Training in Rocket League is very much essential. That is, of course, if you want to master the game and climb the rankings. The question is which type of training in Rocket League is more effective and just better overall? This article should give you some tips and pointers towards the right training for you, so that you can reach your full potential.

Free Play Training

Free Play is an excellent choice of training. Having the ability to simply hit the ball around the field endlessly opens up hundreds of doors for practicing shot types, maintaining possession, and controlling your car. Starting with your shot types, Free Play is almost endless in terms of its capabilities.

You can attempt ceiling shots by driving the ball up the left or the right wall, fast enough so that it gains enough height and momentum, then drive off the ceiling to hit the ball into the net. There are other useful articles on the Team Dignitas website to explain ceiling shots much better, but in a nutshell, Free Play is certainly a great way to practice this skill.

Of course, there are so many other tricks and moves that you can perform in Free Play mode. These include:

• Air Dribbling
• Ground dribbling
• Flicks
• Flip reset shots

The list goes on and the beauty of being free to do whatever you wish is that you can experiment with new ideas and unique ways that you think would be effective in a real, online match against other players.

Controlling your car is also a fantastic thing to practice if you find yourself bored of the online matches and just feel like building on that all-important self-improvement. One way you can do this is by trying out half flipping. I personally learned how to half flip through this mode of training, as I was not pressured by nasty timers or other players. Manoeuvres like this are somewhat restricted to Free Play, as it is not possible to create a training pack surrounding car movement. This gives Free Play a huge advantage over other methods of training.

Other forms of car manoeuvres are:

• Freestyling
• Flip cancels (Cancelling a flip halfway between the start and end of one.)
• Wave Dashing

In general, Free Play is a brilliant way to practice so many techniques and is certainly considered the superior form of training by many.

Custom Training

Coming into the game much later, custom training has offered a way for players to target specific aspects of their gameplay at a time. Unlike Free Play, Custom Training allows players to play and create packs where the player can practice a certain technique. Custom Training lets the player focus on set shot types, keeping the ball off the ground, and control over the ball.

One example of shot types that are best practiced in Custom Training is Air Dribbling. Being a player that is inexperienced in the mechanical side of gameplay, you may want to use Custom Training to start you off. The ball will be set in a particular location and shot off with just the right amount of momentum to guide you into scoring a fancy shot. Basically, then, Custom Training acts as a helping hand for certain shots and moves. This is a very good way of training and is often underrated.

Not only can you be the scorer, but Custom Training offers the chance to be a defender. The ball will be shot at an angle, with different speeds and you'd be required to either save it or clear it across the field. This is great practice for online matches, as it is much more realistic and reflects a real game much more effectively than Free Play does.

Examples of things you can practice in Custom Training:

• Air Dribbles
• Ceiling shots
• Dribbling
• Flicks
• Backboard clears
• Saves

There are many more examples to offer, and the number of packs you can use in the game is quite impressive. On the internet, there are many more codes for packs that other players have made, so be sure to go searching for the pack that you think you need, and do not give up on them. Professional players such as Cameron "Kronovi" Bills have created their own packs, and these are often shown on the 'Featured' section of Custom Training.

Which is better?

Some aspects of training overlap between both Free Play and Custom Training, and so you may find yourself wondering if you should practice something in one mode or the other. Overall, if you wish to practice a specific shot or defending technique, Custom Training will be your best friend. This is due to its lovely hand-holding style and its level-based scenarios that could easily be encountered in an online match. Although Free Play offers the ability to turn infinite Boost off in the options menu, it does not quite capture the realism portrayed in Custom Training.

On the flipside, if you are wanting to learn how to control your car better and you wish to solidify your skills, Free Play is the way to go. By giving players the chance to do whatever they wish, this makes Free Play a much more attractive option.

So there is no 'better' way to train, really. It all depends on what you wish to improve upon, and by choosing one training mode over the other can sometimes determine how quickly you pick up on something. Don't be afraid to try both to see which suits you best. Yet again, skill comes with practice, and we can only thank Psyonix that there's more than one way to do so.

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