Rocket League is a fast-paced car soccer game created and originally published by the minds at Psyonix. The game puts you in an environment of supersonic battle cars, aiming to score as many goals as you can within 5 minutes. Psyonix was acquired by Epic Games, which has led to the game being made free-to-play. The game’s popularity has since soared, taking its player base and esports to numbers never seen before.
Improving at Rocket League comes down to two things – improving your positioning with respect to your teammates, and improving your car mechanics. These tips will start from the basics, and move on to more complex things that will help you get better at both. It is always better to solidify your basics first rather than go for fancy flip-reset ceiling double-tap shots.
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Improve your skills and Gameplay in Rocket League
Adjust Your Camera Settings
You may have expected some stylish and complicated moves for the first tip. However, it is important to master the basics first. Rocket League is one of those games where camera settings matter more than you think. You need to optimise the multitude of camera settings that the game offers you. This ensures that you are able to see the ball, and the rotation of your teammates and your opponents clearly. Otherwise, you will simply be at a disadvantage due to a lack of information.
There are no perfect settings, and at the end of the day, it may just come down to preferences. Here is an example of camera settings preset used by some RLCS pros. You can adjust these to what suits you.
Stop Ballchasing
Ballchasing in Rocket League refers to blindly chasing the ball with full force as much as you can, with absolutely no consideration for the position of your teammates, your opponents or even your own. While it may be tempting to hit the ball as much as you can, no matter the angle you are coming at it from, this is sure to do you more harm than good. You wouldn’t expect a football player to run around the entire field chasing the ball for himself, would you? The same principle applies here.
Rather than blindly chasing after the ball as soon as it is in your sights, pause for a second and think. Are my teammates in a better position to hit this ball than I am? If so, it might be better for you to cool your jets and wait for a pass. Are you at an optimal angle to hit the ball from where you are standing? Hitting the ball from where you currently are will cause the ball to go where you don’t want it to.
In such situations, it might be better for you to back up and approach the ball from another angle. If you go for the ball and your opponents get to it first, the ball might go over your head and result in a counter-attacking goal. In such a situation, rather than chasing the ball, you might want to back up to your own goal and play defence.
Rotate Between Positions
This tip goes hand-in-hand with not ballchasing. Rotations are key to successfully coordinating with your team in Rocket League. A bonus tip – Try to find friends who you can team up with before the game, as it is infinitely easier to get down rotations with people you can talk to than randoms online. Even if you going for a solo queue, try to use voice chat and quick chat as much as you can to coordinate with your teammates.
You will not always be the person intercepting or taking shots (unless you are playing 1v1, obviously). Coordinate with your teammates regarding where they are going to pass it to, and who is going to take the shot. If you are playing 3v3 and see both of your teammates heading upfield with the ball, it might be a good idea for you to stay back and act as the last man. You do not want to get counter-attacked. Developing coordination with your team and learning basic 2v2 and 3v3 rotations will allow you to rank up quicker than learning fancy shots ever will.
Shadow Defence
Do you feel like your opponents are often successful with their counter-attacks? You may often find the ball going over your head and into your post. Learning shadow defence will solve this problem for you. Shadow defence is something you want to do when you are the last man back. In 1v1, you will be doing this almost all the time.
Do not immediately challenge your opponent as soon as they get the ball. This makes you very predictable and your opponent will easily beat you.
What you want to do is drive a few meters in front of your opponent, towards your own goal. Use BallCam so you can constantly keep an eye on your opponent. This puts you in a non-committal spot. Wait for your opponent to commit.
You may see them start to take a shot or get ready for a flick. As soon as this happens, use powerslide to immediately turn around and challenge for the ball. This ensures that your opponent is the one in a committal spot, and you have plenty of options open. This is in contrast to what was happening when you would challenge for the ball instantly.
Double-Jump Aerials
You may see people start to use aerials when you start hitting the ranks of low gold. Learning how to double-jump aerial will allow you to beat your opponents to the ball 90% of the time, especially at lower ranks. Normally, you jump and fly towards the ball, with one jump remaining in the rank. This allows you to add power when you do reach the ball and take a shot. However, using both your jumps at the beginning of your aerial allows you to get to the ball much quicker.
Keep in mind that double jump aerials are tricky to learn. Doing them incorrectly can immediately cause you to concede. You have to press back before doing an aerial. This might result in you doing a backflip when you go for your second jump. This way, you will completely miss the ball and be out of position, and your team will temporarily be a man down. Hence, you have to let go of your joystick right as you are about to use your second jump.
You do not need any fancy training pack to learn these. Freeplay is the best place to practice this mechanic. Practice the timing of letting go of the joystick right as you press jump for the second time. Once you master these, nobody is going to beat you to those balls in the air. This will allow you to keep possession for longer and increase your chances of scoring.
Ranking up in Rocket League will require you to master basics before flashy moves. Many professionals playing at the highest level, i.e., Rocket League Championship Series will advise you to do the same. Learning to rotate with your teammates, and masterting basic shots will take you further than anything else. Similarly, learning to play defence will benefit you far more than any flashy trick you can do with your car. It is important to master these techniques if you wish to get better at the game.
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