Item Box Sniping Guide (200cc)

At the start of most races, the human player will hit an item box in first place, and the fastest CPU will hit an item box just afterwards. This scenario leads to a ~40% chance of being unavoidably hit by a red shell. However, this possibility can often be countered by taking the box that the fastest CPU's line usually goes through, eliminating the chance of a red shell. For tracks where this is reliable, I will list the item box you should hit. “-“ means I don't know of a consistent strategy for the track.

On 200cc, good drivers will often be able to outrun red shells to the second box. However, I recognize that this can be difficult for newer players. Any backup strat not needed by advanced players will be denoted by _ preceding the track abbreviation, and reasoning for why this strat is ideally not necessary will be given after the main section. Tracks preceded by * also have additional notes after the main section. The information is formatted as code just so each line isn't spaced inordinately far apart.

NITRO TRACKS

MKS: 2nd from right (if you start your run on this track, get a 2nd place box)
*WP: 2nd from left
SSC: 2nd from right
_TR: Middle or 2nd from right (can vary)

MC:   3rd from left (can vary)
_TH:  Middle two boxes on the right path
*TM:  Right path, left box
_SGF: Left box

SA:  4th from left
*DS: -
ED:  Left box
MW:  2nd from right

_CC: Right or 2nd from right
BDD: 2nd from right (swing wide for 2nd place box)
BC:  Middle and 2nd from left (hit both)
RR:  Rightmost or 2nd from right (seems 50/50)

RETRO TRACKS

*rMMM: 2nd from the left (hit it in 2nd place)
*rMC:  -
rCCB:  Right box
_rTT:  Get two boxes

rDDD: 2nd from right
rDP3: Two boxes first set
rRRy: 2nd from left (can vary)
rDKJ: 2nd from right (can vary)

rWS:  Left box
*rSL: 2nd from right (can vary)
rMP:  Right box
rYV:  3rd from left (can vary)

_rTTC: -
rPPS:  Get two boxes
rGV:   2nd from right or middle (varies). Don't get bumped off!
rRR:   3rd from right

BONUS TRACKS

dYC:  Right box
dEA:  - (completely random, can try to look back and predict)
dDD:  Middle box (double item)
_dMC: -

*dWGM: Both middle and 2nd from left
dRR:   Right box
_dIIO: 2nd from the left OR 3rd from the right (50/50)
dHC:   Left box

*dBP: Two boxes at the start of lap 3 (risky) or right at the first turn (safe)
dCL:  Left box
_dWW: 2nd from right (very random still)
dAC:  Middle and 2nd from left (hit both)

dNBC:  Right box (can vary)
dRiR:  2nd from right
_dSBS: Slow down for a 2nd place box
_dBB:  Two leftmost boxes (hit both)

Additional Notes

*WP: alternatively, it's safer to slow down for a 2nd place box, but CPUs often wait to throw reds until you're nearly at the second set anyway

*TM: the CPU has a roughly 50/50 chance of going left or right at the start, so this isn't a guarantee

*DS: with the increased box respawn rate from version 2.1 onwards, the CPU is slow enough that the box will respawn by the time they get to it :(

*rMMM: the fastest CPU almost always zooms ahead and passes you before the first set. Hacks...

*rMC: like DS, the box will respawn before CPU gets to it

*dWGM: any of the middle three boxes seem about equally likely, and unfortunately you can only hit two

*dBP: moving item boxes are unlinked, so if you hit both in a pair you'll get two items

_TR: CPUs will almost never throw reds before you get protection from the second set if you drive well

_TH: same as TR

_SGF: you can outrun to the second set (I recommend holding a coin if you get it to guarantee protection; the second set has double boxes, but they're very awkward to get)

_CC: you can outrun to the second set

_rTT: you can easily outrun reds and blues on this track with neutral drifting. Also, CPUs don't hit many boxes, and reds can break on vehicles

_rTTC: you can outrun reds to the second set, CPUs often wait to throw reds until you're nearly at the second set, and pendulums can break reds

_dMC: you can outrun reds everywhere except the u-turn, and you'll be far enough ahead of 2nd place that the box will respawn by the time the CPU hits it anyway

_dIIO: you can usually outrun to the second set (not by much though). It's random which path the CPU takes anyway

_dWW: the CPU lines are so random that I find it's best to just drive forward. You can mostly outrun reds, and CPUs usually wait a bit to throw them

_dSBS: you can outrun to the second set, and CPUs usually won't throw reds before you get there

_dBB: you can outrun to the second set

I hope this helps item categories feel a tiny bit more consistent!

—Pianist15

9/2/23 update: reformatted to comply with the site update; condensed all relevant 200cc information to here. I'm planning to add DLC tracks eventually, although it will probably be a while.