Walkthrough Monster Energy Supercross 3 Video Walkthrough (250 West)

[Frag Maniac]

Yesterday I started a new career, this time on 250 West Hard Mode. I know this is going to be a bit tougher than the 250 East career was, but to make matters worse, I reaggravated an old back injury yesterday morning. It made it very hard just to get in and out of my computer chair. None the less, it had been a while since I completed my 250 East walkthrough, so it was time to get into this one. These will be posted two at a time like 250 East was.

250 West Anaheim 1

This track is mostly simple, and getting the holeshot is not of huge importance. In fact I opted to slip in behind the pack and take the apex of the 1st turn, vs trying to clear the pack with a perfectly timed start. This left only one AI in front of me, whom I quickly caught.

After the 1st turn, it starts with a fast, shallow double that lands you into a right turn berm. From there it's a relatively easy single/double to another right turn, which leads you into a bridge jump that has to be taken very slowly to land on it's down slope. Landing this perfectly is not mandatory, but too much speed can make you land unstable on the flat, which in turn can slow you and leave you with a bad landing on the next jump.

From there it's a fairly fast, easy whoop section into a long, big air double (that next jump), which is best taken with a scrub to assure enough distance to land it well. You then rail a big 180 left turn berm that takes you into a semi long rhythm section, which has distanced, medium size jumps that can pretty easily be singled all the way through.

Then you go left under that aforementioned bridge jump, and here is where the track gets a bit tricky. There's another left that takes you into a huge gap jump across the holeshot line, and landing it well requires moderate speed. The combination of two tight left turns one right after the other going into it, can affect how well you take this jump, and also how well you take the one semi tough rhythm section thereafter (as in my final lap after hitting a Tuff Block shown at the 6:07 mark).

The reason that big air single needs to be landed well is there's another big air single right after, which crosses the starting chute part of track just before the 1st turn. The jump you land this 2nd big air single on has an abrupt, steep face to it, so coming up short slows you considerably. It is therefore best to scrub this jump, to set up well for the rhythm section.

You then take a shallow, 90 degree right berm into the rhythm section. To hit it well, you need to single onto a shallow jump, then single 3 more times on small, distanced jumps, the 2nd to last of which involves an on/off landing on a tabletop. This section feels easy when done right, but it is very easy to time that 1st jump wrong, and when you do, it slows you down considerably.

From there it's just a 180 right off a berm into a pretty fast, easy whoop section, then a sharp left off a big berm, a flat straight to a sharp right berm, and a big air very moderate speed single jump across the finish line. This takes you into a sharp left off a big berm, back to that very first shallow, fast double after the holeshot.

At the last time check before the finish line, I had about a 13.7 sec lead, despite hitting that Tuff Block and blowing the rhythm section on the final lap. Several times on prior races however, blowing that rhythm section caused the AI to catch up, so I consider it the one make or break part of this track.

250 West Anaheim 1

250 West Glendale

This track is not nearly as simple as Anaheim 1. It has a couple long rhythm sections which can be hard to hit. In fact the 2nd one, even if you go into it with a near perfect double off a single to set it up, you often don't land the double right after well, which really slows you down.

Here, again, the holeshot is not necessary, and I started again by going behind the pack and slipping through the apex side of the 1st turn. It is imperative you hit a shallow single well right after the first turn, which sets you up for a double/double/double. This is easier said than done, especially since you need to hit that single right after a hard left turn on the start. Doing so however will separate you from the pack.

The 90 degree left after this section I usually take via leaning hard left off the jump just before it, which usually scrub bounces me fairly quickly off the jump just after it. Sometimes I've actually cleared the jump just after this turn, and passed lots of AI in the process, but if you aren't to the far right of the rhythm section before taking the turn, you can get reset for a track cut. All the jumps in this section are between small and med size.

Then comes a fast flat into a 180 left berm, a small jump into another fast flat, and a 90 degree right into a small rhythm section. This rhythm section is not to be taken for granted. It's not nearly as long or tough as the other two, but can slow you down none the less if taken wrong. There's basically 2 ways to take it. The 1st is by a single off the 1st small jump, then another over the 1st table top, then an on/off on the 2nd tabletop right after it. The 2nd is a single over the 1st small jump, then using the 2nd small jump to on/off on both tabletops. The latter is best done via swinging wide into the shallow 90 degree right berm to jump off the left side of the track, which has a slightly higher lip you take off from. You need to moderate speed a bit to start this 2nd option, but it is a bit faster method through this section. This 2nd option also helps avoid AI that try to take the apex, and can easily crash you when you try to do the same.

Next is a big air double, which I try to scrub, but for some reason quite often failed to properly. Perhaps due to that nagging back pain. You then take a small jump into a 180 right berm, that takes you over a jump so small if you hit it just right to the left, you don't even waste air time. It then goes into a long, fast flat, and a sharp left shallow berm into the track's longest, hardest rhythm section.

I find it best to come into this fairly fast, shallow berm at a wide angle, braking carefully first, then coasting a bit. It is very easy to overshoot it if not. You have two options here, swinging wide to do a big double off the right side of the 1st jump, which is considerably bigger on that side of the track. The 2nd is staying left and hitting a shallow single, which if hit just right sets you up for a massive air double/double/double (as shown at the 5:43 mark). The 2nd option has more potential gain, and less risk, as it's easy to go too far to the right and off track on the first option. The first option takes you immediately into a big air double, but is far harder to flow through the rest of the rhythm after that.

You then take a 180 left berm into a fast, easy whoop section, which has a double at the end, followed by a 180 right berm into a double and over a big air single jump off the finish line. This jump I scrub, and try to land on the down slope to remain stable for the series of the just under med size few jumps after. I prefer to single over the 2nd jump, leaning left off the 3rd, to prepare well for the 90 degree left turn, which takes you into a big air double and another 90 degree left right after. This is crucial for setting up for another run through the 1st rhythm section.

Before this rhythm section you are now to the right of the holeshot turn you started out on, which has 3 well spaced med size jumps. It's not as crucial how you take these 3 jumps as it is to assure moderate speed for the 1st part of the rhythm section. This is because these 3 jumps have well graded vs abrupt faces, so even if you case them, you don't lose much speed. You can still hit that single/double/double/double as long as you have the right speed going into that single just after the holeshot line. This is shown at the 2:35 mark.

Now I'm not going to tell you I hit these rhythm sections well every time. More often than not I had to attempt to salvage what speed I could. The good thing though is, on Hard, the AI aren't exactly perfect through them either. Thus I finished with a roughly 13.4 sec lead at the final time check.

250 West Glendale

 

[Frag Maniac]

OK, I have two more events, this time a Triple Crown at Anaheim 2, and a race at Oakland. Each Triple Crown race is only 60% the duration of regular races, so this video will be roughly twice the length, vs 3 times.

250 West Anaheim 2

Once again, it's not crucial to get the holeshot at this track, but it's easy enough to get a start good enough to clear the field, so even if you don't, you can carry enough speed into the 1st turn to quickly pass anyone in the lead. It starts with a sharp left over 2 miniscule spaced bumps, so it's practically a flat. Then to a sharp right and over a pretty easy, fast whoop section. Then there's a shallow berm for a sharp right, where you need to carry enough speed to single onto an on/off on a tabletop. Here it is crucial to stay weighted back over a gap, to make sure you clear a lip, which takes you into a sharp left off a shallow berm. The track then splits in 2, the right being a jump across another gap onto a tabletop, the left being ground level, which takes you straight to the tabletop. The left is easier to negotiate, since you don't need to hit the gap jump, but it forces you to slow down considerably, as it's a much tighter turn. I had a problem crashing a lot off that 2nd tabletop, and I found the trick is to moderate your speed so you land on the front end of it's top, then stay weighted back with full gas. This allows you to just clear the small jump after it by skipping your rear tire off it, and set up with enough speed to the next medium size single jump on a right bend. With enough speed carried into this jump, you can then hit the big air double right after off a big jump. Sometimes I landed just on the top of the jump at the end of that double jump, and once slightly in front of the top. It's not always easy to hit it right because you need to hit the prior jumps well with enough speed, while taking a right bend.

The next segment involves a shallow right berm onto the tougher of 2 rhythm sections on the track. I used to now and then miss syncing my marks on it, but I think I nailed it every lap on all 3 races. I found the trick is to slow enough on that shallow right berm to start the rhythm section on the right side of the track, where it's raised up a bit higher after that berm. This allows you to much more easily clear a small jump, then single off the front of a tabletop, followed by 3 more singles, the 2nd of which is an on/off on a tabeltop. Oddly enough, the 2nd and more easy rhythm section, I didn't hit as well, but typically you can always at least land on the tops of jumps, losing very little momentum. The 2nd rhythm section you go into off a steep right 180 berm, where you need to use moderate speed to single onto a tabletop you on/off, then use moderate speed to hit 5 more singles. The speed of that 1st single after the tabletop being the critical part, as if you don't hit that right, you'll be topping the jumps thereafter. I had a strange occurrence on this section in the 2nd race where I had a bad landing and nose dived after clipping my rear tire on the top of a jump, causing me to launch off the face of the 2nd tabletop and clear a double at the 10:24 mark. I can only guess this is due to some weird physics that happen at certain angles on jumps.

That 2nd rhythm section takes you to a steep 180 left berm, and onto a fast, easy whoop section, followed by the finish line jump. The finish line jump is a big air single that I always scrub. It's followed by a short flat into a 90 degree right with a steep berm, but you really don't need to hit the berm, as it works just as well to brake adequately for that right turn while leaning hard. You then take a fast flat across the 1st wide part of the start chute, then need to slow down to hit a steep medium jump that takes you over a big jump, and into a steep 180 right berm. I used to overshoot this jump a lot, carrying too much speed, but I found the trick is to let off gas just before the white line that marks the track edge on the far side of the start chute. You then rail that steep right 180 berm, and take big, steep jump at very slow speed to land on the downslope of a medium jump, which angles left onto the long, fast flat start chute you started the race on. This is interesting use of space, and makes the track feel a bit bigger. On most tracks, they cut off the entire start chute once the holeshot line is passed. It then goes back to the holeshot line after a long, semi sharp, flat, sweeping left turn in deep sand. This section can be trickier than it looks, as it's hard to keep your momentum, and the deep sand can also deviate your line if you get bogged down in it. I find it's best to carry enough speed into it so you can let off gas just before the turn, and lean left into it, coasting through the first half of it, then gassing out with no weight back or forward, assuring good weight distribution and traction. On the final lap of the 2nd race, I came out of this sand turn at too sharp an angle, and ended up slowing down considerably on the end of a Tuff Block. Fortunately, instead of crashing, I was able to push it out of the way.

At last check points, my leads were roughly 4.9 sec the 1st race, 7.5 sec the 2nd, and 6.1 sec the 3rd. The 3rd race however I got a bad start, and had to fight through the pack a bit, which could have easily accounted for it being over a sec less lead than the 2nd race at the end.

250 West Anaheim 2 Triple Crown

250 West Oakland

This track is REALLY crazy! The AI will fight hard for the holeshot, which takes good timing to hit well, it has some pretty fast straights and whoops, and big jumps. The problem is, the one hard rhythm section is extremely finicky, and the AI, very inconsistent.

Out of the gate you need to get a good enough start so that you clear the pack well enough initially that you at least have a gap when they catch you (and they usually do) to swing to the far right of the left bend into the holeshot line to pass them. You then need to moderate speed to take a very small jump over another small one, then over another, it doesn't always happen exactly this way if fighting through the pack at the start though. This takes you into a semi steep medium berm into a sharp right, which you need to lean hard into and accelerate quickly out of to maintain enough speed to single onto a tabletop you on/off. I then take a moderate speed single onto the downslope of the next small jump, then use the next small jump to hop over a medium jump, then single/single over a small jump and a tabletop. This takes you into short, flat, dog leg right to the finish line jump. It is best to hit this with a right lean landing off that last single jump, so you can keep enough speed to hit the big air single finish line jump. I used to try to scrub this jump, but since you are coming off a dog leg right, and taking another fast dog leg right right after it, I found it safer not to scrub. There is also a small jump just at the start of that 2nd dog leg right, and hitting this at the apex of it with a good lean right is crucial for taking the long, fast straight afterward with good speed.

At the end of this straight is a well graded, small to med size jump that takes you on a fairly long, fast, low double jump onto a table top, which has a couple small jumps after it, where it descends down a slope into a 90 right turn. I used to weight back off that tabletop, but was too often crashing thereafter. I found it better just to tap the brakes adequately, skimming off the tops of the 2 small jumps after, while leaning right (an easy and effective way to bump scrub). After the right turn, you come to a very small jump, then a med jump with a rhythm section just after that starts out at a lower grade. Here's where it is super critical to hit a single off that med jump onto the downslope of a well graded small jump, to set you up for a semi big air double/double combo. This is that "finicky" part of the track I mentioned. I've heard others describe this as a "stiff" rhythm section because you can land the single off that Med launch jump near perfect, as I did most every time, yet you don't know what the result will be. It varies from the time consuming result on the 3rd lap at the 2:46 mark, to the smooth result on the 4th lap at the 3:52 mark.

That tough rhythm section ends with a high, steep 180 right berm, which you need to lean hard into and rail fast to hit a big air double onto yet another small, well graded jump, in order to carry enough speed to launch a big air double off a big, steep jump, which takes you into a high, steep, 180 left berm right after. Needless to say, you need to brake a bit for this berm if you hit that big air double well. If you rail that berm well, it shoots you with enough speed to take the long, fast, easy whoop section thereafter with great speed. You then rail a high, steep 180 right berm onto yet another, near identical, long fast easy whoop section. This takes you to a semi sharp left off a semi high, semi steep berm, and onto a semi long flat with a small jump at the start, and a big, steep jump at the end. This jump is weird, I call it the "Grandma Jump". The reason being you have to take it just the right, slow speed to hit it's downslope, which is actually the slope of a lower level medium jump that it steps down to. Worse yet, if you overshoot it even slightly, it lands you on a deep sand left bend on a flat. The grandma name comes in because once in a while I'm so cautious on it that I actually go too slow and land it on the top of it's lower med jump extension, which is flat on top like a tabletop. This results in no carry of momentum, so you almost feel like you'd be better off landing in the deep sand. This sand bend takes you right back to the holeshot.

Part of the weird thing about this track, other than that super finicky rhythm section, is the AI vary from extremely tenacious on the start, to practically lethargic on the rhythms and even the super easy whoops. The result was, despite only really nailing that rhythm section well just once, I had a just over 15.8 sec lead at the final time check. That's the biggest lead I've ever finished a race with on Hard mode, and since it's not an easy track to race, I have to think something is up with the coding. It almost feels like the devs realized they made that one small jump surface that launches you into a make it or break it result on the tough rhythm, too finicky, and compensated by nerfing the AI. If so, they clearly overdid the nerfing.

250 West Oakland

 

[Frag Maniac]

Here's the next two, this time San Diego, and Atlanta. I'm really not even sure why Atlanta, such an eastern city, is part of the 250 West circuit as well as East, but if anyone knows, please elaborate?

250 West San Diego

This track, despite having a couple sections with larger than normal, spaced out whoops that feel a bit awkward, is relatively easy to ride. It's rhythm sections don't require much precision, and you can land the jumps (with the exception of the big air ones) a variety of ways and not slow down much. It starts with a sharp left into the holeshot, onto a short straight that has very small bumps. It then turns 90 degrees left off a small jump to on/off on a tabletop, which takes you over another small jump and into a med high 180 right berm. It helps to rail this berm well to carry momentum into a small jump right after so you can jump over another small jump and use the front of a tabletop to jump over another small jump. This lands you at a 90 degree right turn, so you want to land leaning right.

I find it best to then use the 1st small jump in this next section to jump over the next small jump, and use the next small one after it to clear the medium jump after it, and use it's downslope to set up for clearing yet another small jump, then off a medium jump to double over the next two small jumps, and lean right over the next small jump into another right turn that's just a bit less than 90 degree. It helps to carry pretty good speed here to use another small jump to clear the next small jump, then catch a semi big air triple off a medium jump. Even when I don't sync the first part of this section, I can usually make good time just hitting the tops of jumps, but the big air triple is very helpful to hit. This takes you into a high, steep, 180 right berm. It's best to hit this berm at it's far left, as you need to rail it to keep up speed for a whoop section after, and it's easy to run into Tuff Blocks on the left at the start of it if you don't give yourself the width of the track to rail the berm.

As mentioned, the whoop sections, which are back to back connected with a high, steep 180 left berm, are a bit larger and spaced apart farther than normal. This means you need to go into them with pretty good speed to be able to skim their tops weighting back. I kind of played it by ear, sometimes actually leaning forward when hitting their down slopes to maintain momentum. These whoops then take you to a big air double off the big finish line jump, which then takes you into a very sharp, high, steep berm onto a flat that starts with a single medium size jump. What follows is all flat back to the holeshot. After that medium jump at the start of the flat, I find it's best not to use the next berm on the sharp right, but instead swing wide left first and hug the apex of the right turn, where there's an apex marker post, leaning hard right. You then have a big, squared off left turn back to the holeshot, so you need to lean hard left there. At the last time check I had a roughly 4.7 sec lead on this race, and that's even with some sloppiness here and there.

250 West San Diego

250 West Atlanta

This is the exact same track as in the 250 East circuit, so most of this description is going to be copied and pasted from my commentary on that walkthrough. The part that isn't is sections that I didn't comment on before, and a revelation I had, which I found made it far easier to hit the hardest rhythm section more consistently. The first rhythm section comes right after the holeshot. You need to land a shallow double well to hit the two consecutive triples well that come after it. This is a critical make it or potentially break it part of the track.

The 2nd rhythm at Atlanta is the section right after that first one, which involves hitting a double, into a double, to set up for a steep jump into a triple. It helps to use a scrub on the steep jump to make sure you clear the 3rd jump, especially since right after landing it you have a sharp right turn onto the straight, a spot you can use to gap AI that go into the berm there.

The last rhythm comes just after a left turn off the straight, and is by far the easiest to hit consistently. It just requires hitting a shallow triple at moderate speed to land another triple after it. You then have a 180 left berm onto a fast, easy whoop section, followed by a 180 right berm. It's best to rail this 180 right berm and use the small jump just after it to on/off onto the tabletop just past it. I use that tabletop to jump over a small jump, then get a big air double off the big finish line jump, which I scrub.

You then go into a semi deep sand flat that goes under a bridge jump, and takes a squared off right turn back over the bridge jump. Here is where the revelation came in. A seemingly insignificant part of this track is that bridge jump, but I found if you make sure you land on it's downslope at it's far right, it allows you take the sweeping left turn back to the holeshot with a big arc, just as fast as AI take it at it's apex. It also gives you a MUCH better approach to more easily hit that hardest rhythm section. As a result, I nailed it 5 of the 7 laps this time, vs only 3 times on the 250 East race. At the last time check, I had a roughly 3 sec lead, vs only 1 sec on the 250 East race.

250 West Atlanta

 

[Frag Maniac]

Two more rounds, Seattle and another triple crown, this time at Houston. Both these races are fairly easy once you realize the triples in the tough rhythm sections can be done consistently if you take them at full speed with the right technique.

250 West Seattle

This race I found it best to get a good start, and while it's not 100% necessary to also get the holeshot, if you don't, things can get bottled up in the first section. From the start gate you go into a sharp left to a short semi flat section with two spaced out low jumps. This next rhythm section is hit at full speed after the 1st lap, and feels quite different. You lean hard right into a semi sharp turn where you can use a couple back to back small jump doubles to set up for a medium jump triple, which lands you on (or after) a small jump and immediately into a 180 right berm. It helps to rail this berm well to double over a couple medium jumps, and use a small jump thereafter to jump onto a table top you on/off, then over a small jump and into a 180 left berm. It helps to rail this berm as well, as it sets you up for a big air triple. I find it helpful to land this triple leaning right into a big, flat 180, after which is a big air double off the finish line jump.

Landing the big air double on the downslope of the 2nd jump helps maintain speed for a short, fast flat, laced with a few tiny bumps. You then rail a semi steep/high 180 left berm, and into a long rhythm section that starts with a short flat. I find it best to stay leaned forward, as it adds speed on the flat, and helps prepare for each landing off the jumps. The jumps are two semi small doubles, the 2nd off the face of a tabletop, and at full speed it pretty much takes you into a semi medium jump triple. You then slow down for a semi small jump, after which you rail into a high, steep 180 right berm. It helps to rail this berm as best you can, as after it is a long whoop section that can bog you down a bit if you don't carry good speed into it.

At the end of the whoops is a short flat into a 90 degree right you need to temper speed on and lean right to hit 2 semi small doubles. In fact I just stay leaned right through this short section, as it then takes you into a fast dog leg right straight. There is then a very slight dog leg right onto that 1st rhythm section mentioned earlier. I find it best to swing wide left to take this 2nd dog leg right at it's apex, to hit the rhythm section as straight as possible. I approach it at full speed leaned forward on the flat, and then go to a neutral position with no lean just before the jumps. The 1st part of this section is all small jumps, and this method almost always results in tripling to the 3rd jump, and skimming off the top of it and the next 2 jumps, which increase in size slightly, then over a 3rd that's slightly larger, then off the face of the Medium jump thereafter into a triple.

You are then back at that 180 right berm mentioned earlier, with the double and a tabletop, and then a 180 left berm into a big air triple, then the big, flat 180 right into the finish line jump. At the last checkpoint I ended with about a 7 sec lead.

250 West Seattle

250 West Houston Triple Crown

What can I say, I call this the tale of a triple crown with lots of triple jumps, 4 to be exact. Better yet, I found a way to hit the 2 harder back to back ones pretty easily.

On this race, with my technique, I recommend getting a good start to clear the field of riders on the 1st turn. In fact I actually use the default start gate position which is 3rd from far right. I know this seems counter intuitive to getting to the holeshot first, but trust me, there's a method to the madness. The far right start allows you to lean hard left and arc a big, fast turn to carry full speed into the first, and toughest by far, rhythm section. What this allows you to do is double over the 1st two small jumps, and hit the face of the 3rd big jump with enough speed to bounce off of via weighting back, which launches you into a big air triple/triple combo. In fact it easily allows you enough speed to land on the downslope of the small jump just after, to carry speed into a 180 left berm to coast rail it hard into a long whoop section. The only time I didn't land on the downslope of that small jump I skimmed the top of it due to checking speed a bit too much to avoid overshooting the berm.

There's a bit larger jump nearing the end of this whoop section, and then a very short flat thereafter. I like to stop weighting back there, and lean forward into the flat, then let off gas momentarily to take a double over small jumps into a 180 right berm. This berm is fairly high and steep, and can easily be taken too fast for the next rhythm section. I find as long as you temper speed enough to land on the face of the 3rd small jump after a double over 2 small jumps, you can use it to on/off onto the following tabletop, and 2 more just after it. There are then two small jumps after that which I usually skip off the tops of weighting back, then into a 180 left berm. This berm is a bit more shallow than the previous one, but can also be taken too fast.

Off this berm you want to ideally double over the next 2 small jumps, and use the downslope of the 2nd to carry enough speed into the medium jump thereafter to triple off of. Ideally you only want enough speed to land on the downslope of the 3rd, small jump, which allows you to smoothly use the next small jump to on/off onto a tabletop just after, but anything that lands you in between those 2 small jumps usually allows you to skim off the tabletop, even if with a bit clumsiness, at very little loss of speed. After the tabletop is a small jump, and whether skimming it or clearing it, it's best to land leaning right to prepare for going under the bridge jump. This is all a flat with a 90 right one after the other, which takes you into a couple small jumps you double, and it's best to land leaning slightly right, to avoid your momentum carrying you too far left. You then have a straight with a very short flat that goes into a semi short whoop section.

Out of the whoops there's a shallow 180 right berm that takes you to a big air triple off the big finish line jump, which I scrub. You then have a very short flat to the bridge jump, a flat sweeping left into a medium jump, a short section with 2 very small jumps and a semi medium size jump on the left side at the end of it, then a dog leg left onto a medium length flat back to that 1st rhythm section. This section is actually a bit tricky to maintain speed well enough to do that aforementioned bounce off the medium jump to hit that triple/triple combo. I found it's best to moderate speed well enough off that medium jump after that flat sweeping left, and land it leaning left a bit. This helps you maintain enough control to pick your line over or around that medium jump on the left at the end of the next short section. Either around that jump or over it can be fast, but more often than not I did a left lean jump over it, which sort of gives you a fast bounce scrub off it. Once I even hit a Tuff Block on the left side of the straight after trying to go around the left side of it, but somehow salvaged enough speed to pull off the triple/triple combo.

These techniques, which I highly recommend as they become intuitive and fairly easy, will make the AI look pretty bad. Even on Hard, they can't come close to matching your lap times using these techniques. I not only got fastest lap each of the 3 races, I averaged about a 17.3 sec lead at the last time check.

250 West Houston Triple Crown

 

[Frag Maniac]

Finally, the last two rounds, Denver, and the championship race at Las Vegas. Sorry that this took about a week and a half longer than anticipated. It was partly due to my taking a week to get in a play through of Days Gone, but also because YT's been taking a lot longer lately to process 1440p res. This time Vegas wasn't quite as fast a track due to pouring rain and slippery mud, however my initial traction problems were easily fixed with a realization that only involved an easy position adjustment.

250 West Denver

Many say this is a difficult track to race, which it can be, but I found it was mostly a matter of getting out of the gate quick enough to just barely clear the pack before getting squeezed out to get up enough speed for a triple in the first section, and hitting a couple turns with enough speed to ace the next rhythm section and a big air triple thereafter.

It's actually easier to get an average start, ride behind the pack, and squeeze through a gap between the apex pole of the 1st turn and the 2 AI that always lead the pack there, but the problem with that is the pack is then right behind you, usually with more speed than you, making it hard to escape them.

So the real Houdini trick becomes getting just a good enough jump at the start to take a fast, sweeping line on the outside, leaving just enough room to head into the 1st rhythm section with good speed. That is easier said than done because once you actually get to the 1st turn, it's more of a tight turn than a sweeping bend. That rhythm section starts with a tiny bump that sends you into a small jump you double off of, then into a med jump you triple off of. I HAVE gotten a legit downslope landing on that triple, but here I only landed on the top of the 3rd jump. That salvages enough momentum to skim the tops of the 3 med jumps thereafter one at a time, and escape the pack though.

You then go into a med high, semi steep 180 right berm, which you need to rail well enough to launch off a small jump and clear or skim over a Med jump just after it. This sets you up with enough momentum to use the small jump after the Med jump to on/off onto a tabletop just after. I then use the face of the next tabletop just after to do a double/double combo. I then take the final small jump of that section just before the fast right turn by skimming off the top of it with right lean, which gives me good speed toward the next big air triple section. You land this triple again into a fast, right turn, so once again, I lean right. The combination of landing this triple well, and being leaned right, yields ample speed to launch off a tiny jump, and bounce jump (weight back) off of two well graded Med jumps, clearing another that's in-between them.

That double bounce jump in that rhythm section then sends you over a tiny jump and into the base of a well graded Med jump that allows you enough speed to hit another big air triple off it. This takes you into a high, steep 180 right berm, which you need to rail fast to take a whoop section. This whoop section is fairly fast, but it also has a tendency to toss you up, and also has a flat near it's end, and a medium size jump you have to clear. Ironically it's the small jump after it just before the high, steep 180 left berm I often crashed on. The fix for this was hitting that previous big air triple with enough speed to land it well, which carries enough speed into this section. I have to attest that to hitting those 2 fast right turns with lean well that I first mentioned. Even with good speed in that whoop section, I at times had to weight back when not clearing that final small jump to avoid crashing on it though. I DID however develop a technique to somewhat compensate for any speed loss at the end of that whoop section though. The last jump is so close to the berm that you often land on the berm with a total loss of momentum if you jump straight off the last jump, and I've seen AI do this too. My fix was to start steering into that berm at the point of that last jump, which allowed me to accelerate out of it quickly.

The last section just goes into a flat straight with a hairpin right, and over the big finish line jump. This hairpin right goes deep into a berm if you wish, but I find it's far better to take the hairpin about a bike's length away from it's apex, which also allows you to take the finish line jump at full gas without overshooting it. Most of the AI go deep into that berm, and also often overshoot that finish line jump a bit. You then take a hairpin left into that first rhythm section, and that is also why you can only get a triple jump there at the start. Every other lap you pretty much have to double all the way through it. I really did struggle with this track at first, but once I got a 10 sec lead, which didn't pan out due to a crash, that became my goal. I managed to win with a just over 12 sec lead at the last time check.

250 West Denver

250 West Las Vegas Championship

I was kind of shocked and even upset at first when I saw this race was going to be in pouring rain. It felt like I couldn't get a start anywhere near as good as the AI. I mean I had easily enough points to win the championship with just about any position, but I wanted to win it. I really started thinking I'd be lucky to even podium though. Then I realized I was making a rather stupid oversight. I was weighting forward on the start and on the long, fast, flat straights of Monster Alley like normal when it's dry and good traction. After all, I was used to catching up to or dropping AI on these sections. In slippery mud though, it only makes you lose more traction. All I had to do was just not lean forward at all, except in air to prepare for a jump landing. This was such a huge change, it allowed me to utterly destroy the AI.

The only caveats I found to Vegas in the mud, is it's definitely harder to 1 ) get enough speed to on/off on the tabletop in the first rhythm section, 2) hit the huge quad jump at the end of the fast long straight just before the turn to the finish line, and 3) land the big air triple well after going under the finish line bridge jump. Fortunately none of these were enough of a problem to bog me down much, especially since the AI were having their problems in the mud too. I sufficed by usually skimming off the tops of the jumps in that 1st rhythm section, as well as the 3rd jump in that big air triple, and using a weighted back bounce jump off that well graded 4th jump in the quad.

The make it or break it section, which is typically that long, rhythm section just after the 1st one, with 2 tabletops in it, was fortunately much more doable in mud than those other problem areas though. Other than those 3 trouble spots and not being able to lean forward on fast flats, the technique is the same as in the dry, so rather than explain it all again, I will just paste the link to the 250 East walkthrough, which also has Vegas as the final venue.

Walkthrough - Monster Energy Supercross 3 Video Walkthrough (250 East).

I'm having better than expected success so far on Hard mode after beating both East and West 250 classes on Medium. On my last play throughs I no doubt had some struggles here and there, but Hard has been far more doable so far than it was in Supercross 2 for me, giving up after 4 stadiums. I'm...

forums.tomshardware.com

I was rather shocked yet again, this time from utter elation, that my lead at the final time check was just under 22.5 seconds! I was also very surprised that 250 West was if anything, easier than 250 East. No track in the West career came close to being as hard as Nashville in 250 East. This has definitely given me confidence to try the 250 careers on Realistic difficulty, but first I will attempt the 450 career on Hard, as I'm pretty sure that one WILL be harder than either of the 250 careers.

250 West Las Vegas Championship