When thinking of basic, fundamental mechanics, one of the first things that comes to mind is the wavedash - simple to execute and used in a wide variety of ways. Most players, as you scale the ranks, will know how to wavedash, but when it comes to using them effectively and creatively, they may be a bit lacking.

Professional players know the nuances of the wavedash, and all of them use the mechanic in some capacity—be it to simply recover on the ground or to gain momentum on the wall to beat the opponent by a few inches for the assist.

We will go over the basics of wavedashing, why they are useful, and delve into a variety of applications outside of the typical front-flip into the ground.

What is a Wavedash?

To put it simply, a wavedash is a way to use your flip in a way that doesn’t commit you fully to the animation that accompanies it. To execute a wavedash, you need to tilt your car upwards in the direction you want to dash, and then flip in that direction as soon as the wheels of the other side touch the ground. In the case of a front wavedash, the standard one, you tilt the nose of car upwards, wait until your back wheels touch the ground, and then front flip, as I show below:

A side view of a front-flip wavedash.

After you master the front-flip wavedash, you can experiment with dashes to the side, backwards, and even diagonally; just use the same principle! Also, make sure to use powerslide if you aren’t going forwards to conserve as much of your speed as possible. Rocket League coach and content creator John “Virge” Willis provides an excellent rundown of the topic in his video.

Why Should You Wavedash?

Although they both provide the same burst of speed, wavedashes provide a degree of utility not offered by flips. Their main advantage comes with the shortened animation time compared to a traditional flip, which means that you are making less of a commitment to your direction. In situations where the ball may suddenly change direction, a wavedash can allow you to turn back more quickly than a flip can. Another key benefit of wavedashing is in situations where you are landing while you still have your flip, perhaps from the wall; you can use a wavedash to gain speed as soon as you touch the ground, ensuring that you can stay in the play without missing a beat.

However, keep in mind that wavedashing should also be used in moderation; what they gain in versatility they lose in terms of quickness, and there are many situations where a flip is optimal, especially a speed-flip. Wavedashes trump nearly all other mechanics when it comes to recovery, so using them to gain those marginal increases in speed in such situations can make all the difference in the long-term.

Wavedashes also pose utility on offense, however; when handling the ball, using a wavedash can quickly change your position, and is an excellent option after a fake jump to confuse your opponent with a sudden change in speed and direction. Sideways wavedashes can be done into the ball for a quick change in momentum, and backwards wavedashes can be used for a sudden stop, making your fake plays even more effective. Although they are seen as primarily a recovery mechanic, the uses for wavedashes are innumerable, and new types of wavedashing show even more utility.

Other Types of Wavedashes - And How to Use Them

Chaindash

A chaindash is exactly what it sounds like: wavedashes chained together. Through essentially spamming wavedashes, you can gain an immense amount of speed while maintaining the ability to change your direction to a reasonable degree.

The way to perform a chaindash is by first tapping the jump button, tilting your car to one side, performing a wavedash, immediately tapping the jump button again, and repeating; during all this, make sure to powerslide to ensure you don’t lose any of your speed, as you are dashing sideways. You should use this speed responsibly, however; you gain a lot of distance, but developing too much speed can compromise your positioning.

This mechanic is valuable for getting somewhere on the field very quickly, but it can commit you considerably. It can take a while to get the hang of, as it requires incredibly fast movements to keep up the speed, but in the end, it should look something like in this video by Mariano “SquishyMuffinz” Arruda, a professional player and content creator, which provides a tutorial on both this type of dash and the following one:

Walldash

Walldashing is a variation of the chaindash that takes place, instead of on the ground, you guessed it, on the wall. Walldashes are actually more prominent in professional play than regular chaindashes, as they bring an unreal level of mobility to the wall; this mechanic is uniquely valuable as you cannot flip and still remain on the wall, so the walldash lets you build up speed on the wall despite having low boost, while you would have to completely abandon the play otherwise.

The sweet spot for a walldash is just around the banner on the side of the stadium, though just as with the chaindashes, these do take some getting used to; SquishyMuffinz’s aforementioned video is a great help in learning it. Walldashes are a unique tool becoming more and more relevant in the meta; here’s a clip of top player Landon “BeastMode” Konerman using the walldash to secure a goal in the highest level of play in Rocket League:

Curvedash

The curvedash is a niche category of wavedash that can only be performed in one place - the curve between the walls and the ground. This area of the field is typically a culprit for a massive speed loss when moving around the field, and the wavedash is often used to jump off the wall and regain speed to avoid this problem. However, with the curvedash, you can go down a curve with minimal boost and end up near supersonic speed.

You can execute this by jumping just as the curve meets the ground, in such a way that only your front wheels rise up due to the curvature; if you do this, then you can wavedash immediately for a burst of speed, bypassing the typical loss of speed that happens on the curve. The curvedash is a great tool to gain speed for clutch saves and surprising your opponent.

If you’re interested in how exactly this mechanic works, YouTuber “Rocket Science” has an excellent video delving into it both in the physics behind it and how to actually perform it:

Ceiling Dash

Now, we get into types of wavedashes that aren’t always the most useful, but are fun and interesting to use in freestyling and simply to throw off your opponent. The ceiling shuffle is a mechanic that uses the physics of the game to drive on the wall for an extended period of time with three out of four wheels making contact with the ceiling; it is rather hard to explain how it works, and it is difficult for lower-ranked players, but Pulse Faith has an excellent video on how to do it here:

The ceiling dash is a variant of the ceiling shuffle, where instead of simply gliding along the ceiling with a smooth motion, you utilize wavedashes for bursts of speed and changes in momentum to move quickly and erratically. The inversion of direction on the ceiling makes this mechanic challenging, but it can help in getting in position far along the field while maintaining maximum height, most notable in freestyle-esque shots.

Chaindash on the… Ball?

This last one is a fun idea that I’ve done a few times to varying degrees of success, and it’s always unpredictable. Wavedashing on the ball in the air is an interesting strategy, where you treat the ball as any other surface, position two wheels on it, and execute a wavedash. This actually retains your flip, so if you are coming off of the ceiling, a wavedash from under the ball can both propel the ball and give you another flip to maneuver with.

Do be warned, however; wavedashing on the ball can end up with incredibly varied amounts of force, and a failed dash can completely throw a play off, so do not attempt this without practice. Wavedashing on the ball is a testament to the versatility of the wavedash; who knows, maybe knowing that you can wavedash with a flip reset on the ball can net you a few goals down the line.

Conclusion

Wavedashing is not the flashiest mechanic in Rocket League, but it is important at nearly every level of gameplay. Beginners can use it to gain speed in a different way, intermediates can use it to recover from awkward situations, and pros use it to gain every edge they can in terms of speed to beat their opponents in crucial situations. No matter what level you play at in Rocket League, wavedashing is an essential skill to learn; though you may not always find yourself walldashing or curvedashing, they are excellent skills to have in your arsenal. I hope this article helped you develop more of an understanding of the wide variety of wavedashes, and good luck with your ranked games - hopefully your rank can dash up just as quickly as you’ll be!