We now have a video showing games modes of the upcoming EA Sports WRC , which aims to establish itself as the annual must-have in the world of rallying.
Following up from the first EA SPORTS™ WRC deep dive that shared details on gameplay features, we’re excited to share more information on what players can experience when the game releases on November 3 for PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via EA App, Epic Store, and Steam.
Our second deep dive goes into detail on Career, Moments, Multiplayer, and more in EA Sports WRC . Breaking it down is Molly Pettit, broadcaster and journalist for WRC.
Career
Career is a core WRC experience, where players will aim to lead their team to victory against the world’s best rally drivers, cars, and teams. The first choice will be in deciding where on the WRC ladder to start their first season from.
Want to build up a legacy across multiple classes? Then begin a journey with Junior WRC, as the Rally3 cars are a great entry point for new players. Alternatively, players can start in WRC 2, or even jump straight in at the deep-end with the Rally1 cars in the top class of competition.
Following the initial class selection, players will then begin the process of creating their very own rally team. This starts with the team branding, including name and colours, before meeting the Chief Engineer and Benefactor.
Throughout the journey teams will work alongside the Benefactor who provides funding and the setting of goals and objectives to be met across each season. Driving well will result in bigger budgets for future rallies as well as the ability to hire a teammate, recruit more engineers, acquire new cars, and more.
The calendar keeps track of all upcoming rallies, special events, notable milestones, and much more. Not only will players be able to drive many cars from the world of rally, they’ll also get to build and customise their very own car, truly making a mark in rally history.
Builder
In the mid 2000s, Colin McRae followed up his years of rallying success with an ambitious project, the creation of an all-new rally car, the McRae R4. Whilst players can drive the McRae R4 in EA Sports WRC (full car list here), they can also follow in Colin’s footsteps by designing and developing their very own modern-era rally car from the ground up.
The first choice to be made will be which class will be competing in; WRC, WRC2 (including Rally2 events) or Junior WRC. Players will then be tasked to build a car to each class’ regulations, so that it can be fairly and competitively balanced with the real-world cars in each.
With the class decided upon, the choice moves to the car’s engine layout, which will affect its weight balance and driving characteristics. For example, a mid-engined car may have more potential, but cost more to build and could be a little too challenging to drive if more used to front-engined machinery.
Then, it’s onto the various mechanical components. Each part has its own traits and features; some will be of higher quality, some allow for custom tuning, but budget considerations will also have to be made to reduce the overall cost of the car.
With the mechanical aspects of the car complete the final step is to customise the appearance. Everything from the bumpers, spoilers, and wheel rims to smaller details like the body pins, lights, and air intakes can be changed.
There’s even options to change the look and feel of each car’s interior, allowing players to create a one-of-a-kind machine ready to take on Career, Time Trial, Clubs, and more.
Moments
Over the past 50 years of the FIA World Rally Championship we’ve seen countless spectacular and iconic moments, from supremely dominant performances to heroic recovery drives. Many of these can be experienced first-hand in the Moments* mode, whilst simultaneously learning more about the history of the sport while also keeping up with the current era of WRC.
New Moments will be added to EA Sports WRC on a regular basis (initially daily), challenging players to complete scenarios and events tied to and inspired by the real world of rally.
Each Moment drops players in a specific car at a memorable point in rally history, daring them to complete goals and hit targets. Medals are earned based on performance, with results able to be shared to global leaderboards, allowing players to compare with friends or take on the world’s best players.
These Moments can be re-played at any time, allowing players to go back and take on any that may have been missed.
Regularity Rally
Another way to enjoy driving in EA SPORTS WRC is with the inclusion of Regularity Rally, an alternate form of competition present in several modes across the game.
Unlike in stage rallying, Regularity Rallies do not require drivers to complete stages in the fastest time possible. Instead, the goal is to drive through routes at a specific average speed, with scoring based on how close the driver is to this goal.
Co-drivers will detail the road ahead with unique pace notes compared to stage rallying, advising drivers on whether they’re above or below the performance target. This is a great way to explore new rally stages while also rounding out skills in general.
Rally School
The Rally School is the perfect place to begin the EA Sports WRC journey, teaching all of the fundamental skills needed to drive a rally car.
In-game, drivers will be able to choose from a number of basic driving lessons, earning medals based on how well they perform. Getting gold in all of the lessons will be key to getting on the way to become a champion.
Additionally, each lesson can be driven on Asphalt, Gravel or Snow, allowing players to compare and get used to driving on different surfaces. This experience will come in handy given the game’s many locations, seasons, and surface types.
Championship
Championship is the traditional single-player WRC experience, replicating the real-world season.
Choose a real-world car and driver, and take on the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship calendar in WRC, WRC2, and Junior WRC classes.
Players can also customise the length of a championship, with options ranging from shorter campaigns with quick progression to the full season experience.
Quick Play Solo
Our Quick Play suite of tools let players create their own custom events, opening up all of the game’s options for total freedom.
Choose everything from the car class to the seasons, number of stages, time of day and weather. Players can even create championships that mix Rally and Regularity Rally events.
Alternatively, randomly generated Quick Play sessions are available where the game will automatically choose what classes and events are driven next.
Quick Play Multiplayer
Quick Play Multiplayer is where our online lobby system is located. Taking all of the tools and options from Quick Play Solo, players can compete in real time in rooms with up to 32 players, along with cross-platform support. This is four times as large as the lobbies in DiRT Rally 2.0, which could house a maximum of 8 players on a single platform.
Quick Play Multiplayer is a great way to find fun and competitive action right away, make new friends and put skills to the test.
Clubs
Clubs were one of the most popular features in DiRT Rally 2.0 (and sometimes used by real-world drivers to compete against fans), and we’re delighted to confirm they will return for EA SPORTS WRC.
In essence, these are asynchronous, cross-platform multiplayer events (powered by EA Racenet) with no limit on how many players can compete. Instead of rallying in a lobby at the same time as opponents, players can take on these events whenever they please, with results added to the Club’s leaderboard.
Players can use similar event creation tools to the Quick Play modes (note: Clubs do not support Regularity Rally) and set events to last as long or short as preferred.
Want to recreate the Daily, Weekly or Monthly Challenge experience from DiRT Rally 2.0? How about a massive year-long championship with all of the game’s longest and toughest stages? It’s all possible in Clubs. We will also be hosting 2 official clubs (one for WRC classes, one for historics) that are regularly updated with new events.
F1® 23 players may already be familiar with EA Racenet and what it can offer to players. To get a taste of what to expect ahead of EA Sports WRC ’s release, check out EA Racenet today.
Time Trial
Time Trial is another of the most popular DiRT Rally 2.0 game modes making its way to EA SPORTS WRC.
As to be expected, this is competition in its purest form; a driver, a stage, and the clock, all in pursuit of the perfect run.
Set the best times, download the ghosts of any other player on the leaderboard and start climbing those global rankings.
Photo Mode
A much-requested feature by fans, Photo Mode is in EA Sports WRC and lets virtual photographers capture stunning images from around the world of rally.
In addition to the standard camera features such as exposure, shutter speed, brightness, contrast and more, there’s a suite of filters and frames to create pictures that wow the world.
Photo Mode is accessible through the Replays that are watchable after every stage, with players using their console or PC’s built-in screenshot tools to export images.
As a side-note, all of the screenshots we’ve shared so far have been taken with the in-game Photo Mode!
Livery Editor & Customisation
While sharing Photo Mode pics is fun, the most creative of players can make those snaps their own by customising cars with the livery editor.
The majority of cars in the game can get a fresh lick of paint with the built-in livery editor, including all of the cars created with Builder. Choose from a suite of base patterns, customise the colour and finish, and add decals and shapes to make one-of-a-kind rally cars that stand out from the pack.
Finally, driver models can also take on a bespoke appearance. Choose from a wide range of character models, and deck them out with a selection of helmets, caps, gloves, and race suits. Co-drivers will match the look chosen, and new gear can be unlocked through the Rally Pass by earning XP across the game.
Everyone who pre-orders† EA SPORTS™ WRC will receive each of the five VIP Rally Passes that contain additional post-launch content, as well as three vanity packs consisting of liveries and apparel, and up to three days of early access starting October 31, 2023‡.
The game will be available for all major platforms for €49.99 and will arrive on November 3, 2023.
See you on the track!
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