Here are some advanced tips and strategies!
MK8DX TIPS
(FOR 150CC AND OUTWARD DRIFTING VEHICLES)
3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th and 12th will get the same items.
To dodge a blue shell with a single mushroom, wait until the blue shell’s spikes are facing you, then use the mushroom. The mushroom actually makes you invincible to the blue shell (but nothing else).
Tricking left or right and then landing in a drift will make you go in the direction you tricked.
Hop as you accelerate after being hit.
Hopping after getting a star will help get to top speed a bit faster.
The fastest way to accelerate after being hit without an item is to wait until you have enough speed to start a drift and then getting a mini turbo.
Use a shock dodge item to guarantee you do not get shocked during a critical shortcut or right after an item set.
Online, most items will spawn from behind the vehicle if they are thrown forward. And when they are thrown backward, there is a blind spot right behind their vehicle, so you cannot get hit if you are right behind them when they throw their item backwards.
After tricking off a trick ramp, land in a drift then instantly hop to cancel the drift and keep your trick boost speed a bit longer. However you will lose speed rapidly for canceling a drift. It’s best to do this only right before the finish line on lap 3 so the speed loss doesn’t matter — you already finished!
Hop in the opposite direction you want to go before starting a drift so you can drift longer, this is called a counter hop.
If your mini turbo boost, or trick boost, extends into a portion of off road, you will rapidly start loosing speed despite having the boost.
You can hold a drift into the off-road for a very short period of time but be careful–Losing your drift could ruin your race!
Release a mini turbo just before you trick off a ramp to go super far! This is called a mini turbo trick.
Start a mini-turbo before going off a trick ramp, then hold a mini-turbo in the air before a bounce pad, and then release it and do a trick to fly super far! This is called a super bounce.
After tricking off a trick ramp, land in a drift and then release “R” or “ZR” to get better alignment. Do not hop as this will slow you down as mentioned above.
Hop over a cannon glider panel so your glider to come out early. This is much faster than tricking off cannon gliders. But tricking is still faster for normal glider panels.
Just before a boost ramp, start a drift, and (without getting a mini-turbo), trick — this gives you less airtime and makes you go faster.
Most players throw shells and bananas backwards at item sets. So always have constant vigilance around item sets.
During a section with multiple boost panels, charge a mini-turbo over them, then release it and air hop to face forward. This way you can get a boost between boost panels.
If you press “R” or “ZR” and flick a direction on the joy-stick while in mid-air, you will make a sudden and slight adjustment in that direction while in mid-air.
Being inked by a Blooper makes your kart slide around more.
3rd and 8th are the most common placements to get single and triple mushrooms.
Unless there is really bad online lag, these are the only items you can have 2 of (in both item slots at a time): bananas, green/red shells, single mushrooms and bombs.
Moving item boxes (such as in Snow Land) will continuously give good items. Whereas you can only get two good items at once from standard item sets.
Shocks and blue shells have a 30 second cool down before another one can be obtained.
There can only be 3 shocks and 3 bullet bills obtained at once.
There will be more blue shells and shocks pulled on longer tracks.
A bullet bill used in a low spot will last for 8 seconds, but it will last longer if you take a “bullet extension”. However, either way it will usually stop early if you pass 5 people.
Using a boo in first will give you a mushroom because it only steals items from people in front of you, and if there are no items to steal, it will give you a mushroom instead.
Wall dodging: If you’re being targeted with a red shell and have no defense, you might be able to wall dodge (click here). Wall dodging means you can drift while using a mushroom and push your kart’s back bumper into the wall to avoid the red shell hitting you. This is because red shells target your back bumper (or your trailed item) but break if they hit anything (like the wall). Additionally, you could just drift into the wall without a mushroom, but this is harder (unless you have a a trail item, which will make this easier).
Red shells travel down the middle of the road and through middle item boxes, so dropping bananas there can help stop/break red shells.
Coins don’t affect your glider speed.
In first place you will get a coin in your first item slot 75% of the time.
Drifting with no joy-stick input can help you take a better line and still get a good mini-turbo on some turns.
You can hop in the air and flick a direction on the joy-stick to go slightly in that direction.
You cannot slow down on or between boost panels.
After you go through an item box, your item slot will show the item spinning, and boos cannot steal the item until it stops spinning.
In 9th you are guaranteed some sort of mushroom in at the first item set in a 12 player room.
Being bumped by someone in a speed boost makes you get bumped harder.
A piranha plant track hazard cannot get you if you are in a speed boost.
Fun Fact: Don’t use coins in the off-road because they speed you up very slightly when used, which actually slows you down in the off-road kinda like a mini-turbo.
You can throw attacks forward at the finish line at the end of lap 3 to break back spam items from the players in front of you.
Your mini-turbo stat also affects trick boosts.
Staying still for too long at an item set gives you terrible items.
Your speed stat affects how fast all speed items make you go, including the bullet bill.
Blue shells are unlikely to be thrown right after a shock. Unless somebody dodged while holding one.
Use mushrooms while drifting because drifting actually slows you down a bit (unless using inward drift).
You should mostly play defensively in 10,000 VR rooms because people typically toss their items away aggressively.
Fun Fact: On slippery road surfaces, a low traction combo will start to slide sideways instead of turning. The “slippery” roads are typically: Dirt (dirt can also be a normal track surface) ice, mud, rainy road, snow, underwater road, cheese. Also on slippery road surfaces, a low traction combo will get a speed de-buff.
If you don’t actually hit somebody, but the “getting hit” animation plays, then you can still get the ground coins the “hit” player drops. (This incongruity usually happens because of lag).
Most people are more likely to spam items right after being hit, so if somebody has the shock you can hit them so they use it without thinking about the possibility of dodging you.
Other than while drifting, the best spot to use mushrooms (if the track has no shortcuts) is right after a cannon glider.
You can use items anywhere as long as you are not out of bounds or being picked up by Lakitu.
Getting any speed boost while you’re tiny is more important than driving optimally; it’s worth going out of your way for boost panels when your small, but when you’re normal size, boost panels are not worth taking bad lines for.
While red shells always travel in the middle of the track, blue shells often take corners wide or tight and sometimes take shortcuts, so it’s important to look behind you when you hear the blue shell coming, so you know which way to swerve to get out of it’s way.
ISometimes people lag backwards using a super horn, so stay back if you toss a red shell at a person with a super horn.
On 150cc (when normal size and with good mini-turbo stat) boost panels make you go 14% faster. Trick boosts make you go 40% faster.
Having a low handling stat makes motion glider less effective.
Drifting into water and releasing a mini-turbo is better than tricking because trick boosts are much weaker underwater.
When you’re inked by a blooper, your traction gets really bad, even if your combo has high traction. If you use a star or mushroom, your traction improves a lot during that period, even if your vehicle combo has low traction. Stars also improve handling.
You can also get rid of bloopers by driving into water, or getting any substantial speed boost.
Do not instantly use a coin in first because your defense item (if you have one in the second item slot) would move to the first item slot and could get stolen by a boo.
Fun Fact: If you have triple items in your second item slot behind a mushroom in your first item slot, then if you dodge the blue shell with the ‘shroom, your triple item will get broken in the explosion!
A super horn can stun, destroy (temporarily), and move track hazards like a bullet, star, or blue shell could.
Bagging (if done correctly) almost always gives you a top 6 spot.
A few seconds after you go through an item box, spam ZL or L to get your item a bit sooner.
Water streams do not use your water speed stat, but they are faster if the water is flowing in your favor. The only time your water speed stat is actually used is when your tires are normal, and your vehicle is completely underwater.
Your ground speed stat is used whenever your tires are normal and you’re on the track.
Your anti-gravity speed stat is used whenever your tires are horizontal, even if there’s water around you.
Your air speed is only used whenever you’re in a glider.
If you activate a boo while you’re still in a star, the boo’s invincibility will not activate, but it will still steal an item.
You cannot get ground mushrooms while a boo’s invincibility is activated.
The more people that run, the better running is, and the more people that bag, the better bagging is.
You can take “Nintendo” shortcuts (ones that can be seen on the mini map and are very obvious) while using smart steering.
If you have triple items spinning around you, you can still get hit by someone trailing in front of you.
Any triple item is very good for holding your placement, because anybody who dares pass you will likely get hit.
When it is taking an extremely long time to get your item, you will mostly get coins and mushrooms in almost every position, and lagging items is an early sign that the room might disconnect. If the games fails, or takes a while to show your final placement after you finished, this is another sign that the room might disconnect. And the last signs that almost always means your room will disconnect, is seeing racers stop moving on the mini map, your character still driving without doing their finish animation, and holding items without you doing anything to control them…
Yeah… well done making it through that (:
Most of this tips were from Shortcat’s incredible pro guide. Click Here to watch it.
Yosh1Bro 