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An image of Rocket League on a Nintendo Switch
© Nintendo/Psyonix
Games
Here’s how to master Rocket League on Switch
Rocket League landed on Switch earlier today, but Nintendo gamers will find it hard to go toe to toe with PC and Xbox One players – without a few tips from the game’s creator, that is.
Written by Ben Sillis and Jamie Stevenson
5 min readPublished on
Rocket League, everybody’s favourite sports game about jet-propelled cars bashing giant footballs around, landed on Switch today, which is great news for Nintendo fans. Better still, since the multiplayer smash sensation supports cross-platform play between Xbox One, PC and Switch, there will be a huge pool of players to test your rocket-powered punting skills against.
Of course, cross-platform play presents its own challenges – not least that PC players will have had a huge head start of two and a half years in which to practise. As Jeremy Dunham, vice-president at developers Psyonix admitted to us in an interview just this week, they’re aware of the matchmaking challenge this presents.
“Sometimes you gotta get burned before you know how to control the fire,” he acknowledged. “There’s going to be a skill gap, because you have lots of long-term players out there who know a lot about the game."
Nintendo newcomer? Don’t sweat it: Dunham’s been watching the game evolve for years, and also has some inside tips to help Switch players adjust to the game’s meta in 2017. Welcome to Rocket League.

Adapt or die – and definitely don’t rush

It’s a rocket-propulsion-car-eat-car-world out there, and ranked play is now incredibly competitive. While you won’t be playing against hardened PS4 players on Switch, you could come up against some tough challengers on PC and Xbox One. The best tip Dunham can offer: watch what they do. Players should learn from opponents, and incorporate their skills.
"You’re seeing different techniques,” he explains. “There’s been this evolution over time as good players watch other good players compete, where they start adopting each others’ techniques and styles to create a new style together.”
Dunham points out that when the game first came out, players tended to rush the ball. Switch players may be tempted to do the same: check your instinct. Instead, “hang back more, focus on countering your opponent versus bringing it to them,” he says. Which brings us to point two.

The best offence is a good defence

Patience is a virtue, and sometimes sitting back and waiting for your opponent to strike (and whiff your shot badly, as Switch players will soon discover) is the best way to come out on top.
“Defence is very important,” Dunham says. He knows this because as a typically impatient player, he’s been soundly punished for his aggressive play by many colleagues at the studio, and has begrudgingly come round to this understanding.
It’s possible to score from almost anywhere on the pitch, which means you shouldn’t leave your sticks permanently unattended. At the same time, that doesn’t mean sitting on the goal line, revving your engine and twiddling your thumbs, especially in two-on-two games where positioning is everything.
“What’s great about Rocket League’s defence is you don’t have to stay put in one spot and just wait it out,” Dunham says. “Think ahead, start setting things up; the good defensive player is always moving."

Learn to communicate

Rocket League is the perfect fit for Switch in that you don’t need the console’s absurd headset-dongle-Frankenstein contraption in order to talk to your teammates, as you do in Splatoon 2. Instead, you communicate through short, canned Quick Chat phrases tied to the D-pad. Calculated! What a play! I got it! And so on.
Quick Chat helps you better communicate with other players, but if your team is to benefit, you need to be succinct and to the point. And absolutely no showboating.
“If you score a goal and say ‘Sorry’ over and over and over, you’re being a jerk. Typically the best etiquette is to be as direct and specific as to what you want as possible,” Dunham says. “If you’re getting in position, that’s what you need to tell people. If you’re going for a shot, that’s what you need to tell people. The more honest and straightforward you are, the better the match goes and the better the communication works. Say what you mean and do what you say."

Take to the sky

While other Switch noobs are racing around bumping into each other while trying to control the game from the floor, serious players would do well to practice their air game – you have rockets strapped to your car, after all. A match can be won or lost in the air, as well as on the ground. Those who dominate both win trophies, Dunham says.
Being able to command the air game is of the utmost importance if you’re going to be high level
Jeremy Dunham
"The aerial game being played out there at the top level by top players is incredibly impressive – and it’s usually the difference between those who win championships and those who don’t. Being able to command the air game is of the utmost importance if you’re going to be high level."
There’s no substitute for practice in this area, unfortunately, but as well as watching competitive RLCS games to see how top players manage their jumps and tips, playings Rocket League’s Hoops mode, included in the Switch version of the game, will help.

Assume the position – 10 moves ahead

Screaming around like a headless chicken may be fun, but won't see you reach the upper echelons of Rocket League. Being mindful of positioning, and using your brain as well as brawn, will make you a better player – don’t chase the ball, anticipate it.
Competitive Rocket League “is also a mind game on top of the skill level and the techniques that players are using right now – it’s really fascinating to watch,” Dunham says. "It’s almost like chess in that you have to think ahead of your opponent, think about positioning, start setting up the moves a few shots ahead of time.”
No mean feat, but if you can get in this mindset early, you’ll be at a huge advantage over rival Switch newcomers. “When you do that and you find a good team that can assist you with that, that’s when you can start to see some really impressive skill and the best players,” Dunham says. Will you be one of them?
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