Is it worth building an active weapon anymore?

**daveimi** · 7th January 2018, 11:41

Not in a miserable way, but in terms of other weight classes becoming spinners and bricks. I want to build a lifter but doesn't really seem much point if spinners are becoming wide spread at the live events and we're not allowed to snag the blades and bind them up.

**Al_** · 7th January 2018, 13:43

I realise I'm adding this reply as someone who has just posted a build diary of what amounts to a ram bot with no active weapon, but I still think active weapons are worth doing for a few reasons. For one, I don't plan on keeping the bot without an active weapon forever, but its a 'cheap' test platform to see that works against spinners and what doesn't particularly when you have never fought them before. Likewise, not every fight or event is going to have spinners in it and a load of ram bots / wedges pushing each other is only going to be slightly less dull than if every fight was spinner vs wedge.

I think there are probably lots of designs that could beat spinners as evidenced across all the weight categories. Wasn't it Rory's lifter than won the gladiator battle at the last FW championships for example? Variety is the spice of life and all that.

**Maxamuslead** · 7th January 2018, 14:40

Originally Posted by daveimi

Not in a miserable way, but in terms of other weight classes becoming spinners and bricks.

Yet a flipper is a Featherweight champ and Heavyweight champ form the same team.

there is only three arenas in the UK which can contant spinners.

Robot Wars (only class one arena IIRC)

Extreme Robots has a Class two arena IIRC which the spinners a limited in power

Robochallenge class 2F (featherweights only) which Neon (Ellis's featherweight) couldn't run a full power due to having similer enengy in its bar to a "low yeild heavyweight" spinner

so yeah there is plenty of reason to build non spinner active weapons, one being that you can go to way more events.

**daveimi** · 7th January 2018, 15:09

OK that's cool. Sorry for sounding fed up. I'm going to build a lecky lifter with an arm a bit like a rubbish Mini Mighty Mouse lol.

**HereticBlue** · 9th January 2018, 02:58

Originally Posted by daveimi

Not in a miserable way, but in terms of other weight classes becoming spinners and bricks. I want to build a lifter but doesn't really seem much point if spinners are becoming wide spread at the live events and we're not allowed to snag the blades and bind them up.

*cough*

electric lifters 4 lyf

**Maxamuslead** · 9th January 2018, 09:01

Originally Posted by HereticBlue

electric lifters 4 lyf

Didn't your heavyweight have a spinner ? XD

**Garfie489** · 9th January 2018, 11:20

Your required to have an active weapon to be accepted for Robot Wars.

And that weapon needs to be extremely unique and incomparable to other entries - thus overhead flywheel is pretty unique