Walkthrough - Forza Horizon 4 Guide - IGN (2024)

IGN's Forza Horizon 4 complete strategy guide and walkthrough will lead you through every step of Forza Horizon 4 as you tear across Britain from your first race to your last, including every collectible location such as Barn Finds and Bonus Boards. Sneak a peek at the Cheats and Secrets page and while you're at it, check out the very helpful Tips and Tricks page too.

Forza Horizon 4's open world gives you the freedom to race however you want. You're free to jump around from cross country to street races or just roam around the gorgeous map taking in the scenery and going off-road occasionally to try and hit the ever elusive herd of sheep.

Once you complete the first races, others start to unlock and the map is filled with markers everywhere and busy before you know it. Keep calm and just head out and compete in the many races and events to earn influence to increase your global influence ranking win cash rewards and also wheelspins which can win you anything from a emotes to custom horns to thousands of credits.

There are three main racing series in Forza Horizon 4:

• Road Racing Series
• Dirt Racing Series
• Cross Country Series

The others include the Street Scene races which aren't "officially sanctioned by the Horizon Festival" but are a good way to earn a lot of influence. There's a Drag Strip by the Horizon Festival site where you can also race. Before you compete in the Drag Strip, grab a vehicle with a high acceleration that can change gears very quickly to reach its top speed. The 1998 TVR Cerbera Speed 12 is a good choice although it's a Barn Find.

As part of Playground Games making sure you never run out of races and events, there's also Seasonal Championships which can be any one of the main three racing series.

A lot of folks complain about Barn Finds not being triggered no matter what they do. Truth is, nobody knows what triggers them, but playing and enjoying the game without focusing on any specific thing definitely helps.

Drive around and explore the map and the roads, smash Bonus Boards, tear through Speed Traps and Speed Zones, visit Beauty Spots, complete races and overall...have fun. Barn Rumors will eventually pop up. If you're having trouble finding any one of them, check out the Barn Finds page.

Road Racing Series

Grab your fastest S1 and S2 class cars from the garage. The Road Racing series is super competitive with turns that can test even the best drivers. A good choice of car is the Koenigsegg Agera or the Pagani Zonda. The 2010 James Bond Edition Jaguar C-X75 is a stellar choice with a superb balance of speed and handling.

Generally, AWD cars with good acceleration do well here. You need a car that can handle those turns and come out gunning for the finish line. The Forza Edition cars with a Clean Skills or Skills boost are also a good choice for road races. Keep racing, making sure to finish at the podium to advance through the rounds which then culminates into a mega road race called "The Colossus".

Dirt Racing Series

Time to get your wheels dirty! The Dirt Racing Series features some of the roughest terrains in the game. Be sure to grab an AWD car that's also low to the ground. You need all the handling you can get. Hug the corners during turns to prevent inside passes(check out the Tips and Tricks page for more on that).

The checkpoints on Dirt Racing tracks and also Cross Country Race tracks are usually on open off-road terrain and not close to barriers so you can drive straight through them to finish a turn quicker or cut ahead of an opponent. As you advance through the round, the Dirt Racing Series leads up to a long, fun and awesome race called "The Gauntlet".

Cars like the 1982 Lancia 037 Stradale excel on Dirt Tracks though it's not fast enough to catch up to Drivatars if you find yourself a bit behind. The 1998 Subaru Impreza 22B STI is faster but doesn't handle or brake as well as the Lancia. Forza Editon Cars like the 1984 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 or the 2010 Renault Clio R.S. have a good balance of speed and handling with the extra Skills and Clean Skills Boost too.

Cross Country Series

The time to shine has come for those offroad monsters collecting dust in your garage. The tracks are usually tough and unforgiving so you need a vehicle to match. You need heavy cars that stay close to the ground even when tossed up and forward by the terrain. I've found the Offroad preset available for some cars tend to make handling worse. While counter-intuitive(because it's an offroad track), you still need cars that are low and close to the ground. It should also have good braking for those tight and unexpected turns.

AWD Jeeps and SUV's are great for cross country races. Vehicles like the 2013 Mercedes-Benz G 65 AMG and Forza Edition Cars like the 2015 Alumi Craft Class 10 Race Car handle very nicely.

As with the Dirt Racing series, the open terrain allows you to go for the checkpoint flags to cut ahead of other cars or complete a turn faster. It becomes a bit difficult to always go through the middle of the checkpoint flags so head for just one instead and drive straight through it.

Advancing to the final round leads you to a lengthy, arduous but still fun and intense cross-country race called "The Titan".