This article mainly refers to the pursuit system used in Most Wanted, Carbon, Undercover and World. For the game mode see - Hot Pursuit (Game Mode). For the pursuit system used in Most Wanted (2012) see - Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012)/Pursuit.
Pursuits (also known as Pursuit Outruns) are seen in Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Need for Speed: Carbon, Need for Speed: Undercover and Need for Speed: World although the mechanics differ greatly for each title. The pursuit mechanics are primarily utilised in free roam.
The player can always hear police chatter through a CV radio at any stage of a police pursuit.
Pursuit
Engaging Pursuits
Players will be warned about the nearest police vehicles in their surroundings by a Police Scanner or their radar map. The scanner will beep quicker as the player nears a police vehicle. Patrolling cop vehicles are shown as red arrows on the map in Need for Speed: Carbon and Need for Speed: Undercover.
Players encounter police forces regularly in the single player free roam career. The player will attract the attention of the police by performing any series of dangerous driving actions except in Need for Speed: World as a pursuit can only commence in Pursuit Outrun events;
- Collisions with police or traffic vehicles
- Property damage
- Racing in high cop probability events or after finishing a race
- Speeding
- High heat levels
The game will stop whilst a camera zooms towards a police vehicle that has witnessed the player perform one of these actions. A pursuit will immediately begin and pursuit HUD information will be shown.
Need for Speed: World
Pursuits were altered in Need for Speed: World on November 16th, 2011. Players are no longer able initiate pursuits in free roam mode as roaming police vehicles were removed.
Players have to join one of the Pursuit Outrun events seen within Need for Speed: World in order to enter a pursuit. The following events can be joined after the player reaches driver level 2:
- Kempton Pursuit
- Silverton Showdown
- Rockport Resistance
- Rosewood Raid
A countdown will be triggered after entering a Pursuit Outrun event. Subsequently the player will be chased by several Police State Undercover Cruisers.
During Pursuits
Police forces will attempt to bust the player by using tactics such as P.I.T. maneuvers and roadblocks with increasing aggression as higher heat levels are reached. Police vehicles will call in backup as their engaged numbers diminish.
Players can earn bounty by destroying police vehicles, destroying property, increasing pursuit length and committing infractions.
Players will be busted if the bar along the bottom of the screen fills completely red. The bar will fill red as the player's vehicle slows to a halt with a large police presence.
Players will enter Cooldown mode if they evade the sight of all engaged police vehicles for a certain length of time. This is indicated by the bar filling completely blue.
Cooldown Mode
Players need to leave police visibility or disable all police vehicles near them to enter the Cooldown mode. Players can use Pursuit Breakers to wreck police vehicles. A Police Helicopter can be called in to keep the player in sight and this can make it difficult to evade a pursuit.
A secondary Cooldown bar will appear once the player enters Cooldown to indicate how close they are to escaping. Players will need to avoid any form of contact with police vehicles upon entering Cooldown mode. The pursuit is resumed if the player comes into sight of any police vehicle. Players can drive to Hiding Spots to increase the Cooldown bar's fill rate. Hiding Spots are shown as snowflakes on the Minimap/World map when in Cooldown.
Busted
Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Carbon & Undercover
The player will be arrested if the pursuit bar fills red on the left side. A cutscene will play involving the player being apprehended by the police.
Arrested players will receive a warning ticket, impound strike marker and a fine. The fine amount will depend on their heat level and the infractions committed.
The player's vehicle will be indefinitely seized if it attains three impound strikes or they don't have enough money to pay their fines. The player will have to start from the beginning of the title if all their vehicles are impounded.
Need for Speed: World
Players will earn a small amount of reputation if they are busted although no reward card will be given and they will also have to pay a fine with cash. More cash is lost depending on the length of the pursuit, infractions committed, damage done to vehicles and the total cost to state incurred.
Heat Level
Each vehicle will have a tracked heat level between and during pursuits. A heat level for a vehicle can only be reduced by either being busted whilst driving it or modifying visual attributes of the player's vehicle. Heat levels are unlocked by beating Blacklist racers.
Each heat level brings different police vehicles, tactics, total engaged vehicles and backup time.
Level 1
- Vehicles - Police Civic Cruiser
- Max engaged vehicles - 5
- Tactics - P.I.T. Maneuvers
- Backup Timer - 150 seconds
Level 2
- Vehicles - Undercover Police Civic Cruiser
- Max engaged vehicles - 10
- Tactics - P.I.T. Maneuvers & Roadblocks
- Backup Timer - 120 seconds
Level 3
- Vehicles used - Police State Cruiser & Light Rhino Units
- Max engaged vehicles - 15
- Tactics - P.I.T. Maneuvers, Roadblocks, Rolling Roadblocks & SUV Ram
- Backup Timer - 90 seconds
Level 4
- Vehicles used - State Undercover, Heavy Rhino Units & Police Helicopter
- Max engaged vehicles - 20
- Tactics- P.I.T. Maneuvers, Roadblocks, Rolling Roadblocks, Spike Strips
- Backup Timer - 60 seconds
Level 5
- Vehicles used - Federal Interceptor, Heavy Rhino Units, Police Helicopter, Cross' Interceptor
- Max engaged vehicles - 25
- Tactics - P.I.T. Maneuvers, Roadblocks, Rolling Roadblocks, Spikestrips, SUV Ram & Cross
- Backup Timer - 30 seconds
Special Heat Levels
Heat Level 6 (Most Wanted)
- Vehicles used - Undercover Federal Interceptor, Heavy Rhino Units, Police Helicopter & Cross' Interceptor.
- Max Engaged vehicles - 30 vehicles
- Tactics - P.I.T. Maneuvers, Roadblocks, Rolling Roadblocks, Spikestrips, SUV Ram & Cross
- Pursuit cannot be evaded until Mia calls the player, except Challenge Series 68, where it can be evaded
Heat Level 6 (Carbon)
- Vehicles used - Police Civic Cruiser.
- Max Engaged vehicles - 35 vehicles
- Tactics - P.I.T. Maneuvers, Roadblocks, SUV Ram & Rolling Roadblocks
- Backup Timer - 30 seconds
- Heat Level 6 Pursuit is only available in a Need for Speed: Carbon Collector's Edition challenge.
Heat Level 7 (Most Wanted)
- Vehicles used - Heavy Rhino Units
- Max engaged vehicles - 35 vehicles
- Tactics used - P.I.T. Maneuvers, Roadblocks, Rolling Roadblocks, SUV Ram & Spikestrips
- Backup Timer - 30 seconds
- Heat Level 7 Pursuit is only available in the Need for Speed: Most Wanted Black Edition challenge.
Heat Level 7 (Carbon)
- Vehicles used - Undercover Federal Interceptor & Heavy Rhino Units.
- Max engaged vehicles - 35 vehicles
- Tactics used - P.I.T. Maneuvers, Roadblocks, Rolling Roadblocks, SUV Ram & Spikestrips
- Backup Timer - 30 seconds
- Heat Level 7 Pursuit is only available in a Need for Speed: Carbon Collectors' Edition challenge.
Heat Level 8 (Carbon)
- Vehicles used - Undercover Police State Cruiser, Undercover Federal Interceptor & Heavy Rhino Units.
- Max Engaged vehicles - 35 vehicles
- Tactics - P.I.T. Maneuvers, Rolling Roadblocks, SUV Ram & Spikestrips.
- Backup Timer - 60 seconds
- Heat Level 8 Pursuit is only available in a Need for Speed: Carbon Collectors' Edition challenge.
Notes
- Resetting a vehicle during a pursuit will automatically bust the player.
- The choice of vehicle should be taken into consideration when engaging in police pursuits. Heavy vehicles are useful for ramming through roadblocks but may be inferior in their handling capabilities. Sports cars are useful for swerving out of the way of SUV units as well as quick getaways due to their nimbleness and speed but are not suited for ramming through roadblocks or oncoming SUVs.
- Cross will always stay near the player once he has appeared in a pursuit but he will not bust the player if they have stopped their vehicle. He will instead stay a short distance away from the player's vehicle.
- Large trucks carrying loose cargo can be rammed to cause their loads to fall onto the road in Need for Speed: Carbon and Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Police vehicles will instantly stop or be destroyed in Need for Speed: Carbon.
- Police vehicles in front of the player will likely be preparing for a rolling roadblock.
- The '"Emergency Evade"' Power-up in Need for Speed: World can be used by a player to force surrounding police vehicles away from their car.
- The Speedbreaker is one of the best tools for players to use within pursuits as it allows the player to make quick changes in direction.
- It is easier for players to ram through roadblocks if they collide with the rear of police vehicles as the front is heavier.
- Players can evade helicopters by driving through tunnels.
- Need for Speed: World players can use the '"Instant Cooldown"' power-up to instantly end pursuits whilst in Cooldown mode.
- Players can enter a Safehouse during Cooldown to instantly end a pursuit.
- Cop vehicles can not be affected by spikestrips. The same is true for traffic vehicles.
- The police in Most Wanted, Carbon, and the PlayStation 2/Nintendo Wii releases of Undercover use the same police siren sounds. The PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 releases of Undercover as well as World also share different sirens to the previous titles.
- Cop vehicles in World will be highlighted on the minimap, once the player has acquired the Radar skill mod.