Rocket League is a game of possession. When you are stuck on defense, it is only a matter of time until you are scored on. After reading this article, you will know how to break out of defensive situations and quickly counter-attack your opponents.
There are a few key aspects to effectively breaking out of defense in Rocket League. By tuning your rotations, boost usage, touches, and team play, you will be able to play more aggressively, freeing you from defensive pressure.
To be able to break out of defense, you have to not get easily scored on. The most important tip I can give about defense is to rotate on the back post side. If the ball is on the right side of the field, be on the left post of the goal and vice versa.
Your car can only easily go forward, so you want to have the entire play in front of you. If you are placed on the back post, the entire net is available for you to defend. If you place yourself inside the net, you are only able to guard half of the net.
Even when the ball is being passed through the midfield, it is your job to try to rotate through the small pads around your net to get to the back post if you have time. Not only will this help you keep up your momentum but rotating through those small pads will help you maintain boost, which is vital for breaking out of defense.
When you are on defense, you will often find that your boost levels are low. It is very difficult to make a good clear with low boost, but you have to constantly use boost on defense to make saves and challenges.
Your goal on defense needs to be to use the minimum amount of boost you can to make an effective play. If a shot goes up, boost to the ball to hit it to the corner, but do not hold boost after the touch to gather some speed. It is worth saving your 25 boost on defense to sacrifice some speed. The only exception to this is if getting to the ball quicker will guarantee a clear.
With challenges on the ground, try to use the effective low 50 strategy. All you have to do is approach the ball and single jump before the challenge. This will keep you close to the play (allowing you to not have to use boost to get back), and it will keep the ball on the ground, meaning your teammates do not have to use boost to fly for the next ball.
For aerial challenges, you have to sacrifice your boost to block the ball as quickly as you can. Once the enemy gets 2-3 uncontested aerial touches, they will have so much pressure around your net that they will most likely score. You need to use your boost in these challenges to put a hand up against the ball so it hopefully dies down. Also, there is a chance that you get a clean beat on the ball, giving you a clear and an escape from defense.
Lastly, you need to focus on grabbing mid boost and small pads. When the enemy has pressure, they can rotate through the midfield’s big and small pads to keep shooting with power. By grabbing some big mid-field boost (if it is in your rotation path), you will starve the enemy, forcing them to either retreat or make a bad touch.
If big boosts are not in your rotation, you can try to grab some of the central small pads. This is a less effective but safer way to starve enemies into making bad touches on the ball. By making them search a little hard for boost, you will force the enemy into giving you some space.
Like in traditional soccer, effective and strategic touches will free you from defense. Calculating exactly how you want to make a play is the difference between suffering on defense for 30 more seconds or going into offense. There are not enough opportunities on defense to mess up a few of your defense touches.
First, pinches are your best friend on defense. You will often see the ball rolling on one of the side walls. With an enemy coming in to challenge and with you having low boost, there seems to be no solution besides losing the challenge. If you can learn how to get some power on sidewall pinches, you can surprise the enemy by hitting the ball over them even if you have low boost.
Sometimes on defense, you are faced with a fast-bouncing ball that is very hard to make a solo play off of. If there is no available teammate, there is really no option for you besides to clear the ball away. The result of this clear is a given-up possession, but you can make the most out of this bad situation. Your goal is to clear the ball as close to the ceiling as you can. By hitting the ball with maximum height and distance, you will give your team time to gather boost, making it easier to break out later. Try not to have the ball hit the ceiling though because, after the bounce, the ball will close to your enemy with speed, removing your time to grab boost.
If the ball is not fast enough to clear to the ceiling, then you have a harder job. You must look around the pitch and try to find a hole in the enemy positioning. If you find one side or corner of the map that the enemy does not have control over, try to hit the ball in that direction. It will take the opponents some time to get to the ball, giving your team time to at least grab some small pads.
If you are stuck with low boost and a slow ball, the play can be tricky. If you had boost, you would air dribble, but with no boost, you have one simple and effective option. Take the ball to a dribble. If you can flick the ball when an opponent is coming, you will save your team. By beating one enemy with a flick, you buy your team time and waste the enemy’s boost. You can only do this play if you have the space to dribble the ball, but you will often be granted a couple of seconds of wiggle room.
If your opponent is constantly outpacing you with their touches and boost management, there is really only one way to escape being scored on: bumps. Do not leave your rotation for a bump because you will leave part of the field open for an outplay by your opponents, but if there is an enemy in your path, make sure to bump them. By knocking your opponents around and maybe demoing them, you will mess up the enemy rotation and boost control, giving you space to make a clear.
So, you have finally done it. You broke down the enemy, your team has boost, and you have possession with space. Instead of making a meaningless clear, you need to focus on a quick counter-attack. The key to this counter-attack is using your teammates.
Remember, your goal is to move the ball forward, and the most power is possible with the most boost in the tank. If you have low boost, try to quickly dish the ball out to your close teammate. Also, if two people could get the ball and you know you have low boost, turn away and let your teammate make a play.
Lastly, outlet passes will save you on defense. Many times on defensive rotations, your teammate will go for mid boost. As you get better, if your teammate recognizes that you have a free clear, they will wait by one of the side walls. Your job is to hit the ball to them so they can take a shot off of the wall towards the enemy half. It is also your job to be ready for outlet passes when you are near the sidewalls on defense.
Breaking free from defense is one of the hardest things to do in Rocket League, but now you have all of the tools needed to escape. Remember to conserve your boost, play high percentage plays, and be open to using your teammates often. Good luck on the grind!
