Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: 12 Tips & Tricks The Game Doesn't Tell You

3. Avoid Being Hit At The Last Second

As mentioned in the intro, thanks to Nintendo upping the drop-rate of lock-on weapons and allowing all of us to carry two power-ups at a time, every race always devolves into "Who gets left with what" in those closing corners. It keeps things as 'fair' as a random allotment of items can be, but that doesn't mean it feels truly justifiable when a good performance goes to hell in the last 10 seconds.

To remedy this, there are a couple of things to take note of.

First, learn to hold your items. Literally holding L when brandishing a Banana or Shell will see your character hold it out the back of their kart, absorbing one blow from any incoming item that isn't a Blue Shell. Being that you don't lose any acceleration when this happens, the technique should see you over the finish line before the next joker decides to fire off their Red Shell.

Also note, holding any of the 'three items at once' pick-ups creates a shield, be it Mushrooms or Shells. If you're going into the closing half of the last lap, resist the urge to fire off your remaining lot and instead, hold on. They could save your life during that frenetic final stretch, especially seeing as if anybody gets within proximity of your kart, shells and skins will auto-detonate, costing that person the most valuable of seconds.