Not all Brawlers are created equal in Brawl Stars. Every Brawler is different, and you’ll unlock them all as you play — there are 19 total, and getting a handle on all of them can be tricky for beginners. To make life easier, we’re pulling together community tips to help make sense of each and every Brawler. Learn what makes them unique, why they’re powerful, and what tactics you might want to try using.
Brawlers don’t have classes, but they all fit in certain categories. Some Brawlers are all about Support — they can summon Turrets, or plop down Healing Turrets to help the team stay alive. Others are incredibly fast, with debilitating standard attacks that don’t deal as much damage. Many Brawlers are armed with shotguns for up-close-and-personal action, while others prefer to hang back with a rifle. They all have strengths and weaknesses. Let’s break them down.
More Brawl Stars guides on Gameranx:
- Brawl Stars: 12 Tips To Help You Get Started | Beginner’s Guide
- Brawl Stars: How To Get The Most Bang For Your Gem Buck | Premium Guide
How To Pick The Best Brawler For You | All Brawlers Tips
To help you pick your preferred Brawler, he’s a quick rundown on all the basic pros and cons for each character — and some community tips to help you get started.
Shelly
- Pros:
- Shotgunner. Great for area control and countering support.
- Incredible Ultimate — Attack and immediately hit your Ultimate to chain them together and smash your way to victory. One of the best Attack / Ultimate combos.
- Just fine to stick to Auto Aim.
- Cons:
- Shorter range. Can get flanked / surrounded.
Colt
- Pros:
- Powerful at short range. Can take down most targets if all his shots connect.
- Ultimate breaks down walls, allowing you to surprise opponents.
- Cons:
- Low HP.
- Not great at range.
Dynamike
- Pros:
- Lobs attacks right over walls.
- Can takedown enemies with two dynamite hits.
- Ultimate is a powerful explosive, and will fully recharge if you defeat two enemies.
- Cons:
- Can be tricky to land hits. Use Manual Aim to successful blast enemies — auto-aim never works.
- Needs to stay behind cover. Hang back and support from behind those walls.
Bull
- Pros:
- Shotgunner. Very, very good up-close.
- Great for ambush tactics. Wait in a bush — when the enemy retreats to reload, jump out and blast them.
- Auto-aim is just fine at close-range.
- Cons:
- Terrible at anything but short range.
- Due to short range, watch enemy’s bullet counters and wait for your chance to strike.
- Requires bushes to stay relevant. Hide in bushes and hope the enemy doesn’t check.
Frank
- Pros:
- Good ranged attacks. Only needs to land 3 shots to charge his Ultimate.
- Ultimate pierces through walls and stuns anyone it hits. Great for shocking an opponent and preparing a rush for allies.
- Cons:
- Very slow. Is exposed when attacking and when using his Ultimate. His Ultimate can be cancelled if an enemy rolls into you.
- Can’t handle close-quarters shootouts at all.
Bo
- Pros:
- Uses a bow and arrow — shoots a spread, unless you keep moving. Then you can shoot a straight line of arrows.
- Can drop mines. Great for area control. Place mines in areas the enemy can’t see or on important landmarks, like Gem Mines.
- Cons:
- The bow normally shoots in a spread.
- Mines, even when stepped on, can be escaped if the enemy Brawler is paying attention.
Crow
- Pros:
- Hit-and-runner. Throws poison-knives that counter healing.
- Very, very fast. Can dodge Brawlers or chase weaker Brawlers.
- Ultimate is useful for dealing with Brawlers trying to chase.
- Cons:
- Very weak. Needs to stay far away.
- Doesn’t do lots of direct damage. Better at controlling the enemy team’s healing — just one knife on each opponent is enough.
Pam
- Pros:
- Very powerful at any range. Can defeat most Brawlers before she needs to reload.
- Can summon a Healing Turret.
- Cons:
- Shots are slow. It takes awhile to unload her magazine.
- Healing Turret is handy, but easy to destroy.
Nita
- Pros:
- Shots pierce through targets, allowing you to hit multiple enemies in a single shot. Great for taking on groups.
- Perfect for hiding behind cover and taking single potshots at the enemy team.
- Can summon a Bear companion — send it out to give yourself time to escape ugly situations.
- Cons:
- Fires one shot at a time. Can’t burst.
- Don’t send your Bear when Jessie / Penny are around.
Tara
- Pros:
- Throws cards. Her attacks pierce through enemy brawlers.
- Piercing attack makes it easier to charge her Ultimate. Get lots of hits on groups.
- Ultimate can distract a large group of enemies — they’ll get sucked in, making them easy pickings for standard card attacks.
- Cons:
- Doesn’t excel at anything — needs her Ultimate to stay useful in a match. It’s all about charging and using her Ultimate at the right time.
Penny
- Pros:
- Can summon a turret to heal allies.
- Good at group control. Can strike large groups of enemies.
- Cons:
- Turret can be destroyed easily.
- Needs Elixirs to deal enough damage.
Mortis
- Pros:
- Hit-and-runner. Tricky to play — not recommended for beginners.
- Very fast. Can keep up the pace and easily dodge lobbed attacks.
- Great for picking off low-HP Brawlers and lobbers like Dynamike.
- Cons:
- Again, tricky to use. Can’t handle Tanks / high-HP Brawlers.
El Primo
- Pros:
- Shotgunner with tons of HP.
- Very tanky.
- Moves faster than other Brawlers.
- Cons:
- Lowest range in the game.
- Low burst damage.
Barley
- Pros:
- Can attack over walls. Attacks leave behind an AOE on the ground. Walking through it does damage. Perfect for area control.
- Ultimate is a much larger version of his standard attack. Effects an even bigger area and does more damage. Insanely useful for blocking areas off.
- The damaging effect areas will overlaps, doing even more damage to slow Brawlers — especially tanks.
- Cons:
- Weak. Needs to hide behind walls.
- His attacks aren’t as strong as Dynamike’s.
Jessie
- Pros:
- Support Brawler. Can summon a turret that shreds.
- Place in bushes to catch enemies by surprise.
- Main attack bounces on up to three targets — letting you attack groups.
- Cons:
- She’s all about Support. Can’t easily push by herself.
Darryl
- Pros:
- Shotgunner. The most powerful.
- Roll and use Manual Aim to deal crazy damage with his off-center shotgun blast.
- Roll into enemies to temporarily stun and dish out some bonus damage.
- Cons:
- Off-center shots. Auto-aim won’t deal full damage.
- Medium HP. Rushing in can get you killed.
- Still needs to hide in bushes — but you don’t have to stay hidden.
- Ultimate charges over time. Don’t sit around and wait for it to fully charge!
Poco
- Pros:
- Very wide attack area.
- Shots pierce, so you can quickly hit multiple enemies and charge your Ultimate.
- Pop the Ultimate when you / your team needs to heal up.
- Cons:
- Not very powerful. Needs to support other players.
Brock
- Pros:
- Super powerful main attack. His a small area-of-effect, so you can hit two nearby Brawlers.
- Can take down many of the low-HP Brawlers with a quick 3 shots.
- Ultimate is great against groups or lower-HP Brawlers.
- Cons:
- Very slow reload. Requires you to manually aim and be precise. Missing can cost you.
Ricochet
- Pros:
- Standard shots gain extra range when they bounce off walls.
- Ultimate is extra long-range, and also gains range when bounced off walls.
- Cons:
- Weird gimmick takes some getting used to. Difficult to land hits when ricocheting.
- Very low HP.
Piper
- Pros:
- Sniper. Great at dishing out damage at long-range.
- Ultimate is great for dealing with rushers that charge straight for Piper.
- Cons:
- Low HP. Needs a teammate to watch her back.
- Can’t handle close-quarters fights.
Spike
- Pros:
- A prickly character that can devastate Tanks with his spiked ball attack — if it hits directly, before splitting.
- Spiked Ball splits — handy for hitting Brawlers hiding behind walls.
- Cons:
- Needs to stay at range.
- Landing direct hits with the Spiked Ball can be tricky.
Leon
- Pros:
- Versatile — can attack at close-range or long-range.
- Does more damage at close-range, less at long-range.
- Faster than most Brawlers.
- Ultimate turns him invisible.
- Cons:
- As stated above, needs to be close to deal full damage.
- Needs to charge his Ultimate to turn invisible and get close — stay far back to land long-range, weaker attacks.
- Use Ultimate to sneak close. Just don’t get too close or enemies can detect you.
- Attacking will cancel invisibility.
