How to Win Airframe Ultra
Score legs and KOs across three races. After the open-beta recap, a points lead still needs a race win.
Airframe Ultra is not a single-heat racer. You score from race legs and from knocking people out, then you do it three times in a row. The full game is coming soon. When a playtest or the listed Steam demo is open, you can download it and run this loop online or in split-screen. This page is how a circuit actually ends — not how a highlight reel looks.
If you only chase checkpoints, you will lose to a brawler. If you only farm knockouts, you will lose to someone who actually won a race. After the February 2026 open-beta recap, both halves matter, and one extra rule sits on top of the scoreboard.
Race-leg points and KO points
Tracks in the betas are not closed ovals. A course breaks into highway, then arena, then highway again. Checkpoints still pay. When the arena timer is live, a knockout pays like a leg. You can KO a rider or explode their airframe; bike health is separate, and a wrecked chassis strands the pilot until it respawns. That wait is a donated fight. The combat guide is the KO half. The tracks guide is where those arenas sit.
Dismount when the pack is in melee range or when you have a shotgun angle. When the timer is dying, leave. A live rider on a live bike at the next checkpoint beats a highlight KO that makes you last into the following leg. Sitting on a pipe in the middle of Ocean Drive is how a Cruiser turns you into a checkpoint.
Older closed-beta writeups described a different loop: race to the next arena, first arrival worth three points, second two, third one, then brawl until someone hit a host-set total, often around twenty-five. Treat that 3/2/1 arena race as older beta behavior. The official open-beta recap replaced it with a three-race circuit. If a friend still talks about “first to the pit for three,” they are quoting an earlier test, not the rule that closed Steam Next Fest.
Three races, carry-over, must win a race
A circuit is three races. Points carry from heat to heat. After the third race, the highest total wins — with a caveat the February 2026 recap made explicit. You must have won at least one of the three races. A fifty-point lead still loses the circuit if you never took a heat. The podium is for winners. That is the rule this wiki prefers.
So the plan is not “farm KOs and hope the board loves you.” You need a race win on the board, then enough KO and leg points that a rival with a win cannot out-total you. Win race one and play defense. Steal race three after a messy start. What you cannot do is podium-farm knockouts across three second-places and call it a circuit win. Top-three circuit finishers in that test also got a gag “weapon” to fire at rivals in Warehouse. Fun. Not a scoring slot.
Win the heat you can actually ride. Vote a map you know, take the honest line, and save coolant for the last leg so you can still contest first. Movement cuts that save a heat without dumping you out of bounds live on shortcuts. First-hour kit notes — Bluntnose, Standard body, Rider Suit — live on How to Play. Rank the chassis on the tier list after you can finish a heat without a dry-boost.
Warehouse votes
You do not pick a cup list from a pause menu. After a race you are back in Warehouse. Two random tracks highlight. Walk into the glowing zone in front of the board. Most feet wins. Ties break randomly. AFK in a corner and you get Estate with a Vector and a prayer. Learn Storm Drain, Quarry, Night Ride, Chasm, Ocean Drive, and Estate before you vote with your feet. Warehouse itself is lobby, vote, and a combat sandbox. Circuit scoring happens on the six race maps, not on warehouse brick comedy.
Host control room
Because rooms spawn in Warehouse instead of a setup screen, the host walks into a control room to change settings. Testers could set max players, max lives, max kills, and whether cops were on. Kill buckets in that build were low five, medium ten, high twenty. A golden revolver in that space could disconnect someone you did not want in the lobby. The open-beta recap noted that walking to those controls cost thirty seconds to a minute between races. If you host, set the circuit you actually want, then start the vote. If you are not the host, do not treat the control room as a second arena.
How to actually close a circuit
Stay on Bluntnose until you can finish a heat without exploding the bike. Win one race on purpose. Collect KOs inside the arena timer, not on the highway. Keep coolant for the last leg. Then walk the vote. Closed tests and the February 23–March 2 2026 open beta are the history; the timeline is on beta history. Online PvP, online co-op, and split-screen all use the same circuit math. A couch lobby can still throw the circuit if nobody won a race. Win a heat. Then win the board.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers for racers still learning Megacity West.
Do knockouts score, or is the race all that matters?
Both. Race-leg points and KO points feed the same board. After the February 2026 open-beta recap, you still need at least one race win to take the circuit, even with a huge KO lead.
Is it first to the arena for 3, 2, and 1 points?
That was older closed-beta circuit talk. Prefer the official recap: three races, points carry, and you must win at least one race. See beta history.
How do I vote for the next track?
Walk into the highlighted zone in Warehouse. Two random tracks appear. Most votes wins; ties break randomly. Notes on the six beta courses sit on tracks.
What does the host control room change?
In the open-beta flow the host walks into a Warehouse room to set max players, lives, kills, and cops. A golden revolver there could kick a player. Guests should stay out.
When should I hop off the bike?
When the track opens into an arena and KO scoring is live. Race legs want you mounted. The combat guide covers the fight once you are on foot.
Does this scoring work in split-screen and online?
Yes. Online PvP, online co-op, and split-screen share the same circuit math. A couch lobby can still lose the circuit if nobody won a race.