In this article, we’ll talk about one of the easiest marksmen to play within the current patch: Bruno.
Bruno has a good set of dash, crowd-control, and burst skills. He can almost be considered some sort of burst marksmen as his passive grants him an additional chance to hit critical hits with his basic attacks. Not only that, but his ultimate skill also allows him to kick an energy ball that will bounce among the enemies to make them weaker. Let’s see that and more in detail!
Table of Contents
Mechanics
Passive: Mecha Legs – as we mentioned, Bruno’s passive gives him the chance to hit critical hits with his basic attacks. Each time his skills deal damage to an enemy hero, his Crit Chance increases by 4%. This effect can stack up to 5 times. Since his mecha legs are already pretty powerful, Bruno will take only 80% of the extra attack speed he receives.
Skill 1: Volley Shot
Upon using skill 1, Bruno infuses the power into his mecha legs. Now, his next basic attack will kick a superpowered ball directly to an enemy target, dealing phy damage. This will also slow down the enemy’s movement speed by 40% for 0.5 secs. The powerball bounces off the enemy when it hits them and hits the ground.
Bruno or his teammates can pick up the powerball to reduce the cooldown of his 2nd skill by 1 second. Upon picking it up, Bruno’s next basic attack is infused again with power. Take note that the powerball expires when not used or picked up for a specified period. This skill is recommended during team fights and for clearing minions.
Skill 2: Flying tackle
Thanks to his second skill, Bruno can do a front slide tackle, which deals with 140 physical damage to his targets. It also stuns them for 0.5 s. If Flying Tackle is cast while the Powerball is being rebounded to him, he will be able to pull back the Powerball immediately. This skill is generally recommended in team fights and for escaping.
Skill 3: Wave of the world
In his skill 3, Bruno can fire an energy ball at a hero. This causes 250 physical damage and knocks them back. The ball reduces the target’s physical defense by 3. Then, the ball will bounce back among enemy heroes, and each hit causes 150 of phy damage (up to 10 times).
The reducing effect lasts 8 secs and can stack up to 3 times (from 100 to 73, for example). This skill is particularly recommended during team fights and ambushes for maximum damage and effectiveness.
Builds & Emblems
There are so many items that you can buy for each hero. You can focus on items that grant physical damage, or ones that offer additional critical damage and attack speed as well as things that allow you lifesteal. Usually, when it comes to Bruno, the following are the most recommended builds for high performance.
Beginner Build
This build is recommended for absolute beginners as it provides plenty of attack speed, crit chance, and physical damage:
- Swift Boots
- Haas’ Claws
- Windtalker
- Scarlet Phantom
- Berserker’s Fury
- Blade of Despair
Swift Boots are high for additional attack and movement speed. These will naturally make your attacks faster. And they let you deal with lots of attacks, especially during team fights.
Balanced
This build gives a nice amount of attack speed, crit chance and also a lot of defense; it’s generally recommended for the late game:
- Swift Boots
- Demon Hunter Sword
- Scarlet Phantom
- Queen’s Wings
- Blade of Despair
- Immortality
Pro Builds
Pro 1)
- Swift Boots
- Raptor Machete
- Endless Battle
- Berserker’s Fury
- Scarlet Phantom
- Blade of Despair
Pro 2)
- Swift Boots
- Scarlet Phantom
- Berserker’s Fury
- Haas’ Claws
- Windtalker
- Blade of Despair
Alternate Builds
Alternate 1)
- Swift Boots
- Endless Battle
- Berserker’s Fury
- Scarlet Phantom
- Wind of Nature
- Blade of Despair
Alternate 2)
- Demon Hunter Sword
- Swift Boots
- Windtalker
- Berserker’s Fury
- Malefic Roar
- Rose Gold Meteor
Recommended Emblems
Marksman emblem – this emblem configuration provides a lot of physical lifesteal, crit damage, and Electro Flash increases movement speed and hp regens after dealing basic attackAssassin emblem – this emblem configuration provides a lot of movement speed, crit chance, and Bounty Hunter gives extra gold for kills.
Pros & Cons
Pros of using Bruno:
- high mobility
- great critical damage
- high physical penetration
Cons of using Bruno:
- less durability
- weak against one-shot heroes
How to fix the cons:
less durability > buy at least one or more defense items weak against one-shot heroes > buy Immortality and play cautiously, always searching for Assassins’ locations in the map
Bruno is strong against
- Odette
- Pharsa
- Gord
He is generally strong against mages and other mms who don’t have blink skills.
Bruno is weak against
- Karina
- Gusion
- Hayabusa
He is generally weak against assassins who have high burst and damage abilities.
Bruno is compatible/is best matched with
- Franco
- Johnson
- Angela
He teams up best with heroes who can allow him to decimate the enemy with his attacks.
Gameplay Tips
Skill upgrading path
Skill 2 > Skill 3 > Skill 1
Recommended battle spells
Purify – to solve CC problems and play more securelyInspire – to finish off enemies faster in teamfightsAegis – to protect him from high damage heroes
Combo
First, slow down the enemy with skill one and stun them with skill 2. Then finish off running enemies with skill 3. You can use this combo both for ganking and in team fights. Like every marksman, Bruno depends upon his core items to deal more damage. It is recommended you keep laning and farming until you get 2 or 3 core items, only then start ganking.
Also, try to be flexible with your build, depending on the enemies you’re dealing with. For instance, if you are facing enemies with high hp, buy Demon Hunter Sword and Endless Battle. If the enemies have high armor, buy Malefic roar or Raptor Machete. Use your ultimate on enemies who are trying to run away with low hp.