Mario Kart 8 Tips and Tricks
Before we delve into the finer details of each course and learn how to navigate the secret shortcuts scattered throughout the track collection, there are some important basics worth mastering. From Mario Kart 8’s drift system (now three levels) to making sure you get off the starting grid in no time, we’ve rounded up a dozen tips that will help you get ahead of the competition in no time.
Master the drift system
You won’t make much of a dent in the leaderboards if you don’t take advantage of the drift mechanic in Mario Kart 8. If you can maintain a drift for a certain period of time, you’ll trigger a speed boost effect. which is applied as soon as you remove your finger from the drift button.
There are three different types of boost available on Switch, compared to the standard two on the Wii U edition. When you’ve drifted far enough to see small blue sparks flying out from under your vehicle, that means you can start the boost of the first stage.
If you can maintain that drift long enough to ignite orange flames under your kart, you’ll benefit from a bigger speed boost when you finally let go. Continue and you’ll get a third pink level for an even longer boost.
Every extra bit of speed helps in Mario Kart 8. We’ll help you get to the finish line first.
Maintain first place in a race.
To keep things balanced (or outrageously unfair, depending on your current perspective), you’ll receive weaker boosts the further along you are in the race. That doesn’t mean that the tools you receive for being first are useless, far from it.
Don’t be tempted to throw away that green shell too quickly if you’re leading the pack. If you see a red projectile coming towards you, hold down the L trigger. This will place your green shell on the back of your kart and take the full impact of the homing missile heading towards you.
The Switch’s new dual element setup also allows you to have two sets of defenses, giving you an extra wave of protection.
Use the slipstream system to get ahead
Line up exactly with a kart in front of you and after a few seconds you will begin to benefit from a slipstream that increases speed. As long as you can see little wisps fluttering around your kart, you will remain under the influence of this useful boost.
Use all the ghost data in the game.
If you’re having trouble making a dent in one of your time trials, select More Ghosts after you’ve selected a track, then download a high-performing ghost player from the leaderboard. Now select Race Against Ghost from the menu, navigate to the one you just downloaded, and then press the + button.
Now you can see the character and type of kart, as well as the wheels and glider options that helped the player achieve that super skillful time. Select View Ghost to see its clever shortcuts in action and then do your best to emulate them.
Collect many coins
Try to get as many coins as you can in the early stages of a race. Every coin you take gives your engine a little adjustment and a little more top speed. However, you will only be able to benefit from the additional engine power that provides a total of 10 coins. Any you pick up after this point will simply give you a gentle temporary boost before adding them to your account. You will unlock new kart parts as your overall coin collection increases.
If an opponent completely stops you at any point, you’ll lose a handful of coins as an additional penalty. However, very often you can grab at least one of them as you regain speed, so do your best to pinch one of them as you move away. Keep an eye out for other players crashing too – you can snatch some of their lost coins as you pass!
Find out where the shortcuts are
Each track in Mario Kart 8 has one or two shortcuts for those willing to experiment and look for special ways to shave a few seconds off their lap times.
Take some time to enjoy a leisurely tour of each course in single-player mode so you know where each of the secrets are. Many of them go over rough terrain, so they require some sort of speed increase if you want to make a net profit. If you can’t find some of them or want inspiration, our shortcuts page can help you.
It’s easy when you have a ton of mushrooms to play with in Time Trial mode, but you also don’t know when you’ll get one in competitive races.
A race is never over until it’s over in Mario Kart. You never know what item you will get next.
Use the accelerated startup trick to quickly exit the network
As with previous Mario Kart games, there is a way to get off the grid with a super fast start, but timing is everything. When the countdown begins, hold the accelerator a fraction of a second after the number 2 appears. Hold it for the rest of the countdown and you’ll be launched like a rocket.
However, there is a risk associated with this initial push. If your timing is too early or too late, your racer will spin his wheels for a short period of time before pulling away. Despite this risk, even with a little practice you should be able to perform this essential technique every time.
Gain speed using stunt upgrades
If you shake your controller or tap the R trigger the instant you exit a ramp, you’ll perform a stylish stunt and receive another welcome speed boost immediately afterward. Just be careful not to jump too early, otherwise you will simply fail to take off. The only penalty for pressing the button late is losing the momentum itself.
Don’t restrict your stunts to the most obvious ramps and ledges in the game, either. Many environmental objects will provide the opportunity to initiate a stunt, so play around with tree roots, fallen pillars, and anything else that comes into play during the course of a race.
Use the blue zones that defy gravity
Another way to gain some speed is to crash into other players while you both have the blue anti-gravity wheels in use. The lightest touch will give you both a little boost, but try not to hit the other player on the side while you’re passing or you’ll just push them forward.
In addition to hitting other players in the anti-gravity sections, keep an eye out for any objects tinted neon blue. Tapping them will also make you turn and move forward a little faster.
The Switch version has a new Battle mode
After the divisive version of Battle mode in the base Mario Kart 8, the Deluxe edition takes things back to the franchise’s roots with dedicated arenas and closed modes. These are:
Modes:
- Balloon battle (explode opponents’ balloons)
- Bob-omb Blast (Blow up opponents’ balloons only using Bob-ombs)
- Renegades Recap (one team tries to capture the other using piranha plants)
- Coin runners (collect as many coins as possible)
- Shine Thief (try to hold Shine Sprite for 20 seconds to win)
Eight courses:
- battle stadium
- Dragon Palace
- Luigi’s Mansion (GCN)
- lunar colony
- Sweet Sweet Kingdom
- hedgehog underpass
- Wuhu City (3DS)
- Battle Course 1 (SNES)
Be smart with your power-ups
If you are lucky enough to be in possession of the Crazy 8 power-up, which guarantees you the successive use of eight power-ups in total, have them fire them as quickly as you can if there are other players nearby. Otherwise, you risk having a mushroom stolen or, even worse, the star of invincibility.
Another great tip for dominating the opponent is to hold on to your projectile weapons until your target is in the air and sailing over a large chasm. If you can take them out mid-flight, they will undergo a much longer animation as they respawn, allowing you to run even further in front of them.
Here’s a quick summary of what’s available:
| Light | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Banana | Puts cyclists who collide with him in a time loop | |
| Failed | Reduces visibility for all riders and traction is temporarily reduced | |
| bob omb | It detonates after a short period of time, knocking down all the karts in its surroundings. | |
| boomerang flower | Can be used to hit runners when thrown and returned up to 3 times. | |
| bullet ticket | Grants invincibility and propels the runner along the course on autopilot. | |
| Currency | Increases speed with each coin collected, up to a maximum of 10 | |
| crazy eight | Create eight power-ups that circle around the kart. | |
| Flower of fire | Grants the ability to shoot flames that spin a kart for a short period of time. | |
| Golden Mushroom | Provides extended bursts of additional speed. | |
| green shell | He shoots in a straight line, knocking down the bikers he collides with. | |
| Lightning | Destroy all the collected power-ups, then shrink and slow down the other racers. | |
| Piranha Plant | It devours objects and corridors, granting a slight speed boost to the owner each time. | |
| Red Shell | He focuses on the nearest player and knocks him down. | |
| spiny shell | He heads for the kart first and knocks down other karts as he goes. | |
| Star | Grants temporary invincibility and increases speed. | |
| super horn | Eliminate other riders and objects within a short radius. | |
| Triple bananas | Gives the player three bananas to drop. Provides a barrier if left in orbit. | |
| Triple Green Shells | Gives the player three green projectiles to fire. Provides a barrier if left in orbit. | |
| Triple Red Shells | Gives the player three red projectiles to fire. Provides a barrier if left in orbit. | |
| Boo (just change) | Obtains an item from another player and makes you invulnerable during the stealing process. | |
| Pen (Switch and Battle mode only) | Jump high into the air to reach higher platforms and avoid attacks. |
Learn to shoot jumps, unless you’re on Switch
A fairly controversial technique to extend the speed increases in the Wii U version is to initiate a drift boost, then repeatedly tapping the R1 button while pointing the wheels left and right, you will dramatically extend the period of time that the boost remains active.
While this sounds a bit like an exploit, it’s firmly rooted in the game’s physics system, where boost duration is based on the time the wheels spend in contact with the ground. It’s a divisive technique among gamers, and perhaps in the end Nintendo decided it was too much and removed it from the Switch version entirely.
Additional reporting by Matthew Reynolds
Categories: Guides
Source: ptivs2.edu.vn