how effective are the herders/dumpers?

[Dan Richardson]

I think one thing is important to remember however about dumper is they have to be able to play strong defense, and often times good offensive defense ( keeping teams off the shooters and such. )

Teams that have this competition can be very competitive because they can score quickly ( our team can score 18 in about 3 seconds in a corner goal ), and in with some sensory feedback autonomous can be just about 100%.

For a dumper bot most of the time the name of the game is consistency. 10 points in auton is a must, strong defense is a must, 1 solid dump or 2 smaller dumps into corner goals during the game is important, and getting on the ramp with the rest of the alliance is all great. Shooters often have to line themselves up to shoot and they are sometimes slow, but a dumper can get rid of their balls fast as lightning.

I also believe in a dumpers case it is good to be able to have a few choices for autonomous. Scoring from the 1st 2nd or 3rd spot as alliances move out and a defensive mode are pretty important. Ideally a dumper bot may also cut across the field to the opposite goal and score into that one, just in case someone shoots from the first spot.

If a dumper can do most of these things I believe they can be successful even on the national stage, and as we've they have been very successful at regionals this far.