Rocket League has had one hell of a glow-up over the years. It was overhauled from a cult-hit indie game to an Esports powerhouse with an in-game market to match.
For returning and veteran players, this new market environment can leave you dizzy and confused. Gone are the days of CSGO-like keys and crates, along with everything you knew about that kind of trading.
You don’t have to worry about figuring out all the new stuff for yourself, though. We’ve put together a list of the ten best ways you can get items in Rocket League in 2021, including five ways for you to get free items for all you cheapskates out there potentially.
How to Get Items in Rocket League
Let’s dive a little deeper into how you can get more items in Rocket League in 2021. We’re talking about the following five methods requiring you to either already have some things to trade or have some cash to invest into your inventory.
If you’re starting from the ground up with not a dollar to your name, skip down to our bottom five methods, where we talk about the five best ways you can get free Rocket League items.
Once you have some gear to work with, you can come back to these tips so that you can work on creating a specialized and specific inventory full of rare and good-looking goodies.
Trade In-Game with Other Players
First and foremost, you need to come to terms with the fact that you need to be social. Sorry to all you introverts out there, but if you want more Rocket League items, you’re going to need to speak to some folks.
There are a few different social methods of acquiring items, but trading in-game is the simplest. You can do this with a friend or a stranger; either one works. All you have to do is put an item up for trade, and hope that they are willing to trade you one of theirs of equal value.
This won’t get you the items you want straight away, but it’s an excellent way to build up your reputation as a reliable and trustworthy trader – something that counts for a lot if you’re trading through Steam.
Build Your Blueprints
Blueprints replaced Rocket League’s old crate system, and thank god for that. Rather than relying on RNG, you know exactly what you’re getting from blueprints, which means you don’t have to waste credits on potentially everyday items.
You’re not going to get many high-valued items through blueprints. Still, it’s a suitable method of building up a starting inventory to trade with other players to increase your reputation.
Make Your Credits Go Further
Like how blueprints replaced crates, credits have replaced keys, and like keys, you can trade them for specific items you want.
Rather than trading your items, see if any players are willing to sell things you want for some of your credits. This is a way for you to bypass the in-game store’s daily rotation and go directly to the source for all the good-looking gear you want to use yourself.
Buy Items on the In-Game Store
Speaking of the store’s daily rotation, using cash and credits to buy items directly is away. While you do have to open your wallet for this method, it allows you to work around trading with other players, purchasing from the game instantly.
While we don’t advocate making this your primary method of getting items in Rocket League in 2021, it is worth buying rare and good-looking items from it now and again.
Buy Items on External Exchanges
Any game with an economy is going to have external markets pop up around it. Rocket League is no expectation.
There are plenty of markets that let you deposit cash. You can then use that cash to buy items hosted on said market.
This is essentially a built-in search feature if you’re looking for specific items. You can use these markets to instantly pick up things you want to use rather than finding players willing to trade or waiting for the in-game store rotation to include them.
How to Get Free Items in Rocket League 2021
Those five methods are ways to get items in Rocket League if you already have cash or an inventory to work with. Not everyone can be so lucky, though.
So, for all of us working on a $0 budget, these following methods should be your go-to for building up a roster of items to trade with.
It’s Time to Get Competetive
If you’ve been playing Rocket League for a few years, then you’re probably pretty good. It’s time to leverage those skills.
Placing well in tournaments will earn you notable credits that you can use to redeem even more items, no need to open your wallet.
Granted, you have to be good at the game to make this method work, but we’re sure that at least one of you out there can turn a pretty penny from it.
Trade-in Your Items
Rocket League has its dedicated trade-in function. Unlike CSGO, it doesn’t suck!
Accessible from the menu, the trade-in mechanic allows you to select what rarity you want to receive from the trade and then lets you hand up whatever useless items and skins you’re never going to need for the new one.
You are surrendering yourself to RNG, but if you have a ton of useless items that you’ll never use or sell, it’s an excellent way to clear up some space and potentially get something more valuable in the process.
Just Play the Game
We might sound like Captain Obvious here, but play the game!
As you rank up, you’re going to be getting blueprint and item drops. It’s not fast and entirely random, but it’s the most consistent 100% free way to get items in Rocket League. Combine it with our following method, and you’ll be rolling in rims and skins before you know it.
Rank Up Your Rocket Pass
Specifically, rank up your Premium Rocket Pass. Sure, you have to spend a couple of bucks to get it, but you’re going to make all those credits back and more through the various tier rewards the pass offers.
You can end up with hundreds of extra items by the season ends by taking advantage of the pass. All it requires you to do is play the game consistently. If you put in enough hours to rank it up, you’ll make enough cash back to buy the next season’s pass and keep all of the items you’ve gotten in the process.
Aside from buying credits and trading, this is the best way to get more items in Rocket League.
Complete Challenges for Item Orbs
Several of the in-game challenges you’re tasked with award item orbs. These are more similar to traditional crates, awarding you with a random item.
That doesn’t sound great, but when you remember that completing challenges is a part of the fun in Rocket League, it doesn’t sound like too bad of a deal.
Even if you have to go out of your way to complete some of the challenges, it’s more than worth it for a handful of free goodies. Random or not.
Beware of Scams
That’s all she wrote, folks. A comprehensive guide to the ten different ways you can get items in Rocket League in 2021 – including five methods of getting some free stuff.
With all our talk of trading, we need to put up a disclaimer. Beware of scams.
While we might like to believe that everyone is a god-fearing, honest and hardworking gamer, that’s far from the truth. There are snakes out there that would love nothing more than to steal all your valuables, and you need to know how to avoid them.
Thankfully, Rocket League comes with a built-in trading feature that requires simultaneous trades. This makes getting scammed far less likely than with titles like CSGO, but it is still possible.
If a trade seems too good to be true, it probably is. Trust your instinct and your gut. If something feels shady or off, don’t trust it. Be on the lookout for red flags, and you should be able to avoid falling into any scammer’s traps.
Above all else, though, trust in the system. If someone wants to trade with you outside of Rocket League’s parameters, run in the opposite direction. Not only is this not possible, but there’s no reason to do so unless something shady is afoot.