Brawler

In-Game Description
Difficulty: Medium

''The Brawler is the USR competitor to the Zarek domination of the front line. It is lethal at close range combining its AOE concuss with its primary weapon. As with the Zarek ships, the Brawler is designed to attack at close range, but rather than Blink to target, the Brawler pulls the target to him. The Brawler Harpoon system is a two stage system: first fire the harpoon at the target and once it has landed, use the Pull to drag the target into range.''

Summary
The Brawler is a very powerful close-attack ship, featuring the extremely powerful Harpoon system, as well as the equally powerful Thumper main weapon. The Thumper is designed to be a point-blank powerhouse; the weapon itself has a terrific rate of fire and deals extreme damage at point-blank range, but the damage per second falls off very sharply with range. Be sure to keep a target as close as possible to maximize your killing potential.

The Brawler also has varying degrees of armor thickness, making weapon strikes to particular surfaces far less powerful until the armor is broken through. The heaviest armor sections are along the flanks of the Brawler, which are nearly twice as thick as those of the Colossus, making it excellent at broadside engagements and turn fights.

When playing as a Brawler

 * The Harpoon travels very fast but has no tracking - make sure to hit your target or else you must close the distance yourself in order to deal meaningful damage.
 * Use your heavily armored broadsides to soak damage when in battle. Their armor is comparable to that of a Leviathan or Colossus, despite the Brawler being a Medium craft.

When playing with a Brawler

 * Do not use abilities that cause their targets to move such as the Pioneer's Gravity Nuke or anything in the Displacer's arsenal when there is an allied Brawler nearby. You will likely cause them to miss their Harpoon, which has a long cooldown.

When playing against a Brawler

 * A Brawlers' firepower is quite literally unmatched at point-blank range - avoid getting harpooned at all costs unless you have escape options ready. Keep in mind that once the Brawler reels you within 5 km, it can concuss you to prevent your escape.

Tips
The Thumper weapon is very powerful at close ranges, but very short range. It is not uncommon to find yourself taking damage from otherwise close-range ships such as the Colossus and Ghost while unable to effectively return fire yourself.

The Brawler is very powerful in point-blank broadside duels, but suffers due to weak armor facing when trying to deal with targets above or below it. Always try to keep your enemy shooting at your heavily armored sides, and never let them get significantly higher or lower than you.