Kirby Air Riders Top Ride Checklist – Steal Items 2 Times in a Single Race Guide

If you’re stuck on the Top Ride checklist mission “Steal items 2 times in a single race” in Kirby Air Riders, you’re definitely not alone. On paper it sounds super easy… and then you try it with Daroach, steal stuff all race, and the box still doesn’t tick.

In this guide I’ll walk you through, in a clear student-style way, exactly:

What the game actually means by “steal items”
Why stealing copy abilities doesn’t count
The exact race settings and setup that work
A step-by-step method you can repeat until it unlocks
Common mistakes that make the checklist stay grey
When to just use an Open Block and move on

What “Steal Items 2 Times in a Single Race” Means in Kirby Air Riders Top Ride

On the Top Ride checklist, the mission you’re talking about is this one:

Top Ride: Daroach – Steal items 2 times in a single race
Reward: License Card Sticker

Important things hidden inside that short line:

It must be done in Top Ride mode (not Air Ride, City Trial, or Road Trip).
Your rider has to be Daroach. The objective is tied to him specifically.
You need to steal items twice in the same race, not across multiple races.
The game is counting stolen “items”, not “copy abilities” or basic power-ups.

The game even has a dedicated guide page called “How to Steal Two Items in a Single Race,” which confirms this is a Daroach-specific Top Ride mission.

So if you’ve been stealing copy abilities and wondering why nothing is happening, the problem isn’t you – it’s that the game’s wording is a bit tricky.

Items vs Copy Abilities in Kirby Air Riders Top Ride

To understand the mission, you really need to separate three different things the game throws at you:

Items
These are the battle / support items you pick up from item boxes or the track: bombs, missiles, power boosts, status effects, etc. groups them under “Items” and “Battle Items” – things like Multi-Missile, Sensor Bomb, Meteor, Fireworks, etc.
Power-up items (stat cubes in City Trial)
In City Trial, you get stat cubes like HP Up, Defense Up, Speed Up – these are still considered “items” in that mode, but they’re more about stats, not direct attacks.
Copy Abilities / Copy Essence
These are your classic Kirby powers: Sword, Beam, Fire, etc. In Air Riders, Copy Essence is also tracked separately in checklist missions like “Copy enemy abilities 2 times in a single race” or “Get Copy Essence 3 times” in Top Ride.

For this Top Ride mission with Daroach, the game wants:

Daroach’s little Tac thief hitting riders and stealing actual items they are carrying (the battle items),
Not just stealing or copying their abilities.

That’s why your runs where you “steal copy abilities just fine” are not making the box light up – the checklist is watching the items you’ve stolen, not the abilities.

Required Setup for Steal Items 2 Times in a Single Race Top Ride Checklist

Let’s lock in the bare minimum requirements first, so you don’t accidentally waste runs.

Game Mode
- Choose Top Ride from the main menu.
Rider Selection
- Pick Daroach as your rider. The checklist tile is specifically labeled “Top Ride: Daroach,” so it will only be filled when he’s the one doing the stealing.
Machine Selection
- You can use basically any machine. The Game8 guide points out that all machines are viable, but says Wagon Star is not recommended because it can’t charge boost, which makes it harder to keep up with other riders and harder to position for item steals.
- Safe choices are flexible machines you can control easily: Warp Star–type or anything you’re personally comfortable with.
Don’t Confuse This with the Vampire Star Mission
There is a different Top Ride objective:
- Top Ride: Flow – Steal items from riders a total of 3 times with Vampire Star.
That one is about:
- Course: FlowMachine: Vampire StarGoal: steal items 3 times total (not necessarily in one race)
Your “last Top Ride checklist box – Steal Items” is not that. It’s the Daroach tile, and Vampire Star is not required for this one at all. You can definitely use it to help, but the game doesn’t demand it.

Best Race Rules for Daroach Steal Items Top Ride Challenge

The official guide suggests a very specific rule setup because it brute-forces the situation so that Daroach has as many chances as possible to steal:

Recommended Top Ride race rules

CPU Riders: 7
CPU Level: 9
Number of Laps: 99
Items: Few

Why these work:

7 CPU riders:
More riders = more people holding items = more steal targets.
CPU Level 9:
High-level CPUs play more “properly”: they drive better, grab items more consistently, and generally stay active. That means more chances where a rider near you is carrying an item that Tac can steal.
99 laps:
You don’t need to drive all 99 laps. The point is simply to create a very long race so you have time to line up at least two clean steals in one run. You can quit after you’re sure you’ve done it and crossed the finish line.
Items: Few:
This setting sounds weird at first – you might think “More items = better, right?” But there’s a catch:
- Daroach cannot steal while HE is holding an item.
- If the track is flooded with items, you’ll accidentally pick things up all the time.
- With “Few,” items appear less often, but CPUs still tend to grab them, and you can more easily avoid stepping on them yourself.

Step-by-Step Method to Steal Items 2 Times in One Top Ride Race

Now let’s turn this into a simple step-by-step method you can follow like a checklist.

Step 1: Set Up the Race

Open Top Ride.
Choose any course you’re comfortable with (something you know well so you can focus on positioning, not surviving).
Pick Daroach as your rider.
Choose a machine other than Wagon Star (Warp Star / similar is fine).
Set the rules to:
- CPU Riders: 7
- CPU Level: 9
- Laps: 99
- Items: Few

Start the race.

Step 2: Stay Near the Back of the Pack

Right from the starting line:

Do not race for 1st place.
Let the other riders get ahead a little.
You want to sit in the middle-back part of the group, where most riders are clumped together and constantly picking up items.

Daroach’s Tac helper automatically attacks nearby riders that are carrying items, so your main job is just to:

Stay close to item-holding riders,
But not so close that you run over the items yourself.

Step 3: Don’t Pick Up Items Yourself

This is the big mental switch:

In normal racing, you want items.
For this mission, items on you are bad.

If Daroach is already holding an item, he can’t steal another one. The game wants you to take items from other riders, not from boxes.

So during the race:

Slightly adjust your line to avoid item boxes and glowing item icons on the ground.
If you accidentally pick one up, just use it quickly to get rid of it, then go back to hunting.

Step 4: Line Up Steal Opportunities

Watch for these signs:

A rider in front of you who just passed an item box.
Little item icons showing that they’re carrying something.

Then:

Get close behind or to the side of that rider,
Match their speed instead of blasting past them,
Let Daroach’s Tac auto-attack kick in.

You should see/tell when a steal happens:

Tac dashes at the target.
The opponent loses their held item.
You gain that item instead (or at least the game counts it as “stolen”).

That’s one theft.

Step 5: Repeat Until You’ve Stolen 2 Items

Once you’re pretty sure one clean steal has happened:

Back off for a moment so you don’t accidentally grab more items on the track.
Look for another rider clearly carrying an item.
Repeat the same positioning process.

Because the race is up to 99 laps, you don’t need to rush. You can take multiple laps just circling and farming steals.

Step 6: Finish the Race After Stealing Twice

Most checklist tiles in Kirby Air Riders get checked when the game evaluates the race results – meaning only after you finish.

So, just to be safe:

Once you’re confident you’ve stolen two items in that same race,
Drive normally, complete the required lap(s),
Cross the finish line and let the results screen fully load.

After that, go back to the Top Ride checklist and check the tile for Daroach’s “Steal items 2 times in a single race.” It should now be filled in and the License Card Sticker reward unlocked.

Common Reasons Steal Items 2 Times in a Single Race Is Not Unlocking

If your box still isn’t checking off, it’s almost certainly one of these common problems:

1. You’re Stealing Copy Abilities, Not Items

You mentioned you’re able to “steal copy abilities just fine.”

The checklist does not care about that here. There are separate missions for copying abilities in Top Ride (for example, copying abilities 2 times or 3 different abilities in a race).

For this tile, the game only tracks:

Items stolen from OTHER riders’ inventories by Daroach’s Tac.

2. You’re Holding an Item When Trying to Steal

Daroach can’t steal more items while he’s already holding one.

Solution: If you grab an item by accident, use it immediately so your hands are “empty” again, then go back to stalking item-holding riders.

3. You’re in the Wrong Objective (Vampire Star Confusion)

Because there is another mission that says “Steal items from riders a total of 3 times with Vampire Star” on Flow, a lot of players mix them up and think you must use Vampire Star for every steal-related tile.

For this checklist box, only make sure:

Mode: Top Ride
Rider: Daroach
Objective name matches the Daroach tile

The machine is not locked to Vampire Star here.

4. You’re Not Finishing the Race

If you reset, quit, or exit before the race ends, the game may not count the objective. Checklist systems in Kirby games usually validate conditions at the result screen.

So always:

Steal twice,
Finish the race,
Then check the checklist.

5. It Only Stole Once Without You Realizing

Sometimes it’s hard to visually notice a steal in all the chaos. If you’re unsure:

Aim for three or more steals just to be extra safe.
The mission will still complete as long as at least two happened in that one race.

Bonus Tip: Other Steal Items Checklist Objectives like Vampire Star

The fact you mentioned Vampire Star makes me think you might also be working on (or mixing in) the Flow objective:

Top Ride: Flow – Steal items from riders a total of 3 times with Vampire Star

Quick difference between the two:

Daroach tile
- “Steal items 2 times in a single race”
- Needs Daroach
- Any course / machine (Wagon Star just not recommended)
- Must happen in one race
Vampire Star / Flow tile
- “Steal items from riders a total of 3 times with Vampire Star”
- Needs Flow course + Vampire Star
- Can be done over multiple races (total count)

So if you’re using Vampire Star in Top Ride to steal items:

Those steals help with the Flow + Vampire Star tile,
But for the Daroach tile, you still need Daroach specifically.

Last Option: Use an Open Block to Clear the Steal Items Checklist

If you’ve tried everything and this box is still driving you crazy, the game actually gives you a built-in “skip” item: the Open Block.

According to official guides:

Open Blocks are special rewards from certain checklist missions,
You can use them inside the checklist menu to instantly clear a tile and get its reward,
Some tiles marked with an X cannot be opened this way, but the Daroach “Steal items 2 times in a single race” tile is not listed as one of the exceptions.

In the Game8 guide for this exact mission, they even mention:

If you’re having trouble, you can use an Open Block to clear it immediately and still receive the License Card Sticker reward.

So if this is literally your last Top Ride box and it’s ruining your fun, spending one Open Block here is totally reasonable.

Summary of Steal Items 2 Times in a Single Race Tips

Quick recap you can mentally run through before trying again:

✔ Mode: Top Ride
✔ Rider: Daroach
✔ Rules: 7 CPU, Level 9, 99 laps, Items Few
✔ Any decent machine (avoid Wagon Star)
✔ Stay in the middle/back of the pack
✔ Avoid picking up items yourself – let CPUs hold them
✔ Get close to item-holding riders and let Tac auto-steal
✔ Aim for 2–3 steals in the same race
✔ Finish the race so the game can record the objective
✔ If all else fails, consider using an Open Block to skip it