Brawl Stars: Once Upon a Brawl update patch notes

Brawl Stars received a new update today to prepare for its upcoming season, Once Upon a Brawl, adding the new Brawler Ash, numerous fairy tale-themed skins, multiple balance changes, and a new Brawl pass.

The actual season will kick off in five days on Aug. 30, but no further update will be required.

In those patch notes, Supercell also listed its various criteria taken in consideration for deciding balance changes for Brawlers. Those include multiple rates such as ban, pick, win, and first pick rates, the state of competitive scene, and suggestions made by content creators.

Here are all the Once Upon a Brawl patch notes in Brawl Stars.

New Brawler: Ash

Ash is a midrange tank who fights with a broom as a sword and a shield. He’s a cleaner in the King’s Court, and he boasts a Super and a rage bar. It will be available as a reward of the next Brawl pass.

• Main Attack
  • Clean-Up: Ash uses his broom to create a shockwave in a straight line that can hit multiple targets.
• Super Ability
  • Little Helpers: He summons robotic R.A.T.S. to help him deal damage to the nearest enemies and explode on contact.
• Gadget
  • Chill Pill: Ash accumulates Rage and uses it to heal himself.
• First Star Power
  • First Bash: The rage is increased by 100 percent when attacking with full ammo.
• Second Star Power
  • Mad as Heck: Increases Rage reload speed, up to 30 percent.
• Passive: Rage
  • Ash has a Rage Bar that can get charged when hitting a Brawler or upon receiving damage. He gets stronger and faster when his Rage gets higher which depletes over time.

New Skins and Visual Improvements

New Skins

• Wizard Byron: Power League Skin, Unlocked after earning 30 Power League wins by spending 25,000 Star Points
• Ninja Ash: rewarded upon reaching Brawl Pass tier 70
• Princess Shelly: rewarded upon purchasing Brawl Pass
• Unicorn Knight Barley: 79 Gems
• Ruby Prince Sprout: 79 Gems
• Emerald Prince Sprout: 79 Gems
• El Dragón Verdoso and Rosado: 149 Gems
• Evil Queen Pam: 299 Gems
• Lunar Piper: 149 Gems
• Handsome Colt: 49 Gems
• True Gold/Silver Bo, Gale, Nani, Bea, and Sandy

VFX reworks

• Frank: Default Frank and DJ Frank
• Calavera Piper

New Pins

• Animated Pins
  • Squeak, Mega Box Darryl, Ash, Clap Pins, Buzz, Griff
• New Pins
  • Brawl Esports 2021, New Pins for El Dragón and Prince Sprout skins

Seasonal Events

• Brawl Pass Season 8: Once Upon a Brawl
  • New loading Screen
  • New main Menu Background with castle icons
  • New main Menu Music
  • New Environment: Castle Courtyard
• Lunar event: Main menu Background

Game Modes and Event Rotation Changes

General changes

• Showdown+ added: Solo Showdown rework
  • Defeating enemies grant trophies, and being defeated takes one trophy back
  • Showdown+ is available on its own game slot and follows the same maps as normal Showdown. Normal Showdown still can be played
• Added animated banners for certain game modes
• Hot Zone Maps
  • Removed Time Warp, Iron Cables, Sabotage Strip
  • Added Open Business, Controller Chaos, Breakout Brawl
• Bounty Maps
  • Removed Flanking Maneuver, Storm Attack
  • Added Excel, Hideout
• Brawl Ball Maps
  • Removed Side Strike, Wavedash, Retina
  • Added Center Field, Slalom Slam, Power Shot
• Heist Maps
  • Removed Spring Onions, Bandit Hook, Cover Crowd
  • Added G.G. Mortuary, Bridge Too Far, Beachcombers
• Gem Grab Maps
  • Removed Gem Bash, Stardust Storm, Twisted Torpedo
  • Added Four Squared, Rustic Arcade, Diamond Dust
• Siege Maps
  • Removed Power Washer, Rust Belt
  • Added Junk Park, Mecha Match
• Showdown Maps
  • Removed Stormy Plains
  • Added Cavern Churn
• No changes on Knockout Maps

Power League

• Map pool sizes goes from four to three maps or modes
• Siege removed from rotation for season three
• New Map rotation:
  • Hot Zone: Dueling Beetles, Ring of Fire, Parallel Plays
  • Bounty: Hideout, Dry Season, Layer Cake
  • Brawl Ball: Super Stadium, Pinball Dreams, Backyard Bowl
  • Heist: Hot Potato, Pit Stop, Bridge Too Far
  • Gem Grab: Hard Rock Mine, Crystal Arcade, Undermine
  • No Siege and Knockout maps

User Interface and Menu changes

• Friends List: Show highest Power League rank in friends list
• Chat: UI and UX improved, various features added
• Team Up: UI and UX improved for discovering, inviting, and accepting invites to teams

Shop

• Added three more skins to archive: Hot Rod Brock, Mascot Darryl, and Viking Bull

Brawler Balance Changes

• Belle
  • Star Power’s shield reduced from 25 percent to 20 percent in order to make her more vulnerable from close range.
• Bo
  • Damage of main attack increased from 560 to 600 to reward “players who master his shot pattern.”
• Brock
  • Base damage of main attack increased from 1,180 to 1,300
• Darryl
  • Base Health increased from 5,000 to 5,300
• Edgar
  • Self-heal increased from 25 percent to 35 percent
• El Primo
  • His Super requires 16 main attack’s hits to be charged instead of nine hits
• Gene
  • Main attack’s base damage reduced from 1,080 to 960
  • “Lamp Blowout” gadget will only heal himself when a brawler is hit with the knockback
  • “Homing Missiles” gadget damage increased from 800 to 1,000
• Mortis
  • Star Power: “Coiled Snake” has become a passive ability which takes one more second to charge than when it was a Star Power
• Nani
  • Gadget: “Return to Sender” now lasts for five seconds
• Penny
  • Base Health increased from 3,200 to 3,400
• Poco
  • Star Power: “Screeching Solo” damage increased from 800 to 1,000
  • Protective Tunes Immunity’s duration doubled, from one second to two seconds
• Rico
  • “Bouncy Castle” gadget heal reduced from 300 to 250
• Sandy
  • “Sweet dreams” gadget incapacitate duration reduced from 1.5 seconds to one second
• Shelly
  • “Clay Pigeons” gadget duration set to five seconds to boost its power
• Squeak
  • Main attack projectile speed increased by 25 percent
  • Explosion delay of Super explosion removed
  • If same target is hit by Squeak’s bomb while another is stuck to the same target, it explodes the previous bomb instantly
• Stu
  • “Breakthrough” gadget now requires a charged Super to activate
  • “Breakthrough” gadget damage per piece of debris reduced from 500 to 200
  • “Gaso-Heal” star power heal reduced from 500 to 400

Various balance changes

• Heist safe: health increased by 25 percent
• Super Charge trait of tanks changed to be based on max HP to balance it out between power levels
• Trophy thresholds added for club player, going up to 35,000

Bug Fixes

• Frank’s noise-canceling gadget could cause him to stay airborne after being knocked up by gales twister gadget issue fixed
• Stu’s wall break gadget persisting after dashing into a Gale’s twister issue fixed
• Stu wall break gadget persisting after use if used into a teleporter issue fixed
• Super charging gadgets not resetting after a ball was kicked issue fixed
• Gadget tornado of Gale making AI pathing break issue fixed
• Canal Grande symmetry bug fixed

The complete patch notes, which include the explanation of every balance change made on Brawlers, can be found here.