Cars 3: Driven to Win Trophy Guide & Road Map

Cars 3: Driven to Win
Cars 3: Driven to Win Trophy Guide

Overview:

Estimated trophy difficulty: 2/10 (Estimated Platinum Difficulty Thread)
Offline trophies: 22 (14, 7, 1)
Online trophies: 0
Approximate amount of time to platinum: 15-20 hours (Estimated Time to Platinum Thread)
Minimum number of playthroughs: 1
Number of missable trophies: 0
Glitched trophies: None
Does difficulty affect trophies?: No. All Events and Trophies can be completed on Easy
Do trophies stack?: Yes, the PS3 and PS4 versions have their own lists.
Do cheat codes disable trophies?: No cheats available.
Additional peripherals required?: Yes, 2 Controllers are needed for certain trophies.

Introduction:

Welcome to Cars 3: Driven to Win, the movie tie-in game for Cars 3, except this game has no actual relevance to the actual movie. The game has no story for you to concern yourself with, and features a giant list of events for you to complete: Races, Battle Races, Stunt Showcases, Best Lap Challenges, and Master Level Events. You can also play cup series which have multiple different cup events, and also offers up to 4 player split-screen multiplayer. There is no online multiplayer which is a bummer, but hopefully they will add it in a future update.

There are no missable trophies for you to worry about. The majority of the time, you’ll be trying to get at least one star in each event in the game, and completing all the Skill Check Challenges for Hall of Famer, which in turn unlocks more characters, events, and tracks. The rest of the trophies are quite simple (most will unlock naturally), and if you are struggling with any trophies or skill checks, every single one of them can be done in multiplayer which makes this game’s platinum quite easy to achieve. There is a bit of grind involved for the full completion of the Hall of Fame Checklist, but overall it’s a really fun platinum to go for!

Walkthrough:

Step 1: Complete all the Events (Races, Battle Races, Stunt Showcases, Takedowns, and Master Level Events), while actively completing Skill Checks

The game does not feature a story mode. Just a list of events to participate in. So load up each event and complete them on Easy Difficulty. All trophies can be earned on Easy mode, so if you want to be time efficient, play on easy. The goal in this step is to complete every event in the game with at least 1 star for Star Collector & Stars All Around.

Make sure you are actively trying to complete skill check challenges to work towards Hall of Famer so more events, tracks, and characters get unlocked along the way. Also, use different characters each time to work towards Everybody's Here.?

Optional: You can also try to get miscellaneous trophies while doing all the events. Most of them will unlock naturally while playing through the game, and if need be, they can be tackled in later steps. ???

In this Step, you should unlock:

Star Collector
Stars All Around

Step 2: Earn all Trophies related to Thomasville Playground Mode

In this stage, focus on going around the map in Thomasville Playground mode collecting all of Mack's hats for Mack's Hats, earning at least bronze rings on all 12 solo challenges for King of the Playground, and earn at least silver rings for the specific challenges on the Skill Check Challenge list for Hall of Famer. Also, make sure to complete all of the skill check challenges pertaining to Thomasville Playground mode.

In this Step, you should unlock:

King of the Playground
Mack's Hats

Step 3: Complete all Solo Cup Events, and the first 3 Multiplayer Cup Events in Spiltscreen

In this stage, focus on completing all the solo Cup events. Make sure to pay attention to the Hall of Fame skill check challenges, so you know which cups require you to earn a silver or gold trophy in. There is a total of 16 Cup events you need to earn trophies in, and for the final one, the Dinoco All-Star Cup, you will need to earn a Gold trophy for Hall of Famer.

Now for the multiplayer Cup events, you will need a second player, or just another controller to help earn those skill checks. Choose to be on different teams, and the game won't add AI cars to the race. Just finish the races, and both the 1st and 2nd players will earn 1st and 2nd places in the matches. This makes it easy for Hall of Famer. Make sure to complete all other multiplayer splitscreen skill check challenges during this stage as well.

Thanks to cnine for the information on choosing different teams for multiplayer skills checks!

Step 4: Complete the rest of the Skill Check Challenges in the Hall of Fame Checklist, and Mop Up the rest of the Trophies

This stage is simple, just focus on completing all the skills check challenges for Hall of Famer. With the entire Hall of Fame Checklist complete, you have access to all tracks, cars, and events.

Now mop up the rest of the miscellaneous trophies if you haven't already completed them at this point.

Note: Many of these miscellaneous trophies might be earned during other steps.

Either way, by the end of this stage, you'll have your Shiny new Platinum Trophy. KACHOW!

In this Step, you should unlock:

Airing it Out
Best of the Best
Reverse Racer
Livin' in the Zone
Give Me a Boost
On the Road to Fame
Bashing Through
2-Wheel Champ
Boosting at the Seams
Taking Off
Takedown A Notch
Zoned Out
Kart Crasher
Kart Contact
Everybody's Here
Master of Trickery
Hall of Famer
Trophied Career

[PST Would Like To Thank rmchiva925 for this Roadmap]

Trophied Career

Earn every trophy.
You'll have to battle it out by driving fast, using a multitude of weapons, and performing numerous air tricks to reach that Platinum Trophy. KACHOW!
Airing it Out

Perform 6 Air Tricks in a single jump.
To earn this trophy, you will need to perform 6 or more air tricks in one single jump.

To perform an air trick, flick towards a direction (, , , and ). The best events to try this trophy are the Stunt Showcase Events. In these events, there will be many ramps that when you jump off of, you will get a lot of air time. These are the best moments to go for this trophy. Just hold a direction on when making a really high jump and hope for the best. You do have to land after doing 6 or more air tricks in order to count for the trophy.

The best track is the 'Radiator Springs Wheel Well Loop', as there is a ramp that you can jump off from, and it is located atop a cave. You will get some serious height here, and this is the longest you can be in the air in the game.

Follow the road till you go into a cave. Jump into the hole in the cave, and use turbo when going off the ramp. Now perform any 6 air tricks to get the trophy.

The trophy should unlock shortly after landing successfully.

Airing it Out Video Guide
King of the Playground

Earn bronze, silver, or gold rings in every Thomasville Playground Challenge.
To earn this trophy you will have to get bronze, silver, or gold rings in all 12 Challenges featured in the Thomasville Playground mode.

This mode is available in the main menu. It's a small free roam mode featuring a giant map for you to drive around and practice your driving skills in. Throughout the map there will be challenges and events you can participate in. There is a total of 12 Challenges in this mode needed for the trophy, and several multiplayer events not needed for the trophy.

The Challenges required for the trophy are:

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1121x208.

As it can be seen, there are only 4 unique challenge types, and you have to do them in 3 different events. The challenges are timed, and the goal is to reach a target score in order to get a ring. Getting bronze rings for all the challenges is enough to unlock the trophy, but be aware that some challenges require silver or gold rings in order to complete skill check challenges for Hall of Famer.

Refer to the video below to get an idea of what the Thomasville Playground mode is like, and what the challenges look like, so you can get accustomed to it.

Thomasville Playground Mode (Featuring the 4 unique Challenge Types)
Best of the Best

Complete 100 laps in Best Lap Challenges.
To earn this trophy you will have to complete 100 laps in Best Lap Challenge events.

All laps are cumulative, so by the time you complete earning at least one star on every map (required for Stars All Around), you should at least have close to 30-40 laps. If you are not good at the lap challenges then it might take you more than 1 or 2 laps to get a star. At which case you would have more laps completed.

If you still haven't gotten the trophy after earning a star in all the Best Lap Challenge events, load up the 'Radiator Springs Interstate Pass' Track and set the number of laps to 10. This is the shortest track in the game and can be easily completed within 50 seconds per lap. Once you finish the 10 laps, choose to redo the same event. Grind out the rest of the laps to unlock the trophy.
Reverse Racer

Drive backward for a total of 15 minutes.
To earn this trophy, you'll have to drive backwards for a total of 15 minutes or more.

To drive backwards, flick to turn the car backwards when driving. This a cumulative trophy and should unlock naturally while going for all the challenges in the game, and just in general during races. There are many pads during races where driving on them backwards awards more turbo meter.

Note: It's also generally a good idea to drive backwards or on 2 wheels to fill the turbo meter quickly. It helps with finishing the races and events faster.
Kart Contact

Side Bash 15 Crash Karts in a single Takedown event.
To earn this trophy, you have to side bash 15 enemy karts in one Takedown event.

To side bash opponents, flick and while driving. The trophy can only be earned in Takedown events, where there are endless waves of karts and trucks you will have to destroy with weapons.

To make things easier, play on easy mode, as playing on higher difficulties makes it harder to keep up with the karts. The karts tend to outspeed you every time, even when you are using Turbo or 'Into the Zone'. Make sure to not fire your weapons as you want as many karts on the screen as possible. Always try to drive on 2 wheels, so your turbo charges faster. You are timed, so make sure to act quickly. Trying to side bash 15 Karts in 3 minutes is quite tricky and can be frustrating. This is definitely the hardest trophy in the game when compared to all the other easy and simple ones.

The big trucks carrying red barrels don’t count for this trophy, so feel free to shoot them if they are the only ones left on the screen. The only ones you want to focus on are the small karts. The rest is up to luck really as the karts have a tendency to also kill themselves. Karts can also sometimes gain weapons and attack you. They will be marked with a red arrow. Keep an eye out for them.

After bashing the 15th one, the trophy will unlock shortly.

Thanks to Graffin_G, there is an ultra fast and easy way to get this trophy done:

There's a bit of a cheaty way to get the Kart Contact trophy. Just set up a Custom Cup on the Fireball Beach Sprint level and you can give yourself 5 minutes to get it. It's the only way I could get it!

Kart Contact Video Guide
Everybody's Here

Complete at least one event with every character.
To earn this trophy, you have to complete an event with all the 22 characters in the game.

How to unlock them all:
- A few character are available from the start.
- Many characters are unlocked by completing skill check challenges for the Hall of Fame Checklist (Refer to Hall of Famer for more info)
- Miss Fritter, Mater the Greater, Chick Hicks, and Jackson Storm are unlocked after completing their Master Level Events (These events are unlocked by completing skill check challenges as well)
- Mack is unlocked by collecting all his 10 hats in the Thomasville playground mode (Refer to Mack's Hats for more information)
- Smokey is the final character unlocked at 124-126 skill check challenges completed
Once you have the entire roster unlocked, use them each once in any event and the trophy will unlock.

Note: Fabulous Lightning McQueen is the 23rd character introduced to the game as a free update to coincide for the movie. He is not needed for the trophy.

Showcase of all the Characters needed for Everybody's Here Trophy
Livin' in the Zone

Go "In the Zone" 30 times.
To earn this trophy you will need to use 'Into the Zone' mode 30 or more times.

'Into the Zone' is a technique you can use in the game to go super fast for a few seconds. You will be enveloped in particle effects, and every car you come into contact with will get knocked out for few seconds. This is an extremely useful technique as it negates one weapon attack, and can turn the tide of any race in your favour when used effectively.

You have 4 turbo meters featured below the car you drive. When one turbo meter is filled it will turn yellow. Once you get all 4 turbo meters full, press twice to initiate 'Into the Zone'. Do this 30 times to unlock the trophy.

Note: To fill up the turbo meter quickly, do air tricks and drive backwards or on 2 wheels.
Master of Trickery

Complete 70 Air Tricks in a single Stunt Showcase event.
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To earn this trophy, you need to perform 70 or more Air Tricks in one Stunt Showcase event.

Stunt Showcases are events that require you to perform multiple air trick and unique ones to gain points. In these events there will be many ramps throughout the tracks for you to jump from and perform air tricks. Getting 70 air tricks isn't too much of a problem in these events. To perform an air trick, flick towards a direction. The fastest one to perform is . It just does a quick barrel roll. The other air tricks have more animations leading to fewer air tricks performed overall.

So just jump off every ramp you come across in a Stunt Showcase, perform as many air trick possible per jump. Make sure to land successfully or the air trick won't count.

Once you have performed 70 air tricks, the trophy should unlock.
Give Me a Boost

Use 15 turbo boosts in a single event.
To earn this trophy you will need to perform 15 turbo boosts in a single event.

Turbo boost essentially gives a burst of speed for a few seconds. You have 4 turbo meters featured below the car you drive. When one turbo meter is filled it will turn yellow. Press once to initiate a turbo boost. Do this 15 times in one event to unlock the trophy.

Note: To fill up the turbo meter quickly, do air tricks and drive backwards or on 2 wheels.
On the Road to Fame

Complete 50 Skill Checks.
Refer to Hall of Famer for more information.
Star Collector

Earn a total of 30 Stars in events.
Refer to Stars All Around for more information.
Bashing Through

Side Bash 100 cars.
To earn this trophy, you'll have to side bash a total of 100 cars or more.

To side bash an opponent, flick or during events. This a cumulative trophy and should unlock naturally while going for all the challenges in the game, and just in general, during events.
2-Wheel Champ

Drive on 2 wheels for a total of 15 minutes.
To earn this trophy, you'll have to drive on 2 wheels for a total of 15 minutes or more.

To drive on 2 wheels backwards, flick to flip the car vertically and drive on 2 wheels during events. This a cumulative trophy and should unlock naturally while going for all the challenges in the game, and just in general, during events. There are many pads during races where driving on them with 2 wheels awards more turbo meter.

Note: It's also generally a good idea to drive backwards or on 2 wheels to fill the turbo meter quickly. It helps with finishing the races and events faster.
Boosting at the Seams

Use 150 turbo boosts.
To earn this trophy, you'll have to perform 150 or more turbo boosts.

To perform a turbo boost, press when you have a turbo meter filled up (it will turn yellow). This a cumulative trophy and should unlock naturally while going for all the challenges in the game, and just in general, during events.

Note: To fill the turbo meter quickly, do air tricks, and drive backwards or on 2 wheels.
Taking Off

Get 3 perfect Quick Starts.
To earn this trophy you'll need to perform 3 or more perfect Quick Starts.

Right before an event starts, you are given 3 seconds to fill up all your turbo meters by revving your engine. To rev your engine, tap furiously till all 4 turbo meters are full and turn yellow. You essentially get a massive speed boost and headstart to the race. This is classified as a perfect Quick Start. Do it 3 times to unlock the trophy.

Note: The button has a short delay so you might not be able to tap fast enough to fill the entire bar. Use the PS4 system's button assignment feature in the Accessibility setting to change the button to any of the face buttons. The face buttons are easier to spam than the button. The button is a perfect choice for this.
Hall of Famer

Complete all Skill Checks.
In order to earn this trophy, you'll need to complete all 136 Skill Checks (Challenges) in the game.

This is the most time consuming trophy in the game and involves a lot of grind, a bit of luck, and will definitely need an equally skilled coop buddy to help get the multiplayer skill check challenges complete.

There are 9 Categories of Skill Check Challenges. They are:
1. Driving Mastery (Columns 1-4, and color coded Blue) - Challenges that test your driving skills
2. Air Trick Mastery (Column 5, and color coded Light Green) - Challenges involving Air Tricks
3. Weapon Mastery (Columns 6-7, and color coded Magenta) - Challenges involving the use of Weapons
4. Event Mastery (Columns 8-12, and color coded Orange) - Challenges involving completion of events
5. Multiplayer (Column 13, and color coded Cyan/Teal) - Challenges involving splitscreen multiplayer
6. Long Term (Columns 14, and color coded Red) - Challenges involving cumulative actions (such as side bashes, backwards driving, etc)
7. Thomasville Playground (Column 15, and color coded Purple) - Challenges involving completion of events, challenges, and collectibles in the Thomasville Playground mode.
8. Track Events (Column 16, and color coded Dark Green) - Challenges involving actions specific to events/tracks (such as towing objects and hitting enemies, side bash a red track, etc)
9. Series Mastery (Column 17, and color coded Light Blue) - Challenges involving completion of Cup Events
Many of the challenges can be done in splitscreen with additional controllers, if they prove too hard against the CPU. All challenges can be done in Easy mode which also significantly makes this easier, and less time-consuming.

All the skill check challenges can be done solo, except for the ones in the Multiplayer column. You need to have a second controller for these skill checks. Just place the players on different teams, and complete the races for the Sponsored Cup Events. Both players will automatically earn 1st and 2nd place, which makes the multiplayer skill checks easy. Thanks to cnine for the tip!

Note: Completing skill checks also unlocks more characters for the roster, tracks, and events. So make sure to always work towards these challenges, or you'll end up having to grind it out in the end, after earning all other trophies.

All Skill Check Challenges (Hall of Fame Checklist Showcase)

Hall of Famer Trophy Guide (Tips for All 136 Skill Check Challenges)
Mack's Hats

Collect all 10 hats in the Thomasville Playground.
To get this trophy, you will have to collect all 10 of Mack’s Hats that are scattered in the Thomas’s Playground mode.

This mode has a giant map, where you can practice your skills and compete in mini-challenges. The hats are marked as red dots on your mini-map. Most of them are beside ramps which you will have to jump from at high speeds, and a few tricky ones are located on green rails, which you will need to drift on by jumping onto them and pressing to grind on them.

Once you collect all 10 hats, the trophy will unlock along with Mack as a playable character.

Refer to the video below for the precise locations of all the hats.

Mack's Hats Video Guide
Takedown a Notch

Complete 6 waves in a single Takedown event.
To get this trophy, you will have to complete 6 waves of enemies in any takedown event.

Takedown events feature endless waves of karts, which you will have to destroy as many as you can before the 3 minute timer is up.

The best track to do this on is the 'Florida International Concourse'. Now there are other tracks, but this one has so many weapon placements throughout the map, whereas other maps feel like there are no weapons for many stretches.

Make sure to also play on easy, so the karts are slower and you can easily catch up to them. Just make sure to grab every weapon and use them effectively. Press to use the picked up weapon. You should have no trouble in getting to at least wave 8 on this map.

Another track that has many weapon placements back to back is 'Radiator Springs Wheel Well Loop'.

The trophy will unlock once you finish wave 6.

Takedown a Notch Video Guide
Zoned Out

Go "In the Zone" 4 times in a single event.
To earn this trophy, you will need to use the 'Into the Zone' technique 4 times in a single event.

All 4 turbo meters have to be full (turns yellow) in order to go 'Into the Zone'. To activate it press twice to go super fast and become invincible for the duration that this mode lasts.

The best events to try this trophy, are the Stunt Showcases. During these events, you'll be jumping off ramps doing many air tricks. The turbo meter will be filling up really quickly. So, as all the turbo meters fill up, go 'Into the Zone'. Do this 4 times to unlock the trophy.
Kart Crasher

Destroy 1,000 Crash Karts in Takedown events.
To earn this trophy, you'll have to destroy 1000 or more Crash Karts in Takedown events.

This a cumulative trophy and should unlock naturally while going for all the challenges in the game, and trying to get a star in each takedown event for Stars All Around.

If you still haven't unlocked the trophy after getting a star in every takedown event, just play them on easy difficulty to get kills faster. Grind out the rest of the kills to unlock the trophy.
Stars All Around

Earn a Star in every event.
To get this trophy, you have to get a star on every event in the game.

Given that there are 21 tracks in the game and 4 different event types (Race, Battle Race, Stunt Showcase, and Takedown), you'll have to complete a whopping 84 events with at least 1 star to earn this trophy. To speed things up, play on easy difficulty which significantly makes it easier to complete the events.

To unlock more tracks, you'll need to complete skills check challenges (Refer to Hall of Famer for more information). So make sure to actively complete these challenges as you play through the game, or you'll end up grinding in the end.