Minor Tweak Given To Lightweight Racers In Latest Mario Kart 8 Update

Mario Kart 8’s first DLC pack was released just last week and included new tracks, playable characters and vehicle customisation parts. But it also featured a few minor tweaks for lightweight racers such as Toad and Shy Guy. According to a GameSpot interview with Mario Kart 8 director Kosuke Yabuki, lightweight racers were given additional balance in the 3.0 version update in order to lessen the collision impact with heavier racers.

Yabuki explains that lighter characters were at a slight disadvantage due to their knock back rate, but urges players to try out these characters again since the update. The balance between character weightings have been severely skewed through knock backs, particularly in online races, so has this tempted you to play with the lighter racers once again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Here’s what the Mario Kart 8 director said in full:

“For this update, we made just a minor tweak to the way two players deflect when they collide with each other. Up until now, when two players collided, the more lightweight racers would get knocked too far away. That, combined with other overall elements we considered, made us conclude that the lighter racers were at a bit of a disadvantage. If you like Toad or Shy Guy and feel like you can’t win at all, go ahead and give them another try after applying the update. Also note that this tweak doesn’t have any effect on Time Trials when playing solo.”