Rico Brawl Stars Guide
Rico can be a great pick when the map and matchup fit. This guide combines current meta information with BrawlBetter’s match and draft data to show when to pick Rico — and when not to.
- Tier
- A
- Class
- sharpshooter
- Blind-pick safety
- 6/10
Current meta status
Rico sits in A tier in the current meta (2026-07 Balance Update) with a blind-pick safety of 6/10. See the full tier list for the surrounding context.
Best build
Gadget: Multiball Launcher — Fires in all directions: your answer to an assassin right on top of you.
Star Power: Super Bouncy — More damage after a bounce rewards exactly what Rico is meant to do.
Gears: Damage + Gadget Charge — On walled maps, bounces stack damage quickly.
Play maps with lots of walls and never shoot in straight lines.
More builds: Best Brawl Stars builds
Strengths
As a sharpshooter, Rico is favoured into tank, fighter, artillery.
- With your bouncing shots that get around his wall you focus Shelly: fighters lose once you keep them outside their effective range.
- With your bouncing shots that get around his wall you focus Rosa: Rosa does little damage outside her shield.
- With your bouncing shots that get around his wall you focus Tick: Tick has the lowest HP in the game, and Rico is considered a direct counter to Tick.
- With your bouncing shots that get around his wall you focus Penny: Penny is slow and has no escape.
Weaknesses
Rico struggles against assassin, thrower and on maps that do not support the sharpshooter role.
Counters to watch
Strong against
Best modes
Best maps
Draft advice
Rico is a reasonable middle pick — check which counters are still open before locking it.
Learn the pick-order logic in the drafting guide.
When not to pick
Skip Rico when the map layout works against the sharpshooter role, when an unfavourable matchup is still open on the enemy side, or when your team already has the same role covered.