Mario Kart 8 update brings down the controversial “sandbagging” strategy

since Mario Kart 8Launched on the Wii U, one of the game’s most successful and controversial strategies involved intentionally hanging around the back of the pack to collect and abuse the game’s best items. Now, more than nine years after the game’s initial release, Nintendo has taken steps to ditch the controversial “packaging” strategy in the Switch’s latest update. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Mario Kart 8 Players who have used “bagging” (short for “sandbagging” and sometimes called “item smuggling”) in online races will briefly drop to last place to sit on a rotating item chest, waiting to obtain some of the most powerful items in the game (which is… They are more likely to appear when you are far from first place). The packing player can then use one of these items (e.g., Golden Mushroom and/or Starman) to quickly catch up with the herd before using the other packing item (e.g., Bullet Bill) to build a dominant lead. The strategy can be especially effective on tracks like “Cheese Land,” where Bullet Bill is used in very specific locations How long the powerful item lasts can be extended.

Not “cheating” but not exactly “racing”?

Despite the packing game’s controversial reputation among many players, the strategy can’t really compare to outright cheating, as packers are playing an unmodified version of the game as it was designed, after all. And For yearsa lot Mario Kart 8 Players have argued that it is a completely fair strategy and requires actual skill to use effectively. “Sandbagging is kind of risk versus reward,” GameFAQs user RydeonHD Written in 2016. “There have been many times where this could have backfired (in those cases, we would have been better off going for that first).”

On the other hand, it is easy to say that mobilization is at least incompatible with spirit In a racing game, where the focus should never be on intentionally letting other racers pass you (although sandbagging It can sometimes come in handy in real-life races also). Many players also complained about the extremely awkward online races where many packers end up Fighting for last place To secure the best items, completely changing the atmosphere of the competition (you can see an example of this after about 30 seconds) this video).

“A lobby with approximately 12 out of 12 players being ‘good packers’ is generating an unprecedented number of unwanted items Mario Kart “An experience for players who have opted out of bags,” Reddit user “West-Secretary-1188” He argued last month. “Packing is a drag for seniors Mario Kart Fun, shame on the packers.”

Apparently, Nintendo has now belatedly agreed that packing shouldn’t be part of the game. Patch notes to Mario Kart 8 DeluxeThe game’s version 3.0.0 update (which includes the game’s final batch of DLC paths) noted that the update “made it so that you cannot obtain powerful items when taking an Item Chest by stopping or driving backwards, or taking an Item Chest located in the same location multiple times During the race.”

Since the update launched on November 8, players have Already noticed Sitting on the item chest in the last place now only provides minimally useful items like mushrooms or green shards, leaving the player behind in a difficult situation. The change should limit the effectiveness of intentional sand while still allowing legitimately slow players a better chance of getting at least one good item.

Don’t worry, though; It seems likely that at least one other controversial feature will remain to help in the last place Mario Kart 8 In the foreseeable future. “When we did the experiment without the blue shell, it actually feels like something is missing.” Mario Kart 7 And 8 “You know, sometimes life’s not fair,” director Kosuke Yabuki said in a 2017 interview. “Sometimes in life, you have something where you feel like that’s not right, and that’s frustrating.”