★DryBowser's Battle Guide★ V1.2 - Mario Kart Wii

*[β]*Dry Bowser · 02:09 AM

★★Introduction★★

Welcome to my battle thread. In here you will find everything you need to know about the battle mode of Mario Kart Wii. I made this thread to help new players get better, and also to hopefully persuade people that racing isn’t the only exciting thing in Mario Kart Wii.
First of all I will explain more about the 2 types of battles, namely balloon battle and coin runners. I will also take some time to explain online battles. After that I will discuss what character and vehicle to use, followed by an explanation of the various items found in battles, and what effects they have. I will then discuss all 10 battle courses, with seperate explanations for both balloon battle and coin runners in each course. A post with credits closes this thread.

★Introduction
★Battle Types
★Vehicles and Characters
★Items
★Wii Courses 1
★Wii Courses 2
★Retro Courses 1
★Retro Courses 2
★Battle Techniques
★Battle Clans
★Credits

*[β]*Dry Bowser · 02:12 AM

★★Battle Types★★

The basic idea behind a battle is to hit your opponents with items. Unlike racing, there isn't a goal or finish to drive to. Battles can be played between 2-12 people. Unlike previous Mario Kart game battles there are 2 teams in the Wii version, a red and a blue team. Sometimes these teams will be uneven, if there's an uneven amount of players. The outcome of the battle is not only determined by how well you perform, but also by the performance by your teammates (which can be very unfair sometimes). If you get hit or if you get put back in the game, you will be invulnerable for a short time, giving you time to head for an item box before others attack you again. Every battle lasts 3 minutes. There are 2 types of battles: Balloon Battle, and Coin Runners. I will explain them briefly here.

★Balloon Battle★
In balloon battle every player starts with 3 balloons. The main goal is to hit as many players from the other team as possible. If you get hit, or if you fall in a pit or something similar, you will lose 1 balloon. Once you have lost all 3 balloons, you will lose all your items, fade out, and lose 1 point. You will be put back in the battle afterwards, with 3 new balloons. Because of this and because of the team aspect, the 'last man standing' aspect of battling that was so prominent in all other Mario Kart games has disappeared. When all 3 minutes are over, the team with the most points wins (the team's points are the sum of the individual points of the team members).

★Coin Runners★

In coin runners, there will be coins on the battle course (the amount of coins depends on how many players are there; the more players, the more coins will appear). The purpose of coin runners is to collect the most coins (surprisingly). You'll again have to hit players from the other team with items. If you get hit, you lose coins, and other can collect them. How many coins you lose depends on the amount of coins you have. To start with, you will always lose atleast 3 coins, even if you only have 3. If you have a even number of coins, you will lose half (if you have for example 14 coins and you get hit, you lose 7). If you have a uneven number of coins, you will lose half your coins rounded up, so if you have 15 coins, you will lose 8 coins (half of 15 is 7.5, rounded up that gives 8). The total amount of coins you have is represented by a stack on top of you characters head, so in battle aim for those who have a big stack. They'll surely give you alot!

★Online Battles★
Ofcourse you can also play against people from all around the world in online mode. If you play online your skill is represented by your battle rating (BR). Let me first start by saying that it's much harder to get a high BR than it is to get a high VR, mainly due to the team aspect. I'll get back to the BR in a few moments.

When you play online you can't vote for a battle type, it always alternates between balloon battle and coin runners. You can vote for a battle course ofcourse. Online battle is played just like regular battle, except now you play with realy people instead of cpu's. This can make the game more fun, but it can also drive you crazy if you have teammates who do nothing except sitting there and getting hit by the other team.

Another thing that's frustrating is lag. Sometimes when you drive over a person with a mega mushroom or hit someone with a star, you don't get your point, while it showed on your screen that you hit that person. This is because of lag. On your screen it looks as if you hit him, but you actually didn't. Going on regional/continental help reduce lag.

After the battle is over you earn or lose BR. If you're on the winning team, you will most likely win BR. However it all depends on your own BR and that of the other players. If you have a high BR and the others don't, you may lose BR if you're ranked 2nd in the winning team. The higher the BR, the more you lose and the less you gain. And because there are alot more players with low BR than with high BR, and because you have to rely a bit on your teammates to win, it's very hard to get 9999 BR. However fear not, if you're on the losing team you can still be crowned the winner if you have around 3 balloons or 5 coins more than the best scoring player on the other (winning) team.

*[β]*Dry Bowser · 02:13 AM

★★Vehicles and Characters★★

When choosing a character and vehicle, there are a few things one has to keep in consideration.

★Vehicles★
In battle mode, there are only 2 vehicles available: the standard kart and the standard bike. Here are some pros and cons of both vehicles:

Karts:
+ orange mini turbo gives a longer turbo boost
+ higher speed than bikes
+ heavier
+ larger, so easier to hit people with a mega mushroom or star

- no wheelies
- less agility/turning than bikes

Bikes:
+ wheely ability can give you a slight edge when racing to an item box
+ higher acceleration
+ better manoeuverability
- no orange mini turbo
- lighter than karts
- lower top speed
- smaller, so harder to hit people with a mega mushroom or star

In general I feel that bikes are better than karts, mainly because of their wheely ability and higher agility than karts. The higher top speed, bigger weight and orange mini turbos are not that significant in battles.

★Characters★
First of all, forget about all what’s being said about the importance of character stats in races. This is battle mode, it’s very different from regular racing. Battling isn’t about the highest speed; using Funky or Daisy will not give you a advantage.

In my opinion lightwheights are the best to use. They have more acceleration than medium- or heavyweights. Their top speed and weight is less, but those aren’t very important when battling.

When looking for a character to use, you don’t have to look for those with the highest top speed. The acceleration stat is more important in my opinion. But this is battle mode, so the character stats aren’t that important at all. And besides, use a character you like instead of one with high stats.

★Manual or Automatic★
Both manual and automatic allow the stand-still mini boost. Manual is slightly superior because of the regular mini turbos, but you should use what you're most comfortable with. I use Dry Bowser and I got up to 9000 BR with him.

*[β]*Dry Bowser · 02:18 AM

★★Training★★

Thanks to AnIronMan

Training is espeically hard to do unless you've taken the time to think about it. Using Racing Training tactics where playing the course over and over to perfect racing lines and tight cornering will not help you when it comes to Battling.
Of course Practice is a Key however i've found that there are other methods which help and arent so repetive.

First of, Look at the stages described by Drybowser and look at the Stages when you play them on the mini map. You will find that a number of stages have a Circular shape and a number a Square.

Simply dividing the courses like this can help create pars and likeness's between courses where you will learn that using such strategies on particular courses work better than others, developing the linking and dividing further and i've come to this:

Block Plaza -->

Downstairs links with Twilight. Upstairs links with Skyscraper + Delphino

Delphino Pier-->

Downstairs links with Cookie + Twilight. Upstairs links with Thwomp

Funky Stadium-->

Chain Chomp + Snes

Chain Chomp Roulette-->

Funky Stadium + Thwomp

Thwomp Desert-->

Cookie Land + Chain Chomp + Skyscraper

SNES Battle Course 4-->

Block Plaza + Twilight

GBA Battle Course 3-->

Skyscraper + Cookie Land + Twilight House

N64 Skyscraper-->

Twilight House + GBA

GCN Cookie Land-->

Thwomp + GBA

DS Twilight House-->
Block Plaza + Skyscraper + Dephino square + Cookieland

Now this is just what i found, if you do it yourself and create links between the courses its most likely you will find something different!

Now the reason i have linked the courses is due to my training strategy. Which is rather than play a course to get better like you would in MKW Racing, i suggest you link the courses and make a table like i have done. By doing this playing on those courses that are clearly linked together will greatly help you play on the course you wish to do better in.

For example..If i wished to improve my playing on CookieLand Stage. i would play WW and choose GBA and Thwomp alot.

By playing a course like GBA it helps me learn to navigate between set item boxes, play is usually done in a circular motion around the course. Using the walls will hlep me learn the walls in cookie land to help my defence where as playing thwomp will again help me play in a circular motion. Thwomp also makes me use the map and my eyes more to find opponents which is sometimes difficult to keep a track of at cookie land.

so learning these techniques on these two stages have helped with my techniques in the cookieland stage by GBA helping with the outside ring and Thwomp helping me with the inside ring of cookie.

Of course that is an example and you might link other courses than i have here as Twilight and Skyscraper can also be linked into this case and help however i left them out so the linking wasnt too overcrowded and daughting.

Okay, So hopefully you've taken the time to read about how to Train yourself on the course but now im going to give you a more detailed description of some tactics used on the courses and hopefully using these Battling will open up and become slightly easier.

*[β]*Dry Bowser · 02:23 AM

★★Items★★

The items in battles are almost all the same as those of racing. Some have other effects though. And the thundercloud and bullet bill items don't appear in battles.

The banana is a item that let's people slip when run into. It costs 1 balloon, or (at most) 3 coins if you hit it. There is also the triple bananas item, which is basically 3 bananas that you could carry behind you and drop.

A green shell is a shell that travels in a straight line if you shoot it, ramming people that are in it's path. It will cost you a balloon or half your coins if it hits you. This shell also bounces of walls several times before disappearing. They also come as triple green shells, that spin around you. These give protection, but if you have 2 or less, other shells can get through and hit you.

The red shell is the same as a green shell, except that it follows a player if you shoot it in his/her direction. These shells also don't bounce against walls. If it hits a wall, the shell disappears. They also come as a triple red shell item.

A fake item box has the appearance of a regular item box, but will make people lose a balloon or 3 coins at most if they run into it. These are great to drop in regular item boxes. Note that the colour of the box depends on what team you're on: blueish if you're on the blue team, reddish if you're on the red.

The mushroom gives you a short speed burst if you use it. If you manage to hit someone while using it, you get their balloon, or you get at most 3 coins of them automatically. This item also comes as a triple mushroom item and as a golden mushroom item. Because you don't have protection if you hold this item, and also because of lag, it's best to use it right away and go for another item box instead of waiting for a player to come by and use it on.

The mega mushroom makes you temporary large, crushing anyone you drive into. You lose a balloon or half your coins if you get crushed. On top of that, after being crushed, you're flat for a limited time and your speed is reduced. As long as you're flat, you can't get run over by a mega mushroom again. Mega Mushroom protect against blue shells, and if you run into bananas and fake item boxes whilst being large, they disappear without harming you.

A bob-omb is a bomb that can be thrown or put behind you. If any opponent is near it, a bob-omb will explode, with a big radius of impact, causing anyone to be in the radius to lose a balloon or half their coins. A good way to use this item is to drop it behind you if someone is chasing you. They'll notice it too late and will run straight into the bob-omb.

The blue shell is a shell that once fired will fly to the player of the opposite team that has the most balloons/coins and hits that player leaving a blue radius (much like the bob-omb) that will affect anyone from the other team within it. It will cause people to lose a balloon or half their coins. A blue shell can be dodged with a mega mushroom or a star, and also with a good time mushroom.

The blooper is an item that will cover everyone opponent's screen with stains of ink for a short amount of time. It doesn't do anything else so it's pretty useless. However opponents are more likely to run into bananas and such because they can't see them.

The lightning item will shrink any opponents, making them small (reduced speed) and lose their items. It doesn't make them lose balloons or coins. If used the item will make them invulnerable for a short amount of time, similar to how players become invulnerable for a short time after being hit by a item. Lightning will not affect those who are using a star, and people who use a mega mushroom get reduced to their original size.

The POW block will cause everyone in the other team to lose their items, and when playing coin runners they will all lose half their coins. The POW block doesn't affect anyone who's not on the ground when used, and you can avoid it easily.

The star is a item that makes you invulnerable to any attack, including mega mushrooms. It gives you a speed and acceleration boost while using. If a opponent is hit, you will either steal 1 of their balloons, or steal 3 coins automatically (same as the effect of a mushroom).

*[β]*Dry Bowser · 02:26 AM

★★Wii Courses 1★★

★Block Plaza★

Block Plaza is a battle course new to the Wii version. It's loosely based on the Block Fort battle course from Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64), and on Block City from Mario Kart Double Dash!! (Gamecube). The battle course's layout is a square surrounded by a tall wall. There are 4 elevated block platforms in the middle of each side, connected by a central ring-shaped 5th block to allow travelling from one of the blocks to another. You can go on these blocks either from an other block via the central ring, or by going up the 2 inclines every block has. These elevated blocks divide the course into a upper and lower section.

New to this version of the block themed battle courses is the statues that adorn the elevated blocks: Luigi on the green, Peach on the blue, Daisy on the yellow and Mario on the red block. However, if played with your mii, the heads of the statues will become the heads of miis you have in your Mii Channel. The central ring has a cube shaped purple block on it, and there are also 4 other block statues on all 4 corners of the course layout. The character- and blockstatues sink as time goes by, resulting in holes players can drop in if they're not carefull.
The sky of the course is full of moving sprites from the classic Mario Games.

Item boxes can be found on top of the blocks (2 each), on the ground floor between the blocks (2 each) and in 2 of the 4 corner block statues (1 each).

Balloon Battle
Block Plaza is broken up into 2 distinct area's (Upstairs and Downstairs). The majority of the battling happens upstairs as most should know that higher ground is simply better to hold.
Upstairs
Staying on top of the blocks will allow you to shoot the people that are wandering down below, making some easy points (even if someone has a triple shell protection firing from upstairs may result in the shell landing on their head and thus giving you an unexpected point).

Battling mainly takes place around the 2 boxes on a platform. You should be aware of wall throwing across the centre, people distracted trying to take easy targets that have just respawned making them easy targets, and a number of other things. On these platforms use close combat techniques and simple raping methods to hurt anyone (slow reverse and Steal the Item box techniques).

The walkways between platforms helps as defence if you find yourself itemless, nice driving and tight cornering sees red shells breaking against the corners of the runways (walling shells).

Place your bananas and fake item boxes either in one of the item boxes, or on top of the slopes: people going up the slope drive right into them because they’re hard to notice (ofcourse a fake item box is more noticable because it’s bigger than a banana.

Downstairs
Battling here is dangerous as you will most likely be attacked from above and most likely make an easy target.

If you find yourself downstairs, use the walls and centre ring of the stage as defence from shells and attackers.

Keep in mind you're vulnerable for attacks up front if you go up one of the slopes to the platforms. These inclines can also wall shells, so if you're in trouble, head up the incline and use sharp cornering to wall the shells. Don't forget there might be someone ready at the top to throw a shell in your face though!

When your downstairs and being chased or have some one behind a good technique is to turn sharpy taking the slope that is pointing in the direction you have just come and attacking from that slope before droping back downstairs for the item boxes. Attacking in the method may result in a redshell to the face of the person your attacking and is good for picking up easy points whilst you are completely defended from the person and also manage to get behind and become the chaser.

A great way to get some easy points is to place fake item boxes or bananas in the corridors: place them right around a corner and unsuspecting people willdrive straight into them.

Coin Runners
In coin runners there are 2 starting positions. 8 people will find themselves in one of the alleys/corridors, with coins in front of them. The best thing to do is to try to get those first (you'll get a item straight away too because of the item boxes on the ground level between the blocks). There are also 4 coins around the center of the stage on ground level, so you might want to get those two. After that, head up the blocks for more coins.
If you start as 1 of the 4 people being placed in 1 of the 4 outher corners, go up one of the blocks as soon as you can. There's 1 coin on each block, 1 on heading to the center and 4 on the central ring. Grab those as fast as possible, and ofcourse get a item from the top of the blocks right away.
As time goes by, a total of 24 coins appear on the outher edges of the course, with some more appearing near the block statues in the 4 corners.

★Delfino Pier★

In Delfino Pier, the second new battle course of Mario Kart Wii, you will find yourself on top of a ... pier in a docking zone, with the tide coming up fast. This battle course is different from the other because the place is flooding fast, leaving less and less safe ground to battle on, and at a certain point a bell chimes which will allow you to acces even higher grounds where you can't go before. The theme of this course is based on that of Delfino Island, the main setting for the Gamecube game Super Mario Sunshine.

Each team starts on 1 side of the pier, facing the pier and the other team. To the left and right of that starting position are 2 alleyways, with either 4 or 2 coins if you're playing Coin Runners, and some item boxes. These flood quick though, so it's better to head up the incline to safe grounds. Those inclines lead to the top of the pier, which is a long and narrow stroke of roof, with several item boxes and 2 chimneys where you can jump over using 1 of the booster paths located on the inclines leading to the roof. Under the giant bridge is another small area, with 3 closed gates and some item boxes.

Almost halfway through the time, a clock will toll, lowering the huge drawbridge and the 3 gates under it. Pass the gates and you'll find yourself in a huge storage room which will flood soon too. 2 stairs lead to the roof of the room, which is also accessible by crossing the drawbridge. There are more chimneys on that big rooftop, as well as more itemboxes and 2 boost pads jumping where the stairs are. Near the end of the battle, all except the narrow roof, the drawbridge, part of the stairs and the big roof will be flooded.

Balloon Battle
There aren't that many strategies because of the openess of the course. You can use the chimneys on the narrow and big roof to wall shells, and they can also provide a good hiding place if people come at you with stars and mega mushrooms. Another rather usefull thing is to shoot shells from the narrow rooftop to the people down below in the little area where the 3 gates are. Their shells can't hit you because you're on higher terrain then them, but yours will hit them. Also don't try to cross the bridges if it hasn't been completely lowered yet. You'll make a easy target for people with stars and mega mushrooms. And drop fake item boxes and bananas in the item boxes on the safe grounds, or they'll just get engulfed by the upcoming flood and make them useless.

Coin Runners
Coins are placed randomly on the course so there isn't really an idea path. If, in the beginning, you're one of the people on the outside of your team, you can collect the 2 or 4 coins that are in the alleyways to the left and right. Beware however, they get flood fast. Other than that, just try to collect the coins that are placed randomly on the map (including 1 each on the chimneys of the narrow roof). If you hear the bell, try and see where most people are planning to go, and go the other way (either to the big roof via the drawbridge, or through the opened gates to the large room). More coins will appear on the narrow roof, so don't forget to go back there to collect them!

*[β]*Dry Bowser · 02:28 AM

★★Wii Courses 2★★

★Funky Stadium★

The 3rd new course of the Wii version is Funky Stadium. This humongous stadium is themed after the character Funky Kong, and features many slopes, boost pads and zippers for you to enjoy. You began with 2 other players on one of the huge ramps that launch you right into the stadium. The stadium is somewhat shaped like a rectrangle with curved corners, with 4 squared elevated platforms on all 4 sides. In the middle are some boost pads that shoot you right up the ceiling, where a stack of item boxes awaits you. There are also 2 structures on each side that have booster pads and/or zippers and more item boxes, allowing of different possibilties to perform tricks at all angles. Apart from where you can go on the elevated platforms, there are zippers along the edge of the entire rectrangular shape. 4 sandy circles with a item box in the middle are spread on the ground floor.

Balloon Battle
Balloon battle on Funky Stadium is hard because there are so many possibilities for opponents to wall red shells with all the jumps (ofcourse this also applies for you). In the beginning, try to get to the item box in the sand first. Others will also try and if you get a item first, you can shoot them right away (if you get a good item that is). The item boxes in the center and the ones in the sand seem to be the best way for your item supply, altough you should not forget that the sand makes you an easier target for people with mega mushrooms and stars. The best way to place your items is near those four item boxes in the sand.

Coin runners
Coin runners on this course is rather interesting. In the beginning, instead of going over the top of the ramp, go either left or right so you end up near the stack of 9 airlifted coins on each side of the stadium, so you can get those first. Other than that, try to collect the many coins that are lying on the floor, of hang midair in the middle along the outer zipper. There's also 4 coins on the central structure right under the stack of item boxes. You can go there by driving up one of the edges, making sure you don't hit the boost paths.

★Chain Chomp Roulette★

Chain Chomp Roulette (or Chain Chomp Wheel in the americain version of Mario Kart Wii) is the 4th battle course new introduced to this Mario Kart game. It is shaped like a giant roulette, a circle with a small incline, and is always moving. At the start, players are shot in the roulette by boost pads. A giant Chain Chomp serves as the roulette's ball, squashing everyone that gets under it. In the center of the course is the wheel's spinner, a giant star with 3 item boxes in it and boost pads in a circle around it so you can jump to get those 3 item boxes. The outer edge is lines with zippers and there 4 times a pair of boost pads near those zippers. There are also item boxes near where those boost pads are. The whole roulette is located underwater and you can see eels and cheep cheeps swimming around. Item boxes also appear randomly on the ground, but because the whole stage is moving, the item boxes move too.

Balloon Battle
There aren't any specific tips to give about balloon battle on Chain Chomp Roulette. It's a large open course, making it sometimes hard to hit opponents. The main thing to keep in mind here is to stay out of the path of the rolling Chain Chomp (you can see on the map where it is). If you get crushed by it, you will lose a balloon, lose your items, and you'll get flattened, reducing your speed for a short time similar to after being crushed by a mega mushroom. Another usefull thing to know is that the 3 item boxes in the center of the stage almost always give you a star. But sometimes you only get a mushroom.

Coin Runners
Coins appear in lines of 3 on this stage, with some more coins on the central wheel spinner/star and on the outer edge where the item boxes are. As you get launched into the course, try to go to the nearest line of coins, and don't forget to get a item for protection. Try to go with the flow of the moving stage as much as possible. When you feel you have alot of coins, it's safer to grab one of the star that you almost always get from the item boxes in the middle. This helps protecting again blue shells and other attacks. If you get flattened by the chain chomp, you will lose 3 coins.

★Thwomp Desert★

Thwomp Desert, the last of the new battle courses, is a large round desert with a huge Thwomp hanging in the air right in the middle. The edges are adorned with cactusses which will hurt you, and the center of the stage is made of quicksand. The sand of the stage is sucked towards this sandpit, drawing battlers who aren't paying attention closer and closer to the center. 3 remains of other thwomps are burried on the course. You can perform tricks on these 3. All the item boxes in this stage are in a ring around the center of the stage.

From time to time, the giant thwomp in the center rams the ground, resulting in shockwaves that travel from the center to the edges. Players as well as items all get pushed to outwards because of those waves, pushing them against the cactusses if they're not carefull. Tricks can be performed on these waves, who stop once the thwomp gets back in the air.

Balloon Battle
Because everyone is circling around the center of the course to get an item, it can become very hectic in there. When the battle starts, race as fast as you can to the middle and grab a item box. if the Thwomp rams the ground, perform tricks to get to the item boxes faster. Remember that this is when most people are vulnerable, so keep protection when the waves are coming. You can easily shoot people who aren't smart enough to do this. Also, as usual, watch out for the cactusses.

Coin Runners
Coins appear on the field in lines of 3 or 4. There really aren't any advice I can give you because you'll have to get in the fight anyway if you want a item. Just rememeber to keep a item for protection when the waves roll. The Cactusses will make you lose 3 coins.

*[β]*Dry Bowser · 02:29 AM

★★Retro Courses 1★★

★SNES Battle Course 4★

The first Retro Battle Course is SNES Battle Course 4. It was the last battle course of Super Mario Kart (SNES). The layout it a big square, with a square-shaped patch of sand in the middle. The background consists of hills and trees. Red, blue, green and yellow walls divide the place into 5 alleys/lanes, each concentrated around the central square. Straight paths diverging from the center leading to the edge of the map, to allow travel from one of the alleys to another. Item boxes can be found in the lanes, either 1 item box or a pair. Players start in a line facing players from the opposite team in the center around the sand.

Balloon Battle
It's pretty hard to hit someone in this place due to the alleys, not to mention it's sometimes confusing in which alley your opponent is. Furthermore, because of all the corners, it's very easy to wall a red shell, so think twice before shooting one. The best way to hit someone is to wait for them when they leave one of the alleys, and then shoot them up front. Bananas and fake item boxes can be put right around a corner for unnoticing players to bump into. You can also put a banana shield in one of the alleys because they're not that wide. This can trap people from the other team with no point of return.

Coin Runners
If you're on the outside of your team at the beginning, it's best to head straight into one of the second-most inner alleys. You can find 2 or 3 coins there right away. If you're somewhat in the center at the start, head to the second-most outer alley. Don't forget to grab an item along the way! As time goes on, more coins will appear in the lanes, paths and center. There isn't really a tactic for this, just grab the coins that are closest to you. 4 coins appear in the sandy area in the center, but be carefull grabbing those because you'll be a slow and easy target without enough protection. A annoying thing is that if you hit someone, their coins will also spill on the neighbooring alleys, making it hard for you to grab those coins.

★GBA Battle Course 3★

This battle course, the second Retro Battle Course, is a port of the classic Battle Course 3 from Mario Kart: Super Circuit, the Mario Kart for Game Boy Advance. It is somewhat similar to SNES Battle Course 4. The layout is a square, with a round patch of sand in the middle. 4 L-shaped sections of walls (red, blue, yellow and green) with grass in them can be found. In the background you can see Peach's Castle. At the start of the battle, people start in pairs of 3 on all 4 sides of the course.

Balloon Battle
At the start head for a item box as fast as you can. It's not too hard to hit people on this course because it's so wide and open. Never ever venture in the sand if you don't have a mushroom, star or mega mushroom, because people will shoot or run over you easily. You can hide behind one of the L-shaped walls, but there keep in mind that there are no item boxes there. Easy points can be obtained by targeting people who respawned. It's pretty far to a item box so they don't have protection at that moment. However, don't do this in friend battles because it shows a lack of respect and is annoying generally.

Coin Runners
First aim for the 3 or 4 coins that are directly in front of you at the start. After those are taken, you can venture behind the L-shaped blocks for 3 more coins each. As time goes by, more coins appear: 4 behind each L-shaped wall and 5 between the L-shaped blocks. Once you have enough coins, you can hide behind the walls. However, again, there are no item boxes there so you must have protection before hiding there.

*[β]*Dry Bowser · 02:30 AM

★★Retro Courses 2★★

★N64 Skyscraper★

This 3rd Retro Battle Course is a bigger version of the Skyscraper battle course of Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64). It takes place on the roof of a big skyscraper, with alot of gaps to fall into. It's layout consists for a big inner circle and a narrower outer ring, seperated by gaps (the edges of the gaps are coloured purple, green, blue and yellow). In the middle is a hole, and 4 doorways with a roof connect the circle and the ring. Tricks can be performed on all gaps, except ofcourse on the outside of the outer ring. The background is a night sky, with a moon and several lights. 3 item boxes are around the central hole, 2 boxes in each doorway, and 3 boxes each in between the doorways on the outer ring. Players start on the outer ring, facing eachother of facing the center.

Balloon battle
If you're facing a opponent at the start, try to go to a item box as fast as possible. If your opponent takes the one you're heading for, immediately head for the center of the stage. Do a trick when jumping over the gap, to make sure you don't fall in. These gaps are a great way to dodge red shells (so keep that in mind before firing one), altough sometimes a shell will go over a gap instead of falling in. Bananas and fake item boxes can be placed around the item boxes, but you can also place them around the central hole. This will make people slip right in the hole causing them to lose 2 balloons. If you're driving on the inner circle, don't forget to have protection because it's wide and open.
Coin Runners
At the start head you can head for the center and collect the coins there (there are 8 around the hole). Coins can also be found in packs of 3 around the outer ring. More coins will appear in the center over time, so that's the place to stay, altough some will also appear on the outer edge. For guarding your coins, use the standard rules like keeping a mega mushroom or star, and don't forget you can dodge shells by jumping the gaps (altough, like said, shells sometimes pass over).

★GCN Cookie Land★

The 4th Retro Battle Course is port of the Cookie Land battle course of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (Gamecube). It takes place on a giant cookie hanging midair, with other cookies in the background (notice the abundant amount of Yoshi-shaped cookies in the background!). The center is a red coloured circular wall. 3 more walls (yellow, pink and light green) are in a circle shape around it, somewhat dividing the stage in a inner and outer circle with 3 paths between. 3 pairs of item boxes are in the inner circle, and 3 times 3 item boxes appear on the outer. Players start in groups of 4 on the 3 paths, facing the inner circle.

Balloon Battle
No matter what, Cookie Land is always mayhem. Because of the small size, expect to see alot of item flying past you (or worse, into you). 1 tactic is to drive around in circles in the inner circle and firing shells and throwing bananas to people who are driving on the outer circle. You can ofcourse also stay on the outer circle and fire people coming at you in the other direction. Driving against the flow is especially good if you have a mega mushroom or star. Bananas and fake item boxes placed in a item box work well here. Anyway, according to me it's best to keep moving on this course no matter what.

Coin Runners
Lines of 3 coins appear at the start, so try to get one of those. More lines of coins will appear as time goes by, both in the inner and outer circle. Due to the hectic nature of a battle on Cookie Land, it's not easy to keep your coins for a long time. You can try to wait with collecting coins and first get good items to annoy your opponents, and then in the last minute or so start collecting coins like crazy.

★DS Twilight House★

The final Retro Battle course is a version of the Twilight House battle course of Mario Kart DS (Nintendo DS). It's a eerie house floating over a forest. The layout is a square divided into 9 rooms, with the inner most not accessible. The 8 rooms have doorways between them. Some have roofs, others have only walls with light on top. Around the 8 rooms that are accessible is a narrow pathway with no railing. In the 4 outer corners are small squares, again with no railing. Item boxes can be found in 4 rooms (3 in each room) and 1 on each of the outer corner squares. Players start in groups of 3 facing the rooms that have item boxes in it.

Balloon Battle
As you start get a item box as fast as possible and hope for a good item to come out so you can shoot opponents who are in the same room. This course is easy to wall red shells because of the doorways and corners, so remember to only shoot a red shell if your opponents is not too far away. Ofcourse, avoid falling from the stage or you'll lose a balloon (keep in mind the walkway is narrow when making a turn on it). The doorways can get sealed of with bananas and fake item boxes. If you camp on one other outer squares, have a mini-turbo ready in case someone approaches you with a star or mega mushroom.
Coin Runners
At the start coins are in lines of 3 in the corner rooms, and more coins (single or pairs) are on the pathways. Try to get a line of 3 and then go to through a dooway to the walkway to get the coins that are there. More coins will appear in the corner rooms and on the walkways so keep an eye out for those. To keep your coins, the balloon battle tips are recommended, as well as standard rules.

*[β]*Dry Bowser · 02:32 AM

★★Battle Techniques★★

There are several things to look out for when playing battle. Here are some techniques that might help you get better.

Protection
At all times, hold a item behind you to protect yourself from other items. This can be a banana, a shell, a bob-omb etc. Hold down the item button and you'll drag the item behind you. This is the best way to avoid being hit and you must never stay without a item too long. Keep in mind that a fake item box will NOT protect you from incoming items. Also keep in mind that, unless you have triple shells around you, incoming items can still hit you in the front or sides. If you hear the sound of a incoming item, try to locate where it is and then turn in a way that the incoming item will hit your back, where you (hopefully) have an item of your own to protect yourself.

Walling red shells
A red shell will start following you when being fired. If you take a corner tightly, the red shell will, instead of going around the corner, try to take the shortest route and it will crash into the wall. However if you take the corner too wide, the red shell will still be able to get around the corner and hit you. This technique works very well on SNES Battle Course 4 and DS Twilight House.

Mega mushrooms and stars
When running from someone with a mega mushroom or a star, never run in a straight line, but take turns in different directions to confuse the chaser. Also avoid making circles or you'll get squashed easily.

Mini turbo
A mini turbo can be obtained by holding the gas and brake button at the same time untill sparks appear under your vehicle. If you release the brake button you'll get a temporary boost. This is a great way if you're standing inside a item box and people with mega mushrooms or stars come your way. Always have a mini turbo ready when standing still on the battle field. It's the best way to get away.

Bob-ombs
Bob-ombs are great items to use. If someone is chasing you, just drop a bob-omb behind you and the person will run straight into it. When throwing a bob-omb, keep in mind that the throwing range depends on your own speed: if you're driving fast, the bob-omb will land further. Practice throwing a bit if you have the chance.

Stars
When you have a star, you can stand still on the battle field and wait for people who think they can get a quick point by running over you with a mega mushroom. If someone's approaching you and you see they use a mega mushroom at the last seconds, use your star and they will run straight into you, giving their balloon to you.

Mini map
The mini map is a great way to see where opponents or coins are located (or the chain chomp in Chain Chomp Roulette). Use it to your advantage.

Going through people when being hit
Sometimes, people with triple red shells will hit you and then stand there waiting for you to become vulnerable again and then shoot you again. If you get hit, immediately run through the person with the shells waiting for you. You're invulnerably so you can pass right through the person, making their shells disappear. This is also a great way if you're having a banana, shell or fake item box: after being hit, just run through the other person while carrying your item and they will get hit by it.

Wall throwing
Due to a glitch it's possible to throw green and red shells over walls. Just drive to the edge of a wall and shoot your shell. If you're standing close enough the shell will go over the wall and to the other side. This works well with walls on SNES Battle Course 4 and GCN Cookie Land. However, always keep in mind that this is a form of cheating, and don't do it in friend battles unless the other person agrees to do it too.

Limiting coin loss
You guys all know how annoying it is to lose half your coins because of a blue shell, especially when you have alot of coins. You can use your knowledge of items to your advantage. A banana or fake item box only costs you 3 coins instead of half, so if there's an item coming your way and you have no protection, you can run into a banana or fake item box if one is nearby. You will only lose up to 3 coins, and because of the short period of invulnerability after being hit by an item, you avoid loosing half your coins. Not to mention you keep your item this way. This also applies for hitting the Chain Chomp in Chain Chomp Wheel or the cacti in Thwomp Desert.

Suicide dive
In balloon battle, if an item is coming your way and you have no protection, you can always jump into a pit or into the water. This will make you lose a balloon, but it won't give the other person a point because they didn't hit you.

Spin Shield technique
Unless a mega mushroom or star threat is imminent, rotate to the right on the spot to make your Triple Shell move faster and ensure or avoid a hit (as a full shield sometimes may not be reliable)

Steal the Item box
A simple rape technique is the Steal the Item box. Of course this seems mean but may result in a hilarious series of events. Once you hit an opponent, just keep nabbing the item box before the opponent can grab it, leaving him helpless and defenseless without an item.

Slow reverse

Slow reverse is a simple technique but it VERY effective especially when dealing with n00bish or irritated opponents. When being attacked with a mega use reversing and moving forward to dodge the opponent as they try to squish you. Their turning circle isnt as tight and their increased speed becomes a weakness.
Don't camp

One of the most annoying things in battle are campers. These are people who just stay on an item box, throwing bananas and shells etc. untill they get a star or mega, or other good item to use. Do NOT do this, it's uncool and just annoying having to deal with a camper.

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