Items

Unlike other Mario Kart games, item probabilities in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe are mainly dependent on the distance from first, not position(though position still matters). This is why 2nd place can sometimes get really good items like triple red shells. On the right is the item probabilities for Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U(we don't know the probabilities for Deluxe). Even though we don't know the actual length of a unit, we do have general benchmarks in the player circles on the minimap. The third item tier is a half circle away, the fourth item tier is a full circle away, and the next item tiers follow in full circle intervals. Thus, you can figure out the distances for each track that can get you a certain item, like lightning. This is very useful when bagging on tracks like Dry Dry Desert.