~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~3. Characters and Vehicles~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Understand Mario Kart 8 Deluxe character stats like Speed, Acceleration, Weight, Handling, Grip, and Miniturbo, plus the 7 weight classes.

Stats Explained:

Speed: This stat determines your maximum speed. Higher Speed means faster top speeds. It's divided into Land Speed, Underwater Speed, Air Speed, and Antigravity Speed, with Land Speed being the most crucial. A small difference in Speed can significantly impact race times, potentially saving up to 12 seconds over a 2-minute race on straightaways.

Acceleration: This stat governs how quickly you reach your top speed from zero, crucial for recovering after being hit. Acceleration works in tiers, meaning certain stat values within a tier offer no additional benefit.

Weight: Higher Weight allows you to bump other racers more effectively and resist being pushed around. While heavier characters have more Weight, it can slightly impede glide height.

Handling: This stat affects how tightly you can turn and drift, essential for charging miniturbos. Like Speed, Handling is divided into Land, Underwater, Air, and Antigravity Handling, with Land Handling being the most important.

Grip: Grip influences how well you stick to the track, reducing sliding on off-road and pseudo-off-road sections like wet dirt or ice. Grip and Handling together impact cornering ability.

Miniturbo: This hidden stat determines how quickly your miniturbo boost charges during a drift and the length of the boost itself. Lighter characters generally have a higher Miniturbo stat.

Weight Classes and Characters:

Characters are grouped into seven weight classes, each with identical base stats. The commonly used names for these classes are Babyweight, Featherweight, Catweight, Lightweight, Tanookiweight, Heavyweight, and Bowserweight. Each stat is rated out of 6.

Weight Class Stats (Values out of 6):

• Babyweight: Land Speed 2.25, Underwater Speed 2.75, Air Speed 2.25, Antigravity Speed 2.50, Acceleration 3.25, Weight 2.25
• Featherweight: Land Speed 2.75, Underwater Speed 3.25, Air Speed 2.75, Antigravity Speed 3.00, Acceleration 3.00, Weight 2.75
• Catweight: Land Speed 3.25, Underwater Speed 3.75, Air Speed 3.25, Antigravity Speed 3.50, Acceleration 3.00, Weight 3.00
• Lightweight: Land Speed 3.25, Underwater Speed 3.75, Air Speed 3.25, Antigravity Speed 3.50, Acceleration 2.75, Weight 3.25
• Tanookiweight: Land Speed 3.75, Underwater Speed 4.25, Air Speed 3.75