A while ago, Nintendo accidentally revealed that Bob-omb Blast was heading to Mario Kart World. That’s because one of the screenshots in their tournament info page showed the icon on the main menu, at least until it was replaced with an older version a few hours later.
But now it’s finally here. Now, version 1.6.0 has been released, and adds the new mode to the game.
Here are the full patch notes from Nintendo themselves:
Version 1.6.0 Patch Notes
General
- Added Bob-omb Blast as a Battle mode.
- You can have up to 10 Bob-ombs on hand at a time.
- The distance Bob-ombs can be thrown depends on how long you hold the L Button.
- Adjusted the performance of Bullet Bill.
- Increased their range of lateral movement.
- It is now easier to follow a shortcut route immediately after using Bullet Bill.
- Increased Bullet Bill’s speed on parts of the Bowser’s Castle, Starview Peak, and Rainbow Road courses.
- Adjusted the performance of the boomerang.
- Reduced the boomerang’s range.
- Reduced the number of consecutive throws allowed.
- Adjusted the probability of items that can be obtained from item boxes during races.
- Adjusted the invincibility time after spinning or crashing during a race so that it varies depending on the character and vehicle.
- The heavier the weight, the longer the invincibility time.
- Made it so that you won’t get crushed by things, such as Thwomps, while spinning or crashing.
- It is now possible to be hit by lightning and Spiny Shells immediately after being crushed by things, such as Thwomps.
- Made it so that things like Bob-ombs and Bananas don’t bounce on top of the vines of Ivy Piranha Plants.
- When playing Single Player or 1p during Online Play and Wireless Play, up to two warnings will be displayed when items like Red Shells or Spiny Shells come from behind.
- Shortened the time until the roulette stops to determine the course in Online Play and Wireless Play.
Fixed Issues
- Fixed an issue where the starting position would sometimes be incorrect.
- Fixed an issue where cows and other creatures that appeared through Kamek’s magic would fall through the ground.
- Fixed an issue where the display of Wiggler that appeared through Kamek’s magic would sometimes be incorrect.
- Fixed an issue where Thwomps or Rocky Wrench would appear in Airship Fortress or in the cannons in the race leading to Airship Fortress.
- Fixed an issue where the character would sometimes disappear from view when looking in the rearview mirror after using a Mega Mushroom.
- Fixed an issue where you could not return to a point before the Ivy Piranha Plant when using Rewind after transforming into a Bullet Bill.
- Fixed an issue where the item slot would not display correctly after using Boo and returning to Free Roam.
- Fixed an issue in Knockout Tour where players who passed through a checkpoint after the first-place player had already reached the goal would not be eliminated, even if their rank was outside the predetermined cutoff.
- Fixed an issue in Time Trials where the display of stacked tires would sometimes appear incorrectly.
- Fixed an issue in Free Roam where a fleeing Nabbit would fall through the ground.
- Fixed an issue in Events where scores were not displayed on the results screen during practice.
- Fixed an issue where the screen display would sometimes become distorted after selecting Change Character in Free Roam in Online Play.
- Fixed an issue in Knockout Tour and Online Play where rankings would sometimes be incorrect after passing through checkpoints.
- Fixed an issue where the selected event would disappear when a communication error occurred after selecting Online Play.
- Fixed an issue in Online Play and Wireless Play where rivals using Bullet Bill sometimes appeared not to be transformed.
- Fixed an issue where the final results were not displayed after spectating in Knockout Tour in Online Play or Wireless Play.
- Fixed an issue in Knockout Tour where the player being spectated would not change after that player was eliminated.
- Fixed an issue where the gliding distance could be excessively long during the race from Airship Fortress to Dry Bones Burnout.
- Fixed an issue where using the Feather while jumping in Shy Guy Bazaar during races from Airship Fortress or Wario Stadium to Shy Guy Bazaar could cause you to go off course.
- Fixed an issue where doing a wall ride in Shy Guy Bazaar during races from Airship Fortress or Wario Stadium to Shy Guy Bazaar could cause you to go off course.
- Fixed an issue in Bowser’s Castle where players could crash while driving over lava with a Dash Mushroom.
- Fixed an issue in Salty Salty Speedway where players would sometimes fall through the ground after being hit by lightning and shrinking.
- Fixed an issue when in a battle on DK Pass where you would sometimes not be returned to the course after using a Feather and ending up outside the course.
- Fixed an issue where using a Mega Mushroom near the fence in Dino Dino Jungle could cause you to be returned to the course.
- Fixed an issue in Koopa Beach where some buoys were buried in the ground.
- Fixed an issue in Mario Circuit where using a Mega Mushroom could cause the player to get stuck on a fence.
- Fixed an issue in Mario Circuit where players could sometimes be returned to the course when riding on a wall of blocks.
- Fixed an issue where players would sometimes be returned to the course when driving along the wall near the starting point of Faraway Oasis.
- Fixed an issue where Bloopers sometimes appeared dark in replays of Rainbow Road.
- Fixed an issue in Rainbow Road where Spike Balls that appeared through Kamek’s magic would sometimes move erratically.
- Fixed an issue where using the Feather to take a shortcut on Rainbow Road could sometimes cause incorrect final rankings.
- Fixed an issue where you would sometimes recover too far ahead if you fell off the course while gliding on Rainbow Road.
- Time Trials ghosts that have encountered this issue may be removed from View Rankings without notice.
- Fixed an issue in the race from Wario Shipyard to Starview Peak where players could sometimes fall off the course while taking a shortcut.
- Fixed an issue where using a Mega Mushroom near the fence in Wario Stadium could cause the player to fall off the course.
- Several other issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience.
For the most part, it’s solely about Bob-omb Blast. There are various glitch fixes and mechanical updates to the game, but they’re all minor things that can be ignored by approximately 90% of players. For the most casual fans out there, the new mode is all that’s worth caring about here.
But if you’re a bit more into the game, there are still some less advertised elements worth learning about with this one. For example, when Nintendo says the Boomerang was nerfed, do you know how much it was actually nerfed by?
Yeah, quite a lot if this Reddit post is to be believed:
Notable Mario Kart World Patch Changes
by
u/Suitable_Suit_1350 in
mariokart
The Boomerang Flower in the newest version runs out before the original one has even finished its second throw. So, that definitely lasts for a lot less time now.
And the Bullet Bill speed upgrade is nice to see too. Those sped-up sections in Bowser’s Castle and Rainbow Road were painful for players using the item before, since anyone with a halfway decent item or strategy could easily outrun a Bullet Bill without it. Having that item active on these parts of the track was actively costing you time and positions.
Now the item is actually an upgrade when used there, and not a quick way to fall behind based on unlucky timing.
Similarly, the changes to invincibility and knockback are quite interesting too. Now, heavyweight characters get about 1-2 seconds more mercy invincibility after being hit than their lighter counterparts, and can (hopefully) survive being ‘Mario Karted’ a bit better because of it.
Not a huge change, and one that was already present in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but it is nice to see here nonetheless.
There’s also an interesting ‘unlisted’ change too. Basically, the speed boost you get when riding up walls after a charge jump has now been increased, and that makes certain shortcuts way easier and more consistent now. Shortcat explains it well in this video:
So, time trials and high-level vs races are probably getting quite the shake up here, especially on tracks like Wario Stadium.
We’re also interested to see these items in the bug fixes as well:
Fixed an issue where using a Mega Mushroom near the fence in Dino Dino Jungle could cause you to be returned to the course.
There are lots of fixes involving Lakitu treating players as being out of bounds when they really shouldn’t be, and that’s just kinda fascinating to hear about. Presumably these fix the issues we see on Reddit where a player is one and a half millimetres too close to the out of bounds zone thanks to a Mega Mushroom or unlucky timing, and just gets voided out for no apparent reason. Hopefully this means certain shortcuts are a lot more consistent now.
Regardless, that’s everything that got updated in the latest Mario Kart World update. There’s a new battle mode in Bob-omb Blast, some physics changes have been made to mercy invincibility, Bullet Bills, Boomerang Flowers and wall riding, and certain bugs are now gone.
Hopefully these’ll make the game that much better, and lead the way to some real DLC being announced somewhere down the line.
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