Today, we’re going over some tips and tricks on how to more easily win in Mario Kart World’s 150cc mode with a new code.
Mario Kart World is available now on Nintendo Switch 2, and players have noticed that Grand Prix mode isn’t quite as easy this time around. One of the game’s main goals is to earn three stars on every Grand Prix cup on 150cc – when you do that, the 50cc and 100cc automatically earn gold stars even if you’ve never played them. That being said, the CPUs on 150cc are particularly challenging. They’re fast, they drift, they take shortcuts, and they wait until the best moment to use powerful items. This makes 150cc Grand Prix races surprisingly challenging – much more so than previous titles in the series (or at least recent ones).
First up, you’ll need to have a good kart combination. In Mario Kart World, there are four visible stats: Speed, Acceleration, Weight, and Handling. All four of these stats are important, so from what we know so far you’ll want to try your best to balance the four (with a slight emphasis on Speed). With that in mind, we had the most luck playing as either Bowser or Wario on the Baby Blooper. Bowser has the fastest base Speed in the game, but very low Acceleration and Handling. Wario is very slightly slower, but he has additional Acceleration and Handling that make him a slightly better pick for Grand Prix. Featherweight characters like the babies, Dry Bones, and Goomba have extremely low Speed stats. If you play as them, you’ll find yourself being passed by CPU drivers over and over again. In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, lightweight characters with low Speed stats were good for 200cc – but that isn’t in Mario Kart World at the moment, so you should probably stick to heavyweights for the best chance of winning.
There’s another interesting tidbit here: if you’re having trouble winning the cups even with a good setup, stop drifting. According to WrongLander over on Reddit (as well as many other players echoing the same thing), Mario Kart World’s AI actually gets better the more you drift and perform tricks. If you’re having trouble winning Grand Prix cups, just play simple! No drifting, no tricks, and hold onto your items until the moment you need them. As always, you’ll also want to collect as many coins as possible to boost your top speed. Not to mention that collecting coins also helps you unlock more karts.
Another good idea we’ll highlight for our Mario Kart World 150cc Grand Prix guide – when you’re in 1st and you have a coin in your first item slot and a defensive item in your second, hold onto the coin. CPUs will sometimes steal your item with a Boo. If the Boo steals the coin, you still have a defensive item left – but if you use the coin and the Boo steals your defensive item, you’re left vulnerable to any items that come afterward. In Mario Kart World, it’s also much easier to dodge a Spiny Shell with a Mushroom. Use it the moment the Spiny Shell stops circling you and is about to crash into you, and you’ll escape. Do note, however, that this does not work with Dash Food. Additionally, you have all the standard Mario Kart tips that apply here as well: accelerate at 2 on the starting countdown to get a boost, and most importantly, drive directly behind CPU opponents who have no items to get a slipstream boost. Slipstream is extremely powerful in this game, and CPUs will often speed ahead of you by getting slipstream boosts themselves.
We’ll also follow up this guide with detailed tips and strategies for Knockout Tour, which actually works a little differently – for one, Speed is a bit more important because you can maintain a lead over CPU opponents. In the meantime, if you have any tricks you used to clear Grand Prix easier, feel free to leave them in the comments down below. If you’re looking for more information on Mario Kart World, check out the official website for the game.
