A Guide to Power Shots in Rocket League with ApparentlyJack
With help from Dignitas pro player ApparentlyJack, we discuss some power shot tips and why they're so effective!
Getting power on your shots is one of the absolute best things you can do to help you rank up quicker. Getting a fast shot can catch people out of position, cause them to panic, or just mess up the save. At the lower to middle ranks, this is extremely effective, and in later ranks, it becomes essential. Dignitas professional Rocket League player Jack “ApparentlyJack” Benton is here to help provide some insight on this skill!
Getting a lot of power on your shot reduces the amount of time a defender has to save it. They’ll have to react faster, which is harder, so getting power is very important.
Using Air Roll
Adjusting your car into the proper position is important for getting both power and placement on your shots.
So, it’s a little bit different for each situation, but ideally, you’ll want to be hitting it with the corner of your car. There are some situations where you want to rotate your car to the side and hit the ball with your side, but you mostly want to use the corner. This will cause the ball to launch forward and not just stick on to your car.
As he said, the situation is definitely crucial when it comes to how you want to take the shot. When it comes to shooting, the most important thing to recognize is the position of the defender, as well as where you are in relation to the goal. The idea is to put the shot in the hardest spot for the defender to save. Obviously, the top corner adds the element of them having to get up for it, but it’s not always essential, especially depending on their positioning. Slotting it in the bottom corner is just as effective and less risky, especially if they’re still on the opposite post.
A great way to ensure your car is in the right spot is to utilize the air roll button.
Air roll allows you to get your car into the perfect position. For example, if the ball is coming to you from the right side, you can slightly air roll your car to the left and then flip right into the ball to get good power. It gets your car around the ball and gives you a better angle of approach. I do recommend being careful not to air roll too much, though. When you overdo it, it becomes tougher to control your car.
Like ApparentlyJack alluded to, this can be done subtly and it’s very effective. If you roll your car too much, though, you’ll have less power when your car makes contact with the ball. A nice, small air roll to get around the ball, followed by a well-timed flip into the ball with the corner of your car is going to give you some good results. It will also help give you more control over your placement of the ball.
Flicks & Pinches
Flicks and pinches are too mechanics that can generate a ton of power quickly. They can result in goals, but even when they don’t, they’re going to advance the ball down the field very quickly, which can get you out of a bind on defense and set something up on offense.
We asked ApparentlyJack what his favorite flick to use to generate power is, and here’s what he had to say:
One good, power flick is a diagonal flick. You want to make sure the ball stays on the hood of your car, not too far forward and definitely not too far back, and then flip diagonally. If you just front flip though, you don’t get as much power.
Getting a good flick is difficult because it requires a lot of precision. The key is to make sure the ball is on just the right spot on your car – just being on top of it isn’t enough. If it’s too far back, you’re just going to flip under the ball and essentially whiff. If it’s too far forward, it will roll off your car with no power. Once you find that sweet spot, though, it’s incredibly useful. If you’d like to learn more about different types of flicks, we have a comprehensive guide on the mechanic that you can check out here!
Now, for pinches:
The best strategy to use a pinch is on the wall, it’s called the Kuxir pinch. Typically, this happens in your defensive half. To do it, say the ball is on the right wall, air roll your car to the right and make sure you’re facing the goal. There’s also a ground pinch. Typically, you’d be coming from the air, and you would fall on the ball as it hits the ground. Both of these can generate a ton of power if done right.
Another thing that’s really important about pinches is what part of the ball you hit. You want to be aiming somewhere in between the middle of the ball and the back of the ball, which is where you’d normally strike it head-on. If you go too far in towards the middle, you’re going to end up killing the ball and sending it nowhere. And, of course, if you hit it too far back, you’ll just end up with a standard hit. Pinches are very easy to whiff at first as you need precision, but practice makes perfect.
Practice
Best way to practice is mainly going to be in free play. Just going around in free play and hitting the ball as fast and as hard as you can. Training packs can help out as well!
Heading into free play is generally a great way to practice any sort of mechanic before busting them out in-game. For pinches, you can simply roll the ball up the wall and finish it off with a Kuxir pinch. This is great practice in terms of getting used to the precision. You can also start an air dribble set up but allow the ball to fall to the ground and follow it up with a ground pinch.
ApparentlyJack also has a very useful tip for general power shooting practice:
This is what I love to do - imagine the goal is actually a little bit smaller than it actually is. This way, it avoids you just trying to go for a really tight top corner shot. You’ll just end up aiming for a good, solid shot. With that mentality, you’ll probably have an easier time. You don’t always need to put it in the top corner to score, you just need a good power shot on goal.
This is something I have truthfully never thought to do, but after testing the waters on it for a couple days, I can confidently say it has already helped me be more accurate.
Conclusion
Overall, while power shots are a somewhat simple mechanic, they are extremely important to master if you hope to climb the ranked ladder. Making life difficult for the other team is what will get you wins, and this will do just that.
If you want to keep up with ApparentlyJack, be sure to give him a follow on Twitter and Instagram. For his content, be sure to check out his YouTube and Twitch channels.
Thank you all for reading and best of luck with your shooting!
