10 Essential Tips for Forza Horizon 4

Forza Horizon 4 is a massive game. In fact, it's so massive, that starting off is a little intimidating, even for expert drivers. Sure, the game attempts to ease you in with a "prologue" that fast-forwards through the four seasons, but it doesn't walk you through the nitty-gritty. Fortunately, we've put together a list of 10 indispensable tips that will help you make the most of your U.K. vacation from the very moment you hit the open road.

Credit: Microsoft

Use your drone to locate Barn Finds

Barn Finds are vehicles that cannot be purchased, but only found at select times throughout your progression in Forza Horizon 4. They're unloved relics of automotive history hidden in dilapidated, domed corrugated steel garages. However, the game doesn't tell you exactly where Barn Finds are — it merely gives you a radius on your map, forcing you to search around until you get close enough to one to trigger the retrieval.

However, it's far easier to scope out Barn Finds with the drone (which you can access in the first page of the start menu) than by aimlessly driving. So, once you've parked yourself inside the relevant zone, start flying around until you find the spot. Once you do, the game will replace the vague radius with a purple icon on your map, allowing you to drive there directly once you're back in your car.Credit: Microsoft

"Go to Festival" to save on Fast Travel

Forza Horizon 4 is as much about exploration as it is racing, so the game discourages you from fast traveling by making you pay 10,000 credits for the privilege (at least when you start). If you try to instantly travel to the Horizon Festival grounds from your world map, the game will charge you. Interestingly, however, if you attempt to go to the Festival through the car management page of the start menu, you'll be transported for free. This is by far the easiest and best way to get back to the southern portion of the map in a pinch, and it becomes much more valuable once you buy a house up north — but more on that later.Credit: Microsoft

Do Forzathons

Sure, it's obvious. But completing Forzathon objectives nets you valuable Forzathon Points, which can be used to bring home some pretty compelling exclusive prizes, including cars.

Forzathon manifests itself in two ways in Forza Horizon 4. There are the standard kinds of weekly solo challenges, which can be completed at your leisure — as long as you finish them before the week's up. However, new for this installment is Forzathon Live: time-limited objectives that require teams of players on the same server to fulfill common goals in real time to net rewards. They're broken up into stages, and for every stage you complete, you earn more goodies.Credit: Microsoft

Invest in a diverse garage

Credits aren't particularly hard to come by in Forza Horizon 4, but you can make things easier on yourself at the start by investing in various different classes and types of vehicles. The game breaks them up into performance groups with the same letter-coded index that previous Forza titles used, but we're actually talking about categories like Sport Utility Heroes, Modern Rally and Retro Supercars, to name a few. Events are restricted by categories, which makes assembling a diverse roster really important so you can participate in as many of them as possible.

There are far more categories than those three, so don't necessarily stress about snagging the keys to a vehicle in every single one from the moment you start. However, switching it up every now and then certainly won't hurt. For example, if you just bought or won a LaFerrari, maybe buy a buggy, muscle car or cult classic before forking over another few million for a McLaren Senna.Credit: Microsoft

Auto Upgrade if you don't want to get your hands dirty

If you're playing Forza Horizon 4, chances are you have at least a passing interest in cars and probably understand the difference between a turbocharger and a clutch. But if you're not so well-versed, don't fret, because the game makes it extremely easy to improve your vehicle's performance anyway.

All you have to do is check out the Auto Upgrade option on the car management screen. There, you can direct the game to concoct the right cocktail of upgrades to take your car to the performance class you need it at for a given event. It simply takes the press of a button — and, of course, a few thousand credits.

Credit: Microsoft

Auction off what you don't need

If you're accustomed to selling cars straight from your garage in games like Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo, you may be surprised to learn that Forza Horizon 4 doesn't give players that option.

That said, you're going to win a ton of cars over the course of your Horizon career, and you probably won't be interested in many of them — so having the ability to get some cash back for the rides you don't need would be really handy, wouldn't it? Fortunately, the Auction House is the perfect place to earn scratch for those unloved, unwanted gifts. (Not to mention, it's also a great place to pick up Barn Finds and other rare vehicles from the community.)Credit: Microsoft

Chain, chain, chain

Skill Score is essential to grinding your way through the Horizon Festival, and every 100,000 you collect is transformed into one Skill Point — a credit that can be used to purchase perks for each vehicle in your garage. These perks range from instant Wheelspins to greater Influence payouts during victories, to multipliers that will help you earn more Skill Score even faster.

You accumulate Skill Score even when you're free roaming, and it goes up when you do just about anything — whether you pull off a drift or a near miss with traffic, or you plow through a fence or land a huge jump.

For each trick you pull off in succession, the multiplier for your Skill Chain — a running tally of what you've earned — goes up by a tenth. In other words, if you can keep the meter running for long enough, you can net 100,000 Skill Score in one go, and exchange that for a Skill Point instantly. However, be mindful that while Skill Chains can climb into the millions if you're good enough, you'll only earn up to three Skill Points for the first 300,000 of your chain.Credit: Microsoft

Increase payouts by raising difficulty

One of the best things about the Forza franchises has always been their adjustability when it comes to difficulty. You decide precisely how tough you want the game to be, and the game in turn rewards skilled players by adding percentages to your payout for every aid or convenience you turn off.

For example, just by forgoing rewinds, you can earn an extra 15 percent for every victory. Stability and traction control provide another 10 percent each if you don't use them, while opting for manual gears or Simulation physics nets 5 percent bonuses. As you improve, you'll be able to stack these up, and you'll progress much faster through the game as a result.Credit: Microsoft

Hit those boards!

Forza Horizon 4's countryside is lined with about a hundred destructible signs that give you extra Influence points when you smash into them. If you're a hoarder, they're great for scratching that collectible itch — not to mention helping you collect enough points to unlock new events and further your career. However, some of these signs are even more valuable than free points, because they lower the cost of fast traveling. These signs are typically rarer and harder to hit even when you do find them, so good luck on the hunt.Credit: Microsoft

Be a savvy house hunter

Buying property in Forza Horizon 4 is a bit of an odd experience, because it honestly doesn't do a whole lot for you. Your homes don't become Fast Travel points, and it's not like you can go inside them — so they feel like a strange addition.

However, each house comes with unique perks to sweeten the deal. Some award you Wheelspins, while others offer cosmetic upgrades — and one even unlocks fast traveling anywhere you desire for free. There are 12 in total (including the one you get when you begin the game) and they range in price from 250,000 to 15 million credits — so start saving up, and be sure to visit each one to learn about the deals they offer.Credit: Microsoft