Re: Good Elimination Srategy!
 

I couldn't disagree more. Good defense can shut down or at least slow down even great alliances. (Bad defense can't, but that's always true.) It's happened already and will continue to grow. Yes, it's hard to match a triple balance, but we've already seen it defended, and defense has put very serious dents in alliance teleop scores.

There's man-on-man (such as it is) defense, which seems to be only/most effective with fender or at least close scorers. We've completely shut down both types, sometimes 2 at a time.

Ball starvation is also exceedingly powerful and also more versatile. Many teams have had success with hopping over (usually Barrier but also Bridge) and clean our their opponent's zone, either through feeding or just fast loading and scoring.

Other teams, including us, have had great success with blocking inbounder passes. My favorite method for this Inbounder Chicken: blocking their passes and thus forcing one of their scorers back to feed and basically trapping them there.

And of course there's bridge defense itself, especially against the triple balance. This is an exceedingly powerful, game-winning tactic.


The "just score" strategy works great if you can drastically outscore your opponents while handling their defense. If you plateau (and it is essentially a plateau) lower than your opponents though, no need to walk away--there are many other options that can win it all if well executed. In good match-ups there's always more to consider than just your own robots.

Re: Good Elimination Srategy!
 

I agree it's effective, but I disagree in saying that's defensive. Hoarding balls is defensive, and it's very RARELY practical in elimination matches. If you're shooting balls to the other side in aims to allow alliance partners to score points then it's an offensive strategy.

I get what you mean by saying that you can slow down other alliances, but I compete in Michigan, and here, you almost always have to face 1 or more championship finals caliber teams in the district finals. You either win, or you lose, slowing them down isn't effective.

I forgot not everyone competes in this environment and my opinion doesn't count for everyone. But these are the conditions it was composed in.

Re: Good Elimination Srategy!
 

Is it? If I intentionally go after (and score/feed) the far-side balls before my own, I'd consider that defensive. Offensive as well, but certainly a strategy deliberately aimed at reducing the opposing alliance's score (in addition to increasing my own). If I block opposing inbounder throws and thereby starve a team (sorry, 2016), isn't that defense, even if I'm also massing balls on my scoring side? Or if not "defense", certainly deliberately affecting the opposing score. (I define this as defense; not that others must.)

Re: Good Elimination Srategy!
 

Hmm, I think that we don't actually disagree here; both of us think that the strategy of supplying your own alliance with the other teams balls is a good way to do things. You call it offensive, I call it defensive- doesn't matter, still works.