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Awesomenauts is a 2D multiplayer online battle arena (moba) platformer developed by Ronimo Games, available on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One Windows, OSX and Linux.

I've gathered a lot of experience and knowledge about the game in the past few years that I'm here to share with you in this guide. Feel free to ask for anything you would like added to the guide to understand better or to improve the guide.

Some abbreviations and terms found in this guide and ingame:

• base: Your drill core located outside the shop
  
• AA: An Awesomenaut's basic attack (Auto Attack)
  
• HP: Health Points
  
• DoT: Damage over Time
  
• bkm: Baby Kuri Mammoth (an upgrade in the utility row that reduces debuffs)
  
• CC: Crowd Control (debuffs such as Slow, Snare, Stun, Silence, Weaken, Knockback)
  
• AoE: Area of Effect (damage/hitboxes that cover multiple targets at once)
  
• Creeps: small critters that give you Health Points
  
• DPS: Damage per second
  
• flyers: referring to the flying Hummingbird Droids
  
• comp: Team composition, also sometimes used for "competitive", meaning organized play
  
• clear: the ability to kill droids, good clear is killing droids easily

Awesomenauts is a 3vs3 game. The goal is to reach the enemy's drill core and destroy it. Both teams need to fight it out and push using the available droids. You can only access the enemy's drill core after you've sieged past their defending turrets. Use all the tools available to grant your team the victory.





Solar is the in-match currency to buy upgrades with. It is gained passively throughout the match, but also collectable across the map. There are 2 types of solar coins:

give 1 solar

give 5 solar

Things that also earn you solar:

• Creeps = 3 solar
  
• Sawblade/Hummingbird Droids = 5 solar
  
• Super Droid = 10 solar
  
• Solar Boss on Ribbit IV = 20 solar for each member of the team
  
• Killing Enemy Awesomenaut = 30 solar for each member of the team + 40 for the last hit
  
• Turrets = 40 solar for each member of the team + 70 for the last hit
  
• Piggy Bank = 100 solar on purchase

Droids are a very important part in Awesomenauts. Even experienced players often forget to clear them or use them effectively throughout the game.

There are 3 droid-types currently in the game:


Sawblade Droids:
spawn regularly from the beginning of the round to the end. These spawn in groups of 2

Hummingbird Droids:
are found on AI Station 205 and 404 by jumping on a button. Raelynn and Genji can spawn them via upgrades. Spawn in groups of 1-3

Super Droids:
spawn as a reward for destroying a turret.

It's always wise to clear Droids whenever you see them and even use abilities on them. They provide your team with a lot of control over the map and put on a lot of pressure on the enemy team. This is a very big part of Awesomenauts. I recommend checking the minimap very frequently to know when Droid waves are coming and clearing them on both lanes as soon as it's safe.





Creeps are little critters that drop small healthpacks and solar. Each map has a different sprite for the Creep, but they all drop 3 solar and around 250 health, depending on your Team level.


Sorona

Aiguillon

Ribbit IV

AI Station 205/404

Starstorm Station





Turrets are the highly damaging machinegun towers placed around each map. They are used to shield and assist with clearing droids and to stop the enemy from getting to your core. Protect them at all cost, as their health does not regenerate. There are 3-4 turrets per team, depending on the map. The back turrets on each side have significantly more HP than the front turrets, as they are accessed much later in the game, so it's smarter to siege down a front turret in the early-midgame, even if you have access to a back turret.








There are currently 6 maps in Awesomenauts, 5 of which are in the matchmaking rotation.


Ribbit IV's unique feature is the Solar Boss. It is a high health Creep that gives each member of your team 20 solar and heals the killer fully upon defeating. I recommend practicing dodging the spit to learn how to avoid their high damage moves, as even later in the game it can easily kill you in 3 hits. The Solar Boss spawns at the 2min mark and will spawn again 2min after each time he is killed.








Aiguillon has an orb located in the middle which turns the user invisible for 30s unless they attack or teleport. This is very useful for surprise attacks and catching people off guard. A tip is to give the invisibility orb to the Awesomenauts that have a lot of setup potential or the ability to burst the enemy down with 1 combo (e.g. Skolldir for throw, Clunk for explode).









In the middle of Sorona's bottom lane you will find a button. Pressing that button with summon a worm underneath the platform, devouring anything that walks under it. While it can be useful to catch enemy Awesomenauts, I recommend using it as farm when droids walk under it in the early game, as tapping the button keeps the Solar from droids on the ground. Hold it too long, and the Solar will get eaten aswell.










AI Station 205 is the refined version of AI Station 404 to replace it in ranked matches. Its center part is a flame machine that goes off every ~20s and has a duration of 8s. It does severe damage so pay attention to the warnings before the fire starts.








AI Station 404 was removed from the matchmaking queue due to popular demand for promoting one-dimensional gameplay. It only has 1 lane in the beginning, benefiting stalling Awesomenauts such as Skree and Raelynn. Its unique feature is the low gravity field in the middle. The bottom back turret is only reached by Hummingbird droids, spawned outside the back top turret.








Starstorm Station is the newest map added to the game. It features 3 teleporters, 1 on each side and 1 in the middle bottom pit. With practice, these become useful for planning your escape or swapping lanes quickly, but also for denying paths from the enemy team by blocking teleporters. A good example for this would be placing Derpl's Snare Trap on the teleporter exits.

The minimap is a very useful tool to spot enemy Awesomenauts, droids and health resources. It takes a while to get used to, but once mastered becomes a very vital tool to gain knowledge, surviving and killing opponents who are out of position.





The Experience System is a system implemented to balance power gain (before the only resource was Solar). Both teams start at XP-Level 1 and the maximum is 20. If your team gathers enough XP, you gain a level. Each level up gets you +3% overall damage, +4% HP (goes for Healthpacks and Creeps aswell) and +3% HP regeneration to your base stats. Droids also increase in damage and health by 3,5% each level. To prevent a team from getting ahead too quickly, you get less XP for killing enemies that are a lower team level than yours and more XP for killing higher leveled teams (4% added or subtracted per level ahead/behind from 40% of the Experience needed from 0%-100% of the enemy's current level).

Ways to earn Experience Points:

• Killing droids and creeps
  
• Solar Boss
  
• Enemy Awesomenauts (main XP income)
  
• Turrets

Status effects are used to control your enemy's or ally's movement or ability to fight. There are positive status effects (buffs) and negative ones (debuffs). You will find status effects on your abilities and upgrades.



Snare is a debuff that prevents the victim from moving, but are still able to use abilities, basic attack and teleports.

By default:

• Scoop, Derpl

By upgrade:

• Clunk, Skolldir

Slow is the most used CC. Almost every character has Slow on an upgrade or on their abilities. It slows down the target's runspeed and reduces their jump height. It's also very effective against Dashes/Dives/Pounces, as it reduces their range when slowed.

By default:

• Ayla, Coco, Rocco

By upgrade:

• Froggy, Lonestar, Leon, Scoop, Gnaw, Clunk, Skolldir, Yuri, Derpl, Genji, Swiggins, Ksenia, Ix, Skree, Nibbs, Chucho, Deadlift

Silence makes the target unable to use their abilities for the duration, but they are still able to use their basic attacks. This is great against burst characters that need their abilities to do their damage (e.g. Froggy). Small things to think about are using Silence against Ayla as an example, as she is unable to get out of Rage mode for the duration.

By default:

• Ksenia

By upgrade:

• Leon, Derpl, Vinnie, Penny, Sentry

Stun is a very useful tool to interrupt your opponent's movement, to initiate, and to interrupt abilities. It's widely considered the best CC as it shuts down an enemy 'naut entirely, making him unable to move or attack. The only downside to Stun compared to Snare is that it doesn't stop momentum.

By default:

• Froggy, Leon, Swiggins, Penny, Skolldir, Yoolip

By upgrade:

• Derpl, Coco, Deadlift, Ix, Rocco, Ted, Voltar

Knockback is a very useful type of CC for many uses. The target is "knocked away" on use, making it exceptionally well against charging enemies (e.g. knocking away an exploding Clunk to avoid damage) This is a very good debuff to use against slower, bigger 'nauts, as they are more vulnerable to displacement than quick 'nauts! Most Knockbacks also have the added Stun debuff, so they cannot immediately walk out of it.

By default:

• Coco, Deadlift, Jimmy/Amy, Lonestar, Penny, Raelynn, Skolldir, Ted

By upgrade:

• Chucho, Derpl, Ix, Ksenia, Skree, Voltar

Amplify, as it says in the name, amplifies the target's damage taken when inflicted. This is a great tool against any character, but best used as an initiator and is more effective/easier to use on slower, bigger targets.

By default:

• Penny

By upgrade:

• Swiggins, Yoolip, Gnaw, Ix

Blind is pretty self explanatory, it blinds the target, making them unable to see more than a small portion in the middle of the screen. This can be really annoying and has good use to confuse the enemy during a teamfight.

By default:

• Vinnie

By upgrade:

• Leon, Coco, Raelynn, Swiggins

Time modifers are able to speed up/slow down time. Time Slow will slow the time inside the effective area of the ability and will slow down movement, cooldowns, abilities and animations. This is limited to only 3 characters currently. Yuri is a special case of this, as his bubble also speeds up allies as the counterpart.

By default:

• Raelynn, Yuri, Max Focus

Gravity is also a very limited type of CC. As you might have already guessed, it pulls the target towards the gravity field placed or in 2 cases, towards yourself.

By default:

• Sentry

By upgrade:

• Nibbs, Ayla

The target is displaced/trapped and is unable to take damage for the duration. In Ix's case, the swap can be used to avoid incoming damage when timed correctly.

By default:

• Genji, Ix

Weaken makes the target deal less damage for the duration. This is very useful when the user is very vulnerable and is therefore shielded for the duration and area of Weaken. Stengthen would be the counterpart to Weaken, making the affected targets stronger if a condition is met.

Strengthen by upgrade:

• Deadlift, Ix, Ksenia, Rocco, Skree, Scoop

Weaken by upgrade:

• Ayla, Coco, Deadlift, Gnaw, Ix, Vinnie

• Leon's Tongue - The target is displaced, pulling enemies towards him
  
• Swiggins' Anchor Drop - has a tethering ability, keeping enemies trapped in a certain area, making them unable to escape further than a small distance away from the dropped anchor.
  
• Ix's Swap - Also a form of displacement, the target is swapped, unable to be damaged until he has fully swapped positions with the target

Debuff immunity makes you completely unharmed by most CC. They can be useful when playing against heavy displacements, Snares and long Stuns (Yoolip). Debuff immunity does not shield you from Gravity or Stasis in most cases.

By default:

• Nibbs (Fire breath, immune to everything but Cocoon, Time modifiers and Ix Swap, Stun doesn't interrupt it but will make her fire horizontal, for whatever reason)
  
• Derpl (Siege mode, immune to everything but Cocoon and Time modifiers)
  
• Ix's Swap (immunity to everything), Ix's Refract (immunity to everything except Ix's Swap, Time modifiers and Cocoon)

By upgrade:

• Raelynn, Yuri, Vinnie (still affected by Lonestar's Bull as far as i know), Ksenia

Baby Kuri Mammoth is an upgrade found on the bottom (utility) row. Its effect is reducing all incoming debuff duration and percentage. This is a very situational upgrade, but one of the most gamechanging upgrades against the right 'nauts. I recommend buying BKM against Derpl, Skolldir, Jimmy/Amy, Sentry and Yoolip. You might not need it in every game against these characters, but if you're having trouble and get caught out by their abilities, this will help you a lot.

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Swiggins' role is to gank onto low-HP characters, making them unable to escape with Anchor Drop. He gets countered easily by mid to high-HP characters that can sustain fights after his damage has been done.

Very good against:

• Froggy, Leon, Ksenia, Penny, Chucho

Good against:

• Lonestar, Coco, Max Focus

Bad against:

• Scoop, Gnaw, Raelynn, Ayla, Clunk, Skolldir, Yuri, Derpl, Genji, Ix, Ted McPain, Sentry, Skree, Nibbs, Yoolip, Jimmy/Amy, Deadlift

• Beginner Build[orikaru.net]
  
• Standard Pub Build[orikaru.net]
  
• Personal Build[orikaru.net]

• Sorona (lots of open area to hook)

• Ribbit IV
  
• Aiguillon (only if you learn how to Teleport Jump)
  
• AI Station 205 (very open map)

• AI Station 404 (bad, unsafe melee clear)

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Ayla is currently a very vulnerable character. While she might be easy to play and hard to counter for newer players, she is actually considered one of the worst 3 characters in the game due to her mandatory damage being too expensive.

Good against:

• Leon, Gnaw, Clunk, Skolldir, Yuri, Vinnie, Swiggins, Sentry, Nibbs, Yoolip, Chucho

Bad against:

• Lonestar, Voltar, Coco, Rocco, Penny, Jimmy/Amy

• Beginner Build[orikaru.net]
  
• Personal Build[orikaru.net]

• Ribbit IV (lots of small passages where other characters slow down when platforming)

• Aiguillon
  
• Sorona
  
• AI Station 205 (AoE clear, good against flyers)

• AI Station 404 (low gravity stops Ayla from going in, melee clear)

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Chucho has many ways to damage the opponent: using DoT on Hyper Bike to poke, being around his idle bike, poking with sticky and knocking people into turrets. It takes some practice to get used to all these mechanics and using them effectively, but once you know how to do it, he can be a lot of fun to play.

Good against:

• Scoop, Clunk, Yuri, Sentry

Bad against:

• Froggy, Raelynn, Ayla, Skolldir, Coco, Genji, Swiggins, Ksenia, Ix, Ted McPain, Penny, Deadlift, Yoolip

• Begininer Build[orikaru.net]
  
• Personal Build[orikaru.net]

• Ribbit IV

• Aiguillon
  
• Sorona
  
• AI Station 205
  
• AI Station 404
  
• Starstorm Station

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Clunk is a high risk-high reward Awesomenaut. His role is to punish opponents overextending with Snare bite and high damage. He can nullify some of his counters by having a consistent setup such as Genji Cocoon, Ix Swap or Skolldir Throw.

Good against:

• Froggy, Leon, Swiggins, Gnaw, Scoop

Very bad against:

• Lonestar, Raelynn, Skolldir, Genji, Penny, Ix, Nibbs, Jimmy/Amy, Deadlift, Rocco, Ksenia

• Beginner Build[orikaru.net]
  
• Firren's Build[orikaru.net]
  
• Personal Build[orikaru.net]

• Sorona
  
• Aiguillon
  
• Ribbit IV
  
• AI Station 205
  
• AI Station 404
  
• Starstorm Station

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Coco's role is to make as much use of Cooldown Ball and movement on Blaze as possible. It's good for poking and clearing from a safe distance. I play Coco mostly in a way of initiating with movement Blaze, using Ball in their face and getting out. She doesn't have many single character counters, but is vulnerable to poke and combos such as Leon Tongue into a damaging 'naut.

Good against:

• Froggy, Clunk, Voltar, Ayla, Yuri, Leon, Skolldir

Bad against:

• Genji, Raelynn, Derpl, Ksenia

• Beginner Build[orikaru.net]
  
• 9Volt's Build[orikaru.net]
  
• Personal Build[orikaru.net]

• Sorona (movement speed on Blaze)

• Ribbit IV
  
• Aiguillon
  
• AI Station 205
  
• AI Station 404
  
• Starstorm Station

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Deadlift is the latest addition to the game. He is the best tank in the game due to his team-shield. Using the shield gets rid of many worries glasscannons have.

Good against:

• Lonestar, Leon, Scoop, Gnaw, Ayla, Clunk, Yuri, Swiggins, Sentry, Nibbs, Chucho, Jimmy/Amy, Max Focus

Bad against:

• Froggy, Skolldir, Genji, Ksenia, Ix

• Personal Build[orikaru.net]

• Sorona
  
• Aiguillon
  
• Ribbit IV
  
• AI Station 205
  
• AI Station 404
  
• Starstorm Station

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Derpl is a situational character, his strength comes from small areas he can block off to be safe and stop enemies from rotating, giving your team a lot of room to play with. This leads to him being underwhelming on Sorona and AI Stations, but very powerful on Ribbit, Starstorm and Aiguillon.

Good against:

• Froggy, Leon, Clunk, Ksenia, Swiggins, Penny, Sentry

Bad against:

• Raelynn, Yuri, Genji, Rocco, Ix, Ted McPain, Skree, Nibbs, Jimmy/Amy

• Personal Build (get Silence vs others when needed)[orikaru.net]

• Ribbit IV (chimney in mid to drop down in turret mode, lots of small areas to block)
  
• Starstorm Station (Snare Traps on Teleporter exits and bottom area)

• Aiguillon (lots of chokepoints to deny areas)

• Sorona (open area, no chokepoints to put Snare Traps)
  
• AI Station 205 (same as Sorona + bad clear)
  
• AI Station 404 (bad clear)

I don't have enough experience as Dizzy yet to judge matchups and maps, but it's coming whenever I decide to play more again.

• Personal Build 1[orikaru.net]
  
• Personal Build 2[orikaru.net]

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Froggy G is a very unique character. His role is to be as annoying as possible, being in the enemy's face and using his high mobility and damage-immunity to avoid enemy attacks. He excels at killing ranged-DPS and low-mid HP 'nauts with some exceptions.

Very good against:

• Lonestar, Raelynn, Genji, Rocco, Ted McPain, Sentry, Skree, Nibbs, Chucho, Max Focus.

Good against:

• Gnaw, Jimmy/Amy

Bad against:

• Leon Chameleon, Scoop, Clunk, Derpl, Swiggins, Penny,

• Beginner Build[orikaru.net]
  
• Against Projectile Awesomenauts/ranged AA or abilities[orikaru.net]
  
• Normal Build[orikaru.net]
  
• Personal Build[orikaru.net]

• Ribbit IV
  
• Sorona
  
• Aiguillon
  
• AI Station 205
  
• AI Station 404
  
• Starstorm Station

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Genji is one of the most powerful Awesomenauts in the game as of 4.0. His AA does insane damage over long range and hits multiple targets, his Blessing support teammates in many ways and Cocoon stops any form of initiation, making him very hard to beat if played right.

Very good against:

• Clunk, Skolldir, Yuri, Derpl, Swiggins, Sentry, Jimmy/Amy, Deadlift

Good against:

• Lonestar, Scoop, Gnaw, Raelynn, Ayla, Voltar, Coco, Rocco, Ix, Ted McPain, Yoolip, Chucho

Bad against:

• Froggy, Leon, Ksenia, Penny, Vinnie (in the right comps)

• Beginner Build[orikaru.net]
  
• Personal Standard Build[orikaru.net]

[/list]

• Sorona
  
• Aiguillon
  
• AI Station 205
  
• AI Station 404
  
• Starstorm Station

• Ribbit IV (can't stick to teammates easily. This can easily be bypassed but if i had to choose his worst map, it's Ribbit IV)

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Gnaw's role is to harass the enemy and deny areas around the map. He has incredibly high mobility and good damage output, making him very annoying if played right.

Good against:

• Leon, Raelynn, Skolldir, Yuri, Swiggins, Rocco, Sentry, Nibbs

Bad against:

• Froggy, Lonestar, Scoop, Ayla, Coco, Genji, Penny, Jimmy/Amy, Deadlift

• Beginner Build[orikaru.net]
  
• eddster's build[orikaru.net]
  
• Personal Build[orikaru.net]

• Ribbit IV (creep control, easy Solar Boss kill, high mobility around small passages, good gank options)

• Aiguillon
  
• Sorona
  
• AI Station 205
  
• AI Station 404
  
• Starstorm Station

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Ix is another hard to master, high skill ceiling character. While some kill options are using Bond + Refract damage, he can set up a lot of kills for his team swapping enemies into them.

Good against:

• Skolldir, Yuri, Derpl, Vinnie, Skree, Nibbs, Chucho, Jimmy/Amy, Deadlift

Bad against:

• Leon, Ayla, Genji, Ksenia, Penny, Yoolip

• Beginner Build[orikaru.net]
  
• Personal Build[orikaru.net]

• Sorona
  
• Aiguillon
  
• Ribbit IV
  
• AI Station 205
  
• AI Station 404
  
• Starstorm Station

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Jimmy/Amy has a lot of sustain during fights, easy escape, good poke and excellent brawling capabilities. His/Her playstyle is harassing constantly and trying to gank by charging.

Good against:

• Lonestar, Leon, Scoop, Gnaw, Ayla, Clunk, Voltar, Yuri, Swiggins, Sentry

Bad against:

• Froggy, Raelynn, Skolldir, Vinnie, Genji, Rocco, Ksenia, Ix, Nibbs, Max Focus

• Personal Build[orikaru.net]

• Aiguillon (best map for charge to work, lots of flat ground and hidden areas)

• Sorona
  
• Ribbit IV
  
• AI Station 205
  
• AI Station 404
  
• Starstorm Station

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Ksenia is a high damage, invisible assassin. Using roll makes your next attack out of invisibility have a Silence debuff. Learning how to use the invulnerability roll to dodge burst attacks, using silence and learning the combos are essential to performing well as Ksenia.

Very good against:

• Froggy, Lonestar, Raelynn, Clunk, Yuri, Vinnie, Rocco, Sentry, Skree, Chucho, Max Focus

Good against:

• Coco, Skolldir Genji, Ix, Ted McPain, Yoolip, Jimmy/Amy Deadlift

Bad against:

• Leon, Scoop, Ayla, Voltar, Derpl, Swiggins

• horheristo's Build (for less experienced players)[orikaru.net]
  
• Personal Build[orikaru.net]

• Sorona (lots of open area to initiate, easy escape over bouncers)

• Ribbit IV
  
• Aiguillon
  
• AI Station 205 (might struggle with clear against some comps)
  
• Starstorm Station

• AI Station 404 (low gravity, bad melee clear, cramped up single lane make it hard for her to do Ksenia things

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Leon is a stealth focused Assassin. His tongue provides a great setup for your team and stealth makes him unpredictable and easy to escape with.

Very good against:

• Froggy G, Raelynn, Yuri, Genji

Good against:

• Ix, Nibbs

Bad against: Scoop, Gnaw, Ayla, Clunk, Voltar, Coco, Skolldir, Derpl, Swiggins, Sentry, Jimmy/Amy, Deadlift

• Beginner Build[orikaru.net]
  
• Common go-to Leon Build[orikaru.net]
  
• Lifesteal/Clone-push Leon (not recommended)[orikaru.net]
  
• Personal Build[orikaru.net]

• Aiguillon

• Ribbit IV
  
• Sorona
  
• Starstorm Station (might struggle when all turrets are up)

• AI Station 205 (bad clear against flyers)
  
• AI Station 404 (bad clear)

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Max Focus is very situational. His performance depends on the enemy's comp, your teammate's setup and the map. His role in-game is to punish overextension with his Slow-mo shot, trying to combo it into an easy Scene-illumination kill and harassing with AA when the enemy has used their abilities.

Good against:

• Lonestar, Scoop, Clunk, Voltar, Yuri, Derpl (except on Ribbit IV), Vinnie, Sentry

Bad against:

• Froggy, Leon, Ayla, Skolldir, Genji, Swiggins, Ksenia, Ix, Ted McPain, Deadlift

• Sam!'s Build[orikaru.net]

• Aiguillon (narrow lanes, easy to counter initiate, little escape from Max)

• AI Station 205 (good clear, long flat lanes)
  
• AI Station 404 (good clear)
  
• Starstorm Station

• Sorona (can't hide from bad matchups)
  
• Ribbit IV (hard to space initiation and rotate)

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Nibbs is a situational character that usually only does well against slow, high-HP characters. If used with a good setup character like Skolldir or Leon, She can deal incredible damage without having to worry about counters.

Good against:

• Scoop, Clunk, Voltar, Skolldir, Yuri, Derpl, Swiggins, Ted McPain, Sentry

Bad against:

• Lonestar, Raelynn, Coco, Genji, Rocco, Ksenia, Ix, Penny, Skree, Max Focus

• Blatoy's recommendation for new players[orikaru.net]
  
• Blatoy's normal build[orikaru.net]
  
• Personal Build[orikaru.net]
  
• Personal Build 2[orikaru.net]
  
• Personal Build 3[orikaru.net]

• Ribbit IV (nice, unpredictable ganks and initiations, punishing rotations in small passages)

• Aiguillon
  
• Starstorm Station

• AI Station 205 (bad clear)
  
• AI Station 404 (bad clear)
  
• Sorona (too predictable)

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Penny is difficult at first, but very potent once you get used to her combo system. Her style is a fighter, fulfilling many roles such as good clear, harassing, burst damage, and movement options.

Good against:

• Froggy, Lonestar, Leon, Gnaw, Raelynn, Ayla, Clunk, Skolldir, Yuri, Vinnie, Swiggins, Rocco, Sentry, Skree, Nibbs, Yoolip, Chucho, Ix

Bad against:

• Scoop, Derpl, Swiggins, Deadlift

• Beginner Build[orikaru.net]
  
• Personal Build[orikaru.net]

• Sorona
  
• Aiguillon
  
• Ribbit IV
  
• AI Station 205
  
• AI Station 404
  
• Starstorm Station

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Yoolip is currently a very predictable 'naut. He has high damage if he hits the combo, but is easy to see coming for experienced players. My recommendation is to stick to teammates and support them with health packages from dinos aswell as interrupting enemy initiations with Gaze.

Good against:

• Lonestar, Leon, Scoop, Clunk, Swiggins, Chucho

Bad against:

• Everything else :(

• Standard Build[orikaru.net]

• Aiguillon

• Ribbit IV
  
• AI Station 205
  
• AI Station 404 (good clear)
  
• Starstorm Station

• Sorona (too predictable)

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Raelynn excels at poking the enemy and defending from a safe distance. A lot of her matchups are depending on skill and build, for example using a Snipe focused build against low HP, low sustain 'nauts and a more Rift/AA focused build against slow, high HP 'nauts.

Good against:

• Lonestar, Ayla, Scoop, Clunk, Voltar, Yuri, Derpl, Swiggins, Skolldir

Bad against

• Froggy, Penny, Ted McPain, Jimmy/Amy, Deadlift

• classic Pub Raelynn[orikaru.net]
  
• poking with Snipe[orikaru.net]
  
• Personal build[orikaru.net]

• Sorona
  
• Aiguillon
  
• Ribbit IV
  
• AI Station 205
  
• AI Station 404
  
• Starstorm Station

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Rocco is one of the few fragile ranged-DPS 'nauts. If the spacing is good, he can be used very effectively against high-HP characters with his high damage, long ranged, slowing arrows. Precision Shot is used to poke during the game or finish off low-HP enemies.

Good against:

• Lonestar, Raelynn, Ayla, Clunk, Voltar, Yuri, Derpl, Vinnie, Ix, Skree, Nibbs, Sentry, Max Focus

Bad against:

• Frog, Gnaw, Genji, Swiggins, Ksenia, Ix, Ted McPain

• Personal Build[orikaru.net]

• Sorona
  
• Aiguillon
  
• Ribbit IV
  
• AI Station 205
  
• AI Station 404
  
• Starstorm Station

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Scoop is one of the few Tanks in this game. His kit revolves around keeping your team safe from high damage attackers and mobile characters. Hammer is a very good tool to deny dashes, dives, pounces, or other approaches.

Good against:

• Froggy, Leon, Gnaw, Swiggins, Rocco, Ksenia

Bad against:

• Skolldir, Genji, Sentry, Jimmy, Deadlift

• bOdy_hUnter_PT's build[orikaru.net]

• Sorona
  
• Aiguillon
  
• Ribbit IV
  
• AI Station 205
  
• AI Station 404
  
• Starstorm Station

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Sentry has a rough time in a lot of situations, but will win you the game when used with the right comp. As you get better, Black Hole will get more and more predictable, so you will have to use Beacon as a setup and Black Hole them as they walk over it.

Good against:

• Lonestar, Leon, Scoop, Raelynn, Clunk, Voltar, Skolldir, Swiggins, Ted McPain, Yoolip

Bad against:

• Froggy, Gnaw, Ayla, Yuri, Coco, Vinnie, Nibbs, Penny, Jimmy/Amy, Deadlift

Very bad against:

• Derpl, Genji, Ksenia, Ix

• Personal Build[orikaru.net]

• Sorona
  
• Aiguillon
  
• Ribbit IV
  
• AI Station 205
  
• AI Station 404
  
• Starstorm Station

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Lonestar can be played in different ways, is easy to use and is an all-round 'naut. He is great at pushing and being able to keep opponents away.

Very good against:

• Clunk, Skolldir, Yuri, Derpl, Ayla, Voltar

Good against:

• Gnaw, Scoop, Leon

Bad against:

• Froggy, Coco, Vinnie, Ksenia, Swiggins, Penny, Genji, Sentry, Yoolip, Jimmy/Amy Deadlift, Ix

• Beginner Build[orikaru.net]
  
• All-round build[orikaru.net]
  
• Personal Build[orikaru.net]

• Ribbit IV (lots of gank potential, bull-pins guaranteed dynamites off chimney bouncepad)

• Aigullion
  
• AI Station 205
  
• AI Station 404
  
• Starstorm Station

• Sorona (too open for bull to be effective, too predictable, easy to punish)

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Skølldir is a very hard to master 'naut. He has one of the highest skill ceilings in the game, making him incredibly powerful if you put the time into him. He is highly complex when it comes to optimal movement, using game mechanics and making the best of his kit.

Very good against:

• Leon, Clunk, Voltar, Swiggins, Ted (except on Ribbit IV), Jimmy/Amy

Good against:

• Froggy, Scoop, Rocco, Yoolip, Chucho, Deadlift

Bad against:

• Lonestar, Gnaw, Raelynn, Coco, Vinnie, Genji, Ksenia, Penny, Sentry, Nibbs

• My Standard Personal Build[orikaru.net]

• Sorona (lots of open areas for Snare Earthquake initiations, only 1 hidden area, lots of movement options with bouncers, good chase, huge map control with dropdown Earthquakes)
  
• AI Station 205 (bottom lane very easy to gank decent clear, good chase due to long map with Boots)

• Aigullion
  
• Starstorm Station

• Ribbit IV (lots of platforms to dodge throws and Earthquake)

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Skree focuses on spacing his enemies, knowing his limits and backing off with Totem when needed. He can be incredibly annoying if you use his droid clear and poke to your advantage.

Good against:

• Lonestar, Leon, Scoop, Raelynn, Clunk, Voltar, Yuri, Derpl, Swiggins, Sentry, Nibbs, Yoolip

Bad against:

• Froggy, Gnaw, Ayla, Coco, Skolldir, Vinnie, Genji, Ksenia, Ix, Ted McPain

• Personal Build[orikaru.net]

• AI Station 205 (multi target upgrades on AA clear and stall incredibly well)
  
• AI Station 404 (same as 205)

• Sorona
  
• Aiguillon
  
• Ribbit IV
  
• Starstorm Station

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Ted also has a very high skill ceiling, a lot of combos to use, AoE, multilane clear and insane DPS, making him one of the strongest characters in the game.

Very good against:

• Lonestar, Ayla, Clunk, Voltar, Yuri, Derpl, Swiggins, Yoolip, Max Focus

Good against:

• Leon, Scoop, Gnaw, Skree

Bad against:

• Froggy, Skolldir, Genji, Ksenia, Ix, Sentry, Nibbs, Jimmy/Amy

• Personal Build[orikaru.net]

• Ribbit IV (airstriking in the middle bouncepad when enemies go up, insane map control and multi lane clear)

• Aiguillon
  
• Starstorm Station (very high map, airstrike hits a huge chunk of the map)

• AI Station 205 (easy to punish because of open map)
  
• Sorona (same as 205)

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Vinnie & Spike is a very high damage character, his Spike Dive deals insane amount of damage while Cloud gives him a lot of ways to get out. Your performance will depend a lot on your gamesense, knowing when to dive in and when not to.

Good against:

• Froggy, Lonestar, Gnaw, Voltar, Skolldir, Swiggins, Yuri

Bad against:

• Ayla, Clunk, Coco, Genji, Rocco, Ksenia, Ix, Penny

• Personal Build (with setup characters)[orikaru.net]
  
• Personal Build (without setup characters[orikaru.net]

• Sorona (very open map, easy to space and initiate, not limited movement)
  
• AI Station 205 (same as Sorona, Heal cloud useable on flyers and normal droids)

• Aiguillon

• Ribbit IV (despite some of the community thinking a patch fixed this, the cramped up space on Ribbit still hurts him and limits his movement)

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Voltar is a very hard to master 'naut. He relies on spacing a lot as he is very fragile due to his movement. He can be very effective when used with the right comp and with the right build. I recommend only using Voltar when having 2 tanks that can protect you.

Very good against:

• Gnaw, Ayla

Good against:

• Clunk, Swiggins, Nibbs, Chucho

Bad against:

• Froggy, Lonestar, Raelynn, Skolldir, Ted McPain, Sentry, Skree, Jimmy/Amy

• Personal Build, knockback vs Clunk when needed[orikaru.net]
  
• Personal Normal Build[orikaru.net]

• Aiguillon (if you learn how to Teleport Jump)
  
• Ribbit IV (Mine on healbot for chimney, lots of platforms)
  
• AI Station 205
  
• AI Station 404
  
• Starstorm Station (Mine on healbot on bottom area)

• Sorona (too easy to gank and initiate on, Voltar is forced back even with supporting teammates)

Wiki page[awesomenauts.gamepedia.com]

Yuri is a very fragile support character. Setting up mines in chokepoints, denying areas is key to winning with Yuri. Bubble should be used when a teammate is initiating to slow down enemies in a teamfight and to get away safely when you're in trouble. Learning your limits as Yuri should be the highest priority.

Good against:

• Clunk, Derpl, Swiggins, Sentry, Scoop, Yoolip

Bad against:

• Lonestar, Leon, Raelynn, Ayla, Coco, Vinnie, Genji, Ksenia, Ix, Ted, Penny, Deadlift

• game is broken's Build[orikaru.net] (small variations and order changes some games as every match is different)
  
• Personal Build[orikaru.net]

• Ribbit IV (lots of small choke points to place mines on and blocking the chimney)

• Aigullion
  
• AI Station 205
  
• AI Station 404
  
• Starstorm Station
  
• Sorona (not always, he is a lot more vulnerable to counters due to the open map)
  
  

Forming team compositions in Awesomenauts can be very confusing if you don't know what you're doing. This is to help you pick your characters in the right scenarios. Combined with the character guides to know matchups and good/bad maps for each character, this should give you a right idea on what to use.

There are no definite roles for Awesomenauts, but for the purpose of this guide I will categorize them into groups and rate them. As you will notice, a lot of characters will have multiple "roles" and are therefore easier to build around.




These are the 'nauts that should be engaging first, fishing for setups for your team/yourself to kill. A lot of characters have good initiation, but these are the most characteristic:

• Genji
  
• Ix
  
• Leon
  
• Sentry
  
• Skolldir
  
• Swiggins
  
• Yoolip

Brawlers are 'nauts that are constantly in the enemy's face, dealing damage while sustaining in fights, as opposed to being vulnerable after using abilities. Most of the brawlers will have some lifestealing items, making them able to stay in fights. Not to be confused with DPS-characters.

• Ayla
  
• Coco
  
• Deadlift
  
• Genji
  
• Gnaw
  
• Ix
  
• Jimmy/Amy
  
• Lonestar
  
• Penny
  
• Skolldir

They are referred to as "burst" because they inflict high damage in short succession as a quick follow up to setups. These are incredibly useful when combined with a potent initiator.

• Froggy
  
• Clunk
  
• Vinnie
  
• Swiggins
  
• Ksenia
  
• Penny

This is true for most characters. Almost every 'naut can follow up on a good initiation with success, although I am more focusing high damage dealers that don't fit well as burst, but can also provide high damage out of an initiation. Note that most of these are vulnerable without their initiator.

• Ayla
  
• Voltar
  
• Coco
  
• Yuri
  
• Ted
  
• Skree
  
• Nibbs
  
• Max Focus

There aren't many true tanks in 'nauts, but some higher HP characters can easily stay in front and keep their damage dealers alive. Tanks are usually also either initiators or brawlers, giving them the role of a tank. Clunk for example is neither an initiator nor a brawler, and therefore doesn't have much success tanking for his team effectively.

• Scoop
  
• Skolldir
  
• Derpl
  
• Sentry
  
• Jimmy/Amy
  
• Deadlift

These are the most vulnerable characters in the current state of the game. They usually don't have many ways to escape, have low HP, mostly only single jumps, and don't have insane burst in the middle of teamfights to keep enemies from ganking you. Most of the time when an initiator and/or tank aren't present, they are forced to stay far back to avoid any contact.

• Lonestar
  
• Raelynn
  
• Rocco
  
• Ted
  
• Chucho
  
• Max Focus

As the title explains, these characters are used for area denial. As of right now, they are only viable picks on Ribbit IV, Aiguillon and Starstorm Station, as there are a lot of small passages on those maps, making cutting rotations very useable.

• Gnaw
  
• Derpl
  
• Ted
  
• Yuri
  
• Skree

Supports are just referred to 'nauts, who's abilities have supporting effects such as shield, healing or speedups. Each one of these characters have secondary roles, as they would not be able to do well in the 3vs3 setting without them currently.

• Voltar
  
• Genji
  
• Yuri
  
• Ix

This is very hard to explain, as there are many combinations to be discovered in Awesomenauts, but there are quite a few mistakes you can make. Just as in other games, there are certain characters that simply outclass others in a role. Characters that fit multiple roles (e.g. Penny, Ted) become more viable than others in their categories, thus making them easier to build around.

Some good ways to start are making sure your ranged-DPS characters aren't vulnerable. They can all be used reliably if they are protected. Some good comps for ranged-DPS characters are:

• Support, DPS, Tank
  
• Initiator, DPS, Tank
  
• Brawler, DPS, Initiator

These are by no means strict rules, since so many characters have many different roles, you can find it easy to do well as some very vulnerable comps. It also always comes down to the enemy's skill level.

The next thing you might want to avoid is to have 3 characters that aren't able to clear droids well, or properly push from a safe distance. Triple melee comps can go very bad especially on AI Station, since everybody has to get close to huge droidwaves full of flyers and are easily zoned out by ranged characters.

From what I've listed earlier, we can easily form good combinations.
Some of my favourite comps are Initiator + Area denial character + Burst/Brawler. When using initiators with Derpl or Yuri, it is recommended to pick a character that can place them into traps or mines, unlike Swiggins or Yoolip as an example.
Examples:

• Skolldir + Derpl + Penny
  
• Skolldir + Yuri + Froggy
  
• Swiggins + Ted + Vinnie

Another comp-style I like to use in my tournament games are triple burst comps. These are harder to pull off as they require more synergy to perform well, and mostly don't have as much clear, push, or general poke than most other comps. This is achieved with 1-2 initiators and 1-2 burst characters. Swiggins is a nearly perfect base for these comps, as he is very consistent and easy to follow up on. Combining the anchor drop with 2 high damage 'nauts will kill anyone that Swiggins initiates on.
Examples:

• Leon + Swiggins + Vinnie
  
• Penny + Swiggins + Ksenia
  
• Coco + Swiggins + Vinnie

The most potent comps are currently revolving around Genji, as he has one of the best clears in the game, has a very good setup ability, can support his team, put on pressure from a safe distance and make the enemy unable to initiate with both of his abilities. This is why teams opt to ban Genji as one of their character bans in tournament games. Genji can be used with any high damage ability out of Cocoon, but is the most viable with high-HP characters on his team.
Good comps would be:

• Genji + Skolldir + Froggy
  
• Genji + Swiggins + Coco
  
• Genji + Ix + Clunk

Listing every character's synergy with others would be endless and there is many comps you can try out. This is just a general idea of what you should avoid when picking your character.
If you would like to know anything about a character's matchups or synergies, please ask me on my discord server[discord.gg]. I'm always happy to help and usually respond within a few hours.

There are lots of small things to refine your gameplay in Awesomenauts. Using game mechanics and techniques to your advantage can give you the upper hand in many games.

WARNING: Not all of these are meant to be in the game, so note that they could be fixed in future versions of the game.





The idea of AA-canceling is that you use your basic attack right before an ability, pumping out more damage quickly in the same time. This is a very useful trick I use to give myself the upper hand in teamfights.

Some of the most useful uses of this you can find on Ayla, using your basic attack right before toggling on your Rage mode and right after untoggling it. This will give you more mobility when you master it and give yourself a boost in DPS.







Bouncepads launch you in the intended direction they're facing. There are tricks to alter their path, which you can use to manuever quickly around the map.







Teleport Jumping is a must-learn skill for anyone playing floaters (Swiggins, Voltar, Skree). It changes your mobility around the map drastically, so I recommend practicing this until perfection.

When dropping down a platform as a floater, the game will treat it as if you already jumped, and therefore you will float when trying to jump. This is the same for bouncepads and can be really annoying when trying to jump from Aiguillon's bottom lane to top lane.

Teleport Jumping is achieved by holding your Teleport key (default F) when floating after dropping down a platform or jumping up a bouncepad. While holding Teleport, also hold your jump key (default W, Space). Releasing Teleport should launch you into the air and get rid of the floating. There are many uses for this, as you will see in the Showcase

Awesomenauts doesn't have a huge amount of content creators at the moment, but the ones that do make videos and stream on Twitch deserve a lot more recognition in my opinion. This also helps learning the game, understanding strategy and in general being involved in the community.

• 9Volt[www.twitch.tv]
  
• AntiMatterDynamite[www.twitch.tv]
  
• Awesomenauts Rumble Tournament Stream[www.twitch.tv]
  
• bOdy_hUnter_PT[www.twitch.tv]
  
• Chupp4 Jo3[www.twitch.tv]
  
• eddster[www.twitch.tv]
  
• game is broken[www.twitch.tv]
  
• Holla[www.twitch.tv]
  
• Japie[www.twitch.tv]
  
• Maslink[www.twitch.tv]
  
• Mr. Manager[www.twitch.tv]
  
• niki[www.twitch.tv]
  
• OmniPulse[www.twitch.tv]
  
• Paulo[www.twitch.tv]
  
• Pyrocheese[www.twitch.tv]
  
• RonimoGames[www.twitch.tv]
  
• Seltzy[www.twitch.tv]
  
• Slevens[twitch.tv]
  
• SlowWolf[twitch.tv]
  
• Starsan[www.twitch.tv]
  
• Tempas[www.twitch.tv]
  
• Whoophee[www.twitch.tv]
  
• XDanger[www.twitch.tv] (Spanish)

• Awesomenauts Rumble VODs and highlights
  
• Ronimo Games Official Awesomenauts YouTube
  
• MrMacke Makes awesome acappella
  
• Rogzy Weekly montages, tutorials and full games
  
• SlowWolf Daily full matches with commentary
  
• WakkaBanana
  
• Jimemy
  
• Pheoniz
  
• Baixst
  
• TheGamersB C (Spanish)

Thank you to Rogzy for making me a list of YouTubers. If you are a content creator and would like to be on the list, please message me on Discord to be featured.

Awesomenauts has a welcoming community. To get involved, here's some websites and discord servers to check out:


Awesomenauts Rumble[awesomenautsrumble.com]
The main tournament line for Awesomenauts. These guys put enourmous effort into the tournament community and are very welcome to new players.

• Steam Group
  
• Discord[discord.gg]
  
• Tournament Livestream[www.twitch.tv]
  
• YouTube
  
• Twitter

NautsBuilderV2[orikaru.net]
A website to create and share builds easily


NautsRankings[nautsrankings.com]
A website displaying LeaderBoards with many filter options


NautsDrafter[nautsdrafter.com]
For competitive play, Picks/Bans before the match starts


Awesomantium Discord[discord.gg]
A very active community discord server maintained by Kailler (highly recommend)


Awesomenauts Scrim Portal[discord.gg]
Useful to find organized matches and find teammates to play with casually and competitively


Awesomenauts Gallery[awesomenautsfanart.tumblr.com]
Awesomenauts Fan-Art Showcase

Twitch[twitch.tv]
I stream occasionally. Probably more once the game gets bearable again


YouTube channel
Where I post highlights from my stream and guides (soon)


Steam Group
For my livestream, announcing when I will go live


Discord server[discord.gg]
Easiest way to get in touch with me, as I'm not a fan of keeping many Steam friends