by Alexander Prestia
First place in Mario Kart feels like a fickle thing. One moment you’re out ahead hitting some sweet, sweet drifts, then in the blink of an eye you’ve been worked over by all manner of red shells. Just as you’re about to recover and take the victory- Boom! Nuked by a blue shell outta nowhere.
Sometimes it feels like there’s just nothing you can do. Even the best Mario Kart players occasionally get ganked by an assortment of weapons that would make the Merchant from Resident Evil 4 wince.
Most of the time though, the great ones still eke out a win. The trick is taking fortuna as far out of the equation as possible. In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe playing spirited defense is the key to consistent victory.
Each game in the series has a unique item meta and a best way to hold on to first place. This guide will be focused primarily on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Switch, but the guiding principles and logic can be applied to most any games in the series and even some other entries in the kart racers genre.
Plus, if the reveal trailer is anything to go off of, it’s looking like that new Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit will be one of the most item based entries the series has ever seen.
Now, first and foremost to winning at any Mario Kart game is knowing the tracks. There’s no secret guide to that, just keep playing till you’ve got them down. Second is drifting real real good.
Luckily this is Mario Kart we’re talking about. You can easily learn any game in the series to a fairly competent level with about 20 hours of playtime. Compare that to the 300 hours I put into Smash Ultimate before reaching Elite Smash, or the countless hours my friends have put into Hearthstone, Overwatch, LoL, etc before “Gittin’ gud”, and you’ve got yourself a very accessible game in ole Kart.
So put in those 20 hours and you’ll be drifting so good that your disinterested girlfriend, playing Animal Crossing on the couch, will see your line through a tight turn and go, “Take me right here and now.”
But you’ll lightly push her aside and say, “Wait up, I gotta play defense.”
Because you know that sometimes playing good ain’t enough in Kart. You’re always only a few tenacious blue shells away from second place. Defense wins championships and all that. So after you’ve got drifting and the tracks down, it’s time to learn the Item Meta.
The Item Meta:
Machiavelli on Mario Kart- “Fortune may be the arbiter of one half of our actions, but she still leaves us the other half, or perhaps a little less, to our free will.”
Leading the pack is as much about playing defense as it is about getting steezy around corners. In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe there are two item slots and maximizing the amount of defense you can get from each item is the key to consistently winning.
Again, these tips are geared specifically for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch. Luckily, Mario Kart’s guiding principles remain true game to game. Defensive item management works wonders in older games from the series too, and will almost certainly be important in the upcoming Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit.
Look, nothings going to stop a triple red shell combo that leads directly into an unlucky blue shell. The first thing to learn is that item management won’t save you every time. It’s about increasing your win rate, not perfecting it.
Items when you’re in first are about protecting your flashy driving from someone else’s good RNG. Keep that in mind and play accordingly.
In general, while in first place you want to be practicing low risk item management. Focus on the track, keep your drifting clean, and try to create an auto-pilot system when it comes to keeping or throwing items.
So let’s talk about how items work in MK8 DX:
In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe players can pick up two items at a time. Unlike other Mario Karts which item you pick up isn’t based solely on position (like in pretty much every other Mario Kart) or distance from first place (like in the original Mario Kart 8).
Instead MK8 DX uses a complex combination of these two along with a series of hidden mechanics (I dug deep on the formulas they use and one of the variables is just called trend. Good luck deciphering that one. So lets not dig too deep in the weeds here and just move on.)
The main thing is you’re going to get bad stuff in first place. Or at least it seems like bad stuff. In reality each one of these has some form of defensive viability. Using them right can win you a race.
While racing with a lead the main goal is to quickly determine which items to hold and which to throw away so that you can focus on driving as cleanly as possible.
In first place the range of items you’ll get out of the roulette is limited. Adopting a set of quick probability based decisions for each combination is key to making smart item management decisions.
General Rules for Items:
· Always have a defensive item
· Save Mushrooms, Super-Horns, and Red Shells
· Re-roll everything else
· Use the mini-map to scout for Blue shells and keep track of rivals
Item Tier List:
Save:
Mushrooms-
Easily the most versatile item in the game. Use it to hit a shortcut on some courses. Use it to immediately regain top speed after taking a hit or making a mistake. Use it to dodge a blue shell.
In MK8 DX first place can only get mushrooms if second place is close on their tail. So savor this item, don’t waste it.
Super Horn-
Use it to negate a blue shell. If you’re close to the finish and the airs seem clear, consider using it to stop a red.
Red Shell-
Keep it in your inventory, not on the road. If you get passed or Blue shelled, use it on that asshole that stole the lead. If a red shell is incoming, consider using it defensively.
Hold:
Green Shell and Banana-
Sure green shells are more fun to snipe with, but wake up sheeple, you’re really only using these for the defense. Hold them out behind you and drop them to re-roll whenever you’re absolutely sure you’ll hit the Double Item-box.
If you have one green shell and one banana (or any combination of the two), consider playing defensively and don’t immediately re-roll.
200cc- Hold/ 150cc- Toss:
Bob-omb-
In 200cc your kart goes so fast that if you block a red shell with the Bob-omb you won’t get caught in the explosion.
So in 200cc use it just like a green shell or banana.
In 150cc you’ll get caught in the explosion if a red shell hits it. So toss this poor sentient bomb quickly.
Toss:
Coin-
These don’t need to be immediately tossed. If you do get hit quickly use them to refill your maximum coins.
Any time you have a chance to get a better item, or have a defensive item waiting in the second slot, toss these suckers and take it.
Trips (Green shells and Bananas)-
You would think these would be more useful than their singular versions. You’d be wrong.
Once one shell of banana peel gets hit you’ve got a gaping hole in your defenses. They’re basically useless once that happens.
If you watch closely and time it right, you can use them at the last second to block incoming shells. But, as mentioned earlier, the whole point is to think about your items as little as possible.
Don’t divert your attention from the road to try to time a backwards green shell defense if you ain’t got to. Trade these for literally anything else as soon as possible.
Other Items:
There are a lot of other fun items in Mario Kart. Sadly you have to not be in first to get them.
Thus in the mind of a champion, there are no other items in Mario Kart.
Forreal though, if you have any good item from the lower ranks while in first place treat it as a Save.
Dodging Blue Shells:
You know those blue shells I kept referring to? Technically they’re called spiny shells, and more importantly there are a couple of tricks that will let you dodge them:
1. The Super-horn
This one’s obvious. The timing is not difficult at all. I’ll say it here first then repeat it a few more times. Be patient when you see the blue shell. It hovers for a few seconds above you before dropping. At any point when it’s hovering around you, you can hit L and say bye-bye. Don’t get trigger-happy. Whites of it’s eyes… er… blue of it’s shell or whatever.
2. Mushroom
Now I said that Super-horn was easy. This one not so much. But I promise, nail this in front of your friends and they’ll think you can walk on water.
The timing for this one is much tighter. But like I said earlier, Be patient when you see the blue shell.
Specifically, wait until the shell stops right above your head, then turns slightly downwards, then as soon as it begins to drop MASH THAT L BUTTON.
You have about 1/10 of a second to input L (for you FGC nerds that’s nothing), that’s tight but doable. Once you’ve got the timing down, you’ll be able to consistently pull this off.
3. The 1st place switcheroo
This is a classic and I’m probably not the first person to tell you about this. If 2nd place is close enough, and you spotted a Blue Shell on the mini-map, then let them have first for a few seconds. Laugh and flip the bird as you retake the lead.
4. Driving off the course
This is a classic speedrunning trick from Mario Kart Wii and 7’s Grand Prix speedrunning community.
Lakitu (turtle dude who picks your sorry ass out of the sky whenever you fall off of the course) puts you back on track super fast in this game. Gone is the MK64 era when falling off-course meant about 7 seconds of nothing, in this game the main punishment for falling off course is losing speed and 3 measly coins.
A couple of absolute beautiful-mind nutjobs realized that falling forward off-course was about a half second faster than just taking a Blue shell nuking.
Thus, a new blue shell dodge was invented. This dodge is limited to certain courses, but any of the Rainbow Roads, Dragon Driftway, and a few other difficult courses have ample opportunities to use it.
Once again, I’m going to repeat- Be patient when you see the blue shell. The window to pull off this trick is shorter than the Super-horn’s but longer than the mushroom’s.
To do it hug the edge of the track and then wait until after the shell has settled above you, then simply drive off course. If you do it right, the blue shell will explode but you’ll be invulnerable- nice and safe on the end of Lakitu’s long rod.
If you ain’t patient enough, however, you get the absolute worst case scenario. You fall off course, lose 3 coins to Lakitu’s rod, and then get absolutely blasted by the Blue shell. Altogether losing first place, six coins, and your dignity.
It’s a good “Hol’ my beer” sorta trick.
5. Last place items
Again, I’m loath to consider that you weren’t in first place at any point during a race.
But if you happen to have come across one of these illicit items, you can probably dodge a blue shell with them- once you’ve regained your crown that is.
Boo, Crazy Eight, Super Star, and Bullet Bill make you invulnerable.
Golden mushroom and triple mushrooms still require good timing but function the same as a single mushroom.
I’ve never tried dodging a blue shell using the boost from a Piranha Plant. I hope I never do. If you have, let me know how it went in the comments.
Now you’ve got the tools to win and the nerves of steel to pull it off. You’re still going to lose sometimes, that’s ok. Go make me proud. Go make people who just want to casually hang out and play a couple races not want to associate with you anymore. Atta’boy, now you’re racing.
You can connect with Alexander via his Instagram: @alexanderprestia
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