Getting Started in Rocket League: best settings, mechanics and cars!
Welcome to the beginners guide to Rocket League!
This article is written by /u/MiracleWhiff on Reddit and published with his permission.
Welcome to the beginner's guide to Rocket League! Either to play with a friend or plan to go pro in the future, this guide is for every beginner to the game. This guide will go over all the recommended skills and settings that high level players recommend. This is to allow players to focus more on having fun with their friends than worrying about not setting up everything correctly.
CAMERA SETTINGS
The default camera settings.
Changing the camera to something more comfortable to look at can be the difference between hitting the ball and missing. Starting from the top of the list in the camera settings.
Camera Shake
The camera shake option in the menu makes the camera, well, shake. With this option on, anytime that the player would jump, hit the ball, or be bumped would shake the camera. I would recommend to turn this option off as it can make players miss easy shots at goal. A great camera settings guide from Lethamyr here.
Field of View
The field of view allows players to see more of the field at once. Setting the field of view too high can cause a fisheye effect though. Many players set this to 100-110.
Distance
The distance setting sets how far away the camera is from the car. It can help the player see more of the map and get a better sense of what is going on in the field, being to far away can worsen a player's accuracy though.
Height
Height sets the distance of the camera from the ground. This can help players see other cars on the field if the ball just so happens to get into the way of the camera.
Angle
This setting makes the camera rotate on the x-axis. It points the camera up towards the ceiling or the floor depending on what number it is set at.
Stiffness
This sets how fast the camera can keep up with the car. A low stiffness will move the camera around more depending on the car’s speed.
Swivel Speed
The swivel speed is the camera sensitivity when rotated by the player. Players are recommended to put this wherever they wish as it doesn’t have much of an effect on gameplay.
Transition Speed
The transition speed is how fast the camera snaps back to ball cam and the straight forward car camera. This can be set to whatever the player wishes.
CONTROLS
There is a numerous list of options that can be changed in the controls menu. This guide will be focusing on only a few core changes that are recommended. These controls are what I would recommend, there are players who would suggest differently but, the key is to find something comfortable with your controls. Here is SunlessKhan’s explanation on controls.
Air roll and Powerslide
Many players set both of these to “L1” or left bumper. Moving this to another button allows the player to boost and air roll with ease.
Boost
Many players keep this on the default setting. Some like myself, move it to “R1” or right bumper. Being able to boost and air roll at the same time is very important to reaching higher levels of play.
Reset shot
Used in training modes and Workshop maps, the reset shot button is a button you want in a comfortable position because it will be pressed a lot. There are a few controls that should be kept the same though. These include turning, jumping, and moving forwards and backwards.
Voice chat
Many players never use voice chat in game and it will be rare that you will see anyone use it when working as a team.
Keyboard vs. Controller
Most players use controllers for comfort. Keyboards don’t really have an advantage in Rocket League as compared to other games. Keyboards can only be used on PC as well, so if a player plans on playing competitively, it's recommended that they use a controller. Most local competitions are on a console, which doesn’t allow keyboard/mouse.
WHAT CAR TO USE
There are many options to choose from. Each with their own looks and designs; though all share at least one of five different hitboxes. There is the Octane, Dominus, Plank, Breakout, and Hybrid hitbox types.
An organised list of each car type and which car uses which by u/Boe6Eod7Nty.
Some notable options that professional players usually choose are the Octane, Dominus, and Batmobile. There are many to choose from. Some can only be gained from crates ('loot boxes') and some are DLC to buy. Others can be earned from playing the game normally, and a few are exclusive to the Rocket Pass. As a rule of thumb, players should choose something that is easy enough to obtain and has a good hitbox that aligns with the car’s design.
Ball cam
At lower levels, ball cam should be used at all times, except for when going for boost. Many newer players dislike using ball cam because it disorientates the player.
Some keywords for newer players:
WHAT MOVES TO START LEARNING
By now, if you are only wanting to play with a friend and not eventually try to play professionally, don’t read ahead.
Generally, when thinking about skills, there are two “buckets” or how much training that players have. Either in a “Physical” bucket or a “Mental” bucket, these are the two core ways that a player gets better at Rocket League. In the physical bucket, players would need to practice skills in the game to get better. For the mental bucket, players could either learn from better players or watch tutorials online.
Here is another SunlessKhan video explaining the difference between the mental and physical buckets.
Starting off, I would recommend this chart for learning everything.
Sources
MiracleWhiff’s learning order chart.
SunlessKhan’s mental and physical bucket video.
SunlessKhan’s control’s video.
u/Boe6Eod7Nty’s car type list.
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