Brawl Stars Maintenance Break Today
Brawl Stars is going into a maintenance break today to push new balance changes for the Stranger Things event and address ongoing discussion around the Stranger Packs and card pack probabilities. The Stranger Things skins exploit will stay active until the end of the event, but the team has clarified how the system really works.
Stranger Packs Bug and Exploit
- Players found a way to “peek” what’s inside Stranger Packs before opening them, letting them know if a Stranger Things collab skin is coming in their next card pack.
- Fixing this issue needs a full client update, so the current behavior will remain until the Stranger Things event ends.
- Rewards in Stranger Packs are rolled when you open the game (or when the shop refresh happens while you’re online), not when you actually tap and open a pack.
- If you do not open the game, your chances are not re‑rolled every hour; the contents are only rolled once you log in during that offer window.
- This design helps reduce server load and prevents other exploits like force‑closing the app at pack opening to try and reroll the result over and over.
- The system still follows the official drop rates listed on the Support page, with equal odds for every player at the hour they log in, even though the current bug gives the illusion of a “lucky hour”.
How the Stranger Packs Logic Works?
- When you open the game and the Stranger event shop is active, the game pre‑rolls the contents of the Stranger Packs for that hour’s offer based on the official probabilities.
- Offers refresh each hour; if you are online at that moment, the system re‑rolls your potential pack contents for the new offer cycle.
- In the intended design where you cannot see the contents beforehand, it does not matter whether the roll happens at login or at pack opening, because you still have no control over the outcome.
- The bug makes it look like you must find a “perfect” login moment, but in reality your chances only roll when your game session connects to that offer, and those chances do not keep changing in the background if you stay offline.
Stranger Things balance changes in today’s maintenance
Today’s maintenance also brings a set of buffs and adjustments around Stranger Things‑related gameplay and several Brawlers, aimed at making tanky and defensive setups feel stronger while tweaking some projectile behaviors. Based on the details you provided, here is the reworked kit in plain language:
Fireballs surround
- Damage increased from 500 → 1000, making the surrounding fireballs far more threatening in close range.
Damage gives temporary shield
- Shield rate increased from 35/30% → 40/35%.
- Active time extended from 2 seconds → 5 seconds, giving much longer protection windows.
- Shield cap doubled from 2000 → 4000, allowing bigger damage spikes to be absorbed.
Flat shield values
- One shield effect boosted from 10% → 15%.
- Another shield effect boosted from 5% → 10%.
Healing buffs
- First healing line: 80/50/30% → 100/60/40% for higher sustain at all upgrade levels.
- Second healing line: 50/30/20% → 90/50/30%, greatly increasing survivability in extended fights.
Attack damage heals
- Lifesteal‑style effect increased from 30% → 35%, rewarding aggressive play.
Gadget cooldown tweaks
- In some decks, gadget cooldown reduction adjusted from 50/30/10% → 60/30/10%, giving a higher top‑end reduction.
Health regeneration timing
- Base regenerate‑earlier threshold raised from 50% → 80%, so healing kicks in sooner after taking damage.
Rico bullet bounce
- Bounce damage rate increased from 50/100/200% → 80/150/250%, making bounces significantly more lethal.
- Maximum bounce time extended from 5 → 6, giving more opportunities for trick shots to connect.
Piper rework
- Old effect “Gadget cooldown 50% faster” replaced with “Damage +35%” on a key upgrade, converting utility into raw burst.
- Gadget cooldown (Super Rare Card) changed into Projectile speed (Super Rare Card) for more consistent sniping value.
- Gadget cooldown (Epic Card) also replaced by Projectile speed (Epic Card), further pushing her high‑skill, long‑range identity.
Colt tweaks
- Old “Attack Range +2” effect swapped to “Damage +35%”, favoring stronger hits over a slightly longer range.
Mandy changes
- Gadget cooldown Cards replaced with Movement speed Cards, shifting her upgrades toward mobility instead of spammy gadget usage.
Chuck, Buzz, Fang shield redesign
- Their “Damage gives temporary shield” mechanic is replaced by a more stable Shield that no longer decays over time and only drops when they take damage.
- Chuck: old 35% temporary shield becomes a flat 30% shield.
- Fang and Buzz: old 30% temporary shield becomes a flat 25% shield.
Projectile homing nerf
- Homing strength reduced by 20%, making auto‑aim tracking slightly weaker and giving more counterplay to dodging.
Quick meta takeaway
- Tanks and close‑range bruisers with shields and healing will feel much harder to burst down after this maintenance.
- Precision Brawlers like Piper and Colt get significant damage spikes, rewarding players who can hit long‑range shots consistently.
- Projectile homing getting toned down should slightly reduce frustration from overly strong auto‑aim patterns.
Disclaimer
This maintenance break and the changes discussed are based on the latest update from Brawl Stars. The bug fix and balance changes are subject to further adjustments as needed. For official updates, refer to Brawl Stars' official announcements and support channels.
