How to Fast Kickoff in Rocket League

Rocket League was recently made free by Epic Games after acquiring the game back in 2019. The store has been revamped and so has the matchmaking style but the gameplay remains the same. This transition to freeware has resulted in a lot of new players taking a liking for the game.

Rocket League has been a long-standing title that has been involved in numerous e-sports events. This is mainly due to the skill involved in the game. Apart from your basic actions like drift, ebrake turn, and boost, players can use a combination of these abilities to perform unique feats in the game like air shots, air dribble, and even airborne blocks.

If you are new to Rocket League then you might have also noticed that many players can hit the goal with the first kick-off. If you too wish to perfect this skill as well as have all your kickoffs go in your favor, then we have the perfect guide for you. Let’s get started.

How to Fast Kickoff in Rocket League

Fast Kickoff doesn’t involve one particular skill or movement that can help you get the ball every time. It is the combination of multiple movements and then choosing which combination will suit you the best depending on your location on the map and the opponents that you are facing. Here we will take a look at some of the most common skills, mechanics, and tricks that you can use and combine to your advantage to win any kickoff. While some of these tips are easy to implement, others might seem to tough for new players.

You should keep in mind that this is normal, and people that can execute such maneuvers have probably put in hours of practice before trying this in the game. So we recommend that you practice your new skills thoroughly to get them absolutely perfect during a match. Let’s take a look at the tips and skills that can help you win any kickoff in Rocket League.

What you should aim for in a fast kickoff?

You probably realize that winning and scoring on every kickoff in Rocket League is impossible. So the outcome you should aim for is to get the ball to the other side of the court through any kickoff. This will increase your chances of scoring, give your team the upper hand, and most of all, give you a chance to hit a one-shot kick off the goal as well. Now let’s take a look at the tips and skills that you can use.

Tips

Boosts: this is a new brainer but as a new player you should keep an eye on all the boost pads currently available in the match. More often than not, one will always be in your path to the kickoff. Helping realize the size limits of these pads will help you gain boost during your run-up while aiming your car just right to hit a shot at the goal. This will need some practice but is quite easy to master.

Communicate: If all your teammates including you are gunning for the ball then it is not going to be good. One of you might get demolished while the other might get flung to the other side of the court making it impossible to make a comeback for defending.

It is a good idea to communicate with your teammates and decide who will take the kick-off based on your spawn locations, distance to the ball, and the respective skill of each team member.

Predict: This can be hard or easy depending on your opponent but you should pay attention to the patterns and habits of the opponent team. If you spot their entire team rushing for the kick-off then maybe hold back. If you spot nobody rushing for the kick-off then maybe take a chance. If the other team’s kick-off guy jumps at every kick off then there is a high chance that he will jump on this one too.

You can either try jumping higher than him to get the first touch or try going low to launch both the ball and the player into the air. Keeping a track of such patterns will help you increase your chances of winning a kick-off significantly.

Jumping is not always bad: Jumping might seem counter-intuitive in kickoffs as it can throw you off balance and make it harder to control the direction of your ball. But it can be useful if you manage to get to the ball before the rest of the players. It can also be a useful technique if you use your car’s spin to your advantage.

If you are keeping an eye on your opponent and they seem to be always on the ground during kickoffs then you should try jumping right before they make contact with the ball. This will rebound the ball off of your car and use their force against them.

It should send the ball flying straight towards the goal if you are coming head-on, but with a lot more height. This will give you another chance to take a shot at goal if you have mastered your flying skills.

Consider your spawn location: Considering your spawn location is very important. I know players that are very skilled at hitting directly at the goal from the side while they struggle to drive in a straight line and vice versa. Considering your spawn location can either win you the kick-off or make you lose it.

Ideally, the player positioned at the last should be defending and the player closest to the ball (diagonal position) should be taking the kick-off. But you can talk with your teammates and if someone is more skilled with kickoffs in a straight line then you should definitely let them take the chance.

Skills

Direct Shots: Direct Shots allow you to shoot for the goal right from the kickoff. This can be done through airborne shots, ground flicks, corner flicks, and even sharper turns. We recommend you use the ‘Freeplay’ mode in training and try hitting the ball directly at goal.

If you fail, you can use ‘RB’ to reset the car and ball to the kick-off location. Having direct shots in your arsenal will significantly increase your chances of scoring first. They will also help you take advantage of failed kickoffs or late kickoffs in the match.

Air Boost: You might be already aware of this and learning this skill is super simple if you are trying to go in a straight line but when turning or losing control of your car, things can be a lot different. We recommend you use the ‘Freeplay’ mode in the training to practice your takeoff skills.

Once you have the take-off mastered, you can try hitting the ball in a straight line from different angles. The next thing after this would be to use your failures to your advantage. Remember how you can spin out with the slightest of boost in the wrong direction when your car is in the air?

What if you use the spin out to hit the ball? That can turn into a pretty powerful shot. To master this, you should try using excess boost while in air and using ‘LT’ to flip your car on the X-axis. This will give your car’s back end a sudden burst in the direction that you are aiming for which can be used to hit the ball.

This technique can help you when you are airborne but do not have enough boost to fly. But keep in mind that it will take at least a few days to master depending on your skill level so you shouldn’t lose hope if it seems like you aren’t getting anywhere with your practice. It will take some time.

Corner Flick: Corner flicks sound more complex than they actually are. Corner flicks involve you using the front end of your car to flick it in the direction that you want it to go. It does not mean hitting the ball head-on directly but rather using the corner of your bumper and the angle of the ball to hit it just right. Doing a corner flick instead of a normal shot maximizes the power you deliver to the ball. It can also help you shoot the ball in a direction that you are not facing/going towards. Corner flicks are an essential tool in defending as you can easily lose your bearings there. Having knowledge of a shot that can hit the ball in almost any direction can help you save a lot of goals.

Speed Flip: Ah speed flips, the only skill developed solely for the purpose of Kickoffs. If you have seen esports matches or have played with high ranking players then you might have witnessed the speed flip already.

It looks like a barrel roll but in the direction that your car is facing… and it does not involve you flipping the car. Instead, you speed flip using the flip cancel/ jump cancel action which can be executed using the jump button while in the air. This is a very complex maneuver that can take some time to master but is an essential tool for winning Kickoffs.

Mastering the Speed Flip can help you arrive at the ball during kickoffs a whole second faster than your opponents. You can then use the direct shot skill to score a goal directly. If not, you should be able to get a significant advantage easily by getting the ball in the other half of the court.

You can take a look at this extensive tutorial by Spookluke that will teach you how to speed flip from scratch. The video is very detailed and should help you identify and correct your mistakes as well.

We hope this guide helped you understand everything involved for a fast kick off in Rocket League. If you have any more questions or queries for us, feel free to reach out to us using the comments section below.