Primary Stat

Brotato Melee Damage

Flat damage added to melee weapons that scale with the Melee Damage stat.

Effect

Adds flat damage to weapons that scale with Melee Damage (depending on each weapon's scaling %).

Limit

No limit.

Negative

Subtracts flat damage from melee weapons. Minimum 1 damage per hit.

What does Melee Damage do in Brotato?

Melee Damage is one of the four core damage stats. It adds flat damage to every melee weapon that scales with it (almost all melee weapons do, with the exception of Spiky Shield which scales with Armor). Melee Damage rounds DOWN, so on a knife with 80% scaling, +1 Melee Damage actually adds nothing – you need +2 to see +1 damage. Negative Melee Damage rounds away from zero, which makes it especially punishing. Shuriken is technically a ranged projectile but scales off Melee Damage.

Melee Damage Mechanics & Edge Cases

•Rounds down for positive values – +1 Melee Damage on an 80% scaling weapon = +0 actual damage.
•Rounds away from zero for negatives – -1 Melee Damage = -1 damage on the same weapon.
•Shuriken (ranged projectile) scales with Melee Damage despite being ranged.
•Spiky Shield is the only melee weapon that does NOT scale with Melee Damage – it scales with Armor.

Melee Damage Tips & Strategy

Tip 1: Melee Damage works best in pairs of 2+ stat points to overcome rounding.

Tip 2: Generalist's signature item (Brick) gives massive flat Melee Damage – stack it.

Tip 3: Bull, Brawler, and Knight live on Melee Damage – treat it as your primary stat slot.

Tip 4: On melee Engineering hybrids (Engineer, Multitasker) Melee Damage is a clean way to keep your fallback weapon online while structures do the heavy lifting.

Items that increase Melee Damage (19)

Every item in our database that gives a positive Melee Damage bonus. Click an item icon to view its full stat sheet on the Brotato Items page.

Alloy

Tier 3

+3 Melee Damage+3 Ranged Damage+3 Elemental Damage+3 Engineering+5 % Crit Chance-6 % Dodge

Big Arms

Tier 4

+12 Melee Damage+6 Ranged Damage+3 Knockback-3 % Attack Speed-3 % Speed

Black Belt

Tier 2

+25 % XP Gain+3 Melee Damage+3 Knockback-8 Luck

Bonk Dog

Tier 4

Spawns a Bonk Dog pet that deals 10 (+60% Melee Damage) damage. Every 5 seconds, it performs a dash attack that deals 8 (+40% Melee Damage) explosive damage in an area.

Boxing Glove

Tier 1

+1 Melee Damage+3 Knockback

Charcoal

Tier 1

+1 Elemental Damage+2 Melee Damage-2 Harvesting

Claw Tree

Tier 1

+1 Melee Damage+3 % Crit Chance-1 Max HP

Defective Steroids

Tier 1

+2 Max HP+2 Melee Damage-3 % Attack Speed

Gnome

Tier 4

+10 Melee Damage+10 Elemental Damage-20 Range-20% pickup range

Goat Skull

Tier 1

+3 Melee Damage-2 % Crit Chance

Handcuffs

Tier 3

+8 Melee Damage+8 Ranged Damage+8 Elemental DamageYour Max HP is capped at its current value

Hedgehog

Tier 1

+2 Melee Damage+1 Ranged Damage-1 HP Regeneration

Little Muscley Dude

Tier 2

+3 Melee Damage+5 Max HP-15 Range

Mammoth

Tier 4

+20 Melee Damage+5 HP Regeneration+5 Knockback-8 % Damage-3 % Speed

Mastery

Tier 2

+6 Melee Damage-3 Ranged Damage

Robot Arm

Tier 4

+3 Melee Damage at the end of a wave+3 Engineering at the end of a wave-1 Max HP at the end of a wave

Saltwater

Tier 2

+2 Melee Damage+3 % Attack Speed+10 % Speed for 3 seconds when you take damage-1 Elemental Damage

Scarf

Tier 3

+4 HP Regeneration+4 Melee Damage+4 % Speed+25 % Enemy Speed during the next wave

Wheat

Tier 3

+4 Melee Damage+2 Ranged Damage+10 Harvesting-2 Elemental Damage

Items that reduce Melee Damage (7)

These items use Melee Damage as a downside in exchange for a stronger primary effect. Useful when you can afford the trade.

Cape

Tier 4

+5 % Life Steal+20 % Dodge-2 Melee Damage-2 Ranged Damage-2 Elemental Damage

Fertilizer

Tier 1

+8 Harvesting-1 Melee Damage

Fuel Tank

Tier 2

+4 Elemental Damage-1 Melee Damage-1 Ranged Damage

Lucky Charm

Tier 3

+30 Luck-2 Melee Damage-1 Ranged Damage

Peaceful Bee

Tier 1

+4 % Dodge+4 Harvesting-1 Melee Damage-1 Ranged Damage

Shmoop

Tier 3

+6 Max HP+2 HP Regeneration-2 Melee Damage-1 Ranged Damage

Strange Book

Tier 3

+1 Engineering for every permanent 1 Elemental Damage you have -1 Melee Damage-1 Ranged Damage

Best Characters for Melee Damage

These characters either start with extra Melee Damage or have mechanics that scale around it.

Brawler Bull Knight Generalist Speedy Engineer Multitasker Wildling

Characters punished by Melee Damage

These characters either lose Melee Damage as a downside, have reduced Melee Damage modifications, or simply don't scale with it.

CyborgMageDemon

Weapon Classes that affect Melee Damage

Blade (set bonus)

(2)+1 Melee +1% Life Steal (3)+2 Melee +2% Life Steal (4)+3 Melee +3% Life Steal (5)+4 Melee +4% Life Steal (6)+5 Melee +5% Life Steal

Weapons that scale with Melee Damage

These weapons use Melee Damage to increase their attack damage or other key effects. Build around them for maximum Melee Damage return.

Knife Sword Hatchet Spear Wrench Shuriken Cacti Club Crucifix

Builds that scale with Melee Damage (47)

Community builds from our database that list Melee Damage as a core scaling stat.

Speed Demon Ghost Flint

Loud • Medium

Spearfisher

Fisherman • Easy

Stick Baby

Baby • Medium

Knife Pro

Crazy • Medium

Speed Demon Brawler

Brawler • Medium

Explosive Tank Bull

Bull • Medium

Greedy Cryptid

Cryptid • Medium

Ghost Weapon Generalist

Generalist • Medium

Melee Damage FAQ

Does Melee Damage round in Brotato?▾

Yes, downward for positives. +1 Melee Damage on a Knife with 80% scaling rounds down to +0. Negative Melee Damage rounds away from zero so -1 still costs you 1 damage – which makes negative Melee a steep tax.

Does Spiky Shield scale with Melee Damage?▾

No – Spiky Shield is the one melee exception. It scales with Armor instead. All other melee weapons scale with Melee Damage to some degree.

Does Shuriken scale with Melee Damage?▾

Yes. Despite being a thrown projectile, Shuriken's damage scales off the Melee Damage stat, not Ranged Damage.

What is the best Melee Damage character in Brotato?▾

Bull, Brawler, Knight, Speedy and Generalist are the top tier picks. Wildling caps at Tier II weapons but compensates with massive Primitive set scaling.