Reading the paddle: angles in Seawall Breaker
Most lost balls come from treating the paddle as a wall. It is a steering wheel.
Centre and edges
Where the ball touches the paddle sets the angle it leaves at. The middle sends it back up almost vertically; the further out you meet it, the flatter and more sideways the return. At the very edge the ball leaves at a steep angle that can cross the whole field in one bounce.
So a catch is always also a choice. Before the ball arrives, decide where it should go next, then move the paddle so the ball meets the matching part of it.
Opening a channel
Against a solid wall, pick one side and keep sending the ball up the same column with near-vertical returns. Each trip removes a brick or two from the bottom of that column. Once the ball breaks through to the space above the wall, it bounces between the ceiling and the top row and clears bricks without you.
When it finally drops back out, be ready under the channel: the same column will send it up again.
Getting past metal
Metal blocks never break, and the generator keeps every breakable brick open from below or diagonally. The diagonal ones are reached with edge shots: aim the paddle corner so the ball comes in from the side of the block rather than under it.
A ball that hits metal returns faster than you expect, usually straight down. After a shot into the metal, move back to the middle instead of following the ball.
When the ball gets fast
Late in a wall the ball is quick and the margin for error is small. Return to centre hits for a while: they are the most forgiving, and the slow-ball capsule is worth moving for at this point.