Over the Hill Pebbles: how to earn them fast

There are 21 vehicles in Over the Hill and fully upgrading one costs 675 Pebbles. Do the maths and the whole garage comes to 14,175, which is a stupid amount for a game where the currency is basically gravel. Everything lying around the map only pays 3,240 in total, once, and then it’s gone. I found that out after cheerfully scooping up the whole first area and wondering why my balance still looked shit.

The 16 October update moved the meteorite spawn points in every area, so the meteorite spot counts below are the old ones. Treat them as a rough guide.

Pebble sources

Where Pebbles come from, then, and it’s a shorter list than you’d like. Crates, cabins, scenic points, challenge trails, recoveries, the Mechanic and the first photo of each animal all pay once and never again.

3,240 divided by 675 is 4.8, so if you collect literally everything on the map you’ve paid for about four and three quarter cars, and the garage has 21. Don’t try to max the lot. Pick the one or two you actually like driving, because every upgrade is for one specific vehicle (I upgraded a car and then never drove it again, and I’m not telling you which).

Meteorites

Meteorites are where the real Pebbles are. They land at fixed spots, 208 across the five areas at last count, and there are usually two or three on the ground at any moment. Take one and a replacement drops on a free spot one to five minutes later, so an area never runs dry, you just can’t empty it faster than the game refills it.

To get one out you attach the winch and pull. The ropes have to be under tension, and no two of them can pull more than 120 degrees apart, so don’t rope it from opposite sides and then sit there wondering why nothing’s happening. (I did that, then did it again, because the first time clearly taught me nothing.) If the automatic winch is being a prick there’s a manual one. I found that out about an hour too late. Bigger meteorites need more people on the ropes.

In co-op the Pebbles get split between everyone who helps, meaning anyone with a winch attached or standing within 10 metres, and the split rounds up. Four of you on a very huge one is 20 each. One of you on a medium one is 30. So the big ones aren’t worth chasing as a group. Spread out, take the small ones on your own, and only gather round when a big one happens to be sitting right there.

The Meteorite Radar tool points you at the nearest fallen one on your compass. You start with three, and cabins restock whatever tools you’ve got equipped, so it goes radar, winch, pull, repeat, with a quick stop at a cabin when you run dry. It only works if the radar has a slot, and you start with exactly one, which is why I’d buy the second tool slot before anything else (more on that at the bottom).

Spawn points per area, roughly: Emerald Lake 34, Gimli Ridge 31, Asgard Mountain 47, Tassili n’Ajjer Desert 48 and Aurès Mountains 48. Those are the numbers from before the 16 October update moved them all, so don’t hold me to the exact count, and any map you built in your head in launch week is a bit wrong now.

Repeat trails and recoveries

Challenge trails pay a one-time bonus and then 3 to 8 Pebbles every time you finish one, first run included. Recoveries pay 25 once, plus 5 every time you finish one (the first time included), and each one also hands you a cosmetic the first time. Until the 16 October update the repeats didn’t pay at all, so if you’ve read older advice saying don’t bother, that’s why. It’s fixed now. Recoveries, if you haven’t met one yet, are the missions marked with a question mark on the map: you find a stranded vehicle, winch onto it and tow it to the marked drop-off.

Still not worth farming though. One very small meteorite is 15 Pebbles and a recovery repeat is 5. Do the trails because 18 of the 23 unlock a vehicle and the other five give you a cosmetic, and take the repeat Pebbles as a bonus.

Best area to farm

“Places” here means crates, cabins, scenic points, the Mechanic, trails and recoveries, so meteorites and animals come on top.

Algeria wins easily. The desert has 725 Pebbles of places to collect, 14 scenic points (the next best area has 8), seven recoveries (everywhere else has one or two) and 48 meteorite spots. It’s also open from the first minute, because the first area of each region is yours from the start. Emerald Lake is the weakest at 295, which is a bit rude considering it’s where everyone begins, so don’t hang about there.

Each area has its own Mechanic, Crazy Günther, and the first visit to each one pays 10, so say hello on the way through. An exit portal opens the next area in its region, which for the desert means the Aurès Mountains, and that’s the second best place to be with its 48 meteorite spots and 505 Pebbles of places. Reaching a cabin also reveals the points of interest around it on your map, so they’re worth hitting early.

Animal photos

The first photo of each species pays once. There are 27 species and 720 Pebbles in total. Commons are 10 (the Bighorn Sheep is 20 for some reason), uncommons are 20, rares are 50 and the two legendaries are 100 each. Six animals make up 400 of the 720, so those are the ones to go looking for.

To take a photo, open the radial menu and pick the camera. Land animals notice your vehicle from 15 metres and your horn alerts anything on the ground within 30, so leave the horn alone until you’ve got the shot. The Safari Camera spots animals up to 100 metres away, so there’s no need to rush it. The Sasquatch is at Emerald Lake, which gives you a reason to go back to the starter area, and it’s the only reason I’ve ever had.

What to spend Pebbles on

The Mechanic sells 16 upgrade stages in seven kinds, and each stage needs the one before it. The first stage costs 25, the second 50 and a third, where there is one, costs 75. Only the winch and the tool slot have a third.

Tool slot first, because you start with one and the radar, the planks and the portable winch all want it. Winch second, since everything in this game ends with you hooking onto something and more reach means more trees. Tires third, because the standard grip is optimistic. The engine can wait. This isn’t a racing game and nobody has ever needed more top speed to get over a boulder (I bought it first anyway, because bigger number must be better, and it was bollocks). Protection and the rest can wait with it.

That’s the lot. If you want my actual advice, stop watching the Pebble counter and go and look at a lake for a bit. The game wants you to anyway.