Patch v1.81

**Patch v1.81** was released on September 16, 2020.

## The Headlines

* Epic Games Account Linking and Cross-Platform Progression are now available
* Nintendo Switch Online is no longer required to play Rocket League online
* Check out all of the Menu and UI changes!
* Added a new Vehicle Preset based on the Merc car

## Epic Games Account And Cross-Platform Progression

### Progression and Account Linking

* You can now link each platform you play Rocket League to a single Epic Games Account to share progression, inventory, Rocket Pass progress, Competitive Rank, and more everywhere you play
* For progression data, you will select a Primary Platform to progress everywhere. If you’re Level 1000 and Champion II on PC, and Level 500 and Diamond III on your console, you’ll want to pick your PC profile as your Primary
* We strongly recommend you link every account you play at the same time so you can make an informed choice when selecting your Primary Platform
* For more information, please read our blog post on Cross-Platform Progression
* Players who linked their existing Rocket League platforms to an Epic Games Account will also receive the ‘Chopper EG’ Wheels

### Epic Friends

* Epic Friends have replaced RocketID as the solution for cross-platform friends in Rocket League
* Your RocketID friends will be automatically converted into Epic Friends on your first login.
* The In-Game Friends List has been updated to display both your platform friends and your Epic Friends in one panel for easier access

### Legacy Status

* If you played Rocket League before the free to play update was released, you have Legacy status
* Legacy status includes special loyalty reward items, including a Boost, Wheel, Banner, and a special Title that commemorates the year your account was created:
	+ ‘Faded Cosmos’ Boost (limited to accounts created prior to July 21)
	+ ‘Golden Cosmos’ Boost
	+ ‘Dieci-Oro’ Wheel
	+ ‘Huntress’ Player Banner
	+ ‘Est. 20XX’ Title
* Legacy status holders also get special “Legacy” quality versions of every Common item available before the free to play changeover, as well as access to all non-licensed DLC items

### Player-to-Player Trading

* Trading with another player now requires a linked Epic Games Account
* Trading with another player now requires both accounts to have purchased 500 Credits or equivalent (Esports Tokens, Starter Pack, etc.) to deter fraud.
	+ Players with Legacy status are exempt from this requirement

## New Player Experience

* Players new to Rocket League with this update will see a new interactive intro cinematic, as well as special guidance when navigating the in-game menus
* New players will need to reach Level 10 before they can matchmake in Competitive Playlists

## Tournaments

**NOTE: The new Tournaments system will be live with this release, but only a limited number of test Tournaments will be scheduled until we transition Rocket League to free to play.**

* The Tournaments system has been redesigned and now offers automated Competitive Tournaments at set times per day, per region
* While you can still sign up with a full party, Competitive Tournament matchmaking will attempt to find you a team if you can’t join with a full group
* Mixed-Rank parties will be placed in a Tournament based on the Rank of the highest-skill player
* Playing at your skill - even if you lose! - is always more efficient than winning at a lower Rank
* Teams knocked out of the tournament in the first round may be able to re-join during a ‘late joiner’ round
* Leaving a Tournament early may lead to temporary matchmaking and Tournament bans on your account
	+ If your entire team forfeits, no bans will be issued
* Earn rewards over the course of each season by defeating opponents of similar skill
	+ You’ll earn Tournament Credits based on your final placement in each Tournament combined with the difficulty of the overall bracket you were seeded into
	+ The Tournament Credit reward is the same for all teammates
	+ Tournament Credits can be redeemed to get Cups that will grant you a customization item of escalating quality
		- The higher level the Cup, the more often you’ll unlock an item of higher rarity
		- All Tournament items can have special attributes like Painted or Certified
		- These prizes can be traded in within their series, all the way up to Black Market
	+ You can play in as many tournaments as you want each week, but most of your earnings will come from your Top 3 Weekly Placements, which reset at the end of each week on Sunday
	+ Winning a Tournament earns you a Title that shows off the Rank of the Tournament you won.
		- Winning three similarly ranked tournaments throughout a season will grant you a colored Title at that Rank.
* Players are still able to create and host their own Custom Tournaments
	+ Knocked out of the Tournament you’re hosting? You’ll be able to spectate the remaining matches

## Menu and UI Updates

* The Main Menu has been streamlined to reduce the number of buttons and better organize features
* Play Submenu: Modes are now grouped into cards instead of tabs
	+ Selecting a Playlist will now immediately search that playlist
	+ For players who prefer to search multiple playlists at once, you can enable “Multiple Selection” within any of the Playlist groups. This setting is saved so you won’t have to toggle it each time you search.
	+ You can now quickly jump into Free Play or the Garage after searching
	+ Training is now accessible directly from the Play menu
	+ Exhibition, Season Mode, and Private Match have been combined into the “Custom Games” card
* The Profile Submenu now contains:
	+ Career (Stats, Leaderboards, Rankings)
	+ Replays
	+ Create or Manage Club
	+ Banner and Avatar Border customization options
* The Extras Submenu is now found under Options - Extras
* The appearance of the Main Menu and some submenus have been updated with new font and button/card designs

## Changes and Updates

### Item Changes

* Many items formerly classified as Common are now Uncommon or higher, and must be obtained via Drops by new players
* Common Items are no longer unlocked in large batches per slot by playing matches. Any player with Legacy status that had not unlocked all of these items will receive remaining items in “Legacy” quality
* Uncommon, Rare, and Very Rare Items no longer drop randomly after matches
* Some cross-promotional items have been permanently marked as “Legacy” and can no longer be obtained by new accounts
* Some older ‘V1’ Engine Audio options can no longer be obtained by new accounts

### Support a Creator

* You can now support your favorite content creators by applying a Creator Code to your account in the Item Shop screen
* Your chosen creator will receive a percentage of your Credits spent while the code is active on your account

### Default Settings Changes

* Control Bindings are now organized into three presets - “Default”, “Legacy”, and “Custom”
	+ “Legacy” is used for all existing accounts, and uses the same controls since our 2015 Launch
	+ “Default” assigns “Air Roll” to L2/LT by default, and unbinds “Voice Chat”
	+ You can switch to “Default” or “Legacy” without losing your “Custom” bindings
* Voice Chat is now disabled by default

### New Hitbox

* Added a new Vehicle Preset based on the Merc car
* This hitbox is both taller and narrower than the other hitboxes. Check it out and let us know what you think!

### New Quick Chats

* Informational Quick Chats
	+ Bumping!
	+ Faking.
	+ On your left.
	+ On your right.
	+ Passing!
* Compliment Quick Chats
	+ Nice Bump!
	+ Nice Demo!

### Keyboard Aerial Safety

* The new “Keyboard Aerial Safety” setting prevents keyboard and mouse players from pitching down in the air while holding Throttle (W) until other inputs are recognized
* With this setting active, your car will not begin pitching down until you either pitch up, release the throttle/pitch down key, or air roll in any direction
* This setting can be disabled in the Options - Controls tab

### General

* [PC] DirectX9 is no longer supported
* The Level 700 ‘Supersonic Legend’ Title has been changed to ‘Legendary Nemesis’
* Heatseeker is now available in Private and Local Matches
* The Solo Standard Competitive Playlist is no longer available

## Bug Fixes

* Fixed a bug preventing offending chat text from being displayed when an account is banned
* Additional performance optimizations made to the Gravity Bomb Goal Explosion
* Rebooting the game will no longer put the player on their oldest Car Preset
* Tournament creators can spectate matches after leaving the tournament as a player

## External links

* September Update on Rocket League - Official Site