Rocket League, the high-octane rocket powered soccer game with cars, released yesterday, July 7th on PC and PS4. It’s been met with a lot of praise and popularity, with the servers overload-crashing for almost all of launch day. For those of you struggling to hit those aerial strikes or make the crucial saves, here are my top 5 tips for Rocket League!
1. Don’t chase the ball erratically
It’s often tempting to constantly drive after the ball in the hopes of beating everyone else there and getting a slight nudge in any direction possible, just for the pride of having touched the ball. Instead, sit back a little and try to position yourself for the opportune strike. Sometimes it is good to go charging in if you’re sure you can dispossess an opponent or you’re sure you’ll get to the ball first, but usually wait for a teammate to try and slide it across the pitch so you can score the tap-in, or wait near your goal with some boost ready to make that important save.
2. Always stay goal side of the ball
What I mean by this is make sure you’re always positioned between the ball and your own goal, and if you find yourself out of position, try to boost back around and then powerslide to block any advances. If you’re chasing the ball from behind toward your goal, you’ll often find yourself hitting it toward your goal which you never want to do, unless you’re trying to ricochet it off the wall to clear it toward the centre of the pitch. Even then, only do it in dire circumstances as it is very easy to mishit the ball and send it careering into your own net.
3. Keep some reserve rocket boost
It’s easy to use up all your boost trying to beat someone else to the ball, but make sure you always keep some left over for the crucial moments when you need to hurry back and make a save or block. Finding yourself unable to overtake an opponent dribbling with the ball because you don’t have any boost is incredibly frustrating. On a similar note, familiarize yourself with where the boosts are located on the Rocket League map; there are six boosts that give you 100%, located in all four corners and either side of the center line.
4. You can blow up other cars by boost-ramming them
If you have enough boost, it’s possible to ram them and destroy them. In-game, it’s known as a demolition. Simply get 100% boost then boost until you hear the second phase kick in. If you collide with an opponent, he’ll be demolished and respawn a few seconds later near his own goal. It’s an effective way to gain a man advantage for a few seconds. Plus, it gives you extra points on the scoreboard!
5. Complete all the training exercises
Rocket League has a series of five training exercises: Basic, Advanced, Goalie, Striker and Aerial. They’re not mandatory, but make sure you complete them before jumping into an online game as they teach you the vital mechanics and basics, along with how to strike the ball in various scenarios. You can attempt the Goalie, Striker and Aerial tutorials on varying difficulties, so try to at least achieve 10/10 on Rookie before moving on.
I hope this Rocket League guide has been useful! Jump in early and rise to the top; you can pick it up for $20 on Steam and it’s currently free with PlayStation Plus+, so jump on it while you can! If you have friends with it on the other system, don’t worry either as it has crossplay between PS4 and PC.
Happy rocketeering, everyone!
