MovieChat Forums > BattleBots (2015) Discussion > July 21 fights

July 21 fights

posted 9 years ago by joen0411
15 replies | jump to latest

Complete Control vs Warhead: They posted a video about this fight making it out to be something amazing so my expectations were cautiously high. I have to admit that neither of these bots really interest me. Complete control is useless and Warhead has almost a good weapon but not quite, just my opinion. So they replaced they useless dragon/dinosaur/whatever head on Warhead and put back the spinning wheel. At least they put back an actual weapon but also claimed it was more powerful. So it looks like their claim was right about more power because Warhead got the first hit and put a big gash in Complete Control and also knocked Warhead across the arena. Warhead was also shooting some gas or smoke out of its "arms". I honestly don't remember if it had ability to shoot flames or not but couldn't tell what that was. After the first hit Warhead's wheel wouldn't start back up and Complete control was limping back and forth. The wheel started spinning again and it got two more hits in then suddenly it's right arm shot out a flame which interacted with Complete control's flame and boom. Complete control was completely on fire, pun intended. We've had lots of smoke and small flames before but you could roast a lot marshmallows with this fire. Then Warhead flipped over and started using its wheel to move. No idea if that was supposed to be some victory dance or its wheels were not longer moving and this was the only way to keep the bot in motion. Did the fight live up to the hype? The fire was cool but ehhhh?

Razorback vs Ghost Raptor: To me Ghost Raptor is one of those bots that keeps claiming to be a good design but can never prove it. It has had more than enough chances to prove itself these last two seasons and hasn't. Razorback decided to switch from spinning drum to claw weapon which considering the new rules is a risky choice. Now Razorback made a smart move, went right for GR with no hesitation at start of fight so it could hit it before GR's blade started spinning at full speed. Then kept on hitting it keeping that blade from ever doing any real damage. Then Razorback got a hold of GR and did some weird back flip move that put GR on its back. Now GR does have the ability to right itself but either damage from previous fight or this fight seemed to have kept that from working. Razorback pushed GR around some more and eventually put it under the hammer. After that it was over but only after that hammer got in a lot of hits. So the claw worked for Razorback this time but with the new rules I think it should switch back to the spinning drum for future fights.

Kenny Florian made a Justin Bieber joke before they went to commercial. I have to admit I chuckled

Tombstone vs Escape Velocity: This fight was a forgone conclusion, Escape Velocity is Bronco's little weaker baby brother. I would use its flipper to gently turn chicken eggs in their nest. They new they were going to lose the moment they heard who they were up against. Despite using aerospace aluminum honeycomb to beef up its armor. Fight started, Tombstone smashed, fight was over. Ray Billings was actually a little cautious on this fight and didn't go in for more hits. He didn't want to take any chances and do damage to itself which would later hurt it in later fights. But he is the only one with a cocky attitude with the bot to back it up

S.O.W. vs Poison Arrow: This was the only real surprise to me. With its useless drone and mini bots, I don't consider Poison Arrow a serious bot. But it has a spinning drum which this year has proven to be the new weapon of choice. Both drivers waited for the other to get its weapon at full speed. They hit once and pushed each other back a little but then on second hit. S.O.W. goes flying and I think went up higher than Poison Arrow's drone. S.O.W. slowly started spinning again but Poison Arrow gave it another hit and after that S.O.W. was dead. Now Poison Arrow has a stationary target, easy for drone to come in and use its flame but doesn't do that. Instead it hits S.O.W. with the drum a few more times. Someone please explain to me the point of these drones. If Poison Arrow gets rid of its drone and mini bot to add more weight to primary bot it could be just as good as Minotaur, maybe. Watching S.O.W. get airborne was awesome.

[–] wellslv 9 years ago

I thought the Complete Control/Warhead was fun. Not the most deadly bots for sure, but that "spinning top" move was nuts. I don't believe for a second that they could've possibly aimed that move at Complete Control like Chris and Kenny said, though.

Agreed on the Tombstone/Escape Velocity fight, was to be expected. Dissapointing because I like how they encorporate space tech. I'd think the aerospace honeycomb armor would naturally be much lighter than other bots (given what it's designed for), thus they could invest in a heavier, more dangerous weapon system, but perhaps not. That said he didn't even get a chance to put hits in on Tombstone, did he?

Razorback had the perfect weapon for the job here, but yea, he probably ought to switch back to the spinner next. Really liked the suplex though.

I was shocked that the Poison Arrow/S.O.W fight turned out the way it did. Not familiar with the bots' histories (this is my first season watching) but S.O.W's design just appears very well engineered, practically bulletproof if pit against most of the bots. That was a hard hit and some crazy elevation it got, though. Not difficult to imagine some internal damage on landing.

[–] joen0411 9 years ago

Escape Velocity didn't even get a chance to get a hit

The biggest drawback to bots with spinning blades is that with every hit they potentially do damage to themselves. That's what happened with S.O.W. they mentioned that they were going to put it up to full power. Could they have beaten Poison Arrow with less power, I don't know. But going to full power got us the best drone out of the whole group

[–] Loodgookin 9 years ago

Once again, great recap of the fights.

Despite using aerospace aluminum honeycomb to beef up its armor.

While that stuff can absorb impact, there is no way it can absorb impact from a hit by tombstone. Plus, it looked like when the pieces flew off that there was double sided tap holding it on.

In the S.O.W vs P.A fight, I have to say that that was one of the best impacts I have seen on the show. Both weapons were at full power and the force from the collision rocked S.O.W more due to it being a horizontal spinner. I didn't see that coming. But now looking back, if P.A. could face S.O.W so that the horizontal blade hits the upward spinning drum, it makes sense that S.O.W would go flying.

Now Poison Arrow has a stationary target, easy for drone to come in and use its flame but doesn't do that.

I didn't get that either. It could have just hovered and burned it. Maybe it was out of respect? Also, IIRC, the owner of P.A. is trying to start up a drone business or has, so that may be why they showboat with it in the beginning and never really use it in the fight. IDK

[–] joen0411 9 years ago

Thanks again

I didn't buy the whole aerospace metal thing. Maybe if the entire bot was made of it but just putting it over existing body would do nothing.

Poison Arrow team hit it after it was disabled so it wasn't out of respect. And the fact that he has his own drone business makes it even more confusing. You finally get a chance to put it to use and you don't use it? Maybe he thought a few hits was no big deal and good for the crowd but actually setting on fire after its disabled would be bad sportsmanship. I guess that could be what he thought but it was a missed opportunity

[–] jurus1 9 years ago

Complete Control vs Warhead: The Warhead team can say it was a "special move" they were waiting to do since they design it, but I doubt it would've had the same result with any other bot. It's hard to tell if CC basically blew up because Warhead's flamethrowing mechanic was just that good, or simply because they lucked out in igniting whatever CC had for fueling it's own flamethrower. Still, I think Warhead is the better design, it deserved to win and seeing CC consumed by flames was just beautiful.

Razorback vs Ghost Raptor: With all the grabbing and flipping, watching this one felt like watching a WWE fight :D The claws were a smart move, but they would be useless against a superior bot like Bronco, so I'm guessing they'll go back to the drum or some other weapon for their next match.

Tombstone vs Escape Velocity: No surprises here, Well, one surprise. Tombstone swallowed his ego and avoided damaging itself again, with unneeded crowdpleasing hits after it was clear it won.

S.O.W. vs Poison Arrow: This one was a bit or a surprise but then again not so much. If S.O.W. took the lead and hit Poison Arrow's armour it would've probably won, but I knew that if PA got a hit on S.O.W. from any side it would have the advantage. As I said in previous posts, spinners get the most damage from themselves when they hit, and a vertical drum is simply better at absorbing it than a horizontal spinner, including when they directly hit each other.

[–] joen0411 9 years ago

I think the fire was a combination of Warhead shooting its fuel and CC's own flame weapon. Maybe Warhead cut something in CC during the fight but I doubt it.

It will be interesting to see how Tombstone does against a spinning drum. I'd love to see Tombstone vs Minotaur and it's actually the two bots I picked for the final fight in my bracket

[–] Crustacean_Predation 9 years ago

That Razorback suplex was the best part of the night. I've never seen a Battlebot grapple like that before.

[–] joen0411 9 years ago

That was one of the best moves I have ever scene in a fight.

[–] Legendary_Badass 9 years ago

First fight of the night between Complete Control and Warhead was great. Not the best fight of the season, but a top 3 thus far. Chun-Li's spinning bird kick was a nice touch.

The surprise of the night was Tombstone showing restraint. No more, "You want more?" this time Billings is here for the title and not the entertainment.

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[–] joen0411 9 years ago

He wants to take home the giant nut, I'm sure he was upset at his loss last season

[–] mr_greylon 9 years ago

Poison Arrow should just scrap the drone to beef up armor (provided the bot can handle the extra weight).

I know how some of these designers got all excited about adding drones this season, but they're not effective. In Battlebots current rule format and the bots fighting, there will never be a drone that wins a match for a team. Said it several times before, but the only time a drone will ever get involved in a match is if the grounded bot was trapped already.

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[–] mr_greylon 9 years ago

I enjoyed Ghost Raptor's run last season, because they had to jury rig for every fight after losing their spinning weapon. I enjoyed the build-on-the-fly. But yeah, it's just not a good bot. Once flipped, it was over.

But absolutely loved watch Complete Control in full flames. The cameraman that got the shot of the owner watching over his burning bot should get in an award. Beautiful

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[–] joen0411 9 years ago

Unless the drones can start carpet bombing they will never be useful. Even if they had two drones fighting they would just hit once and fall. I thought Ghost Raptor had the ability to right itself if flipped, I think it just got damaged and lost the power to do it. But I could be wrong. I wish they would show more of the stuff that happens behind the scenes when repairing bots to get them ready for the next fight.

[–] mr_greylon 9 years ago

Unless the drones can start carpet bombing they will never be useful.

That's sort of what I was thinking if the drones are going to be of any interest. Allow the drones some limited form of projectile / missile weapon. That way, the ground bots do have to pay some attention to an aerial threat. Right now, it's clear no competitors are even paying attention to the drones.

I really like the drone idea as an idea. But they've got to allow more room on design possibilities if they're ever going to be something significant.

If you buy a ticket for a remake, you are the problem, not Hollywood.

[–] LAV25USMC 9 years ago

My thoughts were along this line but since the rules didn't allow that, I thought (providing the rules allow it) that perhaps the drone itself could be used as the projectile.

Mount a solid metal rod or spear to it and then just kamikaze the drone into opposing bot in such a way as to jam the weapon or hinder its mobility. That might not work with some of the bots but I could see a heavy metal rod properly inserted keeping Tombstone's blade or Minotaur's drum from spinning. They might be able to insert it in such a way as to jam Bronco's flipper.

But pretty much anything would be better than what we've seen so far out of the drones.