CSR2 Beginner Guide: What the Game Doesn't Tell You

CSR2 throws a lot at you in the first few days: five tiers, three currencies, crews, seasons, crates and a garage that keeps filling up. The tutorials explain how to race. They don’t explain much else. This guide fills in the gaps, using Zynga’s own help pages for the facts, and our own guides where you want to go deeper.

Do this first: protect your progress

Before anything else, sign in to Game Center on iPhone or Google Play Games on Android. CSR2 backs up your progress to its servers either way, but only links it to an account if you’re signed in. If you aren’t, your garage is tied to that one phone and can’t move to a new one. Our progress guide has the details and shows where to find your Player ID.

Tiers: where each car can race

“Tier” means two things in CSR2. In the campaign, there are five tiers, each with its own crew to beat; Tier 1 is the Nu Fangz. Each car also has a tier, shown at the top of the screen (“T4”, for example). A car can race single-player events in its own tier or any higher tier, so a Tier 4 car works in Tiers 4 and 5. Some events, like Regulation Races, are exceptions.

That rule makes a strong car in each tier valuable, because it keeps working as you move up. Our best cars by tier uses world records to show which ones are worth it.

The things on your screen

• Gas: the meter at the top. Every race costs at least one pip. Gas refills slowly over time, or you can tap the meter for faster options.
• Gold and Cash: shown top right. Upgrades are bought with Cash or Gold, and Gold is the scarcer of the two. You earn Gold by levelling up, progressing and beating certain opponents. Our guide to earning free gold and cash lists the reliable sources.
• Keys: bronze, silver and gold, for opening crates in Rare Imports. Our keys guide explains which crates are worth them.
• PP and Evo: PP is a car’s performance rating. The +/- number beside it is Evo, the extra performance you’ve squeezed out with fusions and tuning. Two cars with the same PP can still be far apart, as our PP guide shows.

Respect Points and Live Races

Respect Points (RP) measure your progress and feed your crew’s score. You earn them by progressing, beating crews and beating other players, but Zynga’s help centre is clear that Live Races give the most RP. If you want to climb, race other players, not just the campaign. Our Live Races guide covers launches and matchmaking, and our crews guide explains how your RP counts for your crew.

Seasons run for two weeks

CSR2 runs in two-week seasons that start and end on Thursdays, with a short gap between them while leaderboards and top crews are finalised. Leaderboards and crew standings are settled at the end of each one, so it’s worth knowing which day a season ends before you plan your races. The Race Pass runs on its own schedule and has its own guide.

Daily habits worth building

• Daily Battles: time-limited races that let you try top-end cars and win cash. When you finish one, the next usually opens a few hours later.
• The Arcade: a retro mini-game, Turbo Super Drift, hidden under the staircase in the corner of your garage. You can play it once a day.
• The Inbox: crew rewards, gifts and leaderboard rewards land here. You have 7 days to claim them. “Claim All” skips car rewards, so tap each car to claim it.

Upgrades: what new players get wrong

Upgrades only apply to the car you have equipped. Stages 1 to 3 fit straight away; from Stage 4 onwards, upgrades have to be delivered, which takes time. Stage 6 parts are rare, stronger than Stage 5, and add extra fusion slots.

Zynga’s own advice is that maxing one area isn’t always best: a high-stage Turbo without better tyres can leave the car struggling for grip. Balance matters more than raw numbers. Our upgrade order guide covers what to fit first, and the tuning guide explains gears, nitrous and tyres once the car is built.

Car parts come from multiplayer races, from Rare Imports crates and from some challenges.

Your garage

The main garage shows six cars. Once it’s full, new cars go to a second garage, opened with the nine-squares button on the right of the screen. Nothing is lost when the first one fills up.

Five early mistakes to avoid

1. Playing without signing in. It’s the only one you can’t undo later.
2. Spreading upgrades across many cars. Upgrades only help the car they’re fitted to. Build one good car per tier first.
3. Letting Inbox rewards expire. Seven days goes quickly, and cars need claiming one at a time.
4. Avoiding Live Races. They’re the best source of RP.
5. Spending keys without a plan. Crates usually take more opens than people expect; read the keys guide and the official crate odds first.

Where to go next

Once you’re past the basics, the deeper systems are fusion parts, Elite Customs, Legends, Collections and, after Rank 50, Hypermods. If you’d rather skip the grind, our CSR2 modding service can add maxed cars, Gold and Keys to your own account. Our honest safety guide explains the risks first.