Expert Career Any% route
Your path to the top.
Before the run
INEXPERIENCED RUNNERS SHOULD RETURN TO SIMPLE ANY% OR INTERMEDIATE ANY%!
This page is a route for those who are after the top times on the leaderboard. Experience and game knowledge required!
Strats are NOT explained on this page. Visit Advanced Strats for the breakdowns and examples. The boss headers link to their strats.
Runs start with max world detail and swap to Elise on JV. Autosave Off recommended.
Prologue
Lap Glitch circuit 14, 1, 2, 3. Restart the circuit on the finish screen, quit and continue.
Sonny
Buy the Golf and reset car asap. Race 1, turn around for shop to buy spoiler and engine. Race 2, trigger the 911 call, tune aero +5 at the highway exit and pray for cops.
Watch out for milestone glitch and perform camera strat. Race 3, Boss, NO SKIP, markers 2 & 3, pray for cash.
Taz
Upgrade transmission, suspension, nitrous. Cam 4, Race 4 & tune -1 or -3 handling, +5 ride height and +2 nos. Race 3, trigger the 911 call, Chase.
Lap Glitch circuits 4 & 5, Cam 5, check overshoot, Race 1, 6, Boss, skip, junkman suspension.
Izzy
Upgrade tires and junkman, Cam 5, Race 7, trigger the 911 call, Long Chase. Lap Glitch circuit 6, Race 2 from Safe House, Short Chase (7.5-8k). Race 1 & Vic Cam 5, (Cam 4), Race 5, Lap Glitch circuit 7, Boss, skip, junkman turbo.
| No Skip | Single Skip | Double Skip | Triple Skip |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11500 | 16500 | 22000 | 27500 |
| 18000 | 23000 | 28500 | 34000 |
Baron
Upgrade engine, (transmission if >45k), suspension, nitrous. Race 7, 5, Chase. Lap Glitch KO 6, Race 8 & Cam 7, check overshoot, Race 2, Race 1, Boss, skip, junkman suspension.
| Blocks | Bounty |
|---|---|
| 0 or 1 | 147k |
| 2 or 3 | 117k |
| ≥4 | 90k |
Jewels
Cam 6, Race 3 & Earl Cam 7, Race 4, trigger the 911 call, Chase. Lap Glitch KO 8, (Cam 7), Race 1, 2, 5/6, (QE), Boss, skip, junkman transmission.
| Milestones | 6 min | sub6 | sub6+QE |
|---|---|---|---|
| none | 368k | 404k | 358k |
| 4 blocks | 333k | 369k | 323k |
| 6 blocks | 322k | 358k | 312k |
| 4+6 blocks | 287k | 323k | 277k |
Ming
Upgrade engine, pro transmission, tires. Race 10, Race 7 & Cam 5, Race 3, trigger the 911 call (& Cam 7), Chase. Lap Glitch KO 11, Race 1, 4, 6, 9, (Kaze 2 to Cam 6), check bounty, Lap Glitch circuit 16, Boss, skip, markers 2 & 3.
6 blocks is -46k, 6 min is -60k. Sub7 is +80k, Ming Cam +46k, JV Cam +76k, JV milestone +100k.
| Milestones | Bounty |
|---|---|
| none | 1150k |
| 8 blocks | 1080k |
| 10 blocks | 1000k |
JV
Cam 7 for Car Lot, Elise (22), Chase. (QE), sell cars, Lap Glitch circuit 18 & KO 14, Jewels Cam 5 for upgrades: spoiler, SP engine & turbo, Ult transmission, suspension, nitrous, tires, all junkmans. Tune -1 handling, +3/+4 brakes (SP/Ult), +5 aero, +5 ride height, +3 nos, +4 turbo. Reduce world detail.
Kaze Cam 5 & 180° to Cam 5, Race 2, 3, 5, 6 -> 7, 8 (Ming Cam 7), 9, (10 to Cam 6), Boss, skip, junkman engine.
| Base | SP Brakes | Ult Brakes |
|---|---|---|
| 170 800 | 186 200 | 197 600 |
Bull
Upgrade engine, turbo. Cam 5, 7, Race 12, 6 -> 11 -> 2, Chase. Lap Glitch circuit 23, Race 1 & Cam 6, 8, 9, 10, Boss, NO SKIP, markers skip.
Razor
Race 10 & Ronnie Cam 5, Cam 7, Cam 6, Race 11 & Cam 5, Race 1 restart to SH for Race 3, Chase. Race 2, 4, 5 (JV Cam 6), 8, (Earl Cam 5 & Ronnie Cam 6 or Ming Cam 7), 9 (Ronnie Cam 7), Boss, Razor 3 OOB.
Final Pursuit
- Artacer's IL
- Artacer's Tutorial
- Fastest Alternative
How does it work?
Autosave Off saves a few seconds over the course of the run as saving takes from a few frames up to a couple tenths each time. It also makes manual SMS skips possible as entering free roam after an event triggers autosave.
Prologue
Century Square turns on the global lap glitch. Using region switching, this is faster than the old 1, 2, 3, KO1 lap glitch by a bit. Downside is you have to change KO settings on Baron.
We don't have confirmation as to why the cutscene skip works. In the database it is considered a separate event as a required part of the event chain. The most likely explanation is that prologue is handled differently when returning to the main menu, as the game only checks which races have been completed.
Sonny
With the bonus cash the Golf is the fastest starter car by far. Very quick in stock form and the early upgrades are super effective. The Punto can become faster towards the second half of the game, but it is a lot slower early on where acceleration dominates. The Cobalt is the second fastest, but requires Supercharger upgrade to keep up, making car swaps much more reliant on RNG. It also has a 5 gear transmission with limited top speed, and 6th gear is only added with Ultimate upgrade.
5000 cash is not enough for any meaningful upgrades, so at least one race has to be done first. Conveniently Race 1 has an upgrade shop next to it. The fastest turnaround keeps some speed which helps a lot with a stock car. Installing a spoiler has the same effect as adding a body kit but for much less cash. They unlock the Aerodynamics tuning in the pause menu.
Starting Race 2 from free roam allows us to trigger a 911 call by causing 1750 property damage, enabling cop patrol spawns very early into the race. Building heat is incredibly important for the speedrun, encountering cops early makes Izzy and Baron faster later by reaching a higher heat level earlier. After the second cop appears, the spawn rate is maxed out for the rest of the chase, because Race Condition 1 has a maximum of 2 cops at a time.
The tuning is delayed to make use of the higher acceleration. Aerodynamics +5 is +10% downforce (aero_coefficient) and +15% drag (drag_coefficient). While the added drag makes the car accelerate slower at higher speeds, the benefits of more downforce are much greater, as increasing cornering speeds allows for a higher average speed during races.
Condition 1 and 2 are really bad for bounty generation. For this reason, Milestones are the main source of Bounty during the early game. We need all milestones on Sonny including the camera to easily pass the requirements. Since we have to stay for at least 2 minutes, additional bounty is collected to greatly shorten the Taz chase later.
Junkman brakes are currently not useful for the run, instead two random markers are chosen to increase the chances of receiving bonus cash and to guarantee that we can progress.
Taz
Installing upgrades as soon as they become available is the fastest, especially since we spawn outside the shop after beating Sonny.
Due to the layout of the Taz Races, -3 handling can save time from the extra acceleration. Higher power helps keep more speed in some fast corners as it counters the speedloss from turning. Faster cornering is better for the rest of the run, so retuning to -1 handling is recommended on Izzy Race 2 at the highway exit.
We have full nitrous to speed up the completion of Camera 4. Only Race 4 is affected by global lap glitch, making it the only one we can do. There is an SMS after the first and second race wins, which means an SMS skip after Race 4 is a guaranteed 2s timesave.
Race 3 has the slowest CTS trigger (4s race time lost), however it increases the chance to encounter cops reducing run resets, and helps us build slightly more heat again. Finishing the race with 2 cops and the spawn timer expired is optimal, as it allows for at least a triple combo on the stadium and a 25-30 second chase. Completing the second milestone sends an SMS, meaning there is always an SMS stack here.
Lap Glitch is used to refill nitrous, making Camera 5 faster.
The order of Race 1 and 6 can be changed.
Taz also has a cash marker and winning it is the fastest way to earn enough money for the Pro Transmission upgrade on Baron. Selling cars separately will always lose a bit of time, even if the Elise swap is considered.
Izzy
The Junkman Suspension makes upgrading worthwhile as it gives our car 10% less drag, 5% more downforce and stiffer springs, which oddly enough help reduce speed loss from jumps and bumps.
Once again, we make use of the full nitrous bar for Camera 5. Completing the first milestone sends an SMS, but it is possible to skip it. The first race has an SMS too, allowing for an easy stack. On top of this, the first cop chase is started from the first race, which triggers the third milestone message too.
Condition 3 is unlocked on Izzy, but the heat increases very slowly towards it. Race chases have a fixed heat gain, meaning it is always the same regardless of boss and heat level. This provides an excellent opportunity as we can spend plenty of time in a race chase after reaching heat level 2.
Lap Glitch is done after the first chase so we can start Race 2 from the Safe House. While it would be possible to use a CTS trigger, we haven't found any that is both consistent and faster overall. Most options increase race time too much for too little gain. Best case with the CTS trigger was cops before the tunnel.
Race Condition 2 has a maximum of 3 cops in pursuit, while regular Condition 2 has 5. Finishing the race with all 3 allows us to go full speed to the nearest pursuit breaker for a very fast 5 combo kill while completing the quick escape. The additional bounty almost guarantees one Vic camera can be skipped, which offsets the time lost from doing a longer race (Race 7 vs Race 4).
Safe House escapes are not used as it would only be worth it if both chases are ended this way. Escaping in a hiding spot both times allows us to spawn outside the shop on Baron.
Race 1 is fast and has a Vic camera shortly after it for quick bounty. It has to be completed before Vic Race 1 can be started as it cancels the direct lap glitch of Izzy Race 1. This strat is great, since starting a race recharges nitro and puts us very close to Camera 4.
Race 5 is done last because Izzy has a fourth race message. At this point we've completed all other requirements, meaning this is a guaranteed stack with the Challenge message.
Junkman Turbo is picked for use later on the Elise. While this is the weakest part we have access to, the Elise is used long enough for this to be worth it. Increases turbo effectiveness by 15% (high_boost & low_boost).
Baron
The Pro Transmission upgrade is not faster everywhere, but should still be a benefit thanks to drags and a few high speed races. We don't know for sure as it was never timed accurately.
All races with cops enabled are far too slow for Any% due to the lap glitch.
There is a message after the third race, which can be stacked with the milestone message by completing two races, then escaping at the safe house during the pursuit, lap glitching and starting the third race from safe house.
The order of Race 7, 5 and 1 can be changed. The route uses 7 and 5 as these are shorter, and 7 can kill the run due to rubberband.
Another Junkman Suspension is picked for the Elise. This is very important because without this part, the Elise is much less stable over bumpy roads.
Jewels
No meaningful upgrades are unlocked. Super Pro tires are not worth a detour to the shop.
Camera 6 is the fastest and we can use all nitro.
Race 2, 3 and 6 could be swapped, but we start with 3 to see our true total bounty after the chase so we can determine what else needs to be done to reach the requirement.
There is a message after the second race which is stacked with the milestone message.
Jewels chase has huge RNG potential due to light blocks and well timed rhinos. Can be done under 3:30 best case. Short Jewels affects the Ming chase due to heat, but if the basic timing suggestions are followed a lot of time can be saved.
Double Jewels is very difficult to save time with. The timeloss from the longer race and the escape usually don't outweigh the time gained from the additional heat because heat gain on Ming is much faster. The buggy cops after Race 5 also mean we can't use it to have an additional backup for more bounty.
Lap Glitch is done after the chase to increase the benefit from Safe House escape, plus we can use full nitro for Camera 7.
There is a message after the fourth completed race which can be skipped for a stack with the challenge message as long as you don't need a quick escape. Alternatively it is possible to route in the second Jewels chase to start from the fourth race.
Junkman Transmission is picked for the Elise. The Golf is only used during Ming, so there is no point in installing this until the Elise swap. This is the strongest junkman part, just a hair better than the engine. Gives +10% acceleration via gear_efficiency.
Ming
Upgrading to Super Pro Transmission doesn't help. Without junkman transmission the car lacks acceleration to make use of the extra top speed. Transmission upgrades are also very expensive and sticking with Pro guarantees we can fully upgrade the Elise on JV.
Race 10, 7, 1, 4 and 9 can be swapped. 10 and 7 are the shortest and similar to Jewels, we can see our true total bounty earlier after the chase.
There are messages after the third race and second milestone.
Short Ming is a bit more specific due to the very high bounty requirement for a quick JV chase. Combined with Short Jewels, going for an exactly 6 minute chase is usually the best. If the 6 minute milestone was earned on Jewels, Ming can be as short as 5:00 with enough luck.
Kaze Race 2 spawns us directly in front of Ming Camera 6, making it an excellent backup as long as it is done either before Lap Glitch or after completing Race 6 since it cancels direct lap glitches.
Since Ming has another Junkman Suspension, two random markers are picked. He has a cash marker and a high value Pink Slip car, making the initial Elise upgrades guaranteed.
JV
Camera 7 spawns us outside a Car Lot, which makes buying the Lotus Elise really quick. Conveniently we are spawned facing towards Camera 7.
Manual Chase is preferred due to buggy cops from Race 7 and the Elise swap. Optimal chase is just over 2 minutes without needing quick escape and all JV cameras, at least until we find a way to complete CTS milestone under 2 minutes. Doing the chase with a Safe House escape after Camera 7 if Quick Escape is not needed removes the need to use Jump to Safe House.
If too many Pink Slips were won, it can be faster to only sell a few cars and simply select the Elise. While we are in the menu, Lap Glitch is performed.
Jewels Camera 5 spawns us just outside a shop, so we don't have to drive the stock Elise very far.
The Elise swap loses time on JV since buying the car, upgrading and tuning it takes a while, but it saves so much time on every race you make it all up by the end of Bull. It is the fastest car alongside the Carrera GT which unlocks later and costs much more. The Bull Chase is slower with the Elise as you can't rely on destroying cops in roadblocks as much, but the difference isn't big enough. Exact timesave is not known, it is estimated to be anywhere between 80 and 120 seconds.
We no longer need the additional objects for Cost to State, so it is better to remove them by reducing World Level of Detail. Late game has a lot of racing and the Elise is the lightest car and many of the extra objects are heavy.
Using Kaze Camera 5 we spawn much closer to JV Camera 5, so it is a bit faster even with having to turn around.
If Ming Camera 6 and JV Camera 6 were both claimed, Ming Camera 7 can be claimed after Race 8. This is not very fast, but still faster than all other known options.
Race 7 can be started from Free Roam after Race 6 which is a bit faster than using the blacklist menu.
JV gives us the Junkman Engine, the final upgrade to our car. This is the second best junkman part, increasing engine power and engine braking by 10% (torque & engine_braking).
Bull
Starting Ronnie 9 spawns us very close to Camera 7 and after making a difficult turn left Camera 5 can be claimed. This is faster than using Bull Camera 5 as there is less distance covered.
Our heat level is set to 5 after the fourth race. Current preferred route is to get the drag (Race 12) out of the way early, then follow the three race chain (6, 11, 2). Starting races from Free Roam saves a bit of time each time or is at least equal to using the blacklist menu.
Thanks to new discoveries the spike RNG issue is mostly solved for the Bull Chase, however since every cop spawn is a 50% chance the chase can still be very inconsistent. Safe House escape saves a lot of time here and makes Lap Glitch quicker.
Razor
Doing Cameras after Race 10 is slightly faster since we carry a good amount of speed after the finish.
Race 11 is done second because there is no message until the fourth race completion.
Using a circuit or KO - in this case Race 1 - for restart to Safe House is faster as there is no loading screen upon restarting because the start grid and finish line are close, so no new chunks need to be loaded.
Despite the buggy cops, Race 3 is used for the cop chase currently to start with maximum spawn rate. It saves time by not having to start a chase from the menu and not needing cooldown strats, but loses some race time to avoiding and sometimes waiting for cops.
With a good overshoot from Bull, the Razor Chase can be done in under a minute with a Safe House escape. Optimally you don't want to waste time with backup cameras, although Race 5 to JV Camera 6 and Race 8 to Ming Camera 7 are very quick.