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[Soulflarz]

RIP Ruruja, died in the blues with me ;__;
It's a shame to see him uninstall, but I totally agree, rocket league when you don't put the time in to hit grand champ and you still mentally understand everything just sucks- it's why I don't really like it atm.

Seriously, those aerial moves are insane. How many hours did you need to put in to get that good?

It all depends where you put your hours
FWIW our top level players hit grand champ in under 600 hours in many cases.

Those hits are a very specific type of practice and are punish game moreso than anything else, they help you score in very specific instances but largely are useless against good teams if you didn't cripple their rotation.

 

[88random]

Rising star in 3vs3!! Blue ranks finally. I feel like a god

 

[msdstc]

Huh? Smurfs are not really a thing anymore because the matchmaking is heavily weighted towards the player with the highest rank in a party. I hate to say this but the occasional smurf is not the reason why you've dropped so much rank...

Honestly this is one of the best matchmaking systems I've seen in any game. It's frustrating how good it is. I've played thousands and thousands of matches and my winning percentage is still a depressing 55%. No matter how much better you get the game finds a way to consistently match you against players of near equal skill. Of course it's not perfect but it's damn good, which is one of the main reasons so many people are addicted to it.

If you find yourself getting frustrated and dropping a lot of rank the best thing to do is take a break. There is a huge mental component to Rocket League, as with most competitive activities. Losing streaks can get out of hand quickly if you have a bad attitude, I'm sure we've all been there.

Look I can easily admit when I fuck up, the teammates I put with me account for well over 80% of the crucial fuck ups(point being I swear it's not me making the crucial mistakes, I've been saving a few clips lately to post just to share in the frustration because I'm sure you and others have experienced these things I.e- chasing, overplaying, no rotation, etc.). I've found that the best way to win when you don't have a partner is to play conservative and mistake free... Because your partners most likely will NOT. One thing I always take shit for us when a player centers a ball directly in front of the net I won't attack it if the other team is positioned, because if I miss it's an open net. Most players make major mistakes over playing the pass at this level without thinking of the other team. When I don't attack I'm then hit with take the shot! Over and over followed by WOW WOW OMG.

As for the smurf thing I throw that in because it does play a factor and when you're on a losing streak every loss counts. I see plenty of rising stars with silvers which if I'm challenger elite I'll get put with a challenger 2 or 3, I can screenshot this if you don't believe that. Another issue I've had with it as well is people just leaving the game at the start and me forced to forfeit counting as a loss. The ranking system should have variables to account for problems like that.

So 55 win percentage I think would be the standard for anybody who isn't on a team, because you're at the will of crap teammates who don't play properly. From what I've played the difficulty level is almost no different between challenger 3 and rising, mainly because the difficulty is more often a result of a crap teammate.

 

[UpDownLeftRight]

RIP Ruruja, died in the blues with me ;__;
It's a shame to see him uninstall, but I totally agree, rocket league when you don't put the time in to hit grand champ and you still mentally understand everything just sucks- it's why I don't really like it atm.



It all depends where you put your hours
FWIW our top level players hit grand champ in under 600 hours in many cases.

Those hits are a very specific type of practice and are punish game moreso than anything else, they help you score in very specific instances but largely are useless against good teams if you didn't cripple their rotation.

I feel like this makes up a lot of my troubles with improvement. Like you say it's very specific and requires a breakaway at close to the center field to capitalize on it. It's everything in between that gets me. Like I can pass well and defend well. My clears are one of my best fields but somethings still tripping me up.

I rotate to defence as soon as I lose the opportunity on the ball. It's a bit frustrating since there's clearly a weakness somewhere but I've still not spotted it.

 

[Soulflarz]

I feel like this makes up a lot of my troubles with improvement. Like you say it's very specific and requires a breakaway at close to the center field to capitalize on it. It's everything in between that gets me. Like I can pass well and defend well. My clears are one of my best fields but somethings still tripping me up.

I rotate to defence as soon as I lose the opportunity on the ball. It's a bit frustrating since there's clearly a weakness somewhere but I've still not spotted it.

Hi uh--
feel free to play unranked with those of us who are superstar-grand champion
even at superstar (well, some, maybe champs) we fundamentally understand x and y. If you're on ps4, I can do ranked with you on my JPN account.

Now, if you do that and ask for help, expect to be annoyed if you don't like people telling you x or y was a better choice.
I've learned to accept you can never get better at this game if you don't realize you have a flaw still, else there's nothing to be improved on. And I'd say unless you're the top few hundred who are perfect in ball control, there's so much you can improve on.
All the crazy redirects I miss? Yeah, I know I'm shit, those could be free goals. However, it's better than the guy rotating back getting mad that his teammate didn't read his awful choice, then getting mad at his teammate and complaining. This is a very common trap.

*then again I'm super critical of myself and want everything to be optimal.

This is especially true pre...well, pre "I've been in purples before", because before that, there's some obvious 'better' choices that people ignore regardless. Hell, even purples, it's still something notable- it's a lack of practice of specific skills needed to be better (usually ball control at that point, or car control)


edit: sorry to anyone in this thread that bothers, I just truly want people to get better and have discussion on that instead of "I should be a grand champ and my teammates are holding me back" that is so common in ranked based competitive games. Not at anyone in specific, that's been here forever

 

[UpDownLeftRight]

Hi uh--
feel free to play unranked with those of us who are superstar-grand champion
even at superstar (well, some, maybe champs) we fundamentally understand x and y. If you're on ps4, I can do ranked with you on my JPN account.

Now, if you do that and ask for help, expect to be annoyed if you don't like people telling you x or y was a better choice.
I've learned to accept you can never get better at this game if you don't realize you have a flaw still, else there's nothing to be improved on. And I'd say unless you're the top few hundred who are perfect in ball control, there's so much you can improve on.
All the crazy redirects I miss? Yeah, I know I'm shit, those could be free goals. However, it's better than the guy rotating back getting mad that his teammate didn't read his awful choice, then getting mad at his teammate and complaining. This is a very common trap.

*then again I'm super critical of myself and want everything to be optimal.

This is especially true pre...well, pre "I've been in purples before", because before that, there's some obvious 'better' choices that people ignore regardless. Hell, even purples, it's still something notable- it's a lack of practice of specific skills needed to be better (usually ball control at that point, or car control)


edit: sorry to anyone in this thread that bothers, I just truly want people to get better and have discussion on that instead of "I should be a grand champ and my teammates are holding me back" that is so common in ranked based competitive games. Not at anyone in specific, that's been here forever

Yeah I really should jump in for unranked with some of you higher ranked players on here. I can do PC or PS4 since I've got it on both, but it'll probably take me a little while to adapt on PS4 since I main it on PC and the controls feel a little off at first when switching. My ball control is far from perfect for sure, I have a good handle on certain scenarios and can be pretty reliable in the air but there's always those times I hit the ball with the bare edge and screw a fantastic opportunity, especially on the wall. I've no problem being told what I'm doing wrong either, it sure beats what the community does and scream aimlessly at you. No doubt I've picked up a few awful habits that are flying under my radar by being heavily ingrained so just knowing what to change would help wonders.

Hopefully some of you are about tomorrow or next weekend for a few games. I doubt it will even take long for the more skilled payers here to identify what's likely some large flaws in my play style. I've played a few grand champs before and despite beating a couple there's been a clear rift between us, especially in control.

 

[Soulflarz]

tbh grand champs in friendlies is very diff from ranked mentally.
I've gotten bodied in 1s by challenger 3s just cause I do stupid shit underestimating them, lol.

and I'm around all of the week besides tomorrow and christmas eve~
as for ps4-- uhm, well, plug it into your monitor <_> Trust me.

Dunno about bravo/pep/laz/naughtybrawn (or if they'd be up for helping) sorry <_>

 

[Unicorn]

anyone up for some casual private matches? We can get crossplay going that way too.

I don't have anyone to play with and I just feel I hit my skill wall 300 hours ago because there's no push to get better, or not solid/consistent experience with people playing better. I'm in Challenger III hell and I myself am super inconsistent in execution and awareness of map. To get better I need to be challenged and up against people that are significantly better.

 

[Soulflarz]

anyone up for some casual private matches? We can get crossplay going that way too.

I don't have anyone to play with and I just feel I hit my skill wall 300 hours ago because there's no push to get better, or not solid/consistent experience with people playing better. I'm in Challenger III hell and I myself am super inconsistent in execution and awareness of map. To get better I need to be challenged and up against people that are significantly better.

Gimme 30m and sure, add soulflarz :V

 

[Unicorn]

I'll just make a lobby called RocketGAF with no password

Created with greatest current standard map, snowy Coliseum..

 

[Soulflarz]

I'll just make a lobby called RocketGAF with no password

Created with greatest current standard map, snowy Coliseum..

not up, rip

 

[UpDownLeftRight]

tbh grand champs in friendlies is very diff from ranked mentally.
I've gotten bodied in 1s by challenger 3s just cause I do stupid shit underestimating them, lol.

and I'm around all of the week besides tomorrow and christmas eve~
as for ps4-- uhm, well, plug it into your monitor <_> Trust me.

Dunno about bravo/pep/laz/naughtybrawn (or if they'd be up for helping) sorry <_>

Hopefully I'll find some time to get on for a few games during the week then. I'm gonna have to try the monitor too, I'd been meaning to try that since you mentioned it in the thread before actually. Hopefully it's a game changer.

 

[Pepiope]

I'm always down to play some games with Gaf as long as I'm free. You can add me on steam if you'd like.

 

[Unicorn]

I'm always down to play some games with Gaf as long as I'm free. You can add me on steam if you'd like.

Sent.

 

[UpDownLeftRight]

I'm always down to play some games with Gaf as long as I'm free. You can add me on steam if you'd like.

Added, my steam name is Dyno by the way.

 

[Soulflarz]

I'm always down to play some games with Gaf as long as I'm free. You can add me on steam if you'd like.

add this guy he's tied for best here roughly

 

[FormallyMegadrive]

thought i was in rocket league and pressed circle on my ps4 pad, apparently that pauses spotify when spotify is open. interesting.

 

[More_Badass]

I'm always down to play some games with Gaf as long as I'm free. You can add me on steam if you'd like.

Is the game cross-platform? I'm on PS4

Never played multiplayer or even had PS Plus until recently, so I have no GAFfers as friends on console. I'm cvbxsta on Playstation

 

[Unicorn]

Is the game cross-platform? I'm on PS4

Never played multiplayer or even had PS Plus until recently, so I have no GAFfers as friends on console. I'm cvbxsta on Playstation

Private matches are cross platform invite, since you only need the room name/password. Random matches are cross-plat as well, but you can't party up and go into matches (painful that it isn't possible).

So, we would just need to get a big enough group to do full matches in private rooms.

 

[Soulflarz]

thought i was in rocket league and pressed circle on my ps4 pad, apparently that pauses spotify when spotify is open. interesting.

wat

 

[spineduke]

You can't apply the original Octane decals on the new Octane Import body? That seems bizarre, tis this the case with the other import bodies?

 

[TheKeyPit]

You can't apply the original Octane decals on the new Octane Import body? That seems bizarre, tis this the case with the other import bodies?

This is like the biggest mystery ever. They introduced new import cars with new decals(Dominus Snakeskin), but you can't use thses decals on the import cars.

Spoiler

They'll sell you import car decals in future champions crates...

 

[CountAntonius]

This is like the biggest mystery ever. They introduced new import cars with new decals(Dominus Snakeskin), but you can't use thses decals on the import cars.

Spoiler

They'll sell you import car decals in future champions crates...

If so one crate trade will net you all the decals you want.

 

[fiction226]

Hopefully I'll find some time to get on for a few games during the week then. I'm gonna have to try the monitor too, I'd been meaning to try that since you mentioned it in the thread before actually. Hopefully it's a game changer.

I recently switched my PS4 from TV to a monitor and it's huge upgrade in terms of input lag. The game looks and plays better. Definitely recommended.

 

[IISANDERII]

Wtf why am I in a match against players two divisions above me?? And my teammates are in my division too

 

[FormallyMegadrive]

You can't apply the original Octane decals on the new Octane Import body? That seems bizarre, tis this the case with the other import bodies?

This is like the biggest mystery ever. They introduced new import cars with new decals(Dominus Snakeskin), but you can't use thses decals on the import cars.

theyre different cars, simple answer. different body.

Wtf why am I in a match against players two divisions above me?? And my teammates are in my division too

if youre on a winning streak youll get matched to slightly higher places, vice versa for a losing streak.

 

[IISANDERII]

if youre on a winning streak youll get matched to slightly higher places, vice versa for a losing streak.

I may have been on a winning streak of one match lol

 

[Soulflarz]

Wtf why am I in a match against players two divisions above me?? And my teammates are in my division too

trueskill+rng

divisions don't really mean much tbh.

A win streak doesn't match you against higher players-- it just increases the rate as which your rank fluctuates- meaning winning 50 matches in a row means the 50th match gives a LOT more rank increase in raw points than the 10th or even 30th.

The same goes for losing- a bunch of losses kills your exp growth multiplier so your 10th loss hardly matters. It's a great stopgap and is also a good reason why I go ??? when people complain about falling 3 or 4 promotions.

Also why people who have a good day end ridiculously high- their few wins really launch them up! And as such, people who legit can't compete in say, challenger elite, or superstar, will fall HARD the next time they play.
I mean, shit, I had a great day and solo'd to champ 2 in 2s, but now I realize I need to get some techskill down and learn rebounds, and I expect to fall into all star where no one can block those at all until I learn them fully, and then I can use that to get into super champ easily, and then repeat the process!

 

[Chuck Norris]

Is it me or Is there a ton of players lately just driving randomly around up walls, not helping at all? Probably AFK

Is there a reason people are doing this?

 

[Pepiope]

Is it me or Is there a ton of players lately just driving randomly around up walls, not helping at all? Probably AFK

Is there a reason people are doing this?

Crates.

 

[Soulflarz]

Crates.

lel

 

[TheKeyPit]

theyre different cars, simple answer. different body.



if youre on a winning streak youll get matched to slightly higher places, vice versa for a losing streak.

Simple answer? They could've done the extra work to make the decals available for the new import cars.

Also, there is no losing streak. It was scratched after one of the updates.

Edit:

We have removed loss streaks and further reduced the impact of win streaks. While the perception of streaks has always exceeded their actual impact, we agree that loss streaks were not a net positive.

 

[Soulflarz]

oh nice

FWIW it runs on a variant of trueskill so it's pretty braindead easy to understand the general idea of it.

streaks literally only matter if you haven't lost more than like 10% of matches, ie-- you'll be getting half a promotion a game in low blues still.

 

[rafaelr]

Someone in here recently mentioned Loomin and that guy has very little mechanical skill but is GC in all 4 playlists. He plays extremely passive, tries to maintain ball control, and if he can't, makes smart touches: hard clears, deke / chip ball past closest defender, pass it, etc. Watching him you will note 2 things: 1) you won't believe he is GC and 2) you won't believe how often high level players will eventually hit the the ball right to you if you play passive. Then it's your job to simply not make the same mistake. Maintain possession. Make smart touches. If you lose possession play it safe and cycle back. All the way back. Stay put in goal until the ball is cleared. Never give them an open net.

so after reading this, i checked out Loomin, he´s done several streams going from unranked to grand champion. Really interesting to watch, and there are several pretty hilarious moments in there as well:
clip1
clip2

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

Ugh, this game is so cruel. Get up to div V superstar in 2s for the 3rd time, have two bad nights and I'm down to div IV all star again... When will the cycle end?

 

[Soulflarz]

Ugh, this game is so cruel. Get up to div V superstar in 2s for the 3rd time, have two bad nights and I'm down to div IV all star again... When will the cycle end?

this is why I'm very "improve, don't worry about rank" as a person

 

[ChrisD]

It sucks being an aggressive player and landing with a passive partner. Especially those I've coined the term "Goal Sitter" for. :|

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

this is why I'm very "improve, don't worry about rank" as a person

The problem is I feel like my skill is regressing as well. I'll have a really good night, move up a few divisions, then the next day or two I'm guaranteed to play worse. So hard to play consistently at this high a level for me.

I feel like the margin for error is pretty small once you get up to All-Star/Superstar.

 

[Zeronax]

The problem is I feel like my skill is regressing as well. I'll have a really good night, move up a few divisions, then the next day or two I'm guaranteed to play worse. So hard to play consistently at this high a level for me.

I feel like the margin for error is pretty small once you get up to All-Star/Superstar.

You're never regressing in skill; instead, you're just not satisfied when you're not playing at your best. To reach that peak when you return to the game, why not do some warm-ups in freeplay or casual matches before attempting another climb in ranked? Also, note your mental state whenever you're playing well and try to get back into that flow. It's very much mental and not mechanical.

 

[CountAntonius]

The problem is I feel like my skill is regressing as well. I'll have a really good night, move up a few divisions, then the next day or two I'm guaranteed to play worse. So hard to play consistently at this high a level for me.

I feel like the margin for error is pretty small once you get up to All-Star/Superstar.

This game is very mental. When you feel like you are paying like crap in rank play some casual for awhile. Playing ranked while tilted just leads to ten game losing streaks.

 

[J. Bravo]

everyone who wants to get better at rocket league needs to practice 1v1s. I play 3-8 1s matches before i jump into 2s. it helps me warm up my ez shots, challenges, dribbling, decision making, and it helps improve your ability to take advantage of the slightest mistakes by your opponent.

edit: i stopped warming up with 1s for a week, and i dropped back to rising star. now that i have restarted my warmup routine, I am back to all star div 5, with 1 more win (hopefully) placing me at superstar div 2.

 

[Soulflarz]

yes
1s are extremely important for realizing how your punish game works
and i hate fucking admitting this since my punish game is still rustier than it was over the summer when I used to play

I understand the game so much better now, but it's just...not there.

 

[fiction226]

Holy crap custom training is OP. Made huge strides in ground game and got even stronger in the air. Car control almost second nature now. Before I would just play to strengths but now actually working on weaknesses. It's just way easier / funner to practice vs free play. I have almost as much fun training now as I do playing games.

 

[Hasney]

so after reading this, i checked out Loomin, he´s done several streams going from unranked to grand champion. Really interesting to watch, and there are several pretty hilarious moments in there as well:
clip1
clip2

Yeah, I've been doing this all week in standard 3v3 because you just watch your teammates go for every ball, stuck in a corner or some shit and hang around behind the halfway line. Eventually you'll be the only dude back, make a save before your teammates join you and the other team often commits allowing an easy score.

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

You're never regressing in skill; instead, you're just not satisfied when you're not playing at your best. To reach that peak when you return to the game, why not do some warm-ups in freeplay or casual matches before attempting another climb in ranked? Also, note your mental state whenever you're playing well and try to get back into that flow. It's very much mental and not mechanical.

This game is very mental. When you feel like you are paying like crap in rank play some casual for awhile. Playing ranked while tilted just leads to ten game losing streaks.

You guys are right. Played some last night and helped my buddy reach Champion for the first time. I went from All Star Div IV to Superstar Div V. I feel like Superstar is my appropriate rank so it makes sense to fluctuate a little above and below it at times. Always feels good to have a night like that in RL!

Holy crap custom training is OP. Made huge strides in ground game and got even stronger in the air. Car control almost second nature now. Before I would just play to strengths but now actually working on weaknesses. It's just way easier / funner to practice vs free play. I have almost as much fun training now as I do playing games.

Got any codes to share for the ones that helped you a lot? I have plenty of areas I need to work on but I haven't spent a lot of time finding good training shots.

 

[fiction226]

Got any codes to share for the ones that helped you a lot? I have plenty of areas I need to work on but I haven't spent a lot of time finding good training shots.

Yes. Overall advice is stick to realistic game situation packs vs crazy kill yourself challenges. To which my favorites are from a guy (Nox) I found through subreddit. He has 2 video / packs which are great as he shows you a variety of ways to approach each shot (aerial, power shot, and chip / follow). This one covers a bunch of common ground / low aerial shots:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgF-bTwQT5M

In addition to variants mentioned above I added in catches and small chips as the ball bounces to transition to a dribble and take the ball all the way to the goal, finishing with a flick or hop. I also use small chips to set up ground to air dribbles or dribble to nearby wall for wall air dribbles (see below for great pack on these!)

The second one is all about aerials -- flying upside down / sideways started to feel natural after hitting this one hard:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXZ_xMLIANQ

If you want to master air dribbling from ground & walls this video / pack by Mason is amazing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B4HW6blWk4

Codes are for PC but I made PS4 copies for all 3 if you need them -- making copies of the packs / making your own packs is actually pretty informative in itself as it give you an interesting POV on ball trajectory, speed, and starting car positioning.

Toss in Cherry Picker for realistic redirects and you'll be set on offensive side of things.

Defensive side I haven't found any good overall packs so have been working on my own and will publish soon. It focuses on common saves and clears. Again stick to stuff that actually comes up in games all the time vs crazy stuff.

Only thing you can't practice with packs is defending a dribble so as others have mentioned play 1v1's and don't even care about the score. Just let the opponent dribble and practice shadowing and faking challenges when opponent is dribbling diagonally (and can see you) and actually challenging when they are dribbling right at you (can't see you behind the ball).

 

[Soulflarz]

whens s3 end?

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

Yes. Overall advice is stick to realistic game situation packs vs crazy kill yourself challenges. To which my favorites are from a guy (Nox) I found through subreddit. He has 2 video / packs which are great as he shows you a variety of ways to approach each shot (aerial, power shot, and chip / follow). This one covers a bunch of common ground / low aerial shots:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgF-bTwQT5M

In addition to variants mentioned above I added in catches and small chips as the ball bounces to transition to a dribble and take the ball all the way to the goal, finishing with a flick or hop. I also use small chips to set up ground to air dribbles or dribble to nearby wall for wall air dribbles (see below for great pack on these!)

The second one is all about aerials -- flying upside down / sideways started to feel natural after hitting this one hard:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXZ_xMLIANQ

If you want to master air dribbling from ground & walls this video / pack by Mason is amazing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B4HW6blWk4

Codes are for PC but I made PS4 copies for all 3 if you need them -- making copies of the packs / making your own packs is actually pretty informative in itself as it give you an interesting POV on ball trajectory, speed, and starting car positioning.

Toss in Cherry Picker for realistic redirects and you'll be set on offensive side of things.

Defensive side I haven't found any good overall packs so have been working on my own and will publish soon. It focuses on common saves and clears. Again stick to stuff that actually comes up in games all the time vs crazy stuff.

Only thing you can't practice with packs is defending a dribble so as others have mentioned play 1v1's and don't even care about the score. Just let the opponent dribble and practice shadowing and faking challenges when opponent is dribbling diagonally (and can see you) and actually challenging when they are dribbling right at you (can't see you behind the ball).

Awesome, thanks! I'll give these a shot soon.

 

[TheKeyPit]

whens s3 end?

I still think that s4 will start with full crossplay going live.

 

[Hasney]

I still think that s4 will start with full crossplay going live.

The never ending seeeaaaaasssoooon