When we talk about dribbling, we usually associate it with Kick Feint (DQ) and Dribble Skills (SHIFT). These two do are important parts of dribbling. However, in this guide I will write on the rather more basic, but “less known” dribble technique that high ELO players probably use more often than anything else: Stopping.

1.WHY STOP?

If you ever had the experience where a player went AFK with the ball on him/her, you would have seen the opponents trying to tackle to get that ball. Here is the interesting thing: The tackles usually don’t go through the first time. The opponents have to tackle a couple times at least to land that tackle. Just like that, when a character is holding the ball in stop motion, there is some resistance to tackle.

So why does this matter in dribbling? Well, players who have the playstyle of “dribblers” usually use a combination of SHIFT, DQ and all that other fancy jazz. The thing is, your stamina runs out quickly the more you dribble. This means your touch gets longer and the ball goes further away from your character on dribbles, consequently leading to easier tackles for the defenders.
Here is where the art of stopping comes in. When you stop in between dribbles, there are mainly 3 benefits:

a. STAMINA HEALS slightly while you stop. This means that whatever your combination of dribbles is, you can sustain that without burning out on stamina, thus when you finish off your dribble with a shot or a pass you still have enough stamina (In case you didn’t know, stamina has effect on your shots and passes).

b. TACKLES go off in the WRONG DIRECTION as you stop. Like the earlier example of the AFK player, holding the ball in stop-motion itself has some resistance to tackle built in. But the more important part of this is that when defenders tackle on ball players, they usually press the direction key based on where they expect the ball to be. So if you stop right after a SHIFT dribble, and the defender expects you to keep on going, their tackles will fly off in the wrong direction, giving the dribbler an opening.

c. You have TIME to look around! When you stop, you have positive control over the ball. This means you can quickly move into the next move. Take advantage of that control and look at where the defenders are and where your teammates are. The difference between a mediocre dribbler and an excellent one comes from whether or not they can shoot/pass at the right time. The stopping technique helps you make that decision.



2.TYPES OF STOP
Now let’s talk about how to actually do this. There are two types of stopping techniques – the E stop, and the Q stop. Both of them work in a simple way. You press on E without any direction keys, to do the E stop. To do the Q stop, you press on Q without any direction keys. Extremely simple.

The biggest difference between the E stop and the Q stop is where you face after the stopping. The E stop will make your character face wherever it was facing, so it is literally “Stopping”. The Q stop makes you face towards the goal no matter which way you were facing before. So if you were facing backwards, your character spins around on the spot while stepping on the ball. Also the delay on E stop is slightly less than that of Q stops, thus it makes it easier for characters to make the next move quickly.

E Stop
-Face the original direction of travel.
-Less delay.

Q Stop
-Face the goal.
-Motion is a little larger when you turn.



3.WHEN DO I STOP?

Using the stopping techniques to your best advantage obviously takes experience and practice. However, there are some general things that can be said about when to stop while dribbling. The biggest thing that I have to say is STOP WHEN IN DOUBT. Dribblers of all skill class will often encounter situations where you are not sure what to do after the defender doesn’t fall for the first bait dribble, your teammates are in awkward positions, and the opponents hold good positions. Instead of making a Hail Mary move and start doing random dribbles, stop. Wait for your teammates to move, wait for the defender to make a challenge. Dribbling after seeing the first move break, given that you have some space, usually makes the whole process a little bit easier (The premise is that you are analyzing the situation so that you can make these calls).
All the other cases are really dependent on the dribbler. You can integrate the stopping technique into your dribble combination, or just use it as a starter/finisher - however you wish. You may choose to use the E stop or Q stop, as you deem fit based on their distinctions. My use of stops are more focused in between dribbles, and I will leave some combinations of my own for dribblers to see and practice. You may find them useful. Even better, you may find problems in them, and fix it to fit your style!

SHIFT →↓ + E + DQ↑→ + D or S
E + E← + E + E↑ + D or S
DQ↑→ + Q + E→ + D or S
SHIFT →→ + E + SHIFT ←↓ + D or S
(Receive with E) → + Q + D or S