Lifters

Lifters were more designed to lift a robot off from the ground than turn them over. Often, robots armed with lifters would use them to get under a robot and push it around. The most notable of these is Series 2 champion Panic Attack, who defeated many robots by lifting them up and dropping them in the pit. Other notable robots include Panzer Mk 2 and S.M.I.D.S.Y.. The most powerful lifter is almost certainly Series 2 superheavyweight champion Kick Robut.

Definition

 * A lifter is not restricted to one specific shape or size, and can be in the form of a bar, forks, or even a true flipper-esque plate. The main distinction of a lifter is that during the attack, an enemy robot remains on the lifter until it is released, falls off or is successfully rolled onto its side or back. This is contrasting flippers, which aim to propel another robot and allow gravity and torque to flip the robot over.

Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages
 * Lifting weapons could be used as effective weapons for invertible robots, such as Suicidal Tendencies, Storm 2 and S.M.I.D.S.Y.
 * Strengths of lifters were that they were effective weapons in early series, before the invention of the srimech. Panic Attack's road to victory in the Second Wars, as well as its run in Series 3, were the best examples of this.
 * Lifting weapons usually had sharp ends, allowing them to double as ramming spears or ramming blades. King B Powerworks and Dreadnaut took advantage of this in victories over Kronic 2 and Psychokiller, respectively.
 * Lifters were often used in conjunction with axes as they could easily be placed next to each other. Mortis was the first robot to employ the combination.

Disadvantages
 * Lifters were not usually large enough or powerful enough to self-right or flip a robot from the arena. Robots such as Panic Attack added additional srimechs, but these required additional power systems, which could cost the robot in weight or power to their weapon. As shown in Panic Attack's various losses to Firestorm, these srimechs did not always work either.
 * Lifters were often slower than flipping weapons, and as a result, in later series, did not manage to flip over quick moving opponents. This is evidenced in the decline of Panic Attack, who, whilst able to eliminate Edge Hog, was unable to take victories against Kronic 2, Terrorhurtz, Tough As Nails or Dantomkia.
 * Often they or their mechanics were vulnerable. This was evidenced when The Steel Avenger and Barber-Ous immobilised Panic Attack's forks, or when the dangerously spinning Warhog buckled Dreadnaut's lifting forks. Comengetorix's lifter was also cut off by Killalot.

List of Robots with Lifters


Robots are listed alphabetically. Robots that aren't heavyweight are listed with a green background.