Interchangeable Weaponry

Interchangeable Weaponry is a system where a robot can be modified between battles, allowing the team to change the weaponry. The rules of the show allowed this, as long as;
 * The weapons did not push the robot over the weight, height and width restrictions.
 * The weapons were offensive additions rather than defensive additions.
 * The team declared all the weapons they could use before the tournament.

The first robots to use interchangeable weaponry in Robot Wars were Roadblock, which had interchangeable blades for their rear saw weapon, Killertron, with its double-headed pickaxe and unused mace weapon, and Shogun, which had side spikes which were interchangeable with spikes of different sizes. All three robots first appeared in the first ever episode, Heat A of Series 1.

The most successful robot to use interchangeable weaponry is Series 6 champion Tornado, which relied on a variety of different weapons - including a spinning drum, a scoop and an 'anti-crusher weapon' - to succeed in later series.

Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages
 * Interchangeable weaponry gives a robot a wider range of attacking options and tactics than what can be offered with a single weapon.
 * Interchangeable weaponry allows the robot to be modified depending on the opponent(s) it faces.
 * If one weapon proves ineffective, it can easily be replaced with another. In Series 4, the X-Terminator team found their axe weapon was not damaging enough, so they changed it to the scoop flipper, which helped them win their Heat Final. Alternatively, they can be used when another breaks; this happened to Big Nipper in the 2016 series, who had to use their horizontal crusher when their vertical disc was not working
 * Interchangeable weaponry can bring a 'surprise factor' to a robot, that the opponent may not anticipate. Tornado's horizontal bar spinner was concealed from other roboteers until it was first used.

Disadvantages
 * Some custom prepared weapons were not allowed to be used as they violated the rules. In Series 6, Team Tornado were not allowed to use their anti-spinner weapon against Hypno-Disc, and their anti-crusher weapon was banned after Extreme 2, with both interchangeable weapons being deemed to be defensive additions.
 * Each interchangeable weapon will have its own disadvantages, and not all will necessarily be suited for certain opponents. For example, the spike used by X-Terminator in Extreme 1 prevented it from self-righting, a problem which could have been avoided if it was not used at all.
 * Buying and/or building multiple weapons for a robot is more costly and time-consuming than developing a single weapon.
 * Mixing weapons up gives roboteers less experience with each weapon and how it will operate against a type of opponent, Gabriel experimented with a battle axe which actually proved less effective in its Head to Head against Ironside3 after getting caught in the flame pit, and so reverted to the tried and tested sword for its later battles.

List of Robots with Interchangeable Weapons
Robots are listed alphabetically. Robots which are not heavyweight are listed with a green background.