ACC is at its best online. Thirty GT3 cars, real drivers and a one hour race is the reason most people buy it.
It can also be the worst part of the game, if you join the wrong server on your first night. Here is how the multiplayer is built and where I would go.
The three kinds of server
Public servers are open to everyone. You find them in the server list or with quick join. The host can set minimum ratings to enter, and the quality depends completely on that. A lobby with no requirements is turn one chaos. A lobby that asks for a decent safety rating is usually fine.
Competition servers are the official scheduled races inside the game. The rules are fixed, the host cannot tune them, and you need a safety rating above 80 to enter. Your results there feed the last rating, CP.
Private servers have a password or an entry list. The admin controls everything: weather, race length, mandatory stops, driver swaps, grid size. Every league and every ranked platform runs on these.
The driver ratings
ACC rates you on seven things, each from 0 to 100. They unlock one after the other.
| Rating | Name | What it measures | How to raise it |
|---|---|---|---|
| TR | Track competence | If you know the circuit. Shown as medals for each track | Clean laps, then clean laps in a row |
| CN | Consistency | How close your lap times are to each other | Run stints at one steady pace |
| CC | Car control | How well you hold the car at the limit without sliding or spinning | Drive at the limit, not over it |
| PC | Pace | Your speed against a reference for the car and track | Faster clean laps |
| SA | Safety | How cleanly you race close to other cars | Laps near other cars, AI included, without contact |
| RC | Racecraft | How you fight: passes made, places held, results against the field | Race online and finish well |
| CP | Competition | Your results on the Competition servers | Race on Competition servers |
The one that matters for getting into servers is SA. Hosts filter on it, and the Competition servers demand it.
How to raise your safety rating
SA goes up when you drive close to other cars without touching them. It goes down with contact.
You do not have to go online to build it. Races against the AI count. So the fast and painless way is this:
- Set up a single player race with a full grid. Put the AI at a pace a bit below yours, so you spend the race in traffic. The ACC AI difficulty guide shows how to find that level.
- Start in the middle and follow cars closely. Pass cleanly. Do not touch anybody.
- Do a few 20 minute races like that.
It is good practice as well as a rating exercise. Following a car half a second behind for ten laps, without hitting it, is the exact skill you need online.
Then keep it up. One bad night in an open lobby can cost you more SA than a week of clean driving gains. If the server is a mess, leave.
Before your first online race
Do not join with a car you met ten minutes ago. I would have these ready first:
- A track you know. All the track medals, or close to it. Hosts can filter on those too.
- A safe setup. The safe preset with correct tyre pressures is enough. The ACC setup guide covers it.
- A start routine. Most online incidents happen in the first two corners. Read the ACC race starts guide before anything else.
- The pit stop. Many servers have a mandatory stop. Practise it once offline with the ACC pit stop guide.
- The radar on. It is in the HUD options, and it is covered in the ACC HUD guide.
Then check the session info when you join: race length, mandatory stops, weather. If the weather can change, have a wet setup saved.
Where I would race
| Where | What it is | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Public lobbies | The server list in the game. Free, instant, no sign up | Your first online races |
| Competition servers | Scheduled official races in the game. Safety rating above 80 | Clean racing without leaving the game |
| Low Fuel Motorsport | A free ranked platform outside the game with scheduled races, splits, its own Elo and its own safety rating | Daily ranked racing against drivers of your level |
| SimGrid and community leagues | Organised championships with entry lists, stewards and fixed calendars | A season with the same drivers every week |
Open lobbies are fine to learn the routine: join, qualify, start, pit, finish. Once you can do that without drama, move on. The racing gets better the moment there is a rating system or a steward behind it.
Low Fuel Motorsport is the name you will hear most. It is free to join, it runs outside the game, and it puts you in a split with drivers near your Elo. Its safety rating is its own and has nothing to do with the SA in ACC. You sign up on their site and their system gives you the server to join in the game.
A league is the next step. Same drivers every week, a points table and stewards who look at incidents. If you want to race in a team with shared stints, that is where it happens too. See the ACC driver swaps guide.
Playing with friends
There is no party system where you invite a friend into a public race. You both join the same server.
- Same public server: agree on one from the list and search for it by name.
- Your own server on PC: the game ships with a dedicated server tool. You can run it on your own machine or rent a hosted one, set a password and send the name to your friends.
- Your own server on console: you rent one. 505 Games points console players to G-Portal and Nitrado for that.
The settings an admin can change, such as the weather and the formation lap type, come from the Kunos server handbook. I cover the weather ones in the ACC weather guide.
Crossplay
| You are on | You can race against |
|---|---|
| PC | PC only |
| PS5 | PS5 and Xbox Series X and S |
| Xbox Series X or S | Xbox Series and PS5 |
Crossplay between PS5 and Xbox Series arrived with a free update on 13 December 2023. There is no crossplay between PC and console. If your friends are on a different side of that line, you cannot race them in ACC.
Racing etiquette
Online racing only works if people drive like it is a real car. In a real race, contact costs money and hurts. Drive as if it did.
- Leave a car width. If a car is beside you, it owns that piece of track.
- Hold your line under blue flags. Do not jump out of the way. The faster car will find its way past.
- If you spin, hold the brakes. A car that rolls back across the track collects three more.
- Rejoin safely. Wait for a gap. Ten seconds lost is nothing next to a crash.
- Give the place back if you gained it by hitting someone.
- No revenge. Ever. Report it if the platform has stewards, and move on.
Fast drivers who are clean get invited to better races. Fast drivers who are not get banned from them.
FAQ
How do I play ACC multiplayer?
Open Multiplayer from the main menu, then use the server list or quick join. Pick a server that matches your ratings and the track you know.
What safety rating do I need for ACC Competition servers?
More than 80. Public servers set their own minimum, and many have none.
How do I increase my safety rating in ACC?
Drive clean laps close to other cars. Races against a full AI grid count, so you can build it offline.
Is ACC crossplay?
Between PS5 and Xbox Series X and S, yes, since December 2023. PC players cannot race against console players.
How do I play ACC with friends?
Join the same server. Search for it by name in the server list, or set up a private server with a password.
Can I make a private lobby in ACC on console?
Yes, by renting a server. 505 Games lists G-Portal and Nitrado as the providers for console servers.
What is LFM in ACC?
Low Fuel Motorsport. A free ranked platform that runs scheduled ACC races with its own Elo and safety rating.