Punches twice as fast and dodges a lot; the easiest melee character to win with. Our tier list puts Brawler in B tier: Unarmed attack speed and dodge. Strong early, falls off if dodge caps before damage arrives.

The stat line

• +50% Attack Speed with Unarmed weapons
• You start with 1 Fist
• +15% Dodge
• -50 Range
• -50 Ranged Damage

Unlock: Unlocked by default. Winning a run unlocks Power Fist.

How the run plays

+50% attack speed with Unarmed weapons and +15% Dodge make Fists, Claws and Power Fists shred from wave 1. Melee Damage is the only stat the weapons scale with, so level-ups go there until Dodge and Armor are needed. The -50 Range means you are always inside the crowd; sustain items that trigger on dodge are worth double.

Weapons

Brawler fits the Unarmed class best. Start with Fist, Hand, Claw and hold six weapons of one class for the set bonus; the weapons list shows everything in the Unarmed class with per-tier damage.

What to buy, what to skip

Melee Damage, Attack Speed, Adrenaline-style dodge sustain, then Armor. Skip ranged anything.

The shop favours Melee Damage items for Brawler, so expect to see these often: Boxing Glove, Charcoal, Claw Tree, Defective Steroids, Goat Skull, Hedgehog, Riposte, Black Belt.

The mistake that ends runs

Stacking Dodge past the 60% cap because it feels safe; the points are wasted.

Co-op partners

No standout pair in the synergy rules yet; Brawler works with any economy character.

Open any pair in the team builder to see the full game plan.

Builds

• Knuckle Storm (Danger 5)