This candidate builds six Fists while adding Melee Damage and survival tools. Compare health and room to escape at close range instead of buying Attack Speed alone.
Character: Brawler
Selection conditions and comparison point
This editorial example targets Steam PC, base-game Crash Zone, D5, solo, non-endless play through wave 20, with enemy health, damage and speed all at 100%. Brawler is unlocked by default. The example uses base-game equipment without curses or Primal Dread. Resources were checked against 1.1.15.4; an actual clear with this example has not been verified.
This comparison is newly set at the start of wave 20, display level 20, zero materials and full HP. Its comparison seed is 20261015. These conditions do not reconstruct purchases, upgrade choices or a completed run.
Example equipment
Equip six separate tier-III Fists with no empty slots. Keep the selected starting Fist separate from the extra Fist granted by the character. Power Fists and Flaming Brass Knuckles are not included in this example.
Values below are base changes per copy, separate from the quantity column. Changes to Attack Speed, Damage, Dodge, Life Steal and Speed are percentage points on those stats. Engineering, Armor and HP Regeneration use stat points; HP Regeneration points are not HP healed per second.
FistTier 3
Quantity ×6Base damage 32 plus 1 times Melee Damage. Six Unarmed weapons also give a set bonus of 15 percentage points to Dodge, at the cost of having to approach enemies.
CoffeeTier 1
Quantity ×2+10 percentage points to Attack Speed, -2 to Damage. This is an extra investment beyond the character's Unarmed attack-speed bonus.
CakeTier 1
Quantity ×2+3 Max HP, -1 percentage point to Damage. Adds a health buffer for close-range play.
Leather VestTier 2
Quantity ×2+2 Armor, +6 percentage points to Dodge, -3 Max HP. Both copies retain the health cost.
PlantTier 1
Quantity ×2+3 HP Regeneration points, -1 percentage point to Life Steal. Chooses regeneration while retaining the Life Steal penalty.
LemonadeTier 1
Quantity ×1+1 HP healed by consumables. Does not guarantee that a healing consumable will spawn or be safely reachable.
AdrenalineTier 3
Quantity ×1+5 percentage points to Dodge. Each successful dodge has a 50% chance to attempt a base heal of 5 HP. Only one copy can be held.
All equipment is uncursed · Empty weapon slots: 0
Detailed equipment conditions
Adrenaline does not heal on every incoming attack. A dodge must succeed first, then a 50% chance decides whether to attempt the base 5-HP heal. Healing cannot exceed Max HP, and other effects such as healing prevention can stop it. This is not a guarantee of a fixed amount recovered in combat or of survival.
Growth inputs and run progress
- Comparison point
- Start of wave 20
- Displayed level
- 20
- Completed waves
- 19
- Maximum HP / Starting HP
- 48 / 48
- Starting materials
- 0
- Comparison seed
- 20261015
Manual growth contributions
| Stat | Change | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Melee damage | +12 | points |
| Max HP | +18 | points |
| Armor | +6 | points |
| Dodge | +12 | percentage points |
| Speed | +12 | percentage points |
| HP regeneration | +6 | points |
Automatic gains and losses
| Stat | Change | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Max HP | +20 | points |
Recorded permanent gains
There are no separately recorded permanent gains.
Manual and automatic contributions are shown separately. The complete state already contains their combined values; do not add automatic HP again from the displayed level. Base HP and equipment HP are excluded from manual growth.
This example chooses regeneration and consumable recovery, with Adrenaline's conditional healing added. These authored growth contributions are not reconstructed level-up choices. Automatic level bonuses and character effects are not entered twice.
The original effects sum to 15 from Brawler + 15 from six Unarmed weapons + 12 from two Leather Vests + 5 from Adrenaline + 12 manual growth = 59% Dodge, within this setup's default 60% cap. The 12 percentage points of manual growth are an editor's comparison input, not reconstructed upgrades or purchases or a proven survival threshold.
Display level 20 separately contributes 20 automatic Max HP from level increases. The table contains manual growth only; the full growth loaded with the example includes manual HP 18 plus automatic HP 20 as +38, exactly once. Unlisted manual growth and recorded permanent gains are zero. Max HP for this prepared moment is 48, and starting HP equals it. All weapon slots are filled and every piece of equipment is uncursed. Equipment, growth and timing are editorial comparison conditions, not a reconstructed run history or validation of all final stats.
Early choices and priorities
- Build up the Fist count, then add Melee Damage when clearing falls behind.
How to play
The Unarmed attack-speed bonus is already present, so compare further purchases against health, defenses and recovery. Consider inexpensive range help when offered. Keep an escape route after approaching enemies; Dodge is not permission to take a boss attack.
Conditional alternatives
Existing weapons to replace: 1–1
An acquired advanced fist weapon can replace one existing slot in a separate variation. Burning and explosions are different effects, not identical versions of the original Fist. Power Fist requires a Brawler win, so it is not a prerequisite for a first clear. Without Adrenaline, remove its Dodge and conditional healing, then adjust around recovery you actually own. Even 59% Dodge cannot guarantee avoiding a hit; limited reach and failed dodges can combine dangerously.
Weaknesses and unverified claims
Older success reports do not prove a current-version D5 clear with this example. The complete state, HP and automatic contributions for this moment have been prepared, and this configuration can be tested against a fixed target. This trial does not validate actual wave combat, every final stat or clear performance.
Review the complete example in the builder
Sources and verification limits
Read related sources as one evidence group. Distinguish older success claims from what has been verified for this editorial example.
Official change record
The official record establishes patch context and does not certify this setup.
- Brotato official Steam announcements; All Pain No Gain signed Dalloks and the EE team; individual 1.1.15.4 author not displayed
Source checked: · Applicable source version: 1.1.15.4 / 1.1.15
Related guide sources
The Steam guide credits contributions from ArosRising and SilentBobUS and links an earlier D5 guide comment by SilentBobUS. Steam, the ArosRising wiki rendition and SilentBobUS's D5 post are therefore treated as related sources, without counting them as fully independent validation. This does not establish that the entire final 1.0.0.3 post was copied. The Steam and wiki versions are unknown, and the original Google document was inaccessible. SilentBobUS's 1.0.0.3 success report was not verified through footage or a save, and its inventory was not reconstructed as this example.
- AdamsIdeas (SquashMyMouse); contributor credits include ArosRising, Poly~chan and SilentBobUS
Source checked: · Applicable source version: Unknown
- Attributed to ArosRising; community-maintained wiki rendition
Source checked: · Applicable source version: Unknown
- u/SilentBobUS
Source checked: · Applicable source version: 1.0.0.3
Separate community case
A separate author reported a first D5 clear using Fists, with exact tiers, items, growth, platform and patch unspecified. It does not prove success with this example.
- u/Akirombre
Source checked: · Applicable source version: Unknown
Guide reviewed: