Ok all we got our sandbaggers and frontrunners ready for the WCL. Unfortunately, the sandbaggers may get in a position where front running is the best way to go (ex: 2nd place + bill in item slot) and vice versa. I've been practicing my line with TT's and moving to funky + flame so now it's the front runners' chance to show they can be well-rounded players too!
Behold the
shock:
It is the one item that can easily make or break a team's result in one race!
What placements are important in clan war races?
As Pyro has mentioned on numerous occasions, top 4 placements decides which team won the race. No matter how the result of the race turns out, we want AT LEAST 2 of the top 4.
It is therefore the shocker's (or any UN member in general) job to get UN guys into top 4. Helping out members in much lower placements is good as well, but if it effects our top 4 negatively, it is best to let the lower placements catch up with their power items alone.
Stats about the shock:
When can you first obtain it?
According to our tests, the earliest you can get the shock is
25 seconds into the race IF AND ONLY IF someone is already holding the Bullet Bill. The earliest you can get it otherwise is
30 seconds into the race. Although this is true, don't ever expect to get a shock before 30 seconds as I have yet to get it before
30:657 (after NUMEROUS attempts).
How long after one shock is used can another one be obtained?
Technically,
25 seconds is the earliest you will see the shock in the item wheel after a shock has been used.
30 is the earliest you can use the shock again after it's been used. In actual game play, don't expect to see another shock until
35 seconds after the previous one was used.
I'm in last place but I'm not getting the shock...?
There can ONLY be
ONE shock, bullet bill, blue shell, blooper, or pow present on the field at one time (unless someone is hacking of course). When your item wheel is turning (and this applies to ANY placement), you should see any of these items as the items spin. If you don't see one of them, then someone is holding that item.
CORRECTION: Two blues can be on the field at the same time - one in the air and one in the item spot. Nonetheless, the point remains that if someone is holding the item: it will NOT appear in the item wheel until it is used.
Shocks are PRECIOUS:
At most, we would see three shocks in one match (as far I've experienced). At most, 2/3 of these shocks will be ours (unless we're most likely going to make our sandbagger get last place). Therefore, shocks are precious. They should NOT aim to help one ally alone unless it is to guarantee him first place. Instead, it should be aimed to help the team as a whole.
But, but, but...what if there is a case where one ally is screaming to not use it and one is screaming to use it? Which side do I choose?
All right, so when I initially started experimenting with team shock I was thrown into this dilemma quite often, until one incident that made me decide which way is the best way to go. Before I continue, please watch this video up until 1:25
(Not to defame anyone but...)
The scenario on vent during Crrr's full EIGHT SECOND (8 seconds, holy **** that's a large margin for error yet Jerk still failed) Greeny was adamantly screaming to not use the shock while Crrr was saying to use the shock.
Up until this fail, I chose to give priority to people who adamantly said NO versus YES. But if I had listened to Crr we had 1st and probably 3rd in the bag. From that day on, I've gone by the rule: YES gets priority over NO. If the shock ****s up, the person who said yes gets the blame. I know I've hit some exquisite target shocks (defensive and offensive), but I take my fails seriously as they are the only way to find out what is the best approach. Mario kart isn't constant. In a different scenario, Greeny could have been absolutely right and Crr could have screwed us. For the time being, I ask that we abide by the YES > NO rule since it has a MUCH lower fail rate than YES < NO.
Shock prediction:
The best feeling in MKW, in my opinion, is predicting someone's shock and billing into first while the previous first is still shrunk! Is there methodology behind this process, there sure is!
When you're in bottom Two the Two items you will most likely get are bullet bill or shock (third being golden shroom). If someone is HOLDING a bullet bill in their item spot the chance of getting the shock for the other bottom Two racer drastically goes up. So, what you should do is get the bill and race up to
3rd-5th place without using the bill of course. This is pretty easy because I like to refer to 6th-10th place as the "
RAPE ZONE". Why Rape Zone? Because this is the section that: triple reds, triple greens, stars, and big shrooms will be popping up and everyone is killing each other. It is also my favorite section to race in, hehe!
As mentioned above, the shock will not appear until the first 30 seconds pass by. Reasonably speaking, the earliest you would expect someone to get the shock would be 35 seconds. More so, we expect our opposing clan to have a brain so they will use the shock as they approach their next set of item boxes (assuming they don't plan to hold it until later). Therefore, the best time to hold a bill until and use it is between
35-45 seconds. My personal favorite time is
40. Using the bill itself adds a little more time to when the shock will help you (ex: you use bill at 40 and you'll have protection until 45). If done correctly, you'll be passing the poor first place ******* while in top shape and them shrunk!
How do you use it?
There's 3 ways to use the shock, the 3rd way being the most preferential for the team as a whole:
1) Offensive use: You can use the shock to target shock enemies off the course at given jumps. Depending on where you live, you must factor
lag into your timing but this is relatively easy on long obvious jumps. All you have to do is watch your map (remember that you have to drive still!) and use the shock the second you see the person
leave the jump. If you do it the second they leave the jump, lag will not make you miss your target shock. You can do it slightly before you see them jump but that's taking a risk and doing it after you see them actually in the air usually leads to a failed shock.
Check this video out:
I let Hook lead ALL race and then target shocked her at the last jump @ 2:46. This brought our 2nd and 3rd place to 1st and 2nd place: a total of an extra FIVE points! That may have been the difference between us winning and losing that race, since we also got bottom Two
Unfortunately, some of the ICE* guys were realizing what I was up to so I had to SUPER sandbag in order to out sandbag them. This resulted in me getting too far away from the 1st place, which is something you DON'T want to do. A GOOD team shocker should be able to do the team shock and get within the
top 6 placements. If we wanted someone to hold a shock, hurt them, and get last we would assign the job to anyone, right?
NOTE: This method can devastate our top 4 as well. Make sure the vent channel is clear and you know your team's positions before you attempt this by saying "
SPOT CHECK!" Quickly afterward, you should hear our allies screaming numbers and then you correlate placements to map positions. This is VERY important; I've had too much commotion when trying to say spot check. If you're going to bitch about so-and-so hit you or whatever PLEASE do so in between races of the grand prix!
Sandbaggers without communication are utterly useless.
Did you know ?: There has been no guide yet completed by another person that informs the community as to how to be successful without sandbagging (eg pure front-running) meaning that more and more clans are beginning to sandbag due to the resources available.
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An online community, for me, is basically a large amount of people whom dedicate themselves to a certain subject or hobby. For me, There is such a large amount o people whom play Mario Kart wii competitively and co-operatively that it is appropriate to say that there is a mario kart wii specific community. A fandom however is based more on the series itself than of specific games, so I would call this forum and the clans of mario kart wii a community moreso than a fandom. 
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