Get Mechanical NOW Or Be HARDSTUCK Forever... ROCKET LEAGUE

[@thosko98]

From what I've noticed is having good mechanics makes it easier to have better gamesense cause you don't have to think as much about what you're doing with your car, and that lets you focus more on what's going on in the game. When I had to RMA my controller I played on KBM on an alt account and the worst aspect wasn't even the lack of mechanics, it was that I had to divert a large part of my focus to basic mechanics that I couldn't do as easily on KBM and my gamesense suffered because of it. On controller I was C3-GC1 and on KBM I was getting caught out of position in D3.

[@cho5043]

same to my but opposite, on controller I was c1 but then switched to kbm and gc2 on kbm

[@hendojr3296]

It's similar to throwing a ball with your off-hand. The idea that you'd be as good without practice isn't realistic.

[@shadowyzephyr]

Yeah I feel that, me having to focus on basic aerials as a C3 makes it harder to have good game sense. I manage tho

[@beepboop3261]

@@cho5043 how long did you play kbm before you were higher ranked on kbm than controller? Not something you hear about often in the rl community, really cool though man.

[@juxi1718]

Maybe in slightly lower ranks... The Higher u get the more gamesense stuff u will mess up bc u try to many mechanical stuff

[@caieelovesjesus]

If you think about it, it’s easier to level up gamesense if you have good mechanics, but way harder to level up mechanics even if you have good gamesense ( and win )

[@thatgamerinam]

Absolutely

[@potatononny]

shit, i thought i was smart with learning gamesense in plat first

[@thatgamerinam]

@@potatononny nah just push your self to the limits, just think if high ranks can do it, i can do that in the lower ranks too and thats how I(a plat-diamond) got good at both together

[@hendojr3296]

So as somebody who peaked at 1750ish. I have very basic mechanics. I can dribble okay, no fancy flicks or anything. I can go off walls well, off ceiling. Single resets, double taps. But I noticed that when I got higher up there I literally couldn’t keep up with the mechanics to score at 1750+. Like, my defense is really good, but if you can’t score the ball defense doesn’t matter all that much. But on the other end. Plats might have better mechanics than me but they’re so egotistic and hard headed that they won’t climb. I think both are hard to learn. Mechanics might take more hours for some, but there are a lot of people who think they’re good because of mechanics and it makes them believe that it’s never their fault for things happening.

[@beepboop3261]

@@hendojr3296 your last bit is super important imo. Have played with people who flip reset into absolutely nothing, essentially a fancier version of passing it to the other team, but because they hit a reset they consider it playing well. Mechanics are harder to learn long term imo, but if you're unwilling to look at what you need to do better in a serious manner you're capping yourself either way. In a vacuum I'd rather have great mechanics and learn from mistakes quickly but most people don't live in a vacuum and some will see their less mechanical teammate as tilting. In that case I'd rather have a solid rotating, consistently hitting the ball player as a teammate.

[@kiwi4502]

For the longest time I always heard high ranked friends just say don’t worry about mechs all you need is game sense. I’ll be honest I think I have pretty decent game sense now but my mechanics have suffered so much because I didn’t train them. Only for the past month have I actually started training mechanics specifically (and doing it the right way). I’ve started winning games so much more because now I know where to be AND I know how to execute the proper play. And I can only imagine how much more quickly I can succeed as I continue in this path. Moral of the story don’t forsake mechanics ever LOL I did and I’ve been hard stuck for over a year

[@lukeg.9461]

How much do you train daily?

[@squirreleatingapie]

What they meant is dont train useless mechanics, powerslide and airrol aren't considered mechanics by like 90% of the community, what they were trying to tell you is dont learn how to; double flip reset, heli, stall reset, musty etc etc.

[@beepboop3261]

@@squirreleatingapie yeah I think it's easy to forget when you've played 2k+ hours that newer players don't even know how to take good approaches to the ball for a powerful hit, or timing a volley bounce off the floor, etc. Which is mechanics I think if we're being nitpicky. I'm c2 and just now trying to incorporate powerslides lol. But yeah moral of this is most people think of mechanics specifically as aerial based plays when like, idk I had over 1000 hours I think before I learned how to correctly jump off walls and that alone is such a huge factor in conserving boost and maintaining pressure on your opponent, just as one example of something people don't think of as mechanical.

[@kiwi4502]

@@squirreleatingapie yes and I understand that. I have very solid shooting mechanics and ground mechanics. All the super basic stuff. But anything in the air I was useless at. And you can only go so far without being able to do Ariel based mechanics. Now I’m not saying I’m practicing double resets or any of that stuff because I don’t need it at c2. But what I’m saying is that practicing mechs (in the right way) improves your confidence and ability to triumph in many different scenarios because you always have options.

[@kiwi4502]

@@beepboop3261 absolutely

[@zacharyfayant5717]

Considering I've been to gc1 just last season I can agree that air roll and powerslide are game changing once I began using them, I was never mechanical in the air until c1 considering I didn't know how to aerial until I reached champ for the first time in season 2 of free to play I think it was. Now I've become very consistent in the air and ground with simple but effective mechanics like air dribbles, double taps and ceiling shots and now I'm learning flip resets to help me keep gc for next season after season 6 was my worst season since I started in free to play.

[@noragami_1856]

im stuck in d2-3 how do I begin training aerial? I tried wall to air dribbling. Im just now learning how to tornado areal by binding my left air roll to RB.

[@BenDover-qs7vs]

You’re the second highest rank in the game in one year? That is quite possibly (if true which I don’t think it is) the most insane thing I’ve ever heard. Make a KZbin channel and tiktok i would LOVE TO SEE YOUR ACCOUNT

[@zacharyfayant5717]

@@BenDover-qs7vs check ZackAddictionz0 on rl tracker under Xbox I am only C3 div 4 rn in 2s because I haven't cared about my rank as much but I do have a screen shot that I was gc1 if you're on Xbox

[@zacharyfayant5717]

@@noragami_1856 I would say that you should begin aerials and air dribbles for a short while in custom training packs then move to free play so you're always doing a new setup for whatever mechanic you're trying to learn. I'm not the best example because I didn't know how to aerial until I got to champ 1 when I practiced everything in the air

[@Phraxas52]

This absolutely confirms the directional air roll & ground-to-air dribble training I started about 2 weeks ago. I'm going to have to incorporate hand brake training now too. I didn't really consider specifically training it before, but this video convinced me. Thanks.

[@Shaggyfan-rc7wi]

I started learning air roll about 1 1/2 years ago and have only mastered it yet. What I think is a big tip, I started to think you would have to think about every input on ur joystick while holding air roll which totally isn’t the case. After long training you’ll have enough muscle memory to just control it like no-air roll-flying.

[@DefinitelyJayJay07]

As someone in progress of learning airrole: At my current level i still think about inputs but not as much as when i started... is this a bad habit or just something that develops over time?

[@hugoabel8921]

@@DefinitelyJayJay07 ok so i started the game around a year ago, and only started to focus on my mechanics like 4 months ago (wifi problems, a lot of time in free play). the way i started to air roll is basically understanding with muscle memory which input did what, but i did it in a way that never allowed for chaining, and whenever i understood a certain chaining (tornado spin and then joystick up or whatever) i got a new air roll direction unlocked. then i started to use air roll more and more and with time and some ring maps (i have a few hours no more than 20 on them), i can consistently air dribble from the ground or from the wall. i think the most important point is really to hammer those inputs into muscle memory, that’s one less thing to think about if you want to go for a flip reset for exemple. hope this helps

[@rennnnnnnnnnnnn]

@@DefinitelyJayJay07 So for a long time (around a year or so of training ARR) I was actively thinking about my inputs. Then one day it just kind of clicked. I learned directional air roll significantly slower than my friends, and I thought that I'd never be proficient with it. I think you're on the right path. I can't really explain it, but for me it was kind of just like all of a sudden I didn't need to think about it anymore. It's actually kind of weird because if I try to actively think about my inputs then I can't do it. Weird how brains work :P

[@benjaminsalas2478]

​@@rennnnnnnnnnnnn I keep hearing that people don't even think when air rolling, and makes my head wanna pop

[@lucimma9409]

i started with mechanics when i was plat, i was above average in every rank but in c1 i struggled to climb to c2, i recently started watching apperantly jack play 1s and somehow it helped me in my 2s games, i cant explain it but my whole mindset has changed

[@connorallan8080]

I am in the same boat. i havent been hardstuck yet tho but I think I will at c2, I current,y have like an 80% win rate at c1 because I dont play ranked alot since i dont have time so I think I deserve a higher rank and all I need to do to get there is play more in the holidays. But yeah appjack is a huge part of the reason I havent gotten hardstuck yet. Just watching him actually helped my car control because while watching him I imagine the inputs he is doing and then learning whatever I see him do is easier since I just have to make it muscle memory.

[@AaronBreezeComposer]

It's still not too dissimilar to Flake's philosophy - in his road to SSL series, he always makes the point that mechanics give you more options on what you could do, but you still can't reach SSL if you don't know how to aerial. I think I've finally begun to understand how air roll works but it's such a slow grind to be able to do it comfortably and consistently. I've been using bakesmod in Rings maps so slow the game down to 0.2-0,6 game speed so I can focus on what adjustments I need to make. Full speed is still too much for me to mentally process, but I've noticed an improvement in control since doing this!

[@fedegozz256]

If you practice air dribbles with air roll it helpsso much, good luck on learning air roll

[@MrPinkDino]

You can try to practice no air roll control. It makes you understand what adjustment turns you where no matter how your car is positioned. It's essential for understanding air roll at 100% speed. Then it's good to fly normally but time to time try to add some spins. Use them as an adjustment, each spin is meant to turn your car in a desired way. Always think of any spins as adjustments and remember you can make them as small as necessary, you don't need to always make a full spin. Actually air rolling is a chain of small, precise adjustments and there can be a lot of them in a short time. I can also add that there is a corelation between normal adjustments and spins, which helps understand each spin. It's that while air rolling, in a split second your car is facing certain way and when in this position to reach desired destination you want to swivel your car to the right and pull your nose down. You choose adjustments like your car wasn't spinning, but because it is spinning you need to change adjustments whole the time. Spins is what happens as a result

[@cmdrfunk]

Yeah this video is essentially slander of Flakes. A total misrepresentation.

[@adrian_cg]

I actually think this is pretty close to Flakes's philosophy. I think the 'No Mechanics' part of Flakes's series undersell some mechanics he may not realize he's using since they are second nature: the precision for his turns, recoveries, touches to the side, reading where the ball is going to land after a backboard bounce and turning into it so he's ready to start the play quickly. A lot of this falls in the powerslide category. Being able to do that without thinking so his brain is free to look at what the other team is doing is a really high level mechanic.

[@shadowyzephyr]

@@cmdrfunk I dislike Flakes, but that's just because he oversimplifies how easy it is to learn game sense, and makes it seem like anyone with a brain can do it while talking down people who can't, when actually, the awareness still takes time. Also, as Adrian Castellanos pointed out, he does indeed use some mechanics in his strategy which he doesn't point out. His philosophy, that it's important to learn game sense and you can get to higher ranks focusing on it, is still true however.

[@theone3337]

Truth is Rocket League is like a trade, takes a lot of hours to become a complete player and consistent. Problem is we’re all impatient, there’s no shortcut. Another problem is all the kids trying to impress people by lying about their hours in the game (training included). They’ll say you can’t say how long it takes someone to learn a game but Rocket League is not just a simple game, there’s nothing like it. So don’t listen to people claiming they got to GC with 1000 hours and keep grinding. And yes I’ve seen Flakes series with no mechanics, but truth is without his ball control, ground dribbling, awareness, shooting accuracy that came from thousands of hours in the game, you couldn’t do what he does.

[@connorallan8080]

and the most underrated mechanics in the game, He has great recoveries and he rarely misreads a ball. Those 2 alone take probably 100s(if not thousands) of hours of focused training to get to his level for most players. But if you learn mechanics at the same time as those 2 your good mechanics can cover for you misreads of the ball etc. You are one of the first people who i have seen actually say something that isnt flakes did it so i can to.

[@theone3337]

@@connorallan8080 💯. It’s like watching a barber do a nice fade and say it looks so simple, I can do it too! But we don’t see the hundreds and thousands of hours to get the right touch.

[@Yute01]

Yeah I've training mechs alone for at least 2k hrs. It's a grind man.

[@pupper42]

but its probably easier to learn than flip resets right? and you would use those skills more often

[@Yute01]

@@pupper42 To do what flaked does at that level? No. Flip resets aren't as hard once you begin practicing them.

[@thatsgreatmate]

Honestly the greatest Rocket League mechanics video I have ever watched. Amazing job

[@JonezBBQ]

It is actually insane how good people have gotten even in just the past year. I've been between D3 - C2 in 2s and 3s for the past two years, and the skill level has risen tremendously. What I used to see happen in GC (on KZbin) last year, is now happening in my D3 games.

[@blackestbill7454]

That’s just me smurfing on you lol

[@proximityclockworkx1572]

4:06 You're saying this because you sell coaching.

[@vinvin-]

To all my console brothers out there: You can still make it. I'm a console freestyler at currently ~1.4K hours and I've never used a custom workshop map before in my life, all there is to it is practice. One year ago I could barely air dribble, now I'm consistently double resetting, and semi consistently maktuf resetting. It's definitely possible, you just gotta put your mind to it. I've met amazing console freestylers before aswell, and even with us being a small part of the freestyling community, we still exist. Practice, go to the pillars map and do figure 8s until your hands fall off (just joking, but still), just dedicate 30 mins of your day to it and you'll be godly

[@hugoabel8921]

dont ever try rl on pc the lag input shock could kill you. mad respect tho

[@zVuzaah]

@@hugoabel8921 what lol? If you really want to play rl competitive u gotta play on pc .. there is no point thats better on console then on pc .. u got 10 times the fps and no input lag on pc

[@hugoabel8921]

@@zVuzaah damn you dry asf my guy

[@zVuzaah]

@@hugoabel8921 😂

[@ceodasala3297]

@@zVuzaah do you mean using pc and kbm, or pc and controller conected, because kbm is very hard compared to controlled, i've tested both

[@josh0147]

I started playing last year in march, I started learning directional air roll in plat (obviously was awful because I at worse at the game) but I’m champ 2 now and I’m glad I started so early because I had no idea how long it’d take, the better you get the more you realise how much better u could be

[@playagame3107]

Is directinal air roll air roll left and right or the other air roll?

[@josh0147]

@@playagame3107 it’s the one where you can only go one way, so for me I use square for air roll left, and circle for air roll right as my two directional air rolls.

[@playagame3107]

@@josh0147 ok thx

[@blackestbill7454]

I recommend using both left and right directional air roll asap! It unlocks so much more ability in the air it’s actually insane. I be been using air roll left for 4 years and just started using air roll right like a year ago and it’s opened up so many more possibilities with way more control

[@benjaminsalas2478]

How so? Wouldn't it just be the same but reversed?

[@blackestbill7454]

@@benjaminsalas2478 no using both allows for different movement than only using one in a few different ways. You can speed flip in both directions, tornado spin both ways, hold both at the same time and lean into the ball on contact for little to no recoil on your car. Much of the difference in having both is more nuanced especially if you haven’t mastered or gotten consistent with one directional air roll but the slight difference it makes can lead to much faster recoveries and a lot of high level movement and touches you can’t do without both air rolls

[@philyskes3727]

The console suggestions and directions are much appreciated! Please keep them coming in your vids.

[@morbid1.]

it sucks so much Psyonix don't even want to get maps and import them for console, even some small ones. I'm sure if they wanted map creators would make special training maps for console limitations ( base ps4, x1) so there would be no fps issues.

[@philyskes3727]

@@morbid1. I fully believe that the release of UE5 will bring console up to the same gaming experience as PC.

[@lowdermanc]

Ive been C3 Div 4 so many times but never broke into GC. I play KBM and mechanics have never been my strong suit. I have relied almost entirely on gamesense and rotation to keep me at these high ranks. I have a decent level of consistency with the basics and it lets me stay in this rank. But I find myself frustrated at the game more and more often, because of my teammates who have much less gamesense, but they are on the same level or better mechanically. I'm finally now realizing that either I grind and put in the practice to get my mechanics up to par to rank up, or I can burn out on the game because I'm making zero progress. Gamesense can only take you so far, and I think GC is the cutoff point where people need both a very high level of gamesense and mechanical skill. Anyways, I'm sure everyone has their own thoughts about it, but that is simply how my experience has been with RL so far.

[@trinxic-music1469]

Since I'm in GC, I didn't even consider air-roll and powerslide to be mechanics, to me their just part of car control. I definitely agree that they're very important.. But if I were to think of 2 mechanics that people actually consider "mechanics," I would choose x2 taps/backboard reads & airdribble bumps. Those two alone can seriously boost your rank if you can master them. Personally I am not close to mastering either but am working on them.

[@tylerrl]

How’s it going for you

[@trinxic-music1469]

@@tylerrl college 💀

[@tylerrl]

@@trinxic-music1469 lmao I feel you

[@tiasstrickertsson3940]

For people on epic games, you can get workshop maps, im on epic games and i can play workshop maps, Lethamyr has a video on how to get workshop map for epic games players

[@cmdrfunk]

Skip that Lethamyr old crap and just get Bakkesmod and the Workshop Map Loader plugin.

[@caninesparks7814]

Here is the truth: You don’t necessarily need a workshop map to train directional airroll. Despite what everyone says, you can do it yourself. I did not have access to these workshop maps and I was still able to master directional airroll. What I recommend doing is going into a custom freeplay map and trying to hit the ball only using DAR. It will be frustrating at first but it does pay off. What this method does is help you build some muscle memory, which is the most import thing for DAR. You don’t consciously think about what movement does what, but instead your brain will subliminally make these movements for you as you build this muscle memory. Over time you will get stronger, then jump into freeplay and try to hit a certain spot on the map. Over time, you will master it and start using it in game.

[@pfizerpricehike9747]

Ur totally right that custom maps aren’t necessary, but they still offer a more fun and in-depth way of training , so it’s still the best option if not on console to include them in ur training routine

[@pfizerpricehike9747]

Also on console there are certain trainingpacks that place you outside of the arena allowing for infinite airdribble or flight training. Not nearly as good as custom maps but definitely useful if on console

[@QckSGaming]

I can sign off on this. I learned directional air roll and drift landings on my own volition and some powerslide cutting through Flakes and my rank shot up from Plat-Diamond barrier to Champion 1 ! It's gargantuan increase. I actually feel like my mechanics are improving again after years.

[@blackestbill7454]

Finally you’re speaking facts. I’m ngl I despised some of the “advice” you’ve given in the past. My philosophy is that players shouldn’t focus on ranking up at all. Just grind training and focus on improving your ball control. Practice your mechanics out of game and study high level play and decision making off the pitch as well. Then go into ranked well trained and prepared for every interaction while having perfect control to move the ball wherever you want. It truly unlocks the game and turns it more into chess than tug of war.

[@fingerdash683]

I think these skills are becoming very important only from champ level. If you're a plat or even a diamond, the main mechanic you should practice, apart of having a great game sense too, is powershots according to me. And the most important is to be consistently hitting the goal. That's just extraordinary the amount of people even in champ lobby (I'm C2 right now) who miss easy shots that could have been a goal just because they focused on air rolling to get to the ball, or the number of open nets I score because of overcommitment. I don't have played a full year of rocket league yet but that's how I see it

[@bgeyssens]

Any training packs you recommend? Been stuck in Diamond for a while now and power shots is definitely one area I need to improve on

[@fingerdash683]

@@bgeyssens The packs from this video worked great for me : kzbin.info/www/bejne/iGTOaoJjoMSLeZI I try to score the fastest goal possible everytime. If you get to 60-70% on level 2 consistently, that's already enough for C2 at least

[@hershy1594]

For instant results with air roll for players that don't use it I would recommend adding small air rolls to your aerials to get more power on your aerial shots. Not hitting the ball with your wheels when you need power helps your shot percentage go way up. When watching pros unless they're trying to keep the ball close they almost never hit it with their wheels

[@TRMNL_Wolf]

After watching most of your videos I went from gold to diamond in only 4 months and now I’m introducing my old gold friend to your content just to prove that these videos are insanely helpful. Love the content dude and thank you so much

[@pupper42]

flakes point was "mechanics arent useless; they're essential if you want to be a good player. theyre just overused" and emphasising the importance of fundamental mechanics (basic car/ball control, powerslide, etc.).

[@feelsgood3316]

The answer is you need both. Proper gamesense is important, but how Luke said it, mechanics are tools. If you dont have the right tools you can adapt accordingly and this is fine. You will rank up. You will also rank up, if your mechanics are insane but your gamesense is lacking. However, the best way is to focus on both: Gamesense and mechanics. If you work on both, your improvement will be the quickest. I really never got why people claimed only gamesense will bring you far. Being a onesided player is should not be the target

[@alexandregehin8665]

I rose to champ level a few months after just starting the game, trying to learn game sense as fast as possible through watching coachings on youtube. It's not been multiple seasons since I've gained a division. I lack tools to do basically anything. I've learned how to defend some mecs from playing, but learning these for my own attack arsenal is taking so long

[@joeykoch5664]

Imo I have terrible airrol , good powerslide mechanics and great gamesense. It is definitely a lack of airrol holding me back the most at C1 , I am way worse then other players in my lobbies , yet the reason I am in the same lobby are the other 2. Of course when I rank up out of c1, I assume one of the other once will end up becoming my bottle neck. I don't have good gamesense for someone in an SSL lobby and my powerslide isn't god tier like theirs. When I play casual I get in GC lobbies a lot ( they have the titles ) and then my game sense prevents goals and helps me score when they overcommit, but my gc teammate has to do the mechanical heavy lifting to give me those moments. If I get paired with a gc who probably has better game sense then me , the team just false apart. I can see what I should be doing , but I don't have the time to do it nor the mechanics to make up for missing the beat.

[@connorallan8080]

exactly. There is nothing wrong with what you have done to get to where you are, It is just important to learn mechanics so you can act better on your good game sense

[@bigwylin1941]

Dude I would love to just “get mechanical” right now but it takes a ton of time that I don’t necessarily have all that much of and also the attention span is not there which is why I’m bouncing between d3 and c1 constantly. I try to train mechanics but after 15 minutes I get bored and move on because my normal human brain isn’t receiving instant results and gratification

[@fedegozz256]

Maybe train something special like air dribbles or flick, shots , etc

[@pumb0]

if you spend 15 mins every session you’ll be a goat in no time, just keep doing it, don’t do the same shit everytime either

[@Alden-]

maybe try adderall? shit, it worked for me.

[@cmdrfunk]

Ok so you aren't willing to put in the work. What do you want from us? A special exception from working hard to accomplish goals?

[@bigwylin1941]

@@cmdrfunk dude I don’t want anything from you, I never said I did. It’s just a mental struggle trying to grind it out to get better. I’m not expecting anything just revealing my perspective on the situation.

[@prisma8525]

Most people in the comments who offering tips and claiming they've 'mastered DAR' are wrong. It is almost impossible to say you've mastered these things until you're GC3. It's very hard to master anything in this game because of the high skill ceiling, but that shouldn't stop you from trying even if it's not perfect.

[@flimflam7254]

literally went from a plat 2 to a consistent diamond with these two things, the powerslide is really easy to pick up too, it takes a lot to master but you can start using it quite easily. As for air roll, normal air roll doesnt even feel right to me personally, the car stops rotating "arbitrarily" i never liked it, only use it occasionally when in the air, DAR is much better, i started learning it almost instantly because i was reintroduced to rl by a friend who was champ at the time and i wanted to learn flashy stuff so i started grinding, ive literally maintained just because of the kick i get everytime i learn something, and 700 hrs later im d1 and pretty decent with air roll (not advnced stuff ofc, but i love redirects, double taps and shooting accurate in general, i grind that a lot 'xD), i agree with everything you argued on these two mechanics, understanding how the car moves develops a memory of it and then an instinct for it, and you start to get better invisibly. Just a week ago i pulled off my first unclean flip reset, magical moment, after the first time you get it and you know what to do you just get better and better at it with time, same with the powerslide, around 4 months ago I used to rarely press the button, now i do it almost all the time, its life changing.

[@morbid1.]

I recommend for new players: "Speed Jump: Rings 2 - By dmc [Timer Update]". It has really nice learning curve and short distances to fly. It was the first rings map I finished with air roll...

[@Meaning_frame]

oh my god, dude! I thought I was the only one who thinks the same. First, I also thought decision making is the most important, I watched Flakes' games and series many many times. But I still couldn't rank up. When I tried to analyse this, I realised that have kinda good decision making, but mess up at basic things like feeling when my car is, my car momentum.. so - at car control. Also most of people were writing that the series helped them rank up really much. So I became completely burnt out. At least here is you, spooklooky

[@pinkzki6473]

In short, game sense can bump you up a whole rank or two but then you’re playing out of your element and can only play one way which is grounded and defensive, where as mechanical can cement you in whatever rank you’re in and allow you to have multiple ways of playing, offensive and defensive, aerial pressure as well as grounded positioning. If you want to rank up short term just to reach highest rank, play smarter. But if you want to rank up and solidify your position in that rank, learn mechanics. I will say I’m in that position, played “smarter” got out of plat ranks and now I’m trying to learn mechanics and it’s so hard to pull off in game cause I don’t have the speed with mechanics that I’ll end up losing in game cause I stretched my limits by forcing myself into higher ranks where people are playing faster and I can only play one way, fast and grounded with no room for experimenting. Now to pull off these mechanics in game I’m probably going to get deranked back down, to then rise again once I have mastered certain mechanic. So realistically it didn’t matter I played smarter, I have to go back down to practice my mechanic in game kind of logic.

[@RocketMonke69420]

I think flakes philosophy was never about mechanics being unnecessary. It was about high level mechanics not being necessary if you have high level basic mechanics and gamesense.

[@RocketMonke69420]

Honestly training powerslide / recoveries is the hardest thing to do imo. With air roll it's easy to train but go into freeplay and actually efficiently train that. Good luck. Still no clue how to really train that.

[@gr59ey]

Directional air roll is so hard to learn for me after using joystick for around a year lol

[@yolorl4379]

I have 7k hours, and am ssl, and i feel like i've focused more on game sense throughout my time. And if I were to recommend to someone climbing the ranks on where to focus, I would 100% recommend to put all their hours into mechs, both flashy and fundamentals, game sense you can develop a lot quicker, especially from those at a high rank.

[@blakxnz]

hey champ 2 here. i’m mostly carried by my mechanics as i play on console w an 80-105 ping so reading the game is a lot harder than just using some space to do some weird shit and pass. what are some game sense things that in your opinion are most important that a champ 2 should know?

[@yolorl4379]

@@blakxnz depends, 2s or 3s?

[@blakxnz]

@@yolorl4379 both but mostly 3s

[@yolorl4379]

@@blakxnz I get ya, I play east on west, so i get around 80-100 ping as well. in 2s, it is all about possession, focus on getting possession in your corners, it's the safest place a ball can be, don't challenge in their corner, easy way to get outplayed and overcommit. In 3s, honestly, stick to backpost rotations and playing 3rd. Still, even at champ 2, you're mechs should still be your priority, as spook says, cant utilize these tips if you miss the ball or get a weak touch or a touch you didn't want. get good at just shooting and clearing with power. 3s at a lower level is all about sticking to your rotations and not double committing Don't overcomplicate it, simply, if you think a ball is "eh, maybe this will work", then don't go for it and go back

[@blakxnz]

@@yolorl4379 my biggest problem with 3s is when i need challenge if both my teammates get beat or if i’m second man how i should challenge. i’m not sure how to stop the pass if they do go for one. it always been the hardest thing for me. anytime i’m trying to play passive i get shit on but as soon as i play confidently and chase more i win more games. i have a friend that genuinely just goes for every single ball he can and he’s basically solo queued to c3 and i just don’t get how. he’s obviously always there for a challenge but he makes such weird plays and touches that make no sense. he’s obviously better than me bc he’s higher rank but i just never understood the way he plays. sorry a little bit of a rant lol.

[@cmdrfunk]

Meanwhile 99.9% of the player base rotates to the front post and turns on balls with no momentum directly in front of their teammate who had an actual play

[@Canowormz]

No ways around it. You wanna see real improvement FAST. Join Luke’s program. I don’t have time to play the game at all these days, but every time I get on I’ve internalized something new from the program and have increased in rank substantially.

[@inctinstinct112]

I can't wait to grind 1s because I'm doing a challenge with a friend and this video helped a lot thanks spook Luke!

[@Yute01]

Mechanics are such a fucking grind. Took me so long to develop them at a really high level. A lot of people don't wanna put the work in. Much harder to develop than gamesense.

[@ogle_tr]

no its not game sense is infinitely harder a mechanic is yes hard but training yourself to react in milliseconds of time to plays with choice making if you take more than 0,5 seconds to think should i go your not ready for even gc game sense is harder than mechs by miles

[@Yute01]

@@ogle_tr I read that and got a migraine

[@craussiegames4387]

for the past 2 weeks ive been doing 5-15mins of rings maps by dmc. and ive been going from stuck d3-low c1, to C2

[@locritus]

I have a feeling this video is going to make a lot of Plats and Diamonds practice mechanics they don’t need to work on just yet. You can be GC1 easily by just rotating properly and hitting the ball hard.

[@nolay7w578]

Really good video, it totally makes sense and it motivates me because I now know what separates me from the pros.

[@TheFirstArsynyc]

10/10 Has to be your best advice format video so far and was extremely helpful. Great job dude!

[@txma.]

“Average power slide time per game is like one of the closest approximations of rank in rocket league” My C3 tm8s giving up and doing donuts after going down one goal in the first 30 seconds: “I must be SSL”

[@mgomes8232]

Honestly i think that Luke stacks tips on top of each other bc in one video he talks about how you dont need any mechs but in this vid he says quote on quote "Get mechanical now or be hardstuck for ever. Idk what angle hes looking at bc hes staking evidence on top of others.

[@dsmxtuner95]

I actually picked up on the powerslide rank correlation a while ago while looking at stats on ballchasing. Its definitely helped me alot.

[@georgeleach4514]

For us console gang I recommend doing training packs which use many different positions where and situations where the ball is coming from and just use them to figure out how to use air role in those situations.

[@Xrayted8215]

As a supersonic platinum, I need more than this to get me unstuck. I use these mechanics daily and have not advanced into consistent diamond gameplay. I clearly need more refined help. 16k+ matches played. Probably the most hard-stuck plat ever.

[@ImBazmando]

Damn. Im on the C2/C3 border and have been for 2 or 3 seasons now just half flipping and fast aerialling. Want me to review a replay for you?

[@GoBlueHTB]

I found it hard to focus because of the absolute BANGERS in the background. I wish I could be half as good as that.

[@dal_luna]

Bless for actually explaining powerslide instead of just saying it’s good to learn

[@breakfast-o-clock]

Might be a hot take but I think if you are gold then u should already have an air roll bind, speed flips and half flips are almost to good for getting out of the lower ranks fast

[@vitrums]

There's literally only one thing that separates players on higher ranks and hardstuck champs, and it's not directional air-roll or powerslide. You know it, because of how many pros are still using only stick roll. The reason you are hardstuck is because you can't read the wall bounces. You will always be hardstuck at the level you can read and there is no other indicator.

[@masonseminario7435]

I’m champ 2 and I play like a gc2 for half of the game, and then like a plat 2 for the other half of the game, and I have no idea why. Please help me understand this phenomenon Other times I dominate some games by like 5 goals, and then ply trash and lose some games by like 5 goals because I kept throwing

[@itsyaboyjace9625]

i was gc back when gc was the highest rank without directional air roll at all (except half flips) the last few months ive been training it and im way worse now but my skill is slowly coming back

[@5aintcity]

For console players go in free-play and pick the pillars map and fly around and between the pillars with air roll a few times

[@ckelley1102]

3 years I've been using joystick air roll. Am currently trying to change it to air roll. This video only reinforces that I should keep trying

[@GlaxoSmacks]

Can confirm, Ive been hard stuck GC3 since season1 and havent used directional air roll until a few weeks ago. Super important

[@GlaxoSmacks]

Still GC3, RIP me

[@lees9401]

I have terrible mechanics. Prob 1500hrs gameplay but My ADHD doesn’t allow me to practice a shot in training more than 3 times before I head in to casual 2v2. From there I can happily spend hours struggling to stay in diamond 1 and constantly back in Plat 3. I wish my brain would allow me to learn mechanics! I must say i do slowly improve over the seasons! But I am also nearly 40!

[@TheFraze101]

Nobody is getting anywhere high ranked if they cant "FAST AERIAL" properly. Multiple pros are on record saying this. People are too slow or are using way too much boost inefficiently that it leaves them further behind in the play of getting to the ball first, landing after their aerial and they have less boost to interact with the play after. (Either a follow up touch or rotating out or what have you) An underrated mechanic, this is a bit of a weird one, but hear me out. CAMERA MANIPULATION. You're going to have a really hard time getting all the information on the pitch if you cant use your camera to its full potential. And information on the pitch will help you win games more than mechanics. Using car cam right before hitting the ball to know exactly how much air roll to put on your car to hit the ball and how to time it best. Right stick usage, to see where your rotating teammates are, how far back did they actually go, are they actually in my blind spot with a much better touch than me. Choosing to go to car cam in specific situations on defence to see where attackers are. Its a small mechanic that ties directly into game sense in a profound way. Not sure why I never hear people talking about camera manipulation as a mechanic, takes a lot of practice to master and you can practice it in free play when it comes to getting the best touch on a ball and you can practice it in games on defense quite easily. Good video though! I think Camera manipulation would be a unique video in the Rocket League scene Spook and would love to hear your opinions and see how you present your take on it. But keep up the good work.

[@OnePiece_61]

Because of your Airroll left/right vid i‘m learned the car control. Not mastered it yet but i know now how to move my car in the Air. Now i‘m training the drifting with/without ball (aka overhoul 2) My rank is actually champ 1 Work harder be smarter ;) Have a good day ✌🏻

[@joelburch5605]

Agree on powerslide but definitely don't think directional air roll is necessary at all. To be clear, I've learnt air roll right, but leth doesn't use it and is an ex pro and current ssl. Scrub has also recently taken directional air roll off because he feels his mechs are better without. Also I find the videos about playing against pro players kind of annoying. Like isn't he gc? The only reason he's in these games is because he's queuing with a high ranked team mate

[@btrayl4551]

Us Console Players: *opens freeplay* “So uh, where are the rings”

[@idkwhattoputhere5503]

no, the question i was asking wasnt how are you going to use power slide to get better at rocket league, my question is how u gonna use it to score? like if dribbling is out of the question for a lot of situations, and my mechanics are my "toolkit" and pwoer slide is a mechanic, how am i going to use power slide to score

[@AntxnBeats]

I would like a complete breakdown of powerslide, a lot of people say that pros use it more often and during shorter times, BUT WHY is that the case and HOW should you use it to maintain speed take better corners and to turn more efficient.

[@TheFraze101]

Maintaining speed - When you land sideways or semi sideways your car will lose all or most momentum almost instantly - holding powerslide makes it so you lose almost no momentum when you land Take better corners and turn more efficiently - the same topic - You'll have to go into freeplay, try and fail (exeperiment is probably a better word), just like hood dribbling or air rolling. Videos will only teach you so much. To turn sharply without sliding out- the pros quickly spam their powerslide button, so as to get the effect of a sharper turn but not completely slide out due to lack of friction to the ground. Because if you hold powerslide you'll just keep sliding through your turn. You'll have to incorporate boost into your powerslide turns as it finishes your turn much faster and gets you back into positive momentum. You need to make sure you're boosting after doing your turn though as boosting throughout will just make your turn radius much larger as you're powering through the turn, not turning and powering away from the turn.

[@AntxnBeats]

@@TheFraze101 thanks for the explanation, i did not know that pros spam powerslide when turning will defenetly try that! I knew about holding powerslide when recovering but no one has ever said how to turn properly. TY

[@Nayzarc]

You have one of the greatest intros definitely in Rocket league

[@BigCherries]

Yeah I have a hard time letting go of my free air roll, but I have to. After thinking about it I do power slide a ton… sometimes not like I should.

[@dopsafi446]

Directional air roll is all personal preference, even to this day scrubkilla still using the universal air roll button. Just an fyi

[@hysterheister0947]

What did you do to your keybinds when switching from free air roll to directional air roll.

[@CodeHiiro]

I'm champ 2 in 2s and diamond 1-2 in 2s and when I go for a dribble play I often go for fakes or flicks and not just the one

[@shadowyzephyr]

Personally I don't think directonal air roll is that useful. Sure it gives a small advantage, which is why pros with thousands of hours are switching to it, but calling it one of the 2 most important mechs in the game certainly seems like a stretch. If some pros are still not using it, clearly that means it only gives a small advantage, right? You don't even need to air roll in order to aerial effectively, people tend to just spin their tails in the wrong direction. Maybe if I ever get to high gc I'll change my mind, we'll see

[@Wigo9725]

Me as a GC1/2 and my friend that is GC3 both dont use directional airroll at all besides like half flips. Neither of us do fancy stuff like airdribbles and flipresets. We only play 3v3 and we almost never see someone go for an airdribble or a flipreset since most of that stuff takes to much time to setup or just passing the ball is the better play. In our opinion stuff like directional airroll and airdribbles and flipresets or not needed unless you wanna break into SSL (isnt that top 0.03% of the playerbase?) these things make such a small change for the avarage player that it would be a waste to learn this unless you basically wanna go pro. If you can do all the basics really well and concistantly and add good gamesense/desisionmaking on top of that you can easily reach GC3.

[@Casta2]

I'm pretty sure I have hit my personal ceiling with gamesense only. I probably wont go further than the d3 I am now until I learn some mechanics. I dont even have the most basic ones that everyone seems to use like ground and air dribble. I can hardly even just bounce dribble. My gameplay is totally resumed by hit ball hard toward net or soft in front of the net for a pass and defend shots on my own net. 0 mechanics at all so I got a ton to learn.

[@BLLOODNEBULA]

Yea mechs r super crucial back in like play i was air dribbling and because of that i could easily get over them and then into diamond nobody could actually go up for passes super annoying i always got called bad even tho they werent any where near the ability to being able to aerial

[@tylerwillems9358]

For a guy that doesn't have a ton of time daily to play, I always want to just jump in game and enjoy it. It feels daunting to try and grind without "reward". Though, I wonder if it would be more rewarding to put yourself through these kinds of grinds if there were actual rewards. Like if Psyonix incorporated aesthetic rewards somehow for doing things like training packs, or time spent in Freeplay. Like, what if completing X number of training packs would result in earning a drop? Or spending X amount of time in a single Freeplay session would earn you a drop? Maybe the time spent one would be tricky, as some might just AFK in Freeplay for items, but having that incentive might make it more appealing for some to train mechanics. Then again, maybe this kind of grind is exclusive to the ones who want the top spot the most, and will invest that time. Two sides of the coin I suppose.

[@deqod4949]

The directional one I never realized since I've been using it since the start the power slide I've known for a while since higher ranks always tell me I recover to slow but I never understood how to train it.

[@itsbeastyrl5955]

These videos can help a player out so much, thank you!

[@Anteksanteri]

Hahaa I've been preaching directional air roll since 2017 and everyone I told thought it was almost useless because it "only lets you tornado spin."

[@fatrugrat5717]

Ngl nicest rl thumbnail I’ve ever seen

[@shanewright4650]

I completely agree with all this. I remember reaching champ 2 in 2s and Diamond 3 in 1s and not being able to move forward. That's when I realised that my mechanics were lacking a bit. So since then I have changed my mindset, instead of always focusing on position and decision making I now just try to push my mechanics and put myself in more difficult situations. My 2s rank has now dropped to Diamond 3 but I feel like I've almost reached a point where my speed and consistency is good enough if I wanted to focus on positioning again and push to gc

[@Angel_0402]

I think the reason why I’m hard stuck in Diamond is because I’m too good… Can’t change my mind

[@SantosVFX_]

I’m hard stuck diamond wanna play today? We can try to get to champ

[@flyisgame]

Username checks out

[@danielglidewell]

Fire vid

[@Bibiblat3607]

Damn that’s exactly what I advised other players to do, I thought I was almost alone thinking that training air dribbles early is good and that video comforts me in that idea. I mean at the higher ranks everybody has good mechanics

[@Zosh_]

I'm new to RL. It's great to see the training pack in video and all but how can I actually play those? Isn't workshop on Steam? I play on Epic and I don't find RL on Steam.

[@rzn-999]

i use default air roll lol and can beat champs etc and can do flip resets i’ve been using it since free to play and it works for me

[@Alden-]

gamesense and mechanics are directly correlated- your decision making is both restricted and determined by your mechanical abilities.

[@douglasfisher4068]

This is bad cause I struggle so much mechanically, it takes forever for me to learn anything. I have good game sense and rotations, but I lack so much mechanically it screws me up I’d say one thing that’d help me the most is perfect recovery’s, i be flipping like a fish when landing so often

[@brokenvr2975]

I would say that driving is a really important mechainc

[@maestroan3338]

disagree, i am champ 2 champ / 3 with no mechanics. i cant even dribble. why? because practicing mechanics is boring as hell. if you have fun learning mechanics. of course is great idea to do so. if you don’t have fun learning mechanics. just don’t do it. it’s a game. do what is fun

[@Wigo9725]

And even besides that, I read so many comments from diamond/c1.2.3 players thinking they are stuck because they cant directional airroll. Now they are all gonna try and learn this and still not climb a single rank because the difference between directional airroll and freeroll is so small its only gonna make a change at the highest level. So maybe not even SSL but literally the top 0,01% this will be usefull for. And on a sidenote there are still tons of proplayers that dont use directional airroll at all and are completely fine.

[@anthnyj6483]

God Bless you SpookLuke!

[@franticallybuilt]

I learned controlling my airroll in silver 1 now 1 month later I'm c2 (I had 5k hrs in silver)

[@RileyReneau]

Another great video. If i ever go pro I will have to give credit to you haha

[@felixrin1]

GC2/GC3 - I feel lucky when I do a flip reset. My mechanics are bad compared to my enemies. Still, I am really good at ground plays, flicks, ground to air dribble, and travel above or under enemies. In general, air dibbles are good. But I really get my enemies when I go for my macro plays like boost stealing, demos, etc. Even just hard boomers from the own side are, most of the time, enough 🧐😂 played against Mawkzy. For example, he had a bad game, missed a lot, and I got so many open nets, felt like C3 😂 Just have fun and have your own style, in my opinion. For pro players... well, they are different than any casual player 😅

[@warlock_r]

The thing I don't understand is why do people only use one side directional air roll? In some situations it feels like it's going to take all the way around. The other thing is why hold it when the car is already facing where you want. I use KBM btw.

[@Pslamist]

Powerslide? I think you meant to say "The Flakes." Also...I can't believe how self-explanatory "hot potato" was. I'm gonna grind that at least every time I'm queuing up.

[@ImPurks]

Thanks Luke!

[@raoul0209]

Hey bro! Love the vids, looking on grinding trainings soon. Can you maybe do a video on how to properly rotate in high ranked, so I don’t het dunked on anymore while being mechanical ?

[@jameswhitaker1899]

Downloading steam workshop maps doesn't work anymore unless you own the game on steam and use a complicated tool. Make a video on how Epic players can get workshop maps now please!

[@knaydr]

Gotcha brother: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jGmsiJiDZsh-i9E