Boosting is one of the basic mechanics in Disney Speedstorm, and like in many racing games, this allows players to speed up and cover more of the track in a short amount of time. Racers in the game can gain boosts in several different ways, potentially letting them engage their boost for almost the entire run of the race.
Read ahead as we go through the methods of gaining boost in Disney Speedstorm.
Boost Basics
The boost mechanic in Disney Speedstorm works in a “fill-and-release” manner, where you will have to fill up your boost meter first before you can engage your boost. Once the boost has been engaged, it continuously fires up until your boost meter runs out. It cannot be manually turned off midway, though it can be interrupted if your racer gets hit by an opponent’s attack.
How to Gain Boost
Whenever a race begins, your character starts off with an empty boost meter which can be filled up by doing certain maneuvers or getting a boost power-up. Although it does not fill up your boost meter, you can take advantage of the perfect start boost by revving up your engine and trying to land the needle on the solid green part of your tachometer or your RPM gauge just as the countdown hits zero.
These are the ways on how boost can be gained:
- Slipstreaming
- Drifting
- Running through boost pads
- Using boost power-ups
- Hitting opponents with skills
Slipstreaming
Slipstreaming is the act of staying and tailing behind an opponent to gain speed. This is a real-world technique that professional racers often do as they can use their opponents as a literal wind shields to lessen the effects of drag on their vehicles. It works a bit differently in Speedstorm since instead of gaining speed, you charge up your boost meter when riding a slipstream. You have to be around 3 cars lengths away from your opponent to get the effects of slipstream, otherwise your boost meter won’t get charged.
Alternatively, you can also take advantage of this mechanic and use it defensively by not allowing your opponents to ride your slipstream. You can use the opponent marker that appears on the bottom side of your screen, or take a quick peek behind you. If you see that your opponent is lining up with you, swerve to a different lane to prevent them to charging their boost meter.
Drifting
Drifting is the act of engaging the brakes promptly while simultaneously turning and accelerating while taking a turn. Thankfully, it’s way easier to pull a drift in Speedstorm as you only need to push a button and turn to towards where you want to go. As you exit from a drift, your boost meter will be charged up and the amount it gets depends on how long the drift was. Small drifts also count towards the meter.
Drifting on a curve is slightly slower than just driving normally through it, but it gets compensated by another mechanic called the drift boost. If you pull a drift long enough to make your wheels glow blue, exiting from that drift immediately gives you a slight speed boost on top of the boost charge that you get. It takes at least 2 seconds of drifting to activate the drift boost.
Remember to release the drift button if you want to drift towards the opposite direction, otherwise you would still continue to drift towards the same direction even if you steer away.
Running through boost pads
Boost pads are the blue circular pads on the track and sometimes above the track in Floating Objects mode. Once you drive over these pads, you get a speed boost plus your boost meter will also get a significant amount of charge. It’s worth to plan your course ahead to make sure that you pass by as many of these pads as possible.
Boost pads also charge up your meter even when you are in the middle of using your boost, effectively prolonging your boost time. You also don’t have to go through it right in the center to get the boost; even just touching the pad with one of your tires will get you the boost.
Using boost power-ups
When you pick up a power-up, there’s a chance that you will get the boost power up which looks like a blue lightning bolt. You can then press your power-up button to use it and immediately fill up your boost meter, or you can charge it up by holding on to the power-up button and get a boost that lasts longer. If you happen to have a full boost meter right before using the power-up, you will get a Double Boost meter that doubles the duration of your usual boost.
Hitting opponents with skills
Successfully hitting an opponent with a skill you used or deployed charges up your meter by almost half a charge, so hitting at least two enemies at once guarantees you an instant boost. This requires a bit more skill than the rest of the methods, but it pays off. Deploying skills that can be sent backwards can also help in making sure that your lead won’t be contested as easily.
Check out this video by the official Disney Speedstorm YouTube channel showing how boosting works in the Floating Objects game mode:
