Ok well i sat and watched the first day of qualifyings. and i just have one thing to say. Is Defense Key? i see good teams beiong brought down by robots letting others glide by them. i see shooters scoring a full load without being hindered. so what does it come down to? is the best offense a good defense? what are some thoughs on this
In my opinion it’s a mix of both, it’s possible by all means to be the best of both worlds, or you can focus on one function. Think of it as an army…say a BM-13 is a shooter, a great one for that matter…and then you have T-94 which is a a heavy defense robot in our case. The BM-13 picks a spot to hit its target while the T-94 makes its way to the BM to terminate it. (or knock off course in our case) The BM-13 by no means is a heavy armored vehicle because its built for one purpose…eliminate from long distances. Say we had all BM-13’s on the field…it would be a weak resistance on each side (depending on how the BM-13 (a shooter robot in our case) is built) If we had all T-94’s, (say that t-94’s can’t shoot) it would be all pushy pushy shovey shovey and no fun fun. So to even it out the BM-13 eliminates its target while the T-94’s job is to go after the BM. I think what it all comes down to is a good balance of both sides. Defense can be a dominant part of the game but a good and fast shooter can be just as good. A Bm-13 can shoot 8 consecutive rockets (balls) while a T-94 will shoot one and it’ll take long to reload but that one shot is enough to eliminate or knock the bm off course. (just like a strong tourqey defense bot spinning around a shooter or pushing them away)
One hardcore defender can easily turn a super shooter into a clay pigeon machine. That’s the reason several good teams are so low and some others are higher up.
I would think you would need to balance both offense with defense if you truly want a solid alliance. One example I can give is just our finals match against our sister team 1126/229/1367 alliance at the FingerLakes. They decided to go all out offense so we, as the # 2 seeded alliance went with and all out defensive strategy with our partners 250/211. We were considered the underdogs all the way through but we were able to hold there scoring spree down compared to the rest of the teams there. So in that respect I definitely say having a strong defensive partner is a key factor and I’m sure most teams will agree to that.
As for the Championships at this point Thomas H is correct that the larger divisions and varied experience levels of alliance partners can make or break a historically strong team. Thats’ why overall points and records will not tell you the whole story. Without good scouting, you may easily discount a solid performing team as an option in a large competition like this with limited matches.
Ellery
You mean 1567.
The championship has shown alot more effective defense than the regionals that’s for sure. Now highly effective scorers are finding that defensive teams will just chase them all match long if they have to to neutralize them. But in the playoffs having equally effective partners will make life easier for them. You can’t defense everybody.
You can’t defense everybody.
I dissagree, at curie Q83 865, 842, and 650 were against 65 180 and 1511
no one on our alliance is particularly great, our dumper wasn’t working, but we have an awesome drivetrain. none of our alliance parters were high scorers, but we could all climb the ramp.
we defended against 65, 180, and nus the score was1511 effectivly, there were no points scored in autonomouse, before the ramp bonus the score was 2-9 in our opponents favor.
However we got all three robots on our ramp, they got two robots on theirs.
the score would have been 27-19 in our favor, but i beleive 842 for a 10 point oenalty, makinf the final score 17-19
although we lost, it is a great example of how a solid defense combined with ramp climbing abilities can over even the greatest shooters.
I’m not saying a full defense alliance will be champions, but rather at least one defensive robot makes a great alliance. At times we were holding two robots back, so one great defensive robot and two shooters is the ideal alliance.
Defensive robots really shine when they prevent “ramp campers” from scoring. I would have to say that ramp camping has been the most successful strategy in this game, based on success of teams like 254. The only thing that stops these robots is a small, powerful defensive robot that pushes them away.
A defensive robot is also key to preventing the opposing shooters from scoring on the rest of the field. Keep in mind that your opponents have a strategy that they must stick to in order for them to work effectively. A defensive robot’s job is to break this strategy by running around the field, bumping and pushing other robots. A top notch defensive robot will match the best shooter out there. 
What came first: the student or the mentor?