Winning percentage by weapon type

From Combat Robot

1 Introduction
2 Method
3 Hobbyweight Results
4 Beetleweight Results
5 Conclusion
6 External Links

Introduction

There is a perception that spinners and other 'bots with active weapons have a better chance of winning than do 'bots without active weapons. I ran a statistical analysis to see if that is true.

Method

I selected the hobbyweight and beetleweight classes for this analysis because they are popular and are commonly fought at many events.

I examined the lists of entered 'bots from the completed events listed on the main page of Builders Data Base as of December 12th, 2005 and recorded the weapon type of each hobbyweight and beetleweight robot that competed in any of the twenty events listed:

DaVinci Days
Summer W.H.R.E
Robot Rebellion 5.3
SNF Qualifier 1.0
POP9 Worst Ever

WBX-II
Last Chance
RoboPraxis
TCO III
Underground Rampage

Robonexus
BBS3 - Alien Invasion
Robothon
House of NERC 2005
Detroit Bug Battle 3

Fall W.H.R.E. '05
Robot Rebellion 5.4
2005 RFL Nationals
Combots Cup
Bay Area Robot Fights

I then went to Botrank.com and recorded the win/loss record for each of the 'bots from my list that were mentioned there.

Hobbyweight Results

Active vs. Non-active weapons

Of the 24 hobbyweight 'bots for which I had a weapon type and win/loss record, 12 had active weapons and 12 had no active weapon.

The median robot with an active weapon had a 39.4% match winning percentage.
The median robot without an active weapon had a 47.5%.match winning percentage.

Five of the twelve robots with active weapons won more matches than they lost: 41.7% winning records.
Five of the twelve robots without active weapons won more matches than they lost: 41.7% winning records.

The mean botrank.com rank of robots with active weapons was 62nd.
The mean botrank.com rank of robots without active weapons was 48th.

Spinners vs. non-spinners

Of the 24 hobbyweight 'bots for which I had a weapon type and win/loss record, 9 were spinners and 15 had no rotary weapon.

The median spinner had a 33.3% match winning precentage.
The median non-spinner had a 55.6% match winning percentage.

Two of the nine spinners won more matches than they lost: 22.2% winning records.
Eight of the fifteen non-spinners won more matches than they lost: 53.3% winning records.

The mean botrank.com rank of spinners was 80th
The mean botrank.com rank of non-spinners was 40th

Beetleweight Results

Active vs. Non-active weapons

Of the 40 beetleweight 'bots for which I had a weapon type and win/loss record, 30 had active weapons and 10 had no active weapon.

The median robot with an active weapon had a 50.0% winning percentage.
The median robot without an active weapon had a 54.7% winning precentage.

Thirteen of the thirty robots with active weapons won more matches than they lost: 43.3% winning records.
Seven of the ten robots without active weapons won more matches than they lost: 70.0% winning records.

The mean botrank.com rank of robots with active weapons was 63rd.
The mean botrank.com rank of robots without active weapons was 44th

Spinners vs. non-spinners

Of the 40 beetleweight 'bots for which I had a weapon type and win/loss record, 27 were spinners and 13 had no rotary weapon.

The median spinner had a 50.0% win record.
The median non-spinner had a 52.9% win record.

Twelve of the twenty-seven spinners won more matches than they lost: 44.4% winning records.
Eight of the thirteen non-spinners won more matches than they lost: 61.5% winning records.

The mean botrank.com rank of spinners was 60th
The mean botrank.com rank of non-spinners was 56th

Conclusion

The median hobbyweight or beetleweight combat robot without an active weapon has a higher percentage of wins than does the median 'bot with an active weapon. They also have an equal or higher percentage of winning records and a higher average botrank.com ranking than their active-weaponed conterparts.

A similar result is found when comparing hobbyweight or beetleweight combat robots without spinning weapons to beetleweight spinners: non-spinners had a higher median winning percentage, a higher percentage of winning records, and a higher mean botrank.com ranking.

Note -- Although the average hobbyweight or beetleweight combat robot with an active weapon performs less well than the average 'bot without an active weapon, there is an elite group of spinners and lifters that dominate the upper rankings of both weight classes. If you have the experience and skill to properly construct and operate a 'bot with an active weapon, the effort may be worthwhile.