What is Rule 3 in Rocket League?

Unwritten rules can only be learned through playing the game or being an active member in the Rocket League community. Or by losing to the opposing team and recognizing you don't want it to happen again. Due to this, in this article we will explain and discuss rule 3, a Rocket League rule which we have been guilty of breaking many times.

What Does Rule 3 Mean In Rocket League

Rule 3 in Rocket League states the following: Never hit the ball off of your teammate’s car while they’re dribbling.

And we get it, it’s so enticing to do this, especially when you have a perfect shot lined up. But as someone who has done this on numerous occasions, trust us when we say that the chances of it producing a net positive for your team are slim to none.

Why You Should Follow Rocket League Rule 3

Imagine a situation. Your teammate is dribbling, he seems to be going in a predictable direction, and you are lined up for a shot that seems just perfect. You may get antsy to turn into a king ballchaser at that point, but consider all the things that may happen.

Your teammate might flick the ball at any moment, he could take a hard turn in any direction, he may decide to speed up or slow down sufficiently, or he might simply lose control of the ball and it will move away. Now, instead of only your teammate committing, you've actually caused double committing, and are likely to get punished for it by your opponents. Not a very good team play. Not to mention, you will probably make your teammate angry (rightfully so) and he might decide to start ballchasing himself, or worst case scenario, become toxic and cost you the game.

So, if you see your teammate dribbling on top of his car, and you see a shooting opportunity, take a breather, control yourself, perhaps grab a mid boost or a corner boost

Does Rocket League Rule 3 Apply To Every Rank

Considering the fact that a part of rule 3 involved your teammate actively dribbling the ball on top of their car, this rule obviously doesn’t apply to lower ranks, because, well, a silver is likely not going to be successful at keeping the ball on top of his car (sorry silvers, nothing personal). As such, you do not need to worry about rule 3 if you’re not at least a platinum, or possibly have a very ambitious teammate in gold.

With that said, if your rank is high enough, things might start going downhill fast if you violate rule 3. Interestingly enough, if you watch professional players, you will notice that they are also devout followers of rule 3, as well as rule 1, rule 2 and rule 4 for that matter. We wish we didn’t know about some bizarre rules such as rule 34, but there you go.

Are There Exceptions When You Shouldn’t Follow Rocket League Rule 3

If we had to choose between yes or no, then the answer would be no, there are no exceptions. If we wanted to hypothesize for a bit, then, in theory, there are situations when taking a shot off of your teammate’s car and thus violating rule 3 might actually be beneficial, but the issue here is that it is virtually impossible to predict when exactly the right time for this is (hence why even the pros don’t do it).

Even if you manage to hit that 1 in 100, there is a strong likelihood that your teammate still won’t appreciate it, despite you making a good play. As a result, it will still be a net negative for your team, because your teammate might start throwing, griefing, or, if he’s in a particularly bad mood, he might just leave outright.

With that said, there is still a 99% chance you don’t make a good play, and that’s if you’re an incredibly skilled player. If you’re not, those odds are even worse. So in conclusion - just respect rule 3.

Why Are There So Many Unwritten Rules

Over time as Rocket League game play has been evolving, players realized that not having these unspoken rules leave too much up to chance, or pure dumb luck. Who should go for kick off, what do quick chats actually mean, should you get involved in your teammate’s airplay or not - all these things would be up for interpretation by individual players which would result in a lot of randomness on the pitch.

The first rule that was introduced was, shockingly, rule 1, and despite not being an official rule, players started respecting it to the point where now almost everyone does. It's similar with rule 3. If you take a look at some higher rank game play, almost nobody ever takes shots off of their teammates' cars. It's just not a high percentage play in Rocket League games.

What Should You Do If Your Teammates Violate Rule 3

Obviously, it is easy to go berserk and become toxic off the bat. But the smart play that will win you lots of games is to take a breather, and calmly explain to your teammate that he shouldn't be doing that, either by typing it in team chat, or by using the new voice chat option.

The key word is "calmly". If you just spit out "Don't hit the ball off of my car", they might take it as you bossing them around. On the other hand, it is our experience that, if you're respectful and polite, and for example say something like "Hey mate could you please not hit the ball when I'm dribbling :)", most people will actually respect it.

So wholesome.

There will always be douchebags of course, and that's something that's simply unavoidable, but again, you want to go for the option with the best success rate that will win you the largest number of games.