At the time of writing, Vince has just arrived, and after testing him out, our first impression is pretty simple: this Brawler is bad.
Not completely unplayable, not without potential, but bad. Like, wow. Really bad.
Gameplay: Where Is the Damage?
Let's start with the main attack, because that's where most of Vince's problems begin.
His damage is simply underwhelming. In ordinary engagements, Vince struggles to apply meaningful pressure, often leaving enemies with more than enough time to retreat, heal, or simply fight back. He is essentially harmless in most fights until at least mid-game, assuming perfect gameplay with zero deaths.
There is, however, a catch.
Vince's main attack becomes considerably more threatening against enemies affected by the status effect applied by his Super. Suddenly, his damage starts looking respectable, and his kit begins to make a little more sense.
Well, sounds good, right?
Well, there's one small problem: actually getting to use that Super.
The Super: Maybe Next Match?
Vince's Super, Barista Barrage, is supposed to be the core of his kit, the piece that connects every part of his broad roster of abilities... unfortunately, it also happens to be the reason the rest of his kit feels so miserable.
To make it usable, Vince needs to accumulate moths. Ten in theory should be enough, but in practice 20 really feels like the minimum.
And that's where everything falls apart.
The buildup is painfully slow, especially considering how little Vince contributes while waiting for it. Kind of akin to Clancy, his weak basic attack makes it difficult to establish pressure, which in turn makes surviving long enough to reach maximum moth count unnecessarily challenging.
By the time Vince finally has enough moths to be present on the map in a more meaningful way than an occasionally-dodging Super totem, there's a decent chance the match is already over.
Or worse, it's not over, but your team has already lost so much ground that the Super won't make a difference. Because, even though Barista Barrage at 20+ moths has great range, projectile speed, and a great hitbox, and even goes through walls, it just doesn't do enough to provide comeback potential.
That's the fundamental issue with Vince. His main attack needs his Super to become threatening, but his Super takes far too long to become available. You're effectively playing an incomplete Brawler for a significant portion of the match. And even when you aren't, you need to continuously cycle Supers to even benefit from the buff the moths provide, as the status effect obviously disappears upon the enemy dying.
The eventual payoff isn't nearly strong enough to justify all that waiting. Even in Knockout.
So What Exactly Is His Build, Then?
This is yet another time where we really wish we could go "hey, at least this Brawler has multiple viable builds!"... Yeah, no. Not really.
In our experience, Metamothosis as the Gadget and Come To Papa as the Star Power are practically must-haves. The other options aren't even bad in theory, but Vince just doesn't get to make use of them, because the aforementioned combo is necessary to even dream of reaching 20 moths.
Matchups
Unsurprisingly, Vince struggles against a considerable portion of the roster.
Brawlers capable of applying immediate pressure have a major advantage. They don't need to wait for their kits to come online, and Vince simply lacks the damage to consistently challenge them before his Super becomes available.
Aggressive Brawlers are especially problematic when they can force engagements before Vince has accumulated enough moths. Even opponents he might theoretically threaten with his status effect can comfortably win those same engagements without it. This is because, worst of all, Vince doesn't have a SINGLE ability that allows him to ward off assassins. Yup.
Cosmo got two anti-aggro Gadgets and Vince can, at most, try to run towards his teammates. Or just give up and throw up a cool pin. Frankly, the final outcome won't change much.
His matchups naturally improve once his Super becomes usable. The problem is that competitive matches don't wait around for Vince to become a real Brawler.
But, in the unlikely case they do, Vince is pretty okay into any mid-range Brawler like Lumi or Meeple, as his capability at maximum moths IS pretty fine. It's just too tough to get there.
Modes and Maps
Vince's biggest weakness isn't necessarily tied to one particular map or mode. It's tied to time.
In faster-paced modes, his slow buildup is especially punishing. Early engagements often determine control of the map, and Vince struggles to contribute enough during those crucial opening moments.
Modes that allow for longer, more passive gameplay are somewhat more forgiving. At least there, Vince has a better chance of accumulating the moths he needs. This essentially means Vince is practically locked to Knockout, the only mode where he can reasonably reliably get to play his game.
But even then, you're asking your teammates to compensate for his lack of early pressure in exchange for a payoff that isn't particularly overwhelming.
But if you must play Vince, just lock him in on any Knockout map. It'll surely be fine, as long as your ego can tank getting kudos'd into oblivion after you make one mistake.
Viability, Early Meta Predictions, and Final Thoughts
Frankly, Vince needs help.
His main attack feels too weak on its own, his Super takes too long to become usable, and the reward for finally activating it doesn't justify spending so much of the match at a disadvantage.
We are placing him in D tier for now, making him one of the weakest Brawlers in the current meta.
Could players discover more effective ways to manage his moths and get his Super online sooner? Absolutely. It's still early, and we're not ruling out improvements as people learn his mechanics. Maybe everyone will suddenly collectively forget he folds against almost no pressure.
But based on our testing, Vince's problems seem more fundamental than a lack of player experience.
He needs either a stronger baseline main attack, a faster way to access his Super, or a significantly more rewarding payoff once he finally gets there. Or, if we are to go really wild, a way to actually benefit from moth count without relying on the Super and the status it applies.
Until then, there's very little reason to pick him over the alternatives.
On the bright side, at least he isn't full of bugs.
Well, unless we're counting the moths.
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