10 SHARES Share Tweet

8 Tips and Tricks to help you win at Mario Kart!

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has found new life on my Twitch Channel! I’m racing more than ever and loving every minute of it. I’ve also had some people ask me how to get better, so here are a few ways to improve in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Check out Half Full Review’s article on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch!

Item Management

In first or second hang on to your coins so the next question mark block will give you a defensive item.

If you have a substantial lead avoid dragging your items behind by holding L you because the blue shell will destroy it when it hits you.

If you are near the pack, I suggest dragging your defensive item because you may not be able to react quick enough if your opponent is too close.

Don’t trust triple banana or triple shell to protect you against red shells, toss them behind you when you see the shell indicator.

A boomerang can work as a defensive item if you throw it behind when you see the shell indicator.

Use mushrooms for short cuts and don’t mindlessly burn through them.

Save your mushrooms if you are about to get hit by a red shell, so you can immediately boost back up to top speed.

Use Super Stars and Bullet Bills on shortcuts to shave a few seconds off of your time.

Before using lightning look at the map to make sure no one has used a Super Star or Bullet Bill so you can hit as many people as possible.

If you can keep a mushroom in the first place, you can dodge the blue shell. Right before the shell hits you, it will tilt away and then tilts towards you. As soon as it tilts towards you hit your mushroom and you will avoid the blue shell.

Red shells make great defensive items just because you can gain a spot with a red shell doesn’t mean its the best play. I can’t tell you how many times I fire my red shell to see one coming for me a second later.

Having ten coins gives you your top speed so make sure to collect them as quickly as possible.

Acceleration Over Top Speed

Acceleration builds for multiplayer because you will get hit and you want to get back to top speed as quickly as possible.

In the kart selection screen press the plus button to see the attributes of your build.

Choose a kart, tires, and a glider that improve acceleration.

I use the Pipe Frame, Standard Tires, and Bowser Kite.

Top speed builds are for time trials

Track Awareness

If you have no defensive items and see a blue or red shell try to stop in front of boost pad so you can quickly get back up top speed.

Keep an eye on the minimap and if you see a blue shell and second place is close to you hit the breaks and let the blue shell hit them.

You can drive off the track before a blue shell hits you and it will cost you less time than just taking the hit.

After you get hit by an item you have invincibility frames, so if a blue shell is headed your way you can throw your banana in front of you and run into as the blue shell hits and it will save you some time.

If you are getting Mario Karted hard and you’re at the back of the pack slow down as you reach the question mark boxes grab one then go in reverse and grab another. Reverse far enough back for your first item to useable, use the item and hit the block for the third time. This could result in Lightning, Super Star, and Bullet Bill. Use all three to get back in the race.

Drifting Your Way to Victory

Drifting around corners increases your speed and can give you a mini turbo (blue flames), super mini turbo (orange flames), or ultra-mini turbo (pink flames).

The longer you hold the drift, the more significant the boost.

Soft drifting a technique that allows you to gain your mini turbo faster all you need to do it angle your left stick to the upper left of upper right while cornering.

If you drift too far around a corner to get that super mini turbo or ultra-mini turbo use a couple of quick hops to realign your kart on the track.

Super mini turbo’s and ultra mini turbos can be used on short cuts just like mushrooms, but the difference is you will need to hop when you hit the grass, so it doesn’t slow you down.

Learn The Fastest Lines

At the starting line hit your gas as soon as the 2 is visible on the screen to get a boost.

Watch the fastest ghosts in time trials to see their lines and learn the shortcuts they use.

The inside line is always the fastest line so when you are cornering stay as close to the inside as possible while drifting.

Practice hitting all the non-mushroom shortcuts on each track to shave those seconds off your time.

Hopefully, this guide will have you dominating the competition to no time. If you have any question or would like to add something, then please hit me up in the comments below.