Brawlhalla Basics

QUICK NOTE: Whenever I talk about a specific button press in this guide, let it be known that I use an XBox controller to play. If you play with a PS4 controller, X = Square, Y = Triangle, A = X, RB = R1, RT/LT = R2/L2. Okay, now on to the guide.

Hey everybody and welcome to the Brawlhalla Basics guide. Today I'm going to be explaining the simplest controls, strategies, and ways to win while playing Brawlhalla. Before we begin, let's talk a little bit about what Brawlhalla is for those of you that aren't familiar with it. It's a very old-school style fighting game, incredibly similar to the popular Super Smash Bros series. In this game, you select your fighter from a large pool of options and engage in 1v1, 2v2, free for all, or party mode combat. In ranked gameplay, you will be forced to choose either 1v1 or 2v2. Keep in mind that if you do wish to battle 2v2, you must have somebody else playing with you before you can search for a game. The matchmaking system will not find you a random partner, so choose your teammate wisely if you wish to make a climb to the top of the ladder. Now, aside from just talking about Brawlhalla's similarities to Super Smash Bros, let's talk about what sets it apart.



In Super Smash Bros there are a plethora of items that fall from the sky. These can be used by the different characters to become invincible, grow, summon pokemon, gain health, freeze opponents, etc. In Brawlhalla, only bombs, land mines, and spike balls will be available for fighters to use (aside from their weapons, which we will touch upon in a bit). The bomb will explode on impact unless a player is able to press the X button at the right time to catch it. A trip mine can be thrown and will stay in place until triggered. You can trigger the mine by either walking over it (don't do that), or by throwing an item at it. Finally we have the spike ball. This is just a simple object that can be thrown. It will hit people and they will fly backwards, similar to the bomb. It doesn't explode and can be reused until it disappears or is thrown off the map. The only other things you can pick up in the game are your weapons. This is also different from Super Smash Bros and is probably the biggest difference between the two games.

Each fighter comes equipped with their own set of weapons. A fighter can have two different weapons ranging from guns, swords, bows, hammers, axes, katars, gauntlets, spears, and rocket lances. A fighter can only have one weapon equipped at a time and in order to change weapons they must throw their current weapon away and pick up a new drop. You can't see which weapon you're going to get from the drop, but it tends to be the opposite of whatever you had previously. For example, if you play Kor who can wield either gauntlets or a hammer and you are currently equipped with your hammer, you can throw that away and assume the next drop you get will be gauntlets. Each fighter also has their own unique set of attributes when it comes to damage, attack speed, defense, and mobility.

The controls for the game are very simple. The X button is a light attack, the Y button is a heavy attack, you can use A to jump, RB to throw your current weapon/item, and RT or LT to dodge attacks. If you hold a direction on the left thumbstick while attacking with X or Y, it will change the standard attack to be directional. These attacks tend to be gap closers that will launch you in a desired direction to either engage or escape a fight. If you're standing still on the ground you are allowed to jump 3 times, dodge once, and do one Up + Y attack. This combination can be used to get back onto the battleground if you are knocked off of the edge. By touching the side wall of the battleground or landing on your feet, you reset the jumps, dodge, and attack.

The key to winning games is like any other game. You learn the character that you like the most and practice a ton. If I can give any tips, I would say to hop into training before challenging the bots. Get a feel for your different weapons and how your attacks look. After that, play some battles against the AI and work on your skills even more. When you're in a real matchup against other humans, decision making is the number one priority. Whether you're baiting them to make them vulnerable, or trying to engage aggressively, your decisions will ultimately win or lose the game for you. One of the best ways to play is with counterattacks. This can be really difficult when you're just starting out because you need to know the combos that each weapon and fighter have in order to properly counter them. By sitting back and waiting for their strike, you can time a dodge and hit them when they're vulnerable. It may take a while to get your kills, but it's all about who wins the game, right?

The other key to winning is learning your combos. You can chain several different attacks together if you time them correctly and juggle the opponent to do a pretty decent amount of damage. If you can learn how to master your combos, and use them when counterattacking you should have a pretty easy time getting through the lower tiers of the ranked system. If you want to see this in action, please feel free to watch the video posted down below. I show all of this off in real game situations and you can get a visual on exactly what I'm talking about. If this guide helped or if you want to see more Brawlhalla guides, pleae feel free to leave a comment down below and tell me what you think. Best of luck in your climb up the ranked ladder, and I hope to see you again next time around in future game guides!