Skills are driving stunts that reward players experience points upon successful completion. Skills can be initiated in any game mode and will be multiplied if chained with other skills (up to a normal multiplier of x5.0; with Perks, this can be taken up to x6.0), but will vanish if the player becomes involved in a heavy collision, chooses to rewind, or has their car position reset for any reason.
Players earn skill points after accumulating a certain amount of points gained by skill chains, which may be spent for unlocking perks in the Skill Shop that will increase the amount of points for certain skill stunts. Driving a Horizon Edition vehicle in singleplayer mode or performing stunts during a skill song will also allow the player gain skill points more quickly.
In certain game modes including Bucket Lists , Drift Zones and Forzathon events, players must earn a minimum total points gained by skill chains or perform multiple instances of a certain skill stunt.
The Hot Wheels Expansion introduced new skills, including Hot Wheels variations of Air, Drift, and Speed skills.
Standard [ ]
Skill
Pre-requisite
Points
Standard
Great
Awesome
Ultimate
Air
Perform a jump
100/120
150/180
250/300
500/600
Auto-Immune
Near Miss an infected player
500
Banked Section
Pass through a Banked Section track piece
?
?
?
?
Burnout
Spin a car's wheels whilst being stationary
100
150
250
500
Clean Racing
Complete a race section without a heavy collision
100/200
200/400
500/1,000
1,000/2,000
Corkscrew
Pass through a Corkscrew track piece
?
?
?
?
Crown Lover
Hold onto the crown in King for an entire minute
5,000
Drafting
Follow the slipstream of an opponent
100/120
150/165
250/275
500/550
Drift
Perform a drift
100/110
150/275
250/550
500/1,100
E-Drift
Initiate a drift by using the e-brake
100/110
150/275
250/550
500/1,100
Hot Wheels Stunt
Pass through a stunt track piece
?
?
?
?
J Turn
Perform a quick 180° direction change from driving in reverse
100
150
250
500
Loop-the-Loop
Pass through a Loop-the-Loop track piece successfully
250
500
750
1,000
Near Miss
Pass a non-racing vehicle closely at high speed
100/110
150/275
250/550
500/1,100
One Eighty
Perform a quick 180° direction change
100
150
250
500
Pass
Overtake a racing opponent closely at high speed
100/120
150/180
250/300
500/600
Royal Pardon
Near Miss another player as the King
500
Skill Chain
Perform multiple skills in succession
1,000/1,100
1,000/1,100
1,000/1,100
1,000/1,100
Speed
Drive at high speed (at least 100 mph (161 km/h)) for a prolonged period of time
100
150
250
500/1,000
Speed Boost
Activate any Speed Boost platform
500
Trading Paint
Tap another vehicle
50
Two Wheels
Drive on two wheels
100
200
500
1,000
Upside Down
Pass through an Upside Down track piece
?
?
?
?
Wreckage
Smash through a breakable item
100/110
150/165
250/275
500/550
Combination [ ]
Skill
Pre-requisite
Points
Airborne Pass
Perform an Air and Pass skill at the same time
1,000/1,200
Crash Landing
Perform an Air and Wreckage skill in quick succession
1,000/1,100
Ebisu Style
Perform a Great Air skill or better and land into a Great Drift skill or better
1,000/1,100
Hard Charger
Perform a Burnout and Speed skill in quick succession without braking
1,000/1,100
Lucky Escape
Perform a Drift and Near Miss skill at the same time
1,000/1,100
Showoff
Perform a Pass and Drift skill at the same time
1,000/1,100
Slingshot
Perform a Drafting and Pass skill in quick succession
1,000/1,100
Stuntman
Perform an Air and Near Miss skill at the same time
1,000/1,100
Special [ ]
Skill
Pre-requisite
Points
Barrel Roll
Perform a complete sideways airborne flip and land without crashing
1,000
Clean Start!
Start a race without colliding with any opponents or scenery
2,000/4,000
Daredevil
Perform multiple Near Miss skills in quick succession
1,000/1,100
Drift Tap
Tap a wall whilst performing a Drift skill
1,000/6,000
Fruit Salad
Wreck the banana sign
1,000/1,100
Hot Wheels Air
Perform an Air Skill greater than Ultimate Air on any Hot Wheels road
1,000/1,200
Hot Wheels Drift
Perform a Drift Skill greater than Ultimate Drift on any Hot Wheels road
1,500/1,650
Hot Wheels Speed
Perform a Speed Skill greater than Ultimate Speed on any Hot Wheels road
1,500
Landscaping
Perform multiple Wreckage skills with fences in quick succession
1,000/1,100
Lumberjack
Smash through a tree stump
1,000/1,100
Kangaroo
Perform three Air skills in quick succession
1,000/1,100
Sideswipe
Tap an object from the side
1,000/1,100
Snowman
Smash through a snowman
1,000/1,100
Threading the Needle
Pass two non-racing vehicles from both sides at high speed
1,000/1,100
Trashman
Knock over a garbage bin
1,000/1,100
Triple Pass
Overtake three opponents in quick succession
1,000/1,100
Wrecking Ball
Perform multiple Wreckage skills in quick succession
1,000/1,100
Notes [ ]
Daredevil and Threading the Needle skills are easier to obtain on highways.
Air-related skills can be easily earned within the sand dune area in the Outback setting.
Players are more likely to gain higher positions in online championships by repeating the Clean Racing skill often.
Points from lost skill chains are counted in Drift Zones.
Players lose an ongoing skill chain if they enter or exit an online session.
Speed Boost platforms are not activated at speeds above 250 mph (402 km/h).
The Speed Boost skill always starts a Skill Chain, regardless of how many seconds have passed after the player's Skill Chain has been broken.