{"id":753457,"date":"2026-06-22T11:21:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T11:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/753457\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T11:21:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T11:21:20","slug":"5-mario-kart-world-habits-players-should-stop-doing-immediately","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/753457\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Mario Kart World habits players should stop doing immediately"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mario Kart World<\/a>\u2019s been out for over a year, and brought with it new game modes, unique character costumes, customization options and, of course, an enormous, interconnected map. If all this new content was a bit daunting to you, you may not have realized some of your racing habits might be holding you back from first place.<\/p>\n

If you just got a Nintendo Switch 2, you\u2019re new to Mario Kart, or you\u2019re just looking to break some bad habits that are keeping you from first place, we put together some common mistakes Mario Kart World players might not realize they’re making.<\/p>\n

1 <\/p>\n

Leaving Smart Steering On<\/p>\n

\"Waluigi
\n Image: Nintendo via Polygon<\/p>\n

Do yourself a favor \u2014 grab your Switch 2, boot up Mario Kart World, and disable smart steering<\/a>. Unless you literally just started playing, it\u2019s probably doing you more harm than good. Smart Steering keeps you from going off track during a race, so it\u2019s great if you\u2019re just starting out and trying to get used to the controls. But if you want to grind rails or take off-road shortcuts, Smart Steering will quickly start holding you back. It also prevents you from reaching the third level of drift boost in the game: the Ultra Mini Turbo.<\/p>\n

Smart Steering is on by default, so casual players who aren\u2019t trawling through their settings may never have noticed it. You can toggle it off in the settings menu.<\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

Ignoring smaller speed boosts<\/p>\n

\"All
\n Image: Nintendo EPD\/Nintendo via Polygon<\/p>\n

While flashy powerups and on-track Boost Pads may give you the biggest speed boosts in the game, there\u2019s a ton of ways to secure smaller speed boosts that might add up to big wins. You probably know that using Z\/ZR to drift around turns offers up to three levels of Mini-Boosts. Slipstreaming, or drafting, can also speed you up. All you have to do is line your kart right behind one of your opponents. You\u2019ll see a little wind form around your kart, and feel a burst of speed. As a bonus, you can ram into the driver you\u2019re slipstreaming behind to knock them off course.<\/p>\n

Rail grinding can also help speed you up, but it can be a bit less intuitive for newcomers. Some rails start at ground level, so you can drive right up on them without any extra work. But if you\u2019re past a rail\u2019s ground-level start point, you can hop on by holding down the R\/ZR button as though you\u2019re going to drift, but instead of steering, continue driving straight ahead. Once you release the button, you\u2019ll jump, giving you enough air to hop onto a rail. Hitting R\/ZR again in the air lets you perform a quick trick that boosts your speed upon landing. Perform one of those tricks whenever you\u2019re in the air \u2014 whether you took a ramp or a sand dune \u2014 to secure another speed boost.<\/p>\n

3 <\/p>\n

Driving with empty pockets<\/p>\n

\"All
\n Image: Nintendo EPD\/Nintendo via Polygon<\/p>\n

While seasoned racers are used to keeping their wallets full during laps, newcomers may not know how important coins can be in tight races. Like with previous entries in the Mario Kart franchise, collecting coins increases your maximum speed. For the highest possible boost \u2014 about 5% above your maximum speed \u2014 aim to keep 20 coins on you at all times. Every time you\u2019re hit, you\u2019ll lose a few coins. If you\u2019re running low, keep an eye on some of the non-player cars driving alongside you, sometimes they\u2019ll drop a few coins.<\/p>\n

As a bonus, every 100 coins you collect in Mario Kart World unlocks a new vehicle, with 4,000 coins unlocking them all.<\/p>\n

4 <\/p>\n

Throwing out items<\/p>\n

\"I'm
\n Image: Nintendo EPD\/Nintendo via Polygon<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not saying become a hoarder, but don\u2019t feel you have to use items as soon as you get them. For example, if you\u2019re hoping to go off-road or use a short cut, holding on to a Mushroom until then can help you avoid the speed penalty that comes with off-roading. Similarly, keeping a Green Shell or Banana Peel behind you can shield you from attacks by other racers.<\/p>\n

This goes for coins as well. If you\u2019re maxed out at 20 coins, and you just got another in an item box, don\u2019t cash out immediately. Unless you have a great item on deck, or you\u2019re approaching another item box, keeping that extra coin will allow you to quickly recover a bit of speed if you get hit.<\/p>\n

5 <\/p>\n

Forgetting to Free Roam<\/p>\n

\"mario<\/p>\n

If you have some bad habits to break, there\u2019s no better place to practice than the game\u2019s expansive Free Roam mode. Free Roam allows you to practice drifts, jumps, and more outside of the pressure cooker that is a Grand Prix. If you\u2019re hoping to collect new vehicles, Free Roaming allows you to grab coins at a more leisurely pace. Finally, taking some time to explore the map can help you find shortcuts you didn\u2019t know existed, preparing you for your next Grand Prix.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re just starting out and looking for more tips in Mario Kart World, we have beginner\u2019s guides for racing, collectibles, and more<\/a>. If you\u2019re an experienced player looking for something new, Bob-Omb Blast<\/a> and Team Racing<\/a> were both added to the game earlier this year.<\/p>\n


\n \"A<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\t18 Mario Kart World beginner\u2019s tips and tricks to know before playing
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

How to be the speediest driver on the course<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mario Kart World\u2019s been out for over a year, and brought with it new game modes, unique character…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":753458,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[49,48,61],"class_list":["post-753457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=753457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753457\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/753458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=753457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=753457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=753457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}