The Expendabros Beginner Tips - Bros, Rescues, Traps, and Co-op

The Expendabros is the free standalone Steam crossover between Broforce and The Expendables 3. This guide is for the official PC and Mac Steam edition, which is separate from the main Broforce campaign and still works best as a compact, arcade-style run-and-gun campaign.

Expect short missions, fragile heroes, loud weapons, local co-op chaos, and levels that can collapse around you. Your goal is not to clear every screen perfectly. Your goal is to finish the mission, rescue enough teammates to keep the run stable, and use each bro’s weapon without blowing up your own route.

Essential Tips

1. Treat every bro as a new loadout

The biggest beginner mistake is playing every Expendabro like the same soldier. The campaign rotates through seven action-hero variants, and each one has its own weapon style and limited special attack. Some clear crowds quickly, some hit hard in a narrow line, and some are much better at breaking terrain or attacking from awkward angles.

When a rescue switches your character, pause mentally for one second before sprinting forward. Test the range, remember whether your special is an explosive, vehicle, air strike, or close-range tool, and adjust your spacing. A bro with strong burst damage can erase a dangerous screen, but the same weapon can also break the floor under you.

2. Rescue for survival, not just unlocks

Rescues matter because they give you more chances and move you toward the broader character roster. The campaign is short, but enemies, saws, artillery, and boss setups can kill a careless player instantly. A safe rescue is usually worth the detour because it gives you another chance against the hazards ahead.

Do not chase every prisoner the moment you see them. First clear the nearest shooter, check whether the cage sits above a pit or explosive object, then open it from a controlled angle. If you free someone while standing in a bad spot, the character switch can leave you with a weapon you were not ready to use.

3. Let destructible terrain solve fights

The Expendabros shares Broforce’s love of breakable terrain. Walls, towers, floors, and explosive props are not just scenery; they are tools. Shooting through a wall can open a safer route, dropping enemies through broken ground can thin a crowd, and blasting a shortcut can avoid a trap-heavy platform sequence.

The danger is overdoing it. If you tunnel without watching the screen edge, you can trap yourself below the intended route or open a fall you cannot recover from. Break terrain with a purpose: create a firing angle, remove cover, reach a rescue, or bypass a packed position. Random destruction is fun, but controlled destruction wins missions.

4. Respect saws and artillery more than basic enemies

Regular soldiers are dangerous because they interrupt your rhythm, but the stage hazards are what punish autopilot. Lumber-mill saws, mounted weapons, bombardment, explosive chain reactions, and falling terrain can kill faster than a normal shootout. When the screen gets busy, hazards become the real boss.

Before entering a crowded area, look for moving blades, barrels, turrets, and trucks. Clear enemies from cover, then cross hazards when the route is stable. If you are in co-op, call out saws and explosives before everyone piles into the same narrow gap. Most messy deaths come from players surviving the enemy wave and then walking into the environment.

5. Use specials before you are cornered

Special attacks are limited, so it is tempting to hoard them. That habit often gets you killed. A good special attack prevents a bad situation from forming: it deletes a cluster, breaks an armored position, opens a wall, or buys time near a boss. Waiting until bullets and explosions already fill the screen makes the special harder to aim and easier to waste.

Use specials when a fight has clear value. If a truck is feeding enemies, a boss is exposed, or a packed platform blocks the path, spend the tool. Save it only when the current area is already under control. A clean special is better than dying with the perfect answer still unused.

6. Keep moving, but stop sprinting blindly

The game rewards momentum. Standing still lets enemies line up shots, and many characters become safer when you jump, climb, or shoot from changing angles. Movement also helps in boss arenas, where staying under one threat too long can box you in.

Momentum is not the same as panic-running. Sprint into a screen only after you know where the next platform, enemy cluster, or safe route sits. If you see a rescue below you, a saw ahead, and shooters above, slow down and solve the layout in order. Fast players survive because they read the screen quickly, not because they ignore it.

7. Use co-op spacing instead of stacking

Up to four players can turn The Expendabros into a spectacular mess. The best co-op habit is spacing. One player can open terrain, another can cover high enemies, and another can move toward the rescue or objective. If everyone stands on the same tile, one explosion or saw can erase the whole squad.

Let the player with the safest angle start a fight. Avoid firing explosives through teammates’ paths. Keep the group on the same section of the map so broken terrain does not strand someone behind the others. Co-op is strongest when players divide jobs without drifting off-screen.

8. Treat speed tricks as optional tools

Advanced routes use character rerolls, minigun flight, boss fast kills, and very specific level skips. Those tricks can be powerful, but they are not required for a first clear. Some rely on character choice, precise positioning, or unusual spawn behavior, which makes them risky if you do not already understand the normal mission path.

Start with clean fundamentals: rescue safely, identify hazards, use specials early, and learn which bro handles which situation. Once the campaign feels consistent, experiment with faster character choices and boss positioning. The short mission structure makes replay practice painless.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Firing explosives at your own feet - Many weapons and specials damage the terrain around you, so close-range panic shots can open a pit or set off a chain reaction.
2. Opening rescue cages from unsafe angles - A rescue can switch your character immediately, and switching while surrounded can turn a good pickup into a death.
3. Running under saw blades without checking timing - Lumber-mill hazards punish speed more harshly than basic enemies, especially in crowded screens.
4. Hoarding special attacks through major threats - Limited specials are meant to remove dangerous clusters, trucks, bosses, and blocked routes before they overwhelm you.
5. Ignoring destructible cover - Shooting through walls or floors can create safer angles, while fighting every enemy head-on wastes the game’s strongest tool.
6. Stacking all co-op players in one lane - One explosion, collapsing floor, or hazard can wipe out several players when everyone uses the same route.
7. Dropping into lower terrain without an exit - Tunneling and shortcuts are useful only if you can still climb, jump, or break back toward the mission route.
8. Forcing a speedrun trick during a first clear - Rerolls, flight tech, and boss skips become useful after you understand normal enemy and hazard placement.
9. Shooting before identifying explosive props - Random fire can detonate barrels or vehicles before you are ready for the blast.

Summary

Category	Top Tip
Bros	Relearn your range and special every time a rescue changes your character.
Rescues	Take safe rescues for extra chances, but clear immediate danger first.
Terrain	Break walls and floors deliberately to create angles and shortcuts.
Hazards	Treat saws, artillery, and chain reactions as bigger threats than basic soldiers.
Co-op	Spread out, cover different angles, and regroup before extraction.