It’s been a while since my last post, but this game deserves as much attention as it can get.

I’ve played a lot of Rocket League since its release last summer. Enough to get me to level 52 (Master). I’ve also dabbled in the other modes it added later on. But I’ve never felt the urge to go back to them. The tried-and-true soccer mode was still the best. However, now that I’ve gotten to play the Rocket League Hoops mode extensively (12 or so hours of it so far), I can say it’s just as much fun to play the game this way.

There are some small differences you’ll notice between the soccer mode and this one. First, the ball seems a bit heavier. You can still get some good air if you hit it hard enough, but it just doesn’t seem to fly around the court/arena like the soccer ball does. This also means it doesn’t bounce off the ground as high either. There’s a reason for this. The “hoop” itself is raised up to roughly the same height as the top of the “goal” in soccer mode. And any experienced Rocket Leaguer knows how high that ball can bounce in regular play. This ball stays low so as to not make it easy to lob it up over the rim. Though, you CAN still achieve that if you are in the right position and the ball is already in an upward motion. In fact, the ball does often fly up over the rim and then sails too far over the other side, or banks off the backboard too hard. Another difference you’ll notice is the arena size. It’s much smaller than the standard soccer arena. To accommodate, this mode is 2v2 only. After a few games, I could see why 3v3 would be too crowded.

With that, I’ve gathered some important things to remember as you make your way into this exciting mode:

Tip #1 Tip Off/Aerials

When the countdown reaches zero, the ball no longer just sits at the center of the court. It now flies straight up into the air. What this means is if you want to get the first touch, you NEED to be somewhat skilled in aerials. There’s no way around it. If you are a master of the aerial, you will find yourself getting a lot of easy goals with the tip off. Likewise, if you are going up against an aerial master, you better make sure you are at least good enough to get your car up there to block the shot. Frankly, if you’re really skilled at aerials no matter where you are in the arena, you’re going to be good at this mode. I mentioned earlier that the ball is heavier which keeps it slightly more grounded but you will still see your share of it flying around in the air for which you can take advantage.

Tip #2 Angles

Hoops and Soccer are similar in that if your aerial game is lacking, you can still score a goal with bank shots. The only difference is where to bank it. Also, in Soccer, you could get some nice assists by riding the ball up the wall from the side using the rounded corners, giving your teammates a nice shot right in front of the goal. In Hoops, you can still use that technique, only this time you’re just trying to use the wall to guide the ball into the hoop to give yourself the score.

Tip #3 Saves

Making a sweet save in Hoops mode can be challenging. At first it might seem that once the ball drops into hoop, past the rim, that the goal is scored. However, you’ll notice a glowing line wrapped all the way around the wall of the arena, about half as high as the rim itself. This is the goal line. If your opponent drops the ball into the hoop, you can still position yourself inside of it to pop the ball back out as long as it doesn’t cross the imaginary border made by that glowing line.

These tips are what have stood out to me thus far. If I were to add one more to the list, if would be this: Patience. The first time you jump into this mode will feel awkward. You’re likely to make some silly mistakes. But this means your teammate will as well. Just be patient with them and yourself, and give it some time. I was ready to write off this new mode after the first couple games of it. But I’m happy I stuck with it because once you get accustomed to the new ball and arena size, you’ll soon be enjoying making shots in this mode just as much as, if not more than, the original soccer mode.