Blockstop

A **blockstop** is a technique where a driver intentionally drives into offroad blocks in order to rapidly slow down the boat.

## Overview

Blockstops are generally very risky to go for, as driving through too many blocks will make the driver get stuck in the offroad, while driving over too few blocks will not slow the driver down enough, likely making them fly to the outside. Unlike walltaps, which don't really depend on where you hit the block, blockstops are much more precise, as driving over an extra 0.5 blocks will change how much the boat slows down.

While they are risky, they are also very rewarding if done well. Blockstops slow down the boat at a much faster rate than normal braking. (*Example video of a traditional blockstop*).

Blockstops are not always worth it, though. Sometimes it is optimal to maintain speed through a corner. In this case, a blockstop would hinder the driver, as it would be removing speed that they would want to keep.

Not all blockstops are the same difficulty. Track builders sometimes put easy-to-do blockstops into their tracks. An example is this blockstop in Greasy Arena, which is easy enough for most top drivers to go for and land every lap, even during races.

## Applications

Here are a few details on different applications/types of blockstops:

**Microblockstops** are blockstops done by just *slightly* grazing the edges of the blocks, in order to very slightly slow down the boat. These are good for making slight adjustments, or doing very slight braking without taking the time to brake normally. These are also very difficult to do consistently.

In this example video, Makkuusen microblockstops turn 1 in order to help slow down the boat for better alignment for the next corners. Notice on his BoatHUD display (aka the little window of information above his hotbar of items), as he goes through the corner, the speed (indicated by the white horizontal bar) quickly dips down a few times. This shows that he did a microblockstop, which lowered his speed by a little.

During multiplayer races, blockstops can be used to "divebomb" the inside of a corner in order to get an overtake. As stated earlier, since blockstops are very difficult and risky, these typically are not attempted unless there is no reason not to do it (for instance, if they wouldn't lose any positions for messing up the blockstop attempt).

## Effects on Time Trialing

One of the key aspects thats differentiates time trialing from multiplayer racing is that drivers can attempt the track as many times as they want. This encourages the use of extremely difficult techniques, as drivers can attempt them over and over until they get it. In this example, purple\_toki drives NoNameSpeedway using many blockstops. He achieved a time much faster than other drivers, who didn't use blockstops. This lead it becoming almost necessary to use blockstops in order to beat his time (which was promptly done by Makkuusen two hours after toki posted his video to the Off Season 2022 discord server).

In mid-2023, the term "cringe" started being used to describe a category of certain techniques. (For example, "I got a 1:02.55 on NoNameSpeedway, no cringe btw.") Blockstops was the posterchild technique of the category, as it personified what the label was all about: being ridiculously hard and overcentralizing to the point of making time trialing boring, uninteresting, and not fun.

## Effects on Races

### Easier Blockstops

Blockstops that are easy enough for drivers to go for each lap have an interesting flaw in racing. Consider for example this blockstop in Greasy Arena. Suppose you are a driver and you have a competitor in front of you. As shown in Figure 1, There are four basic outcomes for how the turn will go: you can successfully perform the blockstop, you can fail the blockstop by either getting stuck in the offroad or by flying wide by not getting slowed down enough, or you can just not go for the blockstop. The driver in front also has these options. Figure 1 displays the outcomes of all of the possible combinations.

Out of the 16 combinations,

* 7 of them result in you losing time to them (red cells)
* 5 of them go neutral; you don't gain or lost any distance to them (gray cells)
* 2 of them you can *maybe* get closer to them on
* 2 of them you get closer to them on

This means that, at best, you "win" in 4 of the scenarios, while you "lose" in 7. This is because of what happens if they mess up by getting stuck on the offroad. If they do this, you cannot take the blockstop, as you will run into them and lose even more time than they lost. This is what happens in the example blockstop linked above, both Laser and the driver in front went for the blockstop, but since the driver in front messed up and got stuck, Laser lost even more time.

### Harder Blockstops

As noted earlier, it is possible to attempt a divebomb by utilizing a blockstop. While this would likely lead to an overtake if done successfully, it is still a very risky maneuver, especially given the low success rate (as implied by this being the "Harder Blockstop" section) of the blockstop. It should not be overlooked, though, that the presence of this option is better than not having the option at all (aside from the possibility of the blockstop being used for time trialing on the track, which may lower peoples' opinions on the track in that regard).