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‘Need for Speed Payback’ accelerates in-game car progression

Mark Austin
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Need for Speed Payback review explosion
Citing “community feedback,” the EA has recently made some tweaks to the progression system in Need for Speed Payback. In a post on the official Reddit forum, developer F8RGE acknowledged that the company has “been using Community feedback, along with our own in-game data and have come up with a number of changes, many of which are in the process of going live.”

While the complaints about the Star Wars Battlefront II loot box system were much louder, Payback players have also been critical about the game’s microtransactions and the difficulty inherent in unlocking new parts and upgrades.

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EA first rolled back some of the difficulty for unlocking Battlefront characters and then ultimately ditched the loot box system altogether. Although microtransactions remain in Payback, it’s at least not so arduous to unlock progress.

According to the post, these are the changes you can expect to notice:

  • REP and Bank award increased by taking part in events
  • REP and Bank award increased for bait crates
  • REP and Bank award increased for competing against a Roaming Racer
  • REP and Bank Awards increased for finishing an event outside of first place
  • Air Suspension appears more frequently in Shipments

As a tip, you are also encouraged to recycle the speed cards for tokens, and to buy out all the parts from the tune-up shop and recycle them.

“We believe that owning a garage of customized cars is part of the essence that makes Need for Speed what it is,” Ghost Games said in a subsequent post on the official Need for Speed blog.”

The blog post also explained that Air Suspension was found in shipping crates less often than other modications due to there only being one type of Air Suspension, while most other modifications have multiple types.

Additionally, the rewards for competing in a Ranked Speedlist have been improved. Winning a Speedlist will now guarantee you receive a car part, while just participating gives you a 50 percent chance of receiving one.

F8RGE noted that this is just “phase one,” and that further changes are planned for the future regarding parts available in the tune-up shop.

Microtransactions may be here to stay, however, as Ghost Games producer Marcus Nillson argued recently in an interview with Rolling Stone. “It’s clear prices haven’t really gone up,” he says. “That’s clear. I also know that producing games is more expensive than it has ever been.”

He points out that the vanity items mostly just save you some time if you purchase them with real money. “The bottom line is that it’s very hard to find this golden path that’s liked by everyone,” he said.

First announced back at E3, Need for Speed Payback is a more story-oriented take on the venerable franchise, with a Fast and Furious vibe and a huge open world to explore. It’s available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

Update: Added information from official Need for Speed blog post.

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Mark Austin
Mark Austin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Mark’s first encounter with high-tech was a TRS-80. He spent 20 years working for Nintendo and Xbox as a writer and…
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