Barley

Class: Artillery

Rarity: Rare

Trio: Townsfolk with Piper and Byron

Best skin: Sway Master Barley

Mastery title: "You got served!"

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Barley is a thrower that can control key areas of the map very well, however he is easily countered by assassins. He also has 2 balanced builds, one allowing him to deal more damage and play more aggressively, and one that allows him to be a psuedo-healer.

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Health: 2400 to 4800

Movement speed: Normal

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Main Attack: Undiluted

"Barley lobs a bottle, breaking it on the ground. Enemies take damage from the splash, and more damage over time if they stay in the puddle."

Damage per second: 800 to 1600

Duration: 2 seconds

Range: Long

Reload speed: Slow

Barley's main attack can close off choke points from the enemy, as they linger and can be thrown over walls. They also take longer to land the further they are thrown. The puddles often don't deal much damage to normal enemies, but can deal a good amount of damage against stationary targets, as they will always take both ticks of damage.

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Super: Last Call

"Barley hurls a flurry of fiery bottles, covering a huge area in flames. This one's on the house!"

Damage per second: 800 to 1600

Duration: 4 seconds

Range: Very Long

Barley super is essentially five of his main attacks in an X pattern, starting in the middle and going from the ones closest to farthest from him. This covers a massive area and lasts a long time, denying enemies from a large portion of the map.​

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Gadget 1: Sticky Syrup Mixer

"Barley drops a sticky concoction that leaves a puddle, slowing down all enemies that make contact with it."

Cooldown: 18 seconds

This gadget can provide some much needed defense for Barley, as the slow allows his attacks to almost always get both ticks of damage. Barley can also bait the enemies into this gadget for a potential kill.

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Gadget 2: Herbal Tonic

"Barley throws a healing potion at nearby allies that creates an area that heals for 720 health per second."

Cooldown: 17 seconds

This is an overall great gadget, as the healing area lasts for 5 seconds, which is a potential 3600 healing. This can also be in 3 areas, 1 for each brawler on your team, and the range of the gadget is very long. The fact that this gadget has no downsides to using means it can essentially be spammed throughout the match, providing insane healing over time.​

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Star Power 1: Medical Use

"Barley regains 480 health from each attack."

This star power allows for Barley to heal when he attacks, even if it doesn't hit anybody. This can be great, as he doesn't need to retreat to heal if he takes damage, and can allow him to keep up the pressure. 

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Star Power 2: Extra Noxious

"Adds +200 damage per second to Barley's attack."

This can be a good star power to allow Barley to have better burst damage, keeping him more safe against aggressive brawlers. It is also very useful in Heist, as it increases his DPS against the safe.

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Hypercharge: Bottled-Up Rage

"Barley hurls 3 big brews that also destroy all bushes on impact."

Charge rate: 3 and 1/6 supers

Speed buff: 26%

Damage buff: 25%

Shield buff: 5%

Barley's hypercharge makes his super cover an even larger area, and the damage boost makes it's burst something that cannot be ignored. Destroying bushes is also very good for Barley, as it allows him to be jumped less often.

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Gear selection:

Shield is a must-have on Barley due to his incredibly low HP, and damage or gadget gear are 2 good options. Damage is the more universal one, however gadget gear helps a ton if you are spamming Herbal Tonics.

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Best build: 

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Other good abilities to buy:

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Best Matchups:

Barley is a great counter to brawlers that rely on turrets, since he can throw over the walls they are placed behind, and his attacks get maximum value since they are stationary targets. Good examples of this include Penny, Jessie, and Pam. Barley can also do good against really any brawler that can't get around walls easily, such as Collete or Otis. Barley is also a great counter to Berry, as his area control can force enemies out of Berry's healing puddles.

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Best Counters:

Barley is hard countered by assassin or brawlers that can open up the map. Brawlers like Edgar and Mico can always get the kill on him, while brawlers like Colt and Brock can break up his walls, leaving him with no cover.

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Best Game Modes: 

Barley's best mode is Hot Zone, as the game mode fits perfectly with his area control. His super and hypercharge can completely flush enemies out of the zone, and he can maintain great control, as his counters aren't often played in this mode. He can also be a decent thrower in Heist, as he can attack the safe even while behind a wall, and his attack and super can deal a good amount of damage to it.

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Tips and Tricks:

• Stay near walls with Barley, as he doesn't have the greatest range or damage compared to brawlers that can shoot over walls.

• Barley's Sticky Syrup Mixer gadget allows you to play slightly aggressive, as you can push up behind a wall, and any enemy that gets too close to the wall will get slowed and killed by Barley or his teammates.

• Barley can excel in thrower matchups if he has his Medical Use star power equipped, as he doesn't need to give up position in order to heal.

• Barley's hypercharge covers an absolutely massive area and can deal a ton of damage, even with just one tick. Use this to get kills or position on the map.

• Try to use Barley's main attacks spaced out from each other to maximize area control.​

Overall ranking: B