The Brawl Stars tierlist changes whenever new Brawlers arrive, balance adjustments alter important matchups, or new mechanics reshape the way existing characters perform. With Buffies, Hypercharges, evolving maps, and regular balance changes, understanding the current meta requires more than simply looking at a single win-rate number.
Meta strength is only one part of what makes a character memorable. Melodie, for example, has built a recognizable identity around music even when her competitive position changes from patch to patch. If you are interested in that side of the roster while comparing the Brawl Stars tierlist, our guide to Amplify this Melodie in Brawl Stars explores the song connected to her character and theme. Competitive rankings and character identity are separate, but both contribute to how players choose their favorites.
The current Brawl Stars tierlist places Wendy among the strongest overall options, while Shade, Gus, Amber, Nori, Bolt, Starr Nova, and Trunk remain prominent across broad matchmaking data. However, the strongest choice changes considerably by map, mode, draft, and skill level, so a single ranking should be treated as a starting point rather than a rule that applies to every match.
What is the current Brawl Stars tierlist?
A useful tier list should combine several factors instead of simply sorting characters by raw win rate. Pick rate, map suitability, team composition, matchup spread, ease of countering, recent balance changes, and whether a Brawler works across several modes all affect the result.
This is particularly important with modern Brawl Stars characters because the roster has become large enough that specialists can produce excellent statistics in a narrow environment while being much less reliable elsewhere.
Current overall Brawl Stars tierlist
Based on the current meta, a practical overall snapshot looks like this:
| Tier | Current notable Brawlers |
| S+ | Wendy, Shade |
| S | Gus, Amber, Bolt, Nori, Starr Nova, Trunk |
| A | Doug, Damian, Cosmo, Pierce, Gigi, Lumi, Draco, Lola, Meeple, Sirius, Glowy, Mina, Jae-Yong, Bull, Mandy, Finx |
| B | Strong situational and map-dependent options outside the leading groups |
| C | Picks that generally require favorable maps, matchups, or specialist play |
| D | Brawlers currently struggling to create consistent value across the wider meta |
This table should not be interpreted as a permanent ranking of every character.
Shade, for example, has received meaningful nerfs but remains statistically strong. Amber has also been adjusted, yet her control and sustained damage continue to produce strong results.
That lag between a balance update and a fully settled meta matters.
Sometimes a nerf immediately removes one of the best Brawlers in Brawl Stars from the top tier. Other times, the character remains powerful because the underlying kit is still flexible enough to survive reduced numbers.
Wendy currently stands out because she combines strong supportive utility with excellent results across several modes. Her Super and defensive tools give coordinated teams considerable value, even after previous reductions to some parts of her kit.
Shade remains dangerous because mobility, engagement pressure, and unusual movement options can create difficult matchups, particularly on maps with terrain that favors close approaches.
Why the overall tier list is not the Ranked tier list
Overall data includes many types of matches and skill levels.
Ranked is different.
Drafts, bans, map knowledge, counterpicks, and coordinated compositions become increasingly important as players climb.
The current Ranked picture is approximately:
| Tier | Strong Ranked options |
| S+ | Wendy, Gus |
| S | Shade, Amber, Edgar, Nori, Brock, Rico |
| A | Ash, El Primo, Bo, Mortis, Emz, Griff, Colette, Bibi, Pierce, Kaze, Doug, Trunk, Surge, Jessie, Stu |
One of the most interesting examples is El Primo.
He has received reductions affecting tools such as Asteroid Belt and Meteor Rush, but current Ranked results still keep him in a strong position rather than pushing him out of relevance.
That does not mean the nerfs were meaningless. It means players can still find productive drafts for him.
If you use him regularly, our guide to mastering El Primo in Brawl Stars covers his fundamentals in more detail. The current meta rewards understanding when a tank can actually reach the opponent rather than selecting one solely because a tier list places it high.
A good Brawl strat therefore combines meta knowledge with draft awareness.
Who are the best Brawlers in Brawl Stars right now?
There is no single answer that works for every mode, but some characters currently provide enough flexibility to remain strong across a wide range of situations.
When players ask for the best Brawler in Brawl Stars, they are often really asking one of three different questions: who has the strongest broad results, who is safest to upgrade for Ranked, or who is strongest on the map they are currently playing.
Those answers can be different.
Wendy, Gus, Shade, and Amber are major meta picks
Wendy currently has one of the strongest cases for the top overall position.
She performs extremely well across broad matchmaking and remains a leading option in Ranked data. Her ability to protect teammates provides value even when she is not personally securing eliminations.
Gus is another excellent Ranked choice.
His support kit can protect teammates, create favorable trades, and work in compositions where keeping an important damage dealer alive matters more than chasing kills.
Shade remains threatening despite recent nerfs.
His ability to create pressure around terrain gives him matchup advantages that raw damage statistics do not fully explain. Against teams without a reliable answer to his approach, he can still dictate positioning.
Amber is similarly valuable for a different reason.
She can maintain continuous pressure and deny space. Recent adjustments have reduced some of the additional power provided by her upgraded tools, but her basic ability to control an area remains valuable.
These are strong Brawl Stars characters, but none should be selected blindly.
An open map favoring extreme-range Marksmen can change the value of an Assassin. A closed map can dramatically improve Brawlers who use walls to approach safely.
Newer Brawlers can reshape the rankings quickly
Modern Brawl Stars releases often arrive with mechanics that require the community to learn new matchups.
Cosmo, for example, is a Mythic Controller whose Super makes teammate projectiles home aggressively toward a marked opponent. That creates team combinations that may be much more powerful in coordinated play than in random matchmaking.
Vince takes a different approach through a mechanic involving Caterpillars and Moths, giving him a unique resource system rather than simply another variation of an existing damage dealer.
Nori and Wendy have also gained Hypercharges that add another layer to their competitive value.
Whenever these systems arrive, early tier lists can move rapidly.
Players discover counters.
Maps rotate.
Builds become optimized.
Pick rates increase.
Then balance changes arrive.
This is why searching for the best Brawlers in Brawl Stars should always include the current patch context.
A list from several updates ago may describe completely different Gadgets, Star Powers, Buffies, or Hypercharge interactions.
Which Brawlers are best for each game mode?
Mode-specific rankings are more useful than an overall table once you actually enter matchmaking.
A Brawler can dominate one objective and perform poorly in another because each mode rewards different forms of pressure.
A useful Brawl strat starts with the objective, then considers the map, and only then looks at the tier.
Best Brawlers for Brawl Ball, Gem Grab, and Hot Zone
Brawl Ball rewards a combination of survivability, mobility, control, and the ability to create space.
Depending on the map, strong options can include Brawlers such as Wendy, Cosmo, tanks with strong engagement tools, and characters capable of controlling narrow paths.
The objective changes how you evaluate value.
A Brawler does not need the highest damage number if their Super repeatedly creates scoring opportunities.
Gem Grab places more emphasis on control and survival.
A team normally needs someone capable of protecting the gem carrier, someone capable of holding or contesting central space, and enough pressure to prevent the enemy from comfortably collecting gems.
Wendy performs particularly well on several Gem Grab maps, while Trunk, Bolt, Cosmo, and other control-oriented picks can become powerful depending on the layout.
Hot Zone rewards sustained presence.
You want Brawl Stars characters who can repeatedly contest the objective rather than win one fight and disappear.
Area denial, healing, durable frontline pressure, and abilities that force enemies away from the zone are particularly useful.
That is why supports, controllers, and certain tanks often perform better in Hot Zone than a simple damage ranking would suggest.
Best Brawlers for Knockout, Bounty, and Showdown
Knockout changes everything because normal respawns are removed for the round.
One mistake can immediately turn a 3v3 into a 2v3.
Range, survivability, safe pressure, and the ability to secure one decisive elimination become highly valuable.
Current Knockout performance shows Brawlers such as Wendy, Cosmo, Gus, Shade, Nori, Pierce, Mandy, and Pearl producing strong results across different maps.
The exact order varies dramatically by layout.
An open Knockout map can heavily favor Marksmen, while terrain-heavy maps may create openings for Assassins.
Cordelius is a good example of a Brawler whose value depends on matchup and environment rather than one overall placement. His Super can fundamentally change an engagement by isolating a target. Players who enjoy that type of specialist pick can use our Cordelius Brawl Stars strategy guide to understand his mechanics before deciding whether he fits a particular draft.
Bounty similarly rewards surviving while creating safe eliminations.
Long-range damage and controlled aggression usually matter more than constant diving.
Showdown is different again.
Without the structure of a normal 3v3 objective, survivability, burst damage, mobility, bush control, and the ability to choose favorable engagements gain value.
Popular assassins may appear frequently without necessarily producing the highest win rate.
This is why use rate should never be confused with strength.
A popular best Brawler in Brawl Stars candidate may simply be fun, familiar, or mechanically satisfying rather than statistically dominant.
What recent balance changes affected the Brawl Stars tierlist?
The Brawl Stars meta can move significantly after even a small group of targeted buffs and nerfs.
Recent balance changes affected several high-performing Brawlers while other characters received improvements designed to create more viable alternatives.
As a result, older Brawl Stars tierlist articles can become misleading even when many individual character descriptions remain correct.
Shade, Gus, El Primo, and Amber received nerfs
Shade received reductions to several parts of his upgraded kit.
His Super charge while near opponents was reduced, Long Arms received a longer cooldown, Jump Scare’s fear radius was reduced, and his Hypercharge Buffie lost part of its bonus damage.
Those changes directly target the parts of his kit that allowed him to create frequent close-range pressure.
Gus also received reductions.
His Knockback Spirit Gadget now has a longer cooldown, while Health Bonanza provides a smaller healing increase.
El Primo’s adjustments reduce both the frequency and effectiveness of several upgraded tools.
Asteroid Belt takes longer to return and generates less Super from its projectiles, while Meteor Rush has a shorter speed boost and weaker shield.
Amber’s Fire Starters and Wild Flames were also weakened, alongside a reduction to the burn damage provided by her Hypercharge Buffie.
Yet all four remain relevant.
That illustrates an important lesson about the Brawl Stars tierlist: a nerf does not automatically mean a Brawler becomes bad.
Balance changes need to be evaluated against the rest of the roster.
Buffs created new contenders and improved older picks
Several characters moved in the opposite direction.
Jae-Yong received more main-attack healing and a stronger speed boost from The Crowd Goes Mild.
Bea received a shorter Rattle Hive cooldown and additional Super damage.
Jessie’s turret damage increased.
Colette received a Super charge buff.
Janet gained more main-attack damage.
Maisie received faster projectiles.
Bo received increased main-attack damage.
Eve’s Super gained an additional Hatchling.
These changes may not instantly place every buffed Brawler in S tier.
They do, however, affect specific matchups.
For example, a projectile-speed increase can matter enormously against mobile targets even if the numerical damage remains unchanged.
The broader game also continues expanding Buffies, which can enhance Gadgets, Star Powers, or Hypercharges for supported Brawlers.
That creates another layer when comparing the best Brawlers in Brawl Stars because two characters with similar base statistics can gain dramatically different value from their complete upgraded kits.
For official previews of new Brawlers, seasonal systems, skins, balance changes, and Brawl Talk announcements, the official Brawl Stars YouTube channel is useful whenever a new update is about to reshape the meta.
How should you use a Brawl Stars tierlist to climb?
A tier list should narrow your choices, not make them for you.
A lower-tier specialist you know extremely well can outperform a theoretically stronger character you barely understand.
At the same time, ignoring the meta completely makes climbing harder when specific kits are clearly stronger or more flexible after a balance update.
The best approach combines familiarity with current data.
Choose Brawlers by map and matchup
Start with the map.
Look at:
- wall density;
- bush coverage;
- lane width;
- open sightlines;
- objective location;
- chokepoints;
- opportunities for throwers;
- opportunities for assassins;
- how easily tanks can approach.
Then identify the likely enemy threats.
A good Brawl strat includes counterplay.
If your opponent already selected an aggressive tank, you may want a Brawler who can keep distance or punish high-health targets.
If the enemy drafted multiple Marksmen on an open map, selecting another short-range Brawler without a safe approach can create an immediate disadvantage.
In Ranked, bans also affect the available meta.
If Wendy is repeatedly removed from the draft, knowing she is the current overall leader does not help unless you have alternatives.
Build a small pool of comfortable Brawlers across different roles.
A practical roster might contain:
- one reliable Marksman;
- one Controller;
- one Support;
- one anti-tank option;
- one aggressive Assassin or Tank;
- one flexible generalist.
You do not need to master every character.
Upgrade versatile Brawlers before chasing every tier shift
Resources matter.
If you constantly upgrade whoever reaches S tier for one patch, you can waste progression when the next balance change arrives.
Prioritize characters that fit multiple maps and modes.
Wendy and Gus currently have obvious value because of their broad performance, but your personal account may have another character much closer to a complete build.
A Power Level difference, missing Gadget, missing Star Power, unavailable Hypercharge, or missing Buffie can change which choice is practical.
The best Brawler in Brawl Stars on paper is not automatically the best investment for every account.
Also consider skill transfer.
Learning positioning with a Marksman can help with several other Marksmen.
Learning lane control with a Controller gives you concepts that remain useful after one specific Brawler receives a nerf.
This is more sustainable than rebuilding your playstyle every time the meta changes.
For the newest official information about the roster, progression systems, seasons, and balance updates, use the official Brawl Stars website. A current Brawl Stars tierlist should always be read alongside the latest patch because one maintenance update can change several matchups overnight.
How can ExitLag help when playing Brawl Stars?
ExitLag does not change the tier list.
It cannot increase Wendy’s shield, restore older values to a nerfed Brawler, strengthen your Super, or change matchmaking.
Its role is related to network routing.
That matters because Brawl Stars requires quick reactions, and network instability can make a good decision appear late on the server.
When connection issues affect competitive matches
Connection-related problems may appear as:
- delayed movement;
- delayed attacks;
- Super activation feeling late;
- rubber-banding;
- unstable latency;
- packet loss;
- short disconnects.
ExitLag can help optimize network routes for supported games and may provide a more stable route depending on your ISP, region, destination, and current network conditions.
Results vary.
A stable route cannot replace good drafting or mechanical skill.
If your opponent counterpicked you, changing the network route will not fix the matchup.
Likewise, if your Brawl Stars characters are underleveled relative to the mode you are playing, network optimization does not change their stats.
What ExitLag cannot fix
ExitLag cannot:
- move a Brawler higher on the tier list;
- increase damage or health;
- unlock Gadgets;
- unlock Buffies;
- unlock Hypercharges;
- change Ranked matchmaking;
- guarantee easier opponents;
- fix a global Brawl Stars outage;
- automatically improve aim;
- make a poor Brawl strat effective.
Use it when the actual symptoms suggest a connection-routing issue.
Then evaluate gameplay separately.
This distinction is useful when improving competitively: network tools address networking, while climbing requires better map knowledge, drafting, positioning, mechanics, and decision-making.
FAQ about the Brawl Stars tierlist
The meta can move quickly, particularly after balance changes and new character releases.
These answers focus on the current competitive environment rather than tying the ranking to one specific month.
Who is the best Brawler in Brawl Stars right now?
Wendy currently has one of the strongest overall cases based on broad performance and Ranked results.
However, asking for the best Brawler in Brawl Stars without specifying the mode has limitations.
Cosmo can outperform Wendy on some maps. Gus can be an exceptional Ranked support. Shade can dominate terrain-heavy environments. A Marksman may be much more valuable on an open Knockout map.
Treat Wendy as a strong broad leader, not as an automatic best pick for every match.
What are the best Brawlers in Brawl Stars for Ranked?
Current leading Ranked choices include Wendy and Gus at the top, with Shade, Amber, Edgar, Nori, Brock, and Rico also performing strongly.
Ash, El Primo, Bo, Mortis, Emz, Griff, Colette, Bibi, Pierce, Kaze, Doug, Trunk, Surge, Jessie, and Stu are among the strong alternatives immediately below that group.
The best draft still depends on map and opponent composition.
Is Shade still good after the nerfs?
Yes.
Shade received several reductions but remains capable of producing strong results.
His position can continue changing as players adapt.
The safest conclusion is that Shade remains strong but is less overwhelming than earlier versions of the kit.
Is El Primo still meta?
El Primo remains a viable Ranked pick after recent nerfs.
He is more matchup-dependent than the broad top options, and the reductions to Asteroid Belt and Meteor Rush matter.
Use him where walls, objectives, or enemy composition give him realistic opportunities to engage.
Is Cordelius still worth using?
Yes, in the right situations.
Cordelius is more of a specialist than a universal top-tier selection in the current broader ranking.
His isolation mechanics can still create valuable matchups, particularly when removing one important enemy from a fight changes the objective.
Does every mode have a different tier list?
Effectively, yes.
The same Brawl Stars characters can perform very differently in Brawl Ball, Knockout, Gem Grab, Hot Zone, Bounty, Heist, and Showdown.
Map design creates another layer within each mode.
That is why overall rankings should guide your roster rather than dictate every individual pick.
Should I upgrade only S-tier Brawlers?
No.
S-tier options are reasonable upgrade candidates, but progression should also consider which characters you already own, which builds you have unlocked, and which modes you enjoy.
A strong A-tier Brawler with a complete build can be more useful to your account than an S-tier Brawler missing important tools.
How often should I check the Brawl Stars tierlist?
Check after meaningful balance changes, new Brawler releases, Hypercharge or Buffie additions, and major gameplay updates.
You do not need to rebuild your roster every day.
Small statistical movements can happen naturally, while official balance changes are more likely to produce meaningful long-term shifts.
Why do different Brawl Stars tier lists disagree?
Different rankings use different data.
One may combine every Trophy range.
Another may focus on Ranked.
Another may analyze only elite players.
Some rankings emphasize win rate, while others include pick rate, ban rate, competitive drafts, or expert evaluation.
The apparent disagreement does not necessarily mean one list is wrong.
Always check what population and modes are being measured.
Are the most popular Brawlers always the strongest?
No.
Pick rate and win rate measure different things.
Some Brawl Stars characters are popular because they are fun, familiar, aggressive, or easy to unlock.
A very popular Brawler can have average results, while a less frequently selected specialist can produce an excellent win rate among the players who choose them.
What is the best strategy for using a tier list?
Use the ranking to build a pool of strong options, then narrow the choice based on map, mode, teammates, opponents, and your own experience.
A good Brawl strat does not begin and end with selecting S tier.
Draft intelligently, understand your role, preserve important cooldowns, learn matchups, and adapt when balance changes arrive.
The current meta favors Wendy as one of the most broadly successful options, while Gus, Shade, Amber, Nori, Bolt, Starr Nova, Trunk, and several mode-specific specialists remain highly relevant. Those positions can shift whenever balance changes or new Brawlers alter key matchups, so avoid treating any ranking as permanent. Build a flexible roster, check the map before drafting, and use ExitLag only when connection routing is actually contributing to instability. Used this way, the Brawl Stars tierlist becomes a tool for better decisions rather than a list of characters you are required to play.
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