Barley
THROWER

Barley How to play Barley

C
Overall tier
44
Meta score
56.1%
Adj. win rate
0.5%
Pick rate

Barley counters

The best counters to Barley right now are Vince (69.1%), Cosmo (62.7%), Damian (59.7%): the share of head-to-head games each one wins against Barley, from 262 ranked and high-trophy games.

Barley vs popular picks

  1. ShadeBarley wins 48.2%205 games
  2. WendyBarley wins 46.9%125 games
  3. RicoBarley wins 52.5%303 games
  4. MaxBarley wins 47.5%113 games
  5. BrockBarley wins 46.7%105 games
  6. PiperBarley wins 48.0%52 games

How to beat Barley

  • Rush him. Barley has low health and almost no answer to tanks and assassins.
  • Use brawlers that break or shoot over walls. Take away his cover and he is exposed.
  • Keep moving through his puddles instead of standing in them.

Common mistake: Letting Barley sit behind a wall uncontested. He wins every long, static fight.

Best Barley Build

Star Powers

Medical Use
Medical Use
Extra Noxious
Extra NoxiousRecommended

Higher damage per second on your puddles. Enemies standing in them melt faster.

Gadgets

Sticky Syrup Mixer
Sticky Syrup MixerRecommended

A slowing puddle around you. It stops assassins long enough for you or your team to react.

Herbal Tonic
Herbal Tonic

Recommended Gears

Shield
Vision
Adapt per mode

Hypercharge

Bottled-Up Rage
Matchup Tool Counter Finder

Game plan

Barley is a thrower. He lobs bottles over walls that splash damage and leave a lingering puddle, so he controls space without needing line of sight. His Super throws five larger bottles that cover a wide area, ideal for clearing an objective.

  1. Stay behind walls. Your attacks fly over cover, so a good wall makes you almost untouchable.
  2. Aim puddles where the enemy needs to stand, like the gem mine, the zone or the goal, not just where they are now.
  3. Save your Super for a group or an objective push. Five bottles on a clustered team wins the fight.

Drafting Barley

When to pick
Pick Barley on maps with lots of walls, especially when the enemy has few assassins or tanks.
Who to pair with
Pair him with a tank or a controller who keeps divers away from him.
Ban or not
Ban him on closed maps if your team plays slow brawlers that cannot reach him.

Win rate by mode

Adjusted win rate: results are pulled toward 50% when a mode has few games, so the overall figure can sit above every single mode.

Best maps

  1. Triple DribbleBrawl Ball51.9%

Frequently asked Questions

Is Barley good in Brawl Stars?

Barley is C-tier on the BrawlUp tier list right now, with a 56.1% win rate over 533 recent ranked and high-trophy games.

What is the best build for Barley?

Run Extra Noxious as the Star Power and Sticky Syrup Mixer as the Gadget, with Shield and Vision gears.

What counters Barley?

Barley has the hardest time against Vince, Cosmo, Damian, based on head-to-head win rates.

What game modes is Barley best in?

Barley wins most in Brawl Ball (53.9%). The best map in our data is Triple Dribble.

Who are the best teammates for Barley?

Amber, Gus, Shade have the highest win rate alongside Barley.

How do you play Barley in Brawl Stars?

Barley is a thrower. He lobs bottles over walls that splash damage and leave a lingering puddle, so he controls space without needing line of sight. His Super throws five larger bottles that cover a wide area, ideal for clearing an objective.

Win rates come from ranked and high-trophy battles collected by BrawlUp and are adjusted toward 50% when the sample is small. Updated 2026-10-27. How we calculate this