In certain event types, equipment (sometimes referred to as weapons) can be used to help escape police cruisers or hamper other racers to help accomplish the objective.
There are are six different types of equipment, two of which are specific to racers, and two more are specific to cops.
EMP[edit]
The electromagnetic pulse is a forward-firing weapon used against a target in front of you. Triggering the EMP creates a lock-on reticle in front of your car. So long as the reticle remains red, the target is locked. If the target evades, the reticle will turn white.
The EMP will fire, valid target or otherwise, after 3-5 seconds. The EMP does not fire a projectile, and instead invisibly impacts the target with a shower of sparks. So long as the target is locked when the EMP goes off, the target will be struck with a hard push that can cause them to lose control.
The EMP itself also does a considerable amount of damage, and successive hits (or an EMP strike against a weakened opponent) will usually wreck them and eliminate them from the race.
EMP is available to both racers and cops. While cops can only lock onto racers, racers can lock onto cops as well as other racers.
EMP lock ons are most commonly countered as a racer by using the jammer, which interrupts all equipment use. You can also force the target vehicle to overshoot you, as the EMP can only lock onto targets in front of the targeting car. Handbrake turns nearly always guarantee an escape from an EMP. Spike strips also work to disable an EMP lock on.
As more EMP hits are scored in either singleplayer or multiplayer, the EMP can be upgraded twice (separately for cops and racers). A level 2 EMP will have a decreased lock on time, while a level 3 EMP will have both a reduced lock on time as well as increased damage.
Spike Strip[edit]
Spike strips are a rearward-launched weapon, used by both cops and racers. Deploying the spike strip takes a moment, but when deployed, it creates a strip behind your car that spins out any vehicle that runs over it, in addition to dealing damage.
Spike strips are deployed rearward, but take a moment to expand into their full length. Point-blank spike strips are thus only effective if the target car's hood is right on the trunk of your car. Spike strips also inherit the car's momentum, and can thus slide along the road (most visibly when deployed before a turn).
Similar to EMP, spike strips deal a considerable amount of damage, and successive hits (or a hit against a weakened opponent) can wreck them and eliminate them from the race.
Spike strips are colour coded based on who launched them: racer spike strips will flash with red lights, while cop spike strips will flash blue. However, spike strips do NOT discriminate friend from foe in the case of cops. When playing as a cop, ensure you do not accidentally spike one of your teammates. Racers may freely spike strip the cops to shake a pursuer, or each other to try to cross the finish line first.
Evading spike strips can be challenging, but keeping a healthy distance between yourself and a target vehicle can let you evade them before they're launched. Never drive directly up against a vehicle that has not used a spike strip in a while. Jammers can also cause deployed spike strips to magically disappear.
As more cars hit your spike strips, the spike strips will be upgraded twice (separately for cops and racers). A level 2 spike strip has an increased length and deploy time, making it far more difficult to dodge. A level 3 spike strip deploys two spike strips at once, further increasing the chances of a hit; however, the game considers them only one spike strip, and once one hit is scored, both spike strips disappear.
Level 3 is unlocked at 50 successful spike strip attacks.
Jammer (Racer)[edit]
A fairly straightforward piece of equipment, the jammer disables all police equipment use in a wide area and disables their minimap. This equipment is available only to racers.
The jammer has no visible effect, though sound is muted for a brief second as it is engaged.
Jammer use will also disable an EMP lock on, and cause any deployed spike strips to magically vanish.
As the jammer is used to interrupt more equipment use, it can be upgraded twice. Level 2 jammers have an increased radius, while level 3 jammers have an increased duration.
Turbo (Racer)[edit]
The turbo is a powerful boost system, available only to racers, that simply increases the speed of your own vehicle, essentially turning it into a rocket ship. Turbo use is independent from your nitrous system, and you can build up nitrous while using the turbo.
Once activated, you will hear a sound of the turbo system charging, and other players will hear a radio announcement indicating a power surge. Once engaged, the turbo cannot be interrupted, except through crashing. Green flames (instead of the usual blue for nitrous) will erupt from your vehicle as the turbo is used.
A successful use of the turbo without crashing will yield a "Perfect Turbo" experience point bonus.
As the turbo is used, it will be upgraded twice. Each turbo level will decrease its activation time and increase its duration, possibly making it harder to achieve a perfect turbo.
Roadblock (Police)[edit]
Available for police players, triggering a roadblock will have a bunch of police cars (and other cosmetic-only items) materialize in front of the racers (unless a racer is far enough ahead of the cops). The roadblock will appear on the minimap of the police players but not for racers, unless they use the jammer.
The roadblock's function is straightforward - to force the racers to thread the needle in between the roadblock vehicles. No matter its size, there will always be a gap barely large enough for racers to pass through.
To evade a roadblock, you must aim for the aforementioned gap, evade it using a shortcut (roadblocks never appear on shortcuts) or hit a roadblock car on its front or rear to push it aside. A racer who hits a roadblock vehicle directly will either crash, or otherwise be rear-ended by the cop who triggered it. This will have your vehicle suffer critical damage or be eliminated outright.
As more racers hit your roadblock, it will be upgraded twice. Level 1 roadblocks consist of the relatively small and light Ford Shelby, which can be pushed aside somewhat easily when hit. Level 2 roadblocks add the considerably larger and heavier Porsche Cayenne, which has much more mass and will slow down racers far more effectively. A level 3 roadblock eliminates the Ford Shelby entirely and consists entirely of Cayennes.
Helicopter (Police)[edit]
An aerial unit can be deployed by police players to pursue the racers. The helicopter prevents the racer from escaping during Interceptor events, making it impossible for them to win so long as the helicopter is present. Additionally, the helicopter will sometimes find a location ahead of the racer, enter into a hover, and then drop a level 1 spike strip.
Helicopters can be countered in a number of ways. Helicopters cannot pursue a target in a tunnel, nor can they drop spike strips there. When facing a helicopter in the open, the jammer can disable the helicopter's spike strip as it does any other spike strip. Helicopters can also be locked onto using the EMP, and hitting them with it will have them beat a hasty retreat.
As more racers run over spike strips dropped by your helicopters, the helicopter will change its livery, become more aggressive in its spike strip use, and remain in the air for much longer. The default is white, and will be upgraded to blue after a few spike strip hits. Its final upgrade is a black helicopter which harries the racers for an extended period of time.
In the single player campaign, the level 1 helicopter first appears in Cannonball.