Yo listeners, it’s Max Gaming here, and Brawl Stars has been absolutely exploding with news lately, so let me break it all down in plain language.

Supercell just dropped what a lot of outlets are calling the biggest Brawl Stars update ever, centered around a new system called Buffies. According to the official Brawl Stars patch notes and recap on BrawlStarsStats, Buffies are collectible keychains from Starr Park that permanently boost your Brawlers’ Gadgets, Star Powers, and even Hypercharges. They’re basically next-level power-ups that make existing abilities stronger without adding extra buttons, so casual players can still play normally while competitive players get way more depth.

The devs are using Buffies to rework older Brawlers. For example, BrawlStarsStats explains that Colt, Mortis, and Frank all get redesigned Gadgets and Star Powers when they receive their Buffies, plus some Gadgets can now be aimed like a Super instead of just tapped. That means Mortis’ old Survival Shovel becomes Creature of the Night, letting him dash like a bat to a target location, and Frank’s Active Noise Canceling now sends out an aimable shockwave that destroys projectiles. This is a huge talking point in the community because it pushes mechanical skill without making the game impossible for newer players.

To make room for Buffies, Epic and Mythic Gears are being removed for Brawlers that get them, and, according to the official news post, players will receive full refunds for those gears. That has been a big discussion on social media: some long-time grinders are salty about their builds changing, but a lot of players on Reddit and X are hyped that investments are being refunded and old Brawlers feel fresh again.

On top of that, Supercell is overhauling progression. The same official update details say the Brawl Pass is getting more tiers, more value, and brand-new Chaos Drops, which are super-charged Starr Drops that can split into multiple high-rarity rewards and even introduce a new Ultra rarity. Tail rewards after finishing the Brawl Pass are now randomized loot like Demonic Drops, Sushi Rolls, and Mecha Boxes, and you can pay Gems to upgrade them, chasing things like Vault Keys. They also made Power Points cheaper and buffed Trophy Road rewards so new players can catch up faster. ClutchPoints reports that this economy rework is meant to make the game feel more rewarding across the board, not just for whales.

Gameplay-wise, two new Brawlers are front and center in the buzz. ClutchPoints and Sportskeeda both highlight Pierce, a new Legendary sniper who only reloads by collecting dropped shells or emptying his clip, and Glowbert, a Mythic marine biologist who tethers beams that damage enemies and heal allies at the same time. Glowbert’s debut is confirmed in the 65.165 update description and detailed by Sportskeeda, which goes into his fear-based Super that pushes enemies away and slows projectiles. Competitive players are already theorycrafting Glowbert as a monster on open control maps, and you can see a ton of Pierce and Glowbert testing in creator videos and community tier lists.

Outside the game client, Supercell is pushing Buffies hard in marketing. DesignRush reports on a new ad campaign directed by Bine Bach that spoofs 90s toy commercials with over-the-top, brutal humor to sell Buffies like real-world action figures. That nostalgic, chaotic ad style has been all over social feeds and is getting a lot of laughs from both kids and older gamers who remember those retro ads.

Esports is staying active too. Liquipedia lists the Inner Circle Brawl Cup in Ukraine with qualifiers wrapping up mid-December, and Inner Circle’s own YouTube channel is pumping out challenge content and esports discussion, which keeps competitive Brawl Stars in the algorithm even between major championships.

Socially, the big conversations right now are three things: are...