Beginner tips for Rocket League

Often described as “Soccer with rocket-powered cars”. Rocket League, to put it simply, is a car- soccer game developed and published by Psyonix. The game was first  released for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4 in 2015. Ports for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch were released later. The game has a unique concept and can get very competitive.  

Rocket League has up to four players each in two different teams. Matches can be played one- on-one or four-on-four. Rocket-powered vehicles are then used to hit the ball into opposition’s goals. The game has both single and multiplayer modes. These can be played locally or online. Later new game modes were added which include ones based on ice hockey and basketball. 

The ball is obviously much larger than the cars. Matches are typically five minutes long and if a match is tied it goes into sudden death.  Victories and losses can respectively raise or decrease a player’s ranking. Games are fast-paced and very addictive. 

If you are a beginner and wish to get better at the game here are some tips that might help you for Rocket League – 

1. Training

Like many other games Rocket League has a training mode to help beginners understand the game. Basic training modules are incredibly useful in terms of familiarising yourself with the mechanics of the game. While you are in practice mode make sure you spend some time setting up your camera. Adjust the field view, camera angle and more. Find what suits you the best.  

2. Choosing a car

There are many different cars to choose from. While there is no “best” car in the game there are some which are better than others. There are two ways to figure out which cars are “useful” in gameplay, firstly you can play and use different cars to identify which is better. Second is to look at the cars being used by pro players. Cars like Octane, Batmobile, breakout etc are amongst the most used.

3. Defend

Rocket League at the end essentially a soccer game so defense is an important part of winning a game. Instead of just attacking the ball, spend some time learning to defend.Each player will find themselves defending at some point of the game. Having a good defense increases your chances of victory. Training is a great way to practice defense tactics.

4. Don’t waste boost

Even though boost regenerates quickly, you might find yourself in situations when you really need it and it won’t be available. Instead of using boost often , simply hold your joystick forward and double-press the jump button to perform a “lunge forward”. Doing this a few times will let you reach the same speed as a boost.  

5. Rotations

Having all players charge at the ball will create more chaos than anything. By doing this your goal is also left in the open. If you by chance lose possession of the ball the opposition will inevitably score a goal. But when you are rotating in a 4v4 match, 2 players will be incharge of offence and the other two for defence. This might get a little tricky in 2v2 but will get easier the more you play. 

Read more about other Esports Titles here.