Race to the Finish
From EssenceRO Wiki
Race to the Finish is a minigame, part of the Survival Arena or SA for short. Unlike the other minigames, Race to the Finish does not require the player to kill monsters or join a party--the minigame is solable. The goal of the game is to reach the end of the map before time runs out.
Contents |
Introduction
Race to the Finish: Pass the obstacles and reach the end of the map before time runs out.
The objective of Race to the Finish is simple: Cross the finish line within the time limit of 15 minutes. It costs 250,000 zeny to join, it does not have a level requirement, it is open to any number of players, and the rewards are based on how fast you cross the finish line:
| Time | Token Reward | |
|---|---|---|
| Under 5 minutes | 20 minigame tokens | |
| Between 5 and 10 minutes | 10 minigame tokens | |
| Between 10 and 15 minutes | 5 minigame tokens | |
| Over 15 minutes | Nothing | |
Race to the Finish is good for those who do not want to spend too much time doing SA or that do not want to rely on others to win.
Entering Race to the Finish
Like any other Survival Arena minigame, you have to wait for the arena to open. When the time for SA to open draws close, talk to the Minigame Arena NPC and chose the option "Sure, take me there!"
Once inside the SA waiting room, walk to the far right until you reach the Race to the Finish NPC.
One of the pros to Race to the Finish is that you do not have to rush to get in. Since it is open to any number of players, you can enter the arena whenever it is open.
The Shortcut
Since you do not really have to wait to get into the arena, there is an easy way to enter without going to the waiting room. Talk to the Minigame Arena NPC and chose the option "Set Quick-Entry Minigame", then pick "Race to the Finish".
Afterwards, whenever SA is open talk to the Minigame Arena NPC and it will take you directly to the Race to the Finish arena.
The Arena
The Race to the Finish map is different than the others in Survival Arena. The map is divided into 10 different areas, 9 of them are part of the obstacle course and the last is the room where you obtain your reward.
Each area has a different obstacle to overcome. Pass all 9 before 15 minutes pass and you will win minigame tokens. I will describe each area next.
Area 1
This is the entrance and the first obstacle area. You will find the Emergency Exit NPC and the Record Keeper at the top left of the first area. There will be a wall blocking your way, even if you attempt to destroy it you will not be able to walk past it until SA begins. At 10:05 the wall will vanish and you are free to start.
Please note that there are 3 paths, numbered 1-3 from top down. You will have to follow that path to the end of the area to reach the next. If you misclick you will fall and you will be teleported all the way to the beginning of that area. Be careful and patient.
Out of the three paths, 1 is the easiest, followed by 3, making 2 the hardest. If two players click on the same cell at the same time, you run the possibility of being thrown down the path. Be careful when SA starts and everyone is rushing! If the path is too crowded sometimes it is better to wait for it to clear a little.
Once you make it through the path, go through the portal and to the next area.
Area 2
Area 2 is a maze in which you will be teleported randomly as you try to reach the end. The trick for this area is: No matter where you are, always reach for the top right of the area map (click around and find your way there), once you reach it, head down and to the portal. If you keep being warped around, keep trying! It can get pretty annoying from time to time, but sometimes it is fairly easy.
The path you should follow is shown in the top right of the picture. Reach for that area no matter where you are at.
Area 3
This area is fairly easy to pass. Simply walk straight to the right, but be warned, random status effects (Curse, Stone Curse, Freeze, Sleep, and Confusion) will be inflected upon you as you run by. Wearing an Evil Druid armor is a good strategy for this area. Also, carrying panaceas or holy water helps. If you are using a Royal Guard / Paladin, use Gospel to get rid of the status effects. If you are using a Priest class use Cure, Recover, or Blessing on yourself.
Area 4
Another maze! Here the status effect of Blind and Confusion will be inflicted upon you as you make your way through. The portal on this maze is set at random every SA, however, the good thing is that there are only 2 answers to the maze: top left or down right. When you get to this area, flip a coin or follow your intuition, randomly pick either top left or down right. Sometimes you will get lucky and pick the right path and sometimes you will be wrong and you will have to walk to the other side once you realize you are wrong. To make it through the maze, stick to the right side or the left side walls; in other words, always go for the right or the left side of the map and go up and down through it and you will reach the possible warp.
The location of the warps is marked on the minimap at the top right corner of the picture.
Area 5
This is a swirly path that is easy to go through. Simply follow the path to the middle, once in the middle, keep following the path. Be careful! Make sure you are not going backwards when you get to the middle! If you are the first person to make it to the middle of that map sometimes you will be either teleported forward or backwards in the map; when this happens, pay attention to where you are at so you do not go backwards.
The path changes are illustrated in the picture with two different colors.
Area 6
The path of doom! Or not really, but it can be if you are not careful. Although the area outside the path is black, you will not fall if you misclick. You are free to walk/run through this as fast as you can without having to worry about falling-- which is good because you do not want to stick here long. Ranged attack monsters will be on little stones outside the path shooting at you. The monsters will increase in level as you move through the path, starting with weak skeleton archers and ending with bow guardians! You do not have to kill them, so run through them as fast as you can!
After passing the first 5 rows of monsters, you will reach a middle resting area with 4 warps. These warps can teleport you randomly in this area--by randomly it means forward and back! If you want to take a lucky shot, go for it, but if you are not the happy-go-lucky kind of player just keep following the colorful path.
As you keep going you will begin to lose HP, because of this make sure you have healing items with you or that you are capable of healing yourself with a skill. You are close to the end, you do not want to die here! The skill Endure has been disabled! If you are a Lord Knight or Rune Knight, Parry is useful. If you are a Royal Guard, Auto Guard and Reflect Shield are useful. If you are a Priest class, Pneuma helps somewhat, as does Kyrie Eleison.
IF you get knocked back and get stuck somewhere outside the map, use the command @refresh to fix your position and continue on.
Area 7
This is an easy maze, however, there are Maya Purples here so be careful as you make your way-- remember that you do not have to kill any monsters, so keep moving. From the beginning go down along the wall until you reach the bottom left, from the bottom left head to the right and you will find the warp.
The way is shown in both the minimap and the bigger picture.
The trick in this area is to click and hold. If you keep clicking cells as you go through, you have the probability of clicking on a monster and getting side tracked. So click and hold your way through until the end!
Area 8
The invisible maze! Not only is it invisible, but the status effect of Confusion will be inflicted upon you as you make your way through. This can be a pain in the butt if you do not know how to cross it. Lucky for you, I will show you the rough line of the path you have to follow.
When you get to this area, try clicking down continuously until your character makes its way through the maze to the bottom left. Once in the bottom left, keep clicking right, when you hit a wall, go up then keep moving to the right. When you see the warp, click towards its direction and you should be able to make your way down and to the warp.
Area 9
Almost there! In this area make sure you have plenty of HP for when you make your way straight to the end you will be bombarded with fire balls and in the middle of the path there will be an ice ball ready to freeze you in your path (so wear an evil druid or unfrozen armor)! Keep going straight to the end and reach for the warp at the right.
Once you make it to the warp, you have done it! You have finished Race to the Finish!
Area 10
You will be taken to the rewards area after you make it through the last warp. Here you will find an NPC, talk to it and it will give you your minigame tokens.
With enough practice, the right equipments/items, and the right strategy, you will be able to make it under 5 minutes!
Helpful Information
The following information is about classes, equipment, stat, and items, thing that can help you in Race to the Finish.
Good Job Classes
Royal Guard / Paladin: In my experience, it is the best class for Race to the Finish. Gospel, shield buffs, great HP, Gryphon/Grand Peco Peco, and healing abilities give this class all the arsenal to make it through pretty easily.
Rune Knight / Lord Knight: They have the flee, HP, Dragon/Peco Peco, and Parry to make it through fine. Unlike a Royal Guards though, they will need items to take care of status effects.
Arch Bishop / Priest: With the right stats they have the ability of making it through fine. They are able to cure themselves from status effects, buff themselves, and heal themselves whenever it is needed.
Genetic: They are the fastest of all the classes. They can heal themselves, they walk very fast, and with the right stats they can be pretty great.
Stats
No matter what class you are, these stats are good for everyone:
Str: Enough to carry items.
Agi: Max Agi
Vit: Max Vit
Int: Depends on what you like - Good for skills.
Dex: 50-100 Dex
Luk: 0 - Unless you want to try perfect dodge.
You can experiment with your own stats to see how they work.
Equipment
Equipments that can help you boost your speed to make it under 5 minutes in Race to the Finish are:
- Peco Peco Band - Cheap, anyone can use it, and it is stylish.
- +4 (or up) Gilded Boots - Not so cheap, but worth it. They end up paying for themselves.
- Refined Light Epsilon / Refined Bloody Axe - Not stackable with Peco Peco Band.
Other equipment:
- Nightmare and/or Deviruchi Card on headgear/middlegear - Immunity to Sleep and Blind accordingly.
- Angel Wings - For HP and taking long-ranged damage.
- Noxious Card or Raydric Card on garment - For taking long-ranged and neutral damage.
- Marc or Evil Druid Card on armor - The first only works for protection against freeze, the second works for protection against freeze and stone curse.
Items
You do not have to carry that many items. Experiment with the numbers to see how you feel comfortable.
- Giggling Boxes - For healing HP.
- White Potions/Slim White Potions - For Healing HP.
- Blue Potions - For recovering SP to use skills.
- Holy Water - For curse.
- Panacea - For most status effects.
- Authoritative Badge - For speed if you do not have Peco Peco Band.
- Speed Potion - For speed if you do not have gilded boots.
