Mistake Guide: Briar

Briar in ARAM: Mayhem is a stat-check brawler who forces fights and refuses to die. The mode's accelerated gold and healing amplification make her incredibly durable once she gets rolling, but her kit has built-in self-destruct mechanisms. If you misuse her blood frenzy or engage without a plan, you will simply feed the enemy team a shutdown. This guide breaks down the common errors that turn the Restrained Hunger into a free kill.

Mechanical Mistakes

  • Canceling the E channel early.

    Wrong Action: You press E to charge the slam, but you release the button too early because you panic or think the target is escaping.

    Direct Consequence: You deal reduced damage and apply a much shorter slow. You waste the cooldown without getting the knockup or the massive slow that sets up your Q.

    Correct Action: Hold the charge until the indicator turns red or until the enemy is about to leave the circle. Trust the range. The full charge is your primary engage tool and disengage tool.

    Recovery: If you whiff the charge, do not force the follow-up Q. Back off and use the uncharged E to heal a minion wave if possible, resetting your health pool for the next skirmish.

  • Wasting Q on a full-health tank.

    Wrong Action: You open a fight by using Q on the enemy frontline who has 90% HP and no intention of dying.

    Direct Consequence: You dash in, but your damage is negligible against their resistances. You are now stuck in melee range with your main gap-closer on cooldown, allowing them to peel you.

    Correct Action: Save Q for the priority target or use it to dodge a key ability. If you must hit the tank, wait until they are low enough for the execute damage to matter, or use it to reposition behind them.

    Recovery: If you Q the wrong person, immediately look for a minion to E heal off of. Do not commit to the auto-attack train on a target you cannot kill.

  • Ignoring the W self-slow.

    Wrong Action: You activate W to chase a fleeing enemy, but you keep the ability active even after they have left your attack range.

    Direct Consequence: You suffer the massive self-slow penalty while walking uselessly. You become an easy target for skillshots and poke, taking free damage without dealing any in return.

    Correct Action: Reactivate W (or let it expire) the moment you cannot reach your target. It is better to walk at normal speed than to waddle in slow motion while taking damage.

    Recovery: If you get caught in the self-slow, immediately cast E to soak incoming damage. The damage reduction on E can save you from burst while you wait for the movement penalty to fade.

  • Mismanaging the R leash range.

    Wrong Action: You ult a target, but you continue to chase them under their tower or across the map even after the blood frenzy ends.

    Direct Consequence: You overextend deep into enemy territory with no cooldowns. The enemy team collapses and kills you during your post-frenzy vulnerability.

    Correct Action: Mentally track the leash. If the target runs too far, break off. Your goal is to kill them in the initial burst, not to run them down to their inhibitor.

    Recovery: If you overextend, look for an immediate E cast on a nearby minion or champion to create distance. Do not try to walk out; use the E dash to jump a wall or create space.

Decision Mistakes

  • Engaging into heavy crowd control.

    Wrong Action: You see a low HP enemy and press R or W, ignoring the fact that the enemy team has multiple stuns, knockups, or polymorphs ready.

    Direct Consequence: You get locked down the moment you arrive. Briar has no natural way to break CC during her frenzy, so you die before you can heal or cast E.

    Correct Action: Wait for the enemy to burn their major cooldowns on your teammates. You are a cleanup crew and a diver, not a tank initiator into five people with CC.

    Recovery: If you get caught in a CC chain, spam your E button as you come out of it. You need the damage reduction immediately to survive the follow-up burst.

  • Using E offensively into a losing fight.

    Wrong Action: You use E to gap-close and slam into the enemy team when you are already low on health or when your team is retreating.

    Direct Consequence: You remove your only defensive tool. You land in the middle of the enemy team with no way to mitigate damage, resulting in a quick death.

    Correct Action: Treat E as a defensive reset first. Use it to heal off minions or to reduce incoming burst. Only use the offensive slam if you are sure you can kill the target or if your team is following up.

    Recovery: If you waste E offensively, you must commit to the attack. Lifesteal is your only defense now. Focus the lowest armor target to heal back as much HP as possible before you die.

  • Ignoring Snowball setup.

    Wrong Action: You try to walk up and W or R without using Snowball (Mark/Dash) first, especially against ranged compositions.

    Direct Consequence: You take 40% of your health in poke damage before you even reach the enemy. You engage while half-dead, making the fight much harder to win.

    Correct Action: Use Snowball to close the distance safely. Snowball -> Dash -> Q -> W is a standard combo that puts you on top of the enemy without eating free poke.

    Recovery: If you take too much poke trying to walk up, stop. E a minion wave to heal up. Do not force the engage at 30% HP unless you are cleaning up a 1v1.

  • Building pure damage into burst comps.

    Wrong Action: You rush glass cannon items because you want to one-shot people, but the enemy team has high burst magic damage or assassins.

    Direct Consequence: You get deleted the moment your E damage reduction ends. You cannot lifesteal if you are dead in 0.5 seconds.

    Correct Action: Build hybrid durability. Sterak's Gage, Spirit Visage, or tanky Mythics are essential in Mayhem. You need enough HP to survive the initial burst so your lifesteal can kick in.

    Recovery: If you built poorly, play more passively. Wait for the enemy burst to land on someone else before you go in. You cannot frontline without resistances.

  • Ulting a full-health bruiser 1v1.

    Wrong Action: You use your ultimate on a durable fighter like Darius or Aatrox who has full health and all their cooldowns ready.

    Direct Consequence: They stat-check you. They have more sustained damage and their own healing, and you just gave them a free target to dump their kit on.

    Correct Action: Save R for squishy carries or for fights where you have numbers advantage. In a 1v1 against a bruiser, you often win by out-playing them with E timing, not by ulting them.

    Recovery: If you ult the wrong target, focus on surviving, not killing. Use E to disengage the moment the frenzy ends. Do not die for a bad decision.

Closing Thoughts

Briar is a champion who punishes hesitation and greed equally. The difference between a pentakill and a grey screen often comes down to pressing E at the right time. Respect the self-slow, respect the crowd control, and always have a plan for after the blood frenzy ends. If you engage with a purpose and disengage with your life, you will dominate the Mayhem bridge.