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Rocket League: A beginner’s guide to becoming a master
Are you new to the world of Rocket League and looking to master the game? Are you looking for a foundational guide to help you focus on the essential skills and help you avoid common new player mistakes? You’ve come to the right place!
This Rocket League Beginner’s Guide will help you understand the basics of Psyonix’s Rocket League and provide tips to boost your training, reduce the learning curve, and provide a solid foundation with the tools you need to take your game to the next level.
Let’s dive in and get started with Rocket League’s basics!
Start with the basics
For those just starting with Rocket League, it’s important to grasp the basics. Knowing how to control your car, when to boost, and mastering basic tricks are essential for success in the game. One of the best ways to start learning these topics is to play the game!
If you’re loading the game up for the first time, there is an in-game tutorial that you can start with to get the basic mechanics and rules of the game down. The tutorial mode allows you to explore various aspects of the game, with the following areas:
- Free Play
- Custom
- Aerial (Rookie, Pro, All-star)
- Goalie (Rookie, Pro, All-star)
- Striker (Rookie, Pro, All-star)
- Tutorial (Basic / Advanced)
If you’ve comfortable with the basics, you should consider jumping into a match to start building experience with the game. You’ll have a much easier time understanding the topics in this guide if you have a basic sense of the game. Play with others or play alone, as long as you are in the game, moving the ball around, and getting the hang of controlling your car.
Controlling your car
Getting the hang of controlling your car is the first step in becoming a skillful player. You can practice maneuvering your car in practice matches or free play until you feel comfortable with the controls for your specific platform. Be sure to practice turning, sliding, accelerating, and flipping to acquire and maintain good control of your vehicle.
The use of reverse is not recommended in most scenarios when trying to reposition yourself. Instead, learn to use half-flipping to help you change direction while maintaining momentum. You’ll waste less time changing direction than if you habitually stop and reverse.
Boosting
Boosting is critical to Rocket League and can help you reach higher speeds and make strategic plays. Your boost meter is located at the bottom of the screen and will fill up as you drive over boost pads. Activate boost to increase your speed or fly for a short amount of time.
When your boost meter runs out, your speed will return to normal, so you must boost wisely and strategically.
There are two types of boost pads: 12% refill and 100% refill. 100% boost pads are often located in the corners of arenas and take a while to respawn, whereas the 12% boost pads are more prominent and respawn much faster.
Become familiar with the appearance and locations of the two kinds of boost pads to help you be more efficient with boost gathering and identify inactive boost pads so you don’t waste time going for them.
Learn to use your cameras
You have two cameras to view your car in the game. Your car camera centers the camera behind your vehicle so that you always face the direction your car is moving. The second camera is the ball camera. This camera keeps the ball in view so you can see your car’s position in relation to the ball.
It may be helpful to spend most of your time using the ball camera as you are learning Rocket League to help you build your game sense and get a feel for interacting with the ball using your car. The car camera is a helpful choice when returning to your defensive zone and when targeting boost pads.
Learn the basic tricks
Learning basic tricks like dribbling, aerials, and volley touches will give you a huge advantage when playing Rocket League. Dribbling involves bouncing the ball off your car’s walls and sides, while aerials involve jumping and flipping in midair to hit the ball.
Jumpshots involve jumping and shooting the ball at the same time. Take advantage of power sliding when landing to preserve your momentum and improve your field coverage. With practice, you can master all these techniques and use them to outsmart your opponents!
Train your skills
Improving your skills in Rocket League is the key to becoming a master. This section of the guide will cover various ways to train and improve your skills.
1. Practice in private matches
Private matches are a great way to hone your skills without worrying about the pressure of playing in public. You can join a private match with friends or set up a practice match by yourself. Private matches are a great way to experiment and practice different strategies, shots, and plays.
2. Watch tutorials
Plenty of tutorials from professional players and coaches can help you improve your game. Take advantage of this free resource and watch tutorials for specific techniques or strategies you want to learn.
3. Play with experienced players
Playing with experienced players can be one of the most effective ways to improve your skills. If you can find someone willing to play with you and give you advice, they can help you to identify mistakes and provide helpful tips on improving your game.
4. Take advantage of pro settings
Take advantage of the settings used by pro players to get the most out of your training sessions. Tuning your settings allows you to adjust certain aspects of the game, such as ball size, camera settings, etc. These settings will help you focus on specific game elements and allow you to adjust the difficulty level as needed.
By following these tips, you can start to improve your skills and become a better Rocket League player. Don’t forget to have fun while you’re training – that’s what the game is all about!
Improve your skills by playing with a group
It takes a lot of practice and dedication to become masterful at Rocket League. Practicing with a dedicated group of players can help you stick with your training and hold you accountable. A group can also push you to aim higher and train harder.
Join or create a team
Teamwork is crucial to succeeding in Rocket League, and joining or creating a team can be key to reaching your full potential. If you’re looking to join an existing team, many online communities can help you find one that fits your playing style. You can also join tournaments and competitive leagues to play with other teams.
Creating a team
If you’re thinking of creating a team yourself, start by recruiting players from your friend list or online gaming groups. Once your team is assembled, you should decide on roles for each player and set practice schedules. Setting expectations and having a practice plan will ensure everyone is on the same page and help you develop better teamwork.
Additionally, working together to analyze replays of your matches will help you identify strengths and weaknesses in your gameplay and perhaps lead to changes in roles to take advantage of teammates’ strengths.
Finally, create a team name and logo to show off your team pride and make your mark on the Rocket League community. You can take your team from a group of rookies to a powerhouse squad with hard work and dedication. Plus, having a name or logo will help make your team more memorable to people of interest and fans.
Wrapping up
Learning the basics of Rocket League will start you on the path to expertise. But you can’t become a pro without extensive learning, practice, and refining of your techniques. You could spend months mastering your speed flips and still have more to learn.
Many professionals with thousands of hours of playtime practice daily would tell you they still have room for improvement. And a great way to gauge your progress is to participate in tournaments and see how you measure up against other teams.
Playing in tournaments is a great way to push yourself to become a master at Rocket League. Tournaments can be an extremely rewarding and exciting experience as you put your skills to the test against other players.