How to hit Gold on every Skyrocketing Race in Undermine

In addition to the promised D.R.I.V.E. system, the Undermine(d) update for World of Warcraft: The War Within has added a second new type of racecourse called the Skyrocketing Race. While fairly straightforward once you figure things out, these new races can be a little frustrating at first.

So let’s talk about how to approach — and win — these new Undermine races. I’ll begin with a rundown of the basics, and share my usual strategy tips at the end.

How do Skyrocketing Races work?

While D.R.I.V.E. races present you with a standard vehicle interface, the Skyrocketing user interface is closer to what we’ve seen in the original Skyriding races — swapping out your main hotbar and populating it with new abilities. (Unlike your Skyriding bar, these are not configurable.) You aren’t given a great deal of time to inspect these once the race starts, so here’s what each ability does:

• Emergency Teleporter – takes you back to where you started, resetting your race timer and giving you a fresh countdown. This is your quick reset button, equivalent to the stopwatch which appears beside an active Skyriding race in your quest sidebar.
• Bail Out! – this ability will take you back to where you started, but will end the race. To restart it, speak with the same Grimy Timekeeper who launched you the first time.
• Flail Arms – the description on this spell states, “Flail your arms, slowing your speed slightly and making turns easier.” What it does not say is that you will continue to flail your arms until you toggle this effect back off again. A purple aura will surround your feet while this is active as well, making it slightly easier to notice that it’s on.

On the surface, Skyrocketing seems very similar to Skyriding, but the mechanics are very different. Instead of having vigor you can choose to spend when you want a burst of speed, the rocket will propel you forward instantly upon race start, and gradually accelerate until you hit maximum.

Using Flail Arms or hitting an obstacle will set you back to minimum Skyrocketing speed, and you will have to accelerate for several seconds before you top out again. Landing on the ground seems to halt your forward motion completely, but a simple jump will get you back into the air.

Also unlike Skyriding races (but very like the Breaknecking races which use the D.R.I.V.E. system), there is no Advanced difficulty — there is only forward and reverse. If you’re a collector of titles, however, you’re in luck. Completing each of the eight variations within the time limit for gold (that’s four courses, both ways) will grant you the Skyrocketer title.

What’s the trick to mastering Skyrocketing?

There are really only two things you need to know in order to complete the Skyrocketing courses with a gold time. With just these, I was able to beat several of them on my first run. (Don’t be too impressed; I ran face first into plenty of walls while figuring things out.)

One: Use your mouse to turn. This might seem obvious to longtime World of Warcraft players, but for newbies who haven’t discovered this, you can click and drag on the screen with your right mouse button to change which direction your character is facing. This is both faster and more precise than using your keyboard to turn. You may also wish to adjust the speed/sensitivity of your cursor within the game settings, if things are too slow or too fast for fine control.

Two: Use your Flail Arms ability for as briefly as possible, and only on tight turns. Some people will suggest you not use Flail Arms at all, but unless you have perfect reflexes and infinite patience, you will still be running into obstacles which slow you down or cause you to take some turns wide. I find it’s better to keep control of where you’re decelerating instead of leaving it to luck.

For the most part, you can get away with a single short burst of Flail Arms at the midpoint of each race. The only one I needed to tap it twice for was the Rags to Riches Rush, at about the 1/3 and 2/3 mark (both difficulties).

How to find (and reach) every Skyrocketing Race

At the moment, it appears that you have to complete the Skyrocketing Sprint to unlock the other courses, so let’s start there.

Skyrocketing Sprint

To find this race, head to Hovel Hill on the northwest end of town, where the Bilgewater Cartel hangs out. You may be able to see the timekeeper on top of the building as you enter the area, but in order to reach her, you will have to go around the back and find a rope ladder leading up to the top. Click on this and you should land on the building’s roof.

/way #2346 40.00 28.73 Ladder for Skyrocketing Sprint

Rags to Riches Rush

To find this race, first complete the Skyrocketing Sprint to unlock the ladder. Then head over to Sweethearts Resort and Catering at the west end of town. Climb up to the third floor, head out onto the balcony, and turn left.

/way #2346 25.90 41.96 Entrance to Sweethearts Resort and Catering

/way #2346 25.86 41.66 Ladder for Rags to Riches Rush

Scrapshop Shot

This one is even trickier to access than the others. Instead of simply driving there, you will need to speak with an NPC named Dril Sparkshot, who will rocket you up to the Exotics Market. It is unclear whether the rocket option unlocks upon completion of the Skyrocketing Sprint, or if you need to have completed certain story quests in Undermine first. If the option is unavailable, try progressing further through the story or increasing your renown with the Cartels of Undermine. You will most likely not be able to visit the Market or complete any Skyrocketing quests during Chapter 5 of the Undermine main story, for example.

Once you have reached the Exotics Market, walk to the end of the alley. You should see the rope ladder hanging from the front of a building there.

/way #2346 37.60 26.61 Dril Sparkshot

/way #2346 39.56 11.72 Ladder to Scrapshop Shot

Heaps Leap

Unlike the rest of the Skyrocketing courses, there is no hidden ladder to reach the Heaps Leap. Simply drive up and hop onto the ledge to find the Timekeeper. (Make sure you have unlocked it by completing the Skyrocketing Sprint first.)

/way #2346 33.73 76.03 Heaps Leap Timekeeper

Happy racing!