Monster Energy Supercross 3 Video Walkthrough on Realistic (250 East)

[Frag Maniac]

Let me say first up front, honestly, I'm a bit disappointed Realistic difficulty is not much different from Hard. Generally the AI lap times are only about 1 second faster, and that's their fastest laps. They do not hit rhythm sections as consistently well as I thought they would, and I've already won the first 250 East race more than once easily without doing very well in rhythm sections myself (but wait, there's more, read below!).

These again will be done in 2 round sets, and hopefully, as the game progresses to tougher venues, the AI will become more competitive. This set includes Minneapolis and Arlington. I had already completed and uploaded them without giving the AI a head start, but I didn't feel comfortable taking the lead right away and winning by several seconds. It just looked boring, without much challenge. So I again gave the AI head starts.

Minneapolis

It was either my being a bit rusty not having played the game in a while, or the rhythm sections being a bit harder to hit than Arlington, but I gave the AI a 10 second head start here. After a quick dash through some spawning in Tuff Blocks, one of which I hit, it starts with a tight left bend off the start chute, into double/triple/triple combo on small to med jumps in the first rhythm section. I more often than not didn't hit this section as well on subsequent laps. It then goes into a near 90 degree right off a dragon's back, dropping into a set of 2 short flats connected by a high, steep 180 berm left.

It then goes into a 90 degree right with a double/triple/double combo on small to med jumps, then into a high, steep 180 right berm. I rail this berm as fast as possible as it takes you into a whoop section that is fast, but can also toss you up a bit at the end. You then take a high, steep near 180 left berm back onto the wide starting chute flat, and into a high, steep near 180 right berm. Best to take this berm on the 250, vs hitting the apex like with the 450, or you'll lack speed to make the next jump.

You are now at the big air double off the big finish line jump, then a double over med jumps, then into a high, steep 180 left berm. This takes you into a double/double/double/double combo, then into a near 90 left, and immediately into a big air triple off a big jump. This continuous double rhythm section and big air triple part of the track is a great place to pass AI. You then take a med jump across the flat start chute at it's bend, crossing the holeshot line again and into the first rhythm section again.

Spoiler

At times the AI would pull ahead of me when trying to pass them when I missed rhythm sections, but sometimes I managed to keep them close by salvaging enough speed via bouncing off the tops of the jumps. The highlight for me was at the 5:18 mark when I caught lead rider Marin Davalos, bumping elbows with him in the middle of the big air triple before taking the lead. I also managed to hit both rhythm sections after that well, which gave me a comfortable lead. At the last time check I had a just over 2.25 sec lead.

Arlington

As mentioned, this track is a bit easier for me to hit rhythm sections on than Minneapolis, so I gave the AI a 12 sec head start. After a fairly easy weave through some spawned in Tuff Blocks, it starts with a semi tight left bend, off a small jump onto an on/off on a tabletop, then a double over a small jump, into a big air triple off a big jump, then over a small jump to end the first rhythm section. This takes you immediately into a 90 degree left off a med jump, and onto a flat straight. You then go into a high, steep 180 left berm, into a double over small to med jumps, and onto another flat straight.

This takes you to another rhythm section after a 90 degree right, that starts with a double over small to med jumps, then into a big air triple off a big jump, then a med jump into a high, steep 180 right berm. You then take a big jump back onto the start chute, into a near 90 left over a med jump, then immediately into another near 90 left, and into a rhythm section with a double/double/double combo. The track splits into two lanes divided by Tuff Blocks at the start of this rhythm section. The inside lane if you hit it right can allow you to make use of an on/off on the tabletop after the first jump, but I stuck with the outside lane.

You then go into a high, steep 180 left berm, onto a long, fast whoop section, the end of which has to be taken with care, as it can bounce you high, which if going too fast, can make you overshoot the berm. The berm is a high, steep 180 right that takes you into a small jump double, then into a big air double off the big finish line jump. You then go into a big decreasing radius left bend, that has small to med jumps, the first of which is a med jump only on the left side of the track. It can help to stay right here and avoid the jump, but leaning hard left and staying away from the Tuff Blocks on the outside edge of the track is key. This takes you back to the holeshot line.

Spoiler

Most of the time I did not attempt to sync jumps on the big decreasing radius bend after the finish line jump. I don't consider it a rhythm section, and usually do well enough skimming off the jumps with left lean. Usually I avoided going right of the first med jump in that section, as I was contending with AI for most of the race, and didn't want to risk getting pushed wide into the Tuff Blocks. At the 5:20 mark I managed to hit the jumps really well on that section and the one after, taking me from 4th to 2nd. At the 5:46 mark I fool heartedly took a line to attempt a block pass on Jordon Smith, which only slowed me down. At that point I thought sure I'd lost the race, but to my surprise, hitting the rhythm section after well (despite not taking the whoop section it leads into well), kept me just barely close enough to block pass him at the 6:13 mark just before the finish line, which crashed him, and was clearly the highlight for me. Thus my actual lead was on the then 3rd place rider at the last time check, being the .877 sec I had on Kyle Cunningham at that point. However since Kyle crashed on the last berm, technically I won by more like 1.287 sec, which was my lead on Martin Davalos at the last time check, whom finished 2nd.

 

[Frag Maniac]

OK, here's the next 2 rounds. I took some time off for the holidays and having some fun with Halo Infinite. These rounds are a Triple Crown at Detroit, and Atlanta. Both these tracks have a rhythm section that is hard to hit consistently on a 250.

Detroit

I often struggle with hitting the split track rhythm section on this track, but the AI are not overly good here. It took some time to figure what head start to give them, so the first race I gave them 7 sec and, the 2nd and 3rd I gave them 10 sec. It starts with a mad dash left around a fairly loose, fast holeshot bend, then a weight back bounce off a small jump tripling over 2 more smalls, then carrying that speed into another bounce off a med jump, tripling there as well over 2 more med jumps.

Then a hard brake rolling over a small jump, a 90 left, and a double over med jumps, then using the face of a tabletop to double to an on/off on an adjacent tabletop. I then drop down onto a small jump and immediately into a 90 degree left, swinging wide to stay on flat ground avoiding the jump on the left. Then a double over med jumps sets up a big air triple into a high, steep 180 left berm. This rails you into a long, fast washboard whoop section.

You then have a high, steep 180 right berm, into a double/double combo, then a big air double off the big finish line jump. This lands you on a short, flat straight, into a shallow 180 left berm, then onto a long straight that has a med double in the middle and large whoops at the end, going into a high, steep 180 right berm. It is crucial to try and rail this berm fast to hit the triple on the left side of the split track thereafter, as doing so allows you to hit another triple right after, maintaining good speed in this rhythm section. There's only one small jump after, then a short straight to a high, semi steep 180 left berm.

This goes immediately into a steep med step up, onto a a short, flat straight back to the holeshot line. The same triple/triple combo bounce jump technique on the 1st rhythm section is used on subsequent laps as well, but with more of a rolling vs bouncing approach.

Spoiler

On rare occasion I made a quick decision when realizing my speed off the berm prior to the split track rhythm section was not going to be enough to make the left side triple, to instead aim for the shorter right side triple, then angle back toward the left side to still salvage a triple/triple combo. The highlight for me was when I caught back up to and passed Martin Davalos on the final lap of the 2nd race, after smacking into a Tuff Block going into the berm prior to the split track rhythm section. That scrubbed my speed badly, causing me a very slow run through the rhythm section, and a loss of the lead. At the final time checks I averaged just under a 1.7 sec lead.

Atlanta

The AI ride this track much better than they do Detroit, usually nailing the tough rhythm section it has. This can cause you to repeatedly lose the lead. For this reason I gave them just a 5 sec head start. Fortunately there are enough other places where you can make up time. It starts with a tight bend to the holeshot line, then a small jump double to set up a triple, which if landed well becomes a triple/triple/double combo. It then goes into a high, steep 180 left berm, into a double/double combo that takes you immediately into a big air triple off a big jump.

I then brake hard for a sharp right turn onto a long, flat straight, which is a reuse of the start chute. Taking that tight turn at it's apex often allows me to pass AI that use the available berm instead. This takes you into a near flat, fast loose left bend, and onto fast rhythm section where I use the gradual sloped 1st med jump to launch me to the 3rd and bounce jump off it, which lands me a triple, then immediately into a high, steep 180 left berm. I rail this berm high to carry good speed into the fast whoop section thereafter, staying to the right to slip by AI.

This takes you into a high, steep 180 right berm, then doubling onto an on/off on a tabletop via a small jump, them over a small jump, and immediately into a big air double off the big finish line jump. You then duck under a bridge jump tunnel, and take three 90 degree rights in deep sand to circle around and go over the bridge. I hug these rights tight, leaning hard to pass AI. You then have a short flat into a near 90 degree left back to the holeshot. The technique for subsequent laps is the same in this 1st rhythm section, though it can be harder to hit from this approach.

Spoiler

I never once hit the hard rhythm section well. The only reason I was able to win was being scrappy on other sections. The highlights here were finally catching lead rider Adam Cianciarulo at the 5:04 mark, then regaining the lead at 5:54 (after losing it on the rhythm section), passing Jimmy Decotis, whom by then had passed Adam. At first I felt almost ashamed that I never once hit that rhythm section well, but my lap time was actually a bit better than the attempts where I DID hit it better. I also only won this race by under 1 sec with no AI head start on my Hard playthrough, so all things considered, I did pretty well. At the final time check I had eeked out a just under .13 sec lead.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Here's rounds 5 and 6, and these are at Daytona, and Indianapolis. The AI weren't particularly outstanding on either of these tracks, so I allotted them a 12 sec head start on both.

Daytona

This is a speedway vs a stadium type track, and is a much longer course with long straights. The conditions this time were pouring rain. It starts with a pretty fast dogleg left bend into a fast straight with micro whoops where you cross the holeshot line (thankfully with NO Tuff Blocks spawned in the way, even after 12 sec). It's necessary to weight back even while braking at the end of this straight, as despite the whoops being tiny, they can kick the rear of your bike up at the end. You then brake hard for a near flat 180 left, then into a short sand section, then into a near flat 180 right. You then have the first rhythm section, which is just a series of med jumps you double all the way through.

I discovered a new technique, which I forgot to mention the last couple of rounds, which I've been using since then. I basically weight back when accelerating out of flat and downslope landings, out of turns, and saddle landings between jumps. This boosts your acceleration, and can make you hit jump sequences you'd otherwise miss, especially on the less powerful 250 bikes. Surprisingly, this even works on wet terrain. It has to be timed right though, or you'll lose traction in wet conditions, or wheelie out of control in dry conditions.

After this double jump section, there's a wide 180 shallow left berm that takes you into a big air triple jump off a big jump. It's imperative in wet conditions to go deep into the berm to allow enough acceleration to make this jump, but in wet conditions, even when using the weight back technique off the jump, it can be hard to land on the downslope of the 3rd jump. It really can boost your speed to do so though, and allow you to pass lots of AI, especially if you weight back while accelerating out of the landing.

This takes you into a super long straight that is the length of the whole track. After the big triple jump, there's a fast section with large whoops, then a big jump, then you cross the flat, wide start chute. If you hit the triple jump well, this whoop section can be taken very fast. I generally scrub the big jump, and try to land with the rear tire slightly first. It's hard to land this jump smoothly, and if you don't, one foot will come off the peg, slowing you down a bit, as well as making it harder to accelerate well out of the landing.

Landing that jump well and carrying good speed into the rest of this long straight helps immensely. This part of the straight starts with a low hop off a small jump, over another small jump, then a bounce jump off the face of a med jump. If this bounce jump is hit with adequate speed, you can triple over some small jumps, then use the face of a tabletop to double over a small jump, then do the same with two more tabletops. You then have one more small jump to get over, and this straight ends with a tricky small whoop section that are more like moguls than whoops.

You then have a shallow 180 left berm, that goes into a small jump you can use to double onto an on/off on a tabletop. The jump off this tabletop is critical. You want to hit the downslope of the small jump after it well, but then temper your speed to just do a short double after that, which then allows you to hit a longer double after that. The reason this section is critical is the AI are very fast here. Several times when I had a lead going into this section on the final lap and thought I would win, the AI caught and passed me, as I didn't hit it just right. This section finishes with some large, spaced out whoops, and a big air triple off a big jump. I could generally only at best land on top of the 3rd jump of the triple in these wet conditions.

You then have a near flat tight right, then a short section where you can do a double/double/double combo off med jumps. You then have a tight left on a shallow berm, a few ascending whoops, then a tabletop ledge that drops you down over a small jump, into a double on med jumps, and a big air double off the large finish line jump, which takes you back to the holeshot line.

Spoiler

Chase Sexton is usually the best AI rider on this track, as that was the case in the season this game is made from. The highlight for me was when I rocketed past him toward the end of the long straight at the 5:40 mark just after the 2 laps to go notice came up. I hit this section well when I needed to. At the last time check I had just over a 2.6 sec lead.

Indianapolis

This track can be either fun when you hit it well, or frustrating as hell. It's not so much that it has hard to hit rhythm sections if you look at just the jump layout. It's more the tight turns going into them, and narrow width of the track in key places, that can cause you to go off tack, crash on Tuff Blocks, or get slowed down by AI in your way. At times you can feel like poetry in motion, and at others it feels like you're out of control most of the time, as one small mistake can have a domino effect.

It starts with another fast dogleg left, but this time with Tuff Blocks that can easily crash you, and a small to med jump rhythm section. I clipped a Tuff Block at the dogleg that sent me flying high, but salvaged enough speed and control to still pull off a double over 2 small jumps, then a sort of triple off a med jump landing atop a small jump just before the turn. This near 90 left turn is best taken as a double off a small jump over a med jump, then a double over med jumps off the face of a tabletop. Then braking and rolling over a small jump, into another near 90 left, doubling over 2 small jumps, then tripling off a semi large med jump over 2 more med jumps, finishing this section with a double over 2 med jumps.

You then have a semi high, steep 180 left berm, into a fast whoop section. It is imperative to slow down adequately at the end of this whoop section, to line up for a 90 right, then hopping onto the left side of a tabletop off a small jump going into this next very short section, in order to allow for a good line hoping over a small jump into another 90 right. Avoiding taking that last 90 right too wide is key to staying on track, as you also need to try and get good speed here to hit a triple over small jumps, and a double off the face of a tabletop. Oddly enough, at times I hit this triple more often with AI in the way, than when the track was clear.

You then have 2 short, flat straights, connected by a high, steep 180 right berm, then a big air double off the big finish line jump. Immediately after landing this jump, there's a high, steep 180 left berm that is split with Tuff Blocks into 2 narrow lanes. Thus it is crucial not to carry too much speed off the big air double. I find it works best for me to let off gas right where the dirt changes color at the start of the finish line jump, which usually allows me to land on the downslope of the 2nd big jump, and coast through the inner side of the split track berm with just the right speed.

Out of this berm there's a straight that is half med whoops, then a flat that goes into two 90 lefts one right after the other. The 1st left involves a jump off a med jump over a bigger one. The 2nd left takes you into a big air triple off a big jump, landing on the flat straight back to the holeshot line. You are carrying good speed here at this point, so it's easy to now weight back bounce jump off that 3rd Med jump of this section, but you must temper speed doing so to avoid overshooting the landing at the end of this section.

Spoiler

The highlight for me was passing lead rider Martin Davalos at the 4:40 mark with about 20 sec time remaining, then managing to keep control after nearly crashing on the long rhythm section thereafter. At the final time check I had a just over 2.8 sec lead.

Next up is the dreaded Nashville track, which is a hard track to master, yet the AI ride it very well. I'm REALLY hoping the timed weight back acceleration technique I spoke of earlier will allow me to finally win in the 250 class, which I've never done there on Hard, let alone Realistic mode. It will no doubt still take a lot of well focused laps, hitting my marks most if not all of the time.

 

[Frag Maniac]

This is round 7 and 8, leaving only the championship round in Las Vegas. These rounds are at Nashville and East Rutherford. I don't know if the game is punishing me for having won every race up to this point, or if it's because I'm on Realistic mode, but both these rounds are in soaking rain, which made it a lot harder than usual. Since the AI are pretty good on both these tracks, I gave them no head start.

Nashville

As I've said before, this is by far the hardest race in all the career modes, due to a combination of it being difficult to hit the long rhythm section well on the 250 bike, and the AI hitting it consistently well, and the same is true of even both whoop sections.

It starts with a tight bend left into the holeshot to begin the 1st rhythm section. Normally I can manage a double/double/triple/double combo here in dry conditions. In the slop though, since it's often hard to even get enough traction in the bend, I only managed two sloppy top tapping doubles, two decent doubles, and a hop over the last jump. It's crucial to stay high on the 180 left berm that follows to rail it with enough speed to get a clean double, then double onto an on/off on a tabletop, then on/off on two more consecutive tabletops, then finish the section with a double. I managed that on 4 of the 6 laps, but hit this section badly a couple times.

You then go into a high, steep, near 180 right berm, back onto the wide start chute, then into a near flat, wide left bend onto that aforementioned long rhythm section. I didn't dare go for the triple I was able to consistently hit with the 450, but sufficed by managing to on/off on that 3rd jump instead, which is a tabletop. Off the tabletop I usually doubled, then bounced jumped off the face of the 3rd jump from there (another tabletop), then a bounce off the next jump, and clearing the last. This takes you into a 180 left berm, and onto a long whoop section.

It's tempting to try and accelerate out of this berm when midway through it, but the better play in the slop is to coast until you are lined up pretty straight with the whoops section, then accelerate. Otherwise the resulting slide will rob you of precious speed going into these momentum sapping whoops. These whoops are a bit irregular in size and spacing, causing you go up and slow down at times. The AI often take them faster than me, but for the most part, I held them at bay. You then take a high, steep, 180 right berm onto a short whoop section, which has the same challenge as the first.

You then hit a big air double off the big finish line jump. By leveling the bike somewhat on the short flat leading into this jump, and weighting back while accelerating off of it, I was able to clear it adequately, which allows enough speed going into the 90 left and big air triple right after to just barley clear it as well. This in turn matters a lot, as you then immediately have another 90 left, a med jump that takes you across the start chute bend back to the holeshot line, and the 1st rhythm section, which you need to carry speed into. On subsequent laps, I was usually able to bounce jump off the face of the1st jump, which is a tabletop, then use the next jump to double, setting me up for a couple top tapping doubles, and a decent double to finish.

Spoiler

The highlights for me were at the 5:17 mark with 2 laps to go, catching and passing Jordan Bailey and Brandon Hartranft, after a nasty crash on the Tuff Blocks at the holeshot line, causing them to catch and pass me, and at 5:42 managing to pull off a monster jump to the holeshot line tabletop right after. Then at 6:12 I made a crash inducing block pass on Jordan Bailey in the wide bend going into the long rhythm section, after he passed me when I blew the 3 tabletop rhythm section. THIS is why I didn't allow the AI any head start here. No matter how good you are doing, one small mistake, which is easy to make on this track, will quickly erase your lead. At the final time check, I managed a just under .5 sec lead.

East Rutherford

Normally I'd have given the AI probably a 5 sec head start on this track, but the slop made it much harder for me, and no harder for them, so as mentioned, they, like at Nashville, got no head start here. It starts with a very sharp bend left into a rhythm section, but from a drop off you ascend to, which obscures your view of it. Thus you need to blindly judge your landing. It's best I find to temper speed a bit to hit a double/double/double/double combo, the 3rd being an on/off on a tabletop, the last being a hop over the last small jump. This takes you into a high, steep 180 right berm to a long, tough rhythm section. The key to nailing this section is getting a double to an on/off on a tabletop out of that berm, then doubling to the downslope of a small jump after it. Doing that will land you a triple, not perfectly, but with enough speed to manage a double/double after, then braking and rolling over the last jump to set up for a short section you double/double/double through.

You then have a semi steep 180 right berm, into a short big air double off the big finish line jump. If you temper speed here, to land on the downslope of the next big jump, then lean hard left into the next short flat section with two 90 lefts, it sets you up well to swing wide left when taking a tempered speed jump across the start chute, then lean hard right using very tempered speed over the jump on the other side of it. This allows you enough approach and good line to get enough speed to barely clear the big air triple off a big jump thereafter. This whole section after the finish line jump if done well can keep the AI off you. After the big air triple is a short straight with 3 spaced med jumps at the end of it where I usually bounce jumped carefully off the 3rd then broke for the high, steep 180 right berm. Again, in the slop, this is a berm that should be coast railed high, then accelerated out of once lined up straight for the whoop section after.

After the whoop section you have a high, steep, near 180 left berm, back onto the start chute, then into a near 180 right berm (or swing wide and gently arc to the apex pole), then onto a whoop section, then into a high, steep 180 left berm back to the holeshot. On subsequent laps with better visibility of this section, it's possible to double then triple to an on/off on the tabletop, but in this muck it was hard to hit, and when I did, was sloppy at best.

Spoiler

Not much for highlights on this one, but I did manage to nail the big air triple twice at the 1:47 and 4:51 marks to allow just enough speed to barely clear all 3 jumps thereafter. At the final time check I had a just under 2.8 sec lead, thus the minimum 5 sec head start I typically allow would not have sufficed.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Apologies for the delay, I took some time to play God of War. This concludes the 250 East career with the championship race at Las Vegas. It was again pouring rain, making some sections difficult, and the AI were pretty aggressive and fast, so I gave them a 7 sec head start.

Las Vegas

It starts with a dog leg left into the holeshot line, then a shallow 180 right berm to a short rhythm section. This turn the AI usually don't go deep into the berm, and can get in your way if you do, but I found railing off the berm necessary (especially in the slop) to get enough speed to use the small first jump to hop over the med 2nd jump, then use the small 3rd jump to on/off onto the tabletop. Off the tabletop you then have one more small jump you can hop over off it, before a 90 degree right.

You're then into the one long, tough rhythm section on the track, and this one can make or break you. I find it best to just skim over the first med jump, then use it to hit the downslope of the next small jump, double over two more small jumps, then use the small jump after to on/off on the next feature, a tabletop. I then hit the downslope of the small jump after the tabletop, to set up for another small jump to a tabletop on/off, exiting from the 2nd tabletop by hitting the downslope of another small jump, then another jump over one last small jump. You can easily get lulled into entering this section with speed if you come out of the previous section fast, but if you completely clear vs skim the first jump, it sets you up for a fluid first half, but a really slow second half.

You're then into the "Monster Alley", two long, flat straights connected by a sweeping bend right, which has a semi big jump in the middle of it. As long as you lean right and keep a good line, you can pass AI in this bend, but they can also bump you into the Tuff Blocks if you don't stay inside when they are present. At the end of the 2nd straight is a fairly long straight section with lots of spaced small jumps and a tabletop. Instead of bothering trying to sync jumps here, I just go full gas and weight back whenever I land. A lot of AI crash here, so it's another good place to pass AI.

It then goes into a split track 180 right berm, and I always take the inside track. I pretty much just coast and intermittently lightly tap the throttle when taking this turn. It then goes into a big air double off the big finish line jump, to a bridge jump. Weighting back while launching off the first jump gave me enough speed to use the flat surface atop the bridge as a tabletop on/off. There's then a short whoop section that starts with a short flat, and I focused on landing rear wheel first to accelerate into it with speed.

You then have a high, steep 180 right berm, into another short whoop section, then a 90 right under the bridge. You really need to try to rail that berm as best you can, to carry speed into these whoops, especially in the slop, as they can kick you up and bog you down. You then have a short flat, then a 90 left into a big air triple. It's crucial, especially in the slop, to hit the 90 left berm to get up enough speed for the triple, and try to avoid sliding coming out of it. I could usually only land atop the 3rd jump of the triple even with those tactics. If you don't carry speed out of that triple though, the AI will get in front of you and get in your way all the worse at that aforementioned holeshot line.

Spoiler

What helped me most was weighting back at crucial times, like landings, and jump takeoffs. Without that, the 250 bikes, especially in the slop, will not make many of the jumps. The highlights for me were at the 3:25 mark, passing Austin Forkner on the inside split just before the finish line to take the lead, and at that same spot in the final lap managing to just barely stay ahead of him after a really bad run through the tough rhythm section. At the final time check I had just a bit over .4 sec lead.