Sunday, November 13, 2011

Stealthy XLRs?

With the release of the Vortex Series, I've seen lots of criticism of the "new kid on the block".  It's a fact that XLR Disks, even with the ranges they achieve, are easier to dodge/move more slowly than darts.  However, I've been thinking about the benefits of using disks over darts and the first one that I can think of is that these disks are silent.  many of the darts N-Strike has been releasing have whistler tips on them, which can alert those being fired at (as if the sound of the blaster firing isn't enough).  But disks don't have this trait and, instead, just sail silently through the air.  

The other element was something I didn't realize until I was fired at outdoors.  For those who don't know, I mainly do Nerf stuff indoors and save the outdoors for laser tag where range is a factor.  So I was kind of surprised to find another stealthy attribute to these disks.  Ever had a hard time trying to find a disk outdoors because it was green and blended in?  I know when I first range tested mine outdoors, finding the disks was a bit of a pain.  I didn't realize that this same factor kind of gives the disks more stealth outdoors if you're in an area with a lot of lively green grass or leaves.  So not only does the disk make no sound as it approaches, it's also pretty much invisible if you're in the right area.  Granted, this is only a factor outdoors and during the right season.  Even though we're almost into winter here in the US, I know I've got some Australian readers as well who are coming up on summer who are probably eager to bust out their new Vortex Blasters in wars.  

2 comments:

  1. I've noticed the silence as well. That combined with the fact that I only own a Proton makes me utilize Guerrilla tactics 80% of the time in my indoor wars. I've also noticed that even with some of the inside plastic painted red to aid my finding my discs, those things are pretty stinkin' hard to see in flight most of the time.

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  2. Something else you can do with the disks is during indoor wars you can ricochet them off walls and even clear entire corners! Once I took out 3 people in a corner at once with that technique. Vortex is great for indoor wars!
    C-dog (8-D

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