Rocket League Watching Replays Guide

Rocket League Watching Replays Guide by ostrich1000

Ok so I’m sure you know that people can share replays with each other. The replay files are located in Documents\My Games\Rocket League\TAGame\Demos. See all those files that end in.replay? Those are the replay files. You drop other people’s replays in there and it’ll work just like your own.

There’s a website called rocketleaguereplays.com where people upload replays and such. Early on it was useless because there were no replays with pro players at all. Not much to learn from watching bronze/silver/gold players. Well maybe a little but its mostly a waste of a time overall.

Until recently! A few people (thanks vG Sub’n!) uploaded a bunch of games with a mix of top players like Kronovi, Kuxir, Markydooda, Mik3rules, etc.

You can search by player name. For example:

• Kuxir
• Kronovi
• Gibbs

Pure gold I tell ya.

If you’re in a slump…

Whenever I start playing poorly (missing shots, bad positioning, etc) I just load up one of these replays and watch the game from the perspective of a top player. Sometimes I’ll actually hold the controller and try to follow along with their movements.

Usually this will undo whatever issue was causing my brain to miscalculate shots and position. For me at least, playing the game well requires an almost unconscious rhythm. Following along a pro player’s movements in-game as though it was my car is a great way to get into that rhythm.

If you want to improve…

Pick a pro player whose style you enjoy playing the most.

For defensive ground play with accurate long shots, go with Gibbs. For dribbling go with Gambit or Markydooda. For aerials and trick shots go with Kronovi or Kuxir. For passing go with any game that Mik3rules is in. Low5ive is a great choice too for overall play; since he’s not a SARPBC veteran it’ll feel closer to home.

And that’s it! Sometimes I’ll watch these games while eating a sandwich or something. If Kuxir does some insane shot I’ll slow it down and watch exactly what he does. It’s actually incredible to watch the precision in slow motion. When things are full speed you don’t realize how precise his contact with the ball really is.

If anyone is wondering how this is better than just watching a stream:

• You get to slow down time obviously. That’s a big deal for analyzing positioning and such.
• You get to watch from everyone’s perspective. Sometimes to understand why a juke worked you need to see it from the perspective of the guy who got juked. Especially if the guy getting juked is a pro player.
• Many live streams don’t allow you to rewind unless the streamer has a lot of viewers. So if they make a big play you can’t analyze it until they (hopefully) upload a on demand video of that game.

Here’s a step by step guide on how to play the replays:

• Download the .replay file from the website above.
• Move or copy the file into the Documents\My Games\Rocket League\TAGame\Demosfolder
• On the website, note the date of the game and the score.
• In the main menu of Rocket League, go to Extras. And then Replays.
• Find the replay in the list using the date and the score as a reference.

EDIT: For the newer players among you, here are some things to look out for in the replays:

• Boost management. You don’t see how much boost they have, but watch how often they use it. Or when they use dodge in place of boost. Also notice how a lot of their movement is from boost to boost (even the welfare boost when they can’t get a big one).
• Pick a player and try to figure what their role is in the game. Watch their position relative to other teammates. This is especially useful when watching Flipsid3 play. But others too. Like Kronovi likes to play deep in the opponent zone sometimes. Obviously this is risky as it takes him out of the play. So how is he managing the risk? When does he decide to go back? If you pay close attention you’ll see that he mitigates the risk quite well and does fall back when there’s an actual risk of the opponents scoring a goal. He understands and predicts the flow of the game very well.
• Try to predict the next move a pro player will make. First imagine what you would do next. When the pro player does something different than you would do, ask yourself why. Is it just that their play style is different? Or are they seeing something you’re not? Obviously the goal isn’t to copy their movements but understand the reasoning behind your own.
• Nearly every shot these guys make has a purpose. What may look like a random clear is actually setting up some kind of play. Try to figure out what they’re trying to do. A lot of the time their plan doesn’t work out… but what if it did? Most new players tend to swat at the ball randomly until it lands in a good place.
• Pick a move you think is particularly cool and try to recreate it in free play. Trying to learn a single move like setting up a wall shot and executing it teaches a lot of other skills too, like ball control.
• Watch how they use the farthest edges of the car to get a hit. There is more to your car’s hitbox than what you see visually and they know that.
• Don’t skimp on 1v1 games! In team games (3s especially) following the game might feel a bit chaotic. There’s a lot of challenging, lots of 50/50s, lots of blocks. In 1v1 the individual skill, positioning, and playmaking really comes through.