The 3 Main Assist Options in Mario Kart 8

As an avid Mario Kart player, the top 3 options I always enable are:

• Smart Steering
• Tilt Controls
• Auto-Acceleration

These settings make racing accessible for newcomers while allowing veterans to focus on advanced skills like drifting. Let‘s break down what each option does.

Smart Steering Overview

This automated steering system keeps your kart on the track – perfect for beginners learning the controls and physics.

How it works: When enabled, you‘ll see a small antenna appear on the back of your vehicle. The antenna icon flashes yellow anytime auto-steering engages to prevent you driving over edges or into barriers. It only activates when really necessary so you remain in control most of the time.

Pros: Great way for new players to learn tracks without constantly falling off. Allows focusing on other skills like items usage and boosts.

Cons: Can‘t take shortcuts or alternate routes. Won‘t steer through tricky sections with lots of turns.

Based on my experience, I recommend keeping Smart Steering enabled even as an advanced player. The times it activates are rare, but it saves you from suddenly losing races to careless mistakes.

Tilt Controls Overview

By tilting your controller, you can steer your kart as if it was an actual wheel. This offers an immersive, authentic go-kart feel.

How it works: Tilt side-to-side to turn your vehicle. Tilt further to drift around corners for boosts. Works great with single Joycons, Joycon grip or Pro Controller.

Pros: Very intuitive and natural steering control. Enhances gameplay experience.

Cons: Can take practice getting used to. A bit tiring on arms over long play sessions.

I love tilt controls with Joycons or Pro Controller. It makes standard steering feel boring by comparison! Just beware it takes an hour or so to get the hang of.

Auto-Accelerate Overview

This handy option makes your kart accelerate automatically so you don‘t have to hold the button the entire race.

How it works: Your vehicle will start accelerating at the countdown start and maintain a steady speed without any input. You just steer and focus on drifting, items etc.

Pros: Gives your thumb a rest! One less thing to worry about so you can master other skills.

Cons: Imprecise for delicate maneuvers. Advanced players may want complete control.

I utilize auto-accelerate about 50% of the time. It helps reduce fatigue on longer play sessions. I turn it off when I really want to finesse my drifting around complicated sections. Otherwise it works flawlessly!

Besides those top 3 settings, Mario Kart 8 features other assists to help get started:

• Braking assist – Prevents you spinning out if braking is too sharp
• Anti-gravity assist – Stabilizes kart when driving on walls/ceilings
• Multiple control schemes – Pick what feels most intuitive

It‘s possible to toggle any combination of these on/off. I‘d recommend trying out each for yourself rather than just enabling everything. Feel where you specifically need help and go from there.

Now let‘s get into competitive racing skills that‘ll leave your friends in the dust!

Master Drifting

Drifting allows building up mini-turbo boosts when sliding around corners. This is essential for veterans.

• Hold the drift button just before/as you enter a turn
• Steer HARD in the opposite direction
• You‘ll slide with sparks flying
• Once the sparks turn blue, straighten out to get a speed boost

With practice you can chain multiple drifts on straightaways too. Be patient learning rather than relying on Smart Steering – it prevents drifting.

Strategic Items Usage

Mario Kart is famously chaotic thanks to wild items shaking up race leaders.

• Don‘t blast through item boxes if already in 1st place
• Consider dropping back for defensive items like bananas/shells
• Time power items like Bullet Bill for tricky sections
• Save some items for key moments near the finish

Think about where you are in the race when using items – it‘ll maximize your chances of winning!

Memorize Shortcuts

Nearly every course has shortcuts you can discover with some exploring. These bypass chunks of the track for massive time savings.

A few examples:

• Gliding over gaps
• Driving through mud/grass
• Secret paths hidden from main route

Test out suspicious looking routes during practice laps to find any sneaky shortcuts. Note them down so you remember mid-race!

Vehicle Selection Impacts Performance

An often overlooked tip is carefully choosing your character, kart components and accessories. These significantly change speed, acceleration, weight distribution and handling:

Try out different combinations in time trials to optimize performance for your racing style. Many advanced techniques require particular configurations to pull off.

Once you‘ve mastered drifting and racing basics, here are a couple advanced skills that‘ll take your game even further.

Turbo Boosts

Turbo pads give a great speed burst if you hit them just right. This needs expert timing:

• Approach at high speed
• Let go of acceleration right before
• Press again just as your tires touch the pad
• Enjoy the supercharged momentum!

Chaining these together on straightaways compounds your speed enormously.

Combos

Did you know it‘s possible to string together combos for big scoring bonuses, just like in Tony Hawk or fighting games?

• Perform actions like drifts and tricks rapidly
• Combos increase based on unbroken sequences
• Useful in modes awarding points over raw time

See how long you can keep the combo meter going! Careful though – one crash breaks the chain.

With a huge amount of content, Mario Kart 8 remains endlessly replayable:

• 9 Grand Prix difficulty levels
• 48 race courses
• 8 battle arenas supporting 7 game variants
• Online and local multiplayer for up to 4 players

Difficulty Levels

This snapshot shows the difference in speeds between 50cc and 150cc:

As you can see, 150cc is nearly twice as fast! Items also become more aggressive at higher speeds. Additionally there‘s mirror mode for flipped courses, and the truly insane 200cc.

Battle Mode

For pure arcade-style action, battle mode is fantastic frenzied fun. Up to 4 players face off competitively or cooperatively in 7 distinct game types:

• Balloon Battle (Last man standing)
• Renegade Roundup (Cops and robbers)
• Bob-omb Blast (Collect and detonate bob-ombs)
• Shine Thief (Hold the Shine Sprite)
• Coin Runners (Collect the most coins)
• Rob-omb Rush (Blow up chain chomps)
• Shine Runner (Team shine sprite relay)

With 8 dedicated arenas full of boost pads, ramps and hazards, there‘s no time to relax during these 5 minute battles!