Availability: After You Finish “A Pact With Rais (Part 2)”
Location: Rocket is Northwest of the Tower
Rewards: 1,000 Survivor XP
Difficulty: Easy
Rocket lives inside a barricaded building really close to the Tower. Talk to him to start a series of challenges. Each one is a race! You need to have a high enough Survivor level to have your Grappling Hook before doing this, so level up if you don’t have access yet.
Once you do, start the first challenge. It’s just a matter of pulling yourself up to rooftops to get those waypoints. Having Forward Roll makes it even easier because you can drop off of the higher areas without taking damage or losing time.
The second race has a similar style, but it’s much tougher. You have no real cooldown time on your Grappling Hook, so use it constantly instead of relying on it to pull yourself up to rooftops. This race isn’t doable with regular footwork. Zip forward to save time. Also, be wary of rooftops with odd bumps or snags that might prevent you from getting over the edge. Take a second to aim your Grappling Hook so that you don’t lose way more time by falling or getting caught.
Zip to targets and throw the hook again before you fall so that flying through the air is possible. After the second waypoint, swing far to the left as you leave. Go around the gas guy’s fortifications and approach the third Waypoint from the street farther down. This avoids a Safe Zone that would mess up your time.
Come back later to get Rocket into a third race with you. He even ups the stakes on this one! Even better news is that the timer is more comfortable and you shouldn’t require as much practice to win.
You’re going downhill this time (mostly). The only way to have big problems is to land too hard more often than you should. Use the Grappling Hook to get up AND down from your waypoints. That lets you get forward while avoiding damage and delays from falling down. Rush to the end and get your prize. Though it seems like this is over for now, we resume the quest later (when you reach Old Town).
Section four is triggered in the southwestern part of Old Town, where you meet Rocket again. He has a short race prepared with only a few waypoints. Run up to the first wall and climb directly up toward the waypoint. After that it’s a direct run without many oddities. Be quick about it and have a good time.
The last challenge from Rocket starts when you talk to him again later. This is a race to enjoy! There are five waypoints, and the course is excellent. Run to the first waypoint (a simple one to get your guard down). Use the covered walkway ahead to turn right and go toward point two. Jump up the left wall when you’re close to it, and climb to the top.
Jump carefully between buildings to get to three without falling and having to waste time on a return climb. Then, use the solar panels on high poles to cross the parking lot ahead (to get closer to waypoint four). You have oodles of time to hit the final spot, but do NOT jump off of the roof at the end to reach it. It’s a lethal fall or at least one that causes damage and costs you the race. Instead, look over the lip of the roof and aim for the garbage bags at the bottom. They break your fall and secure the win for you!
Rocket is done! You’ve shown him up five times. Who’s the best runner now?