You're mid-Heist match, your teammate just took out three opponents solo, and you want to send the perfect celebratory pin instead of the generic happy face you’ve had equipped for months. If you’ve ever fumbled through menus trying to swap your emotes mid-queue, learning how to change your pins in Brawl Stars will save you tons of frustration and let you show off your personality every match. Pins are one of the most fun low-stakes customization features in the game, and you don’t have to spend real money to unlock or swap them to fit your mood or playstyle. I’ve messed up enough pre-match pin swaps to know exactly what works and what doesn’t, so this guide will walk you through every step, plus extra tips to get the most out of your pin collection.
How to Change Your Pins in Brawl Stars: Full Step-by-Step Walkthrough
First, open Brawl Stars and wait for the main menu to load fully. You don’t want to do this mid-match load, as the menu can lag if you’re rushing to swap before a game starts. Tap the Brawlers tab on the left side of the main screen, the one with the little brawler face icon. From there, select any brawler you want to adjust pins for—you can set universal pins that work for all brawlers, or brawler-specific pins that only show up when you’re playing that character.
Once you’re on the brawler’s page, tap the pins icon right below their portrait, it looks like a little speech bubble with a face inside. You’ll see your current active pin wheel, with 8 slots for quick use during matches. To swap a pin, just tap the slot you want to change, then select any pin you already own from your collection to replace it. I once spent 10 minutes editing my pin wheel right before a ranked match, only to exit without saving and end up using my little sister’s unicorn pin set the whole game. It was funny, but definitely not ideal for a competitive match. If you want to set universal pins that work for every brawler, go to the main settings menu, tap the "pins" tab, and adjust your default wheel there instead of editing each brawler individually.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Swapping Your Pins
A lot of new players make tiny errors that leave them stuck with pins they don’t want mid-match, so it’s easy to skip these fixes if you don’t know what to look for. The most frequent missteps I see from new players include:
- Forgetting to tap the confirm button after editing your pin wheel, leading to lost changes when you exit the menu
- Filling all 8 slots with funny or meme pins, leaving no room for functional communication pins for team matches
- Setting brawler-specific pins by accident, so your new edits only show up when you play one character instead of all of them
- Spending gems on limited-edition pins before you’ve unlocked all the free pins available from trophy road and seasonal rewards
If you catch yourself making any of these mistakes, just go back to the pin edit menu and reset your wheel to your default universal set to fix the issue in 10 seconds or less. You can always edit your pins again later if you want to swap in a new limited edition pin for a casual match with friends. You don’t have to stick to one pin setup forever, so don’t stress if you change your mind a few times before landing on a wheel you like.
How to Unlock New Pins for Your Collection
You don’t have to spend real money to build a fun, varied pin collection, as the game gives out dozens of free pins every season for completing simple tasks. The easiest way to get new pins is to progress through the trophy road, as you’ll unlock free common, rare, and even epic pins every time you hit a new trophy milestone. Most players unlock at least 20 free pins in their first two months of playing just by moving up the trophy road, so you don’t need to buy anything to get a solid collection started.
You can also earn pins from seasonal event challenges, which usually require you to win 5 to 10 matches in a specific game mode to get an exclusive limited-edition pin for free. If you do want to spend a little money, the premium brawl pass unlocks 10 to 15 exclusive pins every season, plus extra coins and skins to customize your brawlers. The daily shop also rotates pins for sale for coins or gems, but only buy pins there if they’re rare or epic quality that you haven’t been able to unlock from free rewards. Pins are purely cosmetic, so you never have to spend money on them to be competitive in matches, but they’re a fun way to show off your progress to other players.
Tips to Pick the Best Pins for Your Playstyle
The best pin setups change depending on what kind of matches you play most often, so you don’t have to stick to the same wheel for every game mode. If you play a lot of ranked Power League matches with random teammates, prioritize functional communication pins over funny ones. You should always have a "thanks" pin, a "help" pin, and a "go" pin in your wheel to let your team know what you’re planning without typing. I’ve won so many close matches just by using a "help" pin to let my teammates know I’m trapped by an opponent near our goal.
If you play mostly casual matches with friends, you can fill most of your slots with meme pins or brawler-specific emotes that fit your favorite characters. For example, if you main El Primo, equipping his signature flex pin is a great way to tease opponents after you take them out with a super. You can also create different pin sets for different brawlers if you want to lean into each character’s personality. Just remember that you can swap your pins any time you’re on the main menu, so you can adjust your setup right before you queue for a specific game mode if you want. I usually swap my wheel twice a day: once for competitive ranked matches in the evening, and once for casual Showdown matches when I’m playing with friends on weekends.
Learning how to change your pins in Brawl Stars is a small skill that makes every match feel more personal and fun, whether you’re celebrating a win with your friends or coordinating a push with random teammates. You don’t need to spend hours customizing your wheel, even swapping out 2 or 3 pins to fit your playstyle will make a big difference in how you communicate and show off your personality in game. If you haven’t edited your pin wheel since you first downloaded the game, take 2 minutes after your next match to swap out your default pins for ones you actually enjoy using. You might be surprised how much a small cosmetic change can make your regular matches feel more fun.