If you’ve spent any time scrolling through Brawl Stars support tier lists or asking for character picks in community groups, you’ve probably come across the question: is poco good brawl stars? He’s one of the first brawlers many new players unlock, but he gets written off a lot by people who only care about high-damage frag picks. I’ve been playing Brawl Stars for 4 years, hit 26k trophies last month, and have Poco at rank 29, so I’ve tested him across every game mode, team comp, and rank bracket. I’m going to break down exactly when Poco is worth picking, where he falls short, and how to get the most value out of him if you decide to main him.
Is Poco Good in Brawl Stars for Casual and Ranked Play?
Latest official Brawl Stars meta data puts Poco at a 52% overall win rate across all game modes, which is 2% higher than the average brawler win rate. In team modes like Gem Grab and Brawl Ball, that win rate jumps to 54%, putting him solidly in A-tier for those modes. But that doesn't mean he's a good pick for every situation. If you mostly play solo modes, he's going to feel pretty useless, since he has almost no burst damage and no escape mechanics to get out of bad 1v1 fights.
For casual play with friends, though, he's one of the best picks you can make, especially if your friends like playing high-damage brawlers that need consistent healing. I've played dozens of casual matches with friends who main Mortis or Edgar, and Poco's heals let them push way more aggressively than they could on their own, leading to way more wins than we'd get running three damage brawlers. You don't even need to be super skilled to pull off wins with him, either.
His basic attack is easy to aim, and his heal works even if you only land one of the three notes on a teammate. That low skill floor makes him a great pick if you're new to the game and don't want to stress about perfect aim while you learn the maps and game modes. For ranked play, he's a consistent pick if you're queuing with a pre-made team, but he can be hit or miss with randoms who don't stick close enough to take advantage of your heals.
One of Poco's biggest advantages is his area-of-effect heal that doesn't require perfect aim, unlike other supports like Byron who need to hit shots to heal. That makes him far more forgiving for new players or people who don't enjoy playing high-skill support characters.
Poco's Key Strengths and Hidden Perks Most Players Miss
A lot of new players write Poco off as a "boring healer" who can't contribute to fights, but that's far from the truth. He has a ton of hidden perks that make him a huge asset to any team, even if you're not focusing solely on healing. When you play Poco regularly, you'll notice small perks that make him far more useful than new players assume. Some of his most underrated benefits include:
- Unblockable healing that goes through walls and obstacles, so you can heal teammates hiding behind cover from enemy fire without putting yourself in danger
- His super attack heals all nearby teammates for 4000 HP each, and also deals 1400 damage to enemies caught in the radius, making it great for turning team fights around in seconds
- Low mastery requirement: you don't need to grind dozens of matches to learn his basic mechanics, so he's accessible for new players and casual players who don't have time to practice every day
- His gadget, Tuning Fork, gives a 30% damage boost to all nearby teammates for 3 seconds, which is perfect for pushing objectives, wiping out enemy teams holding a point, or taking down high-health tanks quickly
So many players only use Poco's super for healing, but the damage component is way more useful than you'd think. I once was in a Gem Grab match where we were down 2 gems, and the enemy team was all clustered around their spawn holding the last 3 gems we needed to win. I popped my super while they were all grouped up, took out two low-health enemy brawlers, and healed my two teammates who were pushing in at the same time. We grabbed the gems and won the match with 10 seconds left, all because I didn't save my super just for healing.
Poco's base attack also deals decent chip damage if you hit all three notes, so you can soften up enemy brawlers before your team pushes. You won't be getting many kills with it, but every little bit of damage helps, especially if you're hitting enemy brawlers who are hiding behind cover waiting to ambush your team.
Poco's Weaknesses and Situations Where You Should Avoid Picking Him
No brawler is perfect, and Poco has some pretty big flaws that you need to be aware of before you pick him. The first and most obvious is his low burst damage. He can't take out most brawlers in a 1v1 fight, even if they're lower health than him. His attacks take time to land, and most brawlers can close the gap and take him out before he can deal enough damage to win.
You should never pick Poco in solo modes unless you're doing it for a challenge, because you'll spend most of the match hiding from other players instead of fighting. His 47% win rate in Solo Showdown is one of the lowest in the entire game, and that's for good reason. He has no way to escape bad fights, and he can't secure kills to get power cubes to make himself stronger.
Even in team modes, there are times when picking Poco is a bad idea. If your team already has a support brawler like Byron or Pam, adding Poco will leave you with way too little damage output to take objectives. You'll be able to keep your team alive forever, but you won't be able to kill any enemies to push forward, so you'll end up losing slowly to chip damage and enemy pushes.
Another situation where Poco falls short is in modes that require a lot of fast, individual play, like Hot Zone if the map is very spread out. His heals only work in a small radius, so if your teammates are spread across the map, you won't be able to help them, and you'll be stuck wandering around looking for people to heal. I made the mistake of picking Poco on a spread-out Hot Zone map last week, and my teammates were all on opposite sides of the map the entire match. I couldn't heal anyone, I couldn't deal enough damage to capture the zone on my own, and we lost pretty badly. It was a good reminder that Poco only works when your team sticks relatively close together.
Pro Tips to Make Poco Work for Every Team Comp
If you've decided Poco fits your playstyle, there are a few simple tips you can follow to get way more value out of him, even if you're playing with randoms. First, pick the right build for the mode you're playing. For 90% of team modes, pair Da Capo! with the Tuning Fork gadget for the most well-rounded Poco build that works in almost every team mode. Da Capo lets your basic attacks heal teammates for 800 HP per hit, which means you don't have to save your super for every small heal your team needs.
The Tuning Fork gadget's 30% damage boost is perfect for pushing objectives, wiping out enemy teams holding a point, or even taking out high-health tanks like Bull or El Primo quickly. If you're playing a mode with a lot of close-range fights, like Siege, you can swap to the other star power, "Screeching Solo", which boosts your super's damage by 600, but Da Capo is better for most cases.
Next, work on your positioning. You want to stay 2-3 tiles behind your main carry, so you're close enough to heal them when they take damage, but far enough away that you don't get taken out first by enemy fire. Don't push ahead of your team, even if you think you can get a kill. Your job is to keep your team alive, not to frag.
Another important tip is to use your super at the right time. Don't waste it on healing one teammate who's only 500 HP down. Wait until at least two teammates are low on health, or until there's a group of enemies nearby that you can damage with it at the same time. You should always communicate with your team if you're playing Poco – let them know when your super is ready, so they can push at the right time. Even quick pings work if you don't want to use voice chat. If you're playing with randoms, stick close to the highest trophy player on your team, they're usually the one who will be pushing the most, and they'll appreciate the heals more than a new player who's hiding in the back.
If you're still asking is poco good brawl stars, the short answer is yes, as long as you're playing him in the right modes and with a team that can take advantage of his heals and damage boosts. He's not the best pick for every situation, and you'll have a bad time if you try to main him in solo modes, but for team play, casual matches with friends, or climbing ranked in team modes, he's one of the most consistent and rewarding brawlers you can pick. I've had more fun climbing ranks with Poco than any other high-damage frag brawler, because there's nothing better than turning a losing team fight around with a well-timed super that keeps all your teammates alive to take the objective. Give him a try in your next Brawl Ball or Gem Grab match, you might be surprised by how many wins you can pull off with him on your team.