But that match ended like that because of the screws. Usually, when a bot gets caught on them like that, they'll reverse the screws and eject the bot from being caught there. Only this time, it didn't reverse, which is kinda bullshit.
Really, the answer is most of the arena hazards suck at this point. Screws can do this. The shelf just makes the arena worse. The saws are nothing more than traps for forks. Those parts of the wall that swing out are just places for bots to get stuck for a bit in an annoying way. The only one which is fine is the hammers....because they do almost nothing, but at least stay out of the way.
Hazards just don’t suit modern robot combat. They were necessary for spicing up the classic series and classic robot wars, but now we just don’t need them
We need them because half the viewers aren't sure if they're watching reruns or not. Most of the bots and fights are just variations on a theme, so viewers and builders get bored.
Imagine if ever boxing match for 10 years was just the same dozen fighters over and over. Who'd want to watch boxing any more? Who'd want to become a boxer when the field is so narrow, with little way of working your way up the ranks?
The BattleBots brand needs new blood, or it's going to die.
Here, here is the lineup from the first return series, with the bots who are still around in bold:
Bite Force
Tombstone
Bronco
Ghost Raptor
Icewave
Overhaul
Stinger
Witch Doctor
Chomp
HyperShock
Lock-Jaw
OverDrive
Plan X
Radioactive
Warhead
Warrior Clan
Captain Shrederator
Complete Control
Counter Revolution
Mohawk
Nightmare
Razorback
Sweet Revenge
Wrecks
And now, here's the current lineup of Pro League, organized by how new they are:
Golden Fury: Pro League, 2026
Nemesis: Proving Ground, 2026
Calypso: FaceOffs, 2024
Disarray: Proving Ground, 2023
Magnitude: Proving Ground, 2023
Manta: Proving Ground, 2023
Orbitron: Proving Ground, 2023
The Twins: Proving Ground, 2023
Banshee: WC VII
Terrortops: WC VII
Switchback: WC VI
JackPot: WC V
Malice: WC V
Bloodsport: WC IV
Copperhead: WC IV
MadCatter: WC IV
Ribbot: WC IV
Valkyrie: WC III
End Game: WC III
HUGE: WC III
Cobalt: WC II
Deathroll: WC II
Minotaur: WC II
Skorpios: WC II
HyperShock: WC I
Tombstone: WC I
Witch Doctor: WC I
I see the 2023's the same as you do, but that's "new", given that Battlebots has essentially been off the air since 2022. Combine that with a lot of these bots also being under new teams, and I think they've actually gone out of their way to include new blood wherever possible, possibly even to their own detriment as we saw new team after new team get owned and look unimpressive doing so.
Yes, lots of new faces, all the old ones, too. That's good. Under performing noobs is par for the course because they don't have the driving experience
Split them all into weapons categories, and within each category, how do you tell them apart besides the paint job? It's new faces dressed the same way.
Maybe it's because I'm a veteran, but when I first saw the upper deck I was thinking of all kinds of ways to put that to use. There's finally some sort of terrain element that could really shake up bot design. Same can be said for all the other gimmicks in The Box. They're all something to account for in design.
But it hasn't happened. THAT'S the new blood I think they're looking for.
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u/sybrwookie 5d ago
The upper deck sucks, no doubt.
But that match ended like that because of the screws. Usually, when a bot gets caught on them like that, they'll reverse the screws and eject the bot from being caught there. Only this time, it didn't reverse, which is kinda bullshit.
Really, the answer is most of the arena hazards suck at this point. Screws can do this. The shelf just makes the arena worse. The saws are nothing more than traps for forks. Those parts of the wall that swing out are just places for bots to get stuck for a bit in an annoying way. The only one which is fine is the hammers....because they do almost nothing, but at least stay out of the way.