Current Events > BattleBots: Fight Night week 6 discussion topic *spoilers*

(+) Yeah! (+)

BattleBots is back on TV with a brand new season of metal munching mayhem! Week 6 of this 16-week season airs tonight at 8PM Eastern on the Discovery Channel. and will be replayed (along with the extra bonus fight) on the Science Channel 12 days from today. Anyways, here's the fight card for this week:



We finally have the first appearance of the season for the mighty flipper, Bronco! They take on the defending BattleBots champions, Bite Force, in a star-studded main event matchup. The undercard features some interesting matchups as well, including the new flipper on the block, Hydra, taking on Warhawk. We're in for another fun episode this week! Also, I forgot to make gifs from last week's episode, but I also didn't get to post any gifs last week due to ImgTC being down, so here's Cobalt completely obliterating Duck from two weeks ago.









Now for the usual reminder tags:

@MJOLNRVII @Purple_Cheetah @El_Mexicano_Texano @DuneMan @powerman1426 @PiOverlord @monkeysRfunny @Typhon @unclekoolaid73 @MasterGakke
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Reminder tags part 2:

@MI4_REAL @LostForest
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Hopefully I can watch it. At Tennessee for family, if not, I'll watch a rerun.
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I'm really curious to see how effective/capable sidewinder is. It's basically just cutting out the bait and rotate while making it a drive-by style. Plus it has a wedge/ramp for trolling.

Was wondering when they were gonna show bronco and we even get hydra back. So that's something I'm looking forward to.

I'm a bit concerned for hypershock, because it's not exactly known for being durable and monsoon has proven to be a bit of a mean hitter in the past.

Also I'm not sure if this is an indication, but to see petunia and marvin both being in their second bonus fight after having lackluster performance in previous bonus fights. Not to mention bonus fights being all duds outside of the rumble(at least it was the only rumble so far). I'm not expecting much outside of that fight beyond them being in the box at the same time.

Petunia
Monsoon
Gruff
Yeti
Valkyrie
Skorpios
Warhawk
Bite Force

Gruff and Warhawk are my shakier picks.
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Thanks for the reminder
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Purple_Cheetah posted...

I'm really curious to see how effective/capable sidewinder is. It's basically just cutting out the bait and rotate while making it a drive-by style. Plus it has a wedge/ramp for trolling.

Yeah, I like Sidewider's design. It's certainly unique, but I don't know how effective it will be, especially against a veteran like Skorpios.

Purple_Cheetah posted...

I'm a bit concerned for hypershock, because it's not exactly known for being durable and monsoon has proven to be a bit of a mean hitter in the past.

I always thought Hypershock was way over-hyped (especially after The Rake-ning happened) and I've never really seen them as championship material. I like the bot, I like the team, but I just don't think they're as good as people say. I think Monsoon is going to bust Hypershock to bits.

El Mexicano Texano posted...

Thanks for the reminder

No problem.
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Almost forgot about tonight. I knew I had something to do today.
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Another good card IMO.

Lets go Bronco!!!!!
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Here we go
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Is that guy with the long hair on Team Ragnarok, the same guy who's bot was ripped in half by Ice Wave?
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IT'S ROBOT FIGHTIN' TIME!!

Hydra vs. Warhawk leading off the show!
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Wow he was split in 3.
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HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!! That flipper is insane!
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Wow! That was savage
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KFHEWUI posted...

Is that guy with the long hair on Team Ragnarok, the same guy who's bot was ripped in half by Ice Wave?

https://battlebots.fandom.com/wiki/Ragnarok_(2019)

Yep. It's same the guy/team that brought Vanquish to last year's tournament... and then brought it home in a trash bin. The mohawk guy from Team Monsoon last year (who also made a grand final in UK Robot Wars with a different bot, Concussion) decided to partner with them as well.
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Skorpios is strong af.
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Well this night has already been more destructive than I'd anticipated
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Damn, Ragnarok just jobbed hard. I didn't even realize it wasn't moving after that hit.
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That's a second extremely unlucky loss for Ragnarok. Getting toppled by Monsoon, now deflecting one hit from Valkyrie right into another hit directly into the motors... god, that really sucks. That bot should not be 0-2 right now.
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Calwings posted...

KFHEWUI posted...

Is that guy with the long hair on Team Ragnarok, the same guy who's bot was ripped in half by Ice Wave?

https://battlebots.fandom.com/wiki/Ragnarok_(2019)

Yep. It's same the guy/team that brought Vanquish to last year's tournament... and then brought it home in a trash bin. The mohawk guy from Team Monsoon last year (who also made a grand final in UK Robot Wars with a different bot, Concussion) decided to partner with them as well.

I thought so. He looked familiar.
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Yeti's losing the forks and going full berserker
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If they refine that drum a bit they could really be nasty
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Yeti better have this.
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Colbalt is slowing becoming one of my favorite bots. like holy crap what an improvement over the old Carbide-- Colbalt.
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powerman1426 posted...

If they refine that drum a bit they could really be nasty

Yeah, Yetis drum is super duty, but it gets blunted too easily, imagine if it had something like last season Minotaur
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That was one of those fights that, while there could only be one winner, both bots came out of it looking great. Free Shipping took some serious damage but was still controlling Yeti and pushing it around the arena, and Yeti was more destructive than it's been in a long time. I agree that Yeti rightfully won that fight, but if one of the judges had given Free Shipping the points for aggression and the decision, I wouldn't have argued.
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I saw some newschool BB too.

Never knew Team Whyachi directed the Warrior Clan.

Never knew Nightmare was horrifically outclassed, either. Don't get me wrong, but without his spinner he was basically useless. He came back with improvements though, but still he got screwed like BioHazard in S1
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Wow another fast match.
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Calwings posted...

I always thought Hypershock was way over-hyped (especially after The Rake-ning happened) and I've never really seen them as championship material. I like the bot, I like the team, but I just don't think they're as good as people say. I think Monsoon is going to bust Hypershock to bits.

Well... they just made me looks like a fucking idiot.
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I'm on the DVR squad again this week, so my viewing will be a bit delays. Looking at the card for the evening, it seems they have some interested mirror or themed matches.

Bronco v. Biteforce and Hydra v. Warhawk is an example of the mirror matches. I expece those fights to be brutal. I forget if Warhawk can self-right. If not, that would give an edge to Hydra if it survives long enough to get some good flips in. Bronco and Biteforce.... if both bots are in top shape that might be a real slug fest.

Then you have the themed matches, Sidewinder v. Skorpios for some desert brawling, Valkyrie v. Ragnarok for some Norse brawling. I still dislike Skorpios and would like Sidewinder to take it down, but who knows... Ragnarok has to prove itself after it's build up and ultimate letdown in a prior week. If Valkyrie can flank to reach the tires it might pick up its own needed victory.

Yeti v. Free Shipping, I like the scrappy nature of Yeti and want to see it do well. That should be an entertaining fight.

I'm not familiar with Gruff or Copperhead. If Copperhead's flanged drum spinner works it might have a chance. If it turns out to be one of the faulty weapon performances of this season then I can't see it doing much.

Hypershock v. Monsoon... well, Hypershock has a tendency to burn its motors, so the more durable the opponent the more likely they are to win by default.

I'll just assume Petunia wins its fight, shown next Wednesday. IIRC Marvin's two tiny blades on the spinner broke off in a previous fight. Turning it into a low profile push bot with teeny, tiny wheels.
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This has been a pretty good night of fights. I wasn't expecting this much carnage at all
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powerman1426 posted...

This has been a pretty good night of fights. I wasn't expecting this much carnage at all

Yeah, this has been a crazy episode... and we haven't even seen the main event yet!
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Well that was more one sided than I thought it'd be lol, damn
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Wow... I didn't expect a powerful bot like Bronco coming into the box and just being utterly dominated like that. Bite Force is something else.
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As soon as I saw bronco come out with all of those on it, I groaned. I knew it was gonna have issues, because it's what made it super easy to get under and upset/flip last season. So many doo-dads it gets stuck on the floor and gets knocked around. Doesn't help it lost the spatula though.

I was not expecting so many bots to come apart this episode, it was like a salvage yard with all the parting out.

Gruff's fire was damn pretty.

Calwings posted...

I always thought Hypershock was way over-hyped (especially after The Rake-ning happened) and I've never really seen them as championship material. I like the bot, I like the team, but I just don't think they're as good as people say. I think Monsoon is going to bust Hypershock to bits.

Yeah the hype thing was a bit weird. The rake was however quite clever/funny. They always had motor issues and are pretty fragile. The first 1-2 seasons they had a carbon fiber chassis, so based on that you can tell it's brittle. They've also been knocked out easily. Which is why I was feeling concerned for its health.

The fact that fight went the way it did just... stunned me.

I'm on the oldskool squad.

According to the wiki it was 13 years past before they came back.
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MI4 REAL posted...

I'm on the oldskool squad.

According to the wiki it was 13 years past before they came back.

If you're not already, you really should watch some of the newer series, especially season 3 (when it moved to Discovery) and the current season.
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BigTee66 posted...

Yeah, Yetis drum is super duty, but it gets blunted too easily, imagine if it had something like last season Minotaur

He said in an interview that it's all aluminum(or aluminium if you prefer).

Anyway, more generally speaking, with the amount of carnage in that episode I'm sure there are plenty of gifs to be found. Bots getting ripped to pieces was startlingly common this week.
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I remember an old story. IIRC someone had to get a bot through US customs into the country, and got pepper sprayed!

I saw a bit of S7. Team Whyachi controlled Warrior Clan. A unusual bout where he had control of 3 smaller bots, 2 guardians and 1 smaller main bot vs Nightmare.

Nightmare was a fan favorite but had disappointing results, He came back a decade later and made improvements on that vertical spinning blade.

Sadly he would lose this fight too. Thankfully his blade stopped going out after 1 good shot and could be used to tear up the floor and right himself when inverted. The main design stayed, which proved to be vastly inferior in pushing power.

The arena looks about the same as it did before save the new logo. But flamethrowers are on these bots now?

And it appears that newschool battlebots have more power than before.

Hadn't seen power like that since T-Minus used a CO2 powered flipper, the strongest one in oldskool battlebots and gave Hazard is only loss!
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DuneMan posted...

Anyway, more generally speaking, with the amount of carnage in that episode I'm sure there are plenty of gifs to be found. Bots getting ripped to pieces was startlingly common this week.

If I can't find them, I'll make them myself!

MI4 REAL posted...

But flamethrowers are on these bots now?

Yep, flamethrowers are legal now, as are minibots and drones as long as the total package being sent out to the arena (main bot + any minibots/drones) is still under the 250 pound weight limit. The minibots/drones don't do much besides being distractions and nuisances though.

MI4 REAL posted...

And it appears that newschool battlebots have more power than before.

Hadn't seen power like that since T-Minus used a CO2 powered flipper, the strongest one in oldskool battlebots and gave Hazard is only loss!

That'll definitely become a running theme as you make your way through the revived series. I said it before: technology has come a LONG way from the old days when Biohazard and Razer were the kings of the robot combat world.
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Flamethrowers means we need that Simpsons gif again lol
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I only remembered Hazard and Biohazard until now, watching old Battlebots again I am sure that Son of Whyachi was one of my old favorites, with Hazard at the top of my list.

Hazard was the most successful battlebot in old Battlebots history going 17-1. He was also the most destructive. Incidentally enough the 2nd most successful was Biohazard.

Biteforce is one of the best modern bots with a record of 20-2 and apparently went from grappler to spinner, with good results.

Son of Whyachi has made a comeback and his hammers are far more powerful than they used to be.

Icewave looks like he's a modern day Hazard. He and Biteforce are dealing more carnage than ever seen before.
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This is still fairly new so I won't post the video directly because of spoilers, but the title of the video is:

"COMPILATION OF BEST HITS ENTIRE BB REGULAR SEASON 2018"

and is a custom compilation of 26 minutes of raw carnage from the 2018 season.
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Calwings posted...

That's a second extremely unlucky loss for Ragnarok. Getting toppled by Monsoon, now deflecting one hit from Valkyrie right into another hit directly into the motors... god, that really sucks. That bot should not be 0-2 right now.

I'm not sure I can get on board with this. Like it has been practically one-shotted in each of it's appearances. For a new bot, I don't chalk it up to bad luck, just a bad bot. Part of that I'll admit is a bias I have against hammer-bots (I think they are wildly out-dated and will never be consistently competitive in the current BB environment), but I think that like Subzero or Axe Backwards, it's just a bad robot.
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Gheb posted...

Calwings posted...

That's a second extremely unlucky loss for Ragnarok. Getting toppled by Monsoon, now deflecting one hit from Valkyrie right into another hit directly into the motors... god, that really sucks. That bot should not be 0-2 right now.

I'm not sure I can get on board with this. Like it has been practically one-shotted in each of it's appearances. For a new bot, I don't chalk it up to bad luck, just a bad bot. Part of that I'll admit is a bias I have against hammer-bots (I think they are wildly out-dated and will never be consistently competitive in the current BB environment), but I think that like Subzero or Axe Backwards, it's just a bad robot.

I'm sorry, I just can't agree with you.

Getting hit by Monsoon in the exact spot that killed its axe motor and stopped it from self-righting on the first hit that also flipped it? Bouncing Valkyrie right up to its gears, a place that Valkyrie's spinner wouldn't be able to hit normally, causing a non-fatal hit to become fatal? There's no way in hell those took any skill by the other teams or were the result of any sort of obvious flaw in Ragnarok. To me, it was all just bad luck. I'm not going to sit here and pretend that Ragnarok would have won both of those fights had those things not happened (I still think Monsoon would have beaten them in the end) but I can damn sure say that it wouldn't have died in one hit either time if it weren't for bad luck.

If they lose their next fight and the loss isn't something fluke-y like the Valkyrie one, then I might agree with you. But not yet.
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I need to watch a replay, sounds like it was a wild episode.
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Calwings posted...

Gheb posted...

Calwings posted...

That's a second extremely unlucky loss for Ragnarok. Getting toppled by Monsoon, now deflecting one hit from Valkyrie right into another hit directly into the motors... god, that really sucks. That bot should not be 0-2 right now.

I'm not sure I can get on board with this. Like it has been practically one-shotted in each of it's appearances. For a new bot, I don't chalk it up to bad luck, just a bad bot. Part of that I'll admit is a bias I have against hammer-bots (I think they are wildly out-dated and will never be consistently competitive in the current BB environment), but I think that like Subzero or Axe Backwards, it's just a bad robot.

I'm sorry, I just can't agree with you.

Getting hit by Monsoon in the exact spot that killed its axe motor and stopped it from self-righting on the first hit that also flipped it? Bouncing Valkyrie right up to its gears, a place that Valkyrie's spinner wouldn't be able to hit normally, causing a non-fatal hit to become fatal? There's no way in hell those took any skill by the other teams or were the result of any sort of obvious flaw in Ragnarok. To me, it was all just bad luck. I'm not going to sit here and pretend that Ragnarok would have won both of those fights had those things not happened (I still think Monsoon would have beaten them in the end) but I can damn sure say that it wouldn't have died in one hit either time if it weren't for bad luck.

If they lose their next fight and the loss isn't something fluke-y like the Valkyrie one, then I might agree with you. But not yet.

I guess I'm just too harsh, but I typically don't give any bots the benefit of the doubt until they can prove it in the box. Maybe Ragnarok is a really strong bot who is unlucky but right now I have no reason to believe it.
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Ragnarok sucks because the axe is stupid. It should be a spike to impart all it's force into a single point, the axe just ads surface area to the impact and removes it's ability to penetrate into armor. The bad luck they've had is just the robot fighting gods punishing them for their awful design choice.

I love that Hydra won, all hail Hydra!
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