The art of pugilism has existed since the ancient times. In War Robots, brawling existed way, way back. Magnum Gepards slugging it out with Thorkan Boas, Plasma Griffins against Punisher-Thunder Leos, where fights were decided at knife range. As clunky as their bots seemed, pilots fought with more finesse back then, making use of covers and corner-shooting to outgun their opponents. This is a far cry from what duels are nowadays, which are often decided with powercells and brute force.
What is brawling?
It’s probably what you have exactly in mind. Basically, it’s just squaring it out at 350m or less. A simple knife fight. You get your bot close enough to your weapon’s effective range and shoot it out. Very simple, eh?
Well, as simple as it may sound, in the early days of WR, you will not win a brawl just by standing and shooting. Powercells didn’t exist to back you up. You have to work for your own survival. You weave in and out and dance around your opponent. Dirty dancing boxing is where the money’s at because the longer you stay swinging and handing out the damage goods, the more you earn your purse in silver. It’s not uncommon for old-school pugilists to take down an enemy bot only to jump in to another slugfest.
Anatomy of a good brawler
So, what makes a good brawler?
FIREPOWER
First of all, a brawler is often defined by how hard it hits. Its weapons should deal high enough damage to be a threat to enemy robots. Short reload time is also factor. Sometimes, you’ll be facing tough enemies that an entire clip is not able to finish off.
Shotguns are probably the most popular choice among weapons, whether it be kinetics or energy. Energy shotguns even give a chance to pin down your target, allowing you to kite enemies or simply catch them. Kinetics on the other hand, are chosen for their raw damage output. They can also provide some sort of support by breaking down physical or blue shields (deals double damage to physical). Take note though that shotguns have the least optimal range among the brawler weapons. But if you could get into a headbutt range, you can take down targets with relative ease.
The Sharpshooter pilot skill increases shotgun damage.
Explosive Rockets used to be a popular choice but the Orkan nerfs hurt deathbutton setups a lot. Adding to that is the long cooldown. Exodus seems fine though and sees more battles than the classic Orkan/Pinatas. The arrival of cyro rockets could probably get the 300m-range rockets back into the meta. Their ability to apply slow and deathmark status to targets make them good support weapons and are especially useful in taking down tanks.
I guess Orkans could make it back if they get some sort of buff or just rework them into being DOT incendiary rockets to complete the ice and fire rockets theme.
Plasma weapons hit fast and hard. With the ability to go through energy shields, Magnums and Tarans—the plasma deathbutton—used to be the go-to brawling setup for Griffin pilots.
The 350m-range plasma setups are the out-boxers among brawlers, usually just dipping in and out of the 350 range while hitting reds with high-temperature plasma barrage. They got good reload times plus the sound that they make is quite satisfying.
Tasers (or deathfibrillators as I call them) are actually midrange to close, but could be used in brawling, especially with their high damage output in knife range. I consider them as electric shotguns and I sometimes make the noob mistake of getting too close fighting them. A perk of these weapons is not having to aim once the target is locked and this could be godsend against dashers, jumpers, and fast bots.
Bulgasari was a notorious one at this, frying off reds with force lightning while hiding behind a big-ass shield and dashing around. It could also be used by jumpers as you could just lock on a target and avoid hits by leaping around. Getting a target lock could be irksome though and skilled opponents can break your lightning grapple by using covers and then just dance around you. Guidance Operator helps with the lock-on time.
Machine guns are probably every WR commander’s “gateway drug” to brawling. Punishers are the usual go-to weapons for newer players and our first teachers to going rambo. I would suggest every new player to master this weapon as it will automatically teach you to be a good brawler. Machine guns have an accelerated state that give them 50% increase in rounds per seconds, increasing the DPS. To reach accelerated state, they must be fired for 3 secs without stopping. Accelerated state stops when you stop firing for 1 sec. Priming up your machine guns is a good idea before going into a brawl, so you’ll enter battle in accelerated state. Like shotguns, their accuracy increases the closer the target is.
Punishers are accurate at 200m while Avengers need to get to 100m to get to 90% and 50m for 100%.
Shredders and Pulsars are classified as energy machine guns. However, Pulsars are more of midrange weapons since they got 600m max range and 550m effective range. On the other hand, Shredders behave more like Punishers, with accuracy increasing as you get closer to target. Still, it seems to fight for position against Halos, with the latter being a better lockdown choice at the moment. If lockdown changes go through and Shredders go untouched, they might gain more popularity.
Flamers share plasma cannons’ 350m long brawling range. They can penetrate both physical and blue energy shields with flame streams capable of doing high DPS. The major drawback though is its projectile speed which is very slow and can be problematic against mobile bots. Because of this, it can be tricky to aim and require anticipating where the target is going.
Lockdown effects and the new cryo-rockets synergize well with flamer-class weapons, allowing you to cut down target’s mobility. Blaze, Igniters, and Embers are examples fall into this category.
DURABILITY
The ability to take punishment and withstand barrages gives you a chance to fire your weapons some more. It would be really a shame if you lose your bot without even getting to shoot. Having a big HP bar helps with this and surviving a fight to take another fight would help the team a lot. Sometimes, being tough as nails is enough to give a bot brawling potential, even though it may lack in firepower compared to other bots. Traditionalist Falcon is an example of this. Even though it’s a tank, it can definitely brawl by just being able to soak damage and retaliate with its single heavy weapon.
COMBAT ABILITIES
Some robots can brawl just by the virtue of having special abilities. Such abilities can even give brawl potential to squishy bots. Abilities that give mobility, buffs, or debuffs can help swing the battle into your favor. Back then, Jump and good piloting skills were enough to make Griffin the apex predator and subdue tough enemies like Leos and Lancelots. They were able to minimize damage with mobility and use of covers.
Dashbots, when they came to meta, also relied on their mobility. Stealth gives bots some virtual invincibility and breathing room when needed. Shields—physical and energy—give damage mitigation and allows even squishier robots to brawl. Other bots even have damage resist, enhancing their ability to soak damage and live long enough to finish their targets.
When relying on abilities though, players should take note of ability cooldowns as it’s stupid to just wade into battle and get stomped because your Repulse is on cooldown.
It’s not necessary to have all three qualities to brawl. I’d say having good firepower and durability OR combat ability would be enough, depending on how you pilot your bot. Still, having three would be the best as it would make brawling a whole lot easier.
I am not mentioning the perfect brawler here as I believe that it depends on a player’ playstyle. It doesn’t matter if you got the “best setup” if you don’t even enjoy playing it. After all, we’re still playing a game.
Still, if I have to choose or make a brawler, I’d get an Invader. I am currently running an Inquisitor with this setup:
I’d probably try to upgrade it to level 9 just to get max speed and some extra HP (that synergizes with Armor Expert and the Armor Kits) if I get extra Ag. The weapons need upgrading if I want to keep up with the meta. I am at Expert II (jumping from II to I). On average, it could take down a bot or two before going down. On some occasions, it can pull off a John Wick on the enemy team before getting sent to the trash bin.
I got an extreme love for jumping bots, hence the choice of Invader. I thought that the Invader would perfectly replace my Inquisitor in terms of playstyle. Both jump and get some seconds of pseudo-invincibility in the air and on landing.
Also, the Invader fits the three qualities that I mentioned—firepower, durability, combat ability—and the idea that it kind of plays like a tankier Inquisitor makes it the best choice for me. Still, I have a loooong liiiiiist of stuff to do about my hangar, so I’m not sure when to start replacing it.
How to play a brawler?
Well, you could ask brawlers for tips. I won’t put high grades on my brawling skills because honestly, I play more RDBs than brawler bots. But if you’d ask me, my answer would be…
Yes, I’m quoting a line from 80’s cartoons inspired by a toy. Why? Because knowledge will get you far. Piloting skills can’t really be taught, but playing smart could be.
Know your loadouts
Before you master the enemy, master yourself first. It’s important to know your bot and your weapons, their strengths and their weaknesses. Always play to your strengths and try to make up for your weaknesses. Using my Inquisitor as the above example, I’ll only go in against one enemy as much as possible and maximize my stealth jump. While I’m on stealth, attacking my target, I can get an idea if I’d have to distance myself once the stealth fades or just continue to brawl and just use Repair afterwards. I try to fight it out in 100m at least since my weapons are much more effective at that distance.
Know your enemy
It is important to gauge your target’s strength before picking a fight. Don’t bite off more than you could chew. With my Inquisitor, I only try to slug it out with squishier bots. I know that I’d have trouble against a Traditionalist Falcon or an Invader. I’ve taken down Fenrirs before (but probably low levels).
Make sure that your “qualities” can exceed that of the opponent’s. If you know that your firepower is not enough against the enemy’s durability, wait for another chance (a teammate might be nearby to assist) or just find another target. If you’re piloting a tanky bot with lower firepower and facing a squishy enemy with high firepower, you could duke it out if you feel you can win through sheer tankiness. If you have an ability that gives some sort of invincibility or damage mitigation, make sure that its duration would be enough for you to survive.
Know your surroundings
Environment plays a big factor in the game. You can use buildings to your advantage, especially if piloting a mobile bot. Corner-shooting is also a part of a dirty boxer’s playbook. For those who are unaware of corner-shooting, it’s simply shooting using a part of your bot, like peeking with a Griffin’s left-hand weapons and hiding your hitbox behind a wall. Your damage output might be reduced but you’re taking minimal hits in exchange.
Always look out if there are enemy reinforcements coming your way. Avoid fighting near a red beacon, especially in beacon rush. You’re fighting a war, not a duel, so don’t expect that a red would just come to watch you fight 1v1 with his/her teammate.
Know your limits
Well, this just sums up all of the above. By knowing your limits, you’d know if you can win a fight or not. Always focus on your survival. Getting kills don’t matter if you’ll also get killed in the process, unless you’re doing it to secure a win. Don’t pick fights that you won’t win. Jumping into an enemy train and getting instakilled isn’t bravery. It’s not a mosh pit, for crying out loud.
Practice, practice, practice
The only way to get used to playing a bot setup is through playing hard. Doing so would make you learn the ins and outs of that certain setup. So, I really, really highly recommend just grinding.
Building your first brawler
Leo is the best training wheel for newer brawlers in my opinion. They’re rather slow but it’s usually enough in the lower leagues. Its innate tankiness allows it to take shots while closing in. Punishers or Pinatas can be used for light slots while Thunder would suffice for heavy in low leagues.
Griffin, with its jump ability, is a more mobile alternative and can be set up with Punishers. It’s not as tanky as Leos, so pilots must be careful in going in.
You can check my writeup about starter packs if you want to get free Leo or Griffin.
From here, players can go raise Ag for shotguns or Avenger. One go-to route is two Avengers and workshopping an Ao Jun. For a tanky brawler, Traditionalist Falcon has been a popular choice for FTP pilots, although the titan tends to push them away from the meta because of their ability to pierce through damage resist. For those who are able to get kinetic shotguns, I’d suggest Invader (I might be bias, but what the heck, I find it really good). Fenrir can also be a carrier for the Avenger if you’re only able to get one. Still, I don’t have a specific bot recommendation since it would highly depend on player preference. One tip that I could give though is to play Skirmish mode when they have brawlers available to be able to test drive some bots.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you got to this part, you’re probably patient or just have too much time on your hands. Whatever your reason is, I’m grateful that you read through my text walls. What could I say more about brawling? Nothing much really except it’s an integral part of the game. I’m sorry if you’re expecting an in-depth brawling guide. My only tip is just get out there and brawl, son! Seriously, you’ll learn a lot just by doing it and correcting your mistakes.
The Omniscientist 