Guide
Downhill Domination Unlockables: Riders, Bikes and Secret Levels
The complete Downhill Domination unlockables guide: how every rider is earned, the animal bikes, the 50,000 dollar Protobike, bonus purchases and the three secret levels.
Contents On this page
Almost everything in Downhill Domination is locked behind riding: riders, bikes, upgrades, bonus purchases and three secret levels. This guide lists what can be unlocked, what it actually costs in effort, and the order that makes the whole mountain fall into your hands.
How unlocking works in this game
There is no single unlock screen and no shortcut menu. Riders come from careers, bikes come from the bike shop with cash earned in races, upgrades come from results, and the deepest rewards sit behind a long chain of completions across every mode. The design is pure 2003: the game trusts that you want to earn things, and it makes the earning itself the content. Plan on Super Career first, because it teaches every event type the unlocks will test.
Unlocking every rider
The rider unlocks are the backbone. Tara Llanes comes from completing Arcade mode. Eric E.C. Carter comes from the Mountain Cross Specialized Career, and Brian Lopes from the same career on Hardcore. Missy Giove comes from the Technical Downhill Specialized Career, Richie Schley from the Freeride Specialized Career, Drud from Freestyle mode and Rakel from finishing Super Career with any two riders. Kineticlops is the exception: he is simply bought, for 50,000 dollars, in Bonus Purchases. For the complete picture of the game, start from the Downhill Domination Fan Hub home page and work outwards from there.
Bikes, frames and the bike shop
Cash from races, tricks, combat bonuses and Black Diamond gates flows into the bike shop, where frames and parts raise your bike's performance piece by piece. The shop matters more than it first looks: a fully upgraded bike under a mid tier rider will beat a stock bike under a pro on most courses. Spend early on the parts that match your weakest moments, usually acceleration for technical tracks, and let wins fund the exotic end of the catalogue.
The animal bikes
Win enough and the game shows its sense of humour: the Sheep bike, the Deer bike and the Llama bike, exactly what they sound like, rideable animals instead of machines. They are part of the deepest unlock chain in the game, tied to the same total completion path as the secret levels. They are not the fastest way down any mountain, but they might be the most 2003 thing in any racing game, and every long term player remembers their first llama run.
The 50,000 dollar Protobike
The Protobike is the shop's crown: a 50,000 dollar machine that arrives with every part upgraded when you earn it through the full completion chain. That chain, in order, is every level in Super Career and every Specialized Career with every rider, four custom tournaments of twelve races each with every rider, all 13 Arcade races with every rider, and beating the Incog best time in Time Trial on every level with every rider. It is a marathon, and it also maxes every rider's stats, which is the real prize. Prices mean nothing without income, so read our money and sponsorship guide before you start saving.
Bonus purchases explained
Bonus Purchases is the game's treasure room, where cash buys things careers cannot give you, led by Kineticlops at 50,000 dollars. Treat it as a savings goal rather than a shop: bank your race winnings, resist spending on cosmetic upgrades mid career, and the guest rider becomes affordable right around the time your skills can do him justice. Bonus items are single player only, which keeps multiplayer honest.
The three secret levels
Three bonus levels hide behind the same total completion philosophy: finish the levels of Super Career and the Specialized Careers with every rider, in order, and keep going through tournaments, Arcade and Time Trials. The game rarely announces progress clearly, which is why so many players in 2003 believed the secret levels were a rumour. They are real, and the path to them is simply the whole game, finished properly, with the whole roster. The careers named in this guide are broken down race by race in our Super Career guide and the Specialized Careers guide.
A sane order for unlocking everything
Work in this order and nothing is wasted: Super Career with your main rider, Arcade for Tara Llanes, the three Specialized Careers for Carter, Giove and Schley, Freestyle for Drud, Super Career again with a second rider for Rakel, Mountain Cross on Hardcore for Lopes, then tournaments and Time Trials for the Protobike chain. Save cash throughout for Kineticlops. Every step unlocks something you will use in the next step, which is why the system still feels generous two decades on.
Quick Answers
How do you unlock all riders in Downhill Domination?
Riders unlock through modes: Arcade gives Tara Llanes, the Specialized Careers give Carter, Giove, Schley and Lopes, Freestyle gives Drud, two Super Career completions give Rakel, and Kineticlops is bought for 50,000 dollars.
What is the Protobike in Downhill Domination?
The Protobike is a 50,000 dollar top tier bike earned through the game's full completion chain, arriving with all parts upgraded and every rider's stats maxed.
Are there secret levels in Downhill Domination?
Yes, three bonus levels unlock through the total completion chain across Super Career, the Specialized Careers, custom tournaments, Arcade and Time Trials.