Mario Kart Tour: Your First Tour Part 1: Getting Started

Mario Kart Tour has strange progression compared to Nintendo’s other three Gachas.

Fire Emblem Heroes, Dragalia Lost, and Dr. Mario World each have a set of levels to progress through that all players will be able to play, regardless of when they download the application, while MKT has ALL of its playable content appear in two-week cycles called “Tours”.

At least, that’s the case through version 1.0.2.

For reference, Drivers, Karts, AND Gliders are referred to as “items” in this guide.

If you're sitting there thinking "I didn't even know Nintendo made a Gacha for Mario Kart" -- then you should check out the official trailer below before you read on.

So, to the new player looking at this guide, what is the best way to begin?

As a gacha game, much of your progression is dependent on randomly generated acquisition of drivers/parts. As such, new players are generally wise to consider “re-rolling” (restarting) until your first bit of content is high-tier. (The technical term in MKT is “High-End”).

Upon booting the game and linking it to you’re my Nintendo Account, you are met with a “pipe” which you launch to get you your first driver. This can be Toad, Toadeater, or Peachette. Peachette, as a High-End driver, is the top prize here.

Following that, you are greeted with a second pipe, which will always grant a driver of Super or High-End rarity.

Shortly thereafter you will acquire your first 5 “Rubies”, MKT’s premium currency, and will be forced to spend them on a currently-available pipe. This roll will have a 6% chance of granting a High-End item, and is your first chance at getting karts and gliders.

Restarting the game up to this point is not very time-consuming.

I recommend doing so until you have acquired at least 1 High-End Driver or part.

This will make getting the Grand Stars need for tour rewards significantly easier. If you want to see a full list of the drivers, karts and gliders currently available in game now, check out the article below:

To restart, choose the “settings” button from the menu, followed by “Start Fresh”. Thankfully, you will not need to redownload the entire game again after the reset.

After playing for roughly 30-35 minutes, you will have earned 45 additional rubies, enough to complete a tenfold pipe-launch. I recommend doing a 10x launch at this point, as it will dramatically improve your options, granting you the higher points necessary to progress through the cups.

Even “Normal”-tier items are occasional preferred over Super and High-End items, so you’re incentivized to “Catch ‘em all!”.

Of course, some may want to reset until they have acquired 2-3 High-End items by this point. I won’t encourage this, as it may take you several hours to reach this point.

Once you’ve played enough Mario Kart Tour to make your first 10x pipe launch, check out the next article in this series!

To check out the next section in this four part series, be sure to hit the link below!