A Beginner's Guide to Not Sucking at Skate.

Skate. is back, and San Vansterdam is a beautiful, sprawling beast of a city that couldn't care less if you land on your feet or your face. Let's make sure it's the former.

After years of waiting, the next generation of Skate is finally here. Full Circle has dropped us into San Vansterdam, a massive, free-to-play concrete playground that’s always online and teeming with other skaters. The classic “Flick-It” controls are back and feel better than ever, but a lot has changed since 2010. The city is huge, there are new mechanics everywhere, and the whole thing can be seriously overwhelming when you first drop in.

The learning curve in Skate has always been part of its charm; a brutal, unforgiving process where every bail and scraped knee sharpens your muscle memory. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran of the old games or a complete rookie who just learned what a kickflip is, this guide will give you the essential knowledge you need to hit the ground rolling.

Dial In Your Damn Settings

Before you even think about dropping in, do yourself a favor and spend some real time in the settings menu. The game gives you a ton of control over how everything feels, especially the Flick-It sensitivity. The defaults are fine, but they’re probably not perfect for you.

If you’re new to the series, try lowering the sensitivity. It makes the stick inputs a bit more forgiving and can save you a lot of frustration. If you’re a returning veteran who lives and breathes the old games, you might want to crank it up to get that razor-sharp response you’re used to. Mess around with it for an hour, then go back and tweak it again. Finding your sweet spot early will make learning everything else a thousand times easier.

Learn the New Economy: Rip Chips and Product Boxes

San Vansterdam runs on a currency called Rip Chips. You earn these by completing pretty much any challenge or mission in the game. Their main purpose is to unlock Product Boxes, which are tied to the different neighborhoods of the city.

Each district: Hedgemont, Gullcrest Village, and Market Mile are the ones available now, has its own progression bar and its own set of unlockable boxes. As you complete challenges in a neighborhood, you’ll earn Rip Chips to open these boxes, which contain all the cosmetic gear to customize your skater. This is your main way of getting new clothes and decks without opening your real-world wallet. So, after you nail a challenge, don't forget to cash in.

The Skatepedia is Your Bible

The game comes with a built-in encyclopedia called the Skatepedia, and you should treat it like a holy text. You can find it in the radial menu, and it contains a full trick list, visual guides for new techniques like Prewinding and Slappies, and even a glossary of skate terms.

If you're a new player, this is your crash course. If you're a veteran, it's the perfect way to brush up on mechanics you've forgotten or learn the new systems without fumbling around for an hour. Keep it handy; there's no shame in checking the manual.

Don't Be a Loner

Yes, you can play this game solo, but you really shouldn't. Skate. is an always-online experience, and the city is full of other real players. Teaming up is, without a doubt, the fastest and most efficient way to progress.

Most challenges on the map have an extra co-op goal that rewards you with more points. You can also challenge other skaters to "Throwdowns," which are quick PvP battles, or share objects you’ve placed with the Quick Drop system. Skating with a crew just makes everything smoother, and honestly, it’s a hell of a lot more fun.

Missions and Tours Are Your Roadmap

If you’re feeling lost and wondering what the hell you’re supposed to be doing, focus on the Missions and Tours. Missions are your bread-and-butter objectives scattered across the map, rewarding you with Rip Chips and unlocking new mechanics.

Tours, marked with purple flags, are the game's version of a campaign. They’re narrated by returning characters like Shingo and Slappy and will guide you through the city and its systems. Most of these unlock in sequence, but eventually, you'll need to complete a certain number of the ambient map challenges to unlock the next Tour. If you get stuck, check your Missions tab.

Get Around Faster

San Vansterdam is huge. While just cruising around is a vibe, sometimes you need to get somewhere fast. As you level up each neighborhood, you'll unlock fast travel points. Use them. They save a ton of time.

Even better, learn to use Session Markers. By holding up on the D-pad, you can drop a personal respawn point anywhere in the world. This is absolutely essential for practicing a specific trick or line. Instead of skating all the way back after a bail, you can instantly pop back to your marker and try again.

Reshape the World with Quick Drop

One of the best new features is Quick Drop, which lets you place objects like ramps, rails, and pads anywhere in the city.

Use a ramp to launch yourself onto a previously unreachable rooftop. Slap a rail down to connect two ledges and extend a grind. Drop a kicker to clear a gap that would have otherwise ended your line. The city is your sandbox, and Quick Drop gives you the tools to build your own masterpiece lines. The more you experiment with it, the more you’ll realize that the possibilities are endless.

Your New Bag of Tricks

The core "Flick-It" system is still here, but there's a whole new layer of movement that you need to learn. The biggest change is the addition of parkour. You can now get off your board to climb buildings, run across walls, and swing from bars. This opens up the verticality of the city in a huge way, letting you find new spots and create lines that would have been impossible in the old games.

There are also new on-board tricks. Slappies let you automatically grind low curbs just by skating into them, making it way easier to chain long lines together. Ollies are more dynamic now; a quick flick gives you a small pop, while "boning" the ollie (holding down on the stick and pushing forward on the other) gives you max air. Master these new tools; they are essential.

The Almighty Multiplier

Many of the toughest challenges in the game require insane sequence scores. You won't get there by just doing kickflips. The key is the multiplier system. Every unique type of trick you land in a single combo: a flip, a grind, a grab, a manual, increases your score multiplier, up to a maximum of 4x.

The game actively punishes repetition. You have to mix up your moves. A flip trick into a long grind, followed by a manual into a grab off a ramp will send your score into the stratosphere. A series of kickflips will get you nowhere. Get creative, stay on your board, and watch that multiplier climb. Master this, and you’ll master the game.