Mario Kart Worldhas many racers you may choose from, but some only become playable when you unlock them from various modes. In a series tradition, a good portion of both obscure and well-known characters from various Mario titles are hidden behind specific requirements you have to figure out on your own. By meeting certain goals, you can add main characters and NPC drivers to your roster for future races.
Nearly 50 characters exist inMario Kart World’s incredibly large roster, but they are divided into two categories -Main CharactersandNPCs. While Main Characters are recognizable figures from different games, such as Bowser Jr. or Donkey Kong, NPCs are far more obscure. Almost acting as joke characters, NPCs are generally weaker than Main Characters, but they act as fun nods to background characters or enemies from past Mario titles.
How To Unlock Characters Through Grand Prix Races
Find Main Characters By Participating In Racing Tournaments
The most common way to unlock Main Characters inMario Kart Worldis to participate in a racing tournament called a Grand Prix.Grand Prix races consist of four different tracksyou and other racers compete on, gaining points for your placement in each individual race. These four races are combined into a singular circuit, with the winner being determined by who earns the most points across all four tracks.
Different Grand Prix tournaments use unique selections of race tracks, usually all centered around a specific theme.By simply participating in a complete Grand Prix, you may begin to unlock charactersfor the game’s roster. When you do get a Main Character unlocked through a Grand Prix, they can be played as a racer in anyother mode ofMario Kart World.
With the new open world mode, it can be hard to determine which four races are associated with specific Grand Prix Cups. Make sure to investigate which races are part of a Grand Prix so you know which ones you have to complete to unlock characters.
Thankfully, youdon’t have to place high in a Grand Prix to unlock a character, as they will be added to your roster for just completing all four races tied to it. This is a slight departure from other games, where you had to be among the top-scoring players for a circuit to unlock specific racers. This new ease of gaining characters will encourage players to participate in more races rather than grinding the same Grand Prix for higher placements.
How To Unlock NPC Drivers
Rely On Chance From A Specific Item During A Race
NPC drivers are a bit trickier to unlock, as there are no actions you can complete on your own to add any of these obscure characters to your roster.Any NPC racer in the game is unlocked through a special item called Kamek’s Transformational Power, a debuff your opponents can use. Kamek’s Transformational Power is an item usually granted to players falling behind in a race, similar to Star Power or Bullet Bill power-ups.
When someone uses the Kamek item, it causes the loyal wizard of Bowser to travel across a racetrack to high-placing players. Kamek will transform multiple characters into NPCs, giving them lower stats to make them fall behind.Kamek’s transformation debuffs an opponent by making them an NPC with a weaker kartwith far less mobility, durability, or speed compared to Main Character vehicles.
The NPC that Kamek turns an opponent into is random when hisitem inMario Kart Worldis used. You can’t force a specific NPC to appear through this item ability, even if you play on a specific stage under controlled conditions.
When you transform into an NPC through the Kamek item, you unlock that character as a racerpermanently across all modes. They carry over their lower stats, but they remain fun characters to use in races regardless. Ambitious players can attempt to win as an NPC against stronger Main Characters, or groups can organize an all-NPC circuit that gives everyone the same level of strength.
Due to the appearance of the Kamek’s Transformational Power item being random, it will take some time to get every NPC character inMario Kart World. Kamek could keep turning players into the same NPCs before he transforms someone into a new face. You just have to keep trying, butstaying near first place will help you trigger Kamek’s ability more oftenfrom racers far behind you.
Every Character You Can Unlock In Mario Kart World
Find Familiar Faces And Unexpected Competitors
There are7 Main Characters and 11 NPC racersyou can unlock, with each one having their own unique selection of vehicles they use. On the bright side, it doesn’t matter what character you use when transformed by Kamek or completing aGrand Prix inMario Kart World. Unlike past games in the series, the racer you use isn’t part of the requirements tied to unlocking a character to your roster.
The following tables list each Main Character and NPC you can unlock, including their requirements and which races are tied to those goals:
Swoop
Transform into Swoop through the Kamek’s Transformational Power item.
Alongside new racers, you can complete other objectives in the game to get new Karts and Costumes for each of the characters you add to your roster. After you unlock all the characters inMario Kart World, this should be your next goal, especially if you want to have 100% of the secret content in the game.
