Races

Published: November 16, 2016 by Cheat Code Central Staff

As if there wasn’t enough to do in Watch Dogs 2, you can also participate in various races around the world. You need to do at least one race of each one to unlock the trophies associated with them, although past that you don’t need to do them unless you want the money, achievements, or are just a stickler for 100%ing a game. Usefully, you don’t need to go to a specific location to have access to a specific race, as the race menu lets you travel to whatever race you want.

Here’s a quick guide to the different types of race – Motocross, Sailboat, Drone and Ekart

Motocross:

These races are all against the clock, checkpoint to checkpoint. You’ll be on a dirt bike for all except one (Oakland Open), and how long you take determines the medal you get. There will be 5 unlocked to begin with, with a final one unlocked after you’ve won a medal in the others.

You’ll be riding through various off and on road areas, including traffic and obstacles like trees, which you can very easily crash into. A hard enough crash will kill you and end the race, so be careful with choosing your routes and make sure you avoid getting intimate with any windshields.

A point to note is that there are frequent jumps in these courses, but don’t always gun the engine for them as you can completely miss the next checkpoint if you get too much air.

Sailboats:

To unlock these races, you first need to buy a sailboat from the Sailboat Shop between Sausalito and The Gates Houseboats. There’s no speed or handling difference between the boats, so you might as well get the cheapest. Then talk to the guy at the same location to start the races.

The races themselves are a simple checkpoint race against 6 other boats, but there’s a snag.

These boats have no engines, so this is about working out how best to angle yourself to get the highest speed, whilst also heading towards the checkpoint. Heading straight into or away from the wind will slow you to almost a stop, so you’ll have to get used to the idea of tacking. That’s when you zig zag across the line of the wind to gain maximum push whilst still moving forward. It takes a little time, but you’ll get there.

Drones

To unlock these races, talk to the guy in the garden beside the SFMOMA. Once you’ve done that you’ll be able to access them all.

These races are pretty simple checkpoint, timed races much like the motocross ones, but with the added difficulty of the twitchy drone controls. Small adjustments are essential here, and 3rd person will definitely make things easier for you. Drone boost is useful to use on the straights, but these are definitely the most frustrating of the race types.

Ekart

To unlock these races you need to complete the Ekart race side-mission, which will appear in your DedSec app early in the game. This guide covers how to complete that one in full in the side-missions section. Once you’ve completed it, you can always replay the races again if you want to.