Hybrid

Hybrids are basically bots that carry different weapon systems or are just a crossbreed between robot types.

It isn't recommend to have more than two weapon systems. Because even if a hybrid's greatest strength is versatility, it would be still weaker than a regular bot in each of his own weapon systems.

EMERGENCY is a rammer/flipper hybrid, although it isn't really a ram because it deals low damage, more than a pusher.

There are many, many types of hybrids, but only several have been proven efficient.

• Rammer/Hammer: Basically, a fast hammer with a frontal weapon rack. The tactic is to begin hammering after pinning your opponent, a thing rammers can do easily, and useful for pushers. However, they are not as maneouvrable as real rammers (because of the hammer head and the srimech that often fails) and pretty much unstable. Extremely efficient against horizontal spinners if done well. Side hammer hybrids are stronger against vertical spinners and possibly popups (again, a weapon against your greatest enemy) and wipe out the instability problem and lack of invertibility. Examples include Flying Chao's BBEANS 5 bot Vetearn Destroyer and Clickbeetle's Cheshire Cat.

• Rammer/Poker: The best hybrid here isn't the fast poker, but a regular rammer with several pneumatic weapons. Foolishevil's bot RoAcH (Starcore 3) is a great design to start with. These basically add some bite to your rammer, provides you with a decent tossing agility, but also provide an additionnal weapon to a pusher, solving the issue of pushers doing low damage. Of course, your chasis is going to be big with all these motors, batteries and air tanks, so you'd better be on a weight diet for this hybrid. Useful against horizontal spinners.

• Rammer/Horizontal spinner: A good design, these are fast horizontal spinners with several static spikes, or at the opposite, a rammer with two spinners. Horizontal spinners will be easier to fight with that. Basically adds speed and frontal defense to a HS, while of course weakening the spinner. ACAMS' 2 Sinister is a notable example.

• Horizontal spinner/Sit&Spinner: Several HS masters have used that design. A sit-and-spinning HS will make more damage at the cost of mobility. Just build a fast HS and give it a wide wheel stance.

• Rammer/Sit&Spinner: While you can SnS with a pure rammer, it won't be very efficient and you risk losing a few wheels. For a true hybrid like this, you just need to give up a few spikes/axes on your ramming weapon and make a rear "tail" with weapons on it, or put weapons all around your bot (remember not to sacrifice your entire weapon rack). This is a powerful addition to a ram if you are fighting a wedged opponent (VS, popup), the ram's deadliest enemies.

• Hammer/Poker: This type of bot attacks by pushing opponents into a wall or corner, then hammering down the wounded opponent. These bots are more than rare, and the best example is ScootOrDie, a DSL remake of a RA1 bot. Not extremely efficient because your hammers often bites the air if your pokers push your opponent.

• Flipper/Hammer: These bot designs not only flip the opponents, but Hammer down at the same time, this can either clamp the opponent, do more damage than a normal hammer, or just fail. For examples, see Clamp.

• Flipper/VS: Possibly one of the rarest hybrids known, these bots lift opponents upwards, usually into the main weapon. NFX's BTTB bot Tribute to Tribute to Mayhem is an example.

• Flipper/HS: Another very rare hybrid. One of these (Hedgehog IV) competed in BBEANS 2.

As you can find, rammers are extremely easy to hybrid and a good addition to other weapon designs.

On another side, shell spinners and bar spinners are hard to hybrid due to the sheer size of the weapons which barely leaves any space for the other weapon system to be put into good use.