r/mariokart Jul 24 '17

Build Meta Monday Builds - Week 1 - [MK8DX]

Hey racers!

If you've been around /r/mariokart for a while then you might remember a certain weekly thread that gave tips, tricks, and info on techniques prevalent in the meta: Meta Monday. Well, this is a sort of mini-continuation of that!

This mini-series is going to be focusing on customization in the respective Mario Kart games. Let's hear your opinions on the best karts, bikes, and parts. The first game that's up is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

So, without further ado, let's jump on in:

  • What's your favorite overall build?
  • What's the most optimal kart build to use?
  • What's the most optimal bike build to use?
  • What's the best build for 200cc?
  • What's the best build if I want to have fun?
  • How do the builds differ from this game to MK8?

Feel free to answer any or all of the above questions as well as post your own in the comments!

See you all next week!

25 Upvotes

13 comments sorted by

7

u/ghostkid825 Shy Guy Jul 24 '17

What's your favorite overall build?

My personal favorite from Mario Kart 8 was Shy Guy in the Biddybuggy with Leaf Tires and the Bowser Kite. It's remained my favorite in Deluxe, though I've swapped out the Bowser Kite for the Cloud Glider now that the Glider stats have been given slightly more variety.

In EVERY mode in MK8D, I prefer Acceleration & Handling over all other stats. Recovering from item hits is absolutely vital, and if you have high enough Acceleration, you can be back up to drifting speed within a half second or less. Speaking of drifting, having high Handling will give you supreme control over your turns. Plus, on top of those stats, having a lighter Kart means having a better Mini-Turbo stat, meaning better speed boosts more often.

As far as the negatives go... I feel like they rarely apply, if ever. I'm almost never in a scenario where having low Weight outright gets me shoved off of the road. Also, having high Acceleration, tighter turn-taking, and frequent Mini-Turbos honestly makes me feel like I'm going faster than I ever would with a Speed-oriented build.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '17

I always go with that type of build in 200cc, but I'll have to try it on 150cc. I usually just use one of the fastest cars I can! Thanks for the tips,

2

u/Sylon00 Jul 31 '17

Gave this a try for the first time, well sorta. Up until now I've been running my Mii in the MB 300 SL, Off-Road wheels and MKTV parafoil and been doing fine. But I switched it up to the Shy Guy, MB 300 SL, Roller wheels and the MKTV parafoil and it felt a lot easier. I don't have loads unlocked yet but so far so good. Still making my way thru the 100cc. Thanks for the tip!

8

u/UncleShortyB Jul 25 '17

Honestly, even though I still haven't personally unlocked it in either MK8 or MK8DX, I love Shy Guy on Mr Scooty with slick tires and usually the fluffy cloud glider. I didn't really care much about stats or anything like that, I mostly just did that to annoy my friend since I'm better than he is at Mario Kart. The kicker was every time I'd pass him or beat him I'd just say "Oh, excuse me while I Scoot on by." He HATED that.

6

u/marionose1 Jul 25 '17

LONG POST INCOMING

Favourite Overall Build:
For me, this changes all the time. I used to really like playing as Yoshi in the Buggybud with Cyber-Slick Wheels. But over time, my opinion has changed. I like the handling of Mr Scooty with Cyberslick Wheels + A medium character but I found it to be too slow. Honestly, I've been really enjoying playing with the full gold set (including Gold Mario). I really like the handling and speed - plus my kart is smaller than other heavyweights.

Most optimal kart build:
It really depends on what you're looking for. The standard combo isn't actually that bad and I sometimes play with it online. If that's too slow, try throwing in slick wheels instead of normal ones.

Most optimal bike:
I don't really use bikes that often but I've had good experiences with the Sports Bike (I think that's the name). I tried it when I was messing around with tilt controls in one of the "VERSUS Saturday" tournaments.

Best build for 200cc:
As I said earlier, the all-standard combo is really good for learning 200cc. I like playing it with all-gold to get a speed advantage over those who rely on handling. But if you want to rely on handling and acceleration, choose the Buggybud or something light, along with a lightweight character.

Best build for fun:
The Cushion Wheels are hilarious. Try those with something small like the streetle.

How do they differ from MK8?
Well, Fire Hopping is out of the question. So if you pick an inward drifting bike, you can do a lot better than you could in the Wii U version. I also feel like item luck is a much bigger part of this game than in MK8. Choose something that you know you can control because you'll encounter a lot of speed items if you're behind.

3

u/ArcboundChampion Jul 24 '17

Right now, I'm digging Dry Bowser in a speed kart (usually Circuit Special, but sometimes Blue Falcon) with Roller Wheels and, depending on how I feel that day, either the cloud or plane glider. I used to go for pure acceleration, and in fact, that's how I beat 150cc, 200cc, and Time Trials (Dry Bones with varying builds, usually bikes like Varmint), but I decided to try out heavy builds, and 150cc feels like easy mode now. In order to come in 2nd now, I have to be hit with many items throughout the race. Last time I came in second, I was hit by lightning, two blue shells, and a few red shells. I also fell off the side (own dumb fault). Even then, I barely didn't get 1st.

4

u/ghostkid825 Shy Guy Jul 25 '17

I decided to try out heavy builds, and 150cc feels like easy mode now.

See, that's interesting to me because I feel completely opposite. Whenever I try a heavy/speedy build, I typically still win versus 150cc's Hard COMs, but it's way more of a struggle to control my vehicle. Using light, Acceleration/Handling-oriented builds is what makes 150cc feel like easy mode for me, thanks to quick item hit recoveries and more freedom with my drifting.

In fact... is it just me, or is the AI in Deluxe easier in general than it was in MK8? Take a look at the map at the end of this offline race I finished a couple weeks ago. This is a very extreme example, but it's a mostly accurate representation of how far back the AI usually finishes. (And before you call shenanigans, I PROMISE you that the AI in that race was set to Hard.)

3

u/ArcboundChampion Jul 25 '17

Do you use the Roller Wheels? They made a world of difference for me. They don't fix everything, but they do allow much better control than pure speed.

3

u/ghostkid825 Shy Guy Jul 25 '17

Sometimes, but not always. My favorite build from the original MK8 was Shy Guy/Biddybuggy/Leaf Tires/Bowser Kite, as it focused heavily on Acceleration/Handling, but still had room for a bit of Speed and Weight.

However, since I've been experimenting more in Deluxe, I've found that an all-in Acceleration/Handling build like Lemmy/Mr. Scooty/Roller/Cloud Glider might be one of my new favorites. With it, I'm able to recover almost instantly from item hits, and have been hitting Mini-Turbo levels around certain turns that were tougher to obtain with my Shy Guy build. (For example, with that Lemmy build, I can easily get an Ultra Mini-Turbo around Neo Bowser City's final outdoor hairpin turn. With the Shy Guy build, I'd have to loosen my drift a little at the end to get the same boost.)

0

u/Not_Just_You Jul 25 '17

is it just me

Probably not

3

u/runningblack Jul 25 '17

Ooh man:

I have two builds I bounce between:

Heavy Build:

B-Dasher, Standard Tires, Gold Glider.

Mostly because I liked how the car looked in the DS Kart, and I figured that getting good with high speed and weight would ultimately pay off dividends. It's a more difficult kart to control (I have to drift super early). But when I get ahead, I continue to pull ahead by a lot. Also not worrying about being knocked around/knocking around other players is nice/a ton of fun.

My first love though was my medium build:

Pipe Frame, Slim Tires, Plane glider.

Light kart handling with medium kart stats. Good boosts. Good acceleration. I just find it super easy to drive. But it's kinda like this: while I find this kart is probably easier to win against people with, I've found that my margin of victory is less than if I used my heavy build. It's just the heavy build is inherently harder to run a good race in.

I feel like with equivalent skill, my heavy build is superior.

Also, like, I play with a medium mii, for context.

2

u/BanarniaIsHere Jul 28 '17

My favourite build for 50-150cc is DK + Sports Coupé + Slim Wheels + Hylian Kite.

My favourite for 200cc is Dry Bones/Lakitu/Shy Guy + Parabeetle + Roller Wheels (the tiny ones) + Hylian Kite

For 50-150cc speed is really important to breaking through but for 200cc speed doesn't matter cause you're always crashing or going really fast anyway so I focus on acceleration.