Mario Kart 8‘s newest speed in the 200cc racing mode is crazy fast, and adapting to the new speed has been difficult. Going into 200cc with the Kart combo that’s been with you throughout your time with 150cc would be completely futile. 200cc in Mario Kart 8 is where the all-important speed-stat falls flat on its face — trying to play a speed-heavy character at velocities this high is hilarious at best!
So crack out your notepad, speed-demons, and don’t miss the Skinny as we guide you through all the 200cc madness of Mario Kart 8.
Pick Your Character Wisely
Mario Kart 8 doesn’t exactly make it obvious, but your character choice does affect the stats of your kart overall, and might actually be the most important part of making sure your vehicle has the stats that you want. Luckily the Super Mario Wiki has a comprehensive visual chart featuring what characters fall in which weight-class.
Can you spot the out-of-place Mario?
At first glance, this chart may not mean much to you, but it does a great job classifying specifically where each character falls on the spectrum. While characters in the Heavy class may be generally prefered for 150cc and below, you should only consider characters within the Medium or Light classes for 200cc. Even the top-Medium tier is best to stay away from — sorry Mario and Luigi!
I would be even more cautious using an inward-drifting bike, as heavier characters definitely affect the turning capabilities a lot more than an outward-drifting vehicle.
Which weight class you pick from really depends on your confidence in 200cc. If you deal with a lot of spin-outs and bottom-less pits, then light-weight characters are probably better for you. The more confidence you have racing in 200cc, the more Medium-weight becomes a viable option.
Choose Your Prefered Kart
While it’s important to use a light-weight character, using a speedy kart isn’t all that bad — in fact it can actually be very beneficial. At this point in the Kart building process, you need to be looking at your Kart’s stats (+).
It should also be noted that 200cc effectively bridged the gap between inward-drifting bikers and outward-drifting drivers. With the infamous bunny hopping technique becoming practically useless in 200cc (something that inward-drifting bikers cannot pull off), it’s now possible to safely use an inward drift without worrying about falling incredibly behind.
There are 3 main types of stat allocations we are looking for in a Kart, one of which is purely exclusive to the Mario Kart 8 DLCs. Here is a list of the Karts to look for in order of situational versatility to unadulterated speed (note that all of these use an outward drift):
- Pipe Frame, W 25 Silver Arrow (Free DLC), Standard Bike, Flame Rider, Varmint, City Tripper (“Animal Crossing” DLC), Wild Wiggler
- Blue Falcon (“The Legend of Zelda” DLC), Streetle (“Animal Crossing DLC”)
- Mach 8, Circuit Special, Sports Coupe, Gold Standard, B Dasher (“The Legend of Zelda” DLC), P-Wing (“Animal Crossing” DLC)
Pick whichever kart you prefer and roll with it — tires are the more important step in 200cc anyway.
The Handling is in the Tires
As I mentioned in my Mario Kart 8 200cc tips, Handling is the stat that you really want to look at in 200cc. Rather than going with slicks — the ultimate tire of choice in 150cc — 200cc actually has a few decent pickings. Here are the tires you should consider, in descending order of their handling ability:
- Slims, Crimson Slims, Triforce Tires (“The Legend of Zelda” DLC)
- Rollers, Buttons, Azure Rollers, Leaf Tires (“Animal Crossing” DLC)
- Standards, Off-Roads, Blue Standards, Retro Off-Roads, GLA Tires (Free DLC)
So if the Slims are the best tires for 200cc, why not choose them every time?
A successful example of using Slim tires.
For the same reason you need to be mindful of which type of Glider you choose: Acceleration Tiers.
Tie it All Together With Acceleration Tiers
In Mario Kart 8, the Acceleration stat notably rises in tiers. Instead of each point in Acceleration counting towards your actual acceleration rate, only every full bar of acceleration counts. Even if you have 3.75 bars of Acceleration, you gain speed as if you had only 3 bars of Acceleration.
Even if you have 3.75 bars of Acceleration, you gain speed as if you had only 3 bars of Acceleration.
For that reason, any extra points in the Acceleration stat is essentially wasted and should be allocated somewhere else. You should always gear towards having only full bars Acceleration. Your choice of tires and glider should be based on this stat.
When you get hit in 200cc, you lose a lot more distance than you would if you spun-out in 150cc. Acceleration becomes a lot more prominent because of this, and it should rarely ever drop below 3 tiers when you’re racing in 200cc mode.
What’s Your Favorite 200cc Character/Kart Combo?
Now that you know how to expertly craft the best character and kart combos for 200cc in Mario Kart 8, what is your favorite combo to use? Personally, I have two combos that I actively jump between:
- Female Villager | Streetle | Triforce Tires | Paper Glider
- Light-Blue Shy Guy | City Tripper | Crimson Slims | Gold Glider
Leave your favorite Mario Kart 8 Character/Kart combos for 200cc in the comments below!
