Stats can be confusing in Mario & Luigi Brothership, even to an avid RPG player, due to Nintendo’s use of goofy and weird names to describe some of its mechanics.
While some of the basic stats on offer might be easy to work out, there are equally things like STACHE and SPEED that only offer numbers without telling you exactly what each does. So what’s the deal?
What do stats and STACHE mean in Mario & Luigi Brothership?
| Individual Stat | Description |
|---|---|
| HP | The amount of health the character has. |
| BP | Think of it as your Stamina/Magic meter in other RPGs. It’s Required to perform special Bros. Attacks and the more you have, the more special attacks you can perform. |
| POW | The base damage for each character. |
| DEF | Defense determines how much basic defense you have against enemy attacks. You can increase this further with equipment. |
| SPEED | The quicker the character is, the more likely they can attack first, so long as they are faster than enemies, too. |
| STACHE | Luck stat that affects the odds of landing a LUCKY attack, which happens once you perform an excellent combo. Think of it like extra crit damage. |
All of these attributes level up naturally in Mario & Luigi Brothership as you level up, but there are some extra ways to level them up, too. Outside of exp gains, you can use Beans to increase specific stats or equip certain accessories.
STACHE is probably the stat most people are confused by when they first see it, and it’s also the one statistic that rarely levels up. It’s good to increase STACHE for those extra hits of damage, but honestly, you’d be better suited putting more effort into basic HP, POW, and DEF over everything else.
STACHE is equally important for Lucky Star challenges, which tasks you with getting 250 LUCKY ratings. So, if you’re trying to complete that challenge, max out one of your brothers (maybe Luigi) with STACHE stats to help get that Lucky Star.
What stats should you prioritize in Mario & Luigi Brothership?
Mario and Luigi may seem alike, but they have their distinct ways of playing. If you wanted to break it down into RPG terms, Mario will be your main DPS threat, while Luigi can act more like a Support/Tank.
I built Mario more like a glass cannon, focusing on BP, POW, and SPEED to deal lots of damage with basic and special Bros. attacks. At the same time, Luigi was more focused on HP and DEF to be a good frontline to take on hits and revive Mario if he ever got knocked out.
Of course, you might want a complete attack-based duo or play more defensively, but I did this for my playthrough.
