Demolitions are arguably the most controversial mechanic in Rocket League; accelerating to supersonic speed in order to remove an opponent from the play is something that players either love or hate, but nobody can deny their effectiveness when used optimally. This article will explain the mechanics of demolitions, and how to best use them to elevate your game.
At its core, Rocket League is soccer with cars, with the objective being to score in your opponent’s net while barring them from doing the opposite. However, one thing that doesn’t translate from real-life inspirations (I hope, at least) is the concept of demolitions. Removing your opponent from the play can provide a massive advantage, leaving the opposing team in unfavorable positions. Though often neglected, demolitions are a critical part of Rocket League, cementing their place in the meta and becoming more and more necessary to supplement offensive and defensive efforts.
In this article, I will run you through the technical aspects of demolitions, their place in the modern Rocket League meta, and how to best utilize them. Demolitions have their time and place; they can throw you out of position if used incorrectly or win the game if timed right. Though they’ve had an interesting history, filled with changes of mechanics and controversy, demolitions can be an asset to any team at any level.
Firstly, before using them, we need to learn how demolitions, hereafter referred to as “demos”, work. According to a Psyonix developer, u/Psyonix_Cone on Reddit, there are three conditions to be fulfilled in order to have a successful demo:
Let’s do a quick run-through of each condition, and how they can be satisfied. The first condition simply means that you must make contact with the opponent using the front of your car; no matter how fast you go, you cannot demolish an opponent backwards or sideways, save for visual exceptions on account of desync between the client and server. The front of the car would be defined as the front portion of the rectangular hitbox. The second condition sets the bar for speed; supersonic speed is commonly associated with demos, yet it isn’t always clearly defined. Contrary to popular belief, supersonic is not the maximum speed—supersonic speed is 2200 Unreal Units per second, while maximum speed is 2300 uu/s. Supersonic speed can be achieved without the use of boost, through simply flipping; once a trail appears behind the wheels of your car, this condition has been achieved, provided that you are driving forwards.
Finally, the last requirement is a bit more complex. In this case, a vector would be like an imaginary line, connecting the center of mass of your car with your opponent’s. This vector would be used to determine whether contact would be a demolition, bump, or no contact at all, assuming other requirements are met. One thing to note is that the center of mass is different for different cars, due to their length and height differences. Though this is negligible, it is important to be aware of. In order to successfully demolish an opponent, your opponent must be within 45 degrees, forming a 90-degree cone on the front of your car horizontally, meaning that they must be closer to the nose of your car than the sides.
The graphic below, created by Rocket League content creator Rocket Sledge, more clearly demonstrates how these conditions may be fulfilled through a depiction of the surface normal vector; the degree requirement is much more lax for bumps, as they can occur in all of the colored areas, though only in the yellow when the car is supersonic:
Image courtesy of Rocket Sledge
The vertical requirements are a bit stricter, though do not occur as much due to the rarity of aerial demolition plays, aside from the air-dribble bump. The 37-degree requirement simply means the same things as the prior requirement, but vertically; your opponent cannot be too far above or below the nose of your car, otherwise a demo will not occur.
A quick subject that I’d like to address prior to moving on is that demolitions were temporarily changed in update 1.78 of Rocket League, released in June 2020; however, these changes were reverted about two weeks after they were implemented, leaving us with the older demolition rules which I outlined.
Before we continue, it is important to know the place that demos have in the modern Rocket League meta. At the beginning of Rocket League competitions, though demos occurred, they were not too notable; they were viable, but not too common in the scene. However, there is a noticeable trend of increasing demolition rates throughout Rocket League’s lifespan. According to ballchasing.com, a reputable site which collects in-game replays and gathers statistics, there is a positive correlation between both rank and season with demolitions, as seen in the two graphs below:
Average demolitions per game by rank, according to replays collected by ballchasing.com
Average demolitions per game by season, from original Season 4 through free-to-play Season 2
As we can see, there is very clearly a massive increase in demolitions in both graphs. Firstly, let’s address the demolition use by rank. Each new rank has a significant increase in average demolitions from the last, with larger gaps between higher ranks. A critical reason for such a trend is the increased difficulty for scoring in the higher ranks; at Supersonic Legend and at the RLCS level, defense is a league above what most players see in typical games.
When there is a position with one defender against one attacker, the defender typically has an advantage, as defense has been incredibly refined, and two against two is even more difficult for the offensive side. This means that there needs to be a method to overcome such impregnable defense. Firstly, players can attempt much more mechanical plays, with flip resets, backboard touches, and fast passes. However, though these can be deadly, as demonstrated by top teams such as G2 Esports and Team Liquid, they take a massive amount of time to refine, and can backfire due to manual error.
The other method, however, is the point of this entire article: demolitions. At the highest level, demolitions can turn a scenario into an unfair situation for the defense, leaving them with one less player than they need to cover the play. This makes scoring far easier, as, no matter how proficient the defenders are, they can’t guard more players than they themselves have.
Teams such as Version1 and Spacestation Gaming are notorious for demolition-heavy playstyles, but they pay off with strong results. This clip, as a part of a showmatch hosted by content creator and former professional player Dillon “Rizzo” Rizzo, which has been posted on Rizzo Shorts, demonstrates BeastMode, the star offensive player on Version1, making two physical maneuvers in the same play to secure a goal; the play on the ball was not anything extremely mechanical on a professional level, but the physical play made sure that it resulted in a goal:
The second graph displays a trend over time for the increase in average demolitions per game by season of Rocket League; the first bar signifies Season 4, prior to free-to-play, and the final bar is Season 2, after free-to-play. There is an obvious increase in demolitions, as Season 4 had roughly 0.2 demos per game, while free-to-play Season 2 has nearly tripled that with 0.59. The rise of the demolition meta is inevitable in Rocket League, and as more and more players embrace this mechanic, the more necessary it becomes to employ them effectively in your own gameplay.
Demolitions are quite a versatile mechanic, but they do have a time and place; they are not always viable options, and sometime may even prove detrimental to your success. Players at the highest level have figured out how they can optimally utilize demolitions, yet others among them may do so to a fault. Even more important than the demolition itself is the timing, as that can be the difference between scoring and concession.
There are a few key parts for demolitions, which I will address in this section. Firstly, and the initial check, is the opportunity to demolish, and for something significant to come of it. This may seem a bit obvious—why would you demo when there is no opportunity for it—but many players prioritize demolitions far too much. Though they have their merits, the only way to score is by putting the ball into the net, and no number of demolitions can change that fact. I would define an opportunity, in this context, as the chance to demolish an opponent without significantly removing yourself from the play.
The entire point of a demolition is to remove the opponent from the field, but if you yourself are also removed, what was the point? Staying relevant to the play is the most important part, as that is the only way to retain the advantage granted by a demolition. The second point here is the significance of the outcome, that is, what does the demolition really do? There are three main things to aim for, and successfully accomplishing at least one of these will lead to a successful demolition: removing a player applying offensive pressure, clearing a defender on an offensive effort, and disrupting the opposition’s rotation, while maintaining your own. By doing at least one of these with a demolition, you will be able to progress the game state and allow your team to break out of defense or finally secure a goal.
The most important thing to remember when utilizing demolitions is that your teammates will always expect a predictable rotation. This is essential, as demos are inherently unpredictable, and can disrupt rotations from a small to a large degree. As a member of a team, it is your responsibility to make sure that you can still participate in necessary plays, as well as take up positions that you normally would.
Let us begin with a bad example. If your team is on offense, and they are in quite the struggle, it may seem tempting to move up-field and demolish a defender, to make the play easier; however, if you happen to be the third man, who is expected to be back, or the first man, who is expected to handle the ball, a demolition can completely throw off the pace of the game, and give momentum to the opposing team. If the first man unexpectedly attempts to demolish an opponent, it may lead to a possession for the other team, as their first defender may be able to reach the ball before a player on your team, leading to a two-versus-two, assuming the first player successfully demolishes the opponent. However, at least one of the remaining players on your team would be offensively positioned, making it unfavorable for defense.
A similar scenario may occur with the third man committing; this means that the other players must make no errors, as any simple misplay may result in a goal due to the lack of a back line. In this situation, the best play, assuming that a demolition will be used, would be for the player on the ball to pass and then demolish a defender, or for the player closest to the striker to demolish a defender.
Teammates are the most integral part of Rocket League, as not even the best players can see success without the right support; that is why you must demolish responsibly, making sure that you can fulfill your duties both as an on-the-ball player and a demolition expert. However, when you take into account that the other team also has similar mindsets, you can use demolitions to disrupt them exactly how you ought not to disrupt your team, with some favorable consequences…
Finally, the opponents; they are the target of the demolitions, and the players whose game you are trying to make more difficult. However, many opponents know the dangers of demolitions, and all that they must do to stop them. YouTuber Rocket Sledge has created a video highlighting some of the common ways for demo avoidance, which you can use for both avoiding the opponents and conjuring up ways to prevent them from avoiding you:
It is your job to bypass your opponents’ defenses, and even exploit their own habits to clear them off the field. There are a few instinctive things that players do, which can be exploited to make demolitions far easier. Players tend to rotate predictably, seek boost, and move away from demolitions. These key tendencies, though rather rudimentary, can unlock the secrets to landing most of your demolitions.
The first main point is to aim where your opponents need to be. This is something that is immensely stressed in mechanics like the air-dribble bump, as putting yourself somewhere where the opponent must be means that they won’t be able to fulfill their job, usually being to save the ball. Though you can just pursue an opponent, there is a significant chance that they escape, especially if you are in the higher ranks; however, if you cover areas that they need to be, you present your target with an ultimatum: leave your post and throw off your team’s rotation or dare to come closer and risk demolition. This makes it much harder for team plays to occur, as you will force an uncomfortable position that can fracture an entire offensive or defensive effort.
Secondly, the innate need for boost is something that can be used against all players. A common way of doing this is boost starving, and that works to a great extent, but it can prove to be far more difficult to keep up consistently in high ranks. However, instead of denying boost entirely, you can lull your opponent into a false sense of security. Many players make it incredibly obvious when they are low on boost; they flip nonstop, are oddly positioned, and, most importantly, they beeline towards a big boost pad. However, opponents going for a boost pad are vulnerable. They usually focus solely on the boost, and a surprise attack from the side or the back can lead to an easy demolition, preventing them from getting the boost and removing them from the field. By guarding such a vital resource, you can force opponents to take a demolition, as I’m sure most would for the same of their boost.
Finally, the most important part of opponent behavior is their tendency to, as one normally would, flee from incoming demolitions. Rocket League is a mental game as much as it is a mechanical one, and the mental aspect of demos is one to behold. Aside from the frequent tilting of opponents, demolitions can be harnessed into the most humiliating play of all: a fake. The sheer threat of a demolition is so powerful that it can be used to chase away players from where they need to be. This is even better when you consider that this can be done without breaking your own rotation, while still disrupting your opponents. For example, if you are rotating out after committing an attack, a quick swerve towards a nearby opponent, though not too significant for you, can lead to a reaction such as an unnecessary flip or jump, leaving them unable to deal with the threat. In the video linked earlier, Rocket Sledge mentions lateral dodges for demo avoidance; however, a fake can completely destroy this strategy, as excessive flipping is almost as bad as being demolished in the first place. And, to put a cherry on top, you can mix in real demolitions, to truly throw your opponents off guard; if they can’t predict you, they don’t stand a chance.
Rocket League YouTuber Woody, a player with one of the highest demolition counts in the game, offers more valuable advice in this video, where he provides tips per rank on how to use demolitions; I highly recommend that you utilize it, as I found it to be a great help with my own demolition journey.
Though controversial at their debut and going through a tough journey with criticism and changes, demolitions are crucial to success in Rocket League; using them can help you rank up quickly, or misuse can set you back quite a few MMR points. Most notably put to use by RLCS teams such as Spacestation Gaming and Version1, among others, demolitions have become a quintessential way to make an impact when you are not on the ball.
When used correctly, demos can affect an ineffable advantage, reducing the number of players who can interfere with a scoring play or defense. Demolitions are able to take control of the one thing that players themselves cannot control: the opponents. There’s a reason that this mechanic is becoming more and more notable; high-caliber players have adopted it and thrived while those who have rejected it are seeing limited success. If demolitions can have such a massive impact on the highest-level lobbies, the possibilities are endless.
Use demolitions in the right way, and you’ll benefit greatly. I hope this article has been able to instruct you on how to optimally demolish your foes, both physically and on the scoreboard. Go on, and have some fun crushing—er, demolishing—your opposition!
