The Octane is the first car players will use in Rocket league, and it is regarded as the best by many players in the community. With thousands of new players downloading Rocket League now that it is free to play, expect even more Octanes in the arenas. Preference obviously plays a role when analyzing the best cars in the game, but it is not a coincidence that many of the best streamers and content creators use the Octane over any other car. Interestingly, the original name for the Octane was Pepe, which honestly would not have been a bad name for the compact sports car. The car was so popular that Hot Wheels released a car modeled after it.

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The Octane certainly looks unique, as it was modeled after the Caterham 7, a car manufactured using a Lotus kit in the 1970s. The taillights of the Octane resemble the Apollo N, which is a sports car designed by the famed manufacturer Gumpert. Overall, the Octane looks good, but it is nowhere near the best looking car in the game.

As some players may know, Psyonix created six hitboxes in 2017. This means that of the 60 plus cars, there are only six different base vehicles, and the rest of the vehicle differences are primarily cosmetic. In fact, more cars have the octane hitbox than any other hitbox. Below are the only hitboxes in Rocket league:

• Breakout
• Dominus
• Hybrid
• Merc
• Octane
• Plank

There are too many Octane cars to list, even the jeep skin is an Octane. Players will be surprised to learn that the Fennec is actually an Octane skin too. Players who swear that the Fennec is better are actually using the Octane in disguise. Many players in the community have adopted the car as their favorite without wondering why the car is so good in Rocket League. Even though the hitboxes are the same, some cars have more exposed hitboxes than others. This means that some cars will have a hitbox that aligns with the shape of the car better than others.

The statistics do not show very much, in fact, the hitbox, turning radius, and speed of the Octane aligns closely with almost every vehicle. There are just a few decimal points separating the Octane's hitbox from the other cars in Rocket League. Clearly, the long and flat cars differ substantially, but offer benefits of their own. The Dominus, for example, is flatter and players will need to one hop for balls that are slightly off the ground. Apart from the hitbox differences, none of the Octane statistics jump off the page. Professionals claim that the octane hits the ball harder and that it is more forgiving than the other cars. In reality, the car is not much different than most of the cars in Rocket League. However, it is still the best for the reasons stated below.

In theory, it would make more sense that the hitbox which matches the shape of a car would be better. However, in practice, it is quite the opposite. When players use the Octane, the car looks smaller than other re-skins. As a result, players perceive that the car is more reliable because they often hit the ball without it contacting the car itself.

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The Octane is essentially an optical illusion that makes players think the car contacts the ball better than the other vehicles in the game. Psychology is one of the primary reasons why players enjoy using the car more than others.

Players that spend enough time using any car in the game can play very well in Rocket League. Because the Octane is the first car players use, and the car most used by players in the community, it is almost always the car players have the most experience using. The Octane is also the most popular car used by Rocket League pros and content creators. Players that watch creators on YouTube or other platforms study how the car performs and see how successful these players can be using it.

The Octane is a car that gives new and inexperienced players the confidence to go for a high aerial or attempt an air dribble. The same principle applies when people buy the sneakers of their favorite basketball player, or use the same board as their favorite skateboarder. Players want to have the same setup as the best players in the world, which is sound logic. The best Rocket League players use the Octane because it just feels better. It feels better for all of the reasons mentioned in this article.

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