It’s been almost three weeks since the release ofMario Kart World. Once everyone finished admiring the new free-roam and open-world features of the legendary series' latest instalment, it was time to get serious and figure out the meta.
For many players, Mario Kart is a casual party game that people aren’t actively trying to improve at. For others, Mario Kart World is the next game to grind and amass as many versus rating points as possible. There’s a very competitive side to Mario Kart, which includes third-party leaderboards and fiercely competitive time trials.
Players have already figured out thatforegoing the starting boost might be optimalbecause your chance of getting better items increases the lower down you are on the grid. If you intentionally sandbag (“bag”) your position in Mario Kart World, you can almost guarantee a triple mushroom drop on the first item box, which is far more valuable than the half-second head start you get from nailing your starting boost.
An Unlikely Hero
There’s also a significant amount of experimentation happening with characters and karts as players are trying to figure out what the most optimal stat spread is. We already know the fastest combo in terms of raw speed is Bowser in his Bowser Bruiser vehicle, but there’s a new character that might be “sleeper” overpowered.
I am, of course, talking about Spike. Spike is a “very” lightweight-class driver, meaning he’s exceptional at acceleration, handling and speedy recovery, but he’s more prone to being knocked off the course by heavier drivers.
Apparently, Spike is becoming more prevalent in high-level lobbies in Japan as players favour his manoeuvrability over the raw speed of other characters (thanks,Automaton West). This is also partially because of Spike’s hidden terrain bonus, which makes him faster on smooth surfaces.
“Mario Kart World has become an environment where only Spike dominates in the high-rating tier,” the caption reads.
The poster acknowledges that a lot of people are picking Spike for his comedic appearance, but his stats are nothing to scoff at, especially considering his hidden bonus on smooth roads.
Only time will tell which character ends up dominating competitive Mario Kart World.
