If you’ve spent any time scrolling through Rocket League’s item shop or seeing other players show off flashy goal explosions in ranked lobbies, you’ve probably wondered how to get those rare cosmetics for yourself. One of the most exciting ways to build your collection is learning how to open packs in Rocket League, but it’s easy to waste your hard-earned credits if you don’t know the rules first. I’ve opened well over 200 packs across 6 years of playing, and I’ve picked up plenty of tricks to avoid costly mistakes and get the items I actually want. This guide will walk you through every step, from buying packs to picking the best times to open them for better drops.
How to Open Packs in Rocket League Step-by-Step
The process of opening packs is pretty straightforward once you know where to look, but there are a few small details new players often miss. First, you’ll need to either earn or purchase credits, the in-game currency used to buy most paid packs. You can earn credits by trading duplicate items with other players, completing premium Rocket Pass challenges, or occasionally from seasonal event rewards. If you want to buy credits directly, you can purchase them through your platform’s store for real money. Only buy packs with credits you’ve earned in-game first if you want to avoid spending extra cash on random drops.
Once you have credits, navigate to the Item Shop tab from the main menu, then select the Packs section on the left-hand sidebar. Each available pack will show a preview of possible items, listed drop rates for each rarity tier, and the total credit cost. When you purchase a pack, it automatically moves to the Packs folder in your Inventory. To open it, just click on the pack name and select the Open Pack button. You’ll see a short roll animation before your items are added to your inventory. If you earn free packs from tournaments or event challenges, they go straight to your Inventory, no purchase required, though you may need a tournament token to unlock them.
Key Differences Between Free and Paid Rocket League Packs
Not all packs are created equal, and understanding the difference between free and paid options will help you decide which ones are worth your time. Free packs are almost always earned through gameplay: you get them for placing in in-game tournaments, hitting free tiers on the Rocket Pass, or completing limited-time event challenges. The drop rates for rare items in free packs are lower, but since they cost you nothing, there’s no downside to opening every free pack you earn. Free tournament packs have no credit cost, but you’ll need a tournament credit to unlock them, which you earn just by playing through scheduled tournament matches, even if your team gets eliminated early.
Paid packs are usually limited-time offerings themed around holidays, cross-over collaborations, or new game updates. They cost between 500 and 2000 credits, and almost always have a higher minimum rarity, so you won’t pull common or uncommon items from them. Before you spend any credits on a paid pack, make sure you check these four details:
- Drop rate percentages for rare, very rare, import, exotic, and black market items, listed directly on the pack’s purchase screen
- Theme match: if you only care about car decals, don’t buy a pack focused on goal explosions and wheel sets
- Expiration date: most limited-time packs leave the shop after 48 hours, but you don’t have to open them immediately after buying
- Credit cost compared to buying the most common item in the pack separately from the player trading market
If the average value of the items in the pack is lower than the pack’s cost, you’re almost always better off buying the specific item you want from the trading market instead of gambling on a pack.
Pro Tips to Maximize Your Pack Opening Results
While Psyonix has never officially confirmed that drop rates change based on external factors, thousands of long-time players (myself included) have noticed consistent patterns that help you get better drops more often. Never open packs right after a new season drops because server load is extremely high, and the pool of items being distributed is diluted by the hundreds of thousands of players opening packs at the same time. I tested this last year: I opened 10 packs in the first 24 hours of a new season and only got one very rare decal for a car I never use, then opened 10 packs a week later and got an exotic wheel set and a black market goal explosion.
Another trick that works for most players is bulk opening. Save 10-15 unopened packs to open in a row instead of opening one every time you buy it. Most players find that bulk opening increases your chance of getting at least one high-rarity drop per batch, even if you still get a few lower-value items along the way. If you do get duplicate items, don’t delete them! You can trade 5 duplicate items of the same rarity for one random item of the next higher rarity, so even a bunch of useless very rare decals can turn into an import or exotic item you actually want.
You can also hold onto packs for months after you buy them if you want. If there’s a new cosmetic type coming in a future update, you can wait to open your packs until the new items are added to the general loot pool, though this only works for non-collaboration packs. Collaboration packs (like NFL or Formula 1 packs) have fixed item pools that don’t update over time.
Common Pack Opening Mistakes to Avoid
Pack opening is supposed to be fun, but it’s easy to make costly mistakes if you’re not paying attention. The biggest mistake I see new players make is falling for FOMO on limited-time packs even if they don’t like most of the items inside. I did this when I first started playing: I spent 800 credits on a Halloween pack just because it was leaving the shop in 24 hours, and got 3 decals for cars I never touch. Don’t fall for FOMO on limited-time packs if they don’t have items you actually want. There will always be new packs with better items coming to the shop every few weeks.
Another common mistake is trusting “pack opening services” advertised in game chat or social media. Scammers will offer to open packs for you and give you all the rare items for a small fee, but they just want to steal your account login info, take all your credits and items, and lock you out of your account. Never share your account details with anyone, no matter how good their offer sounds. Psyonix will never ask for your password, and there’s no way to increase your drop rates using third-party tools or services.
You should also avoid spending real money on credits just to open packs unless you have extra cash to burn. The odds of pulling a black market item are usually less than 1% per pack, so you could spend hundreds of dollars and never get the specific item you want. If you have your eye on one specific cosmetic, you’re almost always better off saving up credits to buy it directly from the player trading market instead of gambling on packs.
At the end of the day, opening packs in Rocket League is supposed to be a fun bonus to playing the game, not a chore that drains your wallet or your in-game credits. If you take the time to research packs before you buy, stick to your budget, and use the tips we covered, you’ll get way more value every time you learn how to open packs in Rocket League. Don’t get discouraged if you get a few duds in a row — even the luckiest players go through dry spells before pulling that black market goal explosion they’ve been chasing. Next time you log in, test out the bulk opening trick and see if you get better drops for your collection.
