User blog:Sirebel/Economics of Real Racing 3

=Economics of Real Racing 3=

I've mentioned this on many threads over the last few months but I thought it worth writing it all down in one place so that it isn't lost. I started tracking the economics of Real Racing 3 back around 4.3 when I was trying to reach both a full garage and 100% complete and it makes it a lot easier to progress in the game if you understand how this works. Of course the game developers change things over time and so there are no constants but there are definitely some consistancies. I recorded the minimum upgrades required to win cars and complete series as well as the rewards in the Gold, Gold and More Gold blog. Hopefully, someone will continue to capture this information for future racers.

Fully Upgraded
I achieved a full garage exactly two years ago on June 28, 2016 and shortly after managed to achieve 100% completion on January 17, 2017 (mainly because I refused to buy the TOYOTA TS040 HYBRID (2014) at full price and so I was close to 100% completion when I reached a full garage. Sometime between then and the start of Update 5.4 in July 2017, I used an exploit to fully upgrade my entire garage. I then decided it was time to leave the game and so decided to continue playing but not to farm or use any exploits and see how long I lasted in the game before my funds ran out whilst still maintaining a full garage and 100% complete (but not fully upgraded), which would be the point in which I quit the game entirely. The results surprised me and I've documented the summary below.

Each update, I did the following:
 * Collected all daily rewards (elite level)
 * Watched 5 ads per day
 * Achieved Group B in WTTT each week (with one or two exceptions)
 * Completed all Flashbacks
 * Completed all Special Events
 * Completed all Time Limited Series for new cars
 * Completed all Time Limited Series for old cars where profitable
 * Competed in some team events in 5.x updates

The following table shows the starting gold balance and delta for each update. As you can see, I finshed the year with only 203 less than I started with, which was very surprising. If I carry on like this, I'll never quit the game so I decided enough was enough and I'm calling it a day. So, once you have reached a full garage and 100% completion, you should be able to maintain it almost indefinitely without much farming.

New Players
Lets tackle the new player issue, not enough R$ or Gold to compete in special events and time limited series. My advice has always been to ignore these until you have built up some R$ and gold reserves. I always recommend new drivers try to progress through all the career races first which unlocks all the bonus series and, until you reach Legend, builds up a reasonable R$ and gold reserve. It also unlocks some reasonable farming event (In Classic Ferrari Showdown I decided to buy the FORD FOCUS RS because it seemed like the better option but I don't think it makes a big difference. You only need to buy one car to get through Amateur as the BMW Z4 SDRIVE35IS is free in Racing School Advanced.
 * 1.1 Racing School Basics - FORD FOCUS RS
 * 1.2 Pure Stock Challenge - FORD FOCUS RS
 * 1.3 Racing School Advanced - BMW Z4 SDRIVE35IS
 * 1.4 Street-Spec Skirmish - BMW Z4 SDRIVE35IS

NASCAR
It is a shame that the NASCAR series was moved as I got a lot of R$ doing the Academy and Talent Tour. Maybe they still give this sort of return in the Motorsport category and are worth doing to get that R$ float. I can't say but if someone knows then worth adding a comment here.

Pro/Am
You need to buy one car for each of the career series but I also bought the DODGE CHARGER R/T as it is the only place it has a showcase discount. Looking back, it is an R$ car so it's pretty safe to skip it and just buy it later at full price when you have loads of R$.
 * 2.1 V8 Naturals - LEXUS IS F (2013), DODGE CHARGER R/T
 * 2.2 Performance Rumble - FORD SHELBY GT500
 * 2.3 Everyday Heroes - PORSCHE 911 GT3 RS

Pro
I couldn't complete Classic American Muscle with just the DODGE CHARGER RT (1969). Not sure if there is a better way to do this series.
 * 3.1 Pro/Am Supercar Club - NISSAN GT-R PREMIUM (R35)
 * 3.2 Supercar Masters Series - AUDI R8 V10 COUPE
 * 3.3 Classic American Muscle - DODGE CHARGER RT (1969), SHELBY COBRA GT500 (1967)

Expert
Again, worth revisiting Accolade Open to see if it can be done with only one car and you don't need to buy the CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 (2013) but the 40% discount is very tempting.
 * 4.1 Accolade Open - DODGE VIPER SRT10 ACR-X, BMW M3 GT2 ALMS
 * 4.2 Marquis World Championship - CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 (2013)
 * 4.3 Prestige Powermatch - MASERATI GRANTURISMO MC STRADALE {free}
 * 4.4 Aston Martin Expedition - ASTON MARTIN DB9

Master
I made a few mistakes here, especially in Open Sky Challenge. It looks like you have to buy the ARIEL ATOM V8 or add pointless upgrades to the other cars. I could be wrong, it has been a while since I ran these races. I also made a mistake buying the PORSCHE 911 GT3 CUP for GT3 World Series as you can get this car for free later in Road To Le Mans. If you can complete this series with a different car, or skip it as Elite is open, then I would recommend doing so.
 * 5.1 Open Sky Challenge - ARIEL ATOM 3.5, CATERHAM SEVEN 620 R, ARIEL ATOM V8 (I'm sure this could be done better)
 * 5.2 Euro Supercar Duel - MERCEDES-BENZ SLS AMG
 * 5.3 Redline: Origins - FERRARI 375 F1 (free)
 * 5.4 Classic Ferrari Showdown - FERRARI F40
 * 5.5 GT3 World Series - PORSCHE 911 GT3 CUP

Elite
The AUDI R8 V10 SPYDER is a real bonus as you get it for free in Speedrush TV Challenge and can then use it to progress through Vanguard Challenge and get the LEXUS LFA at showcase discount in Road Masters. You might need to reconsider the PORSCHE 911 GT3 CUP being used to get the NISSAN SUMO POWER GT GT-R GT1 in East/West Throwdown if you can do GT3 World Series without it (as you can get it for free in Road To Le Mans later)
 * 6.1 Speedrush TV Challenge - AUDI R8 V10 SPYDER (free)
 * 6.2 Vanguard Challenge - AUDI R8 V10 SPYDER
 * 5.5.1 East/West Throwdown - PORSCHE 911 GT3 CUP, NISSAN SUMO POWER GT GT-R GT1 (for showcase discount)
 * 6.3 GT1 Grand Tour - NISSAN SUMO POWER GT GT-R GT1
 * 6.9.1 Road Masters - AUDI R8 V10 SPYDER, LEXUS LFA (for showcase discount)
 * 6.4 Lexus LFA Showcase Series - LEXUS LFA
 * 6.5 Ferrari Faceoff - FERRARI FF, FERRARI F12BERLINETTA
 * 6.6 Supercars Championship '16 - ran out of funds but HOLDEN COMMODORE VF (2016) probably the right car to buy
 * 6.7 Supercars Championship '17 - didn't get here but FORD FALCON FG X (2017) or HOLDEN COMMODORE VF (2017) equally good

At this point I think you need to start looking at what bonus series you can grab some profit from without losing showcase discounts and then farming the Classic Ferrari Showdown. However, you should have around R$1,000,000 and 1,200 if you only upgrade the cars enough to open up the next series. You will also be at level 50 and can skip the supercar series and progress to Legend. However, you should progress through Legend cautiously as the cars can get expensive. The following is a suggestion of how to progress but I haven't tested it.

Legend

 * 7.1 Supercar Elites - Start with the PORSCHE 918 SPYDER CONCEPT and get the KOENIGSEGG AGERA if required?
 * 7.2 Spirit Of Ferrari - Would be good if the FERRARI 458 SPIDER could unlock the next series
 * 7.3 Zenith Series - Much discussed on the wiki
 * 7.4 Road To Le Mans - PORSCHE 919 HYBRID (2014) (free)
 * 7.5 Vertex Series - PORSCHE 911 RSR (2013)
 * 7.6 MotorFiesta 1 - FERRARI 412 T2 (free)
 * 7.7 RACING SPIRIT - PORSCHE 911 RSR (2015)
 * 7.8 McLaren Generations - McLAREN F1 GTR
 * 7.9 Group C: Championship - PORSCHE 962C
 * 7.10 Campionato Scuderia Ferrari - FERRARI F14 T

Once you have built up some reserves in R$ and Gold you can start participating in Special Events, Time Limited Series and Flashbacks. I'd recommend trying to keep a minimum of 1000 at the start of each update and top up with farming based on the requirements to win all new cars in each new update. This way you never have to buy another car again and the upgrades you apply to cars you win will help you progress in career. I would recommend only progressing in career with truly spare gold.