Patch Notes - Once Upon a Brawl | Season 8 Balance Changes

This article will guide you to all the changes in the Season 8 of Brawl Stars. Check here to see the new Brawlers, Gadgets, Pins, event changes, and more!

Season 8 - Once Upon a Brawl

Season 7 just came to an end, and it's now time for the new season — Once Upon a Brawl! There are new Brawlers, Brawl Pass and Rewards, Skins, Game mode, and many more.
Season 8: Once Upon a Brawl

Balance Changes

Brawl Stars developers have decided to include their thoughts on how and why a Brawler needs some tweaks on its skills, stats, and items. Other variables like Use Rate, Ban Rate, and other things that are not accessible in-game have also been checked to provide players with reasonable changes.

Nerfs

Rico Gadget Nerf

Bouncy Castle	Bouncy Castle heal reduced from 300 to 250.
Developer Notes: “Bouncy Castle” improved Rico’s sustain a bit too much, essentially securing a full heal for each use even when used without much thought. Tuning it down slightly will mean more counterplay for his opponents while still allowing him to heal up when used in the right circumstances.

Rico Stats, Skills, and Skins

Belle Star Power Nerf

Positive Feedback	Positive Feedback shield reduced from 25% to 20%.
Developer Notes: Belle is one of the best long-range Brawlers in the game, and a big part of this is her durability thanks to her shield from the “Positive Feedback” Star Power. Tuning down the shield a little will allow better trades with Belle, and makes her more vulnerable once you do get up close.

Belle Stats, Skills, and Skins

El Primo Super Skill Nerf

Flying Elbow Drop

Attack required to charge his Super increased from 9 to 16.

Developer Notes: After Tanks received the passive Trait to charge Supers from receiving damage, El Primo became the best and most played Tank option due to his ability to chain Super attacks. Given the fact that the change made him somewhat too oppressive, we’ve decided to address this by making it harder to chain Supers. El Primo players will now have to be more considerate when and how to engage and chaining Super attacks will become significantly more difficult..

El Primo Stats, Skills, and Skins

Nani Gadget Nerf

Return To Sender	Return to Sender now have a 5 seconds duration upon activation.
Developer Notes: “Return to Sender” was too easy to use and was hard to counter. Limiting the duration to 5 seconds will force players to use it more reactively and situational. Given the right circumstances this gives skilled Nani players still the potential for impressive plays while providing opponents to avoid the damage if played pro-actively.

Nani Stats, Skills, and Skins

Sandy Gadget Nerf

Sweet Dreams	Sandy's Sweet Dreams Gadget duration reduced from 1.5 seconds to 1.0 second (-33.00%).
Developer Notes: “The utility provided by “Sweet Dreams” was too high, allowing Sandy to counter even his natural counters. Reducing the duration will still allow it to be a solid option, but no longer a must-pick.

Sandy Stats, Skills, and Skins

Stu Star Power and Gadget Nerf

Breakthrough	Breakthrough Gadget is now required a charged Super to activate. Damage per debris has also been reduced from 500 to 200 (-66.00%).
Gaso-Heal	Gaso-Heal Gadget heal reduced from 500 to 400 (-20.00%).
Developer Notes: Stu has been one of the strongest and most versatile Brawlers for a while. His sustain and ability to win most matchups is unparalleled. His Gadget provided him additional Utility and made him much harder to deal with. Reducing the effectiveness of his “Breakthrough” Gadget and the sustain from “Gaso-Heal” should keep him better in check going forward, while not impacting players with lower Power levels.

Buffs

Bo Attack buff

Eagle-Eyed	Bo's Eagle-Eyed base attack damage increased from 560 to 600 (+7.14%).
Developer Notes: Following a necessary nerf to his Gadget (“Super Totem”) Bo saw an unsurprising reduction in playtime. To move away from centering his viability around Gadgets or Star Powers we’ve decided to give him a small buff in damage output for his main attack “Eagle-Eyed”, rewarding players who master his shot pattern.

Bo Stats, Skills, and Skins

Brock Attack Buff

Rockin' Rocket	Brock's Rockin Rocket base attack damage increased from 1,180 to 1,400 (+10.16%).
Developer Notes: Brock has been one of the weaker long-range Brawlers for a while due to his lower projectile speed and hard to hit attacks. Making his main attack more deadly will reward players who have mastered his rockets.

Brock Stats, Skills, and Skins

Darryl HP Buff

HP Buff	Darryl's base HP increased from 5,000 to 5,300 (+6.00%).
Developer Notes: Darryl heavily relies on his mobility and his Star Power “Steel Hoops” for survivability and currently is one of the weakest heavyweights in the game. By increasing his health pool he will be somewhat more menacing and forces enemies to spend more time dealing with him when he rolls towards them.

Darryl Stats, Skills, and Skins

Edgar Self-Heal Buff

Self-Heal Buff	Edgar's Self-heal increasced from 25% to 35% (+40.00%).
Developer Notes: While it was our goal to make Edgar more fragile when played recklessly and prone to being taken down by concentrated bursts of damage, we likely went too far. Increasing his self-heal from successful attacks should make him a lot more viable now when he is using “Vault” to attack weakened targets or Brawlers without burst.

Edgar Stats, Skills, and Skins

Mortis Attack & Star Power Buff

Shovel Swing	Added a “Coiled Snake” effect to Shovel Swing. It charges 1 seconds slower than the previous effect of Coiled Snake.
Coiled Snake	Coiled Snake Star Power has been reworked. It now reduces the cooldown of the “Coiled Snake” passive by 1.5 seconds (0.5 second faster).
Developer Notes: Unfortunately “Coiled Snake” was the obvious choice for most Mortis players and it felt like an integral part of making him viable. This change will allow Mortis to be played more effectively in lower Power levels while the small buff provided by the new “Coiled Snake” will indirectly make up for the nerf due to the ammo change on respawn.

Mortis Stats, Skills, and Skins

Penny HP Buff

HP Buff	Penny's base HP increased from 3,200 to 3,400 (+6.25%).
Developer Notes: Penny relies heavily on “Old Lobber” for area denial and overall effectiveness. We’ve increased her health pool a bit to provide more passive survivability and consequently allow her to be played more aggressively which means that she can bring her cannon into play earlier.

Penny Stats, Skills, and Skins

Poco Star Power & Gadget Buff

Screeching Solo	Penny's base HP increased from 3,200 to 3,400 (+6.25%).
Protective Tunes	Poco's Protective Tunes immunity duration increased from 1 second to 2 seconds (+100%).
Developer Notes: The previous Super charge rate buff for Poco made him annoying to deal with. We are now focusing on his lesser used Star Power and Gadget to create viable alternatives without over-tuning his kit and making him too much of a nuisance.

Poco Stats, Skills, and Skins

Shelly Gadget Buff

Clay Pigeons	Clay Pigeons has now a duration of 5 seconds.
Developer Notes: “Clay Pigeons” was rarely used by players. Giving it a duration will reward players with solid aiming and at the same time provides Shelly with an opportunity to engage opponents in longer range combat - either to finish off low hitpoint Brawlers after engagements or to charge her Super faster than expected.

Shelly Stats, Skills, and Skins

Squeak Attack Buff

Sticky Bombs Buff	Squeak's Normal Attack projectile speed increased by 25%. Squeak's Big Blob Super explosion delay has been removed. If an opponent got hit by another Sticky Bomb while there is one on them, it explodes the first one instantly.
Developer Notes: Squeak had multiple problems which we tried to address with this change. He should now be able to hit targets more reliably and rewards players with moderate burst if they land their shots. The reduced delay for his “Big Blob” provides him more area denial and forces faster reaction from enemies.

Squeak Stats, Skills, and Skins

Tweaks

Gene Attack & Gadget Tweaks

Smoke Blast	Gene's Smoke Blast base damage has been reduced from 1,080 to 960 (-11.00%).
Lamp Blowout	Lamp Blowout Gadget now only heals if it hits a brawler.
Vengeful Spirits	Gene's Vengeful Spirit Gadget damage increased from 800 to 1,000 (+25.00%).
Developer Notes: Gene is widely used at higher Trophy Ranges, in Power League and in Esports. Reducing his burst potential should allow for more retaliation from most Brawlers and will require better coordination with other players in the team to deal with several other Brawlers. His Gadget “Lamp Blowout” will require players to be more considerate when using it and the homing missiles from “Vengeful Spirits” got a meaningful buff to make the Gadget a stronger alternative.

Gene Stats, Skills, and Skins

Game Mode & Events Changes

New Brawl Event - Showdown+

Showdown+ works similarly to a Solo Showdown match. The difference between them is you will earn 1 Trophy with each kill but lose one if you die. It is a game mode that suits players who are masters at engaging and defeating enemies alone.

Brawl Event Changes

Bounty	Removed: Flanking Maneuver, Storm Attack Added: Excel, Hideout
Hot Zone	Removed: Time Warp, Iron Cables, Sabotage Strip Added: Open Business, Controller Chaos, Breakout Brawl
Brawl Ball	Removed: Side Strike, Wavedash, Retina Added: Center Field, Slalom Slam, Power Shot
Heist	Removed: Spring Onions, Bandit Hook, Cover Crowd Added: G.G. Mortuary, Bridge Too Far, Beachcombers
Gem Grab	Removed: Gem Bash, Stardust Storm, Twisted Torpedo Added: Four Squared, Rustic Arcade, Diamond Dust
Siege	Removed: Power Washer, Rust Belt Added: Junk Park, Mecha Match
Showdown	Removed: Stormy Plains Added: Cavern Churn

Gameplay Changes & Bug Fixes

Interface Changes

• You can now see who has the highest Power League Rank among your friends.
• Similar to other Supercell games, Chat is now a tab. You can also request teaming up with your clubmates through Chat!
• There are new skins added to archive: Hot Rod Brock, Mascot Darryl, and Viking Bull.

Gameplay Changes

• Heist safe health increased by 25%.
• Changed tank’s Super charge trait to be based on a Brawler’s max Health so it equalizes the effectiveness of it at all Power levels.

Bugs Fixed:

• Fixed an issue where Frank’s Noise-Canceling Gadget could cause him to stay airborne after being knocked up by gales twister gadget.
• Fixed an issue where Stu’s Breakthrough Gadget could persist after dashing into a Gale’s twister.
• Fixed an issue where Stu's Breakthrough Gadget could persist after use if used into a teleporter.
• Fixed an issue where the Super charging gadgets would not reset after a ball was kicked.
• Fixed an issue where Gale’s Twister Gadget could make AI pathing break.
• Fixed symmetry on Canal Grande.

Optional Update Fixes

You can download this update on the Apple Store or Google Play Store.

• Added trophy thresholds for club player filtering up until 35000.
• Fixed trophies and Power League rank persisting for offline players in team-up view.
• Fixed Ninja Ash’s Kimono.
• Fixed redundant green "!" visible for level 9+ brawlers in brawler selection.
• Fixed weird behavior while spectating a someone.
• Fixed the thumbs down Pin to be consistent with all the other pins.
• Removed redundant chromatic Brawler localization.
• Prevent Showdown+ losses to show minus trophies if you have 0 trophies and get defeated (visual fix).
• Fixed online teams menu being slightly stretched.
• Fixed a few Pins being weird (Buzz and Penny).
• Fixed certain special character name displays on android.
• Fixed refreshing of player profile pictures in chat.
• Fixed some FPS issues on Android devices.
• Fixed Tara and Iris Tara eyelids being flipped.

Note: You can still play the game without this update. However, it might force you to update in the future.

You can find out more about these changes by visiting the official Brawl Stars Blog Site.

Brawl Stars Related Guides

Latest News & Information

Brawl Talk - October 2021	Brawl Talk: September 2021
Patch Notes: Meg Update	Patch Notes: Once Upon a Brawl Update
Season 8: Once Upon a Brawl	Brawl Talk - August 2021

Older News

Patch Notes: Jurassic Splash Update	Season 7: Jurassic Splash!
Brawl Talk - June 2021: Season 7 Preview	Patch Notes: The Goldarm Gang Update
The Goldarm Gang: Season 6	Power League Update Patch Notes
Brawl Talk: April 2021

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