The trick to perfecting the art of dodgeball is to first perfect the art of deception. The team-based sports game has more than one way to deceive your opposition, but one of the simplest ways, guaranteed to increase your odds of a knockout, is to throw a Knockout City curveball.
Instead of pelting your opponent with a line drive, you can give it a little spin to make the ball curve along a sideways arc, catching your enemy at an angle they may not be ready to defend. The Knockout City curveball throw can also be used to bend your shots around obstacles, to hit players you otherwise wouldn’t be able to knock out.
How to Throw a Curveball in Knockout City
Executing a Knockout City curveball throw is very simple. There are two sorts of spinning maneuvers you can perform.
- A standard spin (a 360 pirouette) is performed by hitting “E” on PC, “B” on Xbox, “A” on the Switch, or “Circle” on PlayStation.
- A front flip can be performed with “Q” on PC, “Y” on Xbox, “X” on the Switch, or “Triangle” on PlayStation.
The sort of maneuver we’re concerned with here is the standard spin. These can be performed while grounded or while in midair. By winding up and releasing a throw during the pirouette animation, the ball will curve inward. The direction of the curve is dependent on the direction of your spin, which can be dictated by a few things.
How to Dictate Your Spin Direction
Knockout City will typically pick the spin direction that makes the most sense, meaning if there are obstacles to your right, it will throw to the left. If there is no clear preference, the game will spin you in the direction that you are moving.
If you’re strafing left, the ball will go left and curve inward, and vice versa. You shouldn’t have to worry about this too much; if the game sees a player ahead of you, it’ll try its best to find a path to them.
Types of Knockout City Curveballs
There are two kinds of curveballs that can be thrown in Knockout City:
- Fast curveballs
- Slow curveballs
To throw a fast curveball, hold down the “throw” button to charge it up, then spin and release the throw during the animation. A fast curve ball is identifiable by a colored trail.
To throw a slow curveball, simply tap the “throw” button on your keyboard or controller at the same time that you tap the “spin” button. A slow curveball is indicated by a white trail behind the ball.
Being effective in each round requires you to mix up your attacks. Make sure to throw in some fakes here and there, some straight shots, and some curved shots. Releasing a throw during a frontflip will also trigger a lob, throwing the ball up and over any obstacles in front of you, so throw these into the mix as well.
Know that you know how to throw a Knockout City curveball, you have one more move in your arsenal. Don’t overuse curveballs or your opponents will come to anticipate your attacks, but certainly make use of them when the opportunity presents itself.
