How to dominate Fortnite Rocket Racing

Nicholas James Published 19/12/2023

Rocket Racing is the brand new, action-packed race mode in Fortnite made by Rocket League developers Psyonix. Here’s how to dominate at Fortnite Rocket Racing.

Rocket League fans have been asking for a racing mode for ages, and their wish has finally been granted. But, much like wishing on a monkey’s paw, it came with a twist. The new mode is only available through Fortnite, but fans all over are still clamoring to climb the ranks and make record times.

Here are our best tips for climbing to Diamond and beyond in Fortnite Rocket Racing.

Tip #1: Maximize Drifts

The central mechanic of Fortnite Rocket Racing is drifting and Turbo Boosting. Turbo Boost is a manually activated speed boost that you can get throughout a match. Turbo Boost charges as you drive while in contact with a surface and charges even faster when you drift. You also gain a speed boost as you come out of a drift.

The Rocket Drift is your best friend for this. The Rocket Drift allows you to take even tighter, more exact drifts. Try, as often as possible, to find places and times to drift. You can even do this while driving straight, quickly drift in one direction to gain a speed boost and some Turbo Meter. This not only lets you pick up some extra speed in straight passes but also allows you to build up more total Turbo Boosts over the course of a race than your opponents.

Tip #2: Learn Your Lines

Rocket Racing isn’t just about mechanical skill and out-driving your opponents through sheer button-pressing. The most important part of any track in Rocket Racing is having a good line, the term for a given path through a track. Rocket Racing has over 20 maps, and all of them contain shortcuts, hidden boost pads, and tons of options. The easiest way to win a race is to be driving a better line than your opponents.

As an example, the Pleasant Pitstop map has two massive shortcuts. One is underneath the half-pipe directly after the start line, and the second is a highly hidden path underneath the pipe that leads to the home stretch. Learning how to take both of these can shave several seconds off of a lap, allowing you to climb more easily.

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The best way to learn lines you haven’t discovered is to watch footage of other players. Look up world record times on the maps you’re racing on, and try to emulate the routes that the elite players take.

Tip #3: Reps, Reps, Reps

There’s a lot in Rocket Racing that can be really frustrating for unprepared players. Car collision can cause your vehicle to spin out, pivot backward, or even be thrown off of the track. Desync can lead to ghost cars knocking you around, and all of these can lead to supremely frustrating moments. Just as with any competitive pursuit, if you want to climb in Rocket Racing, you need to be able to stay calm and improve game after game.

Reps help you learn lines, improve your mechanics, and otherwise improve at Rocket Racing. It can take a long time to climb, with over 60 1st place wins needed to make your way from the bottom of Diamon 3 to Unreal.

Tip #3: Stealing a win is still a win

This tip is related to our tips about drifting and boosting. You should always be trying to build up as many boosts as possible. Once you’re entirely confident with the line you’re driving on a map, feel free to use your boosts as planned, but otherwise, always be overstocked on boosts. Every player at the higher ranks is going to be planning to make a big pass at the very end of the race, right at the home stretch. So, if you want to climb the ranks, you should be prepared as well.

Boosting can lead to temporary leads where, in the long term, you’d lose ground. However, if you can use this to cross the finish line first, it’s as legitimate of a 1st place as any other. Save your boosts for the end, when that temporary distance that you’re creating can be the reason you won the race.

Those are our three biggest tips for Fortnite Rocket Racing, so get out there and start your engines!

Nicholas James

About Nicholas James

Nicholas James is a gaming writer with a passion for all things geekdom, as well as live theater. Nicholas is best known for covering League of Legends and other top MOBA titles, but his expertise covers numerous games across multiple genres. When not watching the LCS or playing the latest new release, Nicholas can be found doing some tabletop gaming and painting his favorite miniatures. Nicholas has also published with Hotspawn, TheGamer, Dexerto, Esports.gg and other industry outlets.

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