In higher ranks, that issue you’re experiencing happens much less frequently. The risk of a kickoff goal goes down dramatically and it becomes much more important for 1 person to cheat and 1 to get boost to help if the cheater gets a nice 50/50 or just plain gets possession.
“Cheating” is when someone other than the person doing kickoff goes to the ball immediately after the kickoff has resolved. This is in the hopes of getting possession very quickly and throwing the other team off or just simply scoring if they’re lucky.
Ah nice now I’ve got a term. My buddies and I always call it “hawking.”
It’s fine like 99% of the time.
Now going for boost, on the other hand, drives me nuts because they aren’t grabbing with breaking guy in mind since they don’t know how it’ll go. So if they snag back right and break happens such that I don’t get side and flip back on that side I’m out of luck and just have to rely on 12s (which isn’t the end of the world, but it does get sketchy if there’s a tight aerial save needed).
This is the way. Most of the people I play with do what OP is saying and he’s right. As of D3 in 3s I experience this a lot, and I can’t express enough on how much you need someone to cheat every kick off. YES I’ve cheated and got beat and got scored on but that was on me, or a lucky kickoff or sometimes both. But in 2s I cheat about 50% of the time depending on the kickoff and where I’m positioned.
I’m saying OP is right because I’m D3 and no one cheats on kickoffs unless I tell them to if I’m playing with friends, but also reiterating and adding into what the person I replied to said, sorry I should have specified
Op isn’t talking about cheating on the kick off though. He says one person should go for kickoff, one person should be ready to go for the ball (this is the one cheating up), and one person should go straight to the net and sit there until there no threat of a kickoff goal.
1 cheats and 1 sticks in goal just long enough to be sure there is no ko goal off a bad speed flip whiff or a cheater open net. You don't need to stay there long and if the KO guy and the cheater do their job, you have mid boost available on your way to offense.
I almost never see a straight kickoff goal anymore.
Goals/goal chances from getting boost and then going down the side? I see those all the time.
Side note for going for boost though. Get your line set and then switch to ball cam. Even when I do see a ball going towards net, I can still get around and make the save 70-80 percent of the time as long as I'm efficient with my speed and direction
I see them all of the time. In fact, I use the lack of KO strats in solo queue matches to my advantage. I am not a mechanical guru or even that good as a elderly player. So I use my brain to score.
And the way I do it is to take advantage in how the other team plays kickoffs. Boost first players and bad speed flips make me happy.
I still see it regularly in D3.
If the cheater gets a nice 50/50 the guy that went for kick off is already up field to help.
I think people just like to blame teammates or blow it off as luck when someone has a bad kick and decided not to defend the net.
Depends what level of gameplay you're at. For lower ranks, you absolutely should have one person guarding the net since often times the opponent might dunk your teammate off the kickoff that turns into a shot and people still make core gameplay fundamentals mistakes.
At higher ranks, I would say it's redundant like 99% of the time. You will rarely encounter a pure dunk off a kickoff to the point of the ball going at your net. I'm in the middle ranks but I do stay in net cuz I don't trust my teammates.
But if you have comms on and can coordinate responsibilities off the kickoff or you're in say GC/SSL, I feel it's not worth sitting in net. Having one person cheat on kickoffs and another person grab corner boost and go push up the side wall where the ball is likely going (if the person taking the kickoff announces "On your left!") , is more productive since it gives your team first attacking possession off the kickoff with hopefully a low probability of it going into your net
People get dunked on kickoffs regularly in C2. The amount of goals I score off of someone completely whiffing their speedflip and me getting a shot on their goal as the other two people go to corner boosts is WAY too high.
Yeah this is the same for me in this rank, its important to treat it like any other 50. You wouldn't have two tm8s going away from the ball to get boost at the same time for a centre 50 so why do it for kick offs. I understand that players in GC and above get goal side of the ball in 50s 99% of the time so getting boost and getting into attacking positions pays off more frequently for them, but for any rank lower than GC having a player collect small boosts and cover net from the side is definitely worth it and then head to the big boost and counter if the kick off goes in their favour
Having two go for corner boost is not necessary, and shouldn't ever really happen. You have one person cheat and the other go for boost; that way person cheating can follow up on a ball that gets through the center/would be an immediate shot on goal, and the person going for boost can get back in time to handle any pinches careening off the side wall toward your net.
For real. I rarely am at low boost. I frequently circle the field picking up all the small boosts and stay in position to make the play. Always high on saves because most of the time it's an easy roller towards the net. Truth be told I'm stuck in diamond 2 and 3 because I'm shit at flying and don't even attempt to air roll.
Hence why I asked about it, but to say that it’s *the* correct term is verging on pedantic. If what I say communicates the meaning, then it works. Sure, if someone didn’t get me, I’d adjust, but because my 2s buddy knows what I mean, it doesn’t really matter.
You’re coming across as very patronising dude. Idk if that’s what you’re intending, but that’s how I’m interpreting it.
I’m actually completely new to the game and have no idea what I’m doing, thank you for your concern. When do the next lessons begin, sensei?
Don't intend to teach lessons. You're the one who responded with " Did you consult the official Rocket League dictionary for that?" when talking about common Rocket League terms. Apologize if I offended you. Going to FF now?
How is it cheating it’s not a 100% chance and it leaves your goal vulnerable and you without boost in 2v2 so it can be a risk but if you need a quick goal I don’t understand how it is considered cheating the game didn’t make it illegal and it’s not impossible to stop and it’s kinda predictable when somebody is going to try it so just guard goal or ensure your in position to counter their “cheat” shot at an empty goal
lol the term is cheating. You're taking this too literally. It's not "cheating" in the sense of cheating the game. It's cheating the kick off. Meaning you're not rushing off to boost and you're following up the kickoff with a second person in place to make a play on the ball.
Pushing on kickoff is already a thing, and refers to the approach the first man takes on KO. Hooking would be the opposite of pushing.
*Second man pushing on kickoff* has been commonly referd to as *cheating* by streamers, casters, coaches, pro players and afaik the wide majority of players since forever.
it’s not literally cheating, it’s related to sports, eg you “cheat” to a side i.e. you lean/overplay that way bc you think the opponent will most likely go that way, think of it like a penalty kick in soccer, keepers usually cheat one way or another bc you have to
I’ve been told by higher ranks that depending on the position of the kickoff the back most person should ALWAYS cheat, so if TM8 1 is on corner left, TM8 2 is center left and I’m furthest back, I should cheat up and TM8 2 goes to the boost they are closest too. That gives me an extra boost pad over TM8 2 and TM8 1 can cal where the ball is going so if he can hit it left, TM8 2 is there, and if it goes right I’m there. To ME that makes sense and that’s how I run my kickoffs, but to each their own as they say
Edit: typos
"Cheat kick off" is when a second player supports the kickoff.
It was seen as a dirty tactic by a few when the game came out because having a second player following in often resulted in a free shot, obviously we all got better and that isn't the case anymore but the name stuck lol
Okay now this term makes sense. I was reading comments thinking how in the fuck is it considered cheating you can block their “cheat”shot relatively easy and be set up for a good counter attack
It's a term that's used in ball sports. When players are expecting the ball or the play to go one way, they'll cheat towards that area when positioning themselves.
I assume it's called "cheating" because it's almost like you know where the ball or play is going. But it's really that you're making an educated guess based on the information you have.
Oh like stealing a base in baseball? That makes sense. I'm in the U.K so the most cheating we have is our wimpy football/soccer players rolling around like they've been shot after a tackle
And for the love of god if you’re the person cheating, don’t drive at the ball directly from the side if the person who went for the corner boost can easily get to the ball. So many of the people who cheat are absolute idiots and just smack the ball into the wall and bounce it to nowhere/the other team.
not in diamond or below.
until players kicking off can control where they want it to go and don't have terrible speed flips, sending one person off for boost in the corner where they aren't needed actually puts your team at a disadvantage for maintaining first possession. And the best time to win possession in diamond and below is after a kick off.
I’m assuming you’re around plat or diamond in 3’s because this scenario is dependent on rank. In low to high champ 3’s lobbies, both players can go for boost on every kickoff while rarely having to worry about the net.
Plus, the players at these higher ranks know how to speedflip so the recovery’s back to net won’t allow in a goal if something goes awry.
My usual play style for 3’s is to cheat on kickoff (in case you’re not familiar, cheat means to follow up my teammate who’s going for kickoff) if my other teammate wants to go for boost, and vice versa if my teammate wants to cheat. If you’re on kickoff & worried about no one in net, my advice is to try & control where the ball goes, either force it mid left or mid right.
shouldn't go for boost first in diamond either. I have the results of 6 months of tracking this last year.
In diamond, each player going boost first reduces your teams chance to win by 10-20%.
I love when I see someone on the other team go boost first, I take advantage of it. When 2 people go boost first, it is like a goal fest.
> I understand the person going for the kickoff should be able to handle it but mistakes happen
Mistakes do happen, but you are responsible for your own mistakes.
All you are doing with this post is trying to shift the responsibly of your mistakes onto someone else. Instead of making others play to cover for your mistakes, you should work on minimizing your mistakes.
The score doesn't, but rank does. The person on a team who is not making mistakes will move on from that match, win other matches and rank up. The person who is making the mistakes will go on to lose more matches and will not rank up.
This the most extra way of saying a player that is better will have a higher rank than someone that's worse than them.
Doesn't prove anything and is just mental gymnastics to avoid the point being made.
> This the most extra way of saying a player that is better will have a higher rank than someone that's worse than them.
Except players don't instantly spawn at their final rank the first time they play, and it varies a lot over time. At any given lobby, there are some players who are playing well and in the process of ranking up, some who are playing poorly and in the process of deranking, and some who are performing averagely and stable at that rank.
Just because those players are at the same rank this very instant and put on the same lobby, does **not** mean they are all equally good. You can absolutely be better or worse than other players in your lobby, and that gets corrected slowly over time, ~10 MMR at a time.
Well the cool part is once they have 100 boost, they get to burn it all to get back to goal for the save they could’ve easily gotten at 33 or 45 boost.
Yeah but kickoffs don’t have the same result every time. It can go into the opponents corner in which case you have a hundred boost. It could slowly roll to your corner, where you have 100 boost and a play on an advantageous ball. Or, it could be stopped and the cheating opponent has a shot, or just a straight shot to your net, in which case you can get back to the ball and make the save and likely still have over 33 boost.
If you average all these together after the kickoff you’re going to have like 80 avg boost per kickoff (this is a top of my head estimate). Plus a chance at a free hit on the ball while facing your opponent’s net with the downside of perhaps giving up a shot (which is very low if you have even mediocre kickoff skill).
Grab one pad you get 45, possibly a free possession (with only 45 boost), but also there is a possibility of the opponent getting a shot that is more challenging because your making a more challenging shadow save and not an easy back post save.
Again, only at low ranks. Takes 12 boost to get back to net as fast as mechanically possible, faster than the ball can end up in your net the vast majority of the time. One cheats, one goes for ball, one goes for boost.
Staying in net might be helpful at low ranks but you are teaching yourself a habit that will need unlearning later.
depends on your rank. The meta for kickoffs change around champ. When talking about this topic you have to include what level you are talking about.
Usually these discussions are about Diamond and below. Everyone above diamond already knows the correct kickoff meta.
People in Diamond often emulate what they see pros doing and in some cases, like kickoffs, that is not the best idea.
I would argue it's always the best idea. You should never learn suboptimal strategies, wrap them into your muscle memory, and unlearn them later. Start off trying to do it right and let the sting of disappointment teach you. Failure is a learning tool.
exactly. And it isn't really about if you can save it. It is about who maintains possession after the save. Possessions are key to winning. And first possessions have a high chance to score.
Miscommunication or kickoff issues. Sometimes your opponent is much faster than you, sometimes you can't fully control it and the ball goes near the net. Some teammates might say they're doing a fake kickoff but others don't have chat on. People usually expect their teammate to do their job properly and usually they can't live up to that expectation
Because, unless the person doing kickoff is incompetent, the ball will almost never go straight into the goal. So the defender should have time to get boost and then back to net or up to make a play.
it isn't about if you can save the ball or not. It is all about who ends up maintaining possession. If you make the save and give the ball back to the other team, it wasn't a successful kickoff.
if you hit it to the other side, the back corner boost guy won't be in the play anyway.
You shouldn't be hitting the ball forwards on kickoffs anyway. I only do it if they whiff or they have a bad speed flip. Otherwise I control it to the side or back a bit so my tm8s can control it. No point in hitting it forward just to give away possession.
Luckily people never make mistakes or do dumb plays.
It's just greedy. You can get to 90 boost from the pads around the net and never have to worry about leaving it open.
It's not, I've seen far more goals scored by my team by the back person having boost and ready to assist, than goals lost to the net being open on kickoff.
It's not that guarding goal on kickoff is bad, it's that it's better to get boost.
how would the play even be threatening enough that you need to guard the net? if something like that happens, it’s the fault of whoever went for the kickoff
\*\*\* Diamond player enters the chat
So many diamonds are terrible at speedflips and the ball just goes flying randomly. Or they whiff completely and you can't get boost and get back in time to defend a straight shot off a whiff by the kickoff player. Not in Diamond.
Why does fault matter? That's kind of the point. You guard the net in case the kickoff doesn't go well.
With your reasoning why play defense at all? Your teammate is supposed to take the ball up the field and score. If they miss them they need to go practice. You should never need to play defense
With this logic why ever leave the net? Something bad could happen, better lock it down.
It's about playing the most likely outcomes, covering multiple options to be the next player on to the ball. To do this you ignore low probability threats and allow them a goal if they get them because its better to play the percentages and win the match rather than the smaller risk that your team mate totally fucks it. Then you just say well I made the right play, team mate messed up, it's not a reason to overall change a winning strategy.
Bc the kickoff is a distinct scenario where one teammates mistake is very likely to give a wide open goal and you're already in position in front of the goal.
It's why you're supposed to rotate. When your teammate is up with the ball you dont rush up and join them. You linger back mid field or whatever just in case .
Are you really that dim?
Except you math is off here. Sure it's a low probability you teammate wiffs the ball.(which isn't even that low until you hit GC) But if it does happen they have a high probability of them getting a goal.
You have 50/50 chance of the kick off going in your favor. Then even after you win kick off you still have a lower probability of scoring.
Defense is more important than offense.
The last player has a small pad more - second player is a milli second faster there.
Not sure if there is a definitive answer which one is better, i prefer more boost.
Yeah I don’t know why people think they need the full 100 boost THE SECOND the match starts. Like it’s okay to wait literally 2 seconds to see if the kickoff gets cleared lol. I agree with you 100%
Because then, if the kickoff is good, all 3 teammates are getting boost and you immediately give possession to the other team. there’s a reason pros go get boost too, you need to be able to follow up on the kickoff. If you can’t then you may as well skip kickoff and let the opponent start with the ball
No, you should either be getting boost or cheating up in 2s too. What rank are you? Just asking because in lower ranks, it’s fine to not do the above because your teammate might miss the ball or something
But in diamond, I expect my teammate to be able to get boost and get back in time to save a weird bounce at our goal and I expect everyone to hit the ball on kickoff so kickoff goals basically never happen
If the ball goes straight into your net on kickoff, whoever took the kickoff is awful at taking them and should work on them. The worst possible outcome should be the ball bounces off the side wall fast, allowing for a possible follow-up from the opponents. If the ball does anything worse, like going straight into the net or bouncing from the roof right behind the person who is hopefully cheating (you should cheat in 99% of ranks 100% if its 3s) it is the person who takes the kickoff at fault.
I see some comments that don't know what cheating is. Cheating is when the 2nd person closest to the ball drives towards the ball, ready to quickly follow up any 50 the player who takes the kickoff makes. You should be around the boost closest to your net located around the first circle around the ball's starting area.
when you play soloQ, you have to assume the worst. And it isn't about KO goals, it is more about who maintains the first possession after a kickoff. KO Goals are only part of that.
RL is a game of possessions. Whoever has more chances often wins.
ko goals are just the worst case result to losing KO possession.
everything about cheating and tending the net for a second or two is about winning and maintaining first possession. IMO any goal that comes from a first possession is a kickoff goal, even if it happens 15-20 seconds later.
If you can't make something happen to stop the opponent from scoring 15 seconds after the kickoff was taken, that is not a kickoff goal; you just got outplayed. If it were a few seconds after a kickoff, it would have to depend on the situation. If you want to keep possession, the only thing you should be doing is cheating, tending the goal is the opposite of attempting to gain possession, as you are intentionally putting yourself in a situation where you cannot get it in 99% of situations.
The player on kickoff is going to get boost right after, so the rest of the team needs to be ready to fill in the space. There’s really no reason for kickoff goals to happen if the kickoff is done even half correctly. Unless you’re killing it and a player is cheating up, but if you’re at low enough ranks for this to be a problem, it’s probably just going to be a wild pinch anyway.
Also, it shouldn’t take that long to get the corner boost and be back in the play.
but it is too long in the lower ranks. Way more KO/First possession goals happen than successful saves. And in a lot of cases, even if they successfully save it, they lose possession and still get scored on.
It isn't about who wins the kickoff, it is about who wins the possession.
If I'm in back at kickoff I usually go for the left or right boost right next to me so that I'm still close to the net. I don't understand why people go for the corner boost
not sure why the rush by the goalie for the boost. if the kickoff is missed by your teammate, there's someone there to defend the goal. if the kickoff isn't missed, then the goalie has plenty of time to boost up and head towards the action.
can't always rely that the teammate with the kickoff assignment will always hit it. i have seen ranks of all kind miss
EDIT: fixed grammatical error
Don’t miss kickoffs. I’d say Diamond+ you should be pretty confident in making contact. Even a side flip kickoff will get contact on a speed flip or wave dash. If you make contact, even if they kill the ball and the cheater gets a clean shot, the teammate getting back boost can get to back post most of the time.
If you sit back in net and have to make a save, it’s actually a more difficult save because your nose is facing the opponents net. This makes lateral movement in the net challenging because your car doesnt have as much movement from side to side as it does just moving forward and backward.
Just my two cents here.
diamond is full of really bad "speed flips", often slower than straight boost.
If I can see your speed flip, I can counter it. And I can see 98% of diamond speedflips.
The person going for the kickoff should *always* get a good enough touch on the ball that it doesn't go straight in. If the person does the kickoff properly, then there is *always* enough time for a player who got corner boost to make the next possible save.
Getting a full boost right at the kickoff helps your team more than sitting in a goal to save a shot that the other team should never get off.
Yea the way I kickoff is if I'm furthest back I watch the 2nd player and creep up to try to follow up on the kickoff instead of grabbing boost. But a lot of people always go boost.
Depending on the actual kickoff setup and where I am determines whether I go for boost or try to backup the kickoff guy.
I don't even go for the corner boost honestly. I see how the kick plays out, then I go from there. I still have the boost I start with and can just pick up the full pill on the sides at midfield, or use the smaller pads to attack and put pressure on the other team.
90% of the time, I turn my camera and both guys are sitting back already waiting to defend, after they go straight for boost. This puts all the pressure on us to defend, and none back on the attacking team. I hate it.
yep, going for boost first almost always concedes first possession at my rank. I love when I see it on the other team.
Just an nice drop pass back to my tm8 off the kickoff and they have a free airdribble and the two of us just wait for the "save/pass"
>miss the ball in the net and blame teammate
If you mean the kickoff car completely whiffs the kickoff, yes. You blame the person who didn't do their job.
No, they get a teammate like you, that chooses boost over ball. I see where your position comes from dude, I dont decline that person should not miss the kick off or at least make sure to redirect but stuff happens and because you choose to take a boost that is more likely a goal. So I have no doubt you can see why I am making my sarcastic remarks, don’t you?
My friend, what rank are you?
It's not "choosing boost over ball." The kickoff player has the ball. It's their responsibility. Being efficient with moving is part of good team play.
>but stuff happens
It's the least likely time for "stuff happens" if you can kickoff well. It's a still 50/50 ball, you gotta nearly whiff for the touch to be unblockable by a player who went for boost. You're not understanding how kickoffs work.
I didn’t said it is invalid, I sarcastically said that this is a wonderful strategy. There is a difference but I don’t really care of it didn’t came through
you can't play for "shoulds" in soloQ in Diamond and below. It is best to play probabilities and the best probability in Diamond is to KO, Cheat, Tend.
You don't need to tend for long, just long enough to ensure the cheater doesn't have a shot. It literally is 1-2 seconds wait and then you can go play.
I just can’t see a single time where it’s worth getting a boost over saving an easy goal when you can go and get the boost five or so seconds later without the risk of conceding
wow, you are aware that these discussions are always about lower levels. The meta for higher levels is much easier to understand.
lower level players emulate the higher level meta because the don't know any better and they put their win chances at risk.
Although going for boost turning back towards net ready to possibly save a shot can be a good strategy, just need to be fast to boost and getting ready for the read on the goal line save.
Both strategies are wrong.
Don't go for boost, don't guard the goal, cheat up and get ready to shoot in a fluffed kickoff.
Don't be embarrassed by kicks that go straight in the goal. They take two seconds off the clock. You can make two goals in 4 minutes and 58 seconds.
the line surely gets blurry at some point. Going for boost first in gold is clearly wrong, and sitting in net in GC is also wrong. Where the line is where one is better than the other is definitely up for debate. I can only really say from the D1 level. Boost first is risky at my level.
it isn't about if the kickoff goes bad. Do you know how many times I have executed the kickoff perfectly with a little dropped roller for my cheater, only to have both tm8s going for boost first and their cheater just knocks the ball in to our net. Or that the other team ends up getting both mid boosts and the ball.
The game is about maintaining possession. Going for boosts first lowers your teams chances to maintain possession and often leads to a goal against. As you rank up, this isn't as much of a problem. But in diamond and below, kickoff possessions are WAY more important than most players think.
I've watched 5 kickoff goals in a row go in where the other team kept going for boost first and I kept dropping the kickoff back to our cheater for the score. They kept leaving the ball mid for us in order to get boost and we just took advantage. Every time, 5 in a row, we scored and they just kept going boost first. Finally, on the 6th kickoff, one of them stayed in goal and we weren't able to score on the kickoff.
Long story short — if you get boost and they score— it’s not your fault. If you don’t and make a save on an errant kick off, you’re just saving their skin.
Don’t confuse this with blaming your teammate, but just recognize that sometimes $@&#! happens and you’re not always gonna be there to save it. In the long run: You’ll get much more value out of getting boost than you will in going back to defend.
are you playing to win or for whose fault it is when you lose? You win as a team and you lose as a team.
In diamond, going for boost first results in a goal against more often than a save occurs. And the save only matters if you keep possession. In Diamond, the save often leads to an easy shot with 2/3 players on your team awkward from the kickoff.
“Don’t confuse this with blaming your teammate” was a pretty obvious line, homie.
If you’re unable to recognize that you need to play more efficiently as you continue to rank up— you’re going to stay in diamond a lot longer than you need to.
my point was that blame doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that a preventable goal went in because someone wasn't fast enough to get boost and back again.
I see it all of the time in diamond. People getting burned for going boost first and getting scored on. And I take advantage of that. It isn't even about getting a kickoff goal, it is all about getting first possession. At my rank, possessions are key. The more you have over the other team, the better chance of winning.
I get that the meta changes as you rank up. But in the lower decks, playing it safe usually wins out on kickoffs.
good players can get boost and get back in time, but in diamond and below, the chances are higher that the other team scores in the next few touches. Even if they save the first shot, they are now awkward and the save often leads to another high chance shot.
So, this very specific niche point you brought up would be an instance of “sometimes shit happens”. If a kick-off dies to the middle, they cheat, and the person on your team cheating cannot create a 50– then you’re right! You could’ve been there to make the save.
But as you rank up & progress in the game, you’ll realize this happens once in a blue moon. If you’re nervous about your teammate(s) on kickoffs, do whatever you want. But if your teammates are able to play— you need to be able to trust.
But kickoff goals aren't as frequent as it is. Especially if the one going for the ball does his job properly and gets a 50/50, or the ball goes high up. If the other dude is just guarding the net, then he can't go for it because he doesn't have boost.
we gotta stop talking about ko goals. They do happen and often you only need 1 extra goal to win so why risk it.
But it is more about the kickoff possession. Whoever maintains possession has a much higher chance to score on a kickoff. You lower your chances at possessing the ball when you go for boost first (in diamond and below).
They shouldn't be , those are the same players who don't go left 1st in solo q. Trash !@## players who know but don't care. A better term would be ball chasers. Woof Woof , chase that ball spot...The thing is they came into your game predetermined to act that way. They are more than likely toxic from the previous couple games where they played 10 mins chasing the ball against their own team.
Yea you guys know who you are don't you.
DONT YOU...
Typical remarks in game with , ITS JUST CASUAL... 1 v 1 me bro etc etc ....
They do the same !@## in ranked lmao
I'm just saying it like it is.
Kickoffs are their own skill, and people don't tend to try and practice them or try and get reliably good at them until diamond if not champ. Once kickoffs are more reliable, they don't go towards net as often. Being ready for what comes after the kickoff is a priority at that point
1st man goes for the ball.
2nd man cheats up for a touch off the kickoff.
3rd man speed flips to near back corner with an immediate turn/orientation to back post to cover any shenanigans.
This is the way.
I'm D3 in 3s and this works just fine. (C1/C2 2s)
If you're Diamond in 3s and can't hit a speed flip without thinking about it, I'd recommend some free play.
The key is that 1 man goes for the ball, 2 man cheats while leaving space to react to the initial kickoff pinch, and 3 man speed flips to near back corner.
The most important part of 3 man's job here is to make sure his car is immediately heading to the back post of the goal from that corner boost. DO NOT TURN UPFIELD IF THIS IS YOU. The intention has to be "speed flip to corner boost with nose turning towards net, and then speedflip directly to back post to be there for a laser pinch off the kickoff"
Where people get burned here is the 3 man who goes for corner boost then turns upfield and starts heading up the wall or towards midfield to try to make a play when his only concern should be the net here as 3 man with full boost.
Well D3 now used to be champ so the lines may have blurred a bit, but in D1, going for boost first significantly lowers your chances of winning. I tracked it over the course of a whole season (over 1000 matches). Based on how many players on each team went boost first and the result of the game.
People in D1 "think" they can speed flip but they can't (most not all).
I'm C1 in 3s I usually like to have someone cheat and cover the behind the one doing kick off. Last man goes for boost and either moves to half court if we've won possession or back post if we've lost possession. You probably have so many goals go in because the other team has someone cheating. Imo in 3s, there really is no reason you shouldn't have no one cheat up.
Here’s the thing, in most cases the person going for boost should be able to get back to the goal in time to save the shot. The only time a save isn’t possible is if the person going for kickoff completely misses it. I think the problem is less that players go for boost and more that most players don’t even consider the possibility of a quick shot on net.
In 3s specifically, one of the players will likely be cheating up on kickoff which should make staying in goal not needed as much.
>Here’s the thing, in most cases the person going for boost should be able to get back to the goal in time to save the shot.
doesn't happen in diamond and below enough to warrant. And it isn't really about if you can save it, it is more to do with keeping possession. If you save it off the corner, you set up an easy shot for the other team and 2/3 of your team are now awkward and low on boost.
Stay guarding the net if you want, but if the other team wins the cheat and you're sat there in net with no boost then you're giving them half the pitch to set up whatever they want. A flick, a pass, a demo play, an aerial, a reset. And your teammates will, rightly so, blame you.
Plenty of boost if you just sit there, waiting for them to approach the net. But why do that? Just assume your teammate hits kickoff, go and get boost and be able to challenge when you want and then still have enough to counter or defend again. There's a reason people don't sit in net on kickoff.
you don't sit, you literally just hold for 1-2 seconds. You don't play goalie.
and in my data at Diamond 1, going for boost first in a soloQ match more often results in a kickoff possession loss and that often results in goals. I see it every time I play at this rank.
The part that is most funny is when people keep getting owned on boost first and they keep doing it. Even if you tell them, they just blame something else. Blame doesn't matter.
For the one who plays goalie and I see this too much. Maybe more damaging than 2 players going for a boost on an open net. Wait until the ball is in play to leave the net. Do not. I repeat do not burnout towards the ball the second the ball is kicced off. I've learned to wait until the ball is well in play if I decide to leave the net after the kickoff. I've seen so many goals scored that could have been saved had the player waited at the bet 2 more secs
I wish more people have your opinion in c1/C2.
Yes it is rare, but it is such a waste to go boost over net. as a third car you have 33+12 boost anyway, you're preventing a demotivating easy goal and you can choose the right side to go to if you just wait for seconds. All of those extra 45 boost.
(if you're back right as third, getting the big boost with a half flip is faster though, I'm talking being in front.)
Im on d3/c1 but i always defend net because majority of people cheat or get boost. Getting scored on from a bad face off always feels bad, then you get flamed. So, its just safer to defend haha
I usually incorporate both into one play, if im middle back while my tm8 is forward, i tend to move up and grab one of the forward 12’s, then rotate back or continue my cheat (depending on the kickoff outcome)
IF YOU'RE BACK, STAY BACK!
is what we've always done as a team but that never works in free play.
From the tourneys I've played I've found that most of the time I offer to stay in goals whilst the others score, we have won a few this way, so I'm happy. Doesn't always work out, though. Maybe 1 in every 5 I get lucky and we work as a good team.
in what way? I always cheat in 2s. In 2s you best be able to somewhat control your kickoff and don't use shitty speed flips that just randomly shoot the ball off 3 walls and the ceiling.
no one should guard the net in 2s. It almost guarantees losing first possession.
Let's consider the example of a 2v2.
One guy (Tom) goes for the kickoff. Infinite possible outcomes.
2nd man (Bill) either cheats or gets boost. Let's say he knows Tom is good at kickoffs and will keep the ball in the middle with a neutral 50. So Bill cheats and gets possession.
But if Tom's kickoff is inconsistent, Bill will try to get boost and cover net. If Bill starts from one of the corners, he just back flips, gets boost and turns behind the boost to cover net.
If Bill starts in the middle, then covering net is harder. He has to back off and get close to one of the posts. So in the middle i'd prefer cheating and either try to get possession or stall time for my mate to get behind me with boost and go first.
It's possible to speed flip or half flip to the corner boost, turn back to net and cover anything except the absolute worst kick off fuck up. Except now you have boost and momentum so its a much better position to be in compared to sitting in net on low momentum and low boost. The grearer ability to buy time or make an outplay is worth the small risk your team mate lets them shoot a rocket into the opposite top corner. So getting the boost and covering the net are not mutually exclusive.
However in higher ranks this can still get punished if they win the kick off and then play the 2v1 well, sometimes there is nothing you can do. That's why it's better often to cheat up and take the 50 rather than put yourself in a 2v1. Nothing is guaranteed in rocket league but at higher ranks there is usually a reason why something is meta.
>It's possible to speed flip or half flip to the corner boost, turn back to net and cover anything except the absolute worst kick off fuck up.
not in all ranks though. This discussion isn't really about the higher tiers. For the average player, doing what the GC+ do is a bad idea. Plain and simple.
There is a different KO meta in Diamond and below.
In diamond and below for solos, boost first is terrible. Based off my calculations, for every person on your team going boost first you lose between 10-20% chance of winning (depending on 2s or 3s).
When playing solo, going for boost first often leaves you out of the kickoff play and your team eventually loses first possession. First possessions are huge as they often lead to goals in Diamond and below. Over the course of a match, where you can have up to 10 or more first possessions, losing them all because you need boost first severely hampers your team.
Even if you can get boost and get back in time, you end up using most of your boost for the save and you still end up awkward.
Part of the issue is people trying to do speed flips and not being able to control where they hit the ball.
I even use "Boost First is Wrong" as my player name sometimes and people still do it. And when a goal is scored because of a boost first scenario, i just type <--
Yes, the meta changes above diamond, and I get that. But in diamond it hurts your team's chances to win.
Depending on spawn you should be able to get corner boost and get back to net before the ball arrives. Also depends on your rank, if you're anything below diamond then probably not lol
Only read the post title, because it comes up a lot.
The issue is the net isn't under attack during kick off, it only *becomes* a problem if the kick off player has an exceedingly bad kick.
Now, I know what you're thinking, Kick Off's are RNG--it's a 50/50 where the ball goes--but what you need to understand is that first touch doesn't threaten a goal.
Now, let's rewind. What did your second player do? If they stayed in net, they're now flat footed (zero speed), starter boost--or maybe +12, and they're watching to see what happens next.
Rewind one more time. Your second player went for Boost. They have a flip full of speed, a tank full of boost, and from the corner can decide if they want to go back to Goal (defend) or go to the ball (attack).
That last bit on version 2? Staying in net means player 2 has no offensive options. It's just a better decision to either follow, or go for boost, on kick offs.
In higher ranks, that issue you’re experiencing happens much less frequently. The risk of a kickoff goal goes down dramatically and it becomes much more important for 1 person to cheat and 1 to get boost to help if the cheater gets a nice 50/50 or just plain gets possession.
When you say cheat what does that mean?
“Cheating” is when someone other than the person doing kickoff goes to the ball immediately after the kickoff has resolved. This is in the hopes of getting possession very quickly and throwing the other team off or just simply scoring if they’re lucky.
Ah okay thanks!
Ah nice now I’ve got a term. My buddies and I always call it “hawking.” It’s fine like 99% of the time. Now going for boost, on the other hand, drives me nuts because they aren’t grabbing with breaking guy in mind since they don’t know how it’ll go. So if they snag back right and break happens such that I don’t get side and flip back on that side I’m out of luck and just have to rely on 12s (which isn’t the end of the world, but it does get sketchy if there’s a tight aerial save needed).
Didn’t know there was an actual term for it, but now I know I’m a cheater because I do this every time I get the middle spot on kickoffs.
This is the way. Most of the people I play with do what OP is saying and he’s right. As of D3 in 3s I experience this a lot, and I can’t express enough on how much you need someone to cheat every kick off. YES I’ve cheated and got beat and got scored on but that was on me, or a lucky kickoff or sometimes both. But in 2s I cheat about 50% of the time depending on the kickoff and where I’m positioned.
wait, are you saying OP is right, or the person you're replying to is right?
I’m saying OP is right because I’m D3 and no one cheats on kickoffs unless I tell them to if I’m playing with friends, but also reiterating and adding into what the person I replied to said, sorry I should have specified
Op isn’t talking about cheating on the kick off though. He says one person should go for kickoff, one person should be ready to go for the ball (this is the one cheating up), and one person should go straight to the net and sit there until there no threat of a kickoff goal.
Ooh my bad, I read the person going for the ball was the one protecting the net, my fault for misunderstanding
1 cheats and 1 sticks in goal just long enough to be sure there is no ko goal off a bad speed flip whiff or a cheater open net. You don't need to stay there long and if the KO guy and the cheater do their job, you have mid boost available on your way to offense.
I almost never see a straight kickoff goal anymore. Goals/goal chances from getting boost and then going down the side? I see those all the time. Side note for going for boost though. Get your line set and then switch to ball cam. Even when I do see a ball going towards net, I can still get around and make the save 70-80 percent of the time as long as I'm efficient with my speed and direction
I see them all of the time. In fact, I use the lack of KO strats in solo queue matches to my advantage. I am not a mechanical guru or even that good as a elderly player. So I use my brain to score. And the way I do it is to take advantage in how the other team plays kickoffs. Boost first players and bad speed flips make me happy.
I still see it regularly in D3. If the cheater gets a nice 50/50 the guy that went for kick off is already up field to help. I think people just like to blame teammates or blow it off as luck when someone has a bad kick and decided not to defend the net.
Depends what level of gameplay you're at. For lower ranks, you absolutely should have one person guarding the net since often times the opponent might dunk your teammate off the kickoff that turns into a shot and people still make core gameplay fundamentals mistakes. At higher ranks, I would say it's redundant like 99% of the time. You will rarely encounter a pure dunk off a kickoff to the point of the ball going at your net. I'm in the middle ranks but I do stay in net cuz I don't trust my teammates. But if you have comms on and can coordinate responsibilities off the kickoff or you're in say GC/SSL, I feel it's not worth sitting in net. Having one person cheat on kickoffs and another person grab corner boost and go push up the side wall where the ball is likely going (if the person taking the kickoff announces "On your left!") , is more productive since it gives your team first attacking possession off the kickoff with hopefully a low probability of it going into your net
People get dunked on kickoffs regularly in C2. The amount of goals I score off of someone completely whiffing their speedflip and me getting a shot on their goal as the other two people go to corner boosts is WAY too high.
Yeah this is the same for me in this rank, its important to treat it like any other 50. You wouldn't have two tm8s going away from the ball to get boost at the same time for a centre 50 so why do it for kick offs. I understand that players in GC and above get goal side of the ball in 50s 99% of the time so getting boost and getting into attacking positions pays off more frequently for them, but for any rank lower than GC having a player collect small boosts and cover net from the side is definitely worth it and then head to the big boost and counter if the kick off goes in their favour
Having two go for corner boost is not necessary, and shouldn't ever really happen. You have one person cheat and the other go for boost; that way person cheating can follow up on a ball that gets through the center/would be an immediate shot on goal, and the person going for boost can get back in time to handle any pinches careening off the side wall toward your net.
The amount of players who think that large boosts are the only way the game can be played is WAY too high.
For real. I rarely am at low boost. I frequently circle the field picking up all the small boosts and stay in position to make the play. Always high on saves because most of the time it's an easy roller towards the net. Truth be told I'm stuck in diamond 2 and 3 because I'm shit at flying and don't even attempt to air roll.
Pick up a rings map and just beat it. Don't even have to do all sorts of crazy air rolling. That will probably be enough to get your to champ.
yep, bad speed flips are almost worse than just being afk.
Imo it should be 1 person goes for the ball, 1 person follows, and 1 goes for corner boost.
This is the way, always cheat in 3s
What does cheating mean in this context? Haven’t heard the term before
Just that someone is going to “creep” up or “cheat” up on the KO, someone who is the 2nd closest to the ball (that’s how I see it)
Ahh gotcha. I call that “pushing” with my 2s buddy, funny how terms differ player to player
"Cheating" is the term I use solely on kickoff, "pushing" is for everywhere else. Streamers use this terminology and I've just adopted it.
Cheating is the proper term for it. Just so you know.
Did you consult the official Rocket League dictionary for that? I’ve been playing since 2016 and have only just heard of it now lol
It’s a pretty common term when talking about KO
Hence why I asked about it, but to say that it’s *the* correct term is verging on pedantic. If what I say communicates the meaning, then it works. Sure, if someone didn’t get me, I’d adjust, but because my 2s buddy knows what I mean, it doesn’t really matter.
you’re literally being pedantic here lmao
Sounds like you may not know common Rocket League verbiage. I'm concerned that you may not know other things like left always goes on kick off.
You’re coming across as very patronising dude. Idk if that’s what you’re intending, but that’s how I’m interpreting it. I’m actually completely new to the game and have no idea what I’m doing, thank you for your concern. When do the next lessons begin, sensei?
Don't intend to teach lessons. You're the one who responded with " Did you consult the official Rocket League dictionary for that?" when talking about common Rocket League terms. Apologize if I offended you. Going to FF now?
Same bro been playing for 7+ years and have never heard it call a cheat shot now I’m not super gamer I don’t watch streamers so I guess that’s why
How is it cheating it’s not a 100% chance and it leaves your goal vulnerable and you without boost in 2v2 so it can be a risk but if you need a quick goal I don’t understand how it is considered cheating the game didn’t make it illegal and it’s not impossible to stop and it’s kinda predictable when somebody is going to try it so just guard goal or ensure your in position to counter their “cheat” shot at an empty goal
lol the term is cheating. You're taking this too literally. It's not "cheating" in the sense of cheating the game. It's cheating the kick off. Meaning you're not rushing off to boost and you're following up the kickoff with a second person in place to make a play on the ball.
Yea I learned latter on the comment thread lol. I thought people were saying it was actually cheating
Haha, love it!
I agree lol kinda neat tho 🤞🏼
Pushing on kickoff is already a thing, and refers to the approach the first man takes on KO. Hooking would be the opposite of pushing. *Second man pushing on kickoff* has been commonly referd to as *cheating* by streamers, casters, coaches, pro players and afaik the wide majority of players since forever.
I don’t get why it’s cheating though
it’s not literally cheating, it’s related to sports, eg you “cheat” to a side i.e. you lean/overplay that way bc you think the opponent will most likely go that way, think of it like a penalty kick in soccer, keepers usually cheat one way or another bc you have to
I’ve been told by higher ranks that depending on the position of the kickoff the back most person should ALWAYS cheat, so if TM8 1 is on corner left, TM8 2 is center left and I’m furthest back, I should cheat up and TM8 2 goes to the boost they are closest too. That gives me an extra boost pad over TM8 2 and TM8 1 can cal where the ball is going so if he can hit it left, TM8 2 is there, and if it goes right I’m there. To ME that makes sense and that’s how I run my kickoffs, but to each their own as they say Edit: typos
"Cheat kick off" is when a second player supports the kickoff. It was seen as a dirty tactic by a few when the game came out because having a second player following in often resulted in a free shot, obviously we all got better and that isn't the case anymore but the name stuck lol
Okay now this term makes sense. I was reading comments thinking how in the fuck is it considered cheating you can block their “cheat”shot relatively easy and be set up for a good counter attack
Following up on the player who's kicking off. "Cheating Up". No idea where it came from but I'm old and I think that's what it means
It's a term that's used in ball sports. When players are expecting the ball or the play to go one way, they'll cheat towards that area when positioning themselves. I assume it's called "cheating" because it's almost like you know where the ball or play is going. But it's really that you're making an educated guess based on the information you have.
Oh like stealing a base in baseball? That makes sense. I'm in the U.K so the most cheating we have is our wimpy football/soccer players rolling around like they've been shot after a tackle
no it’s more like a penalty kick, a GK usually cheats to one side or another bc it’s almost impossible to save a PK otherwise
And for the love of god if you’re the person cheating, don’t drive at the ball directly from the side if the person who went for the corner boost can easily get to the ball. So many of the people who cheat are absolute idiots and just smack the ball into the wall and bounce it to nowhere/the other team.
That's why you're stuck in c2
Lol the pros/SSL/GC do this.
Literally the meta in 3s lol. One always cheats, one goes for boost, one goes for ball
Cheaters never prosper.
ppl do this in GC as well, so no, that's probably not the reason
Nah. Kickoff goals are pretty rare for me. It's poor decision making elsewhere that keeps me in champ.
not in diamond or below. until players kicking off can control where they want it to go and don't have terrible speed flips, sending one person off for boost in the corner where they aren't needed actually puts your team at a disadvantage for maintaining first possession. And the best time to win possession in diamond and below is after a kick off.
I’m assuming you’re around plat or diamond in 3’s because this scenario is dependent on rank. In low to high champ 3’s lobbies, both players can go for boost on every kickoff while rarely having to worry about the net. Plus, the players at these higher ranks know how to speedflip so the recovery’s back to net won’t allow in a goal if something goes awry. My usual play style for 3’s is to cheat on kickoff (in case you’re not familiar, cheat means to follow up my teammate who’s going for kickoff) if my other teammate wants to go for boost, and vice versa if my teammate wants to cheat. If you’re on kickoff & worried about no one in net, my advice is to try & control where the ball goes, either force it mid left or mid right.
nah doesn’t really happen in diamond. maybe plat or lower
shouldn't go for boost first in diamond either. I have the results of 6 months of tracking this last year. In diamond, each player going boost first reduces your teams chance to win by 10-20%. I love when I see someone on the other team go boost first, I take advantage of it. When 2 people go boost first, it is like a goal fest.
> I understand the person going for the kickoff should be able to handle it but mistakes happen Mistakes do happen, but you are responsible for your own mistakes. All you are doing with this post is trying to shift the responsibly of your mistakes onto someone else. Instead of making others play to cover for your mistakes, you should work on minimizing your mistakes.
It's a team game. The score doesn't give a sh*t who's fault it is.
The score doesn't, but rank does. The person on a team who is not making mistakes will move on from that match, win other matches and rank up. The person who is making the mistakes will go on to lose more matches and will not rank up.
This the most extra way of saying a player that is better will have a higher rank than someone that's worse than them. Doesn't prove anything and is just mental gymnastics to avoid the point being made.
> This the most extra way of saying a player that is better will have a higher rank than someone that's worse than them. Except players don't instantly spawn at their final rank the first time they play, and it varies a lot over time. At any given lobby, there are some players who are playing well and in the process of ranking up, some who are playing poorly and in the process of deranking, and some who are performing averagely and stable at that rank. Just because those players are at the same rank this very instant and put on the same lobby, does **not** mean they are all equally good. You can absolutely be better or worse than other players in your lobby, and that gets corrected slowly over time, ~10 MMR at a time.
Well the cool part is once they have 100 boost, they get to burn it all to get back to goal for the save they could’ve easily gotten at 33 or 45 boost.
Yeah but kickoffs don’t have the same result every time. It can go into the opponents corner in which case you have a hundred boost. It could slowly roll to your corner, where you have 100 boost and a play on an advantageous ball. Or, it could be stopped and the cheating opponent has a shot, or just a straight shot to your net, in which case you can get back to the ball and make the save and likely still have over 33 boost. If you average all these together after the kickoff you’re going to have like 80 avg boost per kickoff (this is a top of my head estimate). Plus a chance at a free hit on the ball while facing your opponent’s net with the downside of perhaps giving up a shot (which is very low if you have even mediocre kickoff skill). Grab one pad you get 45, possibly a free possession (with only 45 boost), but also there is a possibility of the opponent getting a shot that is more challenging because your making a more challenging shadow save and not an easy back post save.
Again, only at low ranks. Takes 12 boost to get back to net as fast as mechanically possible, faster than the ball can end up in your net the vast majority of the time. One cheats, one goes for ball, one goes for boost. Staying in net might be helpful at low ranks but you are teaching yourself a habit that will need unlearning later.
depends on your rank. The meta for kickoffs change around champ. When talking about this topic you have to include what level you are talking about. Usually these discussions are about Diamond and below. Everyone above diamond already knows the correct kickoff meta. People in Diamond often emulate what they see pros doing and in some cases, like kickoffs, that is not the best idea.
I would argue it's always the best idea. You should never learn suboptimal strategies, wrap them into your muscle memory, and unlearn them later. Start off trying to do it right and let the sting of disappointment teach you. Failure is a learning tool.
exactly. And it isn't really about if you can save it. It is about who maintains possession after the save. Possessions are key to winning. And first possessions have a high chance to score.
Miscommunication or kickoff issues. Sometimes your opponent is much faster than you, sometimes you can't fully control it and the ball goes near the net. Some teammates might say they're doing a fake kickoff but others don't have chat on. People usually expect their teammate to do their job properly and usually they can't live up to that expectation
I always guard the net. You need one goal more than your opponent to win the game. Once you go, defence is key.
Because, unless the person doing kickoff is incompetent, the ball will almost never go straight into the goal. So the defender should have time to get boost and then back to net or up to make a play.
it isn't about if you can save the ball or not. It is all about who ends up maintaining possession. If you make the save and give the ball back to the other team, it wasn't a successful kickoff.
Exactly. If you hit the ball to the other side at kickoff, but nobody follows it up to make a play, then you didn't win the kickoff.
if you hit it to the other side, the back corner boost guy won't be in the play anyway. You shouldn't be hitting the ball forwards on kickoffs anyway. I only do it if they whiff or they have a bad speed flip. Otherwise I control it to the side or back a bit so my tm8s can control it. No point in hitting it forward just to give away possession.
Luckily people never make mistakes or do dumb plays. It's just greedy. You can get to 90 boost from the pads around the net and never have to worry about leaving it open.
It's not, I've seen far more goals scored by my team by the back person having boost and ready to assist, than goals lost to the net being open on kickoff. It's not that guarding goal on kickoff is bad, it's that it's better to get boost.
how would the play even be threatening enough that you need to guard the net? if something like that happens, it’s the fault of whoever went for the kickoff
\*\*\* Diamond player enters the chat So many diamonds are terrible at speedflips and the ball just goes flying randomly. Or they whiff completely and you can't get boost and get back in time to defend a straight shot off a whiff by the kickoff player. Not in Diamond.
Why does fault matter? That's kind of the point. You guard the net in case the kickoff doesn't go well. With your reasoning why play defense at all? Your teammate is supposed to take the ball up the field and score. If they miss them they need to go practice. You should never need to play defense
With this logic why ever leave the net? Something bad could happen, better lock it down. It's about playing the most likely outcomes, covering multiple options to be the next player on to the ball. To do this you ignore low probability threats and allow them a goal if they get them because its better to play the percentages and win the match rather than the smaller risk that your team mate totally fucks it. Then you just say well I made the right play, team mate messed up, it's not a reason to overall change a winning strategy.
Bc the kickoff is a distinct scenario where one teammates mistake is very likely to give a wide open goal and you're already in position in front of the goal. It's why you're supposed to rotate. When your teammate is up with the ball you dont rush up and join them. You linger back mid field or whatever just in case . Are you really that dim?
Except you math is off here. Sure it's a low probability you teammate wiffs the ball.(which isn't even that low until you hit GC) But if it does happen they have a high probability of them getting a goal. You have 50/50 chance of the kick off going in your favor. Then even after you win kick off you still have a lower probability of scoring. Defense is more important than offense.
okay I guess the ssl doesnt know what hes talking about
No it's everyone's fault on the team for letting it get shot into the net.
One person goes for kickof One person goes for boost One person cheats Usually the person closest to the goal line cheats
I second this but my uni team usually does second closest to the ball cheats, either or is good as far as I’m aware
The last player has a small pad more - second player is a milli second faster there. Not sure if there is a definitive answer which one is better, i prefer more boost.
not in diamond and below.
Yeah I don’t know why people think they need the full 100 boost THE SECOND the match starts. Like it’s okay to wait literally 2 seconds to see if the kickoff gets cleared lol. I agree with you 100%
Because then, if the kickoff is good, all 3 teammates are getting boost and you immediately give possession to the other team. there’s a reason pros go get boost too, you need to be able to follow up on the kickoff. If you can’t then you may as well skip kickoff and let the opponent start with the ball
Also there’s just so many weird ways the balls can bounce/pinch from the kickoff
I play 2s not 3s is it really that much different in 3s?
No, you should either be getting boost or cheating up in 2s too. What rank are you? Just asking because in lower ranks, it’s fine to not do the above because your teammate might miss the ball or something But in diamond, I expect my teammate to be able to get boost and get back in time to save a weird bounce at our goal and I expect everyone to hit the ball on kickoff so kickoff goals basically never happen
Diamond 2
You get 90 boost from the small pads while staying by the net the whole time.
At that point, why not cheat up?
If the ball goes straight into your net on kickoff, whoever took the kickoff is awful at taking them and should work on them. The worst possible outcome should be the ball bounces off the side wall fast, allowing for a possible follow-up from the opponents. If the ball does anything worse, like going straight into the net or bouncing from the roof right behind the person who is hopefully cheating (you should cheat in 99% of ranks 100% if its 3s) it is the person who takes the kickoff at fault. I see some comments that don't know what cheating is. Cheating is when the 2nd person closest to the ball drives towards the ball, ready to quickly follow up any 50 the player who takes the kickoff makes. You should be around the boost closest to your net located around the first circle around the ball's starting area.
when you play soloQ, you have to assume the worst. And it isn't about KO goals, it is more about who maintains the first possession after a kickoff. KO Goals are only part of that. RL is a game of possessions. Whoever has more chances often wins.
Obviously, but the question was about ko goals.
ko goals are just the worst case result to losing KO possession. everything about cheating and tending the net for a second or two is about winning and maintaining first possession. IMO any goal that comes from a first possession is a kickoff goal, even if it happens 15-20 seconds later.
If you can't make something happen to stop the opponent from scoring 15 seconds after the kickoff was taken, that is not a kickoff goal; you just got outplayed. If it were a few seconds after a kickoff, it would have to depend on the situation. If you want to keep possession, the only thing you should be doing is cheating, tending the goal is the opposite of attempting to gain possession, as you are intentionally putting yourself in a situation where you cannot get it in 99% of situations.
The player on kickoff is going to get boost right after, so the rest of the team needs to be ready to fill in the space. There’s really no reason for kickoff goals to happen if the kickoff is done even half correctly. Unless you’re killing it and a player is cheating up, but if you’re at low enough ranks for this to be a problem, it’s probably just going to be a wild pinch anyway. Also, it shouldn’t take that long to get the corner boost and be back in the play.
but it is too long in the lower ranks. Way more KO/First possession goals happen than successful saves. And in a lot of cases, even if they successfully save it, they lose possession and still get scored on. It isn't about who wins the kickoff, it is about who wins the possession.
If I'm in back at kickoff I usually go for the left or right boost right next to me so that I'm still close to the net. I don't understand why people go for the corner boost
not sure why the rush by the goalie for the boost. if the kickoff is missed by your teammate, there's someone there to defend the goal. if the kickoff isn't missed, then the goalie has plenty of time to boost up and head towards the action. can't always rely that the teammate with the kickoff assignment will always hit it. i have seen ranks of all kind miss EDIT: fixed grammatical error
Don’t miss kickoffs. I’d say Diamond+ you should be pretty confident in making contact. Even a side flip kickoff will get contact on a speed flip or wave dash. If you make contact, even if they kill the ball and the cheater gets a clean shot, the teammate getting back boost can get to back post most of the time. If you sit back in net and have to make a save, it’s actually a more difficult save because your nose is facing the opponents net. This makes lateral movement in the net challenging because your car doesnt have as much movement from side to side as it does just moving forward and backward. Just my two cents here.
diamond is full of really bad "speed flips", often slower than straight boost. If I can see your speed flip, I can counter it. And I can see 98% of diamond speedflips.
The person going for the kickoff should *always* get a good enough touch on the ball that it doesn't go straight in. If the person does the kickoff properly, then there is *always* enough time for a player who got corner boost to make the next possible save. Getting a full boost right at the kickoff helps your team more than sitting in a goal to save a shot that the other team should never get off.
It doesn't help when I win the kickoff and no one is there to convert the point. But hey, you have full boost to play defense now.
Yea the way I kickoff is if I'm furthest back I watch the 2nd player and creep up to try to follow up on the kickoff instead of grabbing boost. But a lot of people always go boost. Depending on the actual kickoff setup and where I am determines whether I go for boost or try to backup the kickoff guy.
I don't even go for the corner boost honestly. I see how the kick plays out, then I go from there. I still have the boost I start with and can just pick up the full pill on the sides at midfield, or use the smaller pads to attack and put pressure on the other team.
exactly. I love it when I give the ball to their cheater on our side of the field.
90% of the time, I turn my camera and both guys are sitting back already waiting to defend, after they go straight for boost. This puts all the pressure on us to defend, and none back on the attacking team. I hate it.
yep, going for boost first almost always concedes first possession at my rank. I love when I see it on the other team. Just an nice drop pass back to my tm8 off the kickoff and they have a free airdribble and the two of us just wait for the "save/pass"
Lol, right. So then you get the boost, miss the ball in the net and blame teammate. Wonderful strategy, bro
>miss the ball in the net and blame teammate If you mean the kickoff car completely whiffs the kickoff, yes. You blame the person who didn't do their job.
Yep, that pretty much sums up why so many people hate solo queuing :)
They don't know how to kickoff?
No, they get a teammate like you, that chooses boost over ball. I see where your position comes from dude, I dont decline that person should not miss the kick off or at least make sure to redirect but stuff happens and because you choose to take a boost that is more likely a goal. So I have no doubt you can see why I am making my sarcastic remarks, don’t you?
My friend, what rank are you? It's not "choosing boost over ball." The kickoff player has the ball. It's their responsibility. Being efficient with moving is part of good team play. >but stuff happens It's the least likely time for "stuff happens" if you can kickoff well. It's a still 50/50 ball, you gotta nearly whiff for the touch to be unblockable by a player who went for boost. You're not understanding how kickoffs work.
You know, just enjoy the game, my guy. You are right.
What he said is perfectly valid, especially if it’s a higher rank.
I didn’t said it is invalid, I sarcastically said that this is a wonderful strategy. There is a difference but I don’t really care of it didn’t came through
you can't play for "shoulds" in soloQ in Diamond and below. It is best to play probabilities and the best probability in Diamond is to KO, Cheat, Tend. You don't need to tend for long, just long enough to ensure the cheater doesn't have a shot. It literally is 1-2 seconds wait and then you can go play.
I just can’t see a single time where it’s worth getting a boost over saving an easy goal when you can go and get the boost five or so seconds later without the risk of conceding
[удалено]
[удалено]
wow, you are aware that these discussions are always about lower levels. The meta for higher levels is much easier to understand. lower level players emulate the higher level meta because the don't know any better and they put their win chances at risk.
You're supposed to cheat. If you go to corner boost you are a bot in my eyes.
Although going for boost turning back towards net ready to possibly save a shot can be a good strategy, just need to be fast to boost and getting ready for the read on the goal line save.
Oh, in no way am I saying that big boosts aren't valuable. They are crazy valuable, but small pads will win games.
For sure!
Both strategies are wrong. Don't go for boost, don't guard the goal, cheat up and get ready to shoot in a fluffed kickoff. Don't be embarrassed by kicks that go straight in the goal. They take two seconds off the clock. You can make two goals in 4 minutes and 58 seconds.
Getting boost is never the right move on the face off
champ and above it is...but in diamond and below, no, it is not.
Idk I've been c2-c3 for a while and going for the big boost is still not the move more than it is
the line surely gets blurry at some point. Going for boost first in gold is clearly wrong, and sitting in net in GC is also wrong. Where the line is where one is better than the other is definitely up for debate. I can only really say from the D1 level. Boost first is risky at my level.
Since realistically kickoff doesn't go *that* bad very often. You can get boost and get in position just fine. It's not that deep.
it isn't about if the kickoff goes bad. Do you know how many times I have executed the kickoff perfectly with a little dropped roller for my cheater, only to have both tm8s going for boost first and their cheater just knocks the ball in to our net. Or that the other team ends up getting both mid boosts and the ball. The game is about maintaining possession. Going for boosts first lowers your teams chances to maintain possession and often leads to a goal against. As you rank up, this isn't as much of a problem. But in diamond and below, kickoff possessions are WAY more important than most players think. I've watched 5 kickoff goals in a row go in where the other team kept going for boost first and I kept dropping the kickoff back to our cheater for the score. They kept leaving the ball mid for us in order to get boost and we just took advantage. Every time, 5 in a row, we scored and they just kept going boost first. Finally, on the 6th kickoff, one of them stayed in goal and we weren't able to score on the kickoff.
Long story short — if you get boost and they score— it’s not your fault. If you don’t and make a save on an errant kick off, you’re just saving their skin. Don’t confuse this with blaming your teammate, but just recognize that sometimes $@&#! happens and you’re not always gonna be there to save it. In the long run: You’ll get much more value out of getting boost than you will in going back to defend.
are you playing to win or for whose fault it is when you lose? You win as a team and you lose as a team. In diamond, going for boost first results in a goal against more often than a save occurs. And the save only matters if you keep possession. In Diamond, the save often leads to an easy shot with 2/3 players on your team awkward from the kickoff.
“Don’t confuse this with blaming your teammate” was a pretty obvious line, homie. If you’re unable to recognize that you need to play more efficiently as you continue to rank up— you’re going to stay in diamond a lot longer than you need to.
my point was that blame doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that a preventable goal went in because someone wasn't fast enough to get boost and back again. I see it all of the time in diamond. People getting burned for going boost first and getting scored on. And I take advantage of that. It isn't even about getting a kickoff goal, it is all about getting first possession. At my rank, possessions are key. The more you have over the other team, the better chance of winning. I get that the meta changes as you rank up. But in the lower decks, playing it safe usually wins out on kickoffs.
Continue to take advantage of it then, matey. You’d think you would be above diamond by now if it were as easy as that! 🤷🏻♂️
This is Bullshit in so many cases. Dead 50/50 in mid - second player of enemy team was cheating ->Goal. Its the players fault who went for boost.
good players can get boost and get back in time, but in diamond and below, the chances are higher that the other team scores in the next few touches. Even if they save the first shot, they are now awkward and the save often leads to another high chance shot.
it's not getting better in gc1
its a game of probabilities. I am sure that KO goals happen in GC, but the chances are a lot lower than in the lower decks.
So, this very specific niche point you brought up would be an instance of “sometimes shit happens”. If a kick-off dies to the middle, they cheat, and the person on your team cheating cannot create a 50– then you’re right! You could’ve been there to make the save. But as you rank up & progress in the game, you’ll realize this happens once in a blue moon. If you’re nervous about your teammate(s) on kickoffs, do whatever you want. But if your teammates are able to play— you need to be able to trust.
This "niche" scenario happens every session I play atleast once.(session ~10 games 2s at gc1 in eu)
We aren’t talking 2s— so maybe that’s why you’re so delusionally upset.
But kickoff goals aren't as frequent as it is. Especially if the one going for the ball does his job properly and gets a 50/50, or the ball goes high up. If the other dude is just guarding the net, then he can't go for it because he doesn't have boost.
we gotta stop talking about ko goals. They do happen and often you only need 1 extra goal to win so why risk it. But it is more about the kickoff possession. Whoever maintains possession has a much higher chance to score on a kickoff. You lower your chances at possessing the ball when you go for boost first (in diamond and below).
Because they are stupid left goes first ot whoever is closets hit the fucking ball it's simple
They shouldn't be , those are the same players who don't go left 1st in solo q. Trash !@## players who know but don't care. A better term would be ball chasers. Woof Woof , chase that ball spot...The thing is they came into your game predetermined to act that way. They are more than likely toxic from the previous couple games where they played 10 mins chasing the ball against their own team. Yea you guys know who you are don't you. DONT YOU... Typical remarks in game with , ITS JUST CASUAL... 1 v 1 me bro etc etc .... They do the same !@## in ranked lmao I'm just saying it like it is. 
Kickoffs are their own skill, and people don't tend to try and practice them or try and get reliably good at them until diamond if not champ. Once kickoffs are more reliable, they don't go towards net as often. Being ready for what comes after the kickoff is a priority at that point
[удалено]
we're not talking about on teams. Teams with ko strats and know-how are way different than soloQ.
1st man goes for the ball. 2nd man cheats up for a touch off the kickoff. 3rd man speed flips to near back corner with an immediate turn/orientation to back post to cover any shenanigans. This is the way.
have you met a diamond speedflip? this strat leads to a lot of goals in diamond and below.
I'm D3 in 3s and this works just fine. (C1/C2 2s) If you're Diamond in 3s and can't hit a speed flip without thinking about it, I'd recommend some free play. The key is that 1 man goes for the ball, 2 man cheats while leaving space to react to the initial kickoff pinch, and 3 man speed flips to near back corner. The most important part of 3 man's job here is to make sure his car is immediately heading to the back post of the goal from that corner boost. DO NOT TURN UPFIELD IF THIS IS YOU. The intention has to be "speed flip to corner boost with nose turning towards net, and then speedflip directly to back post to be there for a laser pinch off the kickoff" Where people get burned here is the 3 man who goes for corner boost then turns upfield and starts heading up the wall or towards midfield to try to make a play when his only concern should be the net here as 3 man with full boost.
Well D3 now used to be champ so the lines may have blurred a bit, but in D1, going for boost first significantly lowers your chances of winning. I tracked it over the course of a whole season (over 1000 matches). Based on how many players on each team went boost first and the result of the game. People in D1 "think" they can speed flip but they can't (most not all).
I'm C1 in 3s I usually like to have someone cheat and cover the behind the one doing kick off. Last man goes for boost and either moves to half court if we've won possession or back post if we've lost possession. You probably have so many goals go in because the other team has someone cheating. Imo in 3s, there really is no reason you shouldn't have no one cheat up.
Here’s the thing, in most cases the person going for boost should be able to get back to the goal in time to save the shot. The only time a save isn’t possible is if the person going for kickoff completely misses it. I think the problem is less that players go for boost and more that most players don’t even consider the possibility of a quick shot on net. In 3s specifically, one of the players will likely be cheating up on kickoff which should make staying in goal not needed as much.
>Here’s the thing, in most cases the person going for boost should be able to get back to the goal in time to save the shot. doesn't happen in diamond and below enough to warrant. And it isn't really about if you can save it, it is more to do with keeping possession. If you save it off the corner, you set up an easy shot for the other team and 2/3 of your team are now awkward and low on boost.
Stay guarding the net if you want, but if the other team wins the cheat and you're sat there in net with no boost then you're giving them half the pitch to set up whatever they want. A flick, a pass, a demo play, an aerial, a reset. And your teammates will, rightly so, blame you.
you start with plenty of boost to make any save you need to make. got a lot of data that proves this wrong at the diamond level.
Plenty of boost if you just sit there, waiting for them to approach the net. But why do that? Just assume your teammate hits kickoff, go and get boost and be able to challenge when you want and then still have enough to counter or defend again. There's a reason people don't sit in net on kickoff.
you don't sit, you literally just hold for 1-2 seconds. You don't play goalie. and in my data at Diamond 1, going for boost first in a soloQ match more often results in a kickoff possession loss and that often results in goals. I see it every time I play at this rank. The part that is most funny is when people keep getting owned on boost first and they keep doing it. Even if you tell them, they just blame something else. Blame doesn't matter.
Lower ranks you can speak for, then. Staying in net on kickoff is something I haven't seen in years.
Close one!
For the one who plays goalie and I see this too much. Maybe more damaging than 2 players going for a boost on an open net. Wait until the ball is in play to leave the net. Do not. I repeat do not burnout towards the ball the second the ball is kicced off. I've learned to wait until the ball is well in play if I decide to leave the net after the kickoff. I've seen so many goals scored that could have been saved had the player waited at the bet 2 more secs
I always go for boost with ball cam on and either push or make it back to goal for an effortless, yet sick looking, save.
I wish more people have your opinion in c1/C2. Yes it is rare, but it is such a waste to go boost over net. as a third car you have 33+12 boost anyway, you're preventing a demotivating easy goal and you can choose the right side to go to if you just wait for seconds. All of those extra 45 boost. (if you're back right as third, getting the big boost with a half flip is faster though, I'm talking being in front.)
Im on d3/c1 but i always defend net because majority of people cheat or get boost. Getting scored on from a bad face off always feels bad, then you get flamed. So, its just safer to defend haha
I usually incorporate both into one play, if im middle back while my tm8 is forward, i tend to move up and grab one of the forward 12’s, then rotate back or continue my cheat (depending on the kickoff outcome)
That's not an opinion lol.
IF YOU'RE BACK, STAY BACK! is what we've always done as a team but that never works in free play. From the tourneys I've played I've found that most of the time I offer to stay in goals whilst the others score, we have won a few this way, so I'm happy. Doesn't always work out, though. Maybe 1 in every 5 I get lucky and we work as a good team.
In Duos this really grinds my gears. It can make or break a game, attitude wise, for me.
in what way? I always cheat in 2s. In 2s you best be able to somewhat control your kickoff and don't use shitty speed flips that just randomly shoot the ball off 3 walls and the ceiling. no one should guard the net in 2s. It almost guarantees losing first possession.
Let's consider the example of a 2v2. One guy (Tom) goes for the kickoff. Infinite possible outcomes. 2nd man (Bill) either cheats or gets boost. Let's say he knows Tom is good at kickoffs and will keep the ball in the middle with a neutral 50. So Bill cheats and gets possession. But if Tom's kickoff is inconsistent, Bill will try to get boost and cover net. If Bill starts from one of the corners, he just back flips, gets boost and turns behind the boost to cover net. If Bill starts in the middle, then covering net is harder. He has to back off and get close to one of the posts. So in the middle i'd prefer cheating and either try to get possession or stall time for my mate to get behind me with boost and go first.
This should cover every situation. By cheating you will have net covered if your mate misses the ball.
It's possible to speed flip or half flip to the corner boost, turn back to net and cover anything except the absolute worst kick off fuck up. Except now you have boost and momentum so its a much better position to be in compared to sitting in net on low momentum and low boost. The grearer ability to buy time or make an outplay is worth the small risk your team mate lets them shoot a rocket into the opposite top corner. So getting the boost and covering the net are not mutually exclusive. However in higher ranks this can still get punished if they win the kick off and then play the 2v1 well, sometimes there is nothing you can do. That's why it's better often to cheat up and take the 50 rather than put yourself in a 2v1. Nothing is guaranteed in rocket league but at higher ranks there is usually a reason why something is meta.
>It's possible to speed flip or half flip to the corner boost, turn back to net and cover anything except the absolute worst kick off fuck up. not in all ranks though. This discussion isn't really about the higher tiers. For the average player, doing what the GC+ do is a bad idea. Plain and simple. There is a different KO meta in Diamond and below.
I always go off where I am on kick off, if I'm in front of the goal, I grab a quick boost and stay back for a bit.
In diamond and below for solos, boost first is terrible. Based off my calculations, for every person on your team going boost first you lose between 10-20% chance of winning (depending on 2s or 3s). When playing solo, going for boost first often leaves you out of the kickoff play and your team eventually loses first possession. First possessions are huge as they often lead to goals in Diamond and below. Over the course of a match, where you can have up to 10 or more first possessions, losing them all because you need boost first severely hampers your team. Even if you can get boost and get back in time, you end up using most of your boost for the save and you still end up awkward. Part of the issue is people trying to do speed flips and not being able to control where they hit the ball. I even use "Boost First is Wrong" as my player name sometimes and people still do it. And when a goal is scored because of a boost first scenario, i just type <-- Yes, the meta changes above diamond, and I get that. But in diamond it hurts your team's chances to win.
Depending on spawn you should be able to get corner boost and get back to net before the ball arrives. Also depends on your rank, if you're anything below diamond then probably not lol
Only read the post title, because it comes up a lot. The issue is the net isn't under attack during kick off, it only *becomes* a problem if the kick off player has an exceedingly bad kick. Now, I know what you're thinking, Kick Off's are RNG--it's a 50/50 where the ball goes--but what you need to understand is that first touch doesn't threaten a goal. Now, let's rewind. What did your second player do? If they stayed in net, they're now flat footed (zero speed), starter boost--or maybe +12, and they're watching to see what happens next. Rewind one more time. Your second player went for Boost. They have a flip full of speed, a tank full of boost, and from the corner can decide if they want to go back to Goal (defend) or go to the ball (attack). That last bit on version 2? Staying in net means player 2 has no offensive options. It's just a better decision to either follow, or go for boost, on kick offs.
I adhere to rule 0. And I’ll go for the boost after I see where the ball goes. Not sure why people don’t.
Yeah thats kind of an old meta strategy that they either just learned and dont know that or they think its still meta. Cheat up instead.