Pursuit Evasion Guide:
For all of you Need for Speed Most Wanted players out there, I have finally finished the ultimate guide on Evading Police Pursuits... Here it is:
Heat Levels
Heat Level 1:
Police cars used: Standard Police Cruiser (aka, Crown Victorias)
Maximum number giving chase: 5
This is the easiest pursuit to get around; you can usually just floor it and get away. Not much to say about this one.
Heat Level 2:
Police Cars Used: Undercover Police Cruiser
Maximum number giving chase: 10
This level is a little tougher than level one, but is still manageable. Standard Roadblocks will start to be used here, as well as rolling roadblocks.
Heat Level 3:
Police Cars Used: Pontiac GTO Police Cruiser
Maximum number giving chase: 15
The joy ride is over. The police switch to GTO interceptors, which are faster and are tougher to disable. This level also sees the introduction of the Rhino SUV, which will ram you head on.
Heat Level 4:
Police Cars Used: Pontiac GTO Undercover Cruiser
Maximum number giving chase: 20
Now it gets real. This Heat Level will see the introduction of the Police Helicopter, which will track your movement in the pursuit, if you're in it's field of vision, you cannot escape and the police will find you. Also, the
Roadblocks will get a nasty new device: the Spike Strip. Hitting a spike strip disables your car and is an instant Busted. You cannot let your guard down at this level; you must constantly watch the GPS and the road in front
of you to avoid being taken by surprise.
Heat Level 5:
Police Cars Used: Chevrolet Corvette C6 Police Cruiser
Maximum Number giving chase: 25
Say hello to your worst nightmare. All the cops are sporting Corvette C6s, all equipped with Nitrous, and are easily able to match your car's speed. It takes some skilled driving to outrun these. You'll have to contend with them as well as the Rhinos, Roadblocks with Spike Strips, and Rolling Roadblocks. Even scarier, the police helicopter will start to dive on your car and will actually try to hit it. Keep an eye open for Sgt. Cross in this pursuit, his Corvette sports a zebra-style paint scheme that definitely stands out in any
Roadblock. Tag his car for a big boost to your bounty.
Heat Level 6:
Police Cars Used: Chevrolet Corvette C6 Undercover Cruiser, Rhino SUV
Maximum number giving chase: 30 (indicated, but much more than that)
Now it's personal, Cross wants you taken down no matter what, and has called every cop car in Rockport and everywhere else to bust you. SUVs and Cars will ride you everywhere you go, waiting for you to make one mistake so they can sandwich you and take you out. Nowhere is safe, and there's no escape,
it'll take every dirty trick in the book to get away.
Heat Level 7:
Police Cars Used: Supercharged SUV
Maximum Number Giving Chase: Don't even try
This is worse than ***. All the cars are Supercharged SUVs, faster and heavier versions of the Rhino, and they're all chasing after you. If you are surrounded, there is no getting away, as the mass of the Super Rhinos are too
great for your car to move if you are trapped. To win this challenge, you have to rack up 500,000 in bounty and successfully get away. If you don't believe in a higher power, you'll find one during this chase.
How to get in a Pursuit
In the Wild:
Sometimes you can avoid a pursuit altogether, this is good if you are not in your pursuit car. If you drive too fast or run into anything in the world, you risk a concerned citizen calling 911 on you. You'll know when this
happens when the police scanner comes on. Right after the call over the scanner, police will start to come into the area and your Radar Detector will start to light up. Your approach to the problem will depend on the 911 call
itself. If the dispatcher doesn't identify your car, you can pass by incoming police cars safely if you drive slowly and don't crash into anything. However, if the dispatcher can describe your car, the police will turn on you
when they spot you. You'll know when you're in trouble when the music stops, the world turns real bright, and the camera jumps over to the cop car. When this happens, the chase is on.
In a Race
Before entering a race, make sure you check the Police Probability Rating before starting. If it shows Minimum, you are relatively safe, if it's Maximum, expect a call to 911 during the race and for the police to get involved. If a chase breaks out during the race, all you can do is cope with it, it's very hard to lose the police during a race because you are on a set course, but it can be done if you drive fast enough. During the race, the police will only use Rolling Roadblocks and PIT maneuvers, no Spike Strips or Roadblocks. If at the end of the race, the
police are still chasing you, the race will turn into a full pursuit with the maximum number of cars available for your Heat Level. If you lose the cops during the race, you'll start in Cooling Off mode when the race ends.
From the Hideout:
If you want to start a pursuit, simply select Blacklist 15 from your menu, then Bounty, then select where you want to hold the chase. You will be warped there and the pursuit will begin immediately and you will be facing another cop car.
How to survive the Pursuit
The police will use several techniques to stop you; this part will help you get around everything the police will throw at you. Here are some general guidelines to follow before we cover the techniques in depth:
1) The Speed Breaker is your friend. You will use this almost constantly during the pursuit. Make sure you can hit it instinctively, as you never know when the police will surprise you, and you need it to maneuver and dodge effectively.
2) Keep moving at all times. The police cannot bust you if you are moving.
3) Always watch in front of you, I know the exotic cars are very pretty, but you need to be watching ahead for anything. If you're not watching ahead, it makes it very easy to miss a Spike Strip or Rhinos, and that can be costly.
4) Avoid hitting traffic, especially large trucks. Hitting traffic will at the very least slow you down and can ruin a sprint to freedom when your in the EVADE zone, and at worse, stop you cold when there's a line of cruisers on your tail waiting to surround you. Many drivers have paid the price by hitting traffic, don't be one of them.
5) Listen to the police radio. This will sometimes tell you what the police are planning to do and can give you time to prepare.
6) There are two good offensive moves you can perform on the chasing officers to disable them or at least slow them down. One way is a PIT maneuver, which means you simply shove your car into the police car's rear quarter panel, which will send them spinning out, allowing you to slip by. Another way is to force them into traffic, drive into head-on traffic and try to lead the cop cars into other cars, large trucks, and other heavy vehicles, this is a good way to disable the cops and will help your bounty.
7) Don't push the back button, ever. This will reset your car. Resetting will automaticallly get you busted. If you get into a tight spot, reverse or nitrous, but don't hit reset.
Police Codes
Most of the time the police will communicate using the familiar 10- codes. Understanding these codes can give you a big edge in the pursuit, as it will help you identify what the police are doing, allowing you to plan for it.
Here are the police 10- codes that are known so far:
10-67: Regular Roadblock (at level 4 and up, this will include spike strips)
10-75: Rolling Roadblock
10-59: PIT Maneuver
10-76: Damaged unit dropping back (possibly)
10-73: Full Roadblock across highway
10-42: Pinning Maneuver (One car will try to pin you against the wall)
10-65: Rhino cover
Special Moves + Info
Rolling Roadblocks:
How it works: The police cars will group up around you at high speed, then box you in and try to slow you down.
How to Bust It: When you see the cars starting to form up, hit the nitrous and get out from behind them. You can also force them into traffic.
The PIT Maneuver:
How it works: A police car will get up to you and punch you in the quarter panel to spin you out, then will try to block your exit.
How to Bust It: Move away from the cruiser and use your nitrous to avoid a spinout, if he is able to punch you, use the Speed Breaker to regain control and rocket away.
Pinning Maneuver
How it works: A police car will pin your car to a wall to immobilize you
How to Bust It: Reverse away or try to shove the car out of the way. Get mobile as fast as possible to avoid being busted.
Roadblocks:
How it Works: Several police cars will line up bumper to bumper to create a wall of steel to stop your progress.
How to Bust It: When you see the roadblock on your GPS, get ready with your Speed Breaker (it looks like several police cars facing each other perpendicular to the roadway). When you see the roadblock in front of you,
hit the Speed Breaker and size up the roadblock. See if there's an opening you can fit through, if there is, aim your car for it and squeeze through. If the road is completely blocked, aim your car at the trunk of the patrol cars to bust through. It is VERY IMPORTANT that you hit the trunk, as there is less mass there, allowing you to punch the cruiser out of the way while maintaining control of your vehicle, and forward motion. If you hit the front where the engine is, or the door, you will either stop dead, slide around, or fly up into the air in a barrel roll of death. Neither is good when you have a long tail of police cars on you.
If your Speed Breaker is engaged when you strike the police officer, the hit will be more effective. You won't slow down as much and you'll add extra force to the hit, sending the police car flying further.
Spike Strips:
How it Works: The police will partially block the road and leave a gap. In this gap will be a string of hollow spikes designed to puncture your tires. They can either be a part of a large roadblock, or will be deployed by
a single officer.
How to Bust It: Spike Strips are no joke, they will very quickly end the pursuit and will lead to your arrest. Almost every roadblock will have a Spike Strip when you are at Level 4 and higher, this makes watching the GPS
that much more important. If you see a Roadblock on your GPS, start watching ahead and get ready with the Speed Breaker. Once the Roadblock is in front of you, hit the Speed Breaker and look for the strip. When you see it, move away from it and aim for the patrol cars that are the farthest away from it. NEVER attack the cars next to the strip, as this leaves you vunerable if you aim wrong and crash or roll over the target car, which can easily lead to you hitting the strip. If you see a single officer sideways on the GPS, watch ahead and get your Speed Breaker ready. When you see the officer, hit the Speed Breaker and aim for the tail of the cop car. It is crucial that you hit the police car, as it is often the only safe route around the strip.
Warning:
Keep an eye open when approaching toll booths at level 4, in some cases there will be a Spike Strip in between the booths without an officer guarding it. It might be a glitch, but still be very careful. Special thanks to Arthur
It is possible to continue driving if you only graze the strip, but your car's top speed, acceleration, and handling will be hampered greatly. You can survive a pursuit on a flat tire through sheer force of will and a very close hiding spot, but the chances of getting away are very slim. If two or more tires are blown, the game's up.
Rhino Attacks:
How it Works: Rhino SUVs will charge head on at you to stop you dead. They always come in pairs. Rhinos will also be used in some Roadblocks.
How to Bust It: Rhinos are hard to get around particularly because they appear so suddenly and you almost never see them until it's almost too late. If you happen to spot the SUVs coming at you, hit the Speed Breaker and try to
maneuver around them, or get far enough ahead of them that they strike your rear quarter panel, as this allows you to maintain forward motion. Rhinos will also be a part of some roadblocks, they can be dealt with by aiming for
the rear of the SUV and using nitrous before hitting it. Make sure to aim for the tail, as hitting the side or the front will result in you stopping dead, and that's a bad thing...
The Police Helicopter:
How it Works: The helicopter will track your movement to prevent you from escaping. It will also swoop down on you to punch you out of control.
How to Bust It: The helicopter's position will be indicated on your GPS, in front of the helicopter is a white cone, this represents it's field of vision. If a helicopter is tracking you, and there's no police cars coming, get under an overpass or in a tunnel. If you have patrol cars on you, keep driving. The helicopter will eventually run out of fuel and will break away. At level 5, the helicopter will actually try to attack you, swooping down to punch your car, if you see it coming at you, boost away or use the Speed Breaker to maneuver away. It's worth mentioning that hitting the helicopter counts as a Trade Paint point, but it's best to get these from the cop cars and not tangle
with the Helicopter.
In some very rare circumstances the helicopter will be a part of a roadblock, lined up with the cars. Hitting the helicopter can be a big gamble, as a variety of things can happen: you will either stop dead like hitting a wall, or you will glitch through it and not stop, or if you are real lucky, you might actually punch the helicopter out of the way, but it won't be immobilized. Either way, in a situation where one mistake can ruin your whole day, it's best to stay away from it and hit another car in the lineup.
Evading the Pursuit
Your ultimate goal is to escape. This can be a problem, especially at higher heat levels. Pay attention to the Chase Number on your Pursuit Condition Indicator, it's the number in the center above the Busted/Evade meter. If it's a high number, the only thing you can do is to ride it out and wait for the cars to start to break away. When you get to about 2 or 1 cars left in the chase, it's time to act. The best way to lose the car behind you is to find a Pursuit Breaker; they appear as red triangles on your GPS. Pursuit Breakers are objects that you can hit that will disable cars behind you. If these aren't around, make sudden turns onto other roads or try to venture into traffic or tight places to try to trap the officer. When EVADE starts to flash, hit your nitrous and get some distance way, then hold the distance until the green bar fills up completely.
Cooling Off
You've gotten out of sight, but you're not home free yet. When the green bar fills up completely, the Pursuit condition Indicator changes to the Cooling Off Gauge. This gauge tells you how long you have until the police consider you lost. The higher your heat level is, the slower this gauge fills up, and if any police car or helicopter spots you, the pursuit will start up again. When you enter Cooling Off mode, first check and make sure there are no police cars coming up behind you, if there are no cars, hit the brakes. The first thing you must do is to find your hideout; it's the green house on your GPS. If you can get to your hideout before the police find you, the pursuit ends immediately and you get away. If a hideout is not nearby, look for a hiding spot, indicated by blue circles on your GPS. When you are in a hiding spot, your Cooling Off meter fills up much faster, giving you a much better chance of getting away. Drive very slowly, and watch your Radar Detector. If you see it go off, quickly look at your GPS, if a Roadblock shows up, stop immediately and turn around, but stay put, this allows you to see if an
officer is coming up behind you. When the roadblock disappears, turn back around and continue on SLOWLY. If the radar detector goes off and nothing appears on the map, it's a police officer coming towards you, quickly spin a 180 and move the other direction to avoid being seen. If you see a helicopter, watch where it goes. If it's coming towards you, try to find a tunnel or overpass, or try to outrun it (this will often drive you towards other police cars). If you are seen, immediately floor it and get some distance, and stay out of sight until you enter Cooling Off mode again. If you make it to the hiding spot, park in the circle and wait, but keep watching
the Radar Detector. You are not invisible in the circle, and if an officer sees you, the pursuit will start up again. When the gauge fills up, you're free.
After the Chase
Now the cops will be looking out for your car, and any confrontation with an officer will likely lead to another chase. Your heat level will remain at the level it was when the pursuit ended, and if you get caught again, the number of officers chasing you will be the maximum for that heat level when you start. Unless you like a challenge,
it's best to lower the heat level of your car when you end a chase so you are not innondated with cops if another pursuit starts. The easiest way to lower the level is to drive your backup car (which you should have, if you don't
have one, GET ONE). The longer your hot car sits, the lower it's Heat Level drops. If you need to get the level down quicker, get to a Performance Shop and change your appearance. Paint, body kits, vinyl, hoods, spoilers, and roof scoops will all affect your Heat Level.
Getting Busted
Here's whats gonna happen: you will lose the bounty and milestones you earned from that pursuit, and you will be faced with a fine. You have two options at this point: either use a Get Out of Jail Free marker or Pay
the Fine. If you use a Get Out of Jail Marker, the Pursuit never happened, you retain your wanted level and lose no money. If you elect to pay the fine (or have no more Jail Free markers), your Heat Level returns to 1 and
your car gets hit with an Impound Strike. You can add impound strikes if you have the appropriate markers, but you can only have a maximum of 5 strikes. Note that if you are busted, you only lose the bounty and milestones
from that pursuit, all bounty and milestones gained in previous pursuits will be unaffected.
Getting Impounded
If your last pursuit ended up with your crashed, and you recieved your third (or fourth, or fifth) impound strike, the police will take your car. The car will show up in your garage, but you cannot drive or sell it while it is in impound. When it is first impounded, you cannot do anything to get it back for at least a few hours, so make sure your spare car can handle races or you'll be driving around the city for quite some time. After a while, an SMS will be sent to you by the police telling you that you can retrieve your car, but you'll have to pay an impound fee to
retrieve it. When you get it back, it will have no heat level or bounty, but you can drive and sell it again. Also, your car will be impounded if you have no Get Out of Jail Free markers and cannot pay the fine, regardless of your impound strikes, so always have a good wad of cash around.
Tricks
Some people believe they should be upstanding criminals and play by the rules,
others believe that anything is fair in love and war. This is for those
people.
The Bus Terminal provides an excellent place to frustrate the cops and rack up
a big time score. If you want to get away, turn before hitting the glass and
hide between the two ramps. If you want to rack up some bounty, go up the
ramp on the right and crash through the glass, inside you'll find that the
ramp extends a little further out, go to the end and stop. Just sit until you
get the bounty you want, then hide between the two ramps.
If you want a pursuit without those pesky Roadblocks, drive a few laps around
the golf course in the northern part of the map. You can toy with the cops
without roadblocks, though a Rhino or two might come in, a practical way to
rack up some bounty.
If you get busted an you don't want to lose your car, go to jail, or pay any fines simply unplug your controller and plug it back in. With a wireless controller remove the battery. Once the controller is back on, in the puase menu, select "Jump to Safehouse." This will place you back in the safehouse with no damage done except the heat level of the car you got busted in goes up depending on the quality and length of your most recent pursuit.
If you have Autosave turned off, save before a pursuit. If you get busted, simply reload your profile, and try again.
If Autosave is turned on and you get busted, before the Busted animation ends, simply hard reset the game and the bust never happened. Hit your Reset button before the animation ends. Make sure the you do it before the animation ends to avoid corrupting your game.
The baseball stadium is an excellent place to end a pursuit, it's the diamond
shaped thing on the western edge of the map. Drive through it going West, and
you'll go through two Pursuit Breakers, and on the other side a Hiding Spot.
It's best to use this one when you're down to 3 or 4 cops on your tail.
-Clown
(Add a comment or send me a message for further game help... now that I've finished your guide, it's my turn to go and beat Razor!)
For all of you Need for Speed Most Wanted players out there, I have finally finished the ultimate guide on Evading Police Pursuits... Here it is:
Heat Levels
Heat Level 1:
Police cars used: Standard Police Cruiser (aka, Crown Victorias)
Maximum number giving chase: 5
This is the easiest pursuit to get around; you can usually just floor it and get away. Not much to say about this one.
Heat Level 2:
Police Cars Used: Undercover Police Cruiser
Maximum number giving chase: 10
This level is a little tougher than level one, but is still manageable. Standard Roadblocks will start to be used here, as well as rolling roadblocks.
Heat Level 3:
Police Cars Used: Pontiac GTO Police Cruiser
Maximum number giving chase: 15
The joy ride is over. The police switch to GTO interceptors, which are faster and are tougher to disable. This level also sees the introduction of the Rhino SUV, which will ram you head on.
Heat Level 4:
Police Cars Used: Pontiac GTO Undercover Cruiser
Maximum number giving chase: 20
Now it gets real. This Heat Level will see the introduction of the Police Helicopter, which will track your movement in the pursuit, if you're in it's field of vision, you cannot escape and the police will find you. Also, the
Roadblocks will get a nasty new device: the Spike Strip. Hitting a spike strip disables your car and is an instant Busted. You cannot let your guard down at this level; you must constantly watch the GPS and the road in front
of you to avoid being taken by surprise.
Heat Level 5:
Police Cars Used: Chevrolet Corvette C6 Police Cruiser
Maximum Number giving chase: 25
Say hello to your worst nightmare. All the cops are sporting Corvette C6s, all equipped with Nitrous, and are easily able to match your car's speed. It takes some skilled driving to outrun these. You'll have to contend with them as well as the Rhinos, Roadblocks with Spike Strips, and Rolling Roadblocks. Even scarier, the police helicopter will start to dive on your car and will actually try to hit it. Keep an eye open for Sgt. Cross in this pursuit, his Corvette sports a zebra-style paint scheme that definitely stands out in any
Roadblock. Tag his car for a big boost to your bounty.
Heat Level 6:
Police Cars Used: Chevrolet Corvette C6 Undercover Cruiser, Rhino SUV
Maximum number giving chase: 30 (indicated, but much more than that)
Now it's personal, Cross wants you taken down no matter what, and has called every cop car in Rockport and everywhere else to bust you. SUVs and Cars will ride you everywhere you go, waiting for you to make one mistake so they can sandwich you and take you out. Nowhere is safe, and there's no escape,
it'll take every dirty trick in the book to get away.
Heat Level 7:
Police Cars Used: Supercharged SUV
Maximum Number Giving Chase: Don't even try
This is worse than ***. All the cars are Supercharged SUVs, faster and heavier versions of the Rhino, and they're all chasing after you. If you are surrounded, there is no getting away, as the mass of the Super Rhinos are too
great for your car to move if you are trapped. To win this challenge, you have to rack up 500,000 in bounty and successfully get away. If you don't believe in a higher power, you'll find one during this chase.
How to get in a Pursuit
In the Wild:
Sometimes you can avoid a pursuit altogether, this is good if you are not in your pursuit car. If you drive too fast or run into anything in the world, you risk a concerned citizen calling 911 on you. You'll know when this
happens when the police scanner comes on. Right after the call over the scanner, police will start to come into the area and your Radar Detector will start to light up. Your approach to the problem will depend on the 911 call
itself. If the dispatcher doesn't identify your car, you can pass by incoming police cars safely if you drive slowly and don't crash into anything. However, if the dispatcher can describe your car, the police will turn on you
when they spot you. You'll know when you're in trouble when the music stops, the world turns real bright, and the camera jumps over to the cop car. When this happens, the chase is on.
In a Race
Before entering a race, make sure you check the Police Probability Rating before starting. If it shows Minimum, you are relatively safe, if it's Maximum, expect a call to 911 during the race and for the police to get involved. If a chase breaks out during the race, all you can do is cope with it, it's very hard to lose the police during a race because you are on a set course, but it can be done if you drive fast enough. During the race, the police will only use Rolling Roadblocks and PIT maneuvers, no Spike Strips or Roadblocks. If at the end of the race, the
police are still chasing you, the race will turn into a full pursuit with the maximum number of cars available for your Heat Level. If you lose the cops during the race, you'll start in Cooling Off mode when the race ends.
From the Hideout:
If you want to start a pursuit, simply select Blacklist 15 from your menu, then Bounty, then select where you want to hold the chase. You will be warped there and the pursuit will begin immediately and you will be facing another cop car.
How to survive the Pursuit
The police will use several techniques to stop you; this part will help you get around everything the police will throw at you. Here are some general guidelines to follow before we cover the techniques in depth:
1) The Speed Breaker is your friend. You will use this almost constantly during the pursuit. Make sure you can hit it instinctively, as you never know when the police will surprise you, and you need it to maneuver and dodge effectively.
2) Keep moving at all times. The police cannot bust you if you are moving.
3) Always watch in front of you, I know the exotic cars are very pretty, but you need to be watching ahead for anything. If you're not watching ahead, it makes it very easy to miss a Spike Strip or Rhinos, and that can be costly.
4) Avoid hitting traffic, especially large trucks. Hitting traffic will at the very least slow you down and can ruin a sprint to freedom when your in the EVADE zone, and at worse, stop you cold when there's a line of cruisers on your tail waiting to surround you. Many drivers have paid the price by hitting traffic, don't be one of them.
5) Listen to the police radio. This will sometimes tell you what the police are planning to do and can give you time to prepare.
6) There are two good offensive moves you can perform on the chasing officers to disable them or at least slow them down. One way is a PIT maneuver, which means you simply shove your car into the police car's rear quarter panel, which will send them spinning out, allowing you to slip by. Another way is to force them into traffic, drive into head-on traffic and try to lead the cop cars into other cars, large trucks, and other heavy vehicles, this is a good way to disable the cops and will help your bounty.
7) Don't push the back button, ever. This will reset your car. Resetting will automaticallly get you busted. If you get into a tight spot, reverse or nitrous, but don't hit reset.
Police Codes
Most of the time the police will communicate using the familiar 10- codes. Understanding these codes can give you a big edge in the pursuit, as it will help you identify what the police are doing, allowing you to plan for it.
Here are the police 10- codes that are known so far:
10-67: Regular Roadblock (at level 4 and up, this will include spike strips)
10-75: Rolling Roadblock
10-59: PIT Maneuver
10-76: Damaged unit dropping back (possibly)
10-73: Full Roadblock across highway
10-42: Pinning Maneuver (One car will try to pin you against the wall)
10-65: Rhino cover
Special Moves + Info
Rolling Roadblocks:
How it works: The police cars will group up around you at high speed, then box you in and try to slow you down.
How to Bust It: When you see the cars starting to form up, hit the nitrous and get out from behind them. You can also force them into traffic.
The PIT Maneuver:
How it works: A police car will get up to you and punch you in the quarter panel to spin you out, then will try to block your exit.
How to Bust It: Move away from the cruiser and use your nitrous to avoid a spinout, if he is able to punch you, use the Speed Breaker to regain control and rocket away.
Pinning Maneuver
How it works: A police car will pin your car to a wall to immobilize you
How to Bust It: Reverse away or try to shove the car out of the way. Get mobile as fast as possible to avoid being busted.
Roadblocks:
How it Works: Several police cars will line up bumper to bumper to create a wall of steel to stop your progress.
How to Bust It: When you see the roadblock on your GPS, get ready with your Speed Breaker (it looks like several police cars facing each other perpendicular to the roadway). When you see the roadblock in front of you,
hit the Speed Breaker and size up the roadblock. See if there's an opening you can fit through, if there is, aim your car for it and squeeze through. If the road is completely blocked, aim your car at the trunk of the patrol cars to bust through. It is VERY IMPORTANT that you hit the trunk, as there is less mass there, allowing you to punch the cruiser out of the way while maintaining control of your vehicle, and forward motion. If you hit the front where the engine is, or the door, you will either stop dead, slide around, or fly up into the air in a barrel roll of death. Neither is good when you have a long tail of police cars on you.
If your Speed Breaker is engaged when you strike the police officer, the hit will be more effective. You won't slow down as much and you'll add extra force to the hit, sending the police car flying further.
Spike Strips:
How it Works: The police will partially block the road and leave a gap. In this gap will be a string of hollow spikes designed to puncture your tires. They can either be a part of a large roadblock, or will be deployed by
a single officer.
How to Bust It: Spike Strips are no joke, they will very quickly end the pursuit and will lead to your arrest. Almost every roadblock will have a Spike Strip when you are at Level 4 and higher, this makes watching the GPS
that much more important. If you see a Roadblock on your GPS, start watching ahead and get ready with the Speed Breaker. Once the Roadblock is in front of you, hit the Speed Breaker and look for the strip. When you see it, move away from it and aim for the patrol cars that are the farthest away from it. NEVER attack the cars next to the strip, as this leaves you vunerable if you aim wrong and crash or roll over the target car, which can easily lead to you hitting the strip. If you see a single officer sideways on the GPS, watch ahead and get your Speed Breaker ready. When you see the officer, hit the Speed Breaker and aim for the tail of the cop car. It is crucial that you hit the police car, as it is often the only safe route around the strip.
Warning:
Keep an eye open when approaching toll booths at level 4, in some cases there will be a Spike Strip in between the booths without an officer guarding it. It might be a glitch, but still be very careful. Special thanks to Arthur
It is possible to continue driving if you only graze the strip, but your car's top speed, acceleration, and handling will be hampered greatly. You can survive a pursuit on a flat tire through sheer force of will and a very close hiding spot, but the chances of getting away are very slim. If two or more tires are blown, the game's up.
Rhino Attacks:
How it Works: Rhino SUVs will charge head on at you to stop you dead. They always come in pairs. Rhinos will also be used in some Roadblocks.
How to Bust It: Rhinos are hard to get around particularly because they appear so suddenly and you almost never see them until it's almost too late. If you happen to spot the SUVs coming at you, hit the Speed Breaker and try to
maneuver around them, or get far enough ahead of them that they strike your rear quarter panel, as this allows you to maintain forward motion. Rhinos will also be a part of some roadblocks, they can be dealt with by aiming for
the rear of the SUV and using nitrous before hitting it. Make sure to aim for the tail, as hitting the side or the front will result in you stopping dead, and that's a bad thing...
The Police Helicopter:
How it Works: The helicopter will track your movement to prevent you from escaping. It will also swoop down on you to punch you out of control.
How to Bust It: The helicopter's position will be indicated on your GPS, in front of the helicopter is a white cone, this represents it's field of vision. If a helicopter is tracking you, and there's no police cars coming, get under an overpass or in a tunnel. If you have patrol cars on you, keep driving. The helicopter will eventually run out of fuel and will break away. At level 5, the helicopter will actually try to attack you, swooping down to punch your car, if you see it coming at you, boost away or use the Speed Breaker to maneuver away. It's worth mentioning that hitting the helicopter counts as a Trade Paint point, but it's best to get these from the cop cars and not tangle
with the Helicopter.
In some very rare circumstances the helicopter will be a part of a roadblock, lined up with the cars. Hitting the helicopter can be a big gamble, as a variety of things can happen: you will either stop dead like hitting a wall, or you will glitch through it and not stop, or if you are real lucky, you might actually punch the helicopter out of the way, but it won't be immobilized. Either way, in a situation where one mistake can ruin your whole day, it's best to stay away from it and hit another car in the lineup.
Evading the Pursuit
Your ultimate goal is to escape. This can be a problem, especially at higher heat levels. Pay attention to the Chase Number on your Pursuit Condition Indicator, it's the number in the center above the Busted/Evade meter. If it's a high number, the only thing you can do is to ride it out and wait for the cars to start to break away. When you get to about 2 or 1 cars left in the chase, it's time to act. The best way to lose the car behind you is to find a Pursuit Breaker; they appear as red triangles on your GPS. Pursuit Breakers are objects that you can hit that will disable cars behind you. If these aren't around, make sudden turns onto other roads or try to venture into traffic or tight places to try to trap the officer. When EVADE starts to flash, hit your nitrous and get some distance way, then hold the distance until the green bar fills up completely.
Cooling Off
You've gotten out of sight, but you're not home free yet. When the green bar fills up completely, the Pursuit condition Indicator changes to the Cooling Off Gauge. This gauge tells you how long you have until the police consider you lost. The higher your heat level is, the slower this gauge fills up, and if any police car or helicopter spots you, the pursuit will start up again. When you enter Cooling Off mode, first check and make sure there are no police cars coming up behind you, if there are no cars, hit the brakes. The first thing you must do is to find your hideout; it's the green house on your GPS. If you can get to your hideout before the police find you, the pursuit ends immediately and you get away. If a hideout is not nearby, look for a hiding spot, indicated by blue circles on your GPS. When you are in a hiding spot, your Cooling Off meter fills up much faster, giving you a much better chance of getting away. Drive very slowly, and watch your Radar Detector. If you see it go off, quickly look at your GPS, if a Roadblock shows up, stop immediately and turn around, but stay put, this allows you to see if an
officer is coming up behind you. When the roadblock disappears, turn back around and continue on SLOWLY. If the radar detector goes off and nothing appears on the map, it's a police officer coming towards you, quickly spin a 180 and move the other direction to avoid being seen. If you see a helicopter, watch where it goes. If it's coming towards you, try to find a tunnel or overpass, or try to outrun it (this will often drive you towards other police cars). If you are seen, immediately floor it and get some distance, and stay out of sight until you enter Cooling Off mode again. If you make it to the hiding spot, park in the circle and wait, but keep watching
the Radar Detector. You are not invisible in the circle, and if an officer sees you, the pursuit will start up again. When the gauge fills up, you're free.
After the Chase
Now the cops will be looking out for your car, and any confrontation with an officer will likely lead to another chase. Your heat level will remain at the level it was when the pursuit ended, and if you get caught again, the number of officers chasing you will be the maximum for that heat level when you start. Unless you like a challenge,
it's best to lower the heat level of your car when you end a chase so you are not innondated with cops if another pursuit starts. The easiest way to lower the level is to drive your backup car (which you should have, if you don't
have one, GET ONE). The longer your hot car sits, the lower it's Heat Level drops. If you need to get the level down quicker, get to a Performance Shop and change your appearance. Paint, body kits, vinyl, hoods, spoilers, and roof scoops will all affect your Heat Level.
Getting Busted
Here's whats gonna happen: you will lose the bounty and milestones you earned from that pursuit, and you will be faced with a fine. You have two options at this point: either use a Get Out of Jail Free marker or Pay
the Fine. If you use a Get Out of Jail Marker, the Pursuit never happened, you retain your wanted level and lose no money. If you elect to pay the fine (or have no more Jail Free markers), your Heat Level returns to 1 and
your car gets hit with an Impound Strike. You can add impound strikes if you have the appropriate markers, but you can only have a maximum of 5 strikes. Note that if you are busted, you only lose the bounty and milestones
from that pursuit, all bounty and milestones gained in previous pursuits will be unaffected.
Getting Impounded
If your last pursuit ended up with your crashed, and you recieved your third (or fourth, or fifth) impound strike, the police will take your car. The car will show up in your garage, but you cannot drive or sell it while it is in impound. When it is first impounded, you cannot do anything to get it back for at least a few hours, so make sure your spare car can handle races or you'll be driving around the city for quite some time. After a while, an SMS will be sent to you by the police telling you that you can retrieve your car, but you'll have to pay an impound fee to
retrieve it. When you get it back, it will have no heat level or bounty, but you can drive and sell it again. Also, your car will be impounded if you have no Get Out of Jail Free markers and cannot pay the fine, regardless of your impound strikes, so always have a good wad of cash around.
Tricks
Some people believe they should be upstanding criminals and play by the rules,
others believe that anything is fair in love and war. This is for those
people.
The Bus Terminal provides an excellent place to frustrate the cops and rack up
a big time score. If you want to get away, turn before hitting the glass and
hide between the two ramps. If you want to rack up some bounty, go up the
ramp on the right and crash through the glass, inside you'll find that the
ramp extends a little further out, go to the end and stop. Just sit until you
get the bounty you want, then hide between the two ramps.
If you want a pursuit without those pesky Roadblocks, drive a few laps around
the golf course in the northern part of the map. You can toy with the cops
without roadblocks, though a Rhino or two might come in, a practical way to
rack up some bounty.
If you get busted an you don't want to lose your car, go to jail, or pay any fines simply unplug your controller and plug it back in. With a wireless controller remove the battery. Once the controller is back on, in the puase menu, select "Jump to Safehouse." This will place you back in the safehouse with no damage done except the heat level of the car you got busted in goes up depending on the quality and length of your most recent pursuit.
If you have Autosave turned off, save before a pursuit. If you get busted, simply reload your profile, and try again.
If Autosave is turned on and you get busted, before the Busted animation ends, simply hard reset the game and the bust never happened. Hit your Reset button before the animation ends. Make sure the you do it before the animation ends to avoid corrupting your game.
The baseball stadium is an excellent place to end a pursuit, it's the diamond
shaped thing on the western edge of the map. Drive through it going West, and
you'll go through two Pursuit Breakers, and on the other side a Hiding Spot.
It's best to use this one when you're down to 3 or 4 cops on your tail.
-Clown
(Add a comment or send me a message for further game help... now that I've finished your guide, it's my turn to go and beat Razor!)
