Aerials have been a staple of the Rocket League scene since the game came out. You have probably seen your favorite Rocket League players speed through the air in order to blast the ball across the field, yet you still may struggle to make aerial contact with the ball yourself. Well, you are in luck, you have come to the right place. I was also like you at one point, and I am here to lend a hand (or a wheel?) and teach you how to improve your aerial game.

The Fundamentals of Aerial-ing

Some of you might be scratching your head and asking yourself, "How can I improve my aerial game if I don't even know how to aerial in the first place?" I did not forget about you, Rocket League novices!

I strongly recommend checking the Aerial rookie training tutorials in-game to help familiarize yourself with hitting the ball while it's in the air. After that, you can take it to the next level and browse some custom training packs created by the community.

Once you get the hang of aerials, go online and play! Pay attention to the positions of your opponents and whether or not you would beat them to the ball. This is where I see many players question their aerial skills. It might not be your aerial skills that are stopping you from reaching the ball first, but it might be the positioning of your car before you actually challenge the aerial. If you learn to position your car in a comfortable but closer position to the ball before your aerial, I can promise you that you will be winning aerial duels much more often.

Where the ball makes contact your car will also determine how hard you hit the ball. If you hit it with the underside of your car, or the belly as I like to call it, the ball will not travel as fast as it would if you hit it with the top side of your car. Take this into consideration when going up for aerials, as the air roll will be your friend when you're learning how to direct the ball while you're in the air.

Jump into a Free Play session and play around with the Air Roll. Familiarize yourself with it and it will be much easier to position your car to hit the ball where you want it to go.

Tips for Aerials

Boost plays a huge role in aerials, as it is one of the quickest ways to get your car up into the air. Pressing down your boost button is sure to get up higher more quickly, but it'll burn through your boost quickly and you should conserve it once you're on the ground. This brings me to my first tip, which is feathering your boost while in the air. You should almost always conserve your boost while in the air unless you know you can pick up a large boost pad, and that's never a guarantee. Only press the boost button to keep your car raising through the air and the leftover boost will help you get to the ball once you're on the ground.

The fast aerial, or the double jump aerial, is a must-know if you plan on climbing in competitive ranks. The fast aerial, or double jump aerial, is performed exactly how you expect it would. You jump once with your car, position your car as if you were going to start boosting, then not moving your car on any direction as you don't want to use your second jump to flip your car and ruin the aerial. You then press the boost button and use your second jump at the same time and aerial like you would normally. The second jump will help you gain more speed and reach the ball in the air much more quickly. A Youtube channel titled "Sir Timbers" gives a wonderful explanation on how to do a double jump aerial.

Once you get aerials down, the positioning of your car is going to be the next step of upping your aerial game. As mentioned before, air rolls are going to be your friend. Air rolls will not only help you place better shots in the air, but it will also help you change the trajectory of your car while in the air. Hop into Free Play and play around with the air roll to see how your car reacts to it while in the air.

That's all for today folks, see ya later!

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