Trunk Brawl Stars: Complete Guide, Best Build and Tips (2026)

April 4, 2026 Carl C. Stuart

Trunk is a tank-controller hybrid with 10,000 HP, a wall-piercing spin attack, and ant pile mechanics that boost your speed and damage by up to 30%. You’ll gain access to him via the Starr Road or the Early Access Bundle starting August 2025. His best build runs For the Queen, New Insect Overlords, Damage Gear, and Gadget Cooldown. He dominates Hot Zone and Gem Grab, and there’s plenty more to know about mastering him completely.

Key Takeaways

Trunk’s best build includes For the Queen, New Insect Overlords, Damage Gear, and Gadget Cooldown for maximum effectiveness.
Ant piles grant 20% movement speed and 30% damage boost, making pile placement and control essential for success.
Trunk excels in Hot Zone and Gem Grab, offering durable area denial and high HP survivability.
Trunk’s Super charges by taking damage, rewarding aggressive, close-range play in high-pressure situations.
Trunk struggles against Frank, Ash, and Kaz, but dominates Rosa and Darryl in close-range combat.

How to Unlock Trunk in Brawl Stars

Trunk can be accessed through two main paths: purchasing the Early Access Bundle for $14.99 starting August 21, 2025, or progressing through the Starr Road starting August 28, 2025. The bundle delivers the fastest route, giving you immediate access alongside the Swimming Trunk skin as part of the Summer of Brawl promotion.

If you’re taking the free-to-play route, Starr Road is your primary option. You’ll earn Credits by completing daily missions, seasonal challenges, and matches, then apply them toward gaining access to Trunk as an Epic Brawler. Finishing the Brawl Pass accelerates your Credit accumulation considerably. Completing all Starr Road tiers grants access to Trunk without any payment required.

Before committing your Credits, you can test Trunk in the Training Cave starting August 21, 2025. It’s a risk-free environment where you’ll practice his mechanics and assess whether his playstyle fits you, though you won’t earn any rewards there. Keep in mind that Trunk is an Epic rarity Brawler with 10,000 HP at Power Level 11, making him a durable tank worth investing your Credits in.

What Makes Trunk’s Attacks and Trait Work

When you trigger Trunk’s main attack, there’s a 0.3-second spin delay before he strikes enemies in a circular area, dealing more damage the farther they stand from the center. Standing on the ant piles he drops gives you a 20% movement speed boost and 30% damage increase, letting you push aggressively with every follow-up attack. As a tank, Trunk also charges his Super by taking damage, so staying in the fight keeps his dash ability ready for your next offensive move.

Main Attack Spinning Mechanics

Spinning into action, Trunk’s main attack carries a 0.35-second delay before dealing damage, hitting all enemies within the radius simultaneously with no travel time. During that window, stuns, knockbacks, or pulls can cancel the attack, though you’ll retain your ammo. The spin covers a circular area around Trunk with no directional travel, so no aiming is required to connect. Aiming does reveal the area-of-effect radius, which helps you position before committing. At Power Level 11, that radius expands to 3 tiles, increasing your reach considerably. Enemy position within the radius matters too — edge hits deal more damage than center hits. Trunk also pierces through walls, so enemies behind cover still take full damage, similar to how Jacky and Doug operate. The ants dropped during the spin grant Trunk a 25% movement speed boost and a 30% damage increase to enemies standing within the affected area.

Ant Buffs And Bonuses

Each spin drops three ant piles that stay active for 20 seconds, with a maximum of six existing on the field at once — once you exceed that cap, the oldest pile disappears to make room. Standing within three tiles of any pile triggers multiple buffs simultaneously:

Buff Type	Base Stat	Buffed Stat
Movement Speed	770 units	870 units
Close-Range Damage	1,800	1,980
Attack Delay	0.3 seconds	0.2 seconds

These bonuses stack, meaning you’re hitting harder, faster, and escaping easier at the same time. The New Insect Overlords Star Power adds a 15% damage reduction while near piles, turning Trunk into a durable frontline threat that punishes enemies who chase him into ant-controlled territory. To fully charge his Super ability, Trunk must deal 7,200 total damage, making consistent ant pile positioning critical for maintaining offensive pressure and keeping that charge rate as high as possible.

Super Charge Trait

Trunk’s passive trait charges his Super exclusively from damage taken by enemy Brawlers or spawnables — environmental hits and ally damage don’t count. The charge rate scales directly with incoming damage, requiring 2.4x Trunk’s max health in damage received for a full Super, calculated after shielding effects apply.

This mechanic rewards aggressive positioning. The more punishment you absorb, the faster your Super cycles. At Power Level 11, you’ll need roughly 7,200 damage taken — or about four direct hits — to fully charge it.

Burst-heavy enemies actually work in your favor here, accelerating your Super faster than sustained low-damage sources. Prioritize staying in the fight rather than retreating, since every hit you absorb pushes you closer to activating your next dash. Trunk’s Super itself propels him at enemies while simultaneously dropping ants that reduce incoming damage and grant vision in nearby bushes.

The Best Build for Trunk Right Now

When building Trunk for ranked play, the most consistent setup is For the Queen, New Insect Overlords, Damage Gear, and Gadget Cooldown. This combination appears in Build 5 and delivers reliable damage output alongside frequent gadget access.

Here’s why each piece matters in this build:

For the Queen activates queen summon buffs, appearing in 4 of 5 top builds
New Insect Overlords enhances ant pile effects and dominates with 3 build appearances
Damage Gear boosts output by 15% below 50% HP, picked by 32% of players
Gadget Cooldown lets you cycle gadgets faster for sustained aggression
Together, these four components support both offensive pressure and utility control

If you want more durability, swap Gadget Cooldown for Shield Gear, as seen in Build 1. However, the damage-focused version performs better in head-to-head ranked battles based on current March 2026 meta stats. Trunk currently achieves a 66.65% win rate in his top mode, reflecting just how dominant this build can be when executed correctly.

Trunk’s Strongest Game Modes

Trunk thrives in Hot Zone and Gem Grab, where his high HP and ant-based area control make him a reliable force on objectives. He’s also a surprisingly solid pick in Showdown and Knockdown, using his massive health pool and bush control to outlast opponents in both open and enclosed maps. In Brawl Arena, he fills a strong laning role by pressuring enemies with close-range damage and his dash Super, making him a versatile threat across multiple modes.

Hot Zone And Gem Grab

Here’s what makes Trunk effective in both modes:

Ant piles provide durable area denial around Hot Zone points and gems
For the Queen spreads ants across a larger area on a 7-second cooldown
Health gear boosts recovery by 50% for prolonged zone fights
Damage gear triggers a 15% boost below 50% HP
New Insect Overlords enhances ant pile effectiveness across both modes

Showdown And Knockdown

Beyond team-based objectives, Trunk truly shines in Showdown and Knockdown, where his 10,000 HP tank build and ant pile mechanics dominate solo engagements. In Showdown, his Power Level 11 survivability lets you outlast late-game circles while your 770 movement speed with ant buffs enables aggressive bush ambushes and efficient chases. Scatter ant piles through spinning attacks to disrupt enemies and trigger zone denial with “For the Queen” on its 7-second cooldown.

In Knockdown, your high HP sustains through respawn-heavy brawls while ant pile control disrupts enemy groupings. Pair Shield Gear with “New Insect Overlords” for defensive sustain between respawns. Drop below 50% HP intentionally to activate Damage Gear’s 15% boost, turning low-health situations into elimination opportunities against squads pushing your position.

Brawl Arena Laning Role

When it comes to Brawl Arena’s laning meta, Trunk’s tank-controller hybrid fills a role few brawlers can match. His 10,000 HP, 360-degree attack, and ant pile buffs let you dominate defined lanes through sustained pressure and area denial.

Trunk thrives in laning scenarios by stacking these advantages:

Ant proximity grants 30% damage boost and 20% speed increase
Edge damage punishes enemies caught at the attack’s periphery
Wall-piercing attacks enable zone control without direct exposure
0.2-second attack delay near ants accelerates trades considerably
Super wall bounces create unpredictable engage and escape angles

Position aggressively near ant piles, force enemies into your attack radius, and use your Super to control lane momentum. Trunk’s durability makes him nearly impossible to out-trade in prolonged fights.

Trunk’s Worst Matchups: and Who He Beats

Trunk struggles most against Frank, Ash, and Kaz, so knowing these matchups ahead of time can save you a lot of frustration. Frank’s 15,000 extra hit points let him outlast your damage output in drawn-out fights, and his Hypercharge survival mechanics make things worse. Ash overwhelms your defenses with burst damage and exploits your range limitations with precise attacks, usually winning by a final shot in tight contests. Kaz is arguably the most challenging matchup since both his ninja and geisha forms deal damage spikes that your melee-tank style can’t handle reliably.

On the flip side, you’ve got strong advantages against Rosa and Darryl. Rosa’s melee limitations can’t match your close-range output, and you beat her consistently in 1v1s. Darryl’s roll mechanics aren’t enough to overcome your raw power either. Your superior damage and super charge rates let you control these matchups and win reliably.

How to Position Trunk to Dominate Every Match

Positioning is everything with Trunk, and mastering ant pile placement turns him from a simple brawler into a battlefield controller. Use your spinning attack to scatter piles strategically, then station yourself near them to absorb buffs and pressure enemies simultaneously.

Deploy For the Queen! to instantly lock down chokepoints, forcing enemies into unfavorable engagements. Your 770 movement speed lets you rotate between piles quickly, maintaining frontline presence without overextending.

Lock down chokepoints with For the Queen! and rotate between piles at 770 movement speed without overextending.

Prioritize these positioning principles:

Place piles near objectives to maximize area denial
Cover flank routes with gadget piles during intense fights
Force enemies into retreat by restricting movement paths
Station near piles to leverage your 10,000 HP effectively
Use speed boosts for quick repositions during objective takes

In Heist, hug the safe. In Showdown and Knockout, dominate final circles where close-quarters control makes your ant pile network nearly impossible to challenge.

Why Trunk Wins More With Ant Control

Controlling ant piles is what separates a dominant Trunk player from a forgettable one. Every pile you place isn’t just visual clutter — it’s a zone that buffs you and punishes enemies simultaneously. Standing near an active pile pushes your movement speed past 870 units, tightens your attack delay to 0.2 seconds, and raises your damage by up to 30%. That’s a meaningful shift in combat performance from a single positioning decision.

Enemies standing on your piles take a 15% damage reduction debuff, which directly protects your teammates during team fights. Force enemies into those zones or deny them safe paths around them — either outcome benefits your squad.

Use For the Queen! to instantly reshape contested areas when the fight shifts. With three charges and a 7-second cooldown, you can flood new zones fast. Trunk doesn’t win through raw stats alone — he wins through ant pressure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Trunk Be Used Effectively in the Brawl Arena Game Mode?

Yes, you can use Trunk effectively in Brawl Arena! He’s classified as a laner, so you’ll excel in lane control using ant-spreading mechanics, Speed and Damage Gears, and Colony Scouts to dominate fixed positions.

What Movement Speed Does Trunk Have at Base Level?

You’ll find that Trunk has a base movement speed of 770 units, which classifies him as fast among Tank Brawlers. That’s quicker than Brock’s 720, making him highly mobile for his class.

How Does Trunk’s Health Compare to Other Tank Brawlers?

Trunk’s 10,000 HP dwarfs other tank brawlers, surpassing Frank’s 6,700 by nearly 50%. You’ll find he’s one of the tankiest brawlers available, outclassing Darryl and competing directly with Ash and Hank.

Which Star Power Works Best on Maps Without Many Bushes?

On open maps without many bushes, you’ll want to use the Speed star power since it’s less effective on very open maps—switch to the other star power instead, as it excels in lane-based, open environments.

Does Trunk’s Super Charge Faster When Receiving Heavy Burst Damage?

No, Trunk’s Super doesn’t charge faster with burst damage. You’ll always need the same total damage threshold regardless of delivery speed, though burst attacks do make your Super available sooner in absolute time.

Conclusion

You’ve now got everything you need to play Trunk at his best. Focus on smart positioning, control those ants, and pick the right game modes to maximize his potential. Avoid his worst matchups until you’ve built enough confidence, and stick to the recommended build for consistent results. Trunk rewards patient, calculated play, so trust the process and you’ll climb the ranks faster than you’d expect.