Solo queueing. Arguably the most frustrating part about any competitive game, including Rocket League. As a fellow solo-queuer, I know the struggle. Throughout my time solo queueing, I have learned a few tips that I am going to share with you.

Tip 1 - Use Your Teammates

Rocket League is all about build-up play. Even if you're solo queueing, you're going to have to help out at some point. Don't stress! Since there is no communication going on with your teammates (other than the occasional "I got it" in text chat), you have to use initiative. Look before you make a move. Look for space. Look for a teammate. Just be aware of your surroundings.

Many times, I have found myself frantically rushing towards the ball without looking around first. This is NOT what you should do. Take a quick glimpse around. See if your teammate is in a better position than you, see where the opposition are coming from, then choose what play to make. It seems like a lot but getting used to this will certainly improve your game. Just remember that you are not a one-man team, you have teammates with the same goal in mind.

Tip 2 - Stick to a Role

It won't take long for you to figure out the types of roles your teammates are going to play (offensive/defensive/box to box). Once you have figured it out, fill in the gaps. If you have a teammate that loves to chase the ball, using endless amount of boost, then you are going to have to play a bit more defensive to cover their back. Stick to this. Of course your teammate will have to rotate at some point and you should take part in the usual rotations too, but you should never play the same role as them. If you decide to change up your role mid-way through a game, it will not only confuse your teammates, but it will most likely end poorly.

[Basic diagram of positions in-game - from u/onearmmanny on Reddit]

You have to adapt to how your team are playing and move on from there. Remember, a team has many components. Everybody's role matters. You are just as helpful getting the saves and clears as the person on your team who is scoring. This also leads me to another point. DON'T WORRY ABOUT IN-GAME POINTS. I cannot stress enough that points really do not matter. Focus on playing your game and you will secure the victory.

Tip 3 - Avoiding Toxicity

Many people know by now that with any online game, there is going to be trash talk. Maybe you have even done it yourself. In Rocket League, there are many ways to avoid this. One of the things that personally helps me (if the opponents are trash talking) is to set my text chat to 'Team Only'. This allows me to focus on anything my team needs to say and to keep out the negativity of the opponents.

Another thing you can do is set your text chat to 'Quick Chat Only'. This is to stop messages being shown that are typed out from people in the game. Having a keyboard at hand, people are very likely to want to lash out at you or your opponents/teammates. Obviously, nobody wants to receive that, so that text chat option is also there. I rarely have to use this as the majority of the Rocket League community are nice people. Although, the 'Team Only' option is a must have for me.

You may be wondering how this helps with solo queueing. If I am playing by myself, I am usually listening to music, enjoying some ranked matches, and trying to stay calm. It's very easy to get frustrated whilst playing by yourself. There isn't anyone to tell you that it's okay, and that you should try to regain composure. It is best to try and do as much for yourself as possible and to refrain from getting angry/upset at the game. I personally play a lot better when having 'Team Only' enabled, because I am not worrying about what will be said if I make a mistake.

To conclude, there are many tips to help you become successful in your solo queue adventure in Rocket League, but these are where you should start. Also remember that the only person that can truly make a difference is YOU. If you put in the time and effort, you will notice remarkable improvements, not only while solo queueing, but when playing Rocket League in general.

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