

Now this is where things get interesting. The junkyard will offer one part for each stat, the part themselves and their condition are completely random. There are only two rules to the randomness:

* The parts will never be in a perfect or very bad condition (red HP)
* Going to the vehicle select screen resets the inventory

The cool thing about this is, that you can get ANY part, even if you haven't unlocked it in the shop yet. If you get lucky, you can get a level 6 part for less than a new level 4 part! This is where the routing starts...

**Routing**

The ideal route for any category would be to get the best possible part as early as possible. In some cases, this would require perfect RNG and make the run very reset-heavy. You can reduce the RNG by incorporating selling parts into the route. For example:

* Buy a damaged level 2 part in the junkyard after the first race
* Do the second race to get it repaired
* The value of the repaired part will be higher than what you paid, so you can barely afford a level 4 upgrade

Now that's all you need to know about the upgrading system. Find the ideal route for you to go fast, and may the force be with you!

Tournament Mode vs. Time Attack Mode Speedrunning Basics

For most of Star Wars Episode One Racer's speedrunning history, it was pretty much 100% Time Attack Mode. However, now there is Tournament Speedrunning too, and the strategies can be radically different for Time Attack Mode.

Here are some of the main differences between the two.

Tournament Mode:
At the start of Tournament Mode, you can only play the first tracks of the Amateur, Semi-Pro, and Galactic Circuits, and have stock parts that can be upgraded via Watto's Shop and/or the Junkyard. However, Watto's Shop and the Junkyard are never used in no upgrade speedruns of any kind due sticking with the stock parts all the way through. 

When you do tournament mode upgrade speedruns however, there is a much more delicate and strategic aspect to doing them. You start out with one Pit Droid, and you can buy up to 3 more in Watto's Shop. Each Pitdroid will prevent damage to one upgraded part, and if you are upgrading more stats than you have Pit Droids, you will be gambling on a part failing after the race. This means with the max number of 4 Pit Droids, you will be gambling by default with your parts when you upgrade 5 or more parts. When you can only get the highest level parts in the Junkyard until finishing almost all of the Amateur, Semi-Pro, and Galactic tracks, striking out on a damaged part (Especially Top Speed) can easily be catastrophic to your speedrunning, and especially on single circuit runs where you will not beat enough tracks to be able to buy those high level parts brand new. 

The best way to go about this is to only upgrade as many parts as you have pit droids to avoid the risk of damaging your upgraded parts. As for the top 4 stats to upgrade, the first by far is Top Speed due to directly tying into how fast you can go on the track. The second priority is Cooling since it determines how fast you can recharge the boost and therefore how much you can use the booster. Third and Fourth are the Handling Stats of Traction and Turning. This will force you to leave Acceleration, Air Brake, and Repair at stock part level if you want to avoid damaging your investments. Of those 3 stats left stock, you rarely use the brakes, and ideally should not be using repair. Because of not being forced to use the brakes outside of a handful of tracks, acceleration less of a concern when you do not need them for the most part. To afford these upgrades, make sure to set the prize money distribution to Winner Takes All for the maximum amount of money, and to unlock podracers in Tournament mode.

Time Attack Mode:
To be truly effective in Time Attack Mode, you need to wait until you have unlocked all the tracks and racers in the game. There are 2 reasons for this: 
1. The King of Time Attack mode in Ben Quadinaros is the track favorite of Inferno, and Inferno can only be raced on after winning the Amateur, Semi-Pro, and Galactic Circuits in full. Ben Quadinaros is the fastest pod max upgraded, and the fastest reliable pod without upgrades as the only pod faster than him without upgrades in Boles Roor has significant reliability problems at low framerates.
2. You need to buy all the highest level parts brand new in Watto's Shop to even stand a chance at Max Upgrade Time Attack mode.

Since Time Attack Mode does not damage upgraded parts, you can max out and go for broke with impunity. Most Max Upgrade Time Attack Records were done with Ben Quadinaros, with Bullseye Navoir rounding up the remainder not done with Ben apart from glitch runs using Mars Guo. However, Ben Quadinaros takes such insane skill to use on some tracks that most players will probably be better off using Bullseye Navoir or Mars Guo for some tracks. On no upgrade time attack mode, Boles Roor is theoretically the fastest pod on every track, but the extreme difficultly to use him at lower framerates makes Ben Quadinaros and Mars Guo far safer and more reliable than him at low frame rates.

For more information on these details, check out the other guides on here for more specifics on how to go about your runs, and which podracers are the most optimal for each type of speedrun.

Two Common Mistakes and Bad Habits and How To Correct Them

Over the years playing the game, there have been two common mistakes and bad habits that many players including myself have done over the years: 

Overusing the Booster "Boostaholic": 
While the booster makes you go significantly faster, it is finite and tied to the heat rate, cool rate, and their heat to cool ratio on how much you can use it. What is a common mistake is getting used to the rapid cool down times on max upgrades and easy to use Ebe Endocott, Bullseye Navior, and Toy Dampner regardless of upgrades, and applying that to every pod in the game including no upgrade pods. The best way to use the booster varies from track to track, pod to pod, and max upgrade to no upgrade runs. What does apply across all cases though is to use the booster for off road paths, crossing major gaps, and making sure that long boosts are as long as possible, and short boosts are just long enough to get the speedboost while just short enough to not compromise future long boosts.

Tapping the brakes to kill the boost: 
While tapping the brakes to kill the boost is more reliable than letting go of the accelerator only, it comes at the cost of lost momentum in runs. There are very few tracks in the game where you have to use the brakes on, and they are: 
Zugga Challenge for the Dozer 
Executioner for the Tube Drop at low framerates due to loss of control from tilting in the tubes.
The snaking bends on Grabvine Gateway and Fire Mountain Rally 
The Ice Crevasse on Andobi Mountain Run 
The first hairpin turn on Abyss 
The sharp chicanes on The Boonta Classic and Ando Prime Centrum. 
Tracks where it is recommended to use the brakes on until you get comfortable with your pod and the track:
The caution wall turn coming out the speed boost tunnel on Scrapper's Run 
The sharp hairpin turn back into the arena on Bumpy's Breakers 
The final full 180 degree hairpin turn on the Malastare 100

Nimputs

j5y0ly9k

andypanther

sluming

Gamedraco

kingbeandip

Minx

Kasperja

Star Wars Episode I: Racer

Mon Gazza Speedway

Howler Gorge

Baroo Coast

TirTheTerror

paul_sachs

USA / NTSC

No Upgrades

No Skips

Upgrades

Skips

Aldar Beedo

Anakin Skywalker

Ark 'Bumpy' Roose

Ben Quadinaros

Boles Roor

Bozzie Baranta

'Bullseye' Navior

Clegg Holdfast

Dud Bolt

Ebe Endocott

Elan Mak

Fud Sang

Gasgano

Mars Guo

Mawhonic

Neva Kee

Ody Mandrell

Ratts Tyrell

Sebulba

Slide Paramita

Teemto Pagalies

Toy Dampner

Wan Sandage

MFG Skips

AI Skips

MFG/AI Skips

Character

[ Select OGC for Runs on N64 and Dreamcast ]
[ Select NGC for Runs on Switch, Xbox or PlayStation ]

Name	Autor
100% Legacy Route (Skips, Upgrades) OUTDATED	Gelöscht 6 years ago
100% No Upgrade Route Strategy Guide	Gamedraco 6 years ago
100% route	Nimputs 7 years ago
100% Skips/Upgrades (In depth guide) WIP	Gelöscht 6 years ago
Amateur Circuit, (Upgrades) Guide [Routing]	Minx 7 years ago
Amateur Circuit, No Upgrades demos	Minx 6 years ago
Any% guide	Nimputs 7 years ago
Average Speed of all Pods (adjusted for boosting)	kingbeandip 7 years ago
Best Podracers	andypanther 7 years ago
Best Podracers for the No Upgrade Categories	Gelöscht 6 years ago
Build Up Lap Tips for Each Track	Gamedraco 6 years ago
Detailed upgrade path for Semi-Pro Circuit (Outdated)	Gelöscht 6 years ago
Differences Between Max Upgrades and No Upgrades	Gamedraco 6 years ago
General Controls and Strategies	Gamedraco 6 years ago
How the Game Calculates Speed	kingbeandip 7 years ago
How to get the best possible parts in the end	Kasperja 6 years ago
Junkyard price ranges	andypanther 7 years ago
Key Pod Stats according to Star Wars Theory	MJS 7 years ago
Physics and FPS	Minx 6 years ago
Podracer 101	Gamedraco 6 years ago
Pre-Loading for Dreamcast	Nimputs 9 years ago
RTA vs. IL Runs Short Summary	Gamedraco 6 years ago
Seemingly random deaths and how to avoid them	Gelöscht 6 years ago
Speed/Boosting theory, revised.	Minx 6 years ago
stick down? N64	sluming 5 years ago
The Two Universal 100% Run Routes	Gamedraco 6 years ago
The upgrade system	andypanther 10 years ago
Tournament Mode vs. Time Attack Mode Speedrunning Basics	Gamedraco 6 years ago
Two Common Mistakes and Bad Habits and How To Correct Them	Gamedraco 6 years ago