Defining OP - what is it and where can you find it?

What, exactly, is meant by the term "overpowered" (commonly abbreviated as "OP")?

The term is being thrown around freely lately, and it wouldn't hurt to establish exactly what is definable as being overpowered. So let's lay out some parameters:

1. To be "overpowered", a bot must perform significantly better than other bots in similar roles. And,
2. To be overpowering, a bot must be regularly able to ALONE turn the tide of a battle. One single bot from one player. And,
3. To be overpowering, a bot must be both of the above and have NO COUNTER BUT ITSELF. In other words, this bot must be so strong that the only thing that can beat it is itself.
Where those three criteria are met, a bot is clearly OP. And all three criteria MUST be met in order for a bot to be OP.

Note that, we're not talking about prices and whether bots cost too much or too little. A bot may be overpriced or underpriced, but that's separate from being too powerful or no.

So, let's look at one bot which has recently been slapped heavily with the OP label on this forum:

The Griffin.

First, does the Griffin perform markedly better than other bots in similar roles?

Not really. Anything the Griffin can do, another more specialized bot can do better. The Griffin can perform a wide variety of roles effectively, but it's not the BEST at any of them. Example, RDB Griff is excellent at midrange, but TT Fury and Trident/CRV Natasha are superior. PDB Griff is strong at knifer ranges, but unfortunately there exists Galahad, Lancelot, and Carnage. All of which can ruin a PDB or a DB Griff's day. Even a Leo is perfectly capable of soundly thwacking a Griff's backside.

Second, can a single Griffin, alone, turn the tide of a battle? If only one team has a Griffin, will that team have an insurmountable advantage as a result?

No. In old Silver tier, one Gepard could be the difference between winning or losing. If one side had a Gep and the other didn't, game over...Gep team won. The Trident Fury had almost as much impact, and for a while the only counter was another Fury, but now the Fury may be dueled - and beaten - by a skilled Natasha pilot.

Third, does the Griffin have a counter other than itself?

Rhino. Galahad. Carnage. Leo. Lancelot. Fujin. Gareth. Heck, even Stalker (with a good pilot). Any and all of those bots are fully capable of beating a Griff under normal game circumstances. The main deciding factor is which one sees the other bot first and lands the first blow.

So, to recap:

Griffin isn't drastically better than the competition at anything (except at being decent at everything);
Griffin is no more powerful than any other bot to be the sole difference between winning or losing;
Griffin isn't so powerful that it can only be countered by other Griffins.

Griffin meets NONE of the three criteria.

Lancelot comes close, in its Ancilot form. Ancilot is almost strong enough to be beatable only by other Ancilots. However, even the mighty Ancilot may be defeated by walking under the shield and then unloading directly into the Lancelot's teeth. Ancilot is drastically better than most competition at knifer roles; a single Ancilot can indeed determine the outcome of a game, if the other team doesn't have one; but, Ancilot may be effectively countered by careful piloting.

Ancilot meets two of three criteria and yet still falls short of being truly overpowered. And Griffin doesn't even meet one.

Obvious conclusion?

Griffin is cheap and versatile, but in no way OP.