Beginner and intermediate players should focus on getting points from the Jump ramp (left ramp -> side ramp repeatedly), multiball (locks are at Skull or Skydive lane; three locks starts multiball; jackpots are skull -> Skydive -> Jump ramp), and Payback Time (three shots to each ramp; all major shots lit for 25,000,000 points for 20 seconds).
Advanced players should work toward the Major modes, which are available after playing all five Minor modes; modes are started at the Skull when no multiball or other mode is running. Payback Time and loops of the Jump ramp are of course still valuable as well.
The skill shot consists of pressing the launch button and receiving an award. The award will automatically change every few seconds, or can be manually rotated with a flipper button. Possible awards include:
There are a total of 8 main modes in No Fear. They are subdivided into 5 minor challenges that can be played in any order, followed by 2 major challenges that have a set order, followed by Meet Your Maker wizard mode. The 5 minor modes and the first major mode (No Limits) can be started at the Skull at any time as long as there is not a mode or multiball running. The second major mode (Fear Fest) and Meet Your Maker require making a total of 6 of any major shot to spell No Fear before the Skull will be lit to start the mode. If a multiball is started while a mode is running, the mode will pause until the multiball ends.
Minor challenges (can be played in any order, slingshots rotate which mode will be started):
Major challenges: will always be played in the order listed below, and only after all 5 minor challenges have been played
Both the rules of the major challenges and the fact that they are all multiballs rather than timed single ball modes mean that major challenges are far more valuable than minor challenges. Many players will opt to start minor challenges, but then keep the ball held on the flipper allowing time to run out as much as possible with the goal of making it to the major modes with minimal shots and fewer opportunities for the ball to drain. The game tries to defend against this somewhat, pausing the timer on any timed modes if no switches are hit anywhere in the game after about 5-7 seconds.
Minor and major challenge modes cannot be replayed until Meet Your Maker ends, at which point all challenge progress is reset for another trip through the game.
Locks are lit at the Skydive lane just to the right of the left ramp and the Skull. If locks are not lit, you must hit a drop target in the Skydive lane to light locks. Locking three balls starts multiball. Multiball is a 3-ball affair. Jackpots are lit one at a time in the following sequence: 50,000,000 points at the Skull, then 100,000,000 at the Skydive lane, then 200,000,000 at the Jump ramp, and repeat. Play through this sequence as many times as possible during the multiball. The left saucer will hold onto a ball for about 15 seconds, letting you continue to play multiball rules with one less ball in the way.
If multiball ends without a single jackpot collected, Last Chance will begin, wherein all three jackpots will be lit for 15 seconds of single ball play. There is no restart to the multiball, even if you collect a jackpot during the Last Chance time.
Multiball can be started during a minor challenge mode; this will pause the mode until the multiball ends. Multiball cannot be started during a major challenge mode.
Shooting the left and right ramps three times each starts Payback Time. Only the ramps with a flashing orange circle in front of them advance toward Payback Time, which requires you to shoot them evenly and alternate between the two. As soon as the last ramp shot registers, Payback Time starts; every shot in the game is worth 25,000,000 points for 20 seconds. Payback Time can run on top of any mode or any multiball, and it's recommended to try to get Payback Time to be one ramp away from starting before beginning multiball or a major challenge mode.
In single ball play when Asphalt Challenge minor mode is not running, the Track shot loops around the Skull will advance Steering Wheels. The first Steering Wheel moves you into third place and scores 15,000,000 points. The second Wheel brings you to second place and scores 25,000,000. The third wheel gives a Track Award:
The right in lane or a shot to the unlit left orbit will light the left orbit. The left orbit scores a Raceway when lit. Five Raceways score 5,000,000, then 10,000,000, then 15,000,000, then 20,000,000, then light extra ball. Once the extra ball has been lit from Raceways, no further Raceways can be scored that ball. Progress on Raceways is carried over from ball to ball until the first extra ball is lit; after that it will reset to 5,000,000 points at the start of each ball. For the second extra ball, it takes 2 lit left orbit shots to advance the Raceway value one level. I do not know if getting a third or more extra ball would require 3 or more shots per level.
There are two standup targets in the lower right of the table. Hitting both targets relights the kickback in the left out lane if it is not already lit. Any 2 shots to either target will earn 100 meters climbed. Reaching the top of a mountain by climbing enough meters will light the out lanes for Jump This!. The first mountain requires climbing 400 meters, the second requires an additional 900, the third requires an additional 1,400, etc., but no mountain will ever require more than 4,000 meters. Completing any mountain scores 30,000,000 points. If the ball drains down an out lane lit for Jump This!, it will be returned to the playfield, with a special mode where all Jump ramp shots score 30,000,000 points for the next 30 seconds. You can also get the 30,000,000 by making two consecutive left ramp shots with no switches in between other than the right in lane. Normal gameplay resumes when the timer expires; Jump This! is a proper drain shield, and the game won't lock the flippers like other last chance modes. Only one out lane can be lit for Jump This! at any time, and it will alternate with slingshot hits.
A hidden feature with similar rules to Raceway is available for consecutive shots to the right orbit, which score 5,000,000 points, then Light Video Mode, then Super Spinner, then a repeatable 10,000,000 points for the first four consecutive right orbits on each ball.
When no mode or multiball is running, the saucer at the end of the far left Tube lane awards one of the following randomly:
Video Mode is started at the left saucer and can be lit by making 3 consecutive right orbit shots or as a Mystery award outcome. Use the left and right flippers to move a biker. Look ahead to see if future hills have numbers above them when the biker jumps off a hill ramp; riding into a number scores that many millions of points. There's also a 25,000,000 award for getting to the end. A single video mode is usually worth 80-150 million points.
Pretty much any time the left ramp is shot, you will want to try to combo it into as many consecutive loops of the Jump ramp shot as possible with the upper right flipper. Most of the time, the first Jump ramp shot scores 5,000,000 points, and subsequent loops each score 5,000,000 more than the previous one, up to a max of 25,000,000 each for 5th loop and beyond. The sequence breaks whenever the ball returns to the playfield from the Jump ramp skyloop area. Jump ramp shots always score 25,000,000 points during any multiball, unless the Jump ramp is lit for a 200,000,000 point super jackpot during regular multiball instead. Finally, each successful Jump ramp made over the course of the game is worth 5,000,000 points for the end of ball bonus, with no limit that I have ever encountered.
No Fear has a conventional in/out lane setup. Out lanes can be lit for Jump This! by the lower right standup targets, alternately with slingshot hits. There is a kickback in the left out lane, which is on at the start of the game and can be relit once used by the lower right standup targets yet again. When lit, the in lanes will start a hurry-up worth up to 50,000,000 points on the orbit opposite of the lit in lane that was scored. In lanes are lit by various Steering Wheel awards, or by the mystery.
There is a center peg between the flippers to defend against center drains, which are relatively common if a ball rolls back down the left or right ramp, comes down the left side of the Track loop, or bounces off a post from a missed Skull shot.
Bonus is calculated as 10,000,000 points per challenge mode started (minor, major, and wizard modes all count), plus 5,000,000 per jump ramp, plus 10,000 points per Climber meter collected (which are always collected 100 at a time). There is no bonus multiplier. All three of these counts are taken as number earned across the entire game, so bonus is effectively held from ball to ball. There is no mid-ball bonus collect.
There is no way to earn a Special in No Fear, and extra balls cannot be set to have a point value in competition/novelty play.
The kickback can be set to relight via any two shots to the lower right standup targets rather than requiring one of each.
The Raceway value can be told to reset after every ball even if the first Raceway extra ball has not been lit.
The first Cliff award can be at anywhere from 200 to 1,000 meters. Subsequent Cliff awards will always require 500 more meters than the previous and can never exceed 4,000 meters.
The game can be set to clear Payback Time progress between balls for players who have played Payback Time at least once already. By default it does not do this, always keeping Payback Time progress in memory.
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