BattleBots - IT'S ROBOT FIGHTING TIME (probably spoilers)

[Super Collie]

Any other BattleBots fans on the Farms?

My partner and I have been fans of this show since its Comedy Central days, and currently it's back on ABC. Tonight at 10pm EST they are running the first episode of their new season as a teaser, and it should be pretty awesome. (4 free for all fights with 3 robots each to find out which 4 robots are taking the last places in the tournament brackets.)

Looking forward to seeing it, and shit talking with other Kiwis if there are fans. If you're not in the US or don't have ABC/cable you can probably torrent or stream it relatively soon after it airs. I figure this thread will probably be full of spoilers, so just a heads up.

 

[jenffer a jay]

we had the old battle bot on tv back in 1990

 

[Optimus Prime]

I fucking loved Battlebots back in the day. Still sometimes go to watch some fights on youtube for the 'ol classics (particuarly the cutsey gimmick bots getting ripped apart like that goddamn firetruck joke robot that somehow WON a fight). But the resurected series was promising and holy shit this season looks awesome because there are FLAME THROWING AIR DRONES now legal in the rules.

I also wonder what bullshit the Complete Control guy is gonna try to pull this season - that net fuckery he tried to pull on Ghost Raptor last season was asinine and he damn well knew it.

 

[Super Collie]

That preview episode was intense, I am so stoked for this season!!!

Spoiler: Talking about fights from tonight's episode.

Son of Whyachi vs. Ultraviolent vs. Creepy Crawlies
Such a shitty draw for the Creepy Crawlies team to go up against the former champion Son of Whyachi. I feel like under any other circumstance the team of 5 lightweight robots would've stood a better chance, instead they got totally wrecked. Hubby pointed out that all five Crawlies were actually "mini" versions of Robot Wars competitors! Also, no clue what Ultraviolent's problem was. They didn't even work and just took a beating.

Basilisk vs. Blacksmith vs. Gemini
Blacksmith is beast. Holy shit, it totally wrecked shop here. Destroyed Basilisk's top armor, destroyed Basilisk's stupid flying drone, destroyed the black Gemini robot. God damn. And the damage done to the red Gemini robot was incredible. At first I thought the hammer+flamethrower was going to be a dumb gimmick at best but it proved otherwise. And wow, that last second save by Blacksmith. Literally on fire and getting counted out by the ref but it suddenly comes back to life to avoid the knockout count and wins the match!

Invader vs. Mohawk vs. Lycan
I was so hyped for Invader. Invader used to be called Super Megabyte and a long time ago trashed Biohazard, a former champion, so badly that Biohazard was forced into retirement. Sucks that instead it just got kicked around and was knocked out. Lycan seemed like a total joke, I have no idea why they were hyping this thing up because it sucked and it never even used its weapon. Mohawk was pretty rad with its Razer-like design, but I think the flamethrower is a bit too much. Not as effective as Blacksmith's flamethrower in my opinion. Mohawk is okay as a winner I guess, but I'd still rather have seen Invader win.

Bad Kitty vs. Skorpios vs. Black Ice
What a mess of a fight. Hubby thought Black Ice was a pretty solid newcomer and I guess I agree now; it looks like a weekend garage build but I guess it's good for something because it won. Skorpios just knocked itself out in the first few seconds, so I've got nothing really to say about it, but I was let down by Bad Kitty. I was hoping to see it at least get ONE hit with its weapon, but nope. Nothing.

 

[Optimus Prime]

That preview episode was intense, I am so stoked for this season!!!

Two out of the four fights were epic, I completely agree -50% isn't the best but in fairness this was essentially the first qualifying round so the weak bots getting funneled out now so the main tournament has stronger bots on average is A OK in my book - and the preview at the end literally made me drop a WTF when the absolute last thing I could possibly expect popped up.

Spoiler: More episode discussion

Match 1 was unquestionably a wash - mini bots in general don't seem to have any worthwhile purpose, even considering Witch Doctor's mini from last season which probably was the most successful of them all by virtue of surviving that three-way against Nightmare and Ovehaul - and Son of Wyatchi's design is basically a spin bot without the significant risk of self-destruction. Creepy Crawlies never stood a chance even against a half-compenent driver, frankly. And Ultraviolet's problem was straight up fear instead of agression - similar to why Bronco lost against Tombstone last year - and tried to figure out how to get around SoW's weapon instead of simply plowing forward and trying to flip it immediately, since that's the only real weakness SoW has due to the weapon's spin-up time. Truth be told, I was actually surprised SoW was even in this match, since that robot was a Giant Nut winner in the original Season 3. But I still think this was a good fight if only because it was a total destruction fest and that's why we all watch this show, right?

Match 2 was a total roller coaster. The flame throwing hammer sounded dumb until it was shown in action, and then it just murdered everything. Basilisk was done the moment its flipper was forced down by the hammer before it could fully retract. Gemini Black never got a chance to really do some damage before that hammer made it smoke badly. And then the drone kill was epic because it was the pilot's own control screwing up and hitting the retracting hammer arm...followed by Basilisk running the wrecked drone over. Then Gemini Red got its shit wrecked but that was not enough for Blacksmith, which lit itself on fire just for shits and giggles before proving it was still mobile.

Match 3 was a whole lot of nothing. I'm shocked to hear Invader was actually the thing that killed Biohazard all those years ago given it only needed one collision throwing itself into the hub of a wall screw in order to start literally self destructing and bouncing around like an air hockey puck. And Lycan's big thing was its speed, which didn't make up for it's weirdly idiotic weapon design since its plow apparently made sure nothing would get into its jaws. And ironically it too self-destructed when it took a completely avoidable hit from the already disqualified Invader and its drive chain was shattered. Mohawk has a cool gimmick with the flame Mohawk but Razer it is not for one critical flaw - that pincer is not articulated, as proven when it had difficulty clamping onto an incapacitated Lycan. I don't see it surviving long.

Match 4 was...sorta disappointing, since Skorpios looked like a versatile bot (though then again, if it was a guy who was derived from Wrecks, hilarious failure was probably to be expected), but Black Ice made a very good showing for a simple rookie bot even if that "roadblock" thing was less than useless. Though whether that was due to the high slope design of Black Ice (those inner spinny blades did nothing) or the poor design of Bad Kitty (both functionally AND aesthetically) or a combination of the two, it is hard to tell.

But that preview trailer, HOLY SHIT. So much awesome. The biggest surprise for me though? THAT WAS MOTHERFUCKING TENTOUMUSHI. That goddamn ladybug bot is back and how exactly it is supposed to stand a chance against anybody these days - assuming it is still the same design from a decade ago, probably not - is beyond me. Though I do hope it is completely new and isn't the same or is similar to Plan X, since Plan X only even won that single early match on account of its opponent being even stupider in design.

I DO have to wonder why they did all the promotions for this event to the point of having Gregg guest-judge on this when it was only a one-off and the real season won't start until late next month. Would've been easier to tack it on when S2 actually starts as far as I can figure.

 

[Super Collie]

Two out of the four fights were epic, I completely agree -50% isn't the best but in fairness this was essentially the first qualifying round so the weak bots getting funneled out now so the main tournament has stronger bots on average is A OK in my book - and the preview at the end literally made me drop a WTF when the absolute last thing I could possibly expect popped up.

Spoiler: More episode discussion

Match 1 was unquestionably a wash - mini bots in general don't seem to have any worthwhile purpose, even considering Witch Doctor's mini from last season which probably was the most successful of them all by virtue of surviving that three-way against Nightmare and Ovehaul - and Son of Wyatchi's design is basically a spin bot without the significant risk of self-destruction. Creepy Crawlies never stood a chance even against a half-compenent driver, frankly. And Ultraviolet's problem was straight up fear instead of agression - similar to why Bronco lost against Tombstone last year - and tried to figure out how to get around SoW's weapon instead of simply plowing forward and trying to flip it immediately, since that's the only real weakness SoW has due to the weapon's spin-up time. Truth be told, I was actually surprised SoW was even in this match, since that robot was a Giant Nut winner in the original Season 3. But I still think this was a good fight if only because it was a total destruction fest and that's why we all watch this show, right?

Match 2 was a total roller coaster. The flame throwing hammer sounded dumb until it was shown in action, and then it just murdered everything. Basilisk was done the moment its flipper was forced down by the hammer before it could fully retract. Gemini Black never got a chance to really do some damage before that hammer made it smoke badly. And then the drone kill was epic because it was the pilot's own control screwing up and hitting the retracting hammer arm...followed by Basilisk running the wrecked drone over. Then Gemini Red got its shit wrecked but that was not enough for Blacksmith, which lit itself on fire just for shits and giggles before proving it was still mobile.

Match 3 was a whole lot of nothing. I'm shocked to hear Invader was actually the thing that killed Biohazard all those years ago given it only needed one collision throwing itself into the hub of a wall screw in order to start literally self destructing and bouncing around like an air hockey puck. And Lycan's big thing was its speed, which didn't make up for it's weirdly idiotic weapon design since its plow apparently made sure nothing would get into its jaws. And ironically it too self-destructed when it took a completely avoidable hit from the already disqualified Invader and its drive chain was shattered. Mohawk has a cool gimmick with the flame Mohawk but Razer it is not for one critical flaw - that pincer is not articulated, as proven when it had difficulty clamping onto an incapacitated Lycan. I don't see it surviving long.

Match 4 was...sorta disappointing, since Skorpios looked like a versatile bot (though then again, if it was a guy who was derived from Wrecks, hilarious failure was probably to be expected), but Black Ice made a very good showing for a simple rookie bot even if that "roadblock" thing was less than useless. Though whether that was due to the high slope design of Black Ice (those inner spinny blades did nothing) or the poor design of Bad Kitty (both functionally AND aesthetically) or a combination of the two, it is hard to tell.

But that preview trailer, HOLY SHIT. So much awesome. The biggest surprise for me though? THAT WAS MOTHERFUCKING TENTOUMUSHI. That goddamn ladybug bot is back and how exactly it is supposed to stand a chance against anybody these days - assuming it is still the same design from a decade ago, probably not - is beyond me. Though I do hope it is completely new and isn't the same or is similar to Plan X, since Plan X only even won that single early match on account of its opponent being even stupider in design.

I DO have to wonder why they did all the promotions for this event to the point of having Gregg guest-judge on this when it was only a one-off and the real season won't start until late next month. Would've been easier to tack it on when S2 actually starts as far as I can figure.

I don't know, it seems awfully suspicious that they'd take Son of Whyachi -- a former champion -- and stick it in this special qualification round, if not for any other reason that to "guarantee" at least one "good" fight. That's what bothers me, I heard that ABC was forced to do things like make the arena hazards automatic to remove the human factor since the hazard operator can have bias. (This was all done due to that 1950's quiz show scandal when they were rigging the outcomes.) But at the same time, shit like Son of Whyachi's fight comes off as potentially rigged.

 

[Optimus Prime]

I don't know, it seems awfully suspicious that they'd take Son of Whyachi -- a former champion -- and stick it in this special qualification round, if not for any other reason that to "guarantee" at least one "good" fight. That's what bothers me, I heard that ABC was forced to do things like make the arena hazards automatic to remove the human factor since the hazard operator can have bias. (This was all done due to that 1950's quiz show scandal when they were rigging the outcomes.) But at the same time, shit like Son of Whyachi's fight comes off as potentially rigged.

They made the hazards automatic? The pulverizes were IIRC given to the control of the enemy operators - of course there'd be bias with those at least. But I was wondering why the killsaws or the screws didn't trigger at all last night.

Though if there's gonna be a rigged fight...SoW vs Nightmare Round II will happen.

 

[Super Collie]

They made the hazards automatic? The pulverizes were IIRC given to the control of the enemy operators - of course there'd be bias with those at least. But I was wondering why the killsaws or the screws didn't trigger at all last night.

Though if there's gonna be a rigged fight...SoW vs Nightmare Round II will happen.

From what I know, the hazards are completely disabled in the "qualification rounds", so these 4 matches from last night plus this first upcoming round where the robots get their "seeding" numbers the hazards will be turned off. After that, the hammers are operated by the red and blue teams, and then the ramps, saws, spikes, and screws are all automatic.

 

[Super Collie]

If you have a Hulu subscription, or if your cable provider offers "ABC Go" I think, you can stream BattleBots here:
(I don't have Hulu and torrented the episode after watching it live, haha.)

 

[Optimus Prime]

Dredging this thread up in preparation for Thursday when the need to see robots tear each other apart shall be sated once more.

 

[Super Collie]

Heck yeah!

For those who are curious, I dug up this link from Reddit that shows all the match-ups for Thursday's episode. The official BattleBots website has photos of all the robots and teams so you can see what everyone's designs look like.

I'm definitely looking forward to Tombstone vs. Black Ice; as much as I'm rooting for Black Ice as an underdog they've got some bad luck being matched up with last year's runner-up. I'm anticipating Black Ice to get obliterated. Escape Velocity also looks pretty legit for a multi-bot, and it's up against the new version of Overdrive (which absolutely sucked last year). The new Warhead looks beast with the T-Rex head, and it's battling Obwalden Overlord... which I can't wrap my head around. It looks like Refbot from Robot Wars.

There's also a few robots on the official website that don't seem to appear on the brackets anywhere, so I guess they didn't qualify or something. Preying Mantis looks like some kind of gimmick on par with the Overlord. No idea why one of them got in but the other didn't.

 

[Optimus Prime]

The new ep started six minutes ago but since through the miracle of recording devices I always start my shows 15 minutes in so I can at least skip the first round of commercials.

I'm definitely looking forward to Tombstone vs. Black Ice; as much as I'm rooting for Black Ice as an underdog they've got some bad luck being matched up with last year's runner-up. I'm anticipating Black Ice to get obliterated.

A spinning multi-pound bar that even half its length is probably longer than Black Ice itself...vs Black Ice?

Unless Black Ice gets absurdly lucky and that silly road blockade thing somehow jams Tombstone's weapon...nah there isn't a chance in hell because even without the weapon Tombstone easily is the more powerful bot when it comes to tractive effort.

Escape Velocity also looks pretty legit for a multi-bot, and it's up against the new version of Overdrive (which absolutely sucked last year).

So a dual flipper/spin bot...vs what is clearly Overkill 2.0 (the original was also built and operated by C2 Robotics) but with its giant saw replaced with a smaller, vertical version of Tombstone's weapon.

Should be interesting to watch them fight, that's for sure.

The new Warhead looks beast with the T-Rex head, and it's battling Obwalden Overlord... which I can't wrap my head around. It looks like Refbot from Robot Wars.

Holy shit they finally gave that old bastard Warhead an upgrade! It actually looks like it can do stuff this time because that drum spinner wasn't worth shit against Stinger.

And...yeah, I want to see this fight just to see what OO is supposed to do. Though frankly, given RW Refbot got into a tussle with Sgt. Bash that one time - and won - maybe there is a method to the madness?

There's also a few robots on the official website that don't seem to appear on the brackets anywhere, so I guess they didn't qualify or something. Preying Mantis looks like some kind of gimmick on par with the Overlord. No idea why one of them got in but the other didn't.

It kinda says something when trying to access the sub page for Mantis...isn't leading to anything but a blank page.

Also some surprising designs poping up here - or at least design copies - since 'The Disk O' Inferno' is way too obviously RW's Hypnodisc, there are now TWO Stinger bots which should make things quite excellent because just one of them was surprisingly nimble and adaptable on the field, I don't know HOW but WARRIOR CLAN is back with a giant air drone thing (probably will die just as easily as its two predecessors) ...and there's like five modified copies of Tombstone

 

[Optimus Prime]

Running commentary!

Spoiler: Fight 1 - Bronco vs Blacksmith

FUCKING. YES. This is a perfect start for the main season. A little of expected excitement with Bronco, then a dash of anticipation and hopeful surprise in Blacksmith. Also love how Bronco's sideskirts flipped up for better protection.

And like the dummy hammer from SSBB, the imagined 'WAH WAH WAH WAAAAAAAAHHHHH' was heard by everyone.

But that said, Blacksmith even losing its weapons put up one hell of a strong effort and has some insane durability to survive that many flips-into-ground-impacts. In comparison, Bronco only got in a few good flips but otherwise wasn't nearly as aggressive compared to Blacksmith which even with a piston powered stick almost seemed to turn the upright armor of Bronco against itself.

Also, I think next season self-right mechanisms to get off those screw hubs will be a thing next season because that is increasingly becoming the biggest threat in the arena than any of the actual hazards!

Spoiler: Fight 2 - Cap. Shrederator vs Death Roll

I feel kinda bad for the girl because that is not going to be thick enough armor on those exposed wheels against a spin-bot. Calling it now - unless Shederator self destructs (like Invader) or ends up flipped somehow like last season, it will DESTROY Death Roll like Tombstone against...well, everyone except Bite Force.

And while I was right...the wheels being the last thing to go and then the main weapon refusing to die when the rest of the bot was utterly ripped to shreds deserves some respect.

Spoiler: Fight 3- Lucky vs Beta

Nice story about Beta, but that giant hammer arm may be its achellies heel if it gets caught on something. Though Lucky -

Wow. That bot just fell off the fucking cart. Certainly unexpected!

Anyway, Lucky doesn't seem too long for this world regardless if it wins or not, because those tiny exposed wheels on the side...yeah, given the last fight that is a weird lack of armor for all eventualities.

And both of these bots seem to have some kind of issue with their weapons having some really poor recharge times on their weapons - especially since Beta finally started doing it rapidly only at the end - and Lucky's arm not becoming inoperable for spending more time in the open position than closed despite getting hit with that hammer was surprising.

All in all it was actually a pretty damn good fight because both bots were evenly matched despite the odds - but Beta was of course the stronger contender.

Spoiler: Fight 4 - Icewave vs Subzero

They skipped it but yeah...Icewave was the stronger contender anyway.

Spoiler: Fight 5 - Ultimo Destructo vs Ringmaster

Three hits, huh? So much for UD being bigger. Good thing, too, Ringmaster looked pretty cool so I want to see that bot in action for real.

Spoiler: Fight 6 - Overdrive (V2) vs Escape Velocity

I actually think the old Overdrive - or hell, Overkill from the original Battlebots seasons - would have won this with its speed and flipper ram arm, and the fact it even had a design flaw where it could end up incapacitated on its side is shocking given the experience involved.

Spoiler: Fight 7 - Tombstone vs Black Ice

Yeah who didn't see that coming.

Spoiler: Fight 7 - Minotaur vs Photon Storm

Minotaur looks awesome, I do hope it goes the distance.

Photon Storm...okay, what the fuck am I even looking at?

HE WROTE THE BOOK ON ROBOT COMBAT! That is fantastic, truly.

And yeah, Photon Storm had the one shot and missed by the smallest of margins...and the fact it couldn't DO anything after clamping Minotaur was a real problem.

Spoiler: Fight 8 - Chomp vs. Disc O' Inferno

Ah, yes, Chomp...uh, as much as I approve of the complete redesign, is the self-control AI thing really that much of an advantage over, oh, the human brain?

Disk appears to have a spinner AND a flipper (or at least the self-righter) and much, much more agile, so as much as I feel sorry for that girl, Chomp is going to have to really pull out some badassery to win this in my book.

And goddamn it did just that! Disc not having its main weapon probably did more than anything Chomp actually did, but those were some strong blows from Chomp that clearly screwed up the front drive wheels. And enough to overturn Adam Savage's opinion and give Chomp the win! A win well deserved - and also ironic given Disc's driver came in this by insulting all the other drivers :lol

Spoiler: Fight 9 - Hyprshock vs Ultraviolent

"Unsuckified" is now a word. I approve.

Hypershock didn't get the chance to really do anything IIRC (and probably would have lost anyway since that fight was against Icewave) so this should be interesting.

And I KNEW Ultraviolent lost in the qualifiers, but as a last minute substitute is understandable. I do wonder who had to pull out for mechanical failure, though - probably one of the newer entries. That is a goddamn Cylon face though.

Both robots look to be insanely agile, so this could be fast and brutal.

And by fast I was not expecting Hypershock to...

Goddamn I can't even keep up with...

Wow. Just...goddamn. Maybe last year Hypershock could have won against Icewave. But there was NOTHING left of Ultravicerated between that drum spinner, the screws, and its own acrobatic nonsense.

Spoiler: Fight 10 - Complete Control vs Bombshell

Yeah yeah you fucking knew that was a low blow with the net you dick and Ghost Raptor destroying you last season was well deserved.

Swiss Army bot is a thing, huh? Also, this should be good if THEY brought a present for the CC team.

That plant thing is the single dumbest thing though. Like, did the CC team do acid or something for that intro? More like team Tryhard.

Drone looks cool, at least, hopefully it does something more interesting than die.

Welp, another reason why drones kind of are shit and are more a hazard to themselves than the enemy. Cute idea but without finer VTOL control surfaces this just isn't going to work in the long run.

And there has to be some kind of irony that last season, team CC lost because they relied on gimmicks, yet this season they cut the bullshit (aside from that plant thing...seriously, what the hell) and pure grip and flame won out over a bot that did.

Spoiler: 11 - Bite Force vs Mohawk

Bite Force 2.0 looks less impressive than the original, but maybe subtle works. Not really "BITE" Force though...

Spoiler: 12 - Bucktooth Burl vs Chrome Fly

Chrome fly wins in a fight of duds. Good that they skipped it because man this sounded boring.

Spoiler: 13 - Warrior Clan vs Splatter

Another fight where spinners win simply by not self destructing. Also, was that plastic shell armor over the wheels on Splatter? Seriously?!

Spoiler: 14 - Stinger vs Nightmare

Ah man, the fact they're skipping this fight is sorta disappointing because holy SHIT Stinger got torn to bits and still won because...yeah, Nightmare is kind of a glass one trick pony canon that kind of looks out of date despite being an iconic Battlebots staple on account of why the fuck has it not had a self-right mechanism designed after that's how it fucking loses every time it simply isn't blown apart anyway? Glad Stinger won, though, that bot is deceptively potent and is probably one of my favorites of the new breed of Battlebots from this new series (Bronco doesn't really count since it's the same dudes who did Toro)

Spoiler: 15 - Overlord vs Warhead

My god, this actually IS some Real Steel/Pacific Rim shenanigans going on here. But...using Tombstone as the gold standard, how exactly is it supposed to win against the boogeyman robot? Those cords get cut and it's useless!

And Warhead...well, they added fire and sharp crap so its an improvement I suppose.

...and that managed to be even LESS exciting than it looks on paper. Seriously, what was that damn robot meant to even DO without that right arm since it was faulty from the get go? A flame throwing T-rex head literally just bludgeoned and gnawed the whole fight to victory.

So, all in all, a fine start to this season proper. All the worthwhile matches were entertaining and relatively well matched (except Hypershock because goddamn that thing is a motherfucking BLENDER), the short and relatively one sided matches along with the boring ones were skipped, except the last one because really that shit was so fucking ridiculous they had to end with not-Refbot getting destroyed by a fucking T-rex head, and next week looks even better with Witch Doctor, resurrected Tentomushi, SOW, and GHOST RAPTOR making their glorious returns. All I need now is for them to bring back the old logo because the new one looks bland as shit!

 

[AnimuGinger]

I found this On Demand and was going to post about it. But I really, really, really just love watching people get fucked in 20 seconds, and then a TKO.

 

[Super Collie]

Two hours of BattleBots was so hype. Great to see Bronco hasn't lost its edge and still just indiscriminately throws its opponents everywhere. :3

That Disco Inferno and Chomp fight though, god damn. People really hate Chomp. There was so much salt with people decrying "womyn in tech that's why she won". I agree that it was a shitty call by the judges, but that's because in the fight I saw Disco Inferno was all over its opponent and Chomp spent almost the entire fight on its side. Kinda sucks that so many of the fights featuring last year's stars (Bite Force, Tombstone, Nightmare, etc) were all shortened down to clips though.

 

[AnimuGinger]

Two hours of BattleBots was so hype. Great to see Bronco hasn't lost its edge and still just indiscriminately throws its opponents everywhere. :3

That Disco Inferno and Chomp fight though, god damn. People really hate Chomp. There was so much salt with people decrying "womyn in tech that's why she won". I agree that it was a shitty call by the judges, but that's because in the fight I saw Disco Inferno was all over its opponent and Chomp spent almost the entire fight on its side. Kinda sucks that so many of the fights featuring last year's stars (Bite Force, Tombstone, Nightmare, etc) were all shortened down to clips though.

Chomp was pretty much getting fucked the entire match. And we all know that Chomp is going to get rekt the moment it faces a more powerful weapon.

I really, really want to watch Minotaur destroy Chomp. I would pay money for that.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Battlebots lower 48

Spoiler: 1. Brutus vs Moebeus

The gold guns are kind of tacky but as flamethrowers I suppose it's okay - wait, actual projectiles?

And as always with Full Body Spinners ( from here on 'FBS') - if what it doesn't self-destruct it will win.

Classy entrance, though, guess we really are now robot wresting.

...okay, that seriously is legal?! Litterally guns? What kind of bullshit is this?

Oh, okay - the bullets are actually harmless special effects and Moebeus self destructed. CALLED IT.

Spoiler: 2. Son of Wyatchi vs. Ghost Raptor

Or for...which bot is he using here? Get on with it already!

Granted, that man wants blood and revenge. GRUDGE MATCH IS GO!

I'd argue that the mini-bot is stupid (it's SOW for pete's sake!) but, press the advantage when possible, and mini bots never last long.

Oh man, I legit thought SOW was going to end up self destructing when it looked like GW was taking those hits...but that was movie style dramatic plot twist when GW started the blade and was visibly straining due to the damage.

That final blow was epic, suffice to say.

Spoiler: 3. Lock-jaw vs Yeti

Yeti being 'all offense' and no armor sounds like a recipe for disaster.

I mean, Lock-jaw looks rebuilt for even greater effect with the beak, and it's Mutant Robotics - multiple time nut winners.

Actually, with those slanted wheels, it looks like last season's Overdrive except with a not-shit weapon

Man, Lock-Jaw took a crapload of damage but it still controlled the fight and repeatedly stopped that drum spinner.I'm surprised it even still worked by the end and didn't burn itself out. If Yeti loses (and it better damn not win) it will Wildcard.

Okay, that is bullshit, Lock-Jaw had that fight locked down. Good thing Yeti's lack of armor will be its downfall (seriously, how do you not put armor when there's bloody SAWS IN THE FLOOR?)

Spoiler: Highlights (fights 4 - 7)

4. Mega-Tento vs. Poison Arrow

Wow, not even an intro - oh, it's a highlight. Neither of them seemed that good (if you have to use a drone...) - honestly for MegaTento to really work, it needs the internal spinner to be a bar ala Tombtone.

5. Overhaul vs Cobalt

Meh. Overhaul seemed overhyped from the first season. Glad it lost.

6. Razorback vs Sawblaze

Will have to watch the YT upload for that chain snapping. Glad Razorback won, it did kind of get a crap draw last season ve Icewave.

7. Red Devil vs Wrecks.

Wow, that robot is so shit it took ITSELF out! God, who thought it was a smart idea

Spoiler: 8. Witch Doctor vs Rotator

I hope this isn't as stupid as last week's fight. Given Witch Doctor is involved, at least one bot is proven to be able to throw a punch.

And Rotator...that many moving parts and chains internally may pose a problem.

Oh, just noticed - WITCH DOCTOR FINALLY HAS A SRIMET! And the skull on the spinner looks even lamer!

And yeah - at no point you turn your EXPOSED WHEELS away from the vertical spinner? Actually, tuth be told, I think that is a critical problem with the design - those rotating bars moving in OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS (seen in the pre-countdown warm-up) screwed up the robot's center of gravity and made it too slow to turn against the four-wheeled Doc.

Wildcards:

wow, Disco didn't make it. That's a real shock.

- Blacksmith - YEAAAAH! Glad he got in, the hammer flying off was random as hell but hopefully it won't happen next time.

- Lucky - Seriously? This thing beat out Disco despite having done hardly anything?

- Bombshell - Hopefully next time their weapon is better.

- Nightmare - Did it really do that well before Stinger took it out? I saw a tire explode but the alleged malfunctioning Srimet and Nightmare's typical glass cannon traits make it one of the less viable bots since it isn't that agile.

- Ghost Raptor - Something tells me the GR/SOW fight was intentionally set up for the grudge match and both bots were going through anyway.

- Lock-Jaw - GOOD.

- Mega-Tento - Oh this has to be making people salty that the damn Ladybug got through for its ancient legacy over Disco.

- Overhaul - Ugh. This thing is just so overhyped that its own team literally split three ways as a result. Though on the plus side I will greatly enjoy watching its inevitable demise.

Going over the list of robots that made it through, as far as I can tell? Every robot from Season 1 is back in with a handful of newcomers except the two who didn't return at all (Sweet Revenge, Radioactive), Overdrive, and ... weirdly Warrior Clan. According to the results, WC did qualify but its absence in the 48 qualifiers is odd.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Tourney Time! Round of 32 Single Elimination Part 1

Before going into the actual fights, it is interesting that the Wyachi robots are on a collision course...and SOW wins there because, well, it's fucking SOW.

1. Yeti vs Lucky

I'm a bit biased against both bots being here (the former I think should have lost to Lockjaw, the latter didn't really seem to earn wildard status) so I like this matchup greatly.

And that return blow just slicing off the lifter arm is EXACTLY why I thought that bot shouldn't have gotten wild card - that lifter arm being exposed for so long was ASKING for trouble. Yeti has earned my respect now because it basically seems to be Ultraviolent except the opposite of a piece of shit.

2. Minotaur vs Blacksmith

Oooh, another good matchup. Preemptively I'm gonna say Minotaur because of its speed and drum spinner, since Blacksmith needs to have dead-on accuracy with the hammer to land hits. Photon Storm missing the wheel by centimeters cost it the fight, so even with the titanium armor upgrade, Minotaur being a relatively flat bot could be a disadvantage.

And these two are just going at it but while Blacksmith's wedge seemed to work initially, it got ripped off like it was nothing and THERE GOES THE HEAD AGAIN!

Not to mention Blacksmith's face and...well, Minotaur wrecked it so damn hard it literally set it on fire internally. Excellent fight.

3. Chrome Fly vs Bronco

...This is Battlebots so anything can happen, but against Bronco? When Chrome Fly's weapon failed against Bucktooth Burl? God, I think those stats alone show this is looking like another Overlord fight. Except instead of Warhead it's a robot that can actually go the distance and HAS faced off against Tombstone.

Wow. Definition of curbstomp. And Chrome Fly destroyed itself by hitting a giant, static metal wedge. But at seed 31, what the hell is seed 32?!

4. Witch Doctor vs Red Devil

Not really sure how to gauge this one since Red Devil didn't need to do shit to defeat Wrecks. But that many moving parts? I have my doubts given WD's deadly skull.

...wow, Red Devil needs to be destroyed now, that was a fucking cheap as shit clamp opener that lasted WAY more than 10 seconds. Cheating fuck.

 

[AnimuGinger]

I'm getting really, really bored with the "drones" people keep throwing in with their bots. It flies, and it's pretty much fucking useless.
And minibots. People never really use them well.

 

[AnimuGinger]

Spoiler

Mega Tento was pretty much being fucked up the entire match. I'm getting tired of blatantly pandering decisions. Dangerhair should have lost.