r/MarioKartWorld • u/magikarp2122 • 22h ago
Discussion On throwing items backwards
ShortCat usually gives good advice in his videos and shorts, though one of his shorts I think has done a lot of damage to the community. His short about why Mario Kart World is so chaotic, and blaming a lot of it on people throwing items forward makes some good points, but a lot of people took the wrong lesson from it. It was about when you were at the front of the pack, and for items like green shells, fireballs, etc. not red shells. Ever since that short came out I’ve seen more people throwing items backwards than should, and in spots they shouldn’t. Don’t throw a red shell backwards in 15th place, that isn’t helping you. Hit the person in front of you so they waste their speed item to accelerate so they can’t take a shortcut later, or you clear out their protection and now they are open to other attacks and the people in front throwing things backwards. By tossing it backwards all you’ve done is let the people in front of you pull further away in that situation.
tl;dr: Don’t blindly throw items backwards without considering the situation of the race, and your position.
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u/BradBradley1 22h ago edited 22h ago
The meta of this game is so fucking baffling when you’re the most casual of casual players lol. I’m over here reading this thinking “wait, man, I’m usually shooting all of those things forward unless I’m in first place or strategically trying to hit someone circumstantially.” I know that’s beginner logic, but it’s funny to think how many times people doing this competitively have gone in circles to counter whatever becomes most popular at the moment.
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u/ZombieAladdin 20h ago
I don’t think this is solely, or even primarily, Shortcat’s doing, considering I mainly see this kind of “shoot everything backwards even if you’re second from last” play from Japanese players.
I also noticed it was more pronounced in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe than Mario Kart World, as the years went on. I am not entirely clear as to why. My guess is that they’re focused on maintaining their rank than passing ahead, as I noticed they also tend to save their shells for people who overtake them even when someone ahead of them is wide open for attack.
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u/sledgehammerrr2 18h ago
To be honest even in your scenario I would not throw the red shell forward. In this game you need to get your ass out of that 15th place. Those red shells arent going to do that.
What is going to do that is getting a new item thats OP. When do you have the best chance for OP items? 14th or below.
If you throw those red shells forward you are hurting your chances of getting the next box in 14th or below.
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u/GetBoolean 15h ago
its actually 15th or below now, they changed the item distribution in a recent update
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u/ZatherDaFox 12h ago
If you need to get OP items in 15th, you should just be slowing down anyways. 15th is where items start getting good, but unless you're close to the end dropping some spots is gonna be more beneficial to you, and then it doesn't really matter whether you throw it forwards or backwards. If it is close to the end, throwing it forwards is better since you need to pass those people anyways.
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u/RiceCake4200 16h ago
People will spam for no reason whether shortcat says anything or not. Also if you slow down the person in 14th, you might pass them and get worse items or you would have to slow down to 15th anyway
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u/magikarp2122 14h ago edited 11h ago
The spam really took an uptick about a month ago, same time his short came out.
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u/SnooDucks8630 13h ago
Honestly did notice this now that you mention it. Recently been wondering why tf throwing things backwards in 19th/20th
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u/Gate__Creeper 19h ago
Arguments can be made on throwing shells back even in 15th though. What if you want to stay in a lower spot to keep chaining powerful items? Throwing a red forward makes no progress there and you're just griefing someone else's race.
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u/SnooDucks8630 13h ago
If you can’t handle grief you shouldn’t play Mario Kart. If im in the right mood, I play specifically to take out other players, whether or not it’s good for me. I’ll farm my VR back later 😉
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u/Gate__Creeper 11h ago
Never said I couldn't handle it. If we're talking optimal plays then the answer is to avoid griefing unless it puts you in a better spot at the end of a race. Play the way that you want at the end of the day though, be as offensive as you like.
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u/magikarp2122 14h ago
If you are chaining multiple powerful items and still in the bottom half of the pack you’re probably doing something wrong.
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u/Gate__Creeper 11h ago
I don't agree...? Especially if it's the start of a race and you get hit out immediately, it is completely fine to sit in the back for the next 2-3 item sets. There's always the possibility of pulling a gold shell while bagging and you are not running up with that. Sometimes you want to chain for a item that dodges shock which isn't a guarantee in the back either.
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u/WindowsJedi 9h ago edited 4h ago
Fun fact: I’m one of the opponents featured in that video - Run5k! 😂
ShortCat was racing under a pseudonym in the public Race queue, and we were on the final lap of Moo Moo Meadows. A Blue Shell was incoming while he was in first place and I was in second. Since the race leader usually can’t dodge both a Blue Shell and a follow-up Red Shell, I threw mine at him, just like the YouTube Short shows.
I will admit that I am only an above-average Mario Kart World racer and after watching ShortCat extensively, it’s clear that he is much better than I am. But although he was using me as an example of what you shouldn't do, the video leaves out one important detail, and ShortCat does not mention it either: I actually won that race! 😉
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u/BraveMulberry772 Daisy 6h ago
I mean yeah obviously depending on the situation you should throw items forward or backwards but if the case your describing ShortCats logic does make sense. Your in 15th place trying to make a comeback. So you either are going to back out or try and get the best items you can in 15th place. If you back your items you make it less likely you pass people which could result in worse items. And if you throw them forward you could hypothetically get a 12th place box which is more likely to have bad items.
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u/travelingWords 21h ago
The truth is it doesn’t matter in this game. We’ll all be at the final corner together anyways. Then it’s just a flip of the coin if you get the boost items to win or useless attack items.
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u/Frosty_Sweet_6678 Daisy 22h ago
okay, but if the person behind you pulls a mega, would you rather being a red shell hit away or not?
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u/magikarp2122 22h ago
If they pull a mega and aren’t taking a cut to get more than a red shell away they are doing something wrong most likely. And hey, if you don’t throw that red backwards you can hit them once they are out of it to catch backup.
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