The 7 brawler classes explained: from Tank to Artillery
Every brawler in Brawl Stars has a class, shown under its name on the brawler screen. Knowing the classes tells you roughly how an unfamiliar brawler plays, and makes building a ranked team much easier. Since the November 2026 update, the draft screen sorts brawlers by class by default.
The seven classes
Tank
High health, built to hold the front. Tanks absorb damage and hit hard up close. They're often strong on bushy or tight maps and in modes like Hot Zone and Brawl Ball where you must hold ground. On open maps, long-range enemies can take them down before they arrive.
Assassin
Dives in and takes one target down fast. Strong mobility or burst, but usually modest health. Great for reaching fragile backliners, or finishing weakened players in Solo Showdown.
Support
Helps teammates with healing, shields or speed. Supports may look quiet alone, but keeping teammates alive is huge, especially in Knockout, where one early death is often decisive.
Controller
Denies space and disrupts movement with summons, lingering areas or slows, creating "don't walk here" zones. Strong in modes with a place to hold, like the gem mine in Gem Grab or the zones in Hot Zone.
Damage Dealer
Main job: steady damage. Good at mid range and useful in almost any mode. The first class to reach for when your team lacks firepower.
Marksman
Very long range. Safe damage from afar, but often weak up close. Strong on open maps and in modes where not dying is key, like Bounty and Knockout.
Artillery
Throws attacks over walls, hitting enemies hiding behind cover. Shines on wall-heavy maps. Projectiles take time to land, so moving targets are harder to hit, and they're weak against enemies who get close.
Building a team with classes
Classes are a quick way to see what a lineup is missing.
- Avoid three of the same class: three tanks can't reach anyone on an open map; three marksmen get pushed in tight spaces.
- Cover the mode's needs: modes with a place to hold (Gem Grab, Hot Zone) want a controller or tank; modes where deaths are costly (Bounty, Knockout) want a marksman or support.
- Read the map: walls favor artillery, bushes favor tanks and assassins, open ground favors marksmen.
Classes are a starting point
Brawlers in the same class can play very differently. Some damage dealers front-line like tanks; some supports deal real damage. Use the class for direction, then check map results before picking. See per-map win rates on All Maps and per-brawler results on Brawler Tiers.
Note
Class names follow the in-game brawler screen. Some brawlers' classes change with updates, so the in-game label is the final word.