Brotato is a top-down shooter where you play a potato who fights waves of enemies with weapons. Each time you level up, the game offers a choice of four permanent stat boosts, and you pick one. Those boosts are the level-up upgrades, and they cover everything from damage and attack speed to Max HP and Harvesting. Choosing them well is a big part of building a strong character over a run.
Upgrade
Items
Max HP
Raises your total health, so you can take more hits before a run ends.
- Card Name
- Heart
- Tier I
- +3 Max HP
- Tier II
- +6 Max HP
- Tier III
- +9 Max HP
- Tier IV
- +12 Max HP
HP Regeneration
Heals you slowly over time during a wave, faster with more points.
- Card Name
- Lungs
- Tier I
- +2 HP Regeneration
- Tier II
- +3 HP Regeneration
- Tier III
- +4 HP Regeneration
- Tier IV
- +5 HP Regeneration
Life Steal
Gives each hit a chance to heal you for 1 HP.
- Card Name
- Teeth
- Tier I
- +1% Life Steal
- Tier II
- +2% Life Steal
- Tier III
- +3% Life Steal
- Tier IV
- +4% Life Steal
Damage
Raises the damage of every weapon by a percentage.
- Card Name
- Triceps
- Tier I
- +5% Damage
- Tier II
- +8% Damage
- Tier III
- +12% Damage
- Tier IV
- +16% Damage
Melee Damage
Adds flat damage that powers up melee weapons.
- Card Name
- Forearms
- Tier I
- +2 Melee Damage
- Tier II
- +4 Melee Damage
- Tier III
- +6 Melee Damage
- Tier IV
- +8 Melee Damage
Ranged Damage
Adds flat damage that powers up ranged weapons.
- Card Name
- Shoulders
- Tier I
- +1 Ranged Damage
- Tier II
- +2 Ranged Damage
- Tier III
- +3 Ranged Damage
- Tier IV
- +4 Ranged Damage
Elemental Damage
Powers up elemental weapons and effects such as burning.
- Card Name
- Brain
- Tier I
- +1 Elemental Damage
- Tier II
- +2 Elemental Damage
- Tier III
- +3 Elemental Damage
- Tier IV
- +4 Elemental Damage
Attack Speed
Makes all your weapons attack more often.
- Card Name
- Reflexes
- Tier I
- +5% Attack Speed
- Tier II
- +10% Attack Speed
- Tier III
- +15% Attack Speed
- Tier IV
- +20% Attack Speed
Crit Chance
Raises the chance that a hit lands as a critical hit for extra damage.
- Card Name
- Fingers
- Tier I
- +3% Crit Chance
- Tier II
- +5% Crit Chance
- Tier III
- +7% Crit Chance
- Tier IV
- +9% Crit Chance
Engineering
Powers up structures such as turrets and landmines.
- Card Name
- Skull
- Tier I
- +2 Engineering
- Tier II
- +3 Engineering
- Tier III
- +4 Engineering
- Tier IV
- +5 Engineering
Range
Lets your weapons reach enemies from farther away.
- Card Name
- Eyes
- Tier I
- +15 Range
- Tier II
- +30 Range
- Tier III
- +45 Range
- Tier IV
- +60 Range
Armor
Cuts the damage you take from every hit.
- Card Name
- Chest
- Tier I
- +1 Armor
- Tier II
- +2 Armor
- Tier III
- +3 Armor
- Tier IV
- +4 Armor
Dodge
Gives you a chance to avoid a hit completely.
- Card Name
- Back
- Tier I
- +3% Dodge
- Tier II
- +6% Dodge
- Tier III
- +9% Dodge
- Tier IV
- +12% Dodge
Speed
Makes your character move faster, which helps you stay away from enemies.
- Card Name
- Legs
- Tier I
- +3% Speed
- Tier II
- +6% Speed
- Tier III
- +9% Speed
- Tier IV
- +12% Speed
Luck
Improves your odds of better items and weapons in the shop and of extra drops.
- Card Name
- Nose
- Tier I
- +5 Luck
- Tier II
- +10 Luck
- Tier III
- +15 Luck
- Tier IV
- +20 Luck
Harvesting
Pays out extra materials and XP at the end of each wave.
- Card Name
- Hands
- Tier I
- +5 Harvesting
- Tier II
- +8 Harvesting
- Tier III
- +10 Harvesting
- Tier IV
- +12 Harvesting
What Are Level-Up Upgrades in Brotato?
Every time you level up, you're offered four upgrades and pick one. Each upgrade raises one of your primary stats, the core numbers that decide how hard you hit, how fast you move, and how much damage you can take. The boost is permanent, so it stays with you for the rest of the run. Secondary stats such as piercing, knockback, and XP Gain don't come from level-ups at all, so you'll need shop items for those.
How to Level Up in Brotato
Your XP comes from materials, the green drops enemies leave behind when they die, and from the materials Harvesting pays out at the end of each wave. Each material gives you XP and shop money at the same time. Each level-up also adds 1 Max HP on top of the upgrade you pick. You choose at the end of the wave, after the fighting stops, which gives you a calm moment to think about what your build needs next.
How Upgrade Tiers Work
Each upgrade comes in four tiers, marked I to IV, and higher tiers give bigger boosts. Some levels guarantee a tier. Level 1 always offers tier I, level 5 always offers tier II, levels 10, 15, and 20 always offer tier III, and level 25 plus every fifth level after it always offers tier IV. On every other level, the tier depends on your level and Luck, following the same rules as shop items with your level in place of the wave number. Luck improves those odds, so it's the stat to look at if you want better tiers on the levels that aren't guaranteed.
Can You Reroll Level-Up Upgrades?
Yes. If none of the four options fit your build, you can reroll to get a new set. Rerolls cost Materials, the same currency the shop uses, and the price goes up with each reroll you make. The price also rises as the waves go on, so rerolling early in a run costs less than rerolling late. You can't choose a stat directly, so rerolling is how you keep looking until the one you want shows up.
Which Level-Up Upgrades Matter Most
Damage and Attack Speed are the clearest picks. Level-ups are one of the steadiest ways to raise your attack power, and Attack Speed usually comes first in builds that focus on speed, because firing faster can make up for lower damage. Speed and Dodge suit builds that rely on moving around and avoiding hits. Max HP and Armor keep you alive through the harder late waves, so they're worth having even in a damage-first build. Harvesting pays off over the whole run, because it adds materials and XP at the end of every wave.
How Characters Change Level-Ups
Some characters change how level-ups pay off. Baby gets an extra weapon slot in place of a stat upgrade, while Captain's level-up upgrades give twice the stats. Mutant needs far less XP for each level, so it gets many more upgrade picks over a run.
FAQ
How much XP do you need to level up in Brotato?
Each level costs its number plus 3, multiplied by itself. That makes the first level-up 16 XP, the second 25, the tenth 169, and the twentieth 529. Earning all 20 level-ups takes 4,310 XP in total, so each new level gets harder to reach than the one before.
What happens if you gain several levels in one wave?
Each level still gives you its own upgrade pick, so you can end up with several choices to work through. Those picks share one reroll price instead of each having its own, so rerolling for one raises the cost for the rest. Level-up rerolls don't change the reroll price in the shop that follows.
Does XP Gain make leveling up faster?
Yes, XP Gain multiplies all the XP you earn, and items such as Scar raise it. The boost is smaller than it sounds, though, because each level costs more XP than the last, so a percentage bonus adds fewer extra levels than the number suggests.