In Rocket League, many players get stuck only playing one game mode because it feels comfortable to them. Although the standard tournament mode is 3v3, you can learn important aspects of decision-making and mechanics in 1v1 and 2v2 as well.

1v1

We will start with the most hated mode, 1v1. The reason 1v1 is hated is the reason that it is so useful for developing strong play, you are dependent entirely on yourself.

In 3v3 and 2v2, you will occasionally be stuck in awkward situations where your team depends on you making a reliable touch. These plays are normally difficult because they do not happen often. When you play 1s, you will experience these situations often, so you will train yourself to feel confident at these times. These situations are normally awkward because you have low levels of boost. By playing a mode that requires you to defend on low boost frequently, playing on low boost will feel like second nature. When you have low boost, all you have to do is get the ball over one person to buy time for your team, so practicing low boost in 1s is perfect.

Whether it is offense or defense, the scariest moments in 3v3 and 2v2 are when you are stuck in a 1v1 situation because your team is relying on you to convert or defend. Instead of panicking because you cannot pass or have a teammate dive for you, you will have the confidence to win the situation because you play 1s often. For offense, the biggest way to convert 1v1s is through shot placement. Unless you are counter-attacking, your shots have to be placed well in 1v1s to score. In 3s and 2s, you may score because of rotational errors, but if you can score more often when there is a defender ready in the net, you will win more games.

Every montage in Rocket League is filled with flip resets, air dribbles, ceiling shots, etc. But only a few community members like Evample have managed to take their ground play to a high level, making ground outplays overlooked. To reach high ranks in 1s, you will have to be creative with your on-the-ground outplays, and you can use these outplays in other modes. If you can get over one opponent and stay on the ball afterward, you will constantly create man advantages for your team.

At its core, Rocket League comes down to kickoffs, recoveries, and 50/50s. Because of the high-scoring nature of 1v1, there will be many kick-offs in every match. If you cannot win (or at least not lose) kick-offs, you will de-rank until you reach a level that kick-offs like you. Slowly build up your kick-off, making it strong enough to control. This will make your 3s and 2s games smoother because you will no longer have the occasional random kickoff goal scored on you. Recoveries are something you will also learn in 1v1. Unless you are playing a very skilled player, you will often be able to recover to defend after you fail an attack. By playing 1s, you will see where on the field you struggle to recover quickly.

If you can practice these areas and get back in the play quickly in all situations, you will be able to support your teammates in 3s and 2s more. The quicker you can get behind your teammates, the quicker they can attack. Lastly, learning 50/50s will boost your rank. In 1s, the game is dependent on controlling 50s to areas of the field that are beneficial to you. If you can control the ball’s path away from defenders and to your teammates in ranked, your team will keep possession longer, giving them more opportunities to score.

2v2

2v2 is sometimes known as the most toxic game mode. This game mode is stuck in the limbo between the complete rotation of 3s and being alone in 1s, making you heavily dependent on your one teammate. If a teammate is not playing up to standard, that team will suffer without the support of 2 good players like in 3s.

2v2 is all about ball movement and passing. The fastest team at counter-attacks and passing will most likely win the game. Compared to 3s, you have more space in 2s, allowing you to be less precise with passes. I suggest that you play 2s to develop the eye or sense for passing, and if you want to refine that passing, play 3s. If you start passing in 3s, it is likely that you will not know where to start and will often give the ball away.

In 2s, you typically have more space and time on the ball, and because you have a teammate, you will have more chances to gather boost. With space and boost, your imagination and skill are your limits to scoring. Practice going for crazy solo plays where you beat one or both defenders. There is still pressure to not completely leave the play, but if you mess up a flip reset here and there, your team will be able to back you up. Having a solid mechanical background will forever help your Rocket League career.

If you do not care about freestyle mechanics, there is still a massive benefit to having constant extra space. Use this space to learn how to play into space for yourself. The ball does not always have to move towards the goal if it is staying near you. Possession wins games. If you can figure out how to hit the ball behind the opponent and into space for you, you will dominate 3s later on. In 3s, you do not always have space, but when you get that rare moment, you will know what to do.

People often say that the 2nd man in 3s is the hardest to play because you must know how to take good challenges. If you mess up a challenge, there might not be a direct goal in threes, but your team will be at a disadvantage. Because there is no immediate goal in 3s, your brain may not try to focus on taking smart challenges, and you might throw yourself at the play, hurting your team in the long run. In 2s, the second man is the last man, so if you do not take the right challenge or decide to leave at the right time, you will get scored on. This will create the feedback loop in your mind to train when you should go for a pass or when you should fake a challenge etc. Remember, even if your teammate passes, you do not always have to go for the ball. It is the 2nd man’s job to decide what plays to go for.

In 2s, bumps are very effective because they double the space for a team on the field, and they make 2v1 situations easy. Because of this reality, people will try to bump you often. Learning how to sense when you are getting bumped will help you out in all modes because if you dodge a bump, you stay in the play and the enemy goes flying away. Also, you will quickly learn to check your rearview camera when an opponent is behind you.

The challenging nature of 2s means games have constant 2v1s. If someone loses a challenge, they are leaving their teammate against two ready opponents. No matter how hard you try, you will be faced with 2v1 man-advantage situations on offense and defense. Treat these situations like drills on how to read the enemy. On offense, the right play might be to bump or to pass, and over time you will learn the right choice, making the decision simple in man-advantage situations in 3v3 games. Playing 2v1 defense is also a crucial skill. In 3s, you will be left on your own on defense from time to time. If you can save a higher percentage of these situations than your opponents, your team will be more successful. By playing these situations often in 2s, you will know how to adapt to an enemy that is choosing to bump or pass.

Lastly, 2s will teach you how to adapt to and trust your teammates. In 3s, people get caught always playing behind teammates just in case they miss the super easy ball. You may not get instantly punished for this, but you will be slower to balls if your teammate does make the right play. In 2s, you cannot afford to give up space by always playing behind your teammate. This playstyle will kill all openings for passing. Instead, you will need to learn how to read your teammate. If there is a super easy rolling ball that they should never miss, play ahead of the play ready for a pass. If there is a faster bouncing ball off the wall that your teammate is trying to reach, maybe play behind them because they are likely to miss or get a bad touch. A good rule to follow is that if you would most likely miss a situation, your teammate will most likely also miss that ball because you probably have similar skill levels.

3v3

3v3 is both the hardest and easiest mode out of the three. Here, you will have to put all your knowledge together while only facing each type of situation once or twice a game. You must have every level of play perfected to rank up.

Because you will see all situation types in 3v3, you will be expected to be comfortable all the time. If you notice yourself being uncomfortable in 1v1 situations, for example, you know that you need to go play 1v1 and practice that. All you have to do is listen to your nerves and work to fix them.

At the end of the day, the highest level of Rocket League is played at 3v3. If you plan to play any tournaments going forward, you need to play competitive 3s even if you do not like it. Going into 3v3 in a tournament after only playing 2v2 all of your life will completely confuse you. In 3v3, you need to keep good spacing, and rotations work completely differently. Go out there, queue some games, review some replays, and learn how to play 3s.

In 3v3, you have less space than 2v2 and more options than 1v1. It is on you to learn how to properly pass and keep the ball moving for your team. You will be forced to refine your touches to pinpoint accuracy if you want to rank up. Shot and pass placement are key to capitalizing on goals. Refining these skills in 3v3 will only help you in 2v2 and 1v1. Being able to convert the random extra goal here and there in those modes will carry your rank and keep you competitive in games.

In 3s, you will quickly notice how often there are no available big boost pads near you. As you rank up, you will see that there is a reliance on the small pads that is not so apparent in other game modes. If you learn general boost management and small pad rotations from necessity in 3s, you can use those skills in 2v2 and 1v1. Small pads help you stay in the play and keep pressure, and even if you do not realize it, not having to leave the play as often will drastically help your team.

Because of the boost pressure of 3s, there will be many times where you are on the ball and need to delay time for your team. When you are in a situation where if you pass, they are not available and if the ball goes behind you, they cannot save it, your only option is to play to yourself and stall time. Over time, you will learn how to hit the ball around opponents or into space where you can get a 50 after your original touch. These stall touches have no purpose besides giving your team time to get a boost. Learning these little touches will help you in other game modes when you need to stall time for your team or you to even get more boost in 1s. You will learn how to read the enemy better and how to hit the ball behind them etc.

3s is all about playing fast. If you can consistently beat opponents to the ball, you will win the possession game and score more goals. The biggest part about playing faster is reading the play. As the second man in 2v2 you are forced to play safe and not make a crazy guess on where the ball is going because if you are wrong, there is no one to back you up. In 3v3, you have the security of another teammate when you are the second man. As long as you are keeping spacing from your teammates, you are welcome to pick a side or corner of the field you think the ball is going and move there. If you are wrong, your teammate will be able to save the ball and clear it out again. By constantly trying to read the play and analyzing when you were wrong in replays, you can train yourself to read the play better, and eventually, you will be in the right place most of the time.

Conclusion

If your main goal is to rank up and compete at a high level, make sure to play all three game modes. Remember, it does not matter if your 1s rank is 3 ranks lower than everything else, because you are learning and training. Treat it like a training pack with a goalie. Your rank has as much value as you put in it. Good luck on the grind!