Quick Explainer on Status Effects in Star Wars: Galactic Racer

Status Effects in Star Wars: Galactic Racer become a matter of life and death if you don’t know what to do with them during the Race. There are just so many things happening in a Race at once that you need to understand how these statuses interact – especially if all it takes is one status change to turn a brad Race in your favor. Some planets give them as a result of their environments, and many different Parts, Abilities, and even Upgrades get affected by these Status Effects.

It helps to learn which Status Effects to avoid and which ones can actually help you zoom to 1st Place. But if you want to get a more intimate understanding of these effects, it helps to learn about these Status Effects from a more neutral perspective.

All Status Effects

Burning

Overheating your Ramjet in Galactic Racer can become the recipe for disaster, as it can lead to quite the devastating crashes. Burning makes sure that you tread much closer to this. With this status, your Ramjet overheats faster and takes dramatically longer to recharge. If you’re reliant on a Ramjet build, Burning is the last status you’d want. Or not. Surprisingly enough, a lot of builds in Galactic Racer center around the Ramjet. Some Racer Styles and Parts encourage getting Burning in exchange for more powerful Ramjet performance. Get rid of Burning on cool surfaces.

Chilled

Most cold zones give your vehicle the Chilled status, which means your Ramjet cools down and builds heat much slower. This means you can use the Ramjet for much longer – and if you don’t crash into a corner, theoretically you can stay boosted as long as you never get fully Frozen. In most cold planets, you need to get to heat gates to stop this status.

Choked

When your Galactic Racer vehicle is exposed to environmental hazards like acid, you get Choked. Your Ramjet gets disabled, which removes your strongest speed boost. In these situations, lean on your Afterburner to at least maintain your top speed. Alternatively, you can use the Afterburner to rebuild momentum before roaring your Ramjet again once you have it available. Avoid Choked by activating your Shield Ability or activating Status Scrubber.

Concussed

Certain Galactic Racer Abilities disrupt your progress by outright disabling your vehicle. When Concussion Mines, Ion Bolt, Concussive Bolt, and Shockwave hit you, your vehicle becomes Concussed. This blurs your vision and ruins your steering for the duration, which is bad if you’re on a track with difficult turns and corners. Just take the L, get past corners and turns gracefully, and give it all you have when you recover. Again, Shield helps avoid these sources while Status Scrubber gets rid of Concussed entirely.

Cooled

If the cold isn’t harsh and there’s water on the tracks, you can enjoy the Cooled status. It’s similar to Chilled where your Ramjet doesn’t overheat as fast and it refills much faster. This means you can use the boost for prolonged durations. Unlike Chilled, there’s no long-term penalty for Cooled and it ends as soon as its source vanishes. This is an ideal status to have with the Ramjet Rider Racer Style, as it ensures you can enjoy Redlining more frequently with less crashing risk.

Corroded

Sentinel I is the most annoying planet in Galactic Racer gameplay for its acid pools and rivers. It’s not enough that Corroded disables the Ramjet (Choked). Just stay there for a few seconds and you’re sure to Crash. And this happens even faster when you’re using a Speeder Bike. With Shield you can “technically” have some breathing room to cross acid briefly. The best counters for Corroded is to either get rewards for obtaining it or outright resistance Parts.

Critical Malfunction

Crashes lead to Wrecked Outs, which take you out of the running for Galactic League Champion. This fact is what makes Critical Malfunction so dangerous, as it’s the end result of stacking System Malfunctions that can happen to your vehicle on a bad race day. When you suffer a Critical Malfunction, you can’t use your Afterburner, Ramjet, and Abilities. Not only that, you’re one big hit away from a full-on Crash. To get out of a Critical Malfunction, you either recover with the prompt given or use Status Scrubber.

Disrupted

When offensive Abilities hit you, your vehicle will also likely get Disrupted as a result. This status inflicts Concussed plus damages your internals. You can’t use your Ramjet and your Abilities on top of slowing you down. This can cost you the Tour, which can be bad if you’re competing in an Eliminator. Similar to Concussed, use the Shield to brace for impact or get the Status Scrubber outright to reset as soon as possible.

Frozen

When your Galactic Racer vehicle gets Chilled for an extended period of time, it gets Frozen. This amplifies the Chilled effect to the point where the Ramjet boost lasts far much longer, but it also severely imapris your steering. This makes tight corners much harder to conquer. But if you know your way around your vehicle, Frozen can actually lead to near-infinite Ramjets. These should get you to recovering your placement much faster. Not only that, you can even widen the gap between you and opponents so much they just can’t keep up.

Overcharged

Unlike other status effects, Overcharged is perhaps the only positive one that affects Abilities at large. You can get this with Overcharged Autopilot parts or the Charging Blast, or any effect that triggers Overcharged. It basically gives you extra Energy and shorten Ability cooldowns for a time, allowing you to dish out Abilities more frequently. If you’re running a Tech Expert build or if you have a lot of Abilities in your kit, Overcharged is a must-get.

Shielded

If you’ve experienced your fair share of Crashes in Galactic Racer, chances are you’d defer to the Afterburner for your speed boosts and reserve Ramjets for any long stretches of straight road. And if you want to protect yourself from very bad Crashes, anything that procs Shielded is your best solution. The Shield Ability triggers this most of the time, but other Parts proc Shielded based on certain actions. Shielded gives you some defense against collisions, as well as some status effects. It can give you some protection against hazards as well.

Slipstream

Unlike other racing games, Galactic Racer features a Slipstream mechanic. In physics, a slipstream is an area behind a fast-moving object with less air resistance. If you get behind it, theoretically it should help you accelerate much faster. The same principle applies in Galactic Racer, as you’re dealing with insane speeds. If you get behind any racer ahead of you and then leave, you’ll receive a temporary speed boost. Some Parts actually extend or empower Slipstream, making it advantageous for you to stay behind and ride someone else’s coattails – at least until the last minute.

Surging

Compared to other status effects, Surging is straightforward as it just gives you a moderate boost in acceleration and top speed. It’s always a good buff to have, especially since high base top speed and acceleration means just getting even faster with the Afterburner and the Ramjet.

System Malfunction

You get System Malfunction when you collide with surfaces or get damaged by hazards and Abilities. At first glance it’s much better than Crashing, except for the part that you’re more susceptible to collision damage with this status. Get enough System Malfunction stacks and you’ll get into Critical Malfunction, rendering your vehicle next to useless. The best way out of this is with Status Scrubber or just shrug it off for some time, but the longer you wait for this to dissipate the more chances your enemies will pass by.

Frequently Asked Questions about Status Effects in Star Wars: Galactic Racer

Do Status Effects last throughout the Galactic Tour?

No, Status Effects usually disappear within the Race given enough time. You don’t start the next Race with any Status Effect unless there’s some Ability or Part that says otherwise.

What can remove Status Effects?

The Status Scrubber Ability removes any negative effects in your vehicle.