Rocket League Beginner's Guide: Boost, Jumping, Ball Cam and Getting Ready for Ranked

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1. Pick your input first The game recommends a gamepad; if you have one, start with it from day one, since throttle, boost and air control are far more precise on an analog stick. If you use a keyboard, try the defaults for a few matches, then move jump and boost in Settings > Controls to keys you can comfortably press at the same time.
2. Learn the car in Free Play Free Play, in the Training section, leaves you alone on the field with the ball. Spend your first half hour there: hit the ball, jump, double jump, flip, drive up the walls and try flying with boost. Without a clock or opponents you'll learn the car's weight and turning radius.
3. Learn to use Ball Cam With Ball Cam on, the camera always faces the ball; most players spend most of a match with it on. Keep it on while tracking the ball and turn it off briefly when you need to drive to a specific spot, such as a boost pad. In settings you can choose whether the key toggles or must be held.
4. Work through the training packs The Training section has ready-made scenarios for striker, goalie and aerial play. Each one puts the same shot in front of you again and again, and you can restart with Backspace. Goalie training is especially useful, because new players lose far more matches by conceding than by failing to score.
5. Warm up with offline matches In the Play Offline card you can play Exhibition or Season mode against AI. A few matches against easy bots are enough to see where you should rotate and how kickoffs work.
6. Move on to Casual playlists Casual playlists online don't affect your rank. Start with 2v2 or 3v3: teammates cover your mistakes while you learn positioning. 1v1 Duel turns every mistake straight into a goal and is harsh on beginners.
7. Finish New Driver Challenges for Ranked According to Psyonix's Season 20 announcement, new accounts now unlock Ranked playlists by completing New Driver Challenges instead of reaching a level requirement. These challenges measure your skill and help set your starting rank. Don't rush it; going into Ranked before you're comfortable in Casual usually means a lower start.
8. Link your account Rocket League carries your progression, inventory and rank across platforms through your Epic Games account. If you play on both PC and console, link your accounts; otherwise you'll have separate progress on each platform.

• Grab small pads, don't wanderThe field has large and small boost pads. New players take long trips to large pads to fill up and fall out of the play. Picking up small pads along your path keeps your boost topped up and keeps you in the game. Since Season 22 you can also turn on a display showing when pads recharge.
• Don't waste boostOnce your car reaches supersonic, its top speed, holding boost won't make you faster; it only drains your tank. At that speed your car leaves a trail behind it; when you see it, let go.
• Drive to where the ball is goingPredicting the ball's path and driving there is always faster than chasing it. Ball Cam shows you where the ball is; guessing where it will land is up to you.
• Rotate as a teamIn a three-player team one player challenges the ball, one waits in support behind, and one stays further back near goal. After hitting the ball, the player rotates back into their teammates' place. If everyone goes for the ball, the opponents get an easy open-net goal.
• Don't hesitate on kickoffAfter every goal the ball restarts at center. The player closest to it goes fast and hits it; the others collect boost and hang back. If nobody goes, the other team gets the ball for free.
• Flips give you speedJumping and jumping again with a direction flips your car that way. It's used both to hit the ball hard and to gain speed without spending boost. Try crossing the field with front flips in Free Play.
• Demolitions are a play tooHitting an opponent at enough speed takes them out briefly; they respawn shortly after. Demolishing a defending opponent or a player about to hit the ball can lead to a goal, but don't abandon your position to do it.
• Use Quick ChatQuick Chat lets you send messages like "I got it!" or "Defending..." with a single key. Short, informative messages stop two teammates from going for the same ball.
• Fix your camera settings earlyIn Settings > Camera, turning off camera shake and widening the field of view (FOV) lets you see more of the field. Most competitive players change these two; set them on day one so the view you get used to stays the same.
• Car bodies aren't just looksEach body belongs to a hitbox class such as Octane, Dominus, Breakout or Merc. Cars in the same class behave the same on the field. Pick a balanced body early and stick with it for a while; every change also changes how hits feel.

• Everyone going for the ball at once: with no one behind, a single bounce becomes a goal.
• Driving to large pads to keep boost full: while you fill up, your team plays a player down.
• Never using Ball Cam, or never turning it off: one loses track of the ball, the other makes it hard to drive where you want.
• Trying aerials before learning basic driving: every missed aerial leaves the opponent an open field.
• Queuing Ranked back to back after a loss: mistakes made while frustrated drop your rank further.
• Changing car and camera settings every match: muscle memory never settles and progress slows.

This guide was written for version: This guide reflects the live version as of September 2026 (Season 23, v2.72). Keys are PC defaults and can be changed in settings; ranked playlists and extra modes rotate from season to season.

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