October 5, 2023
Brimstone is a former special ops soldier from the USA. His smokes are some of the longest-lasting in the game, and his kit contains powerful tools that can be used in various ways, such as delaying a defuse or clearing angles. He can cover the map in smokes in the blink of an eye, and he can block off choke points, and his ultimate ability can grant you kills on those pesky overextending flankers.
His kit perfectly blends support and control abilities making him an excellent agent for blocking sightlines and stalling enemy pushes. His sky smoke can be a great cover for a safe push, his incendiary leaves a lasting effect, and his stim beacon can help boost your team’s fire rate to resolve any conflict quickly. Brimstone is great for players willing to support their team from the backlines, and this article will help guide you on how to use him to his full potential.
Incendiary (Q Ability)
Equip an incendiary grenade launcher. Fire to launch a grenade that detonates as it comes to a rest on the floor, creating a lingering fire zone that damages players within the zone.
This is a simple ability. Brimstone will load a grenade launcher and fire off an incendiary that will move along the ground or bounce off the walls. Once it lays, it will ignite a patch of the ground on fire. The flames can block entire doorways and hallways.
Even though it’s a straightforward ability, you can pull off some amazing plays with practice. For example, with the right angles, you can shoot it across to different sites or drop it onto the bomb to stall the enemy.
Sky Smoke (E Ability)
Equip a tactical map. Fire to set locations where Brimstone’s smoke clouds will land. Alternate Fire to confirm, launching long-lasting smoke clouds that block vision in the selected area.
This ability is considered one of Brimstone’s greatest assets. For the greatest use of this ability, be sure to consult with your team to see where they want to position and which area they want to secure on the map. Smoking off the bombsite often draws the defenders’ attention, forcing them to carefully choose when picking which area to focus on. Players will either wait out the smoke’s long duration or try to push quietly, exposing them to you and your team.
It would be ideal to change up the spots being smoked throughout the game. Changing tactics and forcing different interactions with your smokes will keep the opposing team guessing. If you can figure out how the opposing team will react to your smokes whether they wait it out or push through, you can use the other abilities in your kit to take advantage of this knowledge. For example, mix up the smoke with an incendiary or stim beacon in conjunction with your positioning to derail your opponent’s gameplay.
Stim Beacon (C Ability)
Equip a stim beacon. Fire to toss the stim beacon in front of Brimstone. Upon landing, the stim beacon will create a field that grants players RapidFire.
This indestructible beacon is an AOE ability that buffs anyone who enters the area. This ability will boost a player’s reload speed, weapon swap speed, and recoil recovery by 10 percent. It’s a great way to gain an advantage over your enemies and can be used in both offensive and defensive situations.
When your team is defending, this ability can come in handy if your team is expecting an incoming fight and you are holding a stationary position in the area. It lasts for 15 seconds and can spread around barriers and walls, so even if your teammates are not directly beside you, they can still benefit from the boost.
This ability can also be used for a push. Since the ability’s effects will linger on a player for roughly four seconds after leaving the Stim Beacon’s AOE, this can help entry fraggers fight at an advantage when attacking entry points.
Orbital Strike (X Ability / Ult)
Equip a tactical map. Fire to launch a lingering orbital strike laser at the selected location, dealing high damage over time to players caught in the selected area.
With this ability, Brimstone will pull up a map and choose a location, much like he does with the Sky Smoke ability. Once a location is chosen, the spot will be nuked from orbit. While it is a fast-acting ability, it does give off a large visual queue alerting enemies they are in the line of fire. Escape is not guaranteed, but it is possible.
Timing this with your team is key to catching players off guard to net good damage or even some picks. However, this ability is largely used to control an area. It does not do massive damage, but it is great at stopping enemy advances as it lasts for about ten seconds. In a pinch, you can place the nuke right on the bomb in the last effort to thwart the enemy from gaining the point.
Tips and Tricks
- Sky Bombs are best placed at the edge of exit points
- Incendiary can block off hallways or entryways
- Stim Beacons are good for defense but can surprise opponents when used for offensive plays
- Orbital Strikes can be used on planted spikes to keep the enemy from defusing
Brimstone’s kit gives him the ability to block lines of sight with very little risk. His Sky Smoke ability is one of the most valuable abilities in the game and is easy to manipulate, which makes him perfect for beginners. His ultimate can also set your team up for success when used correctly, so a good Brimstone player is sought after for many team dynamics. So get that practice in and learn your angles to use him to his fullest potential.