Rocket League Patch Notes Revealed Before Next Week’s Free-To-Play Update

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A massive Rocket League update is now live on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One that makes some important changes to the soccar game before next week’s free-to-play update. The full patch notes are outlined below.

Two major changes implemented in this new Rocket League update are the addition of cross-progression support and the disabling of Nintendo Switch Online as a requirement to play online matches. Now, Switch players can play online without subscribing to Nintendo’s online service. (It’s worth noting that while the patch notes don’t explicitly specify it, developer Psyonix said PS Plus won’t be required for online play either.) Further, by linking an Epic Games Account to a Rocket League profile, players can transfer their data–including Competitive rank, inventory, Rocket Pass progress, and more–between platforms.

Psyonix is also converting every player that has played Rocket League before the free-to-play update arrives on September 23 to Legacy status. This ranking includes loyalty items like a banner and wheels, as well as a title commemorating the year a player’s Rocket League account was created.

The update also features a new onboarding video for Rocket League newcomers that acclimates them to the game and its mechanics, menu and user interface updates that streamline navigation, three new presets for control bindings, the ability to seamlessly switch between control schemes, and more.

Elsewhere in the patch is a PC update that no longer supports DirectX 9, the permanent addition of the Heatseeker mode (which is now playable in Local and Private matches), and general bug fixes.

Full Rocket League Patch NotesThe Headlines

Epic Games Account Linking and Cross-Platform Progression are now availableNintendo Switch Online is no longer required to play Rocket League onlineCheck out all of the Menu and UI changes!Added a new Vehicle Preset based on the Merc car

Epic Games Account and Cross-Platform Progression

Progression and Account Linking

You can now link each platform you play Rocket League to a single Epic Games Account to share progression, inventory, Rocket Pass progress, Competitive Rank, and more everywhere you playFor progression data, you will select a Primary Platform to progress everywhere. If you’re Level 1000 and Champion II on PC, and Level 500 and Diamond III on your console, you’ll want to pick your PC profile as your PrimaryWe strongly recommend you link every account you play at the same time so you can make an informed choice when selecting your Primary PlatformFor more information, please read our blog poston Cross-Platform ProgressionPlayers who linked their existing Rocket League platforms to an Epic Games Account will also receive the ‘Chopper EG’ Wheels

Epic Friends

Epic Friends have replaced RocketID as the solution for cross-platform friends in Rocket LeagueYour RocketID friends will be automatically converted into Epic Friends on your first login.The In-Game Friends List has been updated to display both your platform friends and your Epic Friends in one panel for easier access

Legacy Status

If you played Rocket League before the free-to-play update was released, you have Legacy statusLegacy status includes special loyalty reward items, including a Boost, Wheel, Banner, and a special Title that commemorates the year your account was created:
‘Faded Cosmos’ Boost (limited to accounts created prior to July 21)’Golden Cosmos’ Boost’Dieci-Oro’ Wheel’Huntress’ Player Banner’Est. 20XX’ Title

Legacy status holders also get special “Legacy” quality versions of every Common item available before the free to play changeover, as well as access to all non-licensed DLC items

Player-to-Player Trading

Trading with another player now requires a linked Epic Games AccountTrading with another player now requires both accounts to have purchased 500 Credits or equivalent (Esports Tokens, Starter Pack, etc.) to deter fraud.
Players with Legacy status are exempt from this requirement

New Player Experience

Players new to Rocket League with this update will see a new interactive intro cinematic, as well as special guidance when navigating the in-game menusNew players will need to reach Level 10 before they can matchmake in Competitive Playlists

Tournaments

NOTE: The new Tournaments system will be live with this release, but only a limited number of test Tournaments will be scheduled until we transition Rocket League to free-to-play.

The Tournaments system has been redesigned and now offers automated Competitive Tournaments at set times per day, per regionWhile you can still sign up with a full party, Competitive Tournament matchmaking will attempt to find you a team if you can’t join with a full groupMixed-Rank parties will be placed in a Tournament based on the Rank of the highest-skill playerPlaying at your skill–even if you lose!–is always more efficient than winning at a lower RankTeams knocked out of the tournament in the first round may be able to re-join during a ‘late joiner’ roundLeaving a Tournament early may lead to temporary matchmaking and Tournament bans on your account
If your entire team forfeits, no bans will be issued

Earn rewards over the course of each season by defeating opponents of similar skill

You’ll earn Tournament Credits based on your final placement in each Tournament combined with the difficulty of the overall bracket you were seeded intoThe Tournament Credit reward is the same for all teammatesTournament Credits can be redeemed to get Cups that will grant you a customization item of escalating quality
The higher level the Cup, the more often you’ll unlock an item of higher rarityAll Tournament items can have special attributes like Painted or CertifiedThese prizes can be traded in within their series, all the way up to Black Market

You can play in as many tournaments as you want each week, but most of your earnings will come from your Top 3 Weekly Placements, which reset at the end of each week on SundayWinning a Tournament earns you a Title that shows off the Rank of the Tournament you won.

Winning three similarly ranked tournaments throughout a season will grant you a colored Title at that Rank.

Players are still able to create and host their own Custom Tournaments

Knocked out of the Tournament you’re hosting? You’ll be able to spectate the remaining matches

Menu and User Interface Updates

The Main Menu has been streamlined to reduce the number of buttons and better organize featuresPlay Submenu: Modes are now grouped into cards instead of tabs
Selecting a Playlist will now immediately search that playlistFor players who prefer to search multiple playlists at once, you can enable “Multiple Selection” within any of the Playlist groups. This setting is saved so you won’t have to toggle it each time you search.You can now quickly jump into Free Play or the Garage after searchingTraining is now accessible directly from the Play menuExhibition, Season Mode, and Private Match have been combined into the “Custom Games” card

The Profile Submenu now contains:

Career (Stats, Leaderboards, Rankings)ReplaysCreate or Manage ClubBanner and Avatar Border customization options

The Extras Submenu is now found under Options – ExtrasThe appearance of the Main Menu and some submenus have been updated with new font and button/card designs

Changes and Updates

Item Changes

Many items formerly classified as Common are now Uncommon or higher, and must be obtained via Drops by new playersCommon Items are no longer unlocked in large batches per slot by playing matches. Any player with Legacy status that had not unlocked all of these items will receive the remaining items in “Legacy” qualityUncommon, Rare, and Very Rare Items no longer drop randomly after matches
These will be replaced by a new Drops system coming with free to play

Some cross-promotional items have been permanently marked as “Legacy” and can no longer be obtained by new accountsSome older ‘V1’ Engine Audio options can no longer be obtained by new accounts

Support a Creator

You can now support your favorite content creators by applying a Creator Code to your account in the Item Shop screenYour chosen creator will receive a percentage of your Credits spent while the code is active on your account

Default Settings Changes

Control Bindings are now organized into three presets–“Default,” “Legacy,” and “Custom”
“Legacy” is used for all existing accounts, and uses the same controls since our 2015 Launch”Default” assigns “Air Roll” to L2/LT by default, and unbinds “Voice Chat”You can switch to “Default” or “Legacy” without losing your “Custom” bindings

Voice Chat is now disabled by default

New Hitbox

Added a new Vehicle Preset based on the Merc carThis hitbox is both taller and narrower than the other hitboxes. Check it out and let us know what you think!

New Quick Chats

Informational Quick Chats
Bumping!Faking.On your left.On your right.Passing!

Compliment Quick Chats

Nice Bump!Nice Demo!

Keyboard Aerial Safety

The new “Keyboard Aerial Safety” setting prevents keyboard and mouse players from pitching down in the air while holding Throttle (W) until other inputs are recognizedWith this setting active, your car will not begin pitching down until you either pitch up, release the throttle/pitch down key, or air roll in any directionThis setting can be disabled in the Options – Controls tab

General

[PC] DirectX9 is no longer supportedThe Level 700 ‘Supersonic Legend’ Title has been changed to ‘Legendary Nemesis’Heatseeker is now available in Private and Local MatchesThe Solo Standard Competitive Playlist is no longer available

Bug Fixes

Fixed a bug preventing offending chat text from being displayed when an account is bannedAdditional performance optimizations made to the Gravity Bomb Goal ExplosionRebooting the game will no longer put the player on their oldest Car PresetTournament creators can spectate matches after leaving the tournament as a player

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