Roller Champions is Ubisoft’s latest F2P game, and in case you missed our full Roller Champions review, the verdict is: it’s pretty good, actually. It’s a simple skating game where you race around an arena to throw balls into a goal, but there’s a competitive and tactical edge to the game that makes it feel much deeper than what is obvious on the surface.
In this guide we’re breaking down eight tips you need to know to start playing Roller Champions and start winning Ranked Games.
Ball possession
Controlling and possessing the ball is the first thing your team should focus on. If you want to rack up points and win the game, you need to lap the arena without letting the other team touch it – as soon as your opponents get the ball, your lap score is reset. Being able to hold onto the ball and keep it in your team’s hands is the most important thing you can focus on in the first minute of any game.
Launch speed
It’s very easy to fall behind while trying to lap the rink, especially if you get tackled to the ground by some cheeky opponents. Luckily there’s a method to launch yourself off of allies. If you’re at a teammate’s back you can tab LB/L1 to grab and fling yourself ahead of the pack. This results in a huge burst of speed and is perfect for getting to the front for a quick pass.
Smart slopes
Keeping up that speed and momentum is one of the most important parts of Roller Champions, and so you need to abuse the slopes on the arena to get the most speed possible. The walls of the arena are sloped so you can ride up them with enough momentum, and then pump your way back down to carry the force forward and get ahead. You can also use the slopes to zig-zag your way past foes, making it harder for them to tackle you.
Tackles
You don’t want to get tackled, at any point, but you do want to tackle opponents as often as possible. Since your opponents will want to stop your team from controlling the ball, they will likely make a beeline to the player with the ball and start a tackling frenzy. Before they get there, you can run defense by tackling them first to slow down their advance. Tackling is great to get the ball away from foes, but also great just for slowing your enemies down while you protect your team.
Jumping for joy
There isn’t actually much incentive to jump in Roller Champions, unlike stunt-focused titles like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. Instead, jumping should be used in order to retain your momentum and avoid the tackles coming from opponents. You can jump straight over their heads, or use a jump to scale a slope without losing momentum by going up a ramp.
Pass priority
When you’re going up against a good team, passing the ball is going to become infinitely more important. You need to pass the ball to other members of your team in order to keep it away from foes. If you find the enemy team going for your ball carrier – and they will – get ahead of the foe and have the ball carrier pass to you. You can indicate your intention to receive by pressing the pass button when you don’t have the ball. Of course, if foes are ahead of you, passing behind might be a better idea.
Turning around
You should never turn around after already completing a lap, but if you just happen to be falling behind and the team is coming up your behind, then turning around and taking them head-on might be a better idea. This way you can tackle foes head-on, meet them faster, and hopefully intercept the ball before they manage to complete laps of their own.
Banking points
You have to lap the arena in order to rack up points, but those points count for nothing until you’ve thrown the ball through the goal ring. The goal only opens after you’ve completed at least one lap, but you can easily perform multiple laps, and then bank all of those points at once. If you manage to get five laps completed and throw the balls through the goal, it’s an instant victory. Don’t push your luck by going for laps if you’re up against a tough team though, as you just might regret it if they manage to take the ball away from you.
Written by Dave Aubrey on behalf of GLHF.
