Rocket League is one of the best competitive games out there. Today, we find ourselves in an environment where so many games are filled with microtransactions designed to give people a competitive edge. In Rocket League, the only microtransactions you will find are cosmetic. There is no “pay to win” mechanics, the game is based on skill. You simply cannot fake being good in this game.
If you routinely can’t hit the ball in Rocket League, change your camera settings and remap your controller buttons. Then jump into some Freeplay training and use training packs.
Below we will go through this process together in steps. You will be hitting the ball in Rocket League like a champ!
Rocket League Camera Settings
Camera settings in Rocket League might seem like something that you don’t have to worry about but, having the right settings will completely change the way you hit the ball (and consequently, the way you play). It is so sensitive that adjusting only one value, can affect your gameplay.
Luckily the Rocket League professionals are kind enough to share their camera settings. I particularly like and use the settings shared by a pro called “sizz.” His settings are by far the best that I have used. Sizz is considered to be one of the best Rocket League players. Let’s take a quick look at his settings.
| SETTING | VALUE |
| Camera Shake | OFF |
| Field Of View | 110 |
| Distance | 280 |
| Height | 110 |
| Angle | -3 |
| Stiffness | 0.45 |
| Swivel | 5.00 |
| Ball Cam | TOGGLE |
Don’t be afraid to play around with those settings so you can find what works best for you. Just because a pro uses certain settings, it doesn’t mean they will work for you, play around with them, but use this as a template.
Rocket League Controller Settings
When it comes to controller settings, everything is mainly down to your preference, but there are a few things that you need to have assigned. Think of how many times you read the flight of the ball wrong; it happens all the time, even to the best players.
Mapping your controller correctly will not only help you learn different mechanics, but it will also help you adjust your approach to the ball when needed. Being able to twist and angle your car mid-air quickly will help you hit balls that you would have otherwise missed.
The controls I layout below will only have a few changes from the default. I suggest you use these until you are more comfortable and only then start playing around with them. With camera settings, most pros and high ranked players use similar setups, but with control settings, some are very different from others.
You want to change your “Air roll” and “powerslide” to the [L1/LB] Button. Then Change “Air roll left” or “Air roll right” to the [Square/X] button. These minor changes will help you twist your car easily during your approach to the ball.
Make those minor adjustments for now. When you get used to rolling your car in the air and making quick ground adjustments with powerslide, you can start looking at more advanced control setups.
Training to Hit the Ball in Rocket League
Now that you have your new controller setup, it is time to jump into training. I know that everyone has different schedules, and not everyone wants to spend their gaming time in training but, you should at least always warm-up before going into a match.
If you have enough time, I recommend spending half an hour in training before you load into a match. Split this time between free-play training and training packs.
Freeplay Training
Because you are trying to get comfortable hitting the ball in Rocket League, the best thing you can do in free play is “ball-chase.” This is actually how the best players warm up.
It is what it sounds like; you just hit the ball as hard as you can and then chase it as fast as you can. You don’t wait for the ball to come down or to settle before going for it, no matter what angle or how high the ball is, you chase it, as fast as you can.
What this does is:
- Teach you how to play faster,
- Teach you to read the ball in different situations,
- Helps you to master using your new controller layout.
Just remember not to continue ball-chasing when you load into a game.
Another great thing to do in Freeplay is to toggle ball cam off, drive up the wall, jump off and fly to the other side. Do this until you are comfortable and then start using air roll to twist your car into different angles. Doing this will help you with controlling your car in the air.
Training packs
Now we move on to the fun part of training, the training packs. We will not be using any PC mod training packs so that we can keep it consistent across all platforms. The first pack that you want to use is “kevperts car control.” The code is A3E1-92C2-8757-4195. When typing the codes in, you do not have to worry about capitals or dash’s, just type the characters in.
Like the name says, Kevperts pack teaches you car control. The ball is fixed to a position in the air; all you have to do is hit the ball into the goal. It might seem a bit simple at times, but this pack is not actually about hitting the ball, but it will help you learn how to approach the ball.
If you are struggling to hit the ball in Rocket League, it is most probably your approach. Using Kepverts pack will teach you how to position, twist, and angle your car when approaching the ball.
The Ultimate Warmup
Once you are comfortable with Kepverts training pack, you want to start with the “ultimate warm-up” pack. This pack has 50 shots in it and is mostly aerial. The code for this pack is FA24-B2B7-2E8E-193B.
You don’t have to complete all of the shots, just do as many as you can. You don’t even have to score the shots. I do encourage you to at least try and score, but for now, all you need to focus on is hitting the ball in different situations.
When you become comfortable with this pack, start trying to hit each of the shots differently, use air roll to approach the ball upside down. You could even start working on double touches, which means hitting the ball on the backboard and then hitting into the goal.
If you are really struggling with any of the shots, move on to the next one, remember, playing games is about having fun.
Final thoughts
If you made it all the way to this part of the article, it means that you want to learn, and for me, that is the most important thing. I know watching the pros can make make “getting good” seem out of reach because they do things that don’t even seem possible.
The thing is, when you master a new basic skill, it opens up a whole new world of mechanics. That is what the pros and high ranked players do; they master the basics and then use those skills to master more advanced skills. So for now, just focus on the basics, have fun, and you will get better every day.
I am sure we will play against each other someday in Champ, until then, keep having fun.