T4 · LegendaryMeta · B-TierExplosive

Brotato Explosive Shells

Tier 4 item · 15 builds in our database · Unlock: Win a run with Artificer

Explosive Shells boosts your explosion damage and size while slightly reducing your overall damage. This item excels in builds focused on explosive effects, particularly when using characters that can maximize its potential.

Item Stats

Explosion Damage+60 %
Explosion Size+15 %
Damage-15 %

How to unlock Explosive Shells in Brotato

Requirement: Win a run with Artificer

Win any completed run with Artificer to unlock the Explosive Shells item. Use our Artificer build guide for a proven loadout, then play on a difficulty you can clear consistently.

Open Artificer build guide All Brotato unlocks

Meta Usage

tracked builds (curated + per-character meta) include Explosive Shells

Auto-Tier

From usage frequency across our build pool, weighted by difficulty

Top characters

Most often: Doctor

When to buy Explosive Shells

Pick Explosive Shells when playing characters like Technomage or Dwarf, especially if you have items like Garden or Greek Fire that benefit from increased explosion effects. Aim for builds with high Engineering to maximize synergy.

When to skip Explosive Shells

Skip this item if your build relies on consistent damage output without explosions, or if you're using characters with negative scaling on explosion damage.

Items most often combined with Explosive Shells

Calculated from 15 builds in our database that ship Explosive Shells. Higher % = more consistent synergy.

Best characters for Explosive Shells

Characters that pick up Explosive Shells in our curated build pool — with notes on why the combo works where we have them.

Cyborg

2 builds

Massively amplifies explosion‑based damage and area, perfectly matching Cyborg’s Explodeborg gameplan where Engineering‑scaled landmines and explosives clean waves after the mid‑wave conversion.

Glutton

1 build

Explosive Shells directly amplify explosion damage and size, perfectly matching Glutton’s scaling from consumables and turning every blast into a massive AOE nuke.

Renegade

1 build

Explosive Shells greatly amplifies both the damage and size of explosions, turning explosive‑focused Renegade builds into screen‑wiping machines that don’t rely on regular % damage scaling.

Doctor

2 builds

Explosive Shells dramatically boosts explosion damage and size, making late‑game Nuclear Launchers extremely potent on Doctor. His sustain lets him fight near his own explosions, turning wave clear and bossing into a strength despite the generic damage penalty.

Dwarf

2 builds

Explosive Shells amplifies all of your explosion sources such as Rip and Tear and other explosive effects, letting your crowd control and wave clear keep up in high-density late-game waves.

Technomage

2 builds

Explosive Shells massively increases explosion damage and radius, which directly boosts Fireball and Explosive Turret, turning your explosive-focused Technomage build into a screen clearer.