How to Get Competitive at Mario Kart 8

Last Updated: July 8, 2021

It's only been two months since Mario Kart 8 has been released, but over two million copies have already been sold! While the game is vastly popular, only a very, very small percentage of these two million people will actually jump into the competitive scene of this game. Have you ever wanted to see what it's like to get into competitive Mario Kart? Do you just want to straight up dominate any casual player who tries to challenge you? If any of these apply, then this article is for you.

Steps

1
Unlock all parts, characters, and vehicles. If you haven't done so, this is probably the first step you will want to do. Playing through all the Grand Prix's and doing good at them will make you familiar with each track. The things you unlock will also let you pick your combination from a wider variety, which also helps.
2
Start worldwide at first. This is probably the easiest way to get better at the game for those who are just starting out as a casual player. In a worldwide, you play against other random people across the world, and you have a "VR", or versus rating.
- You lose a bit of rating when you get a bad position, and you gain some when you get a good position. It is key to worldwide a lot and increase your vr as much as possible. Though everyone starts at 1000vr, it is highly recommended that you get to the 8000-9999 range. By doing this, you will gain more skill when playing, and people will also see you as more competitive.
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3
Get an account on mariokartwii.com. This is easily the number 1 most important step in this whole article, and it is the most easily ignored one. By getting an account on this website, you can meet a vast community of other competitive players.
4
Make some friends on mariokartwii.com. There is an ample supply of people on the forums, and there will always be some that will happily add you. By adding people on the forums to your Wii U, you can join their worldwide, and you can improve your skills even more by joining good worldwide.
5
Get even better at the time. By this time, you've hopefully gotten fairly accustomed to the game, and you've differentiated yourself from casual players. At this point, there is much room for improvement. On many websites, (like mariokartwii.com), there are articles that provide advanced tips for racers. Racing in more good worldwide races is also a great way to improve. Even though this step can be done at any time, it is easier to do it once you've built up some friends and gotten used to the basics of the game.
6
Get a Skype. This is another very important step in becoming a competitive racer. By getting a Skype, you unlock a whole new world of possibilities. You can talk with other competitive racer without having to budge with the forums, and it is especially important for the upcoming step.
7
Join a clan. Besides VR, being in a clan is the other element that sets you apart from most casual players. In short, a clan is a group of members that have fun within the clan and race against other clans as a team. Usually, each clan has its own skype chat in which members talk and discuss Mario Kart 8.
- Also, a clan does a "clan war" in which members of a clan race against members of another clan to see which clan can get more points in 12 races.
- As there are a vast number of clans that are recruiting, it can be hard for people to decide what clan to join. To help with that, here a few things to look for in clan threads. However, many clans have requirements. Some of the most common ones are listed below.
  - A good war record
  - An ample number of active members
  - A lot of activity on the thread
- Now, here are some common requirements:
  - Have a Skype
  - Be a certain age. There is no specific age requirement for getting into any clan, but it is generally accepted that one should be at least 11 or 12 to join a clan. Some clans also set higher age requirements such as 16 or 18.
  - Be active
  - Be good at racing
  - Don't trash talk or "hurt" the clan.
8
Learn the technicalities. There are multiple vital strategies to keep in mind that will separate yourself from casual players and help with your skill overall in Mario Kart 8. Taking the time to master these skills is very much worth it. Below are some examples.
- Fire hopping. This is probably the key to skill and speed. Also known as "bunny hopping" and "frogging" (though more commonly known as the former), this is a tactic that karts, ATVs, and outward drifting bikes specialize, which allows you to increase your speed while boosting. The usage of boost pads laid around the tracks, mushrooms, mini-turbos (MTs), and super mini-turbos (SMTs) are examples of boosting. Fire hopping also varies from course to course, so patterns of hops will differ. To begin fire hopping, utilize the following steps:
  - Initiate a boost, whether it'd be an SMT around a turn or a mushroom on a straightaway.
  - Hop left and right. Hopping is just pressing the drift button every time your kart touches the ground without holding it. The left and right movement prevents hitting walls or falling out of bounds.
  - Hop 4 to 5 times. This will maximize your boost speed if done correctly.
  - Practice. Don't quit after your first attempt if you don't succeed. This technique will take time to master.
- Soft drifting. This is a skill that lets you decrease the amount of time it takes to build up an MT or SMT without turning as sharply.
- Sliding. Similar to fire hopping, this strategy is specifically used on downhill sections or on straight ways when you think your boost has run out. Yeah, it's faster.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I get better at gliding in Mario Kart 8?

Community Answer

Keep working at it, practice makes perfect.
Question

How can I find local competitions to join?

Community Answer

You might try a local arcade, check for announcements at hobby and game shops, or look online places like Meetup.com and local FB groups. You won't find many (Mario Kart's competitive scene isn't very big), but you can get lucky.