Anonymous at Sat, 11 Mar 2023 22:58:34 UTC No. 138789

Slightly-belated fight results post:
>Riptide > Captain Shrederator
That wasn't a fight. That wasn't even a clinic. That was straight-up televised murder. Riptide put a massive target on its back for this fight. Looks like we got ourselves a bona fide villain here. At least the Leddit salt is funny. Also, Shederator's schedule doesn't get better with Jackpot up last.
>Deathroll > Mammoth
If Mammoth couldn't beat this season's Valkyrie, it had no real shot here. Deathroll was simply the better bot. Mammoth still has a decent shot at a bubble position in the tourney with a winnable Kraken fight inbound.
>Emulsifier > Banshee
Emulsifier was due for a win, and Banshee was the perfect target. It may end up being too little, too late with Quantum being its last fight. Banshee gets Blip, RIP.
>Copperhead > Kraken
Kraken still has wicked mobility issues, so the much more controlled Copperhead was able to rack up an easy win. Kraken's all but out of tourney contention now, while Copperhead could wrap up a high seed.
>Horizon > Shatter
This was just a build mismatch for Shatter. Horizon's weird frame made it hard for Shatter to get any good hits on. Perhaps the giant sword would have been a better weapon choice here... Nice to see Horizon live up to its (very limited) potential. Still, Horizon needs a miracle to make the bracket at this point. Shatter gets an easy fight in Ominous next, though it may not be enough.
>Ominous > Shreddit Bro
Well, that was one of the fights of all time. When you feel a need to advertise another fight during the fight to fill in commentary, you know you've got a snoozer. Neither bot looked remotely tourney-ready.
>Whiplash > Monsoon
It took 3 fights, but Whiplash finally ended up being sturdy enough to win a fight in a must-win scenario. Its strength of schedule should allow it to make the tourney, just not in an optimal position. Monsoon is in a similar position, also having only one win and a rough final fight.

Anonymous at Sat, 11 Mar 2023 23:35:58 UTC No. 138791

>>138789
Riptide autist stepping confidently into the heel gimmick. Fan heat, backstage heat, he wants it all.

Anonymous at Sun, 12 Mar 2023 00:04:47 UTC No. 138795

New thread , impressive.

Dave Mechzer !cfKJ///CiI at Sun, 12 Mar 2023 06:19:44 UTC No. 138824

OFFICIAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 8 STAR RATINGS
E1
>Witch Doctor V Ribbot - 3 Stars
>Captain Shred V Quantum - 2.5 Stars
>Gruff V Ripperoni - 2.5 Stars
>Shatter V Huge - 3 Stars
>Glitch V Riptide - 2 Stars
>Gigabyte V Free Shipping - 2 Stars
>Minotaur V Tantrum - 3 Stars

E2
>Hypershock V Sawblaze - 3 Stars
>Fusion V Emulsifier - 4 Stars
>Mammoth V Valkyrie - 1 Star
>Madcatter V Whiplash - 2.5 Stars
>Banshee V Switchback - 2 Stars
>Hijinx V Big Dill - 1 Star
>Blip V End Game - 3 Stars

E3
>Death Roll V Cobalt - 3 Stars
>Ominous V Claw Viper - 2.5 Stars
>Copperhead V Bloodsport - 2 Stars
>Lock-Jaw V Malice - 2.5 Stars
>Lucky V Triton - 3 Stars
>Skorpios V Jackpot - 2.5 Stars
>Hydra V Rotator - 2.5 Stars

E4
>Monsoon V Black Dragon - 3 Stars
>Malice V Emulsifier - 2 Stars
>Starchild V Overhaul - 2 Stars
>Gruff V Quantum - 2 Stars
>Kraken V Beta - 1 Star
>Horizon V Shreddit Bro - 1 Star
>Whiplash V Hypershock - 3 Stars

E5
>Minotaur V Free Shipping - 3 Stars
>Ribbot V Claw Viper - 3 Stars
>Sawblaze V Lock-Jaw - 2.5 Stars
>Huge V Blip - 3 Stars
>Fusion V Witch Doctor - 4 Stars
>Double Tap V Doomba - 2 Stars
>Riptide V Mad Catter - 2.5 Stars

E6
>End Game V Ripperoni - 3 Stars
>Switchback V Deathroll - 2.5 Stars
>Hijinx V Captain Shred - 1 Star
>Jackpot V Rotator - 2.5 Stars
>Big Dill V Skorpios - 2 Stars
>Valkyrie V Banshee - 1 Star
>Tantrum V Hydra - 2.5 Stars

E7
>Bloodsport V Gigabyte - 2.5 Stars
>Claw Viper V Overhaul - 3 Stars
>Horizon V Monsoon - 2 Stars
>Starchild V Mammoth - 2 Stars
>Triton V Copperhead - 2.5 Stars
>Lucky V Kraken - 2.5 Stars
>Minotaur V Cobalt - 5 Stars

E8
>Free Shipping V Hydra - 3 Stars
>Huge V Fusion - 2.5 Stars
>Lock-Jaw V Glitch - 2 Stars
>Beta V Shatter - 2.5 Stars
>Quantum V Black Dragon - 2.5 Stars
>Terrortops V Slammo - 2 Stars
>Tantrum V Blip - 3 Stars

Dave Mechzer !cfKJ///CiI at Sun, 12 Mar 2023 06:34:30 UTC No. 138828

>>138824
E9
>Gruff V Witch Doctor - 2.5 Stars
>Malice V Valkyrie - 2 Stars
>Madcatter V Big Dill - 4 Stars
>Ribbot V Jackpot - 3 Stars
>Skorpios V Sawblaze - 2 Stars
>Ripperoni V Hijinx - 2.5 Stars
>End Game V Hypershock - 3 Stars

E10
>Riptide V Captain Shred - 2.5 Stars
>Mammoth V Deathroll - 2 Stars
>Banshee V Emulsifier - 2 Stars
>Copperhead V Kraken - 2.5 Stars
>Horizon V Shatter - 2 Stars
>Ominous V Shreddit Bro - 0 Stars
>Whiplash V Monsoon - 3 Stars

And for some stats
>Episode 5 was the highest overall episode 20/35 stars
>Episode 4 and 10 were tied lowest overall at 14 stars
>Minotaur had the highest star total (11) with Cobalt having the highest average star ratings (4)
>Shreddit Bro had the lowest star total (1) and lowest star average (0.5) with Ominous (T 2.5 - A 1.25) and Hijinx (T 4.5 - A 1.5) behind them
>Big Dill had the highest star differential (peak of 4, low of 1) while Ribbot were most consistent (3 stars over 3 matches) with Glitch/Starchild (both 2 stars over 2 matches) and Rotator (2.5 stars over 2 matches) behind them
Yes, I am autistic
Yes, I need to lose weight
Yes, I need to gain height
Yes, I need to hit the showers
No, I won't get a clue

Anonymous at Sun, 12 Mar 2023 16:11:45 UTC No. 138848

>>138828
this is groundbreaking stuff dude, thank you for sharing your findings! do you have an archive of past seasons also?

Anonymous at Sun, 12 Mar 2023 20:40:02 UTC No. 138861

>>138789
>Riptide > Captain Shrederator
I don't think Riptide did anything wrong here,
shred team was moaning about unnecessary damage , "they don;t care".

Dave Mechzer !cfKJ///CiI at Sun, 12 Mar 2023 21:16:48 UTC No. 138864

>>138848
Not yet, there are a few logistical differences with doing the earlier seasons when you get into Youtube matches, bots not getting full fight cards, rumbles etc. I was originally doing this for UK Robot Wars but I decided to focus my time there on making some sort of guide/match list like pic rel

Anonymous at Sun, 12 Mar 2023 23:25:09 UTC No. 138875

>>138861
I half-agree. Riptide already won a few hits before the fight ended. They got to invert the captain as their strategy was, so everything else was purely spectacle. It was good from a pure carnage perspective, but as has been mentioned elsewhere, team Shrederator had more or less already given up, and Riptide's continued aggressive ended up needlessly costing thousands. There was no "Hit me again", nor any chance of Shrederator making a comeback if they stopped getting hit. So dick move, given the circumstances? Sure. As egregious as some people are making it out to be? Absolutely not. At least Riptide v. Black Dragon should be fun.

Anonymous at Mon, 13 Mar 2023 12:38:56 UTC No. 138932

>>138789
I don't care for Riptide anymore, not with all the yelling and he's been censored for saying "fuck"at least twice.

Anonymous at Mon, 13 Mar 2023 13:15:22 UTC No. 138934

>>138932
There is a really load annoying guy with sunglasses and baseball cap on shatter and emulsifier team.

Anonymous at Mon, 13 Mar 2023 15:02:41 UTC No. 138936

>>138864
nice.
i think this thread is long lasting and slow moving enough to support polls or whatever community input you require, and people will appreciate it for sure.

Anonymous at Mon, 13 Mar 2023 16:41:59 UTC No. 138941

I asked this during last weeks fight card but i was wondering about how "real" does the sport feel? There is no doubt that these are seriously powerful combat robots, but thats the thing they are robots, easily controlled and manipulated. lot easier to "script" a match than you might think. not saying any matches so far have been, but i personally have some sneaking suspicions about certain storylines. plus the fact that none of this is live and happens months prior makes me lower my feeling of genuineness of the sport

Anonymous at Mon, 13 Mar 2023 17:41:01 UTC No. 138943

>>138941
i know what you mean, it'd be really easy for the robojannies to selectively jam one team's controller frequency and then blame it on muh static discharge. that's why eventually i'd like to see a move to autonomous robot battles which removes that issue completely.

Anonymous at Mon, 13 Mar 2023 17:42:56 UTC No. 138944

>>138941
If anything it would be harder to "script" robots than it would for people. I don't doubt any of the fights or outcomes, although the not live aspect is fair. It's clear that the cut that makes TV often doesn't tell the whole story and may emphasize things. The storylines or whatever are definitely played up to some degree.

Anonymous at Mon, 13 Mar 2023 18:49:38 UTC No. 138950

>>138787
I remember watching this when I was little. Can’t believe it’s still a thing.

Anonymous at Mon, 13 Mar 2023 19:01:31 UTC No. 138954

>>138950
Well it quit being a thing on TV for about 15 years in the interim

Anonymous at Mon, 13 Mar 2023 22:31:52 UTC No. 138966

>>138941
Matches are real, storylines are tweaked by production to be as engaging as possible.
Since the revival era Battlebots has been subject to game show laws that prevent fixing results, it's why the hazards are automated/activated by the teams now. If production even thought to tell a team to take a dive they'd be able to sue them.

Anonymous at Tue, 14 Mar 2023 00:41:44 UTC No. 138984

>>138941
The fights are legit, the storylines are fluffed up for drama's sake.

On that note, since we're on a mini-break, I decided to try to tier every bot in terms of how likely I see them making the tourney. I tiered based on W-L record, strength of schedule, and upcoming fights (and their realistic odds of winning said fights). It isn't necessarily an indication of how the good the bots actually are, otherwise something like Tantrum would be higher up. I'll probably revisit it after another 2 or so episodes. A quick primer of the tiers:
>Fighting for top seeding
Self-explanatory.
>Tourney Bound
Pretty much all but locked in, either due to having a good enough record as-is (e.g. Claw Viper) or having a cupcake finale (e.g. Blip, who fights Banshee)
>In Control of their own destiny
On the inside looking out, but could possibly fall out if things go poorly.
>Could make the tourney with help
Basically the opposite of the above.
>Ur Fukt
No real viable path to a tourney spot at this point.
>Not eligible tiers
Bots that didn't have a full season's worth of fights, and thus can't make the tourney on principle.

Anonymous at Tue, 14 Mar 2023 01:33:40 UTC No. 138989

>>138984
Has any bot fallen as far as Kraken? It used to be a serious threat and a tough nut to crack, but I think it's just been left in the dust of the technological arms race. And then they come with this redesign that's almost worse than before. Spurk said at the end of last season that Kraken was over and they'd be coming this season with a new bot. Well I think that's what they'd better do next season, because this is just sad to watch. The sport is so much more destructive than it once was. Gone are the days of just having friendly competition with one shoebox bumping against another. Every match these days carries a much higher risk of monetary loss and psychological toll of seeing your hard work annihilated beyond salvage. You either come to win or don't come at all.
Don't get me wrong, it warms my heart to see a White family engage in engineering, building, driving, and repairing together. But a veteran team like they are has no business being such a shitter in the battlebox. They need to step it up in a big way before next season.

Anonymous at Tue, 14 Mar 2023 04:17:54 UTC No. 138998

>>138943
Like how? No radios?
I've only seen evidence of possible radio glitches twice, but both were after gigantic hits so it could've been almost anything else anyways.
Jamming signals is against the rules already, and I'm pretty sure they test for EMP or whatever from the motors.

Nobody REALLY wants to be outed as a cheater in this sport.

Anonymous at Tue, 14 Mar 2023 22:03:05 UTC No. 139071

>>138934
The Wrigley brothers can act like crybabies because they post on r/battlebots and compete in heckin NHRL!

Anonymous at Wed, 15 Mar 2023 16:36:14 UTC No. 139153

>>138989
>6-17 career record before this season
Kraken was always on the bubble of making the tourney at best, and lower-mid tier at worst. Though the current design is definitely a step backwards from the previous iteration. I think the weight distribution has completely fucked it over. The design update might end up working out in the longer term, but it needs some tweaking so it's not just effectively not walking on ice for entire matches.

Anonymous at Fri, 17 Mar 2023 03:49:50 UTC No. 139283

I know the damage was excessive and after shred was already flipped - but I fully support C/D tier bots that constantly break down or boring matches being forced into retirement by just fucking obliterating them.

Shred has been a shitbox that makes for poor matches for far too long. I hope cobalt does the same to overhaul next episode.

Anonymous at Fri, 17 Mar 2023 04:20:24 UTC No. 139284

>>139283
Shut the fuck up, Charles is /ourguy/

Anonymous at Fri, 17 Mar 2023 06:46:06 UTC No. 139287

>>139283
That's for production/selection committee to decide, not some jumped up autist throwing around daddy's money to play roboteer.

Anonymous at Sat, 18 Mar 2023 18:31:40 UTC No. 139403

Is this thread for the Battlebots promotion only? Or robot combat generally? NHRL's March of the Bots includes 3lb, 12lb, and 30lb weight classes and slightly different rules from Battlebots 250lb heavyweights-only promotion. Almost every team in Battlebots has a smaller version that competes in these lower weight divisions, testing out different builds, driving strategies, etc.
Here's the link, it's happening live all day today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQTbCkwBmD4

Anonymous at Sat, 18 Mar 2023 20:35:02 UTC No. 139410

>>139403
Is there a stream without commentary? Would love to watch the fights but I cant stand their commentators

Anonymous at Tue, 21 Mar 2023 20:45:05 UTC No. 139676

welp, still got about 10 days from now till a new fight card happens, might as well spur a little discussion. So Ive been constantly watching clips on youtube about this sport and Ive noticed how far some bots have come in design and branding. also, some more experienced robots have official websites with their own merch and media relations. theres even bot specific youtube channels with varying levels of professionality and content. I was wondering if this will become the standard as the sport evolves. as far as i know no bot on the roster is required to have a youtube or other media relations, but growth might change that.

Anonymous at Fri, 24 Mar 2023 17:54:55 UTC No. 140068

>>139676
I'm not sure it will quite expand that far, but social media presence will become more commonplace in general, as is the case with basically everything over the past ~10-15 years. Seems more likely with experienced builders than newer ones.

Anonymous at Wed, 29 Mar 2023 14:03:02 UTC No. 140603

So here is this weeks fight card, what are your predictions?
>Beta vs BD
beta is having one of its best seasons but i think it will meet its match with BD, if they have the right forks BD can win it. will have to see what hammer Beta uses to attempt to counter.
>Cobalt vs Overhaul
again this is about forks, cobalt had a great fork configuration against Minotaur but Minotaur was able to grind them down, Overhaul as a grappler will not be able to do that so they will need the better fork config to counter and grapple to stop that blade.
>Switchback vs Ominous
i think switch back easily takes this, Ominous has an underweight issue and can easily be tossed by more stable bots, which i personally belive SWB to be. also Ominous' Srimech needs an overhaul, its may look ergonomic with its design but needs a major reliability boost.
>Triton vs Glitch
this is a toss up to me, no Srimech for Glitch and very light armor for Triton make this a possible lowlight, I still think Triton takes it because of pure weapon weight.
>Gigabyte vs Starchild.
Standard sized 250lb bot vs size meta breaking bots are weird to me, its like a feather weight(125lb) vs a heavy weight(225lb), still GB takes it as SC's slam hammer does not have the range to be effective.
>Jackpot vs Cpt. Shred
might be a repeat of Riptide vs Shred but JPs forks will do the flipping instead. Shred will also look to maneuver more to avoid a possible repeat like that.
>Rotator Vs Bloodsport
We will probably not see much weapon on weapon contact due to undercutter HS vs normal HS, Rotator will have a wedge config so well see how BS can handle that, dont know what BS's blade Config will be.

Anonymous at Wed, 29 Mar 2023 20:49:49 UTC No. 140648

It's almost that time.

>>140603
>Beta vs. Black Dragon
Beta's looked good against two bots that may not even make the tourney. Black Dragon may be 1-1, but it's against much more legit competition. Beta COULD win if it can land good shots, but BD should be able to shake off anything less of that. Going with BD.
>Cobalt vs. Overhaul
Cobalt should completely shit on Overhaul. Control bots not named Claw Viper are not good.
>Switchback vs. Ominous
Switchback isn't great, but Ominous has shown demonstrable control issues. Switchback should have this.
>Triton vs. Glitch
Battle of the glass cannons. I think Glitch comes out better off in the inevitable weapon-to-weapon collision. This could easily be a double KO battle.
>Gigabyte vs. Starchild
This would be a good matchup for Starchild could actually drive properly. But Gigabyte should still have an edge despite its build being a disadvantage on paper.
>Jackpot vs. Captain Shrederator
Jackpot is fairly high-tier at this point, don't see how a rebuild Captain can realistically win this.
>Rotator vs. Bloodsport
This could easily go either way. Both of these bots are 1-1 off of competent competition. I think Rotator has durability working in its favor, so I'm giving it a small edge here.

Anonymous at Thu, 30 Mar 2023 14:17:41 UTC No. 140726

>>140603
>Beta vs BD
As much as Beta has grown on me this season, I have to give it to BD. I'm just not convinced that any hammer, even the best hammer, can out-fight an above-average spinner. It is a tough bot though, so I can see it going the distance.
>Cobalt vs Overhaul
Easy one for Cobalt, should be fun watching those Korean softboys take a messy L by KO.
>Switchback vs Ominous
Rookie Ominous by KO over sophomore Switchback, and it's not even close. Ominous has proven to be at least minimally competent, which is all it takes to shut down Switchback's fragile weapon.
>Triton vs Glitch
This one is a coin flip if you ask me. Not-Tombstone has a very Tombstone tendency to explode one or both bots with the first big hit, and there's no telling which. Probable KO one way or the other, and I give Triton a slight edge because it can still drive after said flip, unlike Glitch the un-invertible wonder.
>Gigabyte vs Starchild
Now this is a strange matchup. It's hard to really picture either of these bots doing much damage to the other. Starchild has those UHMPWE wheels that just flex with the hits, so they don't break. And the body is out of reach. Gigabyte has the self righter blocking Starchild's vertical avenue of attack. On the other hand, it's easy to picture Gigabyte damaging itself against the walls. Slight edge to Starchild by JD.
>Jackpot vs Cpt. Shred
Not much need be said anytime Shred faces a halfway competent opponent. Jackpot by KO.
>Rotator Vs Bloodsport
After a pretty weak undercard (though still better than last week's (well not last week but you know what I mean)), finally something really worth watching! A real matchup of two bots with effective weapons, durable build, and experienced drivers. This is the sport at its best. I predict a slugfest that goes the distance. 60/40 Bloodsport by JD due to Rotator's vulnerable wheels and reliance on its weapon to win a ground game.

Anonymous at Fri, 31 Mar 2023 02:07:21 UTC No. 140801

>>140603
>Black Dragon > Beta
Beta's armor new armor didn't help much. Still got tossed around like salad. Beta's weapon experienced erectile dysfunction and the match ended. Black Dragon's streak remains alive for another match
>Cobalt > Overhaul
Overhaul also seemed to have a malfunctioning main weapon. Cobalt won the ground game and shredded Overhaul's tires. Easy win for Cobalt
>Switchback > Ominous
Switchback is like a lower tier gatekeeper and Ominous not good enough to pass yet. After some more work and tweaking Ominous could be a contender
>Triton > Glitch
Glitch took a gamble going weapon to weapon and lost. The main take away for Glitch should be "invest in a self righter". Their drive has been their greatest enemy. Bargain bin Tombstone gave a nice showing and used some strategy to secure a win
>Gigabyte > Starchild
No surprises. Starchild's tires have no grip. The weapon doesn't have enough power and is unwieldy. Back to the drawing board. Gigabyte got an ez win
>Jackpot > Captain Shred
at least Captain Shred wasn't shredded to bits this time. A couple of big hits but nothing impressive
>Bloodsport > Rotator
Rotator is having an off season and can't catch a break. Some major hits were dished out, courtesy Bloodsport, and they are looking strong as ever. If they get their kinks straightened out they still have a good shot

Anonymous at Wed, 5 Apr 2023 05:56:57 UTC No. 141422

>still no archive or bbraw episode 11
Fuck bros it might be over.

Anonymous at Thu, 6 Apr 2023 21:01:45 UTC No. 141620

Another week has passed and a new fight card is upon us, who you got for this week?

>Lockjaw Vs MaDCatter
Catter will easily take this, LJ is an older version bot that cant compete with the curent field(unless its glitch of course)

>Gruff Vs Malice
Gruff will most likely be flambayed again, doubt the fork config on Gruff will matter much, Malice's weapon is one of the strongest and will likely decimate it before Gruff can use/lift them.

>Doomba Vs Dragon King
this is an alternate fight as both bots are not official participants, so this will be interesting, i know DK was made by the same guy who made Red Devil and that was one of my favorite bots so nice to see him back, i think DK will win because Doomba seems like a comic relief bot.

>Claw Viper VS Hypershock
This is might be the real Marquee match, CV fighting for top seeding, HS fighting for any seeding, Will Bales has got to drive like never before to avoid inversion, but still i think CV is too fast and will grapple HS out of the arena.

>Free Shipping Vs Big Dill
two lower tier bots fighting for even the slightest semblance of a tourney berth, should be fun, will have to see what FS's fork config will be, and if it will use Flames or not, could be a tossup but i still give a little bit of edge to FS because of Gary Jin's experience.

>Shreddit Bro Vs Lucky
Lucky can easily flip SB due to footprint comparison, fork config will decide this, and durability of flipper on lucky will too.

>SawBlaze Vs Hydra
The only way that sawblaze can win is if it leads with the hammersaw, dont leave it in the back, you must hit flipper of Hydra first before you attack anything else. if they cant do that, Hydra easily takes this.

Anonymous at Fri, 7 Apr 2023 00:24:01 UTC No. 141630

>>141422
It took them long enough. Now I have to recap shit and predict tonight's episode, as it's already airing.

>Black Dragon > Beta
The extra armor only protected Beta for so long. Having to downgrade weapon strength wasn't going to help versus a bot that refuses to get knocked out.
>Cobalt > Overhaul
I'm actually surprised Overhaul didn't get quickly murdered. Even though they still got their inevitable loss, they can at least claim a moral victory over one of the most dangerous bots on the field.
>Switchback > Ominous
Ominous looked like they had a legitimate shot, until they didn't. Pretty much an irrelevant matchup come tourney time, but it could have been worse.
>Triton > Glitch
I thought this was gonna end in one weapon-to-weapon. I then thought that Triton was done for once it lost control of its weapon. For it to win on tactical driving was the last thing I expected. Kinda disappointing given the nature of its weapon, but a win's a win. Also, no self righter is bad, mk?
>Gigabyte > Starchild
Haha full body spinner go nom nom. Erratic driving on a bot that needs good driving to actually hit things properly is not a winning combination.
>Jackpot > Captain Shrederator
If I'm team Jackpot, I'm mildly worried. The fact that it couldn't even get a KO versus a backup Shrederator is not a good look. It should make the tourney still, but it might not be able to make it past the first round.
>Bloodsport > Rotator
Did Glitch completely break Rotator's durability during the Golden Bolt tourney or something? Regardless, Rotator's suddenly in a rough position for tourney seeding. A date with Fusion might end up being do-or-die.

Not gonna elaborate on this week's fight card >>141620, just gonna do quick predictions:

Madcatter > Lockjaw
Gruff > Malice
Dragon King > Doomba
Hypershock > Claw Viper
Free Shipping > Big Dill
Lucky > Shreddit Bro
Hydra > Sawblaze

Anonymous at Fri, 7 Apr 2023 11:43:40 UTC No. 141667

I miss Rusty. :(

Anonymous at Fri, 7 Apr 2023 20:33:41 UTC No. 141713

>>141667
Our Bot

Anonymous at Fri, 7 Apr 2023 21:39:13 UTC No. 141716

>>141713

Anonymous at Sat, 8 Apr 2023 01:24:58 UTC No. 141737

And with BattlebotsRaw uploading in a timely manner this time around,
>Lockjaw > Madcatter
Solid back-and-forth fight. Lockjaw more or less proved that last season's winless record was due to a poor fight card, and that it could very well play spoiler come tourney time. Madcatter's still legit, but it just wasn't its night for victory.
>Malice > Gruff
Whatever happened to Gruff's obscene tankiness from seasons prior? Needless to say, Malice looked solid in this bout. Color me impressed with it this season so far.
>Dragon King > Doomba
Dragon King might be one of the most aesthetically pleasing bots in the roster this season. If it faced basically anything not named Doomba, it would have probably been fucked. Its weapon systems are simply too slow and weak for it to get a full fight card at this point. At least Doomba survived the whole fight this time.
>Hypershock > Claw Viper
It took a while, but Claw Viper's mortality was on full display. If it can't dominate on its speed alone, it's probably fucked. It will make the tourney, but how long will it last before getting taken out? Only time will tell.
>Big Dill > Free Shipping
Every fight this season, it felt like Big Dill was getting closer to figuring itself out, and it finally was able to put everything together this time around. It's still likely out of tourney contention, but it may have taken Free Shipping right down with it.
>Lucky > Shreddit Bro
Ha ha screws go brrrr. Shreddit Bro is not a good bot. If Lucky somehow wins against Cobalt, it should actually be a pretty high seed. I doubt it will, though.
>Hydra > Sawblaze
Hydra wins ground game, Hydra wins match. Simple as. Both should be pretty high seeds now, and both should have pretty deep tourney runs. Should be a fun time.

Anonymous at Sat, 8 Apr 2023 06:19:31 UTC No. 141755

>>141737
90% sure the BBR guy gets his source vids from another archiver and the "personal problems" thing was a cover, either that or they're the same guy.

Anonymous at Tue, 11 Apr 2023 09:32:38 UTC No. 142122

It's out! And I'm officially seething I need to update mine since Shreddit shat the bed

Anonymous at Tue, 11 Apr 2023 11:31:52 UTC No. 142128

Glad I found this thread. The subreddit is almost unbearable, especially since they started pissing themselves over Riptide and that Shrederator fight.

Anonymous at Tue, 11 Apr 2023 12:03:06 UTC No. 142130

Forgot a few spots towards the end but damn those high seeds are looking dire this year, still if Hijinx or Gruff get in I'll be real grumpy.
>>142128
Hope you stick around, been slow here since the mid season break.
r/Battlebots is always pretty dire during seasons, the Riptide shit certainly isn't helping. The overwhelming amount of Claw Viper and Ripperoni dickriding over there is starting to turn me on those teams.

Anonymous at Tue, 11 Apr 2023 16:31:43 UTC No. 142167

BB thread on wsg
>>>/wsg/5040564

Anonymous at Wed, 12 Apr 2023 05:30:25 UTC No. 142244

>>142130
>r/Battlebots
Go back and I don't want to hear your horseshit excuses.

Anonymous at Wed, 12 Apr 2023 07:27:56 UTC No. 142252

>>142244
>trying to fit in
Where do you think we get half the prefight content?

Anonymous at Wed, 12 Apr 2023 14:01:26 UTC No. 142269

The weeks go by as we creep closer to the tournament, who do you have for this week?

>Emulsifier Vs Quantum
Emulsifier has a wide base that can easily be gripped by Quantum, the belt drives on the side seem particularly vulnerable to me, Quantum might go perfect.

>Gigabyte Vs Endgame
Not much to say other than this might be a repeat of HyperShock vs GB, thought GBs countering of Starchild may suggest they have some sort of strategy against Vert Spinners.

>ShredditBro Vs Overhaul
Overhaul may actually be able to lift SHB due to its size, provided that it does not have any lifter issues. ant weight bots scaled up to 250 is not the new meta.

>Rotator Vs Fusion
Everybody thought these bots would vye for top seeds but now they're scrounging for any seed, I think I give this to Rotator if it reuses its wedge config it will be able to counter the HS on fusion, the VertS on it is too weak.

>Skorpios Vs Ribbot
Oh poor ribbot, you'll get em next season, if skorpios doesn't do anything goofy and uses its regular hammer saw they take this, ribbot may win if it uses its VS config and good driving though.

>Dragon King Vs Terror tops
Another alternative match, really running out of fluff for the schedule i see. Terrortops seems like the one in this match, DK is just a glorified Tablesaw, would like to see them beef up their spinners into real Hammersaws.

>Copperhead Vs Ripperoni
Look I like the pizza girl but there's too much manic energy within the robot, CH is a no nonsense bot that will take care of business.

Anonymous at Wed, 12 Apr 2023 18:46:56 UTC No. 142306

>>142269
Quantum > Emulsifier 3:1
Emulsifier's body type is just one big vulnerability for Quantum's weapon. Looks delicious.
Endgame > Gigabyte 8:1
The meta has left full body spinners behind. Gigabyte is the best of them, yet still can rarely pull out a win against even the average opponent, let alone Endgame. Barring any mishaps with the killsaw slots, this one is a probable KO.
Shredditbro > Overhaul 3:1
SB seems mediocre so far, but that should be good enough to put away Overhaul, since that bot is less than mediocre. However, and this might be my Claw Viper fever talking, this could be Overhaul's chance to finally show some decent control and win on points.
Fusion > Rotator 2:1
Close call. In previous seasons, I'd say Rotator wins this one handily, but it's been looking awful this season, and Fusion is coming up this season. Love to see my favorite stone-faced Ewert brother succeed.
Ribbot > Skorpios 2:1
I think this is the closest match of the night. Proven drivers, proven bots, but Ribbot has tires to spare relative to Skorpios, giving it a higher chance for a mobility KO.
Terrortops > Dragon King 3:1
This one should be fun to watch, with two unconventional designs going head to head. DK lacks the deadliness to secure a win though.
Copperhead > Ripperoni 4:1
Yes we love Rip, but I have to think CH's drum can jam up that disc and do damage to anything it touches. To defeat CH requires agility to reach the wheels, and if there's one thing Rip lacks, it's agility. Probable KO.

Anonymous at Wed, 12 Apr 2023 21:12:49 UTC No. 142331

>>142269
>Emusifier vs. Quantum
Emulsifier may be a weird shape for Quantum to take on, so I could see it having issues for that reason. I could see this swinging either way, but Quantum's been more reliable this season, so going Quantum.
>Gigabyte vs. End Game
The only way this could even be a fight is if End Game gets stuck in the forks like it did for the Ripperoni fight. Still not seeing them making that mistake twice, so should be an easy End Game win.
>Shreddit Bro vs. Overhaul
Shreddit is still not a good bot. Overhaul isn't either, but it showed pretty good durability versus Cobalt. Going Overhaul.
>Rotator vs. Fusion
Rotator's been pretty "off" this season, so I'm going with the wildcard in Fusion here, who's been performing a bit above expectations so far.
>Skorpios vs. Ribbot
Ribbot's kinda sucked this year. It needs a win here to have any chance of a tourney spot, but I think Skorp will put the dagger in.
>Dragon King vs. Terrortops
Two 1-0 filler bots, but Terrortops looked more impressive in its win, so going with it winning here as well.
>Copperhead vs. Ripperoni
This could also swing both ways, but I think Copperhead has a better shot here. Ripperoni basically needs to get its gyroscopic motion dialed in for any real shot.

Anonymous at Wed, 12 Apr 2023 21:49:30 UTC No. 142334

As an added bonus, time for an update on the Tourney tier list, not gonna be ballsy enough for a bracket prediction till next week.

>Fighting for Prime Seeding tier unchanged
>Bloodsport promoted to Tourney Bound due to the previous win
>Hypershock promoted to Tourney Bound due to the previous win
>Black Dragon promoted to Tourney Bound due to the previous win
>Lucky is basically borderline Fighting for Prime Seeding, but I didn't move it due to expecting a loss versus Cobalt
>Mammoth promoted to In Control Of Their Own Destiny due to losses by other bots formerly in the tier and a winnable last matchup
>Hijinx promoted to In Control Of Their Own Destiny for similar reasons to Mammoth
>Triton promoted to In Control Of Their Own Destiny due to its previous win
>Free Shipping demoted to Could Make Tourney With Help due to losing its previous match
>Glitch demoted to Could Make Tourney With Help due to losing its previous match
>Gruff demoted to Could Make Tourney With Help due to losing its previous match
>Big Dill promoted to Could Make Tourney With Help due to previous win
>Ominous demoted to Ur Fukt due to previous loss and consistent underperformance
>Shreddit Bro demoted to Ur Fukt due for same reasons as Ominous

Anonymous at Wed, 12 Apr 2023 23:58:18 UTC No. 142350

>>142252
>he doesn't get it from the show's website and Twitter

Anonymous at Thu, 13 Apr 2023 01:39:17 UTC No. 142358

>>142269
Pretty much agree with the general thread consensus with this episode
Really hope Dragon King doesn't get too banged up in its fight though. That thing is beautiful but it should be in the between fight crowd entertainment spot like Nightmare in the live show, not an active competitor.

Anonymous at Thu, 13 Apr 2023 02:18:47 UTC No. 142363

>>142269
>If skorpios doesn't do anything goofy and uses its regular hammer saw
>inb4 they use tombstone's blade on a handle

Anonymous at Thu, 13 Apr 2023 12:03:18 UTC No. 142404

>>142358
The one thing about DK I like is that it's saw spinners are angled, maybe builders could experiment with putting Kinetic spinner weapons at certain angles as opposed to purely vertical or horizontal. A new meta could be made that way.

Anonymous at Fri, 14 Apr 2023 06:37:18 UTC No. 142507

>>142404
I've seen some stuff at lower weight classes and also bots like Warhead/13 Black do angled spinners but I'm not sold on their effectiveness. DK's design is fucking cool though and I hope they either preserve it or make a new version that is competitive.

>Quantum > Emulsifier
About what I expected, hope this is a good example that Quantum is still lethal without the teeth

>End Game > Gigabyte
Rough that Gigabyte is taking a flop season just because Mladnik wants to play with his new toy Cobalt but it is what it is

>Shreddit > Overhaul
Good to see Shreddit actually working, third time this season a shit bot has surprised me and had a great match. Sadly I think this outcome doesn't put Shreddit in the tournament but I feel it definitely keeps Overhaul out.

>Rotator > Fusion
Again, not shocked. Fusion finally caught fire which felt like a long time coming. I actually think both bots could still make the tourney, hopefully Rotator can get that wedge repaired because going forks here was a risk.

>Ribbot > Skorpios
We're back Ribbros. I can see them bend over backwards to give Ribbot the 32nd seed now. It was all over as soon as they got the chain on Skorpios and Skorpios didn't have an answer.

>Terrortops > DK
Probably the weakest fight this episode as it dragged quite a bit. Terrortops should definitely get a full spot next year, can't wait to see how they perform in Champions.

>Ripperoni > Copperhead
Shame to see Copperhead miss the 4-0 club I really thought they'd get there this year. The contrarian in me wants to put Redditroni down here as it once again won against a better bot due to a massive driving error but KOing Copperhead is an accomplishment in its own right. I still don't see Ripperoni going far come tournament time when stakes are higher. Still dont like the driver even if he wasn't jumping around like a colossal faggot this episode.

Anonymous at Fri, 14 Apr 2023 22:47:41 UTC No. 142581

>>141667
To win just once against the odds
And once be smiled on by the gods
To race with speed along the track
Break the tape and not look back
To never have considered losing
As if to win is by your choosing
Bare your soul for all to find
An honest heart and an open mind

Anonymous at Tue, 18 Apr 2023 23:05:46 UTC No. 142974

Sexiest looking bot in the field, now it's 4-0. Amazing.

Anonymous at Wed, 19 Apr 2023 02:26:20 UTC No. 142990

>>142974
Probably too optimistic hoping that we can go back to the top bots having good designs but I can dream

Anonymous at Wed, 19 Apr 2023 14:02:02 UTC No. 143026

we are just two weeks away from the start of the tournament, seeding is setting in, who do you got for this week?

>Starchild Vs Huge
Two of the Meta breaking sizebots finally go at it, one is proven to be actually good and one is proven to be bad, an easy win for huge, SC must iterate on its "thwack" weapon or retire immediately.

>Ominous Vs Shatter.
probable lowlight as both bots are struggling one due to being a rookie and one due to just poor play, think i gotta give it to Shatter because of Ominous' rookie struggles with its Srimech, i hope it will improve next year i really like its design.

>Triton Vs Horizon
discount Tombstone will probably take this, Horizon needs a more reliable motor to spin up both its bar and horizontal spinners in a fast enough amount of time, it should also invest in better Srimech.

>BloodSport Vs Beta
Beta is an OG but theres no armor that it has that can withstand any of BS's blades, depending on the Blade config this may be over within 1 or 2 solid hits by BS.

>Mammoth Vs Kraken
again Size meta breaking bots should probably be a separate class, this sport is still in its primordial stages but im sure as it keeps growing size regulations will also come into play in addition to weight, that being said i think Kraken will have no issue going for the tires/balancing stem at the back of mammoth.

>Valkyrie Vs Glitch
Anti Srimech bot Vs Pro Inversion bot, i think you can see where this is going, that being said, glitch does have a knack for disabling weapons so may be a tossup.

>Black Dragon Vs Riptide
Both bots have similar build, especially with their weapon. i think purely because of the weapon size advantage, Riptide will take this.

I had a separate curious question, do you feel as though the "Reality TV" aspect of the show gets in the way of the actual robotics/robot combat competition? obviously the TV people want to keep up ratings so could that have an affect on the competition itself? IDK just a thought.

Anonymous at Thu, 20 Apr 2023 10:18:40 UTC No. 143089

>>143026
>do you feel as though the "Reality TV" aspect of the show gets in the way of the actual robotics/robot combat competition?
If you're talking about the focus on the teams at the expense of the robotics side of it, then yes. A lot of the show is spent recapping what just happened and building up to later fights, for the sake of drama; I'd like to see more pit segments and footage of the teams repairing and configuring their bots instead. Robot Wars did a good job of that.

Anonymous at Fri, 21 Apr 2023 00:41:33 UTC No. 143140

Well, BattlebotsRaw was late AGAIN, not even gonna bother doing predictions since tonight's episode is already airing. Here's last week's review:

>Quantum > Emulsifier
Quantum was able to control the fight, even without its teeth. Its durability is no joke, and it's secured a high seed in the tourney here.
>End Game > Gigabyte
That was a straight-up demolition. Not quite Riptide-vs-Shrederator tier, but it could have easily gone that way if team End Game really wanted it to.
>Shreddit Bro > Overhaul
Well, I slept on Shreddit, now that it's actually working correctly. Winning on a split decision against a low-tier bot still isn't a good look, but it very well could sneak into a bottom seed now, if the cards fall just right. Overhaul's straight fukt, though.
>Rotator > Fusion
Fusion's piss poor durability strikes again. It's still very much in the mix for a low seed, while Rotator should be able to secure a mid seed now.
>Ribbot > Skorpios
Ribbot may have saved its season with that win. Both of these bots may be tourney-bound, only to get murdered by actual high-tier opponents.
>Terrortops > Dragon King
Terrortops is legitimately decent. If they can fix the weapon reliability, they could make some noise down the road. Dragon King still needs a lot of work, though. Real shame, I think it may be the prettiest bot here.
>Ripperoni > Copperhead
Copperhead was fighting for top seeding. WAS. It'll still be a fairly decent seed, but Ripperoni effectively acquired both a pretty good seeding itself and all but secured Rookie of the Year honors. It could legitimately be a bracket buster come tourney time, but we'll see.

Anonymous at Sat, 22 Apr 2023 00:50:35 UTC No. 143239

Well, last night's episode fills in quite a few question marks.
>Huge > Starchild
Somehow Starchild ended up getting murdered even harder than in its last fight. Huge will likely get a top-5 seed, and it's deserved.
>Shatter > Ominous
This fight was irrelevant. Neither bot really deserved to win here, and in the grand scheme of things, safe to say both are out of tourney contention. Shatter underperformed on what should have been a perfect opportunity to show its upside. Omniwheels are bad.
>Triton > Horizon
Triton's weapon really isn't that impressive. It should have been able to vaporize horizon, but it couldn't even do that. Triton is on the tourney bubble at 2-2, but it still may be on the outside in.
>Beta > Bloodsport
Both of these guys were probably gonna make the tourney regardless of outcome, and this was more a case of seeding. Beta will probably be seeded somewhere in the upper-to-mid teens, due to a fairly easy schedule. Bloodsport will likely be somewhere in the 20s, where it has a very real shot of playing spoiler.
>Mammoth > Kraken
Mammoth really needed that win. Unfortunately, both of their wins are against winless bots, so being at 2-2 may not be enough for a tourney placement this time around.
>Valkyrie > Glitch
What a poor showing for what was one of the better bots last season. Again, omniwheels bad. Valkyrie has a decent shot at the tourney because of this win, though at a lower seed. Lucy Du simply isn't a very good driver. I foresee a one-and-done in its future.
>Riptide > Black Dragon
Well, it finally happened. Black Dragon finally got completely dumpstered in a fight. Riptide's legit, though I do wonder how it would fare if it stops completely dictating the tempo of the fights it's in. Will it be able to overcome, similar to the bluebloods of the sport, or will it just flop over and die? Guess we'll see come tourney time, where it should be a top-3 seed.

I'll probably do a mock bracket soonish. In the meantime, here's the last tier list.

Anonymous at Sat, 22 Apr 2023 10:30:43 UTC No. 143292

>>143239
>I do wonder how it would fare if it stops completely dictating the tempo of the fights it's in.
Considering their two losses so far have been SawBlaze who is basically the current control king and Defender who were a firmly mid tier grabber I think control bots will be their weakest match up.
Come tournament time my money is on Hydra, SawBlaze, Blip or even Tantrum to take them out. That's obviously elite competition, but I think if you consider Riptides strengths and weaknesses you'll find they got a schedule that favoured them this year.

Anonymous at Mon, 24 Apr 2023 04:01:39 UTC No. 143478

>>143292
Producers wanted to give that fortnite zoomer faggot an easy schedule so he didnt shit his pants. whole team's never touched a woman

Anonymous at Mon, 24 Apr 2023 14:10:50 UTC No. 143508

there's a reddit thread saying that Riptide is ruining the season for them

Anonymous at Mon, 24 Apr 2023 16:29:35 UTC No. 143520

>>143508
As meme-ish as it sounds, I'd really love to see Riptide get blown to pieces by something like Hypershock. Yes, it was great that Black Dragon's streak got broke, thanks, but Riptide fans are obnoxious as shit now and need to be put in their place.

Anonymous at Tue, 25 Apr 2023 00:59:31 UTC No. 143576

>>143508
There's been loads of those and they're all the same. One group of fags cries about MUH SHREDERATOR HE SAID A CUSS WORD ON TV while another group of retards pokes them and makes RIPTIDE... LE GOOD? posts all over the place.
Unless Ethan screams nigger at a taping Riptide are here to stay, they were toned down quite a lot in the BD fight so they'll probably be better now that they had a talking to.
I'm all for them nuking shitters out of the competition if it means we get more quality entries, the more quality entries we get the more Battlebots thrives.
All that said I can't wait to see Ethan shit his pants and cry when he gets BTFO by anything that can get under them

Anonymous at Wed, 26 Apr 2023 11:37:05 UTC No. 143719

>>143576
>Nuking shitters out of the competition

This is what Riptide is good for, like you said it'll only take good ground/front game from a bot like Sawblaze to knock it out like it did in the past.

Anonymous at Wed, 26 Apr 2023 13:56:36 UTC No. 143732

And so we are on the final week with the Tournament imminent, who takes top seeds and who takes it this week?

>Cobalt Vs Lucky
easy schedule baby vs real contender, shouldnt be a worry as long as Cobalt has a decent fork config. I do like classic flippers like Lucky but it needs a serious beef up of its flipper to be a contender.

>Blip Vs Banshee
we got flippers galore this week, i think because of its smaller footprint that Blip may be more susceptible to Banshee, however Blips durability cannot be understated, could be a tossup.

>Monsoon Vs Deathroll
Deathroll has a little bit too much chaotic energy to stably contend, Monsoons stability and anti inversion tech will help it to victory.

>Tantrum Vs Whiplash
Both are VS with a slight gimmick, WL has slightly more reach but Tantrum can square up better. Forks may play a key role and WL to me seems like it can win with forks

>Hijinx Vs SwitchBack
meh, bit of a low tier, both bots have reliability issues, Gotta give it to SWB though because massively exposed wheels + Drum spinner = disaster.

>Slammo Vs Double Tap
one final alternative fight to finish the season, i saw one clip of DT and while i like its weapon it needs reinforcement, would like to see it be a real tourney contender someday.

>Minotaur Vs Witch Doctor
we all know who these bots are at this point, both are masters at squaring up, both will Do plenty of weapon on weapon hits, the only question is which one has the endurence to withstand eachother, gotta give it to Minotaur due to the fact that its driver just wont give up.

How would you rate the season at this point? i give it a 7/10, some fights live up to hype and some dont but overall i like the sport for what it is.

Anonymous at Wed, 26 Apr 2023 18:22:04 UTC No. 143787

>>143732
>Lucky vs. Cobalt
Lucky's had the good fortune of being matched up against lower-tier competition up to now. That ends with Cobalt, who should maul it.
>Blip vs. Banshee
Hmm, Good flipper vs. Shitty flipper. Banshee's outclassed in every category here. Easy W for Blip.
>Monsoon vs. Deathroll
This is a sneaky fun matchup with two bots that could play spoiler come tourney time. Gut says Deathroll, though.
>Tantrum vs. Whiplash
Both of these guys have been underwhelming so far this season, largely due to having good strength of schedule. Leaning towards it turning into a driving match with Tantrum on the winning end.
>Hijinx vs. Switchback
Switchback is still not that good, so Hijinx should be able to sneak into the tourney with a win here.
>Slammo vs. Double Tap
Double Tap's weapon showed reliability issues versus Doomba, but I still don't think I can go Slammo here after it jobbed last time.DT it is.
>Minotaur vs. Witch Doctor
What a fantastic matchup on paper for the last qualifier match. Both of these bots have been solid this season, and it should be a hell of a grudge match, given how last season's tourney went. Minotaur's shown itself to be a better overall bot to me, so I think they'll avenge their heartbreaker of an ending last season.

Anonymous at Thu, 27 Apr 2023 21:38:10 UTC No. 143990

>>143732
Fuck off Bitch Doctor, but sadly nothing we do will stop them from making it into the tournament and we know they've already slept their way to the Final 4.

Anonymous at Thu, 27 Apr 2023 23:56:13 UTC No. 144004

>>143732
>could be a tossup
i'd say there's about a 100% chance of that desu

Anonymous at Sat, 29 Apr 2023 23:22:54 UTC No. 144233

Brindle's is up
>>143732
>Cobalt > Lucky
Not shocked, props to Lucky for surviving past the first hit even if it wasn't for long.
>Blip > Banshee
I have no idea what the fuck they were thinking with that weird little block on Blips flipper. Banshee looked alright for a rookie here, definitely see them back next season.
>Monsoon > Deathroll
Another nothing fight, hopefully Deathroll come back with a redesign next season
>Whiplash > Tantrum
I liked the post fight segment explaining why the self righter failed, Whiplash are still looking tired to me though.
>SwitchBack > Hijinx
>SwitchBack are a top attack robot!
SwitchBack looked great here, really hope Hijinx get demoted to alternate status next year so we can get some new bots in
>Minotaur > Witch Doctor
Minotaur number 1 huehuehue. I think it's their year.

Anonymous at Sun, 30 Apr 2023 22:36:17 UTC No. 144353

Well, most of those fights kinda sucked.
>Cobalt > Lucky
That was exactly the level of fraud check that I presumed it would be. Lucky simply doesn't match up well against actual decent bots.
>Blip > Banshee
That flipper block was a dumb idea. Fortunately, Banshee sucks. Their mobility isn't bad, but the weapon needs a lot more juice. If they can do that, they might at least be a bubble contender down the road.
>Monsoon > Deathroll
I was expecting this to be a lot more fun than it was. I guess the few years of absence really caught up to Deathroll.
>Whiplash > Tantrum
Tantrum has really had a tough season, hasn't it? Granted, it got a stacked fight card hence still getting into the dance, but it likely isn't repeating.
>Switchback > Hijinx
Hijinx's startup speed is simply starting to become a liability, and they lack the mobility to really neutralize that issue. Do they warrant getting demoted? Probably no moreso than some of the other lower-tier bots.
>Minotaur > Witch Doctor
Not quite as good as Minotaur vs. Cobalt, but was easily the best fight of this episode, though that isn't saying much. Minotaur fucking earned its #1 seed, that's for sure. Can they finally break the curse? Only time will tell.

Anonymous at Sun, 30 Apr 2023 22:54:37 UTC No. 144356

>>144353
Addendum: I'll probably do a bracket come Wednesday. In the meantime, here's the blank one. Also, time to debrief the bots that didn't make it in.

>Banshee
As mentioned before, Banshee has pretty decent mobility to it, but may have been one of the weakest bots in the field from an offensive perspective. Flippers are pretty decent in the meta, so it could make some noise with more power. I don't expect it to ever be Hydra, or even Blip-tier, but those are high bars to meet.
>Big Dill
As much as I shit on Big Dill earlier in the season, I think it may have gotten robbed a bit. It started to show some promise in its latter two fights, so if they come back next season with that momentum, they have a legit shot at making the bracket. Keep at it.
>Captain Shrederator
The Captain's been lower-tier since basically forever, and the fact it even made the tourney last season was proven beyond any reasonable doubt to be a fluke. I think a demotion may be warranted at this point.
>Emulsifier
Emulsifier looked pretty mid. Its schedule did it no favors, but it may need more development time.
>Free Shipping
FS could have had a shot at sneaking in if it won versus Big Dill. Getting stuck fighting Seeds 1 and 4 did it no favors. At least it was fun.
>Gigabyte
Gigabyte went from legit mid-tier bot to low tier pretty quickly, didn't it? Outside of mauling the pathetic Starchild, it looked quite outclassed.
>Glitch
Omniwheels are a meme. Glitch's bad driving turned out to be a huge weak spot for it after WD figured it out during the Golden Bolt tourney. Kinda surprising it took that long to happen.
>Gruff
Once upon a time, Gruff was a fantastic tank. Going up against powerful competition proved that it's very mortal at this point. If it didn't have such a stacked schedule, it probably could have snuck in as a lower seed. Such is life.

Anonymous at Sun, 30 Apr 2023 23:08:13 UTC No. 144359

>>144356
More debriefing!

>Hijinx
Hijinx got handed a fairly easy schedule, and they STILL fucked it up. Like I said in the previous post, it's a flawed design at this point in time. Perhaps the modern Ghost Raptor in the making? I guess give it one more season and act accordingly from there.
>Horizon
This is an interesting design that only won a match due to a massive weapon type mismatch. It will need a major redesign and perhaps some time in exhibition matches to prove it belongs.
>Kraken
If I were to make an uneducated guess, Kraken's weird center of gravity gave it terrible mobility issues, and made it effectively nonviable in a field where any bot worth their salt can just outmaneuver it. Back to the drawing board.
>Mammoth
Despite being 2-2, Mammoth's only wins were against two of the three winless bots. It's still a fun novelty bot, but at this point, it may be just that, a novelty.
>Ominous
Again, omniwheels are a meme. If they can actually get them to work properly, this team could do something. Not championship-levels of something, but something.
>Overhaul
Claw Viper figured out how to play Control bot. Overhaul hasn't. Either a demotion or not getting in at all next season seems fair.
>Shreddit Bro
You can really tell this is the successor to Pain Train. The same issues that plagued that bot, plague this bot as well. It couldn't even get a winning record with one of the easiest schedules in the roster.
>Starchild
Its weapon sucks, its mobility sucks, this bot might have been the weakest one in the roster. At least it's pretty?
>Triton
This is another bot that was probably on the bubble. It did see a bit of improvement over the course of the season, but Tombstone is it not. The weapon felt fairly underwhelming, which is kinda weird given that it looks like a pure offense-type bot.
>Valkyrie
Lucy Du more like Lucy Don't amirite
For real, though, Valk would have been a tourney lock if the driving was better. I'd imagine it will be back.

Anonymous at Mon, 1 May 2023 04:33:59 UTC No. 144388

>>143026
>"Reality TV" aspect of the show gets in the way of the actual robotics/robot combat competition?
Depends.
If it's showing the teams working on their bot, working on strategy. Something to do with the competition.
Good, it fits with the theme.

If it's some hardluck sobstory bullshit. Designed to try to get you to root for this shittter team that's going to get BTFO in the next fight.
No, I don't give a fuck.
They had a lot of that back when it first came back when it was on ABC. They got rid of a lot of that shit when they moved to Discovery with the 'fight night' seasons.

Anonymous at Mon, 1 May 2023 17:31:52 UTC No. 144433

IN THE RED SQUARE

Anonymous at Wed, 3 May 2023 10:18:27 UTC No. 144617

>>144433
"Sometimes here in Vegas, people drink too much. It isn't a secret but you don't end up with a hangover if you face this bot. You better believe it. But it's not a pina colada or strawberry daiquiri that's killing you either. Just a potent punch of Rusty's trusty screwdriver. Give it up for RUSTY!"

🗑️ Anonymous at Wed, 3 May 2023 10:19:28 UTC No. 144618

When does knock out stage start?
What schedule?
nutha on wiki

Anonymous at Wed, 3 May 2023 10:21:49 UTC No. 144619

IN THE BLUE SQUARE

Anonymous at Wed, 3 May 2023 14:10:12 UTC No. 144628

The tournament is upon us, for most bots this will be a one and done affair, for others this will be the first step to a deep run to the championship, for just two it will be the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny, and for only one this will be their greatest moment. who do you got to start things off? (first part of tournament is right side, left side is next week).

>Riptide Vs Shatter
the only way i see shatter having any chance is if they have a really heavy hammer config, other than that Riptide will easily take the ground and will launch it all around the battle box.

>Lucky Vs Hypershock
Nice to see another flipper in "contention" however HS is too proven as a real contender to mess this up, Lucky may get one or two flips in but in the end HS will take it.

>End Game Vs Tantrum
Poor little tantrum is having major Srimech issues, and also has reach issues with its weapon, EG is too proven to screw up even against a fellow champion. they take this easily.

>Copperhead Vs Rotator.
Even if Rotator has its heaviest defensive plow config, it wont be enough to stop CH's drum spinner. they are having a serious off year, if they use forks they maybe able to counter but idk if their undercutter can withstand a weapon on weapon hit.

1/2 need to make another post cause its too long

Anonymous at Wed, 3 May 2023 14:11:13 UTC No. 144629

>>144628
2/2
>Witch doctor Vs Jackpot
WD takes this, JP's weapon shape is not optimized and has reliability issues, WD's driver also far outclasses JP's

>LockJaw Vs Bloodsport
LJ has tenacity and fight but BS is another thing entirely, it will easily toss around LJ and be able to withstand weapon on weapon hits. there is no angle of attack which LJ can hit without making a weapon on weapon hit. BS takes this.

>Huge Vs Skorpios
Gonna need to see some expert driving from Skorpios for them to have any shot at chipping away at the Tegris wheels of Huge, other than that i see no other way but Huge punting them around the arena with their spinner.

>Claw Viper Vs MaDCatter
CV has had great success as a control bot, i expect that to continue with this match, its speed and weapon reliability are absolute top tier.

Anonymous at Thu, 4 May 2023 18:04:23 UTC No. 144808

>>144628
Solid picks all around. My only major point of contention is, I just can't back any control bot against any proven destroyer, even after seeing Claw Viper's success this season. I say Madcatter wins at least one.
Here's my upset bracket, where I favored upsets whenever remotely conceivable.

Anonymous at Thu, 4 May 2023 18:05:27 UTC No. 144809

>>144808
And here's my bracket where I tried to be more realistic.

Anonymous at Thu, 4 May 2023 20:17:05 UTC No. 144819

>>144628
IDK why I thought that the left-hand side of the bracket was gonna be first, and as such, the tourney wasn't starting till next week. Here's my bracket which will inevitably be horribly wrong. As for tonight's fights,

>Riptide vs. Shatter
I have no idea why Shatter's even in this tourney, given how poorly it did in the regular season. My working theory is that they wanted the funniest bot to get pantsed by Riptide. Barring Chomp v. Bite Force-tier luck, Riptide should dominate.
>Lucky vs. Hypershock
Lucky's got handed a cupcake schedule in regular season, and should be swiftly booted out of the tourney. It just doesn't fare well versus hyperoffense.
>End Game vs. Tantrum
These two have squared up twice before, and End Game won in both matchups. I'm expecting similar here, EG simply matches up too well.
>Copperhead vs. Rotator
Rotator's been suspect this season, Copperhead should be able to clean up, though I could see this swinging the other way if Rotator plays their cards right. Doesn't really matter in the end, because the winner will probably just get smoked by End Game.
>Witch Doctor vs. Jackpot
Should be a laugher in favor of Witch Doctor. It's better in every aspect.
>Lock Jaw vs. Bloodsport
Like Copperhead-Rotator, this is basically "Who gets to lose in the next round". LJ's been playing up to potential, so I'm inclined to lean towards it, though again, this could go either way.
>Huge vs. Skorpios
Skorp's design actually matches up okay with Huge, but it hasn't been terribly good this season, whereas Huge has looked as good as it ever has. Huge should have this, but I'm not 100% on it winning.
>Claw Viper vs. Mad Catter
I really do like Claw Viper this season, but it can't really do shit if it can't dictate basically the whole fight. MC should be able to keep up and find just enough wiggle room to turn the tides.

Anonymous at Fri, 5 May 2023 04:16:07 UTC No. 144884

>>144819
>My working theory is that they wanted the funniest bot to get pantsed by Riptide.
Close, they wanted the most cucked team to get pantsed by Riptide so nobody knocked the kid out.

🗑️ Anonymous at Fri, 5 May 2023 06:11:24 UTC No. 144893

Those rumours about Riptide going over the max tip speed limit seem more reasonable now

Anonymous at Fri, 5 May 2023 11:41:15 UTC No. 144927

What do we think was in those missing 2 lbs?

Anonymous at Fri, 5 May 2023 14:45:47 UTC No. 144948

>>144927
One of the Riptide members said they were trying to tape a pickaxe onto the bot as a joke. I don't get why they didn't fucking say that rather than acting shifty about it, maybe the whole team is autistic.

Anonymous at Fri, 5 May 2023 15:13:43 UTC No. 144955

>>144948
>tape on pickaxe
>adds -2 pounds
Regardless, if the organizers weren't able to find any functional changes, Riptide is in the clear. The rules allow removing parts but not changing or adding, so since the weight decreased, they were probably fine. Besides, if there were actually a major issue Discovery wouldn't have trumped it up for fake drama engagement.

Anonymous at Fri, 5 May 2023 15:27:25 UTC No. 144957

>>144948
>I don't get why they didn't fucking say that rather than acting shifty about it
Maybe they did and it was cut from the show (which never bothered to explain it) but Shitter still insisted they keep getting inspected (three times according to Riptide's interview) and that also probably annoyed them quite a bit. I don't get why the show didn't explain and instead just handwaved it with "yeah it's all good"

>maybe the whole team is autistic
Ethan is a sociopath who can't stop spurging, the pajeet comes off like a techbro who relishes in pissing people off and the dad enables Ethan's behaviour (he loved it when Ethan made the comment about Adam) probably because he's a cocky bully too.

I think at this point in the tournament Riptide are operating out of pure spite against the other teams that hate them and are upset they intruded in their heckin friendly and wholesome scene or ripped off a beetleweight design. They were polite and cordial against Black Dragon and BD took the loss well and it seemed friendly. Shitter and all those NHRL redditors who know each other well probably feel protective and personal about a cocky, aloof, autistic team with a killer bot new to the sport.

Anonymous at Fri, 5 May 2023 16:00:21 UTC No. 144963

>>144957
>Ethan is a sociopath who can't stop sperging
Ethan is the definition of "If he had a brain he'd be dangerous", he isn't socially aware enough to be a sociopath.
>the pajeet comes off like a techbro who relishes in pissing people off
I'm shocked he isn't getting more hate honestly, dudes the worst of the three. Only value he has is BTFOing himself by consistently contradicting whatever narrative Ethan/Stan are spinning.
The blonde kid who offered to help fix Shred is probably alright though.

Anonymous at Sat, 6 May 2023 14:52:48 UTC No. 145125

hey if you guys want some supplmental robot combat content NHRL is doing their event now, check it out. https://www.youtube.com/live/7MK13y7_SHQ?feature=share

Anonymous at Sat, 6 May 2023 17:48:38 UTC No. 145157

Anyone getting fakes vibes lately
Its like they are building up riptide as a big bad
and then A hero goodie team will narrowly defeat them in the final

Anonymous at Sat, 6 May 2023 17:49:41 UTC No. 145158

Is there a limit to how fast you can spin a spinner ?

A team Shatter dude at end of fight was like ranting about it?

Anonymous at Sat, 6 May 2023 18:53:47 UTC No. 145161

>>145158
250mph maximum tip speed is the allowable limit in order to ensure battle box integrity. Although theoretically a H.spinner like tombstone could increase that slightly by turning the bot in the right direction? Irrelevant for riptide though. The 2lbs concern might have to do with a lighter spinner spinning faster, or maybe a governor removed, idk, it could be anything.
The point is, they perform inspections for a reason, and tinkering after the inspection is obviously sus. You should not be surprised or offended when you are asked to re-inspect.

Anonymous at Sat, 6 May 2023 21:06:37 UTC No. 145174

>>145157
He is building himself up that way by his natural repulsiveness desu

Anonymous at Sat, 6 May 2023 22:01:18 UTC No. 145177

>>145157
last year hydra was the big bad even thou he is he 2nd nicest guy in the whole show in reality

Anonymous at Sat, 6 May 2023 22:31:53 UTC No. 145182

>>144819
Huh, my bracket's safe so far.
>Riptide > Shatter
That's about what I expected. Riptide looked as dominant as ever.
>Hypershock > Lucky
Again, no real surprises here, outside of maybe Lucky hanging on for as long as it did, but it was basically done from the word "Go".
>End Game > Tantrum
Tantrum was doing pretty good to start, but once End Game established some semblance of momentum, it was GG.
>Copperhead > Rotator
Once that huge chunk of Rotator fell off, it was basically Copperhead's match to coast to, even if they did take a decent beating in the process.
>Witch Doctor > Jackpot
Like Riptide, WD looked dominant against a much weaker opponent.
>Lock Jaw > Bloodsport
Lock Jaw was simply the more resilient bot here. Even with only two good wheels, it had the setup it needed to win.
>Huge > Skorpios
Skorp did a good job of chewing some of Huge up, but Huge's weapon simply was too overwhelming in the end.
>Madcatter > Claw Viper
CV looked pretty legit for the first chunk of the fight, but like I said, it needed to dictate the WHOLE fight. It didn't, so it lost, in what ended up being a surprisingly close bout. The judges at least got it right twice.

Anonymous at Sun, 7 May 2023 00:50:44 UTC No. 145200

>>145158
I've said it before but it's funny that Riptide are held to this super close scrutiny on their behaviour but Eric can act like an asshole rage baby consistently because he's le heckin NHRL good guys!

Anonymous at Sun, 7 May 2023 05:56:08 UTC No. 145223

>Makes another wave of faggots cry and seethe
Just waiting for him to win the nut to witness the explosion

Anonymous at Sun, 7 May 2023 12:55:39 UTC No. 145250

>>145182
Addendum on Riptide-Shatter: I wrote this up before learning about the drama surrounding that fight. Suspect as Riptide's behavior might be, I feel like it didn't affect the outcome of the match, and the show runners are blowing it out of proportion for drama value, and Reddit took the bait hard. Deep down, I know they'll probably get walled by End Game in the Quarters, but part of me does want to see a deep run simply because of the salt value.

Anonymous at Sun, 7 May 2023 13:38:23 UTC No. 145255

The knock out stage is way better TV than the qualifier's which draw on , this season had 15 episodes to reduce 56 robots to 32.

16 - ~19/20 knockout episodes.

15x8 120 matches

They should do it like fifa world cup and that could only be 84 matches

Anonymous at Sun, 7 May 2023 13:45:50 UTC No. 145256

>>145255
It should be knockout from the start
invite 64 teams.

ep 1 - 64-1
ep-2 - 64-2
ep 3 - 64-3
ep-4 - 64-4
ep-5 - 32-1
ep-6 - 32-2
ep-7 - 16
ep-8 - 8
ep-9 - 4 semis + fifth place runner up fight ( five fights)
ep-10 -2 final and third place runner up (two fights)

Five prizes 10 episodes of KINO mayhem.
Cut out the fat!

You could make the final fights longer.

Anonymous at Sun, 7 May 2023 14:13:48 UTC No. 145258

Anonymous at Sun, 7 May 2023 14:49:42 UTC No. 145265

>>145256

It would be kino for sure and make great tv.

But would teams turn up for that , i mean quality teams

only guaranteed one fight, no opportunity to learn, innovate improve just a maelstrom of death.
half the teams gone in one swoop. Would be it worth the effort, advertisers and sponsors would be turned off by it.

Anonymous at Sun, 7 May 2023 20:59:50 UTC No. 145333

>>145265
>But would teams turn up for that , i mean quality teams
No, it'd be like the middle seasons of classic Robot Wars where every heat ends up being an easy stomp for one robot unless someone brings something never seen before or the experienced bot doesn't upgrade their shit properly.

Anonymous at Tue, 9 May 2023 00:04:35 UTC No. 145597

>forced drama segment
Are we WWE now?
this look fake af
https://youtu.be/jBpZVgoZUww

Anonymous at Tue, 9 May 2023 02:20:37 UTC No. 145622

>>145200
>held to this super close scrutiny on their behaviour
The rules say you can't modify after inspection.
They did. Getting butthurt because you got called out on your shit. Just makes you look like a bitch.

>but Eric can act like an asshole rage baby consistently because he's le heckin NHRL good guys!
I don't know what the hell you're talking about here.

Anonymous at Tue, 9 May 2023 03:18:35 UTC No. 145641

>>145333
So entire episodes that are boring as shit.

Anonymous at Tue, 9 May 2023 03:27:07 UTC No. 145642

>>145641
Yes, with only 2 semi final episodes that are the quality of what we have now

Anonymous at Tue, 9 May 2023 14:44:43 UTC No. 145703

Now my predictions of the left half of the bracket >>144819

>Minotaur vs. Fusion
Minotaur's biggest edge here is consistent durability. Even on a good day, Fusion shouldn't be a real threat.
>Switchback vs. Malice
Credit where credit's due, Switchback has actually looked decent this season. Unfortunately for it, all 3 of its wins have come against fairly low-tier bots. Malice has a similar record against stronger opponents, and has looked like the better bot this season. With their weapon looking better now, Malice should take this pretty easily.
>Sawblaze vs. Blip
This is where things get a bit interesting. Sawblaze's lone loss came against another flipper, but Hydra's been next-level this season. This could go either way, but I'm inclined to say that Sawblaze should be able to perform well enough to earn a win here. This is certainly upset territory, however.
>Cobalt vs. Monsoon
Hard to believe Cobalt's only a 9 seed on paper, but then you remember the 8 bots seeded higher. Still, it should be able to outmatch Monsoon pretty hard.
>Hydra vs. Death Roll
I was hoping for better from Death Roll this season. While its suspect durability may not be as much of an issue versus a flipper, I foresee Hydra dominating the ground game here.
>Beta vs. Whiplash
The fact that neither of these bots have faced anything similar to each other this season makes this difficult to predict. Leaning Whiplash simply because it's only really gotten beaten with overwhelming pressure, which Beta isn't really built to do. But this could easily go either way.
>Quantum vs. Ribbot
Ribbot's been repeatedly fraudchecked this season, and I expect more of the same here. Quantum should have a fairly easy win.
>Ripperoni vs. Black Dragon
Ripperoni's weapon is very dangerous, and its driving has gotten quite a bit better since their first match. However, I think Black Dragon has the better shot, simply due to being a more balanced bot.

Anonymous at Wed, 10 May 2023 06:26:44 UTC No. 145781

>>145703
Only disagreement is Beta/Whiplash going either way. It's confirmed Beta are using the bumper car armor again, barring bursting into flames Whiplash has this easily

Anonymous at Wed, 10 May 2023 09:09:15 UTC No. 145788

Farnell(electronics supplier) interviews Hypershock (one of few videos)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBiWTeZmaWE

Anonymous at Wed, 10 May 2023 17:53:15 UTC No. 145843

>>145788
Hypershock is my fucking jam.

Anonymous at Fri, 12 May 2023 02:06:31 UTC No. 146022

Redditors shitting their pants every time the Riptide kid breathes has helped me appreciate the robots brilliant design and driving.

Anonymous at Fri, 12 May 2023 16:41:15 UTC No. 146106

>>145788
>>145843
so after 7 years and 6 iterations they're "happy" with it. Well great job, a bot that has wheels that come off if you sneeze on them, no self righting and is only competitive in the biggest jobber championship.

Anonymous at Fri, 12 May 2023 19:23:23 UTC No. 146126

I think it's been a good season. The new rules have given us both better fights that would have ended early otherwise, and shit fights that should have ended early. But overall, more of the former - I guess the problem with airing every single fight in full gave us more of the latter. They still fill way too much time with Faruq intros but overall the shows have been less full of fluff and filler. I think le Riptide stuff has added some drama in a way and made faggot redditors seethe but also has detracted from everyone else in a way. The tourney so far has been fun and I can feel the stakes. Overall, much better than last season IMO. Some of the episodes have been all timers without a single bad fight.

Anonymous at Fri, 12 May 2023 21:21:18 UTC No. 146145

>>146126
A couple seasons ago the Faruq intros started to get so much longer and fan-indulgent. Makes me really miss the short and snappy boxing-style Mark Beiro intros.

Anonymous at Fri, 12 May 2023 23:11:37 UTC No. 146158

>c-can you just back off a second
the absolute state of Quantum

Anonymous at Sat, 13 May 2023 19:24:33 UTC No. 146254

>>146126
>>146145
Faruq needs to stop smoking, though, his voice is getting really wavery.
>>146106
Weak point to make considering there are still bots like Kraken in the game.

Anonymous at Sat, 13 May 2023 22:18:50 UTC No. 146269

Very poor season/fight by BLIP, not even an attempt at a BLIP. Doubt they wil lbe back next season . What went wrong

Hydra very good

Anonymous at Sat, 13 May 2023 23:46:59 UTC No. 146272

>>146269
>What went wrong
Strength of schedule and that weird brick attachment. They'll be back next year, it's more likely Tantrum get shelved now it's been exposed so the team can bring their new clusterbot. Apparently they were going to retire Tantrum last year and only brought it because it won

Anonymous at Sun, 14 May 2023 14:46:52 UTC No. 146319

>>145641
Yeah, it'd be like watching soccer.

Anonymous at Sun, 14 May 2023 21:29:03 UTC No. 146358

>>146272
>the team can bring their new clusterbot.
Tell me more?

Anonymous at Sun, 14 May 2023 21:37:35 UTC No. 146360

test

Anonymous at Mon, 15 May 2023 02:24:42 UTC No. 146387

>>146358
2 verts called The Twins, they're demoing it in NHRL in the lower weight classes but people have been heavily hinting that they'll be bringing it to Battlebots.

Anonymous at Thu, 18 May 2023 13:37:04 UTC No. 146847

Another delayed BBRaw upload, another delayed reaction.
>Minotaur > Fusion
That's about what I expected. Fusion's lack of durability did it not favors.
>Malice > Switchback
Malice's improved weapon durability saved it here. I think Switchback wins against earlier iterations of Malice. Now Malice gets the honor of losing to Minotaur.
>Sawblaze > Blip
What an underwhelming end to a fairly weak season for Blip. Flippers kinda suck when they don't win the ground game.
>Monsoon > Cobalt
Pretty big upset here. Monsoon pretty much played this one perfectly, using their configuration to their advantage. I think Cobalt may have slept a bit on this fight, and paid dearly for it.
>Hydra > Death Roll
The inverse of Sawblaze-Blip. Hydra's also (re)affirmed its status as the best flipper in the game, no questions asked.
>Whiplash > Beta
Well, that was anticlimactic. Was expecting Beta to last a BIT longer than that.
>Ribbot > Quantum
And with this upset, the last Bong standing is Monsoon. Quantum completely dropped the ball here. They got too greedy with their bite positioning when a golden opportunity was handed right to them. They earned their loss.
>Black Dragon > Ripperoni
Hell of a fight. That durability that Black Dragon's been known for ended up bailing them out. Had Ripperoni lasted just a bit longer, it could have won. Still a very admirable performance from them nevertheless.

I've adjusted my bracket accordingly, and will do my predictions for tonight later.

Anonymous at Thu, 18 May 2023 19:47:33 UTC No. 146895

>>146847
Followup post:
>Minotaur vs. Malice
Malice has performed admirable, but it likely won't compete against a true top-tier contender.
>Sawblaze vs. Monsoon
Sawblaze's more defensive configuration should match up very well versus Monsoon, who was reliant on reach in its previous fight.
>Hydra vs. Whiplash
Hydra already manhandled Sawblaze, who is basically a better Whiplash. I see a similar outcome happening here.
>Ribbot vs. Black Dragon
I see this being a repeat of the last time these two met in a tourney. Ribbot simply doesn't have the offensive throughput to be able to have a good shot here.
>Riptide vs. Hypershock
In a battle of all-out offense, I think Riptide more or less outmuscles Hypershock, should be a fairly quick match either way.
>End Game vs. Copperhead
End Game is still a very serious threat. Its overall profile gives Copperhead fairly few paths to victory.
>Bitch Doctor vs. Lock-Jaw
WD has been fantastic this season, and I think it's the overall stronger bot who matches up well versus Lock-Jaw's strengths.
>Huge vs. Mad Catter
Unless Gassy Cat really steps up, this should be Huge's match to win. Huge counters verts very well.

Anonymous at Fri, 19 May 2023 00:25:16 UTC No. 146907

fuckin' bitch doctor

Anonymous at Fri, 19 May 2023 02:43:05 UTC No. 146913

>>146895
I wish this board had spoilers so I could reply to this.

Anonymous at Fri, 19 May 2023 09:06:15 UTC No. 146944

>>146895
This episode has me convinced this shit is rigged and/or scripted.

Anonymous at Fri, 19 May 2023 18:10:16 UTC No. 146976

>>138787
I don't think anyone is gonna stop Riptide this year. Next year everyone is going to have a config for them

Anonymous at Fri, 19 May 2023 22:58:13 UTC No. 146999

>>146895
>Minotaur > Malice
Not as dominant a performance as I was expecting from Minotaur, if I'm gonna be honest. Still, its versatility won the day.
>Sawblaze > Monsoon
That was insane driving from Sawblaze. It was the difference maker here, and they looked more dominant than Minotaur, who they get to face next.
>Hydra > Whiplash
Yep, that's about expected. Hydra's ground game is too good.
>Ribbot > Black Dragon
Well, what do ya know, I was proven wrong about Ribbot. Again. It was the stronger fighter here. Can it keep it up versus Hydra? I doubt it, but it could have a cinderella run in it.
>Riptide > Hypershock
Riptide's the strongest offensive threat left in the tourney now. I think the only counter to is is really damn good driving.
>Copperhead > End Game
Impressive upset here. Copperhead's durability and keeping on pressure allowed for one hell of a dismantling. Side note: This fight pretty much proves that Bite Force wouldn't be invincible in the modern sport.
>Bitch Doctor > Lock-Jaw
WD looked completely dominant from start to finish. Huge has, well, a huge task ahead of it.
>Huge > Mad Catter
While Mad Catter did a good job sticking around, Huge's early hits simply proved too much, though the fact that it slowed down like it did doesn't bode well for the rest of the tourney. WD will put it to the test.

Updated bracket + final predictions to come later.

Anonymous at Sat, 20 May 2023 19:17:08 UTC No. 147104

>>146976
Hydra will stop them!

Anonymous at Sat, 20 May 2023 19:19:09 UTC No. 147105

>>146999
>Riptide's the strongest offensive threat left in the tourney now. I think the only counter to is is really damn good driving.

Hypershock screwed up big league , nerves or something, I think he meant to outflank riptide and hit it in the side instead he turns and presents his flank to riptide and that was that.

Anonymous at Sat, 20 May 2023 23:19:55 UTC No. 147124

Against my better judgment, my final episode predictions remain mostly the same, though most of the bots here have some semblance of a chance of winning it all at this point.

>Minotaur vs. Sawblaze
This is a really bad matchup for Minotaur, but I can't bet against them on principle. Sawblaze could absolutely take this, though.
>Hydra vs. Ribbot
Ribbot could make things interesting if they use their undercutter here, but I think Hydra's precise driving gives them a sizable edge overall.
>Riptide vs. Copperhead
Riptide could absolutely win this on brute force, seems like their only weak spot might be their weapon taking a bit to wind up. Copperhead might have to exploit this, because I don't see them winning in the same way they won versus Bloodsport at the start of the season. Still going Riptide here.
>Huge vs. Bitch Doctor
After Huge's last fight, and to a lesser extent Witch Doctor's, this is one that suddenly looks suspect for Huge. But I'm still going to trust it to take care of business against a top-2 traditional Vert.

>Minotaur vs. Hydra
If Minotaur gets this far, I think its driving allows it to beat whoever it ends up fighting. If Sawblaze wins against Minotaur, it loses to Hydra, but beats Ribbot.
>Riptide vs. Huge
Huge's driving has been good enough where I think they match up well enough versus Riptide. But this could easily go either way. Huge would also be good versus Copperhead, while Riptide would probably also lose versus Witch Doctor. WD beats Copperhead if they face each other.
>Minotaur vs. Huge
Once again, going with Minotaur's driving skills to carry it through this final matchup. In terms of other contenders,

>Reasonable chance of winning it all
WD/Riptide/Hydra
>Iffy, but not impossible
Copperhead
>Probably fukt
Sawblaze/Ribbot

Anonymous at Sun, 21 May 2023 00:01:30 UTC No. 147130

>>147105
That's why I think this shit is scripted. Bales looked pissed off before the match even started, and Hypershock wasn't kitted out for a fight with a drum spinner, at all. Riptide was handed an easy win over a bot not even set up to counter it. They're clearly setting it up for Hydra to fight either Riptide or Huge in the final, and they're rigging the fights to make that happen.

Anonymous at Sun, 21 May 2023 16:10:12 UTC No. 147198

>>146272
tantrum is a good bot, just need to fix the self righter. it would also help to extend the range maybe another inch or two. the ability to spin up a weapon mid-grapple and deliver hits at will, it's something that they do uniquely. the other implementation of that idea, the hammer saw, has the massive vulnerability of the long exposed belts/chains along the arm. idk man, i'm not ready to give up on tantrum. the design is just too cool.

Anonymous at Mon, 22 May 2023 03:41:30 UTC No. 147359

>>147198
From everything I've read it's less about Tantrum being good or bad and more that they want to experiment with new designs but don't have the resources to split across 3 teams, let alone secure 3 spots out of 50.
The puncher style vert has promise I just think Tantrum was the wrong design for it , their two biggest wins came from shots to their opponents base plate because they were almost too compact to get good side shots. If any current 4wd verts were to adopt the puncher I think it should actually be Lock-Jaw.
>>147124
>SawBlaze > Minotaur
>Hydra > Ribbot
>Copperhead > Riptide
>Huge > Witch Doctor

>Hydra > SawBlaze
>Huge > Copperhead

>Huge > Hydra
Still pulling for a total HUGE victory this year. If only because if one of the drums wins they're gonna quickly become the new 4wd verts.

Anonymous at Tue, 23 May 2023 01:05:45 UTC No. 147676

>>147124
Minotaur > Sawblaze
Sawblaze is great at what it does, but it just has too many protruding parts for Minotaur to chew on. This will be a similar fight and a similar outcome to the recent Copperhead > Endgame.
Hydra > Ribbot
Hydra made short work of Ribbot in their last matchup. An undercutter is seemingly an advantageous weapon against a low-slung flipper like Hydra, but a massive plow on the front end was enough to defang Ribbot's bite, and the flipper did the rest. Actually Ribbot's own weapon did the rest, with lots of banging around and self-destruction against the floor and walls. I predict they will go with their vert this time around to try to avoid an identical outcome, but I think Hydra has it anyway. He's just got such a good working knowledge of the meta, with answers for any challenge.
Copperhead > Riptide
This one might be a reach, and it might be just wishful thinking, but Copperhead is one angry little brick! And I think it has yet to fulfill its potential in the tournament. Its compactness makes it very sturdy, and its weapon is right up there with Minotaur's and Riptide's. I think it stands a better chance than either Shatter or Hypershock anyway.
Huge > Witchdoctor
Again, there is probably a certain amount of withful thinking happening here, but Huge has always been a hugely destructive bot with few weaknesses. It seems like the inside attack has been decisively debunked at this point, so WD will surely go for the flanks and try to immobilize Huge that way.

Minotaur > Hydra
Now Minotaur has the hands-down perfect weapon against Hydra. It's at the right level to chew on any part of it from any angle, and getting flipped won't cause it to self-damage at all. I love Hydra, but this is the end of its run this year.
Copperhead > Huge
This will be an interesting fight for sure. I somewhat take back my prior statement about taking Huge's inside. Copperhead may be the only bot small enough to fit in and attack the wheels without being struck.

Anonymous at Tue, 23 May 2023 01:53:42 UTC No. 147678

>>147676
(cont'd)
Minotaur > Copperhead
What an intriguing matchup! Very similar weapons. Minotaur has a slight mobility edge. However, Copperhead with its forks can probably win a shoving match if it comes to that. I actually prefer Copperhead's bot over Minotaur's because of that, but Minotaur's driving is head and shoulders above. This one has a strong chance to go to the judges. If it does come down to these two in the title match, it will be one for the ages.

Anonymous at Tue, 23 May 2023 05:42:31 UTC No. 147708

>>146106
the fuckin Tottenham of Battlebots

Anonymous at Tue, 23 May 2023 05:43:32 UTC No. 147709

>>146145
Based Biero

Anonymous at Tue, 23 May 2023 05:48:19 UTC No. 147711

>>146387
Literally just gonna be two small Cobalts. Meaning they'll probably be bottlers just like Cobalt and they won't hit as hard cause multibots blow chunks. Tantrum will get shelved, maybe brought out for fun i.e. late season Bronco, Blip will be fine-tuned.

Anonymous at Tue, 23 May 2023 05:50:58 UTC No. 147712

>>147130
I don't think this shit's rigged. I think Will's just a goofball who doesn't focus up during game time. He's smart n shit but like, the best performance out of Hypershock is when his wife drove it at the re:Mars event.

Anonymous at Tue, 23 May 2023 05:58:08 UTC No. 147714

>>144957
The reddit fags are annoying but they keep their mouths shut for the tv (minus Eric's gay ass). Ethan is like if you took the 9 year old kid who calls you a nigger on xbox live and just praised him cause he's really good at the game

Anonymous at Tue, 23 May 2023 05:59:35 UTC No. 147715

>>144963
>BTFO
that indian kid can't stop riding Ethan's meat

Anonymous at Tue, 23 May 2023 12:25:23 UTC No. 147759

>>147711
>multibots blow chunks
Clusterbots suck because the last time a serious team with decent knowledge and resources made an honest attempt at building a championship winning one was in 2001. If anyone can pull it off it's Aren Hill, the key I think most people don't talk about is driver coordination and SeemsReasonable have some fucking good drivers

Anonymous at Tue, 23 May 2023 19:53:16 UTC No. 147830

>>147759
I’m with ya. This will be the test tho. If this ends up not working, that idea is dead as shit. If they can get it together, which they very well could, it would be nice to see

Anonymous at Thu, 25 May 2023 23:00:58 UTC No. 148202

ITS ROBOT FIGHTING TIME!

Anonymous at Thu, 25 May 2023 23:05:39 UTC No. 148203

Just watched the fina, can't wait to see your reactions. Was a great season, far better than last. I think the rules and production changes were good and seemed like they listened to viewers feedback. more pit stuff and less filler. Even pushing Riptide drama was funny.

Anonymous at Fri, 26 May 2023 01:00:28 UTC No. 148219

>>148203
Where do you see it early?

Anonymous at Fri, 26 May 2023 02:53:32 UTC No. 148238

What a great season, would've never guessed that final matchup.
>>148203
>I think the rules and production changes were good
Definitely, I think they really helped make this season great (especially the revised controlled movement rule). There wasn't a single controversial JD either, thanks to the appeal system.
Can't think of anything I'd want changed for the next season, honestly. Maybe an OOTA pit on the Upper Deck?

Anonymous at Fri, 26 May 2023 05:00:32 UTC No. 148256

>>148203
That was awesome, will hold off on results for a little bit in case any anons havent caught it yet but easily one of the best episodes ever.

Anonymous at Fri, 26 May 2023 05:27:02 UTC No. 148260

>>148203
>can't wait to see your reactions
He's /pw/'s reactions.
>>>/pw/10278998

Anonymous at Fri, 26 May 2023 20:37:07 UTC No. 148362

Spoilers - was bummed about Ethan getting written off, the whole phone convoseemed really staged kek, If the result was the same, I would have loved to see his reaction to seeing his bot torn apart and his exit interview.

Anonymous at Fri, 26 May 2023 21:42:23 UTC No. 148375

>>148202
dammit ....i thought it was going be /ourguys/ year.

Anonymous at Fri, 26 May 2023 21:53:36 UTC No. 148377

>>148238
>Can't think of anything I'd want changed for the next season
I think they should look at the qualifying part of it
the matches before the final 32
its' length (15 episodes to cut 48 to 32)
its scoring
its whole organization

I think it could be sexed up and made shorter and more exiting

Anonymous at Fri, 26 May 2023 22:07:29 UTC No. 148380

10/10 episode, but sad that we were denied a HUGE v Hydra final
The Huge Vert debuting in the final would have been Razer Cage v2

Anonymous at Fri, 26 May 2023 22:09:37 UTC No. 148381

>>148377
I wouldn't mind seeing other weight classes, even if they were only on exhibition as some sort of sideshow.

Featherweights and Beetleweights would be cool in particular. Featherweights because you can have a lot of crazy designs for novelty value or mini grudge matches. And Beetleweights because of their popularity and accessibility.

Anonymous at Fri, 26 May 2023 22:19:07 UTC No. 148382

>>148377
3rd place playoff

Anonymous at Sat, 27 May 2023 01:44:17 UTC No. 148412

>Sawblaze > Minotaur
Well, can't say I wasn't expecting this. Minotaur put up a hell of a fight, given the circumstances, but it simply isn't a good design versus Sawblaze.
>Ribbot > Hydra
Now THIS was a surprise. The forks did just enough to continue Ribbot's cinderella run.
>Copperhead > Riptide
Another upset. Copperhead's durability was obscene here, and that's all it needed to stop Riptide's insane offense.
>Huge > Bitch Doctor
This match pretty much settles it: Huge is a bona fide vert slayer. WD is cursed to falling short yet again. No huge surprise there. No pun intended.
>Sawblaze > Ribbot
And just like that, the clock strikes midnight. Sawblaze was the real winner of Hydra's earlier upset, since they would have gotten rekt if they had to fight Hydra again.
>Huge > Copperhead
This was a weird matchup for Copperhead, and all Huge really had to do was drive just right, and they delivered. Very satisfying to see Huge make it this far. HOWEVER...
>Sawblaze > Huge
What a finale. Two unorthodox bots slugging it out till the bitter end. While Huge had a great start, Sawblaze was simply too sturdy in front, and its design let it knock Huge's weak spots. Had Hydra not jobbed to Ribbot, I think Huge wins the nut here. Food for thought.

Great ending to a good season.

Anonymous at Sat, 27 May 2023 11:49:26 UTC No. 148469

>no 4wd vert in the final for the first time since season 1/2
Is it over?

Anonymous at Sat, 27 May 2023 13:43:01 UTC No. 148474

>>148469
Drums are the new 4wd fork verts, calling it now next season we'll have
>Minotaur
>Riptide
>Copperhead
>Switchback
>Glitch
>Black Dragon
>Manta who won Robogames
>Probably one or two existing verts swapping to a drum
>Ribbot drum config
>Possibly the new Whyachi bot being a drum
>One or two other rookie drums
>Shreddit if they give him another shot
It's gonna get fucking ridiculous real fast, I also expect we'll start seeing more top attack bots like SawBlaze/Skorpios to compensate.

Anonymous at Sat, 27 May 2023 15:37:15 UTC No. 148484

Pee Pants Schultz bros what happened?

Anonymous at Sat, 27 May 2023 16:35:27 UTC No. 148490

Now that the dust has settled,
was it a work or a shoot?

Anonymous at Sat, 27 May 2023 16:50:51 UTC No. 148494

>>148490
Incredibly obvious manufactured villain for TV. The reality is that they're just a little unsportsmanlike and immature, but that was enough for the producers to build a narrative with.

Anonymous at Sat, 27 May 2023 17:25:44 UTC No. 148504

>>148380
hydra needs improvements. He's forced to drive it defensively due to its poor mobility. Hydra needs a better drive and a stronger front to win versus the drum meta

Anonymous at Sat, 27 May 2023 18:26:28 UTC No. 148511

>>148504
Its was getting stuck on the floor ?
I think some other bots where having issues with floor as well , floor gets wrecked late in the competition

Anonymous at Sat, 27 May 2023 18:30:48 UTC No. 148513

>>148511
some other bots yes, as bad as hydra? no.

Anonymous at Sat, 27 May 2023 20:57:53 UTC No. 148537

>>148513
Hydra has to win the ground game at all costs since it's a flipper. If the other bot can run forks then Jake is forced to run those ground scraping piano keys and sacrifice mobility. End Game when they ran those paint-peeling tongs had big problems too.

Anonymous at Sat, 27 May 2023 22:26:06 UTC No. 148552

Maybe they could get farouq to polish the floor in between fights

Anonymous at Sun, 28 May 2023 07:28:46 UTC No. 148599

>>148490
>Glitch stuff
Work
>MadCatter stuff
Worked shoot
>Shred stuff
Shoot
>Shatter stuff
Shoot
>Ethan getting Covid
Work

Anonymous at Mon, 29 May 2023 02:44:22 UTC No. 148741

Never forget

Anonymous at Mon, 29 May 2023 21:55:38 UTC No. 148867

>>148511
Fortunately for Hydra, it doesn't need to scrape the ground as hard versus drums, since they tend to not really run forks, as far as I can recall.

Unrelated, but with the 4W vert meta becoming less overpowered than in previous seasons, is Bitch Doctor's championship window effectively closing in its current general state?

Anonymous at Tue, 30 May 2023 02:22:21 UTC No. 148916

>>148867
Hard to say. As much as I hate that team, I have to admit it seemed like a fluke for its weapon to go down so early in the fight against Huge. I think they have the best chance of any 4WV to win a future nut, based on a proven track record of combat effectiveness and a very seasoned pit crew, and a self-right mechanism (looking at you, Hypershock). It remains a strong all-purpose design, and they've shown an ability to adapt and overcome, such that in future fights I could imagine a Huge fight going the other way if they adopted something similar to Sawblaze's bunny ears.

If we do see a decline in 4WV, unfortunately Witchdoctor will likely be the last one bearing that torch, like Beta for hammer bots.

Anonymous at Thu, 1 Jun 2023 12:02:22 UTC No. 149303

Anonymous at Sun, 4 Jun 2023 23:04:16 UTC No. 149878

>Though not yet confirmed, Greg Munson revealed in a March 2023 RoboCast episode that the idea of penalties to punish teams thought to be showcasing poor sportsmanship has been considered. He also stated that an official Code of Conduct was being written as a collaboration between Match Steward Mike Jeffries (Bombshell) and CRAB (Combat Robotics Association of BattleBots) president Adam Wrigley (Shatter).
Oh no no no Riptide bros we got too cocky.

Anonymous at Mon, 5 Jun 2023 18:36:04 UTC No. 150060

>>149878
Good, he swears too much.

Anonymous at Fri, 16 Jun 2023 22:00:21 UTC No. 151705

anybody else missing this shit already?

Anonymous at Wed, 21 Jun 2023 01:47:38 UTC No. 152329

>>148916
>If we do see a decline in 4WV, unfortunately Witchdoctor will likely be the last one bearing that torch, like Beta for hammer bots.
Maybe. I could also see End Game (or something with a similar design) contending for a long time as well. It's still a high-tier archetype, just not the worldbeater that it was.

>>151705
A bit. Been keeping an eye on any updates, though they've been showing a few Proving Grounds fights on their Facebook page. Doom is still not a good bot.

Anonymous at Thu, 22 Jun 2023 11:56:10 UTC No. 152494

>>151705
Anon if you want to support the sport they're getting pretty consistent with doing live shows every week in Vegas, and there's plenty of other robot combT leagues to get into.

Anonymous at Sat, 24 Jun 2023 13:00:46 UTC No. 152870

I remember talking about building battlebots with my grandpa. Good memories, I miss him.

Anonymous at Tue, 27 Jun 2023 01:13:21 UTC No. 153396

>Manta hit Triton so hard they bent its weapon bar
If they don't get accepted next year BB are retards, if they get accepted next year they're winning.

Anonymous at Thu, 29 Jun 2023 01:38:27 UTC No. 153724

>>153396
At this point, it's highly probable. Though this is the same bot that jobbed to Hexadecimator, so I'm not entirely sure they're championship-caliber yet.

Anonymous at Tue, 4 Jul 2023 01:18:39 UTC No. 154640

>>153724
>Though this is the same bot that jobbed to Hexadecimator
I see that more like a Riptide vs Defender situation, Hexy was just the right counter to Manta in that situation and Manta had control issues when inverted.

Anonymous at Mon, 10 Jul 2023 08:43:27 UTC No. 155578

>>138787
>>138789
Sure >>138791
>>138795
>>138824
>>138828
>>138848
>>138861
>>138864
>>138875
>>138932
>>138934
>>138936
>>138941
>>138943
>>138944
>>138950
>>138954
>>138966
>>138984
>>138989
>>139153
>>139284
>>139283

Anonymous at Mon, 10 Jul 2023 10:05:18 UTC No. 155587

>>155578
>What a shot by Page 10!
>Kenny I think /bbg/s on the ropes!
>Nice necro by /bbg/ though, the next hit might be it if /bbg/ doesn't put more effort into its retorts, Chris Rose.

Anonymous at Mon, 10 Jul 2023 19:40:33 UTC No. 155643

>>154640
If anything, that just means that Manta will basically be Riptide with better sportsmanship if it gets in.

Anonymous at Sun, 23 Jul 2023 09:26:41 UTC No. 157719

>>138787
Ok >>138789
Sure

Anonymous at Sun, 23 Jul 2023 13:10:18 UTC No. 157743

What bots are over with your non-fan friends? Hydra and HUGE are over big with a girl I was showing some of WC7 to.

Anonymous at Thu, 27 Jul 2023 16:34:21 UTC No. 158660

>>157743
Hydra, Minotaur, Hypershock