Hello, friends. My name is Kith and I do videogame things sometimes. Some folks have asked me to write up my thoughts on the brawl and the characters available in it so they can figure out the best team composition to help them go fast, so I am here to do that.



ITEMS

Listed in order from least valuable to most valuable.



Rejuvenation Pulse

Heals your team and gives them a bit of mana. If you have a support or if your team is good at not taking damage/sustaining themselves, it’s not worth holding. Pick it up if you don’t have anything else, but don’t keep it around unless you have something to replace it with.



Psi Emitter

A bomb that draws enemies in before exploding. Handy against large groups of weak enemies, particularly in the second level where Zagara is hanging out next to a ton of eggs.



Reinforcements

Summons in some Hellbats and Goliaths. Incredibly useful, but not worth hanging on to - use it as soon as you find it.



Mini Nuke

Deals huge damage in a large area. Handy for bursting down the Final Boss’s Nydus Worms.



Team Stimpack

Applies Stim Drone to all members of your team. Essential for destroying the final boss in short order.



Ideal Item Loadout for the Final Boss: 3x Team Stimpack, 2x Mini Nuke

For the first phase, don’t use any items.

For the second and third phase, use a Mini Nuke on two of Nydus Worms.

For the fourth and final phase, use the three Team Stimpacks in sequence (they don’t stack, so don’t try to use them all at once).

HEROES



Now that we’ve got that out of the way, we’ll talk about the stars of the show: the heroes! Since I’m lazy and there are a ton of heroes to go over, I’ll grade them on the following scale:



S: Meta Madness!

A: Great

B: Good

C: Okay

D: Don’t



Artanis: A

Recommended Build:

Seasoned Marksman

Psionic Synergy

Chrono Surge

Purifier Beam

Gravitron Vortex

Blades of a Templar

Plasma Burn

Artanis is beefy enough to shrug off minor damage and he hurts more than enough to beat up bosses. Between Psionic Synergy, Chrono Surge, and Gravitron Vortex, you’ll be able to maintain the bonus Armor and Attack Speed on a permanent basis against the Final Boss.



Arthas: C

Recommended Build:

Eternal Hunger

Icy Talons

Rune Tap

Army of the Dead

Frost Strike

Frostmourne Feeds

Anti-Magic Shell

Adrenaline Stimpack

Meltdown

Incinerator Gauntlets

Bunker Drop

Suppressive Fire

Heat Treatment

Burn Notice

Hold Your Ground

Conviction

Blessed Momentum

Falling Sword

Blessed Hammer

Fanaticism

Blinded By The Light

Perfect Storm

Sledgehammer

Give ‘em the Axe!

Avatar

Thunder Strike

Dwarf Launch

Rewind

Arthas is pretty beefy and his Frostmourne Hungers starts to deal a lot of damage in short order once you get stacks for it. However, he can’t really compete with the damage output of other characters outside of his initial burst, so there are better options.Recommended Build:Blaze is a good tank and he’s got excellent PvE performance. Additionally, he can lower the final boss’s damage output significantly between Meltdown and Suppressive Fire.Recommended Build:Johanna is great for skips, but there are other characters that can do the same job and actually contribute to Boss DPS.Recommended Build:

Muradin can only make short skips due to the range of Dwarf Toss and the final boss is immune to the Crowd Control that would proc Give ‘em the Axe, so unfortunately his performance is severely below average.



Sonya: B

Recommended Build:

Furious Blow

Hurricane

Poisoned Spear

Wrath of the Berserker

Mystical Spear

Giant Slammer

Composite Spear

Justice For All

Stalwart Angel

Swift Retribution

Sanctification

Law and Order

Smite the Wicked

Holy Arena

Sonya is practically designed for this kind of stuff, so it’s not surprise that she’s good at it. She’s excellent at ripping through minor enemies and Giant Slammer adds 100 damage to each Basic Attack/Seismic Slam that you use against the Final Boss.Recommended Build:

The most important part of Tyreal’s contribution is Swift Retribution’s Attack Speed bonus, something you want to put on your Basic Attacking friends as often as possible. Outside of that, he’s a handy meatshield to soak damage and provide shields for teammates.



Varian: S

Recommended Build:

High King’s Quest

Twin Blades of Fury

Second Wind

Warbringer

Juggernaut

Banner of Dalaran

Frenzy

Twin Blades Varian is one of the best click-and-forget DPSes in the game, with bonus points for being able to clear groups of enemies with Lion’s Fang and shrug off Baneling Trains with Parry. I'm reasonably certain he can solo the final boss if need be thanks to his sustain and damage output.



Yrel: D

Recommended Build:

Maraad’s Insight

Gift of the Naaru

Righteous Momentum

Ardent Defender

Velen’s Chosen

Holy Wrath

Seraphim

Yrel is slow but powerful, something that doesn’t really fit in a brawl that’s all about going fast. She can get some pretty good clear strength going with Holy Wrath and it’s entirely possible to use her for skips if you play your cards right, but there are better options for both categories.



Zarya: B

Recommended Build:

Feel the Heat

I Am The Strongest

Explosive Barrier

Gravitron Surge

Unstoppable Competitor

Born In Battle

Unyielding Defender

Zarya is another one of those high durability, high DPS characters with bonus points for being able to shield allies from damage.



Alexstrasza: D

Recommended Build:

Circle of Life

Exuberance

Fire Within

Life-Binder

Pacify

Draconic Discipline

Blessing of the Red

Alexstrasza is great for heavy-duty healing, but it’s really not that necessary when you build a team for self-sustain.



Brightwing: D

Recommended Build:

Hyper Shift

Dream Shot

Critical Mist

Blink Heal

Pixie Power

Hush!

Speedy Dragon

Brightwing would be a lot better if Polymorph worked on the Final Boss. It doesn’t, so she’s not.



Deckard Cain: C

Recommended Build:

Scroll of Identify

Ruby

Kanai’s Cube

Lorenado

Ancient Blessings

Safety In Numbers

Perfect Gems

Deckard Cain isn’t dumpster-tier like most Supports because of the Armor Reduction of Scroll of Identify, the Damage Reduction of Kanai’s Cube, and the damage boost of Ancient Blessings. He’s still not an optimal choice, but he’s slightly less optimal than most.



Kharazim: S

Recommended Build:

Iron Fists

Spirit Ally

Blazing Fists

Seven Sided Strike

Fists of Fury

Cleansing Touch

Transgression

Kharazim is a pretty solid all-rounder in terms of healing and damage output, but Seven Sided Strike empowered by Transgression belts out over 6000 damage on the Final Boss. Additionally, because its cooldown is only 50 seconds, you’ll be able to use it twice - once as soon as the fight starts, and later on midway through the second phase. Outside of Seven Sided Strike, Deadly Reach being more or less permanently active and Iron Fists makes Kharazim’s damage output nothing to sneeze at.



Li Li: D

Recommended Build:

Eager Adventurer

Serpent Sidekick

Let’s Go!

Jug of 1,000 Cups

Gale Force

Blessings of Yu’lon

Mistweaver

Li Li’s damage and healing just aren’t up to snuff in this situation.



Lt. Morales: C

Recommended Build:

Caduceus Feedback

Trauma Trigger

Prolonged Safeguard

Stim Drone

System Shock

Shield Sequencer

Hyperactivity

The entirety of Lt. Morales’ value lies in Stim Drone, and it’s only really useful if your team doesn’t have two or more Team Stims by the time you reach the Final Boss. You're better off just trying for a better run than trying to work Lt. Morales into your strategy.



Lucio: D

Recommended Build:

Accelerando

Subwoofer

Party Mix

Sound Barrier

Hard Style

Rejuvenescência

Bonus Track

Lucio’s Speed Boost seems useful at a glance, but teams are better off having a dedicated runner to reach the beacon while the rest of the team fights through the increased spawns.



Malfurion: D

Recommended Build:

Celestial Alignment

Vengeful Roots

Wild Growth

Twilight Dream

Revitalize

Nature’s Balance

Lunar Shower

Malfurion is a good healer when there are Heroes around to tap with Moonfire, and there are plenty of enemy Heroes present in Escape from Braxis. However, you don’t really need a healer if you build a team that brings its own sustain and despite being able to build for damage, his damage output build isn't that impressive.



Rehgar: B

Recommended Build:

Electric Charge

Stormcaller

Blood and Thunder

Bloodlust

Tidal Waves

Hunger of the Wolf

Rewind

Rehgar’s damage output is pretty okay between his Basic Attacks, Lightning Shield, and hunger of the Wolf’s percentage damage. Even better is that Bloodlust stacks with Team Stim, further increasing the potential for ripping apart the Final Boss in a timely manner.



Uther: D

Recommended Build:

Silver Touch

Holy Fire

Armor of Faith

Divine Shield

Blessed Champion

Benediction

Bulwark of Light

Uther’s damage just isn't good enough.



Azmodan: B

Recommended Build:

Wrath

Battleborn

Bombardment

Tide of Sin

Brutish Vanguard

Total Annihilation

Black Pool

Azmodan has good waveclear and damage output, but the majority of his stacks are going to come from Wrath and Bombardment. You should never use All Shall Burn unless it’s on a Nydus Worm. Bonus points if you manage to get your hands on some Reinforcements, as Chain of Command will make them significantly stronger.



Gazlowe: A

Recommended Build:

Extra TNT

Clockwerk Steam Fists

Rock-It! Turret XL

Robo-Goblin

X-Tra Large Bombs

Superior Schematics

Mecha-Lord

Gazlowe hits like a train and so do his turrets. His clear is a little slow compared to other characters due to the delay on his bombs, but nothing that other characters can’t cover for. Special shoutout goes to Hired Goons, which empowers Reinforcements.



Sgt. Hammer: B

Recommended Build:

Maelstrom Rounds

Regenerative Bio-Steel

Hover Siege Mode

Napalm Strike

Hyper-Cooling Engines

Giant Killer

Ultra Capacitors

Sgt. Hammer is a solid Basic Attacker who has access to sustain and Giant Killer. However, her extended range isn’t really that necessary and other Basic Attackers can put out higher damage without being as awkward.



Medivh: S

Recommended Build:

Portal Mastery (lol it’s the only thing you have available)

Mage Armor

Arcane Explosion

Ley Line Seal

Circle of Protection

Arcane Charge

Arcane Brilliance

Much like in standard play, Medivh is easily one of the strongest and most versatile characters available. His portals have enough range to hit both major skip locations and can ferry the entire team along with him, making beacon rushes much safer and more reliable. Once his quest is completed (not a difficult prospect), his damage output skyrockets. His shield can soak Baneling Train burst damage and the explosion can cut through mobs of weak enemies.



Nazeebo: C

Recommended Build:

Pandemic

Blood Ritual

Spirit of Arachyr

Gargantuan

Ice Block

Spider Colony

Humongoid

Unfortunately for Nazeebo, Zerglings don’t count as full Minion value and therefore Vile Infection is more or less out of the Witch Doctor’s grasp. Nazeebo can do a great deal of Heroic damage under the correct circumstances, but other characters accomplish the same job with less effort and in a shorter timeframe.



Probius: C

Recommended Build:

Warp Resonance

Turbo Charged

Rift Shock

Pylon Overcharge

Power Overwhelming

Interference

Probius Loop

Probius’ reliance on Pylons makes him very static and pushing with him can be a pain, but there’s a lot to be said for Probius Loop allowing you to detonate 4+ Warp Rifts on the Final Boss every second.



Xul: A

Recommended Build:

Backlash

Grim Scythe

Harvest Vitality

Poison Nova

Rapid Harvest

Corpse Explosion

Andariel’s Visage

Between Backlash’s 12% Maximum Health damage, Grim Scythe ensuring that Cursed Strikes is always available, Harvest Vitality’s healing, and Rapid Harvest’s damage output, Xul is pretty good at most things. If there was anything I could criticize Xul for, it's that he doesn't truly stand out in any one area - he stands out because of his versatility and there will always be a better option if you're taking him for any one thing.



Cassia: C

Recommended Build:

Seraph’s Hymn

Ring of the Leech

Impale

Ball Lightning

Lunging Strike

Penetrate

Infinite Lightning

Cassia lacks strong clear, but between a fully talented Fend and Ball Lightning, her damage output against Heroes is extremely high.



Falstad: B

Recommended Build:

Seasoned Marksman

Hammer Gains

Secret Weapon

Hinterland Blast

Giant Killer

Aerie Gusts

Nexus Frenzy

Falstad is a solid Basic Attacker with moderate clear strength, but there are better options. The majority of his design debt comes from his global mobility, something that isn't available in Escape from Braxis.



Fenix: A

Recommended Build:

Advanced Targeting

Warp Conduit

Warp Warfare

Planet Cracker

Auxiliary Shields

Offensive Cadence

Singularity Charge

Given the opportunity to sit and shoot a target for as long as he wants, Fenix has some of the highest Basic Attack DPS in HOTS. Fenix can also use Planet Cracker as a supplement to his impressive DPS, or as a method of clearing out long corridors of chaff enemies.



Genji: D

Recommended Build:

Swift as the Wind

Dragon Claw

Perfect Defense

Dragonblade

Shingan

Reflect

The Dragon Becomes Me

Genji is very heavily geared towards teamfighting and picking off players, making his performance in Escape from Braxis sub-optimal.



Greymane: S

Recommended Build:

Wolfheart

Insatiable

Wizened Duelist

Cursed Bullet

Unfettered Assault

Alpha Killer

Tooth and Claw

Greymane has excellent clear in his Human form and excellent damage output in his Worgen form. Unfortunately, Cursed Bullet’s damage is capped against the Final Boss so you’re not getting full value, but 2,800 damage is still amazing for an ability on a 30 second cooldown.



Gul'dan: B

Recommended Build:

Echoed Corruption

Improved Life Tap

Bound by Shadow

Horrify

Health Stone

Ruinous Affliction

Haunt

Gul’dan has good clear and damage output thanks to his low cooldown Q. Once his W quest is complete and he has Ruinous Affliction, he becomes a major source of damage output.



Hanzo: C

Recommended Build:

Redemption

Explosive Arrows

Never Outmatched

Ninja Assassin

Giant Slayer

The Dragon Awakens

Hanzo relies extremely heavily on Scatter Arrow to get good damage output on Heroes, which can be very awkward to work around given the oddly shaped terrain. However, Explosive Arrows grants him excellent clear, especially against Zerglings.



Illidan: S

Recommended Build:

Unending Hatred

Friend or Foe

Hunter's Onslaught

The Hunt for skips, Metamorphosis otherwise

Elusive Strike

Firey Brand

Nexus Blades, Demonic Form otherwise

Illidan can perform skips like nobody else thanks to The Hunt. Combined with something that gives global range/vision (such as Fenix's Planet Cracker or Rehgar's Farsight), Illidan can potentially hit the beacon far before any other character could hope to. If you’re not taking Illidan for skips, however, be aware: his DPS is noticeably lower than other Assassins’.



Jaina: B

Recommended Build:

Fingers of Frost

Frost Shards

Ice Lance

Summon Water Elemental

Icy Veins

Northern Exposure

Wintermute

Jaina has good burst damage and, under the right circumstances, can be a good source of sustained damage output.



Junkrat: C

Recommended Build:

Put Some English On It

Taste For Explosions

Tricky Shuffles

Rocket Ride

Ripper Air

Endless Nades

Cannonball!

Junkrat brings excellent clearing and the potential for skips thanks to Concussion Mine and Rocket Ride. However, if you’re using Junkrat for skips, he will likely spend the entire match dead outside of the Final Boss, and he won’t have the Taste For Explosions stacks to make up for his comparatively mediocre damage.



Kael'thas: C

Recommended Build:

Convection

Mana Tap

Sunfire Enchantment

Phoenix

Pyromaniac

Fury of the Sunwell

Flamethrower

Flamestrike is a good clearing tool and has good damage, but other than that Kael’s kit is not really built for this kind of activity.



Kel'Thuzad: C

Recommended Build:

Barbed Chains

Phylactery of Kel’Thuzad

Accelerated Decay

Shadow Fissure

Chains of Ice

Arcane Echoes

Might of the Scourge

Kel’Thuzad’s Master of the Cold Dark is difficult to complete in a timely manner, and the majority of his strength is locked behind it. He has amazing damage potential against the Final Boss thanks to Might of the Scourge, but so do many other characters.



Maiev: C

Recommended Build:

Pursuit of Vengeance

Blade Dance

Ruthless Spirit

Containment Disc

Bladed Armor

Armored Assault

Shadow Orb: Huntress

Maiev is custom-built to fight groups of enemy Heroes, but rarely are you up against more than one Hero at a time. She has a build that gives her functional clear and good consistent DPS, but there are other characters that do the job more effectively with less hassle.



Mephisto: C

Recommended Build:

Unyielding Power

Spite

Ghastly Armor

Durance of Hate

Abhorred Skull

Animosity

Mimic

Mephisto can deal some serious damage under the right circumstances, especially to the Final Boss, but other characters can also deal serious damage without needing the sun and the moon to align first.



Ragnaros: C

Recommended Build:

Sulfuras Hungers

Catching Fire

Blistering Attacks

Sulfuras Smash

Cauterize Wounds

Giant Scorcher

Submerge

Ragnaros is best off fighting multiple enemy Heroes in a poke-and-lane situation, so he’s not the best in the constant all-out brawl that is Escape from Braxis. However, it’s easy to get Sulfuras Hungers stacked up off of groups of Zerglings and Banelings, so he at least has that going for him.



Raynor: B

Recommended Build:

Veteran Marksman

Fight or Flight

Unstable Compound

Raynor’s Raider

Rallying Cry

Bounty Hunter

Executioner

Unfortunately, the Final Boss is immune to Slowing effects so Raynor’s Ace in the Hole doesn’t boost his performance like it usually does, but Raynor’s damage output is still plenty high.



Thrall: B

Recommended Build:

Echo of the Elements

Frostwolf Pack

Ancestral Wrath

Sundering

Grace of Air

Alpha Wolf

Wind Rush

Thrall’s clear is somewhat weak, primarily relying on Chain Lightning. However, Ancestral Wrath and Alpha Wolf make Thrall’s DPS against the Final Boss something worth noting.



Valla: S

Recommended Build:

Hot Pursuit

Creed of the Hunter

Arsenal

Rain of Vengeance

Tempered by Discipline

Manticore

Rancor

Boneslicer

Voodoo Shuffle

Vicious Assault

Taz’dingo!

Eye of Zul’jin

Let the Killing Begin

Forest Medicine

THE DREAM TEAM

Varian - Tank, General DPS

Kharazim - Healing, General DPS, Final Boss DPS

Medivh - Skips, Final Boss DPS

Valla - General DPS, Clearing, Final Boss DPS

Greymane - General DPS, Clearing, Final Boss DPS

Varian - Tank, General DPS

Kharazim - Healing, General DPS, Final Boss DPS

Illidan - Skips, Clearing, Final Boss DPS

Valla - General DPS, Clearing, Final Boss DPS

Fenix - Reveal, General DPS, Clearing, Final Boss DPS

Valla’s clear is excellent and her sustained damage output simply cannot be matched. She is the strongest Assassin pick by a wide margin and all she’s really missing is heavy defenses.Recommended Build:Despite having a fair chunk of his effectiveness stored behind a Quest, Zul’jin manages to be a major competitor for highest DPS against the Final Boss, an impressive feat given that he has no Health Shred talents. Boneslicer is a must-have for clearing, as the piercing property that it gives to Grevious Throw makes it an excellent tool for clearing out Zergling trains.ALTERNATELY

All of the S-rated Heroes not only cover a traditional role (Tank, Healer, Waveclear) but also bring substantial damage output to bear - either in general while making your way through the level or against the Final Boss specifically. Coincidentally, this team also benefits the most from the extra attack speed granted by Team Stimpack, making a match with perfect item drops that much more effective.



Keep in mind, it’s hardly required to have a perfect team or a perfect item loadout - this guide was written specifically for speedrunning Escape from Braxis. It’s for extremely optimized, high-skill requirement strategies to complete the match in as little time as possible, and it’s entirely possible to beat Escape from Braxis without them.



Anyways, I hope you fine folks find this article useful, and please let me know if you have any feedback!