Hello Four-Gaming Community! Hope you all are doing well as always. Just wanted to take some time out and explain the various parts of Beyblade Burst beyblades and what makes up a "decent" combination when choosing what to use to battle with. This is how we make up our combos in our household and we are not Pro's but it's just helpful tips and tricks to hopefully guide someone who is new to the Beyblade Burst competitive world.
First off you need to understand that there are really 3 main parts and 4 main types to a Beyblade Burst Bey. 1. The Layer (top part) which may also consist of a ring and chip dependent on the generation. 2. The Disc/Disk (metal piece/middle part) which may also be the Chassis dependent on the generation. 3. The Driver/Performance Tip (bottom part).
Every Beyblade Combo should be built to specialize in one of 4 types. The 4 types are Attack, Defense, Stamina or Balance. Attack beyblades try to win by knocking their opponent out of the stadium or bursting them. Defense beyblades try to win by resisting attack style beyblades and beating them by either spinning longer or resisting the attack so well that they burst the attack style beyblade. Stamina beyblades focus is to outspin and opponent. Balance Beys are a combination of the 3 prior types, balance Beys are hit or miss which means they will be extremely great or horribly bad.
When choosing your combo you have to ask yourself the question "Do I want to out spin my opponent with stamina, burst them or have great defense?". The meta changes every so often depending on what Takara Tomy and Hasbro release with new beyblades. One part can make all the difference. We will go over each part and describe what you should be looking for dependent on the type of beyblade combo you are trying to build.
RINGS & LAYERS
Attack Rings/Layers: These layers or top parts will be jagged or have point edges on them. This will help to catch opposing Bey's to either knock them out of the stadium or grip them hard enough to burst them. On the opposing side these jagged edges slow these beys down whenever they come into contact with something. You cant rely on this layers for stamina due to their aggressive styles.
Pro's: Great for Bursting opponent, Great for Knock Out Wins, Easily Burst Stamina type Beys!
Con's: Poor Stamina, If you don't win by an early knockout or burst you probably aren't winning. Weak against Defense style Beyblades.
Defense Rings/Layers: These layers or top parts will be round or have smooth edges. They have the smooth/round edges to make it difficult for an attack style beyblade to catch onto them. They tend to knock back opposing Beys that hit them. This resistant force helps to keep them from knockout's as well as their layer being caught to burst them.
Pro's: Great Defense and low capability to be burst. Strong against attack style beyblades.
Con's: Weak against Stamina Beyblades.
Stamina Rings/Layers: These layers or top parts are unique in their design. Some are obtuse like Ragnaruk/Roktavor and others may appear to look like jagged attack styles Bey's like Geist Fafnir. These layers are great for stamina and spin stealing from their opponent. You may have to look on the Beyblade Box to determine the Stamina style layer. They can be quite tricky to tell just by looking at them. Typically stamina beyblades have poor burst resistance so they have shallow teeth/Takara Tomy or poor slopes/Hasbro. They are built to keep spinning and not really contact other beys.
Pro's: Spin for DAYS! Spin steal capability. Strong against Defense type Beyblades.
Con's: Very poor burst resistance. Weak against attack style beyblades.
Balance Layers/Rings: The only legitimate Balance style layer or even beyblade is any Spriggan/Spyrzen type of beyblade. These aren't defined solely by style. Their performance makes them balanced, capable of having traits of all 3 prior layer styles.
Pro's: Capable of pure balance of resistance, attack and stamina.
Con's: Dependent on your opponent you can lose drastically because being fairly decent in one area that your opponent Bey specializes in will usually create an automatic loss for Balance layers/combo's.
DISC/DISK/Chassis
Disc aren't usually broken into attack, defense or stamina. When you are looking at a Disc you are looking for weight and symmetry. The shape and weight of the Disc help you determine the performance the effectiveness of your combo. Even numbered Disc are symmetrical. Also the lower the number on the Disc the heavier the weight, typically. Some Disc are better for attack than others, like 7 which is an odd number.
The heavier the weight of the Disc the stronger the attack or defense capabilities. You have to find the right balance though, because too heavy can cause you to self burst or lose control with a launch. The innovation of Chassis now still hold the same principle concerning weight. It's science overall. The heavier the Beyblade the longer and faster it will spin. Having a symmetrical Disc helps to increase the stamina of a Beyblade to keep it stable and not wobble. Wobbling decreases performances. Some unsymmetrical Disc can actually work well with your combination by throwing your bey in a specific direction to do damage, i.e. attack style combo's.
DRIVERS/PERFORMANCE TIPS
Drivers could possibly be the most essential part to your combo. There are 3 types of drivers; Attack, Defense and Stamina. Drivers are critical because all attack style drivers do not all perform the same and that is true for the other types as well.
There are so many variations of Drivers that I will try to go over the material and style that you are looking for dependent on the combo you are trying to build.
Attack Drivers: These drivers focus on speed and aggressive movements in the ring! They usually have a flat tip. They can be round, hollow or in the shape of a star. The material can be rubber or plastic. Rubber grips into the stadium and rips through with incredible speed and clash into the opposing Bey. Rubber grip Drivers tend to slow down quickly and have terrible stamina due to the great amount of resistance they have to gliding on the stadium floor. Star or jagged shaped tips tend to do a flower type pattern rotating in and out of the center of the stadium. This helps to create more contact and opportunities to beat your opponent with knockouts or burst. Remember when you are going for attack you lack stamina so you have to finish the battle early or more than likely you wont be successful.
Pro's: Aggressive attack. Extreme early speed.
Con's: Very poor stamina. If you aren't used to them you can have trouble controlling your launch.
Defense Drivers: These drivers have large round tips. They can look like a ball shape. The tips are large to help with surface area and are plastic, ceramic or metal. This helps to keep the Bey stable when attacked. These Drivers tend to go directly to the center of the ring. They are great in stamina (some may not agree) but they perform a lot better than Attack Style.
Pro's: Resist attack style Beyblades, easy to control when launched.
Con's: Poor performance against Stamina type Combo's.
Stamina Drivers: These drivers have thin pointy tips. They are designed to have extremely small surface area on the stadium floor. This helps them continuously glide on the floor. These drivers are typically plastic or ceramic. Stamina Drivers are built to spin and that's pretty much it. These drivers and Bey's want to run away and evade.
Pro's: Usually can out spin any other style.
Con's: Poor performance against attack style Beyblades. Many "stamina" types can still be outspun by Defense type Drivers.
All in all, your combination is just that "YOUR COMBINATION". You can make your own combo to work as you would like. The above information is just guidelines. We all have different launches, strengths and playing styles. For instance Xtend+ is considered one of the best Drivers for competitive use, as well as Atomic. I "the Dad" am horrible when I incorporate these Drivers into my combo's. However, our eldest son does EXTREMELY well with Xtend+. Destroy' is an Attack style Driver but I use it for attack and stamina because it works well with my combo interest and playing style. This also works with Layers, just because it is for Defense does not mean that you can't use it in an attack style combo.