Gaming
Games
6 tips to help you dominate in Brawl Stars
Don't get left behind in Supercell's addictive, fast-paced MOBA. Use these tips to stay ahead of the game.
With that depth comes choice. With choice comes opportunity to out think and out maneuver your competition. What follows is a handy guide to get you started and set you on the path towards being forever one step ahead of the rest.
1. Understand what can and can’t be transferred between game modes
There are four game modes to learn in Brawl Stars. Smash and Grab sees two teams compete against one another to collect crystal dotted about the arena, with the first to hold 10 triggering a countdown timer. If the timer hits zero then you've won.
Bounty is a points-based mode in which a kill increases your bounty by one. Killing a player with a bounty on their head increases your team's score by that number. Heist features an attacking and defending team, with the latter trying to prevent the former from opening a locked safe. Showdown is a 10 player free for all in which the last person standing takes the gold medal.
Brawler abilities stay constant across all modes, as does the fact that working as a team is essential in everything other than Showdown. What you don't want to do is blindly transfer your Bounty approach to the likes of Heist, for instance. Not only is your opposition going to be focusing their attentions on different parts of the map, they're also going to be adhering to very different team formations and levels of outright aggression.
Play according to the context you find yourself in, not in a way seemed to work in a different setting.
2. Holding lots of crystals isn’t always smart
During a match of Smash and Grab you're going to want to be collecting crystals. After all, gaining crystals is what eventually leads to victory in Brawl Stars. However, holding too many crystals can present problems for you and your team, and present real opportunities for the opposition.
If you're holding more than a third of the number of required crystals then you might be better off letting a less heavily laden team-mate move in and grab any others laying around. Holding too many can spell disaster for your squad's chances if you die and the enemy rounds up everything you drop.
In such an instance you've gone from near victory to almost certain defeat, given that you'll have to wait for the cool-down timer on your death to expire before you can work at getting them back. Of course, if you're all alone then it's probably best to pick up any crystal on the ground – just be aware of the risk/reward factor in hoarding a lot of them.
Learning the rules of each mode is essential
© Supercell
3. Resist the urge to simply run and gun
Tempting as it might be to race around in a bid to kill as many opponents as possible, and capture any crystals in the arena, you're not necessarily playing a good game if you insist on constantly running around.
For starters, your health only begins to regenerate once you've stopped shooting for a while. Additionally, the more you're solely focused on running and gunning, the less effort you're putting in on watching for the circles around opponents that indicate whether or not they've got a special attack in waiting.
Most importantly, if you're acting like a mad person at every moment in a match then you're unlikely to be incorporating your efforts with those of the team. Teamwork is the single most important pillar of building longer-term success in Brawl Stars, so take a moment to slow down and act in unison with everyone else.
4. Play regularly against bots
Yes, it's more fun to play against real players, but if you're serious about improving and, arguably just as importantly, never being totally outmatched, it pays to practice against bots. Bots allow you the opportunity to learn the nuances of the different modes without the risk of incurring the wrath of experienced human team-mates, and it reduces your risk of being dominated by enemies.
Bots also allow you to easily learn any new brawlers you've unlocked and practice how to best aim with their weapons. You still get some rewards for playing against bots, meaning each match continues to level you up and push you towards unlocking more playing options.
Test and master every brawler as you unlock them
© Supercell
5. Spend time with each new brawler you obtain
Sticking with a brawler you know and love might continue to bring good results in the short term, but it's not a smart strategy in a wider context. Whenever you unlock a new playable character, we recommend being disciplined and committing to using them for at least the next six to eight games, whether you enjoy using them or not.
The more you know about every brawler, the more information you have on them when playing with or against others that have picked them. Nothing beats first-hand knowledge of hit points, weapon type, probable attack patterns and special moves.
Ultimately, success in Brawl Stars comes down to how much information you have, and how well you're able to leverage that information against the other team. There's no excuse for throwing away a good chance to absorb new information.
6. Watch the feet
Every character has one or more circles positioned around their feet. If the circle is blue then they're friendly, if it's red then you're staring at a hostile. What you really need to be paying close attention to, however, is if there's a second circle wrapped around the first. If there is then proceed with caution.
A second red or blue circle means that the character in question has a special attack charged and ready to go. Clearly, if you're looking at an enemy with this status then you need to keep an eye on them and adapt your movements in such a way as to not be directly in their firing line. If one of your team-mates has the two circles then you can feel safer moving towards them for security or be braver in attacking, given that your opponent is likely going to be more restrained.
If that second circle is yellow then they've already selected to use their super attack and you know that it is likely to come with their next shot. The golden rule: yellow circle means get to safety, now.
For more gaming coverage, follow @RedBullGames on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook.
