Brawl Needs a Rework – Here’s What I’ve Seen and Why It Matters

How to Fix Jurassic World Alive's Brawl 4v4

The Promise of Brawl Mode

When Brawl Mode was first introduced to Jurassic World Alive, it felt like a breath of fresh air. A brand-new way to play, featuring your favorite creatures in fast-paced battles outside the arena grind. For a while, it even worked. The idea of a mode you could pick up and play without worrying about trophies or matchmaking seemed like exactly what the community needed.

But somewhere along the way, that promise got lost.

Instead of becoming an engaging side mode that kept players coming back, Brawl has turned into a repetitive, unrewarding grind that too often feels like an obligation rather than something fun. And the worst part? With no meaningful changes in sight, it’s just not sustainable in its current form.

The Grind is Brutal

Brawl Mode still has promise, no question. It was introduced as a new way to play, something that would finally give players a break from the constant pressure of the arena. A casual, rewarding mode that felt different. But instead of offering relief, Brawl has become one of the most exhausting modes the game has ever seen.

While the format feels fresh at first, it quickly reveals itself as a repetitive cycle of drawn-out battles with inflated enemy health and minimal variety. Matches drag on, and the lack of strategy or pacing makes it feel more like an obligation than entertainment.

One big issue? The reward structure is simply unobtainable for the average player. For all the battles you go through, the payout feels minimal. On paper, the rewards look impressive: exclusive DNA, premium currency, and cosmetic items. But in practice, they demand a level of time and effort that just isn’t realistic for most of the player-base.

What should feel like a satisfying bonus quickly turns into a chore. The sheer grind needed to reach the higher tiers of Brawl rewards will eventually wear players down. Instead of creating excitement, it risks creating resentment. Ludia is clearly trying to introduce a sense of FOMO here, that if you don’t engage daily, you’ll miss out. But when players take a step back and actually assess what’s realistically achievable, many will realize they’re being funneled into a mode where the ceiling is simply out of reach.

And to make matters worse, the grind of Brawl, especially when paired with a full weekend tournament, has left many players completely drained. By the time Monday and Tuesday wrap up, the idea of jumping into Arena battles for the rest of the week feels more like a chore than a choice. It’s not just Brawl fatiguing players, it’s everything stacked on top of it, with no real breathing room.

And once that realization hits, enthusiasm turns into apathy.

Brawl has potential, but in its current form, it’s anything but a break.

Exclusive Rewards, But at What Cost?

Let’s be clear, the rewards offered in Brawl Mode aren’t the problem. In fact, they’re some of the best we’ve ever seen. We’re talking exclusive DNA for creatures like Cerastegotops, Silver and Gold Catalysts, boost tokens, limited-time emotes, and even unique creature skins. These are premium-tier prizes that players genuinely want, especially the boost tokens, which remain one of the most elusive resources in the game. To this day, we still haven’t seen a direct price tag attached to them, with most only ever being available through Passes or special events.

So yes, these rewards are absolutely worth chasing.

The issue isn’t the quality of the rewards, it’s the cost. To get them, players are expected to put in a staggering amount of effort: grinding daily, battling the same bloated creatures over and over, and never missing a step for nearly a month. And even if you do everything right, the average player will likely only earn one of these premium rewards during the entire Brawl cycle.

Just one.

And sure, maybe that’s fine in theory. After all, it’s something you wouldn’t have gotten before. But when a mode markets itself around these rewards and then puts them behind an almost unreachable grind wall, it feels less like a bonus... and more like bait.

Not only does the mode demand an exhausting amount of time, but to realistically reach the most reward tiers, you’ll likely need to spend real money. That’s because Brawl’s progression is tied to speeding up incubator timers, and doing that consistently requires a steady supply of in-game Hard Cash, which, in turn, often requires real cash.

To be fair, you are getting exclusive rewards, things like catalysts, skins, and Exclusive DNA, and it makes sense that some premium content comes with a price tag. But the problem isn’t that it costs something... it’s that the scaling of those rewards feels off. The jump in effort, time, and money required between rewards feel disproportionate, making it hard to justify unless you’re a completionist or top-tier grinder.

If Ludia wants Brawl to become a true pillar of Jurassic World Alive, the reward system needs to be rebalanced to match the reality of player time, not the illusion of endless grind.

And just to put that time commitment into perspective: I play this game to its fullest. I’m not a casual player, I grind, I plan, I go hard on event days. And even with that level of dedication, the most I can realistically achieve in a Brawl cycle is maxing two of these top-tier rewards. I’m focusing on the Gold and Silver Catalysts because of their immense value in the current meta, but to even get those?

That’s over 6 to 8 hours of Brawl per day, on Monday and Tuesday.

Think about that. Six hours- in a mobile game- to barely scrape out two rewards. And that’s me, someone going all-in. What chance does the average player have?

This isn’t just a grind; it’s a time wall. And if the majority of the community realizes they can’t even participate meaningfully, they’ll eventually stop trying. We'll touch on solutions at the end.

Repetition Kills the Experience

Brawl Mode suffers from a serious lack of variety. With static rosters lasting an entire month, it only takes a few days before the meta becomes fully solved. Once players identify the best team, everyone starts running the exact same lineup, and every match becomes a near-mirror of the last. In endgame especially, it turns into nothing more than a speed war, whoever goes first wins, with very little room for creative play.

The pacing doesn’t help either. Matches are long, predictable, and often boil down to the same four-button rotation, over and over again. While the addition of modifiers is a step in the right direction, they rarely shift the meta enough to matter. One recent exception, the 25% shield modifier, did force some interesting team changes. But even that variety was short-lived, as players quickly adapted and fell back into predictable patterns.

At its worst, Brawl becomes the very definition of autopilot gameplay. And for a mode that asks so much time from players, that’s a dangerous place to be.

Another major contributor to the repetition is the overuse of group attacks. Nearly every top-performing creature in Brawl comes equipped with some kind of group-damaging move, and in a mode where you're fighting a 2 by 2 grouping of enemies, these abilities naturally rise to the top. The result? Strategy goes out the window, and team variety disappears. Players simply build around whatever group attackers hit the hardest and survive the longest.

This makes the meta feel even more suffocating. Because if you're not using group attackers, you're at a disadvantage, and if everyone is using them, every match feels the same. There's little incentive to try something different.

If Brawl is going to evolve into a healthy, long-term mode, these creatures either need to be limited on rosters or restricted per match. Otherwise, we’ll continue to see the same predictable battles week after week.

The Good in Brawl

For all its flaws, Brawl Mode does have value, especially for a certain group of players. Not everyone is chasing top-tier rewards or grinding for every resource. Some just want a stress-free, pressure-free way to play Jurassic World Alive without the headaches of the arena.

And for them, Brawl delivers.

It’s a convenient way to get your Daily Battle Incubator done, fill incubator slots, and keep your game rhythm going without worrying about matchmaking, trophy losses, or swap meta frustrations. That alone makes it a worthwhile feature for a lot of casual or arena-fatigued players.

That’s why I don’t want to see Ludia pull Brawl like they have with other experimental modes in the past. It has a foundation worth building on, it just needs direction. With the right adjustments, Brawl could evolve into something that serves both casual and competitive players long-term.

But to get there, changes need to happen.

The Fixes Brawl Desperately Needs to its Currency

If casual players, the ones who just want to skip the arena and still make daily progress, are truly the audience Ludia is targeting with Brawl, then it makes no sense to place rewards behind massive, unrealistic grind walls. The current reward ceilings are completely misaligned for casual players and will kill the game for hardcore players.

And the thing is, Ludia had it right the first time.

The initial iteration of Brawl’s reward system struck a much better balance. The rewards were good, not game-breaking, but exciting enough to chase, and the grind required to get them felt fair. Players wanted to push a little extra without feeling overwhelmed or exhausted. There was just enough incentive without the burnout.

This current version? It won’t last.

The grind is too steep, the repetition is too heavy, and even the most dedicated players are starting to question whether it’s worth it. And trust me, this is coming from someone who has consistently supported Ludia and wants this game to thrive. But even I’m burning out.

If Ludia wants Brawl to have a future, they need to go back to what worked, listen to their players, and make adjustments that turn this mode into a sustainable part of the game, not just another failed experiment.

On top of these structural changes, the grind itself should feel rewarding, for those who choose to commit to it. If players are willing to push through the hours of battles, they should walk away with something that reflects that effort. Whether that means increasing the number of crests earned per incubator, adding Brawl progress to Daily Battle Incubators, or offering timed bonuses during play windows, there are plenty of ways to expand on the system without making it exploitable.

The goal isn’t to make Brawl easy.

It’s to make it worthwhile, for everyone. For casuals who just want to log in and feel productive, and for grinders who are willing to push further for top-tier rewards.

But it has to be balanced.

There has to be a limit to what this mode gives out, or it risks breaking the game economy and alienating both ends of the player base. Everything in moderation, that’s the only way a game mode like this survives the test of time. You can’t let Brawl become so unrewarding that people ignore it… or so rewarding that it breaks the game for everyone else.

One of the simplest solutions? Cosmetic exclusives.

Keeping rewards like creature skins, emotes, or profile badges for the grinders, beyond what’s considered fair for average players and mid grinders, would give dedicated users something to strive for without upsetting the balance of the game. These kinds of rewards don’t impact gameplay, but they still offer a strong sense of achievement, and for some players, that’s more than enough.

Fixing the Mechanics That Hold Brawl Back

Beyond rewards and pacing, Brawl Mode also suffers from mechanical issues that make it feel more like a daily obligation than a dynamic gameplay experience. Here’s what needs to change on a mechanical level:

- Roster Rotation

Having the same creature pool all month long creates a stale meta. Weekly or biweekly rotation of available creatures could instantly bring freshness and reduce mirror matches. This worked before, even just removing one or two dominant creatures on certain days made a noticeable difference in variety and strategy. (This would be a harder option for some, so it would probably be towards the bottom of potential fixes)

- Limit Group Attacks

Group attacks dominate Brawl because of the wave-based format. Limiting how many can be used per team, or applying diminishing returns, would promote more diverse team building. What if we were only allowed one group attacker per row? Or had to place them in the back row only? Small changes like this could have a large impact on creativity and balance.

- Reworking the Modifiers

Right now, most modifiers focus on basic buffs or debuffs. But they could go so much further. Imagine modifiers that apply bleed each turn, or introduce rend damage if you use certain classes. Themed modifiers could make each week feel different and push players to rethink their lineups.

- Introduce Strategy Elements

Brawl lacks any real decision-making mid-fight. What if row selection was based on class types? Or what if your lineup earned temporary buffs based on synergy, like running all Fierce or all Cunning? Adding even small layers of strategy would make Brawl feel less like button-mashing and more like actual team-building.

- Add PvE Elements and Bots to Support Players

Adding PvE or AI-controlled battles could bring real benefits on several levels. For starters, implementing a “pity-bot” system, where players are matched against an easier AI opponent after a certain number of losses, could help prevent discouragement and give struggling players a chance to still earn rewards. This would improve retention without compromising the challenge for more competitive players.

On the flip side, a PvE boss battle after a certain number of victories could serve as a fun bonus. The boss could scale in difficulty and offer larger crest or catalyst rewards with each win. It would add a fresh wrinkle to the daily grind, giving players something to look forward to beyond just the standard wave format.

- Speed Up Animations and Transitions

Finally, the pacing itself could use a tune-up. Matches already take long enough. Reducing animation time, cutting unnecessary transitions, and making everything feel snappier would help make Brawl more enjoyable, especially for those grinding multiple matches in one session.

Conclusion: A Mode Worth Saving

Of course, all these changes, from reward adjustments to mechanical fixes, go hand in hand. You can’t just tweak one piece and expect the entire mode to improve. Brawl needs a holistic update if it’s going to grow into the long-term feature many players hoped it would be.

We understand that big changes take time. But transparency and open dialogue go a long way, and so does being willing to listen to the community. At its core, Brawl can work. It fills a space in the game that some players really need. But if it's going to survive, let alone thrive, it needs to become more than just a grind fest with great rewards locked behind impossible walls.

There’s still time to course-correct. And we’re hopeful Ludia will take the feedback seriously, not just from us, but from the entire player base. We all want Brawl to succeed.

Now let’s make it something worth playing.

💬 We want to hear from you!

This is, of course, an opinion piece based on my own experiences and feedback from players within the endgame meta. Your perspective matters too. Let us know your thoughts on Brawl Mode in the comments: what would make it more enjoyable, more rewarding, or more sustainable for you?

Or, if you actually enjoy how Brawl works now, we’d love to hear that as well. Let’s keep the discussion going and work together to help shape a better version of this mode for all players.