The Complete Guide To Brawl Stars Character Roles

In this guide, we’ll be focusing on all the different Brawl Stars Character roles, the brawlers that occupy those roles, and the difference of brawlers that have the same role.

The term brawler role refers to the niche a certain brawler fills in a team battle. Whether they are meant to distract, support, or deal with high amounts of damage, each brawler in this game has a specific role it is meant to fill.

I’ll also be doing comparisons of Brawlers that have the same role more in-depth in their own guides later, so check back every week for those. This guide is meant as a basic coverage for newer players and a setup of the more in-depth guides.

Let’s jump right into the first role….

Tank

Of course, nearly every PvP game has some sort of tank.

Now tanks in this game don’t have an insane amount of health, so you can’t just rush into the middle of the battlefield and absorb all the hits. However, they are short-range so are required to be played on the front line.

For SnG, you should stay in the middle and be the one to get all the gems, as having the most health it is less likely to die and lose all of them.

The tank is also generally the one to carry the ball in Brawl Ball.

In Heist, both defense and offense, the tank should rush forward and provide a distraction for the other brawlers to take out the enemy.

El Primo

El Primo is the tank in this game – he has the most health at an astounding 1400, double that of most brawlers. Keep in mind though, this doesn’t make him invincible.

It is best to play with him running around in the bushes and ambushing people most of the time, especially in bounty and Showdown.

His close range but insane splash damage and almost instant reload speed makes him the perfect melee fighter.

If in an open map, El Primo’s super is essential. Once charged up, wait until there is a crowd of enemies and then jump into them. If done correctly, at least one will die and your super will be almost charged again. This is also necessary to use to protect essential personnel (whoever has most gems, stars or the ball) from incoming attacks. Simply, to tank for them.

Bull

Bull is the second tank in this game. Although he falls behind El Primo by 200 health, his range is slightly larger and if close enough, can deal with extreme single target damage.

Bull is similar to El Primo in use, but is better at being front line and straight-up approaching enemies because of his longer and spread attack. With Bull, you want to get as close as possible still because at the closest range, he deals over 600 damage per shot.

The Super is the main difference between Bull and El Primo. Although the mechanics are similar, Bull’s is meant for getting places rather than dealing with damage and knockback. Use his super to rush right into battle and get some good hits in, hopefully recharging it.

Overall, Bull is a more aggressive front line tank, while El Primo is better at passive support by ambushing.

Rosa

She is a botanist who punches three times in one ammo with three projectiles in kind of like of a cone shape. She is a tanky brawler and has a very strong super which protects her with 70% shield for 3 seconds. You are almost invincible for those whole 3 seconds. Hence you can tank your whole team and control the map very easily, but use it wisely because it lasts for very less time.

Her plant life star power is insanely good, she can heal 300 per second when inside a bush, this allows her to not fallback for a long time when low on HP. You can stay on the grass and attack enemies, which gives you an unfair advantage hence easily killing the enemy brawler.

Thorny gloves is also a solid star power for killing tanks, but remember while attacking someone always go back so that they would deal less damage

Brawl Stars Character Back Liners

Next, we have the back liners, or whatever you wish to call them. They’re the ones that stay near the back while still dealing tons of damage. Usually, other brawlers are there to support them.

Back liners are great in Bounty and Heist where dealing the most damage is vital for victory.

Playing one of these guys, you never want to get to close to the front. The main thing about them is that their attack is really single point. So they can only ever handle one opponent at once.

Like tanks, they also have one of the quickest reload speeds.

Colt

Colt is the one true back liner here. He can dish out insane damage to a single enemy. If all hits land, he can land up to 480 damage at base.

His super is also intended for the same purpose – damaging as many things as possible.

However, his skinny line of aim puts his skill cap pretty high. Back liners can be hard to use sometimes, but if you know what you’re doing it is a game-changer.

With Colt, as his super can also break barriers, you want to snipe people until it is charged up, and then wait until a point where you can damage and break the most things possible.

Ricochet

Ricochet is similar to Colt, but actually deals a lot less damage. For one, he only shoots 5 bullets instead of 6, but also his bullets are spread out more.

What makes him viable is his long-range and Ricochet ability, which is great for forcing people out behind walls into the open for other brawlers to attack them.

His super can’t break walls, which kinda sucks, but it has other purposes. It can totally wipe out multiple people if they are in an enclosed space.

Overall, Ricochet relies more on a team than Colt does, but is still great at dealing faraway damage.

8 – Bit

8 bit has insanely high DPS and can melt any type of tank with his three shots. And for an add up, he has a super which can increase the DPS. But has been nerfed in his speed and is the slowest brawler which makes him one of the worst brawler for many game modes like bounty and lone star.

His first-star power can increase the radius of the spawnable which is not very impressive but is very crucial in 3v3 mode where your teammates can also get that extra damage and speed boost. He’s a very long-range which makes him an excellent choice for showdown or brawl ball.

Extra Life is the most broken star power giving him literally an extra life to spawn once more on the map. It is an ultimate star power to use in showdown but not very useful in 3v3 modes but you can still control the map with it.

Max

Max’s Super can be used to catch up to fleeing enemy Brawlers or ensure an easier escape from pursuing enemies. Her four ammo bar and fast reload speed makes sure that she is never out of ammo and is constantly chipping down enemies with her high speed super. She can especially shine in brawl ball if you can get hold of the ball at the right time

To maximize the usage of Max’s Star Powers, do not standstill. Even spinning in place can make use of the Star Powers.

Her both star powers are required for you to run around, the first one charges your super automatically and another one reloads you faster.

Brawl Stars Character Hurdlers

And of course, the hurdlers. These guys are the kings of area denial. They can stay safe behind walls while continuously hurdling their explosives over barriers to block off a path.

Hurdlers are also the third type of great damage dealing brawlers – and maybe the strongest at this point in the game. Their ability of area denial, crowd control, and massive damage make them strong in nearly every aspect.

Hurdlers are especially good at defense, as they can throw over walls and keep the enemy from walking around to hit them. However, they don’t fare so well against assassins or snipers (more on those later).

Both hurdlers have medium to low range, so aren’t the best choice for open maps. They are best at Showdown and Heist.

Dynamike

Dynamike has insane damage – dealing 300+ damage per hit with a decent reload speed. But he does take some skill to use, as his dynamite sticks don’t blow up instantly.

If someone gets too close to you, you won’t be able to take them out as they can just walk over the dynamite as it waits to explode.

That being said, his main attack is mainly only for protection. The way to get the supercharged up is throwing dynamite on both sides of a crowd of multiple enemies, to guarantee some hits.

Once his super is charged, it can be extremely useful, as it deals knockback and breaks barriers. In Heist and Brawl Ball, breaking the central walls is especially important.

The great thing about Dynamike’s super is it will recharge fully if he hits just two people and reloads about 66% of the way by just hitting one. If you can keep hitting opponents without missing, he is great for slowly pushing the enemy team back.

Barley

Barley is Dynamike’s counterpart. He has 100 less health, tied for least in the game, so you never want to get too close to others with him.

Like Dyanmike, he has a slow throwing rate so you have to somewhat predict where the enemy will move. However, the large range and 2 second duration does make up for this, as it is area denial at its finest.

Barley’s super is where he shines. Unlike Dynamike’s, it can’t break barriers or deal knockback to people. For Heist, you want to use it right on top of the safe, and as close as possible.

The super also has the unique effect of getting wider the farther it is thrown. If thrown to max distance, it covers nearly half the map, which is great for keeping enemies at bay.

At shortest range it deals over 1000 damage in one spot. Use it right on top of you if being attacked by a tank. Of course with the low health you’ll probably still die, but so will the tank, and you’ll get your super recharged again.

Tick

He’s literally “the most annoying” brawler in the entire game. You can just sit in there and throw your mines as far as you can and it almost always hits someone because of its long-range and radius. The delay in the mines blowing up makes him the lowest skilled control brawler. And his super, it cannot be ignored, especially if the enemies are in groups. His head is gonna wreck them to shreds, even tanks!

For making up for his low health, he has been given well-oiled star power which makes him heal 2 seconds before the normal delay when you start healing up if you don’t attack. You can literally rest behind a wall and thrown your mines all over the map especially if the opponents are clumped, those mines are brutal.

His Automa reload makes him yet more annoying by giving him a faster reload speed of 10%. You could be as annoying as when your opponent is using tick against you. But he’s not great in showdown or open maps, where he’s useless.

Snipers

Snipers are the back of the back. They hide in bushes, and when you least expect it… a bullet in your face from offscreen.

Of course, snipers can’t really take on a team themselves. They help take out people running away from the battle to regenerate.

Snipers shine in open maps. They are especially good in Bounty, and pretty helpful in SnG and sometimes Brawl Ball. Since they are support characters, I wouldn’t recommend them in Showdown.

Brock

Brock has actually been coming less of a sniper, but his high damage long-range attack still sets him in this category. He now has 700 health and can handle himself at close range pretty well.

He still is great at killing people from a very long range though. He can stay near the middle of the map and find a small passing to prevent people from coming in.

His super is amazing at taking out a close-packed group of people, even recharging itself sometimes.

In offensive Heist and Brawl Ball, his super is also really good at wiping out a barrier as well as someone hiding behind it.

Piper

Compared to Brock, Piper is much more like a sniper. Even her name is derived from it. Her increasing damage makes her incredible from faraway – but the also quite terrible close-up.

Unlike Brock, with Piper you want to remain hidden in bushes, so someone with low health doesn’t attempt to hide from you. Piper is perfect at finishing off brawlers. And just 2 of her shots can kill most brawlers.

However, Piper’s reload time is very slow – the slowest in the game, at 3 seconds per bullet. So if you miss, you’re gonna have to wait a while to hit again, probably enough time for them to get away.

Piper’s super is a last resort getaway, and honestly isn’t meant for anything else. If a tank suddenly appears in the bushes next to you, jump as far away as you can then start shooting at them from a longer distance.

Carl

One of the hardest brawler to master but is a very strong brawler. You can hit brawlers who are even behind walls by perfectly throwing the axe and catching it after moving opposite to the wall. He can deal insane damage when the brawlers are caught both times of the axe. His super can easily melt down enemies but it is not possible in case of tanks because you are not invincible while in your super.

His shield star power can make him even stronger protecting him during his super so that he can even kill tanks without dying himself. Its shields you for 30% which is very useful for controlling the map.

His other star power which decreases his axe throw time can also be used especially in showdowns. It can easily catch the brawlers for both the shots of the axes hence dealing huge damage

Fortification

Fortification brawlers are intended to set up a solid defense to maintain a central area. This strategy is primarily dominant in SnG, but works fine in defensive Heist and sometimes in Bounty and Showdown.

These brawlers have medium health and range, as well as a generic splash attack to protect a certain area from enemies, but their super is where they shine.

The super sets a solid defense, or base, which can greatly boost brawlers in a defensive stance.

Jessie

Jessie is the main fortification brawler. Her main splash attack is great for crowd control, keeping people from grouping together in a specific area.

Her turret then, is absolutely great at blocking off a specific area of the map, particularly a wide, open region. However it can be destroyed pretty quickly, so placement is vital.

If battling tanks, hurdlers, or other close-range brawlers, place it in the middle or back of an open space for maximum damage before death.

If battling back liners or snipers, you’ll want to put it directly behind a wall so it isn’t destroyed before it can attack.

Bo

Bo’s main attack is similar to Jessie’s as it is close to splash damage and prevents crowding. The spread also helps push enemies brawlers into a specific location.

Like Jessie, Bo’s super is his shining spots. The mines can make or break him. His mines are great from surprise killing people. And even if they already know where they are, it does take a while to disarm – for stalling or blocking off a certain point.

Since the mines are triggered by enemy movement, they are good to place in any short passage for an ambush or to block a path.

However, the mines aren’t just for defense, unlike other fortification brawlers. Bo is good at using the mines as an area of denial for offensive Heist around the safe or Brawl Ball around the goal.

Pam

Pam is the ultimate base building brawler. Her healing station can set up a fairly large region in which allies can regenerate health while still attacking. It is best to place the healing station in bushes behind a wall.

This especially shines in SnG, whereas previously stated, the defense is of utmost importance.

However, her super isn’t Pam’s only defensive aspect. The widespread of her main attack is great at keeping enemies at bay – especially in open areas or a straight, enclosed path.

With her 1000 health and this main attack, it puts her as perhaps the best support brawler in the game – rounding out as a tank, crowd control, and fortification.

Emz

She can deal insane damage when you learn her spraying mechanic. She deals more damage to an enemy the further away they are from her. If you go near a brawler, you will only deal one tick of your poison and hence dealing negligible damage and dying miserably.

She is an excellent area control brawler especially in brawl ball and siege. She has a big radius of poison circle slowing the enemies down. You can often take advantage of enemies clumping at a single place.

Her star power is not very impressive, she deals 200 damage to the brawler inside her poison circle and can chip the opponents gradually. And her other star power heals herself during her super with 300 HP which is a pretty solid star power when the enemies are trying to kill you while inside your super so that you can get the maximum value out of your super

Assassin

Our last defined category (I’ll explain that later), is assassins. Assassins are generically fast-moving brawlers that finish off enemies in the very frontline. Right now they are best in Bounty and Brawl Ball, but fare decently well in any game mode.

Assassins want to stay hidden in the bushes until they can ambush a brawler with low health, and quickly escape again.

The two current assassins in the game are very different in abilities.

Mortis

Mortis is the classic melee assassin. He can rush right into the front line and swipe through people, damaging multiple people at a time and dodging shots.

With recent nerfs, however, this is very hard to pull off. His skill cap is insanely high, as an assassin’s should be.

Mortis’s dash helps him get into and out of the front line quickly. If still amongst brawlers and dying, his super heals himself for every enemy brawler damaged by it. This is great for regenerating while damaging enemies, or just getting the final hit off from far away.

Crow

Crow is a whole different story – he has a long-range with a poison effect and the only movement speed faster than any other brawler.

His poison makes him extremely unique, as it prevents health regeneration and hiding in bushes. He is great support for back liners and snipers who can then finish off the already damaged brawler.

Crow’s super, which sends him up into the air and back down, releasing poison daggers in all directions, is probably the best escape in the game. He can rush into enemy lines, poison all the opponents, then jump out again.

The poison effect also allows for enemy brawlers to die while Crow is already safely in the back.

Leon

My biggest tip for Leon is to wait until you were completely hidden by the bushes before going invisible.

If you do it when your character is fading from view because you just walked into the bushes or you just got attacked by an enemy player, then his smoke cloud will be seen by the enemy team and they will know that he’s invisible and be able to plan accordingly.

But if you wait just a little bit and then activate it, they won’t know when you got invisible and this will make it a lot less likely that they’ll be checking for you or expecting you coming. That’ll definitely allow you to get kills much easier

Support

As I said before, assassin was the last defined category. That’s because these last two, support and area control, are really just a way to group together the remaining brawlers.

Support brawlers are basically brawlers that stay near others and help them deal as much damage as possible. Various supports pair best with various brawlers.

Being support, these guys obviously aren’t the best in Showdown, or really in Heist either. They’re also should never be 3 (and probably not 2 either) supports on the same team.

Poco

Poco is a very basic brawler. He has low damage and a wide range, chipping away at people. His super heals himself and any teammates in a pretty large spread.

Because of this wide area of splash and heal ability, he is the best support for front-liners: mainly tanks and assassins. He supports them by dealing light damage to anyone near as they deal heavy point damage.

His super is great at healing them through the wall if they are near death. This just may be enough for them to escape or kill the opponent first.

Nita

Nita is quite the opposite when it comes to support. She is the perfect backup for back liners and snipers. Her heavy attack, with the straight but wide area, is amazing at killing brawlers that come close range.

At 800 health, she also is also decent at tanking damage for them if someone ends up getting close enough.

Nita paired with someone like Colt or Brock can take out pretty much any brawler at close range.

Her bear might just be the greatest support unit in the game. It distracts, tanks, and can sometimes end up killing someone if they are cornered. It is the perfect getaway.

Area Control

Wrapping things up, we have area control. This category is basically all the well-rounded brawlers. They’re great at taking care of themselves and can fill multiple niches on a team.

Having good area control means you can “own” a certain part of the map. Unlike fortification, which sets up a solid defense, area control brawlers move usually toward an upper side and establish their dominance there.

Once correctly positioned, they can successfully block brawlers from getting through, while charging up their super in the process. Their super is helpful in central combat, so after controlling the side areas for a while you can move toward the middle for a final Showdown.

The strategy of area control is a very complicated, competitive play, and so of course these guys can just be used as tank rounders or solo operatives.

Area controlling is best for Bounty and Showdown, and can work properly in Brawl Ball and SnG too. This has absolutely no use in Heist.

Shelly

Shelly, the starter character and therefore righteously most rounded, is great at keeping enemies out of a certain area.

Her basic attack can deal small damage at a decent range, while doing extreme single point damage at melee range. This makes her good for both ambushing and chasing brawlers away.

Shelly’s super is basically her main attack that knocks back and breaks barriers. This can be used in almost any situation, from a 1 on 1 fight to a full out center stage brawl.

Tara

Tara’s main attack is very similar to Shelly’s, whereas it has a spread, dealing higher damage closer. However, her cards pierce, so Tara is better at facing multiple brawlers at once.

The super is actually great support. After Tara has sealed off an area, she can move into a crowd of enemies towards the middle and use her super to group them together, finishing them off with her cards or for teammates to get the kill.

As I don’t have Tara myself, there isn’t much else to say about her. She’s a pretty well-rounded card, both in 1v1 and group fights.

Spike

With 600 health and a decent range, Spike can also function pretty well as a back liner. But his heavy damage and burst mechanism make him ideal for controlling a portion of the map.

His super is also amazing in multiple situations. If a brawler is escaping, either from you or a teammate, this can slow it down and ultimately preventing it away.

Spike’s only weakness is he doesn’t have any defensive factors. Because of this, it is important to make sure you stay a good length away from the enemy at all times.

Sandy

She sends a wave of pebbles that deal burst damage in a funnel-shaped projectile. She can constantly chip down enemies as her main attack deals decent damage like Mortis. Her super is one of the most impactful creating an invisibility circle in the map. Even the teammates will become invisible so that you can kill every single one of the enemy team brawlers.

Her rude sands deals some damage to the brawlers inside her sandstorm chipping them constantly so that they cant heal.

She and her team can heal up when inside her sand storm giving the star power insane value when taking enemy area control.

Conclusion

I hoped you liked this guide! It is another more basic one, but I plan on building off of this by doing more specific strategy guides, specifically on area control and focusing on certain types of brawlers. For example, I’ll probably be doing a Dynamike v. Barley guide later this week.

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ALSO READ:

• 2021 Brawl Stars Tier List
• Brawl Stars Brawlers List
• Brawl Stars Game Modes Guides, Maps and Strategies
• Brawl Stars Tier List and Beginner’s Guide
• Top 10 Newbie Tips That Turn Everyone Into Pro!
• Can Brawl Stars Be Played On PC?

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