Keyboard and mouse players are harder to come by in the Rocket League community. When you do come across them, they are almost always respected for their mastery.
Keyboard and mouse is not everyone’s go-to method of playing the game, yet it isn’t any less ideal than a controller. Playing using this method offers versatility with many different key bind options allowing players to find the best setup for them.
As a matter of fact, plenty of world-class professional players utilize a keyboard and mouse as well as expert freestylers who are known for having outstanding mechanics. This guide will introduce you to the most common keybinds as well as other methods utilized by professional players throughout the world.
Most Common Keyboard and Mouse Setup
Fruity and Yukeo, two European professional players, both use similar controls in their competitions.
Universally, all players use the same basic driving keybinds:
- Throttle (Forward): W
- Brake (Backward): S
- Steering Right (Right): D
- Steering Left (Left): A
- Jump: Right Mouse Button
- Boost: Left Mouse Button
- Power Slide (Drift): Left Shift
- Ball Cam: Space Bar
These universal settings are crucial to maintain and practice because they allow you to make use of all five fingers on your left hand while putting your right hand in a comfortable position with your pointer and middle fingers.
Whether you’re looking to grind through the ranks of hit insane shots, being able to efficiently utilize all of your fingers on the keyboard is going to be the difference between making that insane play or barely missing it.
Advanced Keybinds
With the basic keybinds set up, you are now ready to get into the advanced controls of your keyboard and mouse. These settings will empower you to aerial to hit those crucial touches in the air as well as look around the map at any time.
Aerial and Utility Keybinds:
- Air Roll Right: E
- Air Roll Left: Q
- Rear View: Middle Mouse Button
- Camera Swivel Right: Thumb Mouse Button 1
- Camera Swivel Left: Thumb Mouse Button 2
Being able to air roll to the left and right is crucial to getting those tight angle shots, powerful hits, and passing at more difficult angles.
On top of this, utility keys that allow you to see the map better are important for analyzing your opponents and teammates to make correct plays and decisions on the map.
These keybinds are most common because they help you make use of almost every single finger on both hands to gain the biggest advantage over your opponents during matches. However, there are alternate methods available!
Alternate Keyboard and Mouse Setups
As mentioned earlier, there are alternate methods that players use as well.
One example of this comes from Torsos, an Oceanic player who placed top 4 in RLCS Season 6 at the World Championships. He has swapped his ball cam from the space bar to the right mouse button. Then he changed his jump from the right mouse button to the space bar.
Having your space bar as jump is the usual go-to for every game making this a more comfortable keybind for some players. However, jumping is one of the most used keys in Rocket League which can wear down your space bar quite quickly depending on the keyboard and the pressure applied.
Another possible change utilized by Yukeo, a European player for Dignitas, involved air roll right/left being swapped with camera swivel right/left. Thumb mouse button 1 would become air roll left and thumb mouse button 2 would become air roll right. Then the camera swivel left on Q and the camera swivel right on E.
This is a reliable change to make if it is more comfortable for you. The only possible limitation to it is the size of the mouse buttons and possibly missing them or hitting the wrong one due to them being compact.
The most common change resides in the air roll buttons on Q and E which require you to move your fingers. As a result, players can swap their air roll to left shift only. With that keybind, you don’t need to move your fingers and you can make use of your pinky while aerialing.
Despite this possible alternative, professional players such as ZeN, Oceania Gaming Gamers player, have moved towards utilizing air roll left and right because overall, it allows you to have more control over your car while aerialing compared to a single air roll button.
Additional Help
Rocket League is one of the most unique games ever created with a high skill ceiling and different methods of playing. While keyboard and mouse isn’t the most used, it is still a reliable way to play the game as proven by professional players in the scene who use it.
If you are looking to improve on keyboard and mouse mechanically or at climbing the ranks of Rocket League, GamersRdy is here to support you with keyboard and mouse coaches who can help you along your journey.
You can also check out a new series called, “Guide to Keyboard & Mouse”, where I will be uploading a series of quick guides on mechanics for keyboard and mouse players
Alongside that series, I will be answering questions that players have to help individuals struggling to get a mechanics or concept of the game.
Good luck with your setup and if you need extra help make sure to join us on the GamersRdy Discord server.
