[GameSpot] - Riders Republic Relic Guide - How To Get All Of The Secret Sports

[343iBot]

Riders Republic offers a massive open world to explore on bike, snowboard, skis, and rocket wings. These core tools are also what you rely on to complete the various trick and race events throughout the game.

However, they aren't the only sports that Riders Republic contains. In addition to the normal vehicles, you can also acquire a number of special tools and toys by finding the hidden relics scattered throughout the map. These secret rewards range from legitimately helpful to downright useless, but all of them are worth a try.

Finding all of the relics can be a bit difficult, however, as they show up on the map with only a question-mark icon. This means that they're indistinguishable from the much more numerous landmark locations until you discover them. We've put together this guide to help you go directly to the locations of the relics, letting you skip all those landmarks.

Relic Locations

Old School Skis - Grand Teton

Head to the exploration icon slightly to the west of the Grand Teton drop zone, and you'll find a camp site that'll grant you the Old School Skis. These wooden slabs won't give you much pop or spin on jumps, but they'll let you zoom down the mountain at a decent clip.

You'll need these skis to fully complete some events. For example, one ski tricks event requires you to score a certain number of points on the Old School Skis. As such, even though they're not as nimble as some of the high-level park skis you'll acquire, it's still worth getting used to skiing on these.

Surfboard - Petersen Glacier

A ways to the north of the Old School Skis, still in the Grand Teton section of the map, lies Petersen Glacier and a tucked-away igloo campsite. You'll likely see the beach furniture set first, as it sticks out like a sore thumb from the winter wonderland everywhere around it.

Swing by the front of the igloo and you can grab the surfboard. Unlike the skis, the surfboard is actually pretty high-level. Especially if you grab it early in your ski careers, the surfboard can give you a nice initial boost as its stats outstrip the beginner skis and boards. It's also pretty fun to use and comes with some neat tricks, as a result of your player essentially being magnetized to the board. You don't need to worry about ejecting off of the surfboard on any particularly sharp turn!

Training Bike - Cascade Canyon

The last relic in the Grand Tetons is in Cascade Canyon. Head there and you'll find a Christmas tree surrounded by presents. Approach the little festive camp and you can acquire the training bike.

Unlike the surfboard, this bike is literally useless. As the name suggests, this is a stationary exercise machine. Your player will pedal away enthusiastically, but you won't go anywhere. Don't try taking this in a race--you won't be able to move an inch.

Plane Wing - Cloud Rest

The most useful of the relics is the Plane Wing, which is located in the Cloud Rest section of Yosemite. This tool plays like a slightly bulkier version of the Rocket Wing; its main advantage, though, comes through its ridiculously long boost.

The Rocket Wing will let you go at a fast clip, but only for a few seconds before bumping you back down to normal cruising speed. The Plane Wing, on the other hand, uses its giant turbine to blast you at boost speeds for much longer. Need to get somewhere on the map quickly? This is the tool to use.

Cardboard Plane - General Highway

The Cardboard Plane won't win you any races, but it is still fun to use. You can find this at a log cabin in the General Highway area of Sequoia National Park. Approach the guy sitting there and you'll get a paper plane to strap to your back and go on long, slow, meandering flights with.

Not powered by anything, the Cardboard Plane is basically a goofy glider. You can turn it and nose up or down, but you will always be losing altitude. For all of that, it's a pretty fun twist on the normal wingsuit controls and it's a relaxing way to see the sights on Riders Republic's map.

Adventure Bike - Colorado River: The Slide

Moving into the desert portions of Riders Republic, Colorado River: The Slide in Canyonlands contains a small encampment where you can find the relic that'll give you the Adventure Bike. Replete with saddlebags and expedition gear, the Adventure Bike certainly looks the part of a tool that will get you across the sandy expanses of this part of the map.

It's a decent enough bike to use in events, but it doesn't wow anyone with its stunt capabilities. It is, however, fairly speedy, and it can handle most terrains well. With solid racing stats, it's another shortcut tool to get if you're early in your bike racing career and are frustrated with the beginner bikes.

Folding Bike - Arches Valley

Close to the southern edge of the map, in the Arches Valley section of Canyonlands, you can find a boulder with a relic that'll give you the Folding Bike. This is definitely more of a gag sport than a legit tool; it has terrible stats and won't even beat any of the beginner cycles.

As with the other relic vehicles, though, there are some events that grant stars for performing at a certain level on the Folding Bike. It's worth playing around with it and getting a feel for its quirks. With little agility or speed, you won't be throwing monster tricks--but maybe you can get good enough to do a backflip or a rodeo here and there.

Destroyed Bike - Pine Creek

The Destroyed Bike is another gag sport that's objectively terrible when compared against the more conventional bikes. You can find this rusted, broken-down cycle at a relic location in Pine Creek, in Zion. With just slightly better stats than the Folding Bike, you can get down a hill on it--but quite slowly.

Wood Ski Blades - Santiago Bowl

Mammoth contains a couple of relics. In the Santiago Bowl area, there's a detached ski lift chair with skis propped against it and some Adirondack chairs nearby; approach the small setup and you can snag the Wood Ski Blades. These definitely look funny, as your character holds flimsy tree branches as ski poles and the blades themselves almost look like old-school snowshoes.

However, the blades actually have pretty good stats, and--not surprisingly, given their short length--they are very good for launching huge spins and flips. I've racked up some high scores across the trick events on the blades. These are another good option if you're looking to get a leg up on early ski tricks events, or if you want to see how many spins you can pull off in a single jump.

Pizza Delivery Bike - Mammoth City

The second relic in Mammoth resides in the Canyon Lodge/Mammoth City area. At a nearby ski house, there's a person sitting outside surrounded by pizza boxes. Approach him and grab the Pizza Delivery Bike.

This bike is middling in stats and is not a stunt powerhouse. However, it's capable enough that skilled players might want to use it as an extra challenge on some of the stunt or racing events.

Grandpa Bike - Yosemite Valley

Last but not least, Yosemite Valley contains one relic in the chapel area. Approach the idyllic valley-floor chapel and grab the Grandpa Bike, a saddlebag-bearing cruiser bike with a classic aesthetic.

This bike has worse stats than the Folding Bike, and winning any events will be a monumental challenge. You can almost feel it wanting to shudder apart when you're riding it. Its handling and speed certainly make this bike live up to its name.

If you acquire all of these relics, you'll have 11 new vehicles to play with. Not all of them are useful, and even those that are usually have middling stats. But a few, like the Plane Wing, Surfboard, and Ski Blades, are both funny and highly capable for exploring, throwing tricks, and even racing.

Riders Republic has plenty of conventional skis, boards, and bikes to play with, but if you're looking for some additional challenges or just want to goof off for a bit, the relics are worth the time to collect. You won't get a Trophy or Achievement if you get them all, though--the only reward is a handful of strange and quirky toys to use.

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