Rattler's Annual Tips and Tricks Thread

rattler2

It is that time of year again. Q will soon grace us with his presence and welcome us to his crazy Winter Wonderland, filled with snow, evil snowmen, gummy fishing...

And... my annual TIPS AND TRICKS THREAD!
That's right folks, a source for advice on any and all Winter Wonderland events has returned for another year for veteran players to help those who seek it. Tips by players, for players.

To kick things off, I present to you... some tips for Fastest Game on Ice!

Some believe that to win you must run full out the entire course. However... that is not true. With all the twists and turns, running full out just makes it HARDER to stay on track. BUT... there are places you CAN run full out and not fly off the track. Such as the points I highlighted in the above map. Knowing when to let off the gas is also key.

Another tip is to go ahead and practice a couple laps before actually starting a race. The track is part of the map, and thus available 24/7 once the map goes live. So people can actually just run the track without the daily mission to get a feel for the track.

And so... a week before the start of the event... I officially declare the Tips and Tricks thread OPEN!

Have fun, happy holidays, and I'll see you all in Q's Winter Wonderland.

@ambassadorkael#6946 @baddmoonrizin
If you guys could sticky this thread for the duration of the Winter Event, I'd appreciate it. ^^

casualsto

Amazing initiative. That race proves to be frustrating if you don't patiently take the right approach. Keep going!

spiritborn

I've noticed that in the single player race you can take short cuts (though it's not 100% relible) and also if you jump straight up (aka don't hold down any movement keys) you can stop without skidding thus allowing you to make more controlled turns, though you have to be careful to maintain semi-smooth movement.

Also the Breen isn't rubberbanding, but isn't effected by the "slippery ice" effect like you. That said the NPC will never try to cut corners or otherwise move faster then their base "jog" speed, for me at least the most common ways I failed the race was overshooting a corner and either giving the NPC too much of a lead or getting disqualified by sliding out of the track.

davefenestrator

Nice work!

Fastest game on ice tips:

Don't panic if the computer opponent pulls a little ahead of you on a curve, since you'll be faster than them running flat-out on the straight parts including the last stretch to the finish line. For that one you can start sprinting while on the curve.

You can cut the corners on curves a little bit. This will slow you down but that can be good.

You can jump up to kill momentum to try to stop from going off-track but this will slow you down even more. Use as a last resort. Tactical rolls used to work too but they added that freeze-pause after a roll so don't do it.

Try using the keyboard for movement instead of the mouse, or a mix of KB +mouse. People find different methods better for them, find what works best for you.

spiritborn

davefenestrator wrote: »

You can jump up to keep going off-track but this will slow you down even more. Use as a last resort.

this is only partially true, there are spots when if any part of your character's body is 1nm outside the track you're instantly DQed the moment you touch the ground and in other spots you can run a fairly long distance and not get DQed (I found this out when the NPC had gotten way ahead of me and I was trying to intentionally DQ myself to restart the race, instead I ended up cutting thru a fairly large section of the track and winning the race).

So going intentionally outside the track is definetly something you want do as last resort as doing so is not very relible.

davefenestrator

spiritborn wrote: »

davefenestrator wrote: »

You can jump up to keep going off-track but this will slow you down even more. Use as a last resort.

this is only partially true, there are spots when if any part of your character's body is 1nm outside the track you're instantly DQed the moment you touch the ground and in other spots you can run a fairly long distance and not get DQed (I found this out when the NPC had gotten way ahead of me and I was trying to intentionally DQ myself to restart the race, instead I ended up cutting thru a fairly large section of the track and winning the race).

So going intentionally outside the track is definetly something you want do as last resort as doing so is not very relible.

Sorry, that should say "to keep FROM going off-track" that is to stop it from happening, editing now.

spiritborn

davefenestrator wrote: »

spiritborn wrote: »

davefenestrator wrote: »

You can jump up to keep going off-track but this will slow you down even more. Use as a last resort.

this is only partially true, there are spots when if any part of your character's body is 1nm outside the track you're instantly DQed the moment you touch the ground and in other spots you can run a fairly long distance and not get DQed (I found this out when the NPC had gotten way ahead of me and I was trying to intentionally DQ myself to restart the race, instead I ended up cutting thru a fairly large section of the track and winning the race).

So going intentionally outside the track is definetly something you want do as last resort as doing so is not very relible.

Sorry, that should say "to keep FROM going off-track" that is to stop it from happening, editing now.

yeah that makes sense, though actually walking(well running) intentionally out of bounds might work too but it's not consistent and should be used as last resort only.

As I said I found that out when I was trying to get DQed to restart the mission.

leemwatson

As a fan of rally games, I treat it as such without a need to jump. Just take your foot off the gas and drift into corners.

admrenlarreck

@ambassadorkael#6946 @baddmoonrizin

Once again I Think this should be stickied for the duration of the event.

If the opponents are still too much for you especially when its early on in the event. Disqualifying your self a few times will end up resulting in not having an opponent to race against. I find that usually on the third try you don't get an NPC Racer to run against. Sometimes it might be a few more though. You can fail and restart the race as many times as needed. Remember the 20 hour clock only starts when you successfully turn in the race mission, and not for a DQ or loss and then a restart.

thunderfoot

A simple way to get a ship which usually turns out to be pretty decent. Thanks, Rattler! Started following your threads on this a whiles back and applied what is here to Risa as well.

markhawkman

leemwatson wrote: »

As a fan of rally games, I treat it as such without a need to jump. Just take your foot off the gas and drift into corners.

I managed a few runs where I managed to not stop ever. The trick is to learn the precise boundaries and turn on the edge of the track.

tacticalrook

rattler2

tacticalrook

taalisman1

+1 Vote for sticky nad ty Rattler2 for sharing these tips.

bumperthumper

I haven't done this event for a couple of years now, but IIRC, rolling actually helps in the PvP race. The jump to stop and turn, however, I used a lot for the PvE and PvP race.

tacticalrook

Its coming up on that time of year again everyone, Winter Event is coming, and with it The Fastest Game on Ice! This year we will face an exciting new holiday foe, THE KRAMP’IHRI!

In an effort to provide help with certain activities (*cough*Fastest Game on Ice*cough*), everyone is encouraged to selflessly share their experience and wisdom with others, in the spirit of community, for the betterment of your fellow players!

And now to start off, I will share my personal route for Fastest Game on Ice!


This is last year's map but the tips will work even if it is altered. Personally I just run and slide/drift, since it can be done entirely with the mouse! How cool is that?! I have marked the entire route and highlighted the areas of sliding or drifting, though hopping will work just fine at those spots.

There are a lot of ways to manage the key mechanic of Fastest Game on Ice, the inertia mechanic. You can initiate a slide by substantially changing your heading (the slide duration and distance is based on the ground slope and your angle of attack). You can also bunny hop during slides to reduce its duration, or even stop the inertia completely by rolling or by doing a full running jump and letting go of the movement keys during the jump. There is no single "best way" to manage this mechanic, try them all, find out which works best for you and most importantly have FUN!

And if possible could we get a sticky for the duration as well from our CM or a Mod? We would greatly appreciate it.

Merry Christmas, and happy holidays -- I'll see you out in Q's Winter Wonderland!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9gWQUYe6Hs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU8uErSGV84

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm6_3d4RTEw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66pYPjyYWlg

duncanidaho11

Players can also investigate speed perks from a couple of the reputations (Terran and Delta tier 1 ground trait) for a little extra speed, if they still apply. The Delta reputation ground set also has a passive boost to run speed in the set bonuses.

For those characters that haven't played before: your first priority should be on a weapon and an ice gauntlet. Combat is a significant part of most of the side activities, and going with snowballs alone isn't especially fun or effective. Dual pistols are a good choice for most, snow minions don't have much HP so a quick, wide AOE attack clears them out pretty well.

Later on, make sure you pick up a pair of frosted boots. They can be used outside of the event and give a significant speed boost (super useful in the large ground zones.)

For making the most of the event: also don't forget that you can run doff assignments for holiday ornaments. It just takes a second and it takes some of the grinding pressure off.

legendarylycan

@baddmoonrizin

duplicate thread

original is here, for reference: http://forum.arcgames.com/startrekonline/discussion/1236572/rattlers-annual-tips-and-tricks-thread​​

gazurtoid

Hopping during the daily race works very well for me. Comes highly recommended as improves handling on the ice, making it much less frustrating.

I also recommend hopping during the PVP race - it definitely gives the race a real competitive edge - great fun!


EDIT: Don't forget to check out the various duty officer assignments whilst in winter wonderland - they are a nice way to top up your winter commodity earnings on the side - making you more able to afford the various goodies, such as the Frosted Boots (an essential buy).

Also +1 for stickying this thread

orangenee

First time winter eventer here and going from the map of that course I'll be rage quitting in 3 days.

tacticalrook

orangenee#2931 wrote: »

First time winter eventer here and going from the map of that course I'll be rage quitting in 3 days.

A couple of practice laps with a little controlled sliding, jumping, and/or rolling should give you enough familiarity with the inertia mechanics to get you through it.

davefenestrator

Thanks for copying Rattler's thread, it's legit idea-stealing!

Copied from - https://forum.arcgames.com/startrekonline/discussion/1236572/rattlers-annual-tips-and-tricks-thread#latest

duncanidaho11

Guys, once the issue's been brought up the mods are capable of handling/merging duplicate threads. And I'll say from my POV (just another poster) that I didn't make the connection that ratter's thread was about winter event tips and tricks until it was pointed out (their 2016 thread title was more explicit). I think it's quite possible for OP to have made the same oversight.

So, let's just take the situation as is and not burn a community member (who was trying to be helpful) at the stake for what's could be an innocent mix-up. That's definitely not in the spirit of the season. Practice understanding and let the process work itself out.

gazurtoid

Another thing - when doing the Breen pie eating contest - remember that the smallest pies take the least amount of time to eat. Focus on them first in order to get a higher score.