Beetle Rocket Boost Question (Why is Mine So Slow)

[Donari.5237]

Greetings!  I've searched around for answers, and asked in Map, and now I turn to you helpful folks.

I've noticed in beetle races that my beetle is slower.  Not the bug that has the boost not register -- it just doesn't launch as fast as other racers.  In Dragon Bash, Map suggested I try to stay on the smoother surface at the start.  That did help.  However, I can hit the boost at race start at about the same time as those around me, and then everyone pulls ahead before we get to the first slope down to the hairpin turn.  My beetle just has no oomph, even its engine roar is sluggish.  I've had similar issues in other locations.

So I must be doing something wrong.  I would love advice from the racing experts on how to wring more speed out of my beetle.  My setup and procedure:  I hit my boost key (which is my on-foot Dodge key, not space bar) and either just tap it or hold it down, I see no difference either way with that.  Once up to speed I tap my auto-run key so I can focus on steering and not have to hold anything down to keep moving.  I tend to have the RMB held down most of the time for steering purposes, though I've noticed that I get better tighter hairpin turns if I release it before holding my drift key, then press it to spin the camera and release the drift key.

My usual beetle in Dragon Bash does have a lot of glowy effects and a trail, if that matters, as I've been Bashing with my no-color-sense reaper.

Thanks for any knowledgeable suggestions.

[Farohna.6247]

Great question, I'd like some feedback from the racers too.  I have indeed noticed a number of racers outpacing me by quite a lot...jade bot core?  

[Kaliwenda.3428]

A couple things I've noticed in this beetle race is that the rental beetle I use on my alt account starts out slower than the one on my main account, which has all the masteries.

But even my main account beetle does have the problem of starting out slowly in this race sometimes, and I have no idea why.  It seems kindof random.

Edited June 26, 2022 by Kaliwenda.3428

[SandraSolace.7682]

Could it be that they are using one or more speed boost items or skills?

[Ashantara.8731]

2 hours ago, Farohna.6247 said:

jade bot core?  

Ooh, that is a good question!

Does the core affect the beetle's speed in cities?

[Taclism.2406]

Technically no, but there's a protocol for faster mount energy regen so you can boost more frequently. But that doesnt seems to be OP's problem.

Skins also dont affect speed at all

- Is your beetle mastery maxed? (not even sure it changes the bettle's speed but lets start with what would be "obvious")
 

- Is your game running at 60+ fps ? 

- Are you connected with wifi or have a stable? Both of these questions to make sure your inputs are applied on all server ticks / have no widthbanding issues

- Many people will try and quickly start the race as you're already mid acceleration, pressing forward, and keep their momentum rather that start it after accepting the race challenge.

- Consider the hitboxes for races checkpoints are a bit dodgy. You dont need to pass through the middle of checkpoints, and barely touching it can save you a few seconds here and there.

Overall to maintain speed, you wanna drift as often as possible (and tap it on the sharpest turns rather than maintaining it) , and bounce on the ground as little as possible (especially if you're not mid drift). Wall bounces are rarely optimal but they also can be handy from time to time. 
Its imo the hardest thing to master in the entire game, especially without the mph addon. On dragon's bash race, drifting only "when its necessary" and having 0 collisions / good boost usage should result in a 1'13-18 ~~. The few extremely skilled racers that perfectly drift all the time will do below 1 min.

I'd say you should drop the autorun reflex, since a bounce might interupt it and ruin your run. Keeping a finger on forward while steering shouldnt be too much harder.

My PB being  "only" 1:11, I can't really explain it further, and watching racers like Reaper boggles my mind, and I can only imagine its something you start to "feel" and fully comprehend over hundreds of hours practicing

[Farohna.6247]

1 hour ago, Taclism.2406 said:

Technically no, but there's a protocol for faster mount energy regen so you can boost more frequently. But that doesnt seems to be OP's problem.

Skins also dont affect speed at all

- Is your beetle mastery maxed? (not even sure it changes the bettle's speed but lets start with what would be "obvious")
 

- Is your game running at 60+ fps ? 

- Are you connected with wifi or have a stable? Both of these questions to make sure your inputs are applied on all server ticks / have no widthbanding issues

- Many people will try and quickly start the race as you're already mid acceleration, pressing forward, and keep their momentum rather that start it after accepting the race challenge.

- Consider the hitboxes for races checkpoints are a bit dodgy. You dont need to pass through the middle of checkpoints, and barely touching it can save you a few seconds here and there.

Overall to maintain speed, you wanna drift as often as possible (and tap it on the sharpest turns rather than maintaining it) , and bounce on the ground as little as possible (especially if you're not mid drift). Wall bounces are rarely optimal but they also can be handy from time to time. 
Its imo the hardest thing to master in the entire game, especially without the mph addon. On dragon's bash race, drifting only "when its necessary" and having 0 collisions / good boost usage should result in a 1'13-18 ~~. The few extremely skilled racers that perfectly drift all the time will do below 1 min.

I'd say you should drop the autorun reflex, since a bounce might interupt it and ruin your run. Keeping a finger on forward while steering shouldnt be too much harder.

My PB being  "only" 1:11, I can't really explain it further, and watching racers like Reaper boggles my mind, and I can only imagine its something you start to "feel" and fully comprehend over hundreds of hours practicing

Ok so I feel better reading that, my best time is 1.08 and I average around 1.12 typically.  So I guess I'm just encountering some committed racers...there just seems to be more this year?  I have all the extras, I don't use the jade bot boost for regen. 

OP, do you have all the mount skills unlocked for the beetle?  

[Batel.9206]

I've been wondering the same thing. Some people manage to accelerate out of the starting area so fast that if it wasn't for those hairpins turn being such killers (especially the first one), no one else would ever catch up to them. Race begins, I hit the speed boost at the same time as everyone else...and half the pack instantly passes me by. I've got the beetle skills fully unlocked.

[Cuks.8241]

Im far from pro racer but I do start moving forward before the start and hit the boost when race starts. I think this adds a few mph.

Just dont move out of the start area before start. 

Also autorun. Hmmm. I think it slows you down just a bit when you take finger off fwd and press autorun. 

[Ashantara.8731]

11 hours ago, Ashantara.8731 said:

Ooh, that is a good question!

Does the core affect the beetle's speed in cities?

I just tested it, and nope, it doesn't. 🙂

[Deedrick.4372]

Could this just be latency and a draw issue. Perhaps it only appears faster. If you contact one of the faster players in game, post race, maybe they can give you the advice your looking for.

[Endaris.1452]

With how the acceleration and the "be in the start area" thing works, it is almost always better to position yourself at the very end of the starting area so you can start using your boost earlier without fear of being disqualified for being outside of the starting zone which is always the problem if you start in the front area of the starting zone. Depending on your setting for the character model limit and the amount of participants it might very well appear like they are zooming past you.

It should also be noted that the area after the starting area is slightly uphill and I think the wooden tiles also slightly slow you down so if other people use Bond of Vigor to boost again they will naturally zoom past you there.

 

I grinded the Dragon Bash race a lot in the year it came out and my PB is 1:06,560 without knowing anything about all that special tech people worked out later and I can generally get 1:10 quite consistently if I don't do any major mistakes like not getting the recharge in the curve at the Legends waypoint.

The only thing that I found generally useful with the time trial is to not start the race and then accelerate but instead start a bit further behind racing flag and click the automatically brought up racing window when passing through, essentially saving the time needed for accelerating.