Brawlhalla Beginners Guide

Have you ever played other platformer fighters — Smash Bros. and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl? You better answer “No” because that will make the whole process of learning how to play Brawlhalla easier. Those games are very similar only on the surface. The real experience of Brawlhalla fights feels so much different!

Ok, if you answered “Yes,” we will also use that to your advantage. But please, don’t try to bring your well-known and so-comfortable Smash playing patterns to Brawlhalla. Do you have that device to wipe out memories and start from scratch? Oh, it could be useful…

This Brawlhalla guide is for all sorts of beginners. Reading it will not change the law — you get better at a fighting game only by practicing it (a lot). Still, the basic info and some tips from the article will help you to understand the game properly and find sweet shortcuts to the best experience ever (which is winning, of course).

Brawlhalla — not your ordinary platformer fighter

Please, get me right, the game is a platformer fighter, but it’s based on pretty unique mechanics and stands out from the (increasing) crowd of the competitors.

The basic stuff here is standard for the sub-genre. The characters fight on the floating platforms and try to launch each other to oblivion — somewhere beyond the screen. It’s easier to do when the victim is severely damaged.

Unlike Smash Ultimate, Brawlhalla doesn’t have a precise percentage of damage. The characters have a white health bar near their icons that turns yellow/red with damage increased. Following that bar might be tricky for those who get used to the numbers in Smash. Please, notice this difference.

Characters in Brawlhalla (Legends) fight with weapons in their hands. Those weapons determine lots of abilities and make different Legends with the same weapon type very similar to each other.

The choice of weapons in Brawlhalla is impressive. And each character has two weapon types in their arsenal. Let’s talk about this in more detail.

Weapon-based fighting

While choosing a Legend (as your main or just to have fun with), pay attention to the weapon icons. They clearly express what fighting style you should use with this virtual person.

There are 14 types of weapons in Brawlhalla (and potentially even more):

• Hammer
• Sword
• Blasters 
• Rocket Lance
• Spear
• Katars
• Axe
• Bow
• Gauntlets
• Scythe
• Cannon
• Orb
• Greatsword
• Battle Boots

Different Brawlhalla Legends have different combinations of two weapon types. That gives players a variety of choices to have an arsenal perfect for their style.

Experiment with those weapons — in a fun way. Play casual multiplayer matches and feel your internal response. Do you enjoy landing attacks with that thing? Your joy is the best indicator of a good weapon. Getting good results wouldn’t be excessive as well, but probably, that is part of the joy. 

While fighting, your character picks the first random weapon (flame sword on the platform). The next weapon they take will be of the other type. You lose weapons after especially strong attacks — for example when your Legend has been launched far from the platform. In some situations, you might want to change weapons intentionally.

DashFight has a dedicated Guide on Brawlhalla Weapons — please, check it out for more info on the topic.

Still, Brawlhalla Legends have some unique attacks with each of their weapons. These Signature/Heavy Attacks are usually stronger and can be used as launchers and combo finishers. After figuring out which weapon is the best, especially for you, it might be a good step to explore different characters who fight with that type.

Brawlhalla Legends: Rotation, Unlocking

Another big difference between Brawlhalla and Smash is the monetization model. Smash costs money. You paid for it, and you get everything. Most of the internal cosmetics are included, and you only need to unlock them. Smash also has paid DLCs — new characters, costumes for Mii Fighters, etc.

Brawlhalla is a free-to-play game. Still, you don’t have a stable set of characters from the very beginning. There is a weekly rotation of free Legends, which is a perfect way for beginners to explore weapon types. Then, if you want to play as a particular character regularly, you can unlock Brawlhalla Legends with internal currency or with real-world money.

Both ways are good. The first one allows you to gain valuable experience. Internal Gold is given mainly for regular visits to the game, participation in matches, and completing various Daily Missions.

By purchasing Legends, you support the game, and that means a lot.

To understand Legends’ abilities at first glance, check out their Strength, Dexterity, Defense, and Speed. Do you know a great place to see these stats? Yep, it’s the page with Brawlhalla Legends on DashFight.

Brawlhalla Controls

The button mapping in Brawlhalla is also different from one in Smash. You might need to get used to it.

Each Brawlhalla Legend has:

• Light Attacks — they can be Neutral (no directional input); Side (pressing the attack button with moving right or left); and Down (attacks with pressing down);
• Air Attacks — with the same Neutral/Side/Down pattern as of the Light ones;
• Heavy or Signature Attacks — they also can be Neutral, Side, and Down.

Have you noticed? There are no Up attacks in Brawlhalla. And this is an important difference in comparison to Smash. It will be a good idea to take your Legend to the Training mode and figure out which attack is up-directed (they are usually neutral, but it’s better to feel in practice).

Brawlhalla characters can not block attacks. But they can dodge to avoid getting hits.

Another important controlling option is picking and throwing your weapon.

Everything is pretty straightforward here. Brawlhalla doesn’t have any tricky input. It does have specific techniques that require practice — such as Gravity Cancel, when you press dodge and attack in the air to perform a ground attack while jumping.

Most Brawlhalla Combos are links of two-three attacks. Use your movement skills to expand them — for example, to chase the opponent with a jump and deliver the next combo starter.

Brawlhalla Game Modes

The game has somewhat limited single-player options. The first-timers might go to the Offline Play section and complete elementary Tutorials. They teach how to attack, jump, and dodge.

Brawlhalla Offline Modes

Couch Party is a mode for local multiplayer fights. You can change settings and have different types of fun fights.

Offline Tournament is Brawlhalla’s version of Arcade. Choose a legend and win a series of matches against AI.

Training is a typical mode for fighting games. You practice here your next favorite combo or just explore each ability of every Legend.

Brawlhalla Online Modes — Casual

Multiplayer modes are your primary destination in Brawlhalla. Press Play, and you’ll be there.

Free-for-All is a mode recommended by the developers. Four players fight for a limited time, and one who has the best balance of kills/KOs becomes a winner. This mode is fun and really perfect for beginners. It is hard to practice specific stuff here, though, but the Free-for-All fights are so much fun.

Strikeout 1v1 — this mode is for practicing 1v1 matches with different Legends in each stock. It’s more challenging and gives the taste of Brawlhalla ranked matches (and motivates players to practice a few characters).

Friendly 2v2 is precisely what it sounds like. It's a team fight where you can invite your friends or partner with a random person online.

Experimental 1v1 uses some of the newest inventions of the development team. That’s not the best mode for beginners. It would be better to practice within a stable fighting environment.

Brawlhalla Online Modes — Ranked

As it is usual for fighting games, ranked multiplayer matches are a place where things become serious. People are determined to win, and it’s a good idea to come here prepared, well-trained. Strictly speaking, it’s again not a place for beginners. Still, you might feel brave, so — welcome!

There are different types of Ranked Fights: 

• 1v1
• 2v2
• 1v1 Morph (ques that change each season) 
• Ranked rooms

While playing this type of multiplayer matches, you earn Elo and improve your Brawlhalla Rank.

In general, it would be better to play Casual matches before entering this (dangerous) zone. Take your time to select weapons and the Legend you like the most. Practice combos and movements. Get a decent experience with different opponents. And only then test your mettle in Ranked Matches.

Brawlhalla Maps

Maps (or Stages) in all the platformer fighters are more than just a beautiful background. Position and the size of those platforms directly affect the fighting process. In Brawlhalla, the influence of maps is quite significant.

The game has vertical surfaces for Legends to slide on and jump from. Using them should be an important part of your gameplan, so it’s advisable to explore various maps in Brawlhalla — to know what your Legend is capable of here.

The number of maps is pretty decent with different variants available — small and big. Playing on all of them is enough practice to learn maps’ features. Pay attention to the vertical surfaces so you know for sure where your character can risk and jump further to then slide and return to the platform.

How to get better at Brawlhalla (tips)

We start fighting games matches to win. We practice to win. Winning is almost like an ultimate goal. (Yes, we want to have fun. But what’s a better way to do so than winning?)

So, how to win more Brawlhalla fights? 

Brawlhalla is a super accessible game, but that doesn’t mean it’s simple. To start getting victories (especially in 1v1 fights), you need to put enough effort into the practice. It might sound boring, so don’t forget that practice here is mostly playing.

In the initial stage of your Brawlhalla journey, allow yourself to be an explorer. Take random characters, watch their attacks in practice, experiment with jumps and recovery moves — just play the game.

The first step to getting better will be selecting your weapons and your Legend. It would be almost impossible to master many weapon types and many characters. Choose one to concentrate your energy on understanding all features of this Legend. No need to hurry — the process of selecting your main is also the practice as you get to know your future opponents.

While fighting, don’t ignore dodges. It’s a mistake many players tend to make. Dodging provides you with so many helpful options. For example, you can avoid getting a hit and land your own combo starter instead.

Don’t rely too much on Heavy Attacks as they are easily punishable. You miss, and your Legend gets hit and huge damage. Use Light Attacks a lot — this is one of the best Brawlhalla tips you can get. Light Attacks are faster and can be chained into combos. They are your primary tool. Start pressing that Heavy Attack button when the health bar of your opponent is red or use Specials to deliver a combo finisher.

Practice combos and try to use them each time you land an attack. The initial period might be challenging as it seems easier to hit once and then quickly move away. Separate attacks are not that effective. Consider yourself a predator — you would not let your prey go.

Start working on combos from the Training mode. You need to develop muscle memory for short chains as you will not have time to think about what to do next in a real match.

The more you practice, the better you understand the fight flow in matches, so you can coin your Brawlhalla strategy. It might be an excellent idea to be the first one near the weapon spawn points — to grab the thing first or to meet the opponent there. Moving a lot might be a clever plan as you become flexible in choosing attack points/directions. Be unpredictable in everything you do in the game. You need to adapt to the opponent’s fighting style and prevent them from adapting to yours.

Pay attention to edge guarding, the art of preventing your opponent from returning to the platform. Sometimes you need to jump and activate Down Light/Heavy to push the victim to the abyss. Risky moves might be rewarding.

Visit the Training Mode regularly — to warm up before matches and to practice specific tricks. It’s a place where you can focus on a thing you need to improve. Sometimes, your actions here will be repetitive, but that brings very good results.

And of course, to get better, play Brawlhalla regularly. It’s more efficient to have one-hour sessions each day than four-hour ones twice per week.

Brawlhalla does a great job motivating players to return to fights. The game has daily missions. It offers awesome cosmetics in its Battle Passes. If you enjoy such a type of fighting matches, just delve into these activities. Soon you’ll find yourself being a much better player.

To conclude this Brawlhalla beginners guide, I would recommend you to enter the game community and feel the emotional support of like-minded players. Play together, watch esports tournaments, and participate in various events. This will give you additional motivation to strive for perfection. 

For more Brawlhalla articles and news posts, stay tuned to DashFight on Twitter and Facebook.