Rocket League tips from history's greatest sports figures

Soccar wisdom from the greats

Something we love about Rocket League is how intuitive it is both to PC gamers, who have years of experience driving game cars, and sports folk, who have years of experience hitting balls.

Maybe it isn’t surprising, then, that the advice of some of the greatest athletes, coaches, and sports figures in history rings so true when applied to Rocket League. To help you get better, we’ve bundled some of our favorite inspirational sports quotes—completely unedited from their original context—with raw, useful Rocket League guidance.

“Float like a flying car, sting like a flying car.” —Muhammad Ali

If you’re having trouble scoring or pursuing the ball, knocking opponents out through ‘demolition’ is a great way to contribute. The easiest time to do this is when opposing cars are sitting still, waiting for an airborne ball to fall.

“The measure of who we are is what we do with what boost we have.” —Vince Lombardi

Use your boost with clear intent and collect more whenever you can. Sprints to the ball, clutch saves, airborne assists, and attempts to knock away or destroy other players often end in favor of those that only use boost when necessary. Being wasteful with it will only leave you helpless when you’re needed most.

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take by ramming a giant ball with your bumper." —Wayne Gretzky

The only way to get better is to try moves you aren’t good at yet. Aerial maneuvers are hard to master, but only half the game is on the ground. To get better, you’ll have to get into the air eventually. Run drills in the aerial training mode to work on your air control.

“There’s no ‘I’ in Rocket League.” —Unknown

Trust your teammates. If everyone rushes the ball to clear it, you’ll often just end up smashing into each other and giving the other team an open field. If one of your teammates is going for the ball, support them by driving well beside or behind them. If they miss, you can make a follow-up attempt.

“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Drive up that wall. Drive all over the wall and a little bit on the ceiling. You can drive on walls, is what I’m saying.” —Michael Jordan

It’s a natural reflex to treat the walls as out-of-bounds, or an obstacle, but remember that they’re part of the playing surface. Walls can provide a longer but unobstructed path to a part of the field, but they’re probably best used for U-turns and for making hard-to-track shots.

“Unlike other sports, which are largely determined by individual athletic ability or team strength, Rocket League requires its competitors to cooperate in order to win.” —Charles Duhigg

Exploit and anticipate your opponents’ attempts to clear the ball—inevitably, one of their desperate defensive maneuvers will set you up for a goal.

“Some people drive to the ball. I drive to where the ball is going to be.” —Wayne Gretzky

Don’t chase the ball itself—conserve boost and retain your positioning by anticipating where it will be. When the ball is airborne, watch the circular outline instead of the ball.

“All Rocket League players are bilingual. They know English and profanity.” —Gordie Howe

Rocket League’s quick chat system (on numerical keys 1-4 or each direction of the d-pad) is always within reach and works surprisingly well. Morale is a resource—one message of encouragement could be the thing that sparks chemistry between you and your teammate, if you're playing solo.

“The minute you get away from fundamentals—whether it’s proper sensitivity settings, camera stiffness, or FOV—the bottom can fall out of your game, your schoolwork, your job, whatever you’re doing.”—Michael Jordan

Seeing and tracking the ball is a fundamental part of the game, and the default camera controls aren’t necessarily the best. Practice with some variations to find some you like. You should also get used to the ball cam—you don’t need it on all the time, but it’s vital to good play. Team Rocket has some tips on these topics, and show you some of their camera settings in this video.

"For us to be successful on defense, we must get back and stop the rocketball, eliminate easy goals, keep the ball out of the lane, and bother the shooters." —Dick Bennett

Don’t leave your backfield open. When playing 2v2 and up, be sure to have at least one person playing back at all times. If the opposing team makes a long shot, without a full boost meter, it can be difficult to reach the ball in time to prevent an embarrassing goal. Offensively, this allows the backfielder to look for scoring or assist opportunities.

“Clear windshields, full gas tanks, can’t lose.” —Coach Taylor

This quote really speaks for itself.