Endless runner games are among, if not, the top genre that proliferated during the dawn of mobile gaming. With numerous titles and variations that spawned from then until now, Subway Surfers has been considered as one of the best games in this genre and the first to capitalize on having lanes and varying heights that gave it a distinct appeal over other endless runners.

Subway Surfers was launched way back in 2012 and, more than 8 years later, it continues to top charts in mobile game listings across the globe. With well over 2 billion downloads from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, along with massively positive average user review ratings on both mobile platforms, Subway Surfers has proven to go beyond riding the explosive popularity of the genre.

Subway Surfers has gone a long way since its release 8 years ago, and has evolved to continuously shift its backgrounds to give players a virtual world tour at least once a month, and has provided a lot of different boosts that add more variety and strategic options to each run. If you have just discovered the fun and excitement of endless runners or have just started playing the game, you can still pick up a lot of useful basic tips and strategies by checking out our previous Subway Surfers guide as well as the breakdown of each available booster.

Now, in this new Subway Surfers guide, we will be adding further to the tips and strategies we provided before, as well as add new ones considering the game updates to help you set record-breaking runs and join the leaderboards!

 Like any endless runner or similar casual arcade games, you cannot expect to instantly break records on your first set of runs in Subway Surfers. Despite having simplistic controls and game mechanics, Subway Surfers is a type of game that is easy to learn, yet hard to master. There are plenty of nifty tips and trick to know, but spending time to actually engaging in practice runs will always yield better performance.

Even if you have spent time on other endless runner games, it is best to get a full grasp of the control sensitivity of your device relative to Subway Surfers. This is especially important especially considering that the pace of run continues to accelerate the farther you travel. You may opt for the conventional single finger hold on your device, although using 2 fingers can greatly improve reaction times. In any case, trying both methods to discover which one works for you better is recommended.

The initial tutorial will only run you through the basic swipes, from switching lanes by swiping left or right as well as swiping down to slide under barricades and swiping up to jump over other obstacles. There are, however, some simple tricks that you need to learn and it is not just for a much better performance, but sometimes to save yourself from disaster as well.

To start off, you can switch lanes in midair. Your sense of physics and logic might tell you that you are confined to your lane whenever you jump. In Subway Surfers, however, being able to swipe left or right during a jump is perfectly normal and should be utilized fully even in your starting runs. In the same manner, you can also swipe down any time within the jump to quickly fall back down on the ground or platform. There are instances when you have to time your jump perfectly just to nab all the coins in-between trains and if you jumped a bit off the mark, swiping down at the right time can earn you more coins. This can also be helpful in some situations where obstacles come one after another and you have to make a quick jump or landing to be able to slide through a barricade.

 Engaging in several runs before going for a record-breaker requires a good level of familiarity with the in-game power-ups as well. Although you can make a good run even if you do not always get a hold of these power-ups, each one can tremendously boost your score in each run. While grabbing coins come as naturally as running, you would want to keep your eyes peeled for power-ups that can randomly appear on the level and grab them without putting yourself at risk.

The jetpack is one of the most sought-after power-ups as it boosts your speed and essentially gives you invulnerability for the duration of the boost as it sends you high above the ground away from all obstacles. With its increased speed, it can be a challenge to grab as many coins so always be ready for faster hand-eye coordination as you pick one up.

The super sneakers is a neat power-up that allows you to jump infinite times consecutively. On top of being able to reach the rooftops with a couple of jumps and steer clear off grounded obstacles, this power-up can also earn you coins within your lane if you float close enough to them. You will not be invulnerable for the duration of the power-up though and sticking close to the ground just to earn those coins can still send you straight to bumping an obstacle.

Having a penchant for coins can often put you at risk as Subway Surfers is designed to challenge you by placing trails of coins on different lanes. The coin magnet power-up makes it a whole lot easier for you to get all the coins from all lanes once it is activated and with it, you can concentrate exclusively on surviving the obstacles ahead.

Last, but definitely not the least, is the 2x multiplier power-up. It can combine with the other multipliers you earn and will be key to securing a place in the leaderboards. In some cases, 3 of the 4 power-ups will be available in some areas of your run. Be sure to pick one that best serves your preferences.

 As basic as it sounds, maintaining an advanced perspective on your run by keeping your sights ahead of the track can be very challenging. There are a lot of details that can steal your attention and eyes off track and it can take some time to employ your peripheral vision to its full utilization.

For starters, being able to consistently look ahead means that you trust each swipe well enough in that you no longer need to look at your runner as you switch lanes and hop over or roll under each impediment. Quicker reaction times also call for quicker wits in that you have less than a second to decide on where to go even before you reach the spot to do so.

You would want to look ahead and improve your run to have more time to plan for your next moves, even if the planning and preparation is only a fraction of a second ahead. If you keep your eyes on your runner and move with the immediate obstacle ahead, you can still get in trouble with your choice of swipe especially in areas when 2 obstacles come right after another.

Keeping an advanced perspective gives you an opportunity to plan the next few swipes you will do and lessen if not prevent you from making careless mistakes. At some point, the pace of the game will still make it very challenging for you to react quickly even with an advanced perception of the track ahead. Even so, the fact that the game’s pace has grown challenging for you to navigate through already means that you are doing a better run.

On top of the runner, you also want to avoid checking your score, unless you are away from harm with a jetpack, or have nothing immediately ahead to worry about. If you feel the need to check especially if you are going for a high score, you can do so with just a quick glance. Another detail you might need to check is the remaining juice on your power-up.

For some power-ups, you have to be ready for when they expire so you can ensure that you will not bump into an obstacle right after. There is no need to stare at it longer than you would whenever you check on your score so if you cannot do so with your peripheral view, at least glance at it very quickly.

Between a few extra coins and surviving for a longer run, the latter is the more viable option. If you have already gone farther than most of your previous runs, then you should play more defensively. Coins come in second to your score, especially on important runs. While practice runs and casual runs can be aimed towards securing more coins, your focus on record-breaking runs should be on upping that score.

 On top of running endlessly through the level and continuously training to get that record-breaking run, one feature in Subway Surfers that you need to take advantage of is the missions. You will start off with earning your score normally and at its slowest pace but accomplishing mission objectives can exponentially boost the scores on your subsequent runs with a multiplier.

In some occasions, you can complete mission objectives without even being aware of them. To ensure that you secure the rewards from it as soon as possible, take time to look into the current set of missions via the missions icon on the lower left side of the main screen.

Each mission objective relates to the usual activities you engage in on each run. There are unlimited number of mission sets and the starting ones are a lot easier to accomplish. Completing a set earns you a mystery box, which can contain a variety of resources, as well as unlock the next set of mission objectives. More importantly, each set completed will earn you a star that boosts your score multiplier and the max score multiplier is 30 stars.

This is basically a requisite if you are bent on topping the high score charts. Earning a maxed out multiplier, in combination with the score booster and headstart buff that you can use at the start of your run as well as the x2 multiplier you can grab within the run, all contribute to racking up a high score easily. This should serve as your primary goal as you prepare yourself on a record-breaking run to put your name on the leaderboards.

 The coins you earn from each run is neither just for show nor recruiting runners or purchasing new skins. Beyond considering it as an indicator of how well your run ended up as well, its more important value comes with purchase options that can help your reach higher scores and earn even more coins. The “me” icon at the main screen offers some boards that provide more than an upgrade in your appearance, but the costs associated with it are much higher than what you can earn, especially if you are just starting out.

On the other hand, the boosts you can buy with coins via the shop, which can be accessed from the main menu, can help in increasing your performance and profits on your subsequent runs. While some of these items are mere temporary boosts that get consumed, what you would want to invest in initially, are the upgrades for the power-ups that you obtain while running. While the consumable boosts are best saved for later, whenever you are ready to break records, gradually upgrading the duration of each in-game power-up is worth investing in ahead of everything else.

Note that each of the power-ups can be upgraded up to 6 times and the cost of each succeeding upgrade will naturally be more expensive than the current one. While some of these power-ups offer more enticing benefits than the others, getting more upgrades for your money’s worth is the best way to go. You are free to prioritize whichever upgrades appeal to you more, but know that each run comes with a random element that makes each power-up equally likely to appear.

 In your early runs, receiving a hover board will prompt you to use it immediately. You can activate it, though at any time by tapping twice quickly on the screen. Hover boards actually serve as a second line of defense against crashes and instead of resulting in a dire end for your run, the board will simply disappear if you crash and you get to continue off on your adventure.

One great thing about hover boards is that you can use it several times in a single run. There is a cooldown period within which you cannot use another board after the current one disappears. If you are far enough into your current run, this can become dangerously risky especially since the pace of the game will be faster and avoiding obstacles will be much more challenging.

Like keys that you can consume to save your runner and continue on with your run, utilizing the hover board buff and all other boosts should be saved for important runs. While you can freely use it on regular runs or practice runs, saving all you have for your leadership board entry is the wiser option.

Even on runs that you are especially preparing for, using hover boards indiscriminately is not the best utilization. Given that the boards can save you from crashes, the best time to use them is when you are certain that you will crash and be unable to avoid the obstacles coming your way. More importantly, if your current run is not even enough to beat your current record, then you might as well go a bit farther before expending the resources you worked hard on saving.