Ash

Ash’s main purpose is to punish the enemy overcommitting - after getting the initial Star Power charged shot, he should continue attacking them as well as getting further into the enemy territory (because instead of defending, the enemy is now trying to escape Ash).

Ash is generally played as an aggressive, offensive brawler, but he can also be used as a hybrid of offense and defense in Heist. His high damage combined with a decent speed and range make him perfect for hunting down any brawlers while on defense, and the rage and super charge you get from it helps create a strong counter attack on the enemy’s safe.

Ash loves to play on maps with a lot of bushes (such as Double Swoosh) because of his ability to make great use of the speed gear. He will also do very well on maps that aren’t very bushy but have bushes close to key points on the map, such as the the unbreakable walls in Super Beach or the enemy side of the right lane on Hard Rock Mine.

Speed Gear (Effective): This is Ash's main Gear; It allows him to navigate the map faster, dodge shots, and close gaps more effectively. It's a crucial part of Ash's kit.

Health Gear (Situational): Can be used on Bounty in order to maximize the amount of pressure you can put on the enemy team without dying or having to retreat.

Damage Gear (Effective): Changes some major interactions for Ash. Recommended as the main 2nd Gear.

Vision Gear (Ineffective): Extremely niche, only somewhat useful on super bushy maps like double swoosh when there’s no option to break bushes in the game. Pretty much useless in a standard power league match, though.

Shield Gear (Ineffective): Outshined by the Health Gear, probably the worst Gear to use for Ash as it doesn't really effect any interactions.

Gadget Charge Gear (Ineffective): This Gear isn’t very useful on Ash as he isn’t reliant on his gadget, even if more charges sound welcome.

Super Charge Gear (Ineffective): Ash already charges his super decently fast and the spot this Gear takes up in his kit cannot be used up by this Gear when more impactful options are available.

There are many ways to play Ash, especially when you get the super. It can help your team win their lanes while simultaneously giving you rage, which can then be used to win your lane too.

An example of this would be sending his rats directly into the lanes of brawlers that have no splash damage, such as Bea, Stu, or Darryl or brawlers who struggle to destroy them in other ways, such as Mortis (who can’t destroy them - only tank them) or Dynamike.

A different way to play Ash effectively is to try and catch the enemy off guard and run straight at them, which works well against brawlers like Nita, Sandy, Penny, or Janet because they generally don't have enough damage to kill Ash. This is a lot more risky though and requires you to hit your first shot with the First Bash Star Power early into the match up.

Ash can easily beat El Primo up until he gets his jump simply by keeping distance and using First Bash to gain rage efficiently.

Having Damage Gear active at max rage allows Ash to 2 shot a ton of squishy brawlers that are normally out of that range, notably Squeak, Mr. P, Gene, and Emz. A lot of interactions change at lower rage too!

In most scenarios, Ash can beat Carl even during Carl’s super with a combination of rats and a well-timed Chill Pill.

While Ash has Gus’s shield, he cannot gain rage from taking damage. This means that, in a real match, it’s better to give the shield to someone else on the team as Ash won’t be able to hit max rage with his 3 ammo! (If he starts on no rage)

Similar to Nita, Ash’s wall-peeks are very forgiving - try to make good use of that!

Ash synergizes the best with healing brawlers, especially Byron. Byron’s range lets him heal Ash up even when he’s chasing after the enemy, letting him freely take hits while charging his rage bar. Combined with Chill Pill, Ash becomes unstoppable with this combination.

Ruffs's super helps Ash further improve interactions with a few brawlers, allowing him to kill enemies with less ammo, saving his most precious resource.

An interesting brawler that Ash synergizes with is Barley/Dynamike. The reason they synergise is that they can (most of the time) deal with Ash’s counters, while he takes care of Barley/Dynamike’s counters himself.