South of Central Station in the Everfrozen Earth, a small Jack Frost holds a flag while a crowd of faster snowmen waits to race you to a finish line. The challenge is simple to trigger and easy to lose, because the little Jack Frosts move much quicker than your Traveler at base speed. You can win either by slowing them down with placed objects or by stacking your own movement buffs.
Quick answer: Build several Grappling Guns along the race path before you start. Each snowman has a hook on its back, so the Grappling Gun yanks it in place for a few seconds and lets you pull ahead to the finish.
Where to start the race
Head south of Central Station to find the flag-holding Jack Frost. Approach the figure and the interaction prompt to begin the race will appear.
Before you commit to a serious attempt, run the race once just to learn the course. Knowing the exact turns and straightaways tells you where slowing tools will matter most. Losing costs you nothing here, since you can talk to Jack Frost again and restart as many times as you want.
Method 1: Slow the snowmen with Grappling Guns
The most consistent way to win is to sabotage the racers. Every Jack Frost carries a hook on its back, and a Grappling Gun automatically latches onto that hook when a snowman runs past, freezing it in place for a few seconds.
Tip: You can also hop into the snowball launcher that one of the snowmen builds. Turning yourself into a snowball and firing forward skips a chunk of the course, and it pairs well with any speed buffs you have running.
Method 2: Outrun them with movement buffs
If you would rather win honestly, you can stack enough movement speed to beat the snowmen on foot. This takes the right team and a little setup, but it removes the need to build anything on the course.
Start by bringing two Anemo characters to trigger Anemo Resonance, which raises the whole team’s movement speed by 10%. You can add another 10% by equipping the Lost Prayer to the Sacred Winds catalyst, and crafting an Ambient Bollard gives a further speed boost.
Certain characters accelerate hard while their skills are active. Rotate through them so you always have one running.
| Character | Speed effect |
|---|---|
| Xilonen | High mobility during skill use |
| Wanderer | High mobility during skill use |
| Xianyun | High mobility during skill use |
| Diona | Faster movement with lower stamina drain on skill |
| Dehya | Increased movement speed during the day |
| Rosaria | Increased movement speed at night |
When one character’s mobility skill ends, switch to the next to keep the boost going. If you plan to lean on Dehya or Rosaria, use the clock in the main menu to set day or night so their passive is active when you race.
Reward for finishing first
Cross the finish line ahead of every Jack Frost and an exquisite chest appears for you to open. You can re-enter the race as often as you like, so a failed run only costs you the time it takes to walk back to the starting flag.
Between the two approaches, the Grappling Gun setup is the more reliable win, since it does not depend on which characters you own. Save the mobility team for runs where you would rather race clean, or combine both by launching yourself off the snowball while your speed buffs are up.
