A Guide to Advanced Mechanics To Win in Rocket League

As you climb the ranks in Rocket League, you will eventually hit a point where high-level mechanics simply can’t be overlooked. Things like positioning and game sense are incredibly important, but eventually, you’ll most likely need to have some flair in order to separate yourself from the pack. In this article, we’re going to lay out what some of these mechanics are and how you can pull them off.

Kickoffs

One of the most useful mechanics you can learn is the fast kickoff. People have started to learn this earlier and earlier on the ranked ladder over time, and eventually, it will reach a point where you’ll fall behind if you don’t have it down.

To do this, you want to adjust your car in the direction that’s the opposite of the way you want to flip. Make sure this is a subtle adjustment! If you go too far, you’ll miss the ball. Next, flip your car diagonally in the direction you want to go. However, you’ll want to cancel this flip by flicking your joystick in the opposite direction. Finally, be sure to utilize your air roll button and powerslide upon landing.

This particular mechanic is advanced but is also very much something that can be mastered with an adequate amount of practice. Free play is your friend here, as you can always reset the play and be put straight into kickoff positioning. If you can get this down in the middle to lower ranks, you’re going to beat a lot of people to the ball. Granted, there are some things that are more important at those ranks, but it’s certainly a tool worth adding to your belt.

Flicks

Flicks are very useful for both advancing the ball up the field and taking defenders out of a play. The nice thing about flicks is that there are a bunch of different ones that can be used, and naturally, they vary in difficulty. You can start with your basic flicks and work your way up to the more advanced ones as you continue to master the basics.

Obviously, the premise of a flick is simple – dribble the ball on top of your car and flip to pop the ball up. However, the more things you add to this equation, the tougher it’ll be to read. One example of this is the Breezi flick. To do this, you’ll need to have air roll right or air roll left bound. You start by jumping once and air rolling to the right or left. Then, you drag your stick the opposite way. Once the nose of your car is under the ball, you backflip.

You can also add a lot of things to a more basic flick to make it harder to read. You can fake the flick, you can delay the flick, you can add wavedashes to the flick. The most important thing to remember is to be unpredictable and creative.

Reads

Reading the path of the ball can be one of the most difficult things to master. Don’t worry – a lot of people are in the same boat. However, it eventually becomes essential in order to keep up on both offense and defense.

When it comes to reads, some of the hardest ones come on the defensive side of the play. The reason why backboard offense is so lethal is because it’s incredibly hard to deal with as a defender, especially if you’re positioned in net. The key here is to avoid hesitation. Chances are, if the offensive player sets up a double tap and connects with their second touch, it’s either going in or creating a huge defensive scramble. So, you want to try and make your clear before the ball reaches the backboard. To do this, you’ll definitely need to be able to fast aerial. Fast aerials are relatively simple to learn – simply jump once while simultaneously tilting your car upwards. Then, let go of your joystick and jump again. If done fluidly, you’ll be up a lot faster.

In addition to playing the backboard, you also have to learn to read the corners. Sometimes, these bounces can feel quite unpredictable, but you’ll get a better sense for it – it just takes time.

However, there are a few general things you can remember:

• If the ball is heading directly at a straight part of the wall, it’s going to bounce back the way it came.
• If it hits the curved part of the corner, it’s going to bounce out diagonally.
• If it hits the section between the wall and the ground, it’s going to bounce up.

While most advanced mechanics are physical, this one is mostly mental. But it’s something that will make you a significantly better player as you improve it.

Aerials

I think it’s safe to say that when most people think of advanced mechanics, they think of plays that happen in the air. And for good reason – these plays are not only flashy but can be incredibly tough for defenders to deal with.

Let’s start off with the famous flip reset. The premise sounds simple – perform a standard air dribble set up, but instead of carrying the ball towards the net, you air roll so that your wheels are facing the ceiling. Next, you need to adjust your car (while remembering the controls will be inverted since you’re upside down) in such a way that all four of your wheels touch the underside of the ball. It’s super important to make sure all four touch, otherwise you won’t get the reset. You also want to make sure it’s a very light touch so that you don’t lose control of the ball. This will grant you an extra flip, and from there, you can keep your opponent guessing as to when you’re going to use it. This makes you incredibly tough to read. In addition, you can also gain a reset by utilizing the ceiling. You can drive up the wall and on to the ceiling, only to allow your car to fall off the ceiling. In this scenario, you never used a jump, so your flip will remain usable.

You can also jump from the wall, air roll your car so that your wheels are parallel to the ceiling, and boost up to touch all four wheels to the ceiling, giving you an additional flip.

Another advanced tactic that can be nearly impossible to account for is the air dribble bump. For this one, you just want to do a normal air dribble set up – whether that’s off the wall or from the ground. Then, instead of carrying the ball to the net, you leave the ball and fly towards the defender in net. The most challenging thing is not only making sure the ball is headed towards the net but reading where your opponent is going to go and when. However, even if you don’t connect on the bump, you still may throw the defender off enough to keep him from saving the shot.

Conclusion

One of the most fun things about Rocket League is seeing yourself improve, and mastering these mechanics is a great way to do that. Plus, it’ll help you win a lot more games!

Hopefully this guide will act as a convenient place to access tips on these mechanics for some, and as an introduction to them for others. We here at Dignitas wish you the best of luck on the grind!