Rocket League isn't a game you can master overnight. While anyone can jump in and drive around (most new players struggle to even hit the ball), improving takes a LONG time, and the skill gap between new players and the best in the world is massive. If you've been stuck at the same rank for a while, there's a good chance you're not getting the most out of your games or practice. With help from Dignitas pro Logan "Fiv3up" Seaman, we've put together a list of tips to help you improve more efficiently and rank up faster.

We’ve split up the practice structure into four sections: Freeplay, Replays, Training Packs, and Ranked.

Freeplay

Believe it or not, you can bypass a lot of the very specific training if you spend enough time in freeplay. Freeplay can be daunting. It's just you, the ball, and an empty field, so it can be hard to know what you should actually be working on.

The key with freeplay is repetition. You aren't doing the same shot over and over; you're maximizing your time on the ball so you can learn to control it across the pitch. Start by driving around at max speed, practicing speedflips and wavedashes so you're always in control of your car. That repetition helps everything start to feel more natural.

Once you're warmed up, focus on a specific skill. You can practice air dribbling off the wall, play the backboard and launch shots that you need to clear, or work on any mechanic you want to improve. Whatever you choose, make sure you're focusing on something specific instead of just hitting the ball around before you queue into ranked.

I pretty much only played freeplay and queued duos. My freeplay routine has definitely changed as I’ve improved. Right now, I’ll go into freeplay, speed around the field, hit the ball hard, try some weird flip resets, and put myself in awkward positions to see if I can air dribble out of them. I’m staying on the ball and trying weird mechanics to simulate game speed. When I was in Champ, I would practice things I knew I was bad at. If I were struggling to read the ball off the wall, I’d bang the ball against the wall and practice reading it. There are two ways to approach freeplay. You can either practice specific things you know you need to work on, or you can just drive around the field at Mach 10 and try to hit the ball as best you can. Both are great ways to improve.

- Fiv3up

Ranked

The best way to improve is by simply playing the game. There is a difference between mindlessly driving around and being conscious of what you're doing right and wrong. Be intentional with your decisions. Think about why you're hitting the ball in certain spots and the result of each touch. Did you rush a touch when the defense was giving you space? Did you put your teammate in a bad position? Did you recover inefficiently? Asking yourself these questions will help you understand what you need to practice.

When you play ranked, try to queue with players who are better than you whenever possible. You don't need flashy mechanics to rank up, so pay attention to what higher-ranked players are doing to put their opponents in awkward positions and create scoring opportunities. Lastly, don’t queue if you’re frustrated; you will likely lose games and won't understand why.

Some days, if I don’t feel like queuing ranked, I’ll just freeplay for hours. Other times, I’ll be in Discord talking to my friends while freeplaying and don’t want to deafen to lock in on a ranked match. I’ve had sessions where I freeplay for five hours straight. Other times, I’ll jump straight into ranked without even touching freeplay. It all depends on how I’m feeling, and you shouldn’t force yourself to play a specific way. Find what works for you and play accordingly.

- Five3up

Replays

This is the part of improving that nobody wants to do: watching replays. Watching your own replays gives you a much better idea of what you're doing well and, more importantly, what you need to work on. You might not realize why you got scored on in the moment, but when you watch it back, you can see that you put yourself in an awkward position, wasted a boost, or challenged at the wrong time.

Watching pro player replays is just as valuable. You can use ballchasing.com to watch private matches from high-ranked players. When you do, don't just pay attention to the double flip resets and flashy mechanics. Focus on the small things. When do they challenge? When do they shoot vs taking possession? How do they manage their boost? Those little decisions are what make top players so consistent, and they're the habits you should start adding into your own game.

You have to watch professionals like Daniel to learn bits of their game and try to integrate them into your own. I’m not saying you’ll be able to triple-flip reset in Platinum the way Daniel does, but you can start by understanding the small things: when does he challenge the ball, when does he shoot, when does he dribble, and when does he rotate? And that is what you have to do if you want to develop your intuition. In my opinion, it’s the most important aspect of Rocket League. Of course, there should be mechanical skills, but they will come with time. The key issue for any player is their decisions.

- Fiv3up

There’s a website called ballchasing.com. With the removal of BakkesMod, it’s being phased out a bit, but you can still search for any pro you want and watch pretty much any game from the pro's POV. I still do that to this day.

Training Packs

An optional way to train specific skills is to play training packs dedicated to them. Double Tap Playground is a great training pack for practicing your aerial reads; Zen touch training packs are good for practicing aerial control, and most featured training packs will give you a good balance of different shots to practice. The downside of training packs is that they train you on one specific shot or opportunity, which you may not be able to consistently get in-game.

Full Practice Structure

At the end of the day, you, as a player, should play how you want to have the most fun. Every player is different, and our practice structure may not work for you. With that said, here is what helps Fiv3up improve.

To start, pick a replay to watch (either yours or a pro player's). Really pay attention to the little things you do. If you were beaten in a challenge, rewind the replay and review your positioning before the challenge to understand what you could have done better.

After replay review, play 20 minutes of freeplay. Drive around at the beginning to get used to your car, then practice the mechanics you need to improve. Put yourself into awkward positions or stay on the ball while doing weird mechanics.

Next, Fiv3up plays four hours of ranked 2s (six hours during RLCS bootcamps). This can obviously differ for the average player who may not have four hours to spare each day. Getting at least one or two hours can suffice, but make sure you're focused while playing and not zoning out.

It's very easy to zone out and just drive around the pitch when playing Rocket League. Being intentional with your games and understanding your mistakes is the key to improving. Thank you to Fiv3up for sharing his daily Rocket League routine. If you want to see more, make sure to follow him on X @Fiv3Up.