I love BattleBots so much. Hard to believe that some people can get (apparently) so upset at a show about recreational fighting robots. According to the comments here, it was a HORRIBLE season. But I think we're seeing just a bunch of squeaky wheels, while the rest of us are quite content with season 6, and giddy with anticipation for what's coming next.

Another what? Bit of news to rule changes? New batch of episodes with Bounty Hunters? Are we getting the exhibition fights? Is this in regards to season 7? Or (hopefully not) did some new controversy appear?

Yes, please don't keep us waiting too long on when this year's tapings will be. I got travel to plan!

So when are supporters going to see the chair fight that you hinted at some time ago?

Another? A date, we have not!

Hopefully with new judges

May the Bite Force be with us.

Bite Force needs to come back and just wreck everybody

Zach Swartz interesting from a competitors perspective I think the judges were pretty consistent on overall score and were following the judging guidelines very closely. But it did take me some time and thought to understand the new judging criteria. Have you read them?

Obviously this new bot joins the arena!

New judges it needs.

Spin-off season? yes, we know. It had a massive effect on the production when trying to film two shows at once.

Yeah I don’t dig being hyped for months. Either do it soon or stop talking.

Better be soon. Because the hype has been killing me.

May the 4th (be with you).

...season? ...episode? ...skywalker? ...Billings? ...Ewert brother?

I don’t even know who won this year. I quit watching when Tombstone lost.

The forth with you this year ... STRONG IT IS ... ❤ More than you may know ... until then I'll be waiting ... my friend ...

I had heard that one of the personalities was leaving. I hope this is not in reference to that.

Tombstone II with wheel guards.....

The Force is Strong in these Bots

You are finally releasing the show to more than 1 country?

I missed something; what are they taking about here?

Yes, yes there is.

Here’s the problem with that: if a team feels they’re ahead on damage, they could just run away and force the fight to end and go to the judges.

I think this rule is fine, especially the last part. While we had fantastic fights like Sawblaze v. MadCatter and Yeti v. Skorpios, we also had one of the worst fights in the form of Retrograde v. Defender. The match dragged on, and I feel this rule could apply here.

There’s always going to be room for controversy when things are left in the hands of individual refs because one person’s lack of engagement is another’s holding back. Let’s look at Witch Doctor vs Minotaur. One ref was telling the team a count was coming and to hold off while the other was being told by the team they were in control and so the count never came. I think the biggest failing of the last season was communication - there almost needs to be a head ref between the two to actively pass messages back and forth and be in command of the reffing station. Either that or just tell the teams, you engage until the buzzer. When a robot engages mid-count, pause the count and continue once the robot disengages. Further still, give the refs a button to control arena lighting to signal a count out is taking place. That big flashy light tree at the back of the box was doing exactly that for the upper deck, why not have the refs push a button to alert the other team that a count is in place and to disengage while that count is on. Lights could go yellow for show movement and then flash red for the count. Just some ideas

In boxing / MMA the first step is a warning from the Ref. Then... the Ref can deduct points. Then a DQ can be issued. .. I've only seen one DQ in fighting due to lack of engagement. I'm sure it's happened more than once, but I know of one good example like this. .. At the end of the day.. some matches are just boring. It would be great if every single match were spectular, but every sport has it's share of less-than-spectacular match-ups. ..

Definitely still need to be able to pressure a fleeing team into engaging without ending the match and giving them the JD they were hoping for.

Makes a little bit of sense, that’ll mean Hydra will need better wheels

I like the simplicity, but as others have pointed out, I don't think "contact" alone is a good enough criteria. A double count-out would be unfair to the pursuing bot if one bot is actively pursuing while the opponent is "running away" to avoid contact.

You know I’m not really sure what’s wrong with the current rule? It seems fair, have we ever had a problem with it?

The 2022 finals was somewhat controversial in that Tantrum scooted around the opponents without touching them and burning time. OK that was considered as aggression. (sic) There needs to be a time limit without contact. Just as there is a time limit to pinning/capturing an opponent.

A double KO? No, I don't think that would be fair. Especially if one bot is actively trying to engage while the other keeps backing away. Example: Hydra vs. Ribbot. I'd also would like to know what this potential time limit would be, because many bots will if needed back off from an opponent for as long as it takes to get their weapon back up to full speed. There's also the fact that bots shouldn't be able to park in one section of the arena, and wait for the opponent to come to them.

there should be a consideration for a bot that is attempting to avoid contact, hoping that a judges decision on earlier fight activity will find in their favor.

I like it. It’s simple yet does seem like it would help the fights stay interesting. I guess it really boils down to what counts as “engagement”. The “make physical contact with” makes sense, but how best would you define engagement otherwise? Something along the lines of “moving to the other Robot with an attempt to continue the fight”? It could be tied into how the judges define Aggression on the scorecards, that seems like a good comparison (to me, at least). I will say, I really do like the enforcement of a double-KO, if the situation is right. I think including the aspect of the current rule where if one team is clearly not engaging, and just running away from the other robot or otherwise making it hard/impossible to fight should warrant a warning and a count-out for that team specifically. Maybe just throwing something like that in as a clause to the rule or something, just to have it in writing, regardless of if it’s implied by the new rule’s wording or not

You know matters most? What the BUILDERS THINK about any potential rule changes. I do see some builders on this thread, and that's good. After last season, I hope "Battlebots Corp" is holding some high level meetings with the builders - on a LOT of issues. Put the BUILDERS FIRST. Consistency and communication among the refs seems the way to go. I know we lost a long-time ref recently, and that is perhaps why there were only two refs. Having a head ref to manage the two might help. If you don't engage, you have a perfectly working bot, and you are reminded to engage, and then you should get counted out. If you are driving around the box to spin up or find the right angle for a hit, that is fine and that should be obvious to a good ref. If you think the other team is going to get counted out, you still have to keep going in for hits until that count down starts. I get it when you feel you've done enough to win and you want to spare your bot anymore damage, but there must be a bias for action. I do have to laugh when one driver yells at his or her opponent, "Stop running away!" Getting engagement AND controlled movement better defined, having all builders on board with the rules, and then applying them consistently in Season 7 - boy, that would be awesome, wouldn't it? Just my opinion. I'm not a builder but I finance a teenager who competes with one pretty nasty beetle and two ants. 😁

Normally I'm the first to say that weird fight outcomes are the results of a rules problem, but in this case its an officiating problem. The current rule is fine, although it could be clearer and therefore easier to enforce, and changing it is an overreaction which only gives the illusion of progress.

A standard boxing style standing count would be useful. Have the crabwalking/ damaged robot prove ability to continue while the other bot hangs back in a corner or opposite to the bot in trouble. 10 seconds to prove movement warning 10 second count to ko

I feel like I haven't seen the old rule enforced before, or at least not in any meaningful sense. What about a bot like Hydra, sitting in the middle of the box and waiting for the opponent to come to them? Couldn't you classify that as Engagement Avoidance? Or, on the other hand, Witch Doctor vs. Minotaur? I know there was a lot going on in that fight, but Witch Doctor was definitely avoiding Minotaur. And I've definitely seen one bot full on running from another bot, sometimes only to try to get their weapon spun up.

What’s the “given amount of time”? Driving is obviously a huge factor in this sport and there are times where finding the right spot to connect is important. Of note; one of the Hydra fights. They were able to rotate but never made an attempt to move other than controlled spin in the center, I believe even saying they had to wait for contact, which made the other bot come to them leading to their loss (someone correct me if I’m wrong here). I think you keep the old rule and start implementing rules on the judgment. That center only strategy may gain control points but should be zero for aggression. Sit and wait should give you less points. You may get the KO, and that’s fine, but if it’s judge’s decision than that bot should get nothing in aggression. Just thoughts off the cuff.

I think trying to make rules "to make matches exciting" is probably a lot of the problem with the controversies that have happened so far. It's the difference between wrestling and "pro wrestling". Matches are getting outcomes that don't match expectations because of rules like this to some extent. There's been matches where I've said "at any other comp X would obviously be the winner, but at BB it could be Y" and those are often the matches that are controversial. Get this idea that attacking broken robots is exciting out of your heads. It's not. It's just expensive for the competitors and against the spirit of the last 30 odd years of the sport where nobody would ever intentionally hit someone else when they are out. If you want to use this rule as a club to bash the drivers into attacking a robot that can't drive worth a damn you're doing robot combat wrong. Count the other robot out. If someone is running away the whole time they are going to lose the match anyway. Also let people tap out. It'd bring in a whole bunch of drama and let the teams remain generally more serviceable and save them cash. If a team wants to go full send of course by all means let them.

Why pray tell is this conversation only happening in the subscription hub?

Here’s a thing actually: why is the current ruling that it’s 60–90 seconds of a match they avoid engagement they get knocked out? Make it 30 because even 30 seconds is a lot of time in a match. Don’t overcomplicate this.

Are you going to apply a form of tap-out/submission? It’s proven successful in other events and I think you need to apply it in order for the competitors to submit if they wish.

No double counts unless neither bot is engaging. Most combat sports have penalties for non-engagement. In wrestling, your opponent gets a point after a warning. Any subsequent violations more points are awarded. Maybe something like that?

I'm fine with the upper deck getting removed completely, or at the very least moved to the corners. I also wouldn't mind the killsaws getting removed. I know they've been around since CC season 1, but they're just ineffective now. The other hazards can stay.

When are we gonna see Bounty Hunters season 2?!

Yes get rid of it!!!

I’d like to see elon musk build a robot for the show, maybe call it Tesloid

Let’s hope he does that. And also tells the producers to stop coming up with stupid rhyming things when the announcer introduces the contestants. SOOOOO cheesy. 🙄

The judges are a bigger problem than the shelf.

How about keep the shelf and build a tougher floor! 👍

Yeah I am not really a fan of the "upper deck"... I really don't get it's purpose.

He sucks. Just like the judging of last seasons finals!

My vote is on getting rid of ALL the hazards. I watch BB to see bots fight each other. That's the whole point of the show, team vs team. I don't give a damn how much damage the producers can do, and I'm sick of the hazards ruining fights. Bots getting stuck in the saw slots, bots getting jammed in the hammers, bots getting jammed in the screws... You're self destructing your own show, and it's sad.

There is nothing wrong with the judges. Minotaur should have lost that fight as they couldn’t progress in a forward motion. Minotaur shouldn’t be allowed back after the way he acted.

How about get rid of half of the between battle chatter and have an hour show. More action, less filler. 🙂

We can get rid of the announcements, intros and kill saws as well... Take it back to the good ole comedy central BattleBots!

The upper deck is great. The judging is broken. Faruq is top shelf. Fix it.

Get rid of the kill saws

I think they should add a pit instead of the shelf!!

Hey, how about a battlebots tour? My son has loved battlebots since he was 3 but I dont forsee us getting to the west coast but would REALLY love to bring him to a live show. We are on the east coast and getting to you just isnt possible which is a bummer. If you guys traveled closer, we would be there in a heartbeat!

It should have ramps on the sides so bots can jump from the top rope

Elon Musk I love you!

It's the kill saws that need to go. It's not the damage they do (that hardly ever happens) The real problem is that one of the big fights in each match is the battle for ground clearance and getting under each other. So often, robots with amazing designs get stuck on the little kill saw holes. It has totally ruined some matches and spoilt the pace of others.

They need to get rid of that uncomfortably long pause, where the teams have to pose, before going into the battle box. It’s so awkward and clunky.

BattleBots please tell me this is a joke or something...this can't be real? right? Even if he does buy it I hope the show stays. I enjoy it when I get to see it on TV

Is there legit hate on the upper deck? I love it! Creates way more engagement between bots

I have no problem with the judges I'm pretty sure I've agreed with 99.9% of the decisions. Now one of the judges has been wrong before but the other two made up for it

Just get rid of Smeeeeeee.

What could possibly go wrong?

Fire them all, their gonna some slack after this season terrible decisions and go to a points system 3 for win 1 for loss and 2 for a draw ie they both still driving, sorted

Minatur was ripped off cause of their bad judgement.

3 people that ruined the show this year.

Hydra should have been in the finals, say what you will but tantrum was flipped a ridiculous amount of times, and to say they won because more aggressive is ridiculous. Why the hell would hydra try to pursue a bot that kept coming to him over and over again to be flipped? By the time hydra turned and headed tantrums way they were already there to be flipped again, would have been like a spinner and a push bot fighting and the push bot kept running into the spinners weapon but in the end both bots were still standing. Would that mean the push bot would be the winner because they were stupid enough to keep driving into the other bots weapon? Hydra’s weapon was the the most effective in that fight and he controlled the fight so should have won, and I’m not even a hydra fan.

Need to change the battle box and rules. Should make it that a bot needs to be immobile to be disqualified. If they can spin, then they’re still in it. There’s been too many times when teams play it safe in the end, like Witch Doctor. Keep attacking until the bot literally doesn’t move

I hate people attacking the Judges. They've done nothing wrong the rules and guidelines that they follow are still very broken and a well thought out, civil conversation is required to fix them.

There should be a another category in judging. Visual common sense. Hydra dominated that category and, overall, I thought easily won the fight.

Judge Lisa got it right the whole time. WD should have been timed out. What is the diff if they get stuck on the platform or thrown over the side. The wheel came off after WD was stuck. Hydra should have won.

This season was the worst. The judging should be transparent. The number of hits should be counted just like they do in boxing. In this day of technology rich TV why don’t they assign just 2 ppl with the rewind button to count each and every hit? Bots like witch doctor who are afraid to pursue a wounded Minotaur don’t deserve to win.

Get rid of these jackels... Hydra clearly won that match. All i saw was tantrum in the air. Fail judges... Get new ones

I have to say there were some fights where I was really glad I was not a judge. They've got a really tough job.

You're all fired with the horrible calls at the end of what was a great season. The winner shouldn't be the legitimate winner.

I'd like to ask them what they were smoking when they made like half of their decisions this season

Here's the problem. You're having judges like boxing, but you're not copying their system. You're overcomplicating the scoring for a system that shouldn't be overcomplicated. Boxing judges don't score on damage and aggression because the sport has been around enough to know better. Hell, Mayweather wouldn't win a match if aggression was factored in. So, robot hits other robot = 1 point. Robot flips the other robot = 1 point. NOT THAT HARD.

“Former BB Judges” 😆 Looking forward to new, fair, logical, reasonable, unbiased, and non-blind judges next season. Enjoy your retirement.

The fans wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

While I may not agree with all their decisions - in the last episode, EVERY single one was correct *per the rules*. Don't like the rules, then get the owners to change them. Remember, you don't own squat - you're just a fan. Just like the NFL, just like the NBA, just like MLB. You get zero in terms of input. Wanna fix it? Buy your way in. Otherwise, pipe down. And for the minority who say, "I'm not watching any more" - see 'ya. That's the equivalent of the 5 year old who says he's going to take his ball and go home. We don't care. And for the whiners out there, let me be clear: Tantrum won. Fair and square.

You know what’s stupid? The upper deck. For one thing it gives a completely unfair disadvantage to full body spinners by creating more corners and walls for them to bounce off of. And in a competition, competitors shouldn’t have a worse chance of winning before they even start. Someone who wants to make a fair competition should make it equally possible for anyone to win. Second without the upper deck, witch doctor would not have gotten stuck, Minotaur’s wheel would not have fallen off, and the real winner would have been able to actually win.

Easy fix people, after 3 minutes, clock is out, freeze what you've got, bots in their corner, get the score, if it is going to be another "judgmental split", send the bots back in until fight is over. OK , this is going to get into the 45 minutes of commercial time Vs 15 minutes of fight time, but I am pretty sure EVERYONE would be OK with that. Keep the judges out of the formula because damaged bots rolling around still wanting to fight/win with honor, will always be judgmental. See what Hal Rucker would think of this as every time he went to the judges with an "undamaged bot", he lost, they hate Hal but they love people like Ray Billings, it's so obvious. Eliminate the favoritism.

I've seen a robot crabwalk and still win the fight at the Norwalk Havoc league. Some fan said it happens more than you would think. I can see why builders get frustrated when Battlebots counts them out, but they've proven they can still win elsewhere.

A big hug from Brazil. I love to see the battles 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷

I’d like to ask how in the hell two of them thought tantrum won that match against Hydra. That was ridiculous

This should be interesting. I don't think there are many people who are happy with some of the decisions in the semi-finals.

Love the maturity here. They didn't judge the fights the way the fans wanted them to, so they should lose their jobs. Let's hope all your bosses show you mercy the next time you screw up at your job.

Full frame photo

I really love this! The fact that some of the money is going to charity is also fantastic! I wish I had money to purchase and donate to a park or some place every one can enjoy! And get people interested in BattleBots and STEM careers! ❤️❤️🤖

My hope is Caesar’s buys it and puts it on display for all Vegas visitors to enjoy. 😀

Love this idea and what a tribute to Grant Imahara's foundation. Hoping it sells high - it's a very cool art piece!

Is it on display in Vegas anywhere? I’d love to show it to my kids who love art, battlebots and destruction.

I hope they do something like this after every season now

I wonder which individual bott “contributed” the most parts? (And maybe that team needs a new battle strategy!🤣)

Super cool. 4d left and it’s already at 12k. Holy moly.

Needs forks…😉 Very cool!

Dear editing crew: can we get more sound effects from the crowd instead of this one person I hear all the time, screaming, "wayoooo!!!!"

⚡⚡⚡

Frank Linwood Kerstetter IV!!

Hydra is the champion.

Good morning everyone

👍★★★★★👍

Show is BULLSHIT. The fact that Tantrum beat Hydra was rigged so the little love couple could move on. What crap won't watch again, and I've been watching since beginning. Then they had to show the judges scores because they new it was BULLSHIT.

Monster

It’s at 13,000usd. Too rich for me

Is Witch Dr's spine in there somewhere? Pretty sure they lost it during the Minotaur fight.

But why a horse

Top fan

And it’s Rigged! Hydra stomped Tantrum! I’m done because this is now a joke!

Rosalie here it is!!

We watched the final last night (DVR) and Minotaur got robbed and should have fought in the championship. The fight after that was also a rigged event. Hydra should have got the win. Makes me wonder about watching anymore.

I am confusion

Absolutely loved to see how much the bot has evolved this season, it was hitting so hard. Great season WD! Hope you come out even stronger next season.

I have lost so much respect for witch doctor after this match. And zero respect for the refs. In all the years I have watched, they have never stopped a match because one bot was stuck. They clearly wanted Witch Doctor to win. #justiceforminotaur

I bet they would've even stopped the match if Witch Doctor was thrown out of the ring, and brought back in, only time I've ever seen them stop a fight was if both bots were locked together, never because one was stuck

It's not Witch Doctor's fault that they were given Rusty as a 3rd opponent to get into the tournament. It's not WD's fault that Glitch was replaced with Mammoth giving them an easy win in the first round. It's also not WD's fault that they were unstuck. I understand all of that. But it does, in my opinion, smell like favoritism and if the goal of the organization was to make me like WD less then mission accomplished. I wanted WD to win 2 years ago because they were on a rampage. I wanted them to win last year when they were the favorite team. But after this year... idk...

I hope that we see rematches between Witch Doctor vs minotaur and Hydra vs Tantrum during the first episode next season. Maybe, they could even air a grudge match mini tournament before the regular season.

They are a class act with a great bot! Love watching them and then hearing post fight summary.

I replayed the Sawblaze fight 3 times and just sat on the couch repeating, “Holy sh*t!” Over and over. One of the most brutal bot beat downs I’ve ever seen. Shut down any prior criticism on the spot. But fate is so fickle and ironically cruel in the end.

I’ve lost all respect for WD! I do not like how they treated Minotaur after WD was helped out. WD should have been counted out. I’m happy they didn’t win the nut!

Well I can't say I was disappointed to see WD lose to Tantrum. ( Kinda happy actually ) After the Crappy call in the Semi with Minotaur. WD was over there whining 'Aren't you going to count 'em out? ' over and over. While they just ran around the box avoiding any contact. They should have called the match when they were both stuck. Let the judges decide then. Might have been a different result Looks like we can see who the show producers favor. . . . but that's just my opinion. No inside info to confirm it.

Felt so bad!! Unfortunately they lost fairly. Really wanna see this team take it home!

Glad your still doing the ama even though the season didn't end how you wanted. Speaks to character unlinke some other teams.

Lost all respect for WD team with that chickensh— performance against Minotaur. Curious about the justification for “unsticking” Witch Doctor but not doing the same for other bots like Blip. Hard to get excited about next season if the show is going to manipulate results like this.

As per the unstick rules, Minotaur should have been allowed 20 seconds to try to attack and potentially damage/free Witch Doctor from being stuck. The live unedited footage shows that the unstick was called after only 10 seconds... I don't feel any of the team members should be getting any grief from this outcome. The rules need changing or use a third referee to communicate the final decision effectively to the teams

Hey, Witch Doctor - BattleBot. Just wanted to congratulate you on an amazing season. Making it to the championship round for a second time was a great accomplishment. You’re still my favorite, even though you lost, and I hope to see you next season.

Good season for ur team! I wish ur one side didn’t get caught up cause that would have been a different story but I guess that’s how it goes.

Minotaur was robbed, plain and simple. Love me some Wichdoctor, but the referees decided that match, not the bots.

Some of you definitely didn't read Witch Doctors response to the Minotaur match and it shows...

It’s a fantastic bot! Mean as hell!

Ask them how is it fair to have refs n judges hand them wins when they didn't deserve them after they should have been counted out!!!

You are an amazing, classy team!!! Love you!!!!!!!

They had a great season. Instead on whining to the ref about to counting out minotaur, just finish it off

Absolute favorite team of all time! Close runner up is Minotaur! But Witch Doctor all day every day!!! Next year will be your year!!!!

I saw the way that Brazilian driver acted after the loss smh. Never could stand that guy. I knew he was a poor winner, guess he’s a poor loser as well

I was hoping for a Witchy win but hey you had a good run.

Thank you WD for your response to social media comments. For those who don’t do homework before commenting—please go read it. Its helpful and respectful.