Riders Republic Guide: Five tips and tricks to make it in the radical world of extreme sports

Yesterday, Ubisoft launched its open world multiplayer extreme sports title Riders Republic, and while we're currently engrossed in the action as we work on our review, we figured we'd put together a short guide to ensure that you are prepared and ready to tackle this wild world over this coming weekend. While Riders Republic is designed to be fun and enjoyed the way you want, there are a few different things you can do to help you become a more effective and skilled star, so be sure to take a look below at a few handy tips and tricks.

There's no right or wrong answer when it comes to Racer or Trickster control schemes

Right off the bat, before you get to start your Riders adventure you'll be asked to select a riding style between the two options of Racer and Trickster. Racer gives you better mobility control and even gives you the ability to manipulate the camera angle, at the cost of less creative tricking. Trickster basically does the opposite and is framed as a more challenging way to approach the game.

Despite the fact that Trickster does have the higher skill ceiling and will provide you the opportunities to blow your competition out of the water with gnarly tricks, Racer still allows you to flaunt your talents, just in a manner that is less prone to failure.

The point is, there's no wrong answer when it comes to choosing a control scheme. Both are valid and more than usable and we'd encourage you to choose a style that you feel most comfortable with, as that way the Riders experience in general will be far more enthralling in the long-haul.

But... manual landing is a must

With this being said, turning off auto landing is an absolute must. Being able to push your Rider to their limit to rack up some mega points is crucial, and while adapting to manual landing will see you eating dirt far more frequently as you figure it out, it will change the way you approach trick events down the line.

If you're wondering what the main difference between manual and auto landing is; manual asks you to time rotations and tricks to be able to land them and not bail out, losing all of your points in the process. Auto does this for you for the most part, making it far less likely that you crash, but it also takes away some of the wacky, extreme nature of Riders, which is often where the charm of this game sprouts from.

Keep away from the pack in races and Mass Races

Tricking aside, one of the largest parts of what Riders Republic brings to the table are races. There are a whole bunch of different kinds, be it on snow, dirt, or through the air, and each tasks you with going full-bore until you cross the finish line. For the most part, the best way to win these is to make sure you don't crash, as bailing will take away a lot of your momentum and cause you to waste time building it back up, but a handy trick to lessen the chance of bailing is to simply keep away from other racers, or when it comes to Mass Races, the entire pack.

Despite Riders Republic using a ghost system for a lot of the time, your opponents in races are physical beings, meaning you can collide with them and be knocked off course, or worse, crash. For typical career events this is less of an issue as there are fewer competitors, but when it comes to Mass Races and there are tons of riders all tussling with one another, you will face issues if you try to stick with the pack.

Spread. Out. That's the trick. Keep away from other racers and do your best to distance yourself from the pack and that way you'll be able to commit to your own lines without having to worry about fighting for one with other racers.

Stick in third-person for trick and airborne events

One of the most exciting aspects of Riders Republic stems from the fact that you can seamlessly switch between first and third-person camera angles. Generally, we'd encourage you to flip-flop between the pair often, as they genuinely do change the way that Riders Republic feels, but when it comes to airborne activities and trick events, we'd recommend that you stick to a third-person view.

The reason for this is simple. Tricks are performed in third-person regardless, and in events where you're expected to frequently trick, it's useful to be able to maintain a consistent view.

As for airborne events, first-person can be a little bit of a double-edged sword. It looks and feels incredible to zoom through canyons and treelines through the eyes of your rider, but when you're travelling over 100km/h, scraping against a rogue branch or a jagged bit of rock will cause you to crash immediately. Being in first-person it's much harder to grasp the limits at how close you can get to objects and obstacles, which is why third-person is absolutely our recommendation for airborne activities.

Explore!

Competitions and races are the primary way to enjoy the Republic, and are also the best way to earn the stars required to advance your careers. But, they aren't the only options available.

Take a trip off the beaten path and see what the wilds of the Republic are hiding, and you'll likely come across landmarks that reward stars, various collectibles that reward special wacky gear, or even locations that you never would've come across if you just stuck to the main tournament events. So get out there and see what this massive open world is hiding.

With all of these handy tips and tricks to note, you can dive into the extreme world of Riders Republic now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series.