This article is part of a directory: Gran Turismo 7: Complete Guide & Walkthrough
Table of contents

Due to the heavy emphasis that it places on realism, Gran Turismo 7 can be a little intimidating at first, at least for those who are new to the racing sim genre, anyway. It's not the kind of game that one can just pick up and play, with players first needing to wrap their heads around how all of the different driving mechanics work. With a little perseverance though, it actually ends up being a pretty good introduction to the genre.

RELATED: Gran Turismo 7: How to Get Roulette Tickets (& What They’re Used For)

That said, during the opening few hours of Gran Turismo 7's single-player campaign, novice players may find themselves getting frustrated; both with the game and with themselves. These tips and tricks should help to make the experience a little more palatable, however, while also helping players to avoid some of the more common beginner mistakes.

Updated September 7, 2022, by Tom Bowen: It's been six months since the game's initial rocky release and Gran Turismo 7 is finally back on the right track. Long gone are the complaints about aggressive monetization and poor server stability, with players now able to simply enjoy the game for what it is: one of the best driving simulation games of all time. With plenty of new players still picking the game up, the demand for beginner tips for Gran Turismo 7 remains high. As a result, this list has been updated to include a few more things that novice drivers should keep in mind when they're first starting their Gran Turismo 7 journey.

Keep Track of Scheduled Maintenence Times

gran-turismo-7-servers-down

For whatever reason, the team over at Polyphony Digital decided that it would be a good idea to introduce an always-online requirement to Gran Turismo 7. This effectively means that, without an active internet connection, players are unable to engage with pretty much all of the game's content bar the Music Rally mode. This is only half the problem though, with players also completely locked out whenever the game's servers are down.

Thankfully, random downtime is now a lot less frequent than it was around the time of the game's launch, though there are still scheduled maintenance periods on a fairly regular basis. Players should therefore keep an eye on when these are set to take place to make sure that they don't get booted out midway through an endurance race or difficult challenge, as any progress made in the moments leading up to downtime will not be saved.

Make the Most of Gift Cars

gran-turismo-7-xbow-gift-car

Those hoping to collect every car in Gran Turismo 7 are going to have to purchase or grind out an awful lot of Credits. With this in mind, players should try to figure out the most cost-effective methods for filling out their car collections, with gift cars serving not only as great rewards, but also decreasing the total amount of Credits needed to pad out one's garage.

At the time of writing, players can obtain 114 vehicles as gift cars by completing certain challenges and events. This works out to more than a quarter of the cars in the game, making it easy to see how simple it can be to save Credits with a little bit of planning. Sadly, a lot of these cars are low-value vehicles, but, as the old saying goes, every little helps.

Complete Menu Books First

gran-turismo-menu-books-featured-image

Tempting though it may be to dive right into the game's online multiplayer mode as soon as it becomes available, players may well benefit from completing all of the Menu Books in Gran Turismo 7 before doing so, particularly if they hope to actually compete in Sport Mode events rather than simply take part.

RELATED: Gran Turismo 7: The Fastest Cars in the Game (& How to Get Them)

Completing Gran Turismo 7's Menu Books will help players to familiarize themselves with all of the tracks and layouts in the game, while also providing them with a decent amount of free gift cars and Credits. As a result, when the time finally does come to test their driving ability against others online, they'll find themselves in a much better position to do so and with a much better chance of succeeding.

Ween Yourself off Auto-Braking ASAP

gran-turismo-best-worst-things-auto-brake

No matter what anybody says, there is nothing wrong with using difficulty settings and accessibility options to make a game easier. That's exactly what they're there for, after all. That said, some of the ones found in Gran Turismo 7 can arguably make things just a little too easy. This is especially true of the auto-brake system, which, though useful for novice drivers early on, can quickly become a hard-to-shake-off crutch.

For those who are new to the series, having the game automatically handle braking as they head into sharp bends can be an absolute godsend. That said, the game is very aggressive with its braking, meaning that there'll probably come a point where it starts to hold players back. With this in mind, players should get into the habit of braking even when the auto brake is on and then gradually start to crank up the difficulty.

Don't Be a Slave to the Racing line

gran-turismo-tips-tricks-racing-line

The racing line shows players the optimal route for any given track, but this doesn't necessarily make it the best path for players to follow. This is because it fails to account for the positions of other drivers, which is actually a pretty big pitfall given that players are typically going to have to overtake as many as 19 other vehicles in order to make it to the top spot of the podium.

Sometimes, cutting inside another racer can provide players with a chance to overtake, while deviating from the racing line can also help players to avoid congestion. If anything, the racing line is most useful for predicting where other racers are going to be, though it is worth noting that, like the very best players, not all AI-controlled racers stick to the racing line either.

Find a View that Works for You

gran-turismo-tips-tricks-choose-a-view

Gran Turismo 7 has four or five different views (players can press R1 during a race to cycle between them), though most players will probably end up gravitating to just two of them. The first-person cockpit view really helps to crank up the immersion, while racing with a third-person behind-the-car camera angle can make the experience feel a bit more like some of the classic arcade racing games of yesteryear.

RELATED: Gran Turismo 7: How to Change View

Given how drastic these differences can be, some players might be able to find a lot more enjoyment in the game simply by switching away from the default setting. Both of the aforementioned views can be further tweaked in the options menu too, with players given control over things like field of view and the heads-up display.

Be a Clean Driver

gran-turismo-tips-tricks-clean-race-bonus

If players are able to finish a race without leaving the track or being involved in any major collisions, they'll receive a Clean Race Bonus. This, in turn, will increase their total prize money by 50%. Initially, this will only equate to a small rise, but, as players get further into the single-player campaign, Clean Race Bonuses will start to be worth tens of thousands of Credits.

Unlike certain other areas of the game, Gran Turismo 7 is actually very forgiving when it comes to these bonuses, with players having to work pretty hard to actually lose them. Side-swipes are unlikely to cost players their bonus, nor is cutting corners providing that the entirety of their car doesn't leave the track. As a result, cautious players should have no trouble getting the bonus for most, if not all of their races.

Don't Be Afraid to Spend Credits

gran-turismo-tips-tricks-spending-credits

While it's true that pretty much all of the cars required for collection-based Menu Books can be won as gift cars by securing a podium finish in the right races, many are also available for sale at the Used Car Dealership. This means that players can save themselves quite a bit of time by spending their hard-earned credits instead of racing. It may seem wasteful, but, what are Credits for if not spending?

Once players start to unlock events with three or four laps, completing a three-car set can end up taking about half an hour. Buying the cars, on the other hand, will take only a matter of seconds and, in some instances, could actually end up saving players money as they won't need to tune a car just to be competitive in those three races.

Be Cautious When Tuning Cars

gran-turismo-tips-tricks-tuning-cars-tyres

More than any other Gran Turismo game, GT7 players will find themselves switching cars on a fairly regular basis. This is because most races have very specific entry requirements relating to the player's car's country of origin, engine type, and drive type. With this in mind, players should be cautious about how much they spend souping their cars up.

Each race has a recommended PP and players should aim to match this rather than beat it. Sure, having a ridiculously overpowered car can make races a lot easier, but, considering most cars will only be used for two or three races, any excess tuning usually ends up being a huge waste of Credits. To be clear, tuning can be necessary at certain times, but players should focus on buying cheap items that offer big PP boosts, like air filters and tires, rather than just buying everything that the tuning shop has to offer.

Gran Turismo 7 is available now on PS4 and PS5.

MORE: Gran Turismo 7: Complete Guide & Walkthrough