5 Rocket League Season 21 highlights

1. Heatseeker Can Now be Played Competitively

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You can now reach Supersonic Legend status in an additional game mode, as Heatseeker is added as a regular ranked option.

Sitting alongside seven other variations - such as quads, duel, rumble and snow day - Heatseeker made its competitive debut in Season 21, marketed by a short Bring The Heat Challenge.

The ranked mode is now a regular addition, however. Having previously been a limited-time feature. It differs as the ball seeks the opposing net of its own accord after being hit.

So, say you’re on the blue team, and you hit the ball first, it will then alter its course to target the orange goal, irrespective of your angle of attack. Each match will end when one team reaches seven goals.

This means it can be a very defensive mode, as more often than not, the ball is heading directly to your goal. 

Consequently, one person on each team is expected to be a permanent goalie, while the other attacks, simply because your goal will nearly always have the ball firing towards it. This dyanamic also hightens the relations on demonlitions - removing the goalkeeper in time for the heat-seeking ball is an effective tactive.

Finally, as the ball will always be travelling towards a goal, learning to time and palace a mid-field touch, could be key. The aim is to change the direction of travel, just enough, to catch the opposing defender off guard.

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2. Parc de Paris Arena

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It wouldn't be a celebration of the ‘heart of romance’ without a themed arena. Parc de Paris includes artwork designed by Mr Brainwash and Chanoir – French and French-Colombian, respectively – on the side of the crowd’s stands.

It also features a flamboyant announcer, shouting French words for countdowns, goals, saves and at the end of each match.

In the background is La Tour Eiffel, with its distinctive bulbs lit up. These change to the colour of the scoring team upon each goal:  orange or blue.

The arena’s walls are futuristic and curvaceous, set within a typically Parisian scene.

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3. Daft Punk-Themed Rocket Pass Cosmetic Items

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As ever, with a new season comes a new Rocket Pass to to progress through and earn XP.

With 21, and in line with the ‘Pursuit in Paris’ focus, Mr Brainwash and Chanoir return with some wacky decals to earn, such as a free car livery covered in cartoon cats.

There is also a section of electronic dance music items, somewhat of a French speciality. The anonymous masked maestros Daft Punk have several unlockable items in the paid-for premier tier, such as their helmets or an animated decal. Their 2013 song Instant Crush can be unlocked as a player anthem, alongside other EDM tracks by compatriots. 

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4. Three New Cars

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A trio of fresh bodies are now available, all unlockable via the Rocket Pass, and then with further decals for each in the higher levels.

Such vehicles and decals are only in the premium tier and therefore classified as ‘luxury’ bodies:

• Corlay - Octane hitbox - Rocket Pass Premium Level 1
• Magnifique - Dominus hitbox - Rocket Pass Premium Level 35
• Magnifique GXT - Dominus hitbox - Rocket Pass Premium Level 56

The Corlay is perhaps the most distinctive, its snail-like outline reminiscent of the classic Citroen 2CV. The slow compact car was amazingly in production for 42 years and is widely regarded to have mobilised the nation through the middle part of the 20th century, consequently becoming an icon.

In Rocket League, however, its compact design means it can feel more noble than other vehicles with the Octane hitbox - in this respect, similar to the Fennec bod

The Magnifique, meanwhile, may have a French name, but the low-slung sports car is fairly generic looking in comparison, while the GXT variant is a more modern design. It is slightly bulkier than the Dominus car model, which adds a sense of stability when executing aggressive mechanical plays.

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5. Rocket Rundown

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This new feature isn’t in the game itself; it's a fresh companion website. Log in with your Epic account, and you’ll find a suite of personalised stats. As this is a new addition for Season 21, the information is only calculated from Season 20 onward.

Alongside your total number of hours played, goals scored and even playstyle (from four attributes), there are some global stats, which are extraordinarily impressive, such as 2.4 billion matches played in the last season alone.

You can then download a virtual card with your top achievements to share on social media.

It’s not yet clear if this service will continue long-term or was an end-of-year Spotify Wrapped equivalent. But for now, you can still access your recent stats.

Let Mansell AI improve your Rocket Rundown with in-depth AI Coaching.

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Written by the teams at trophi.ai and Traxion.GG.