Scientist analyzes Mario Kart 8's 703,560 possible builds to create a formula that picks the best racer for you

A data scientist has developed a tool to determine the best Mario Kart 8 racer and build for your playstyle. The tool, which is based on the Pareto efficiency model, allows you to filter out suboptimal options and then apply weight to performance variables like speed, handling, acceleration, and weight. This will leave you with the most optimized builds for your own unique playstyle.

A data scientist has developed a tool to determine which Mario Kart 8 racer and build, out of every possible customization option, is statistically the best one for your playstyle.

As spotted by Eurogamer, Paris-based economist and data scientist Antoine Mayerowitz did the math and calculated that, once you've unlocked all drivers, race car bodies, tires, and gliders, there are a staggering 703,560 possible builds in Mario Kart 8. That said, when it comes to stats, many of those builds are identical to one another, and Mayerowitz says there are really only 25,704 statistically unique possibilities.

Well, analyzing those 25,000-odd Mario Kart 8 builds, Mayerowitz then used the Pareto efficiency model, a popular concept in economics named after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, to develop a tool that helps you find the right one "given your play style and skills."

I'll be real frank here, dear readers, I am not an economist, nor a mathematician, by any stretch of the imagination. For reference, my mother recently sent me my 8th-grade results from a national education test and my math comprehension was described as "average," so that's what we're working with here. For that reason, I would gently guide you to Mayerowitz own comprehensive explanation of the science behind all of this, but needless to say, it's incredibly thorough.

Essentially, though, using Mayerowitz's tools based on Pareto's model, you can filter out "suboptimal" options and then apply weight to performance variables like speed, handling, acceleration, and weight based on your playstyle. That'll leave you with the most optimized builds for your own unique playstyle presented as a set known as the Pareto front. Even more subtle gameplay variables like the amount of time you spend off-roading and using the mini-turbo are considered.

As an example, I plugged in what I think is important in a build according to my playstyle; acceleration got the most weight, because I'm constantly being derailed by blue turtle shells, and from there I prioritized weight and the mini-turbo. According to science, that means I should be playing as Metal Mario with a Biddybuggy kart, Roller tires, and a Peach Parasol. There are other identical options presented as well in case you prefer the aesthetics of one combination over the other.

Of course, the debate around the best possible Mario Kart 8 build will rage on for the foreseeable future, and there are various player-created tools online to back up arguments, but Mayerowitz's is unique in the fact that it uses this particular mathematical model and allows you to make weighted variables based on your unique playstyle. Ultimately, though, we all know the ultimate variable eternally deciding Mario Kart matches:

Find out where Mario Kart 8 ranked on our list of the best Switch games.