
The Secrets of Glider Vectoring and Motion Glider in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Glider vectoring and motion glider are advanced techniques that can significantly improve your time on tracks with glider ramps. They’re game-changing strategies for competitive play, especially in 150cc time trials. This guide will break down glider vectoring and motion glider, teach you how to execute them, and help you incorporate them into your racing repertoire.
What Is Glider Vectoring?
When you go off a glider ramp, the most common approach is to trick for a speed boost. Glider vectoring involves starting a drift before hitting the ramp, charging a mini turbo, and using that boost diagonally to return to the track. This method is often faster for two reasons:
- Mini turbo boosts are believed to be stronger and longer-lasting than trick boosts.
- Diagonal movement powered by a mini turbo can exceed the speed caps of straightforward movement.
How It Works
When you drift off a ramp and release the mini turbo mid-air, tilting the joystick diagonally allows for faster movement back to the track. This technique takes advantage of diagonal speed mechanics, where the combination of horizontal, vertical, and forward motion exceeds the limits of any single plane.
Introducing Motion Glider
Motion glider enhances glider vectoring by incorporating motion controls. Using both joystick and motion control input for the diagonal movement provides an even greater speed boost. To execute motion glider, turn on motion controls after the mini turbo releases, combine the joystick angle with motion input, and turn motion controls off after landing.
How to Set Up Motion Glider Efficiently
Remap your controller for easier execution. Assign the + button to L and the Y button to R (or their counterparts if you use those buttons for drifting and items). This allows you to toggle motion controls mid-race without awkward pauses. Drift off the ramp, activate motion controls with L-R-L, perform motion glider, and deactivate motion controls with L-R-L again.
Pitfalls of Glider Vectoring and Motion Glider
Diagonal movement is faster but increases travel distance. The key is balancing speed gains with an efficient path. Avoid veering too far off course, as the time lost from a longer path can outweigh the speed increase. Motion glider is rarely viable in 200cc due to its inefficiency on high-speed tracks.
When to Use These Techniques
Start with regular glider vectoring, which generally saves time over tricking off ramps. Once mastered, motion glider can be integrated for additional speed boosts, particularly on tracks like Sunshine Airport, Hyrule Circuit, and Bowser’s Castle. Study world record time trial runs to refine your approach.
Glider vectoring and motion glider are high-skill techniques, but mastering them can give you a significant edge. Join HyperX’s weekly Mario Kart tournaments to test these strategies and let us know your results in the comments. See you on the track!