Need For Speed Unbound: Finding All The Collectibles

As an avid Need For Speed fan since the Underground days, I live for bombing down streets at insane speeds tricked out in visual customizations. Like many in the community, I was instantly hooked by Unbound‘s vibrant graffiti-esque art style blended with the signature adrenaline-filled racing.

Yet my favorite part of any NFS title has to be seeking out every single collectible scattered around the maps. Locating all these items not only satisfies my completionist urges, but also allows me to expand my fleet with special prize vehicles.

So when I toured Lakeshore City for the first time, I was stoked to learn Unbound features a whopping 260 different collectibles up for grabs! This drastically dwarfs the 100 available in NFS Heat.

In this guide, I‘ll share everything I‘ve uncovered about tracking these tricky items down after over 50 hours playtime – from optimal routes to intrinsic rewards.

Overview Of The Collectibles System

Similarly to previous games, collectibles are divided into 3 distinct flavors:

Bear Champs (100): Badass statue bears oddly placed around the city. Simply smash through them with your car to shatter these icons.

Billboards (80): Towering neon signs promoting products. You‘ll need to damage your car by plowing directly into them at high speeds.

Street Art (80): Eye-catching graffiti murals spray-painted across building walls. Approach closely and tap the prompted button.

This system stays true to the foundations established previously while dramatically expanding the sheer volume of content. I was pumped to start tracking everything down!

Destroying objects or interacting with art pieces removes them permanently from the world while also granting both cash bonuses and map intel.

Efficient Hunting Routes For All Collectibles

While collectibles spawn in randomized positions, their sheer quantity means you could waste hours without pinpointed searches.

To accelerate my efforts, I ensured to always have the following optimal hunting strategies and routes in mind:

Consult The In-Game Map Regularly

Open your map screen frequently to reveal every unclaimed item‘s immediate vicinity. This transforms seemingly aimless driving into targeted journeys.

Don‘t merely glimpse at it though – meticulously scan icons to discern exact roads and intersections where you‘ll need to explore.

Zone In On Individual Districts

Attempting to scour all of Lakeshore city simultaneously will only bewilder and overwhelm you. I focused efforts into localized zones.

The city contains 22 unique districts – sweep each entirely before shifting your sights to the next geographical area. This organized approach prevents haphazard backtracking.

Balance Item Hunts With Other Events

Roaming around fruitlessly seeking every last object franklyStarted feeling tedious after lengthy sessions.

I began integrating my collection phaseseamlessly into the core game loop – snatching items en route to races or during police pursuits shook up the monotony.

This tactic organically pushes you to unexplored pockets of the city along the way.

Utilize Ramps And Billboards

While grinding along roads, accelerate up conveniently aligned ramps or billboards prior to crashing into them.

The momentary aerial view granted me invaluable intelhighlighting collectible locations unobserved from ground level.

All Collectible Spawn Locations

While randomly generated per player, this map outlines the districts with higher collectible concentrations:

For convenience, this table also summarizes the average distribution totals:

While your personal item arrangements will differ, these statistics should help guide your own expeditions by revealing more abundant areas!

Prize Vehicles From Collecting Sets

Beyond satisfying my inner completionist, the main incentive fueling my collectible hunt is the jaw-dropping vehicles awarded for amassing every entry in a category.

BMW M4 GTS

Awarded For: Annihilating all 100 Bear Champs

Class: A+

Key Perks: Lightning acceleration, curves taken at imperceptible speeds, roar of the engine fills you with adrenaline.

Ford Focus RS

Awarded For: Obliterating the 80 Billboards

Class: A+

Key Perks: Corners grappled at seemingly gravity-defying angles, drifting feels connected to your soul, turbocharger kicks acceleration into light speed.

Ferrari 488 GTB

Awarded For: Capturing all 80 Street Art pieces

Class: S

Key Perks: Poetry in motion handling with simulated downforce technology, roaring V8 harmonizing with your racing spirit, traction perfect for navigating winding cliffside routes.

As you can observe, the vehicles granted are well worth the effort required locating every entry in their respective categories!

Community Reception & Impact On The Meta

Checking forums and online communities, sentiments towards collecting are mixed, but lean positive. Detractors argue spending extensive time locating items distracts from the core racing experience.

However, most praise how satisfying 100% completion feels. The special unlockables also influence the multiplayer meta – you‘ll undoubtedly notice rival racers utilizing these optimal cars against you!

While absolutely not required, dedicated players committed to domination should hunt these road beasts down. Casual enthusiasts can skip it though without FOMO. Ultimately collectibles accomplish their purpose – appeal to various player psychographics without forcing participation.

Are The Collectibles Worth Seeking Out?

For racing purists focused strictly on competition, item collecting likely won‘t provide sufficient appeal. But for completionist fanatics like myself desperate to clear every accolade, they are incredibly rewarding!

Let‘s analyze the tangible incentives driving these expeditions:

Prize Vehicles

The prestige cars unlocked are game-changers – their extreme performance remains best-in-class for their designated roles. When utilized correctly, they peerlessly dominate similar rated competition.

In multiplayer, rivals wielding these exclusive rides hold noticeable advantages that undoubtedly influence victories. From both mechanical and psychological standpoints, their advantages are indispensable.

$65,000 Cash

This lump sum can be invaluable during early game phases when funding visual customization or key performance parts. Mid-to-late game the amounts feel insignificant, but initially they make large purchases possible sooner through supplemental income sources.

Exploring The Map

Meticulously combing every inch of the expansive open world inevitably leads you down hidden backstreets and overlooked landmarks. This grants intimate familiarity with the setting that subconsciously aids your navigation instincts during high speed chases when split second reactions make the difference Between a flawless getaway or a devastating crash.

Completionist Appeal

Finally, for obsessive gatherers of accolades like myself, checking off the collection tabs provides immense satisfaction. There‘s something special about proving mastery over such a sprawling virtual city. It reinforces your reputation as the undisputed racing icon.

Closing Thoughts

For those sharing my completionist tendencies, don‘t hesitate to scour Lakeshore City indefinitely until your inventory houses 260 artifacts symbolizing utter dominance!

Even for casual fans simply chasing prestige vehicles to flaunt during multiplayer contests, dedicating some hours to memorably smash through bears or buildings pays notable dividends.

Whichever camp you fall into, I hope my guide here optimizing routes and outlining rewards assists your own ruthless rise to collectible glory!

Let me know which spectacular supercar ended up becoming your personal favorite showcase ride from the items and why!