This guide will explain how to start and complete the repeatable side job “The Distance” in Cyberpunk 2077 along with providing some tips that could prove useful for those who love speed and guns.
How to unlock “The Distance” repeatable mission
The Distance is a series of repeatable races that can be played endlessly. The best thing about it is that you can earn ten thousand eddies and an autofixer discount per win.
To unlock The Distance mission, you must complete the side mission “The Beast In Me”. This means you must race on three different race tracks and qualify for a big race.
Once it’s all done, wait for a few days for a text from a guy called Jim Jarry. After receiving the text you’ll be able to replay all races as part of the repeatable mission The Distance.
Helpful tips to prepare you for the races
Repeating these races is a great way to make a good amount of money in a short period of time. You just need to find a strategy that works and then it will be easy money.
Get a good weaponized car, unlike in “The Beast In Me”, Claire won’t be around to shoot your opponents. It’s not easy to drive and take down everyone with mere pistols. My personal favorite is the Outlaw “Weiler” car that you can get for free.
If driving a weaponized car isn’t your thing then you should still get a fast but stable vehicle. The recently released Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet is a fantastic choice.
Unlock any of these combat perks to gain a significant advantage over the other racers:
- Gearhead – Increased vehicle health and increased damage from vehicle-mounted weapons.
- Carhacker – Ability to use a Cyberdeck to quickhack vehicles, taking control of them, disabling them, or even causing them to self-destruct.
- Road Warrior – Ability to use Sandevistan and Kerenzikov Cyberware to slow down time when driving or shooting while drifting, respectively.
- Fury Road – Increasing collision damage to enemy vehicles and reduced collision damage for V’s vehicle.
If you can’t sacrifice any perk points for these, we have a guide to all locations of Perk Shards in Night City and Dogtown.
Differences between “The Beast In Me” and “The Distance” races
While the courses remain the same, there are are some differences in terms of gameplay and interactions that you should be aware of. I will point out the main differences while also mention some general tips that will prove useful.
After arriving to each race’s location, find the right spot to wait for the race to begin. You must pay two thousand eddies to enter each race, once the fee has been paid then V. will wait for the race to begin.
The beginning sequence of all races is exactly the same to what you experienced in “The Beast In Me”. People gathering to cheer for their favorite racers and all kinds of cars ready to become the next big deal.
The first thing that you’ll notice is that as soon as the race begins everyone will start shooting each other, it’s more likely that the cars that remain in front will receive a huge amount of damage in the first few seconds.
Considering that all races last for more than just a couple minutes I would seriously suggest that you use the first seconds of the race to take down one or two enemies.
Every enemy can be destroyed, and when I say that it could happen withing the first minute I’m not exaggerating. Driving a weaponized car is by far the best option, having to aim with pistols while trying to win a race is easier said than done. But at the end of the day it’s your choice how you decide to compete.
The police will get involved if any of your bullets or reckless driving harm an innocent person. The good news is that losing them shouldn’t be a problem if your wanted level stays at the lower levels but if things escalate it will be almost impossible to even finish the race so keep this in mind.
The only indicator you will see is the yellow line on the road, when doing the races that take place in the city you must be really aware not to confuse them with other yellow things like lighting or crosswalk. I did this mistake a few times and it really put me in a difficult position.
The Badlands’ race still remains the most unique and challenging of all four. The other racers are driving weaponized cars that are fast and light. This course is extremely bumpy and there are a few spots with very close curves, going too fast can be detrimental to your progress. As long as you don’t stay behind by a large margin then you shouldn’t worry too much.
Driving through the canyons is the trickiest part of this race. When playing this course during “The Beast In Me” you are forced to use Claire’s truck, a slow and heavy ride that provides stability and won’t end up bouncing off the ground. This won’t be the case if you decide to use a more “sport-ish” car.
On this ocassion you won’t get to drive while in the middle of a sandstorm, but drones and mechs are patrolling a few spots. Going at a decent speed when going through these areas won’t give them any chances to shoot at you, just make sure not to crash into a wall or rock.
Before getting out of the desert part, the sun will shine at its full. Make sure to pay attention to the arrows on the road, it’s very easy to miss when the route changes. Once you get to the highway you should have no issues at winning.
I played this race three times and on all of them I finished without any opponent remaining. It’s very easy to get rid of them, either by destroying their cars, the course proving too difficult for them.
You can even use the “Emergency Break” quickhack and it will remove the target from the race, permanently. If an NPC vehicle crashes into another racer, it will have the same effect, it’s not something that you can always manipulate but it’s useful to know that the possibility exists.
The equivalent of “The Big Race” is the easiest one. There are very few close curves, and you can go as fast as possible for a lot of time without having to worry about anything.
In terms of difficulty, it’s underwhelming to say the least, but the shots you can get in this race can look like something straight out of a Matrix movie.
If for any reason there are still enemies left after you finished the race, they might continue their pursuit and even come out of their cars to take you down. I wasn’t able to replicate this consistently, so I’m not sure what triggers it but it happened more than once. I guess bad losers exist everywhere.
After winning every race, ten-thousand eddies will get transferred to your account and a crate with an autofixer discount shard will be waiting near the finish line. Only winning the race gets you a reward.
I’ve encountered a weird interaction that removed all the remaining races after completing one. None of the remaining three appear on the map, to solve this simply skip time and/or leave the area. They should be visible on the map again.
There are lots of new things in 2.1, a new metro system, new cyberware, quality of life changes, and much more. To get more in-depth information regarding all the changes and new features you can check the 2.1 changes overview.
