Day vs. Night in Need for Speed Heat
Find out how Palm City changes when the sun sets, how to unlock new events, and more!
Need for Speed Heat introduces a new driver’s paradise, Palm City, where the days are hot and the nights even hotter. When the sun’s out, blaze your way through a series of sanctioned races to increase your Bank, but be ready, because after it sets things get a little more intense and risky. Hustle by day, risk it all by night – that’s what it all comes down to on these steamy streets.
Want to know how to make the most of your time behind the wheel? Just keep reading.
Start Your Engines
You’ll begin your Need for Speed Heat experience learning about Palm City and its police force, then get a little practice behind the wheel before you enter the main garage, pick a starter car, and customize your own character. Now you can start exploring the daytime where there will be two sanctioned races to choose from. Complete one of them and a mission to get the chance to open up your nighttime options.
Then it’s time to try a race or two at night. Complete your mission and make it back to the safehouse in one piece and you’ll learn about the local competition, how to install NOS, and gain access to your garage.
After that, wherever you go in the sprawling open world of Need for Speed Heat, you can freely choose whether you want to tackle sanctioned daytime events or try your luck in more illicit races that happen at night. Check your map to see what’s available, but keep in mind that it’s easy to switch from day to night, but once you’re driving after dark you’ve got to return to a safehouse or garage (without cops right on your tail) to get back to your daytime options.
Sunrise
Many daytime events can be unlocked by increasing your Rep (more on that later), except for those tied to in-game missions or modes that you’ll need to unlock first. Most of the events you’ll take part in are circuit races on the streets of Palm City, but there are sprint and offroad options as well. And only during daylight hours can you can find offroad events and crew time trials (if you’re playing online). These sanctioned races pit you against other skilled drivers to see who comes out on top – just find the one you want to join, drive to the start location, and you’re ready to race!
Come out on top and you’ll earn some serious Bank, which you can spend on sweet items like new cars, performance upgrades, or visual customizations. Drive fast, drive smart, and soon you’ll be living a dream street-racer life.
Sunset
When the sun goes down, Palm City heats up. Any night races you enter are going to take place out in the open world, and that means there’s going to be traffic, cops on patrol, and even other players you’re going to have to get around, over, or through. Things can get pretty chaotic pretty fast when you push the lines on these streets.
The risks rise after dark (like damaging your car or getting busted by the police), but the rewards are there for the fearless. This is when you’ll really earn your Rep. How? Winning races, of course, but just driving at night allows you to accumulate Heat – make it back to a safehouse and all of that Heat acts as a multiplier on the Rep you’ve earned that night. But the higher the Heat, the more escalated the police chases become as they roll out better arsenals of tools to use against you. From roadblocks to helicopters to Rhinos, they’ll pull out all the stops.
You can play it safe, of course, and end your nights before things get too intense. But if you’re ready to burn all limits, you’ll rack up some serious Rep – all you need to do is avoid wrecking your ride and stay just out of reach of the law, who don’t play by the rules once the night hits. The longer you can stay out on the streets, the better, so head for the nearest gas station when your car’s taking too much damage to repair but remember you only get three repairs per night.
Don’t wreck. Don’t get caught. Freedom is fast. Chase the line, risk everything. That’s how you make your name on the neon-lit streets of Palm City.
Want to learn more about how you’ll own the dark and chase the light in Need for Speed Heat? Drive into our Car Customization, Achievements and Trophies, and full Car List articles to make sure you are tuned tight from day one.
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