Nerf Elite Retaliator Review (15m Aussie version)

I am proud to present the review for the Retaliator, but unfortunately I can only present the downtuned Australian version, approximately 50% weaker than the US version.

The Elite line was revealed to have claimed "75ft ranges" (approx 23m), which naturally people were skeptical of, because N-Strike's claimed ranges were a meager 35ft (approx 10.7m). The first two blasters, the Retaliator and Rampage, were shown to look similar, if not almost completely identical, to current N-Strike blasters, the Recon and Raider respectively. It became completely obvious that the Elite blasters initially revealed could not simply be Recons and Raiders with bigger springs, because not only would they reach not as spectacular ranges, but they would also not be kid friendly. Thus it was speculated that Nerf had managed to fit direct plungers into the Elite blasters, and when SG Nerf got his hands on a Rampage, he showed the new, awesome direct plunger being used instead of the reverse plungers of N-Strike blasters.

Initial range tests showed that the blasters got around 50-60ft flat, and could achieve the 75ft ranges angled. Additionally, it was shown that Elite darts are a great help for many stock blasters, increasing range and accuracy compared to Streamlines. Nevertheless, Nerf started revealing new blasters with awesome performance, and Elite suddenly became a massive hit.

I personally went for the Retaliator over the others currently available (the Rampage, Hail-Fire and Stockade) for several reasons:

1. I dislike the Raider design, and as the Rampage uses the Raider shell I'm unlikely to get it.
2. The Hail-Fire looks weird because of its proportions, and I just don't see a use for it except for spraying 144 darts.
3. The Stockade is a redone Barricade and I'm not a fan of Barricades, although the Stockade stock is awesome.
4. The Recon was the blasters that got me in to Nerf, and I've always liked the design. Because the Retaliator is a re-done Recon it follows naturally that I'd love it.

Now, on to the bulk of the review.


Some standard box pics which are quite similar to that of the Recon, as well as the notorious side box pic with the Firestrike and Elite Jolt.

Inside the box, as you'd expect it. No wire ties or anything, just cardboard, plastic wrappings and tape. The instruction manual is wedged under the stock, and folded four times to make it tiny.

Out of box, it looks like this:

Once you've assembled everything together, you get this:

 

As you can see, a fully assembled Retaliator looks absolutely fantastic. The combination of blue, with orange and white highlights makes the Retaliator looks awesome with any accessory combination. Even better, each piece is useful, even the barrel!

This blue with white and orange is constant throughout the Elite line, so it's good to see a great looking colour scheme be so common. Note the grey trigger, which means that this is an Aussie downtuned version. The US version has a stronger spring and an orange trigger.

Because the Retaliator comes in so many parts out of the box, let's start with the base blaster. It's essentially a Recon with a new colour scheme on the outside, but inside it's a whole different story. Check out Modworks (link through SG Nerf) to see what it's all about.
Priming is extremely smooth, and thanks to the weak Aussie downtuned spring, extremely easy. It's great for young kids because even they will find it easy.
In any case, even just as a pistol the Retaliator looks quite good. I particularly like the three grey stripes on the right side, even though they're nearly pointless.

The above left image is the priming indicator, which is just the plunger rod. It's less prominent than the N-Strike blasters, due to the design of the plunger rod, but you can still see it easy.
On the right is the inner barrel design, which differs from the Recon's solid inner barrel design. I'm not sure it makes a difference, but in any case it looks cool.

The stock is one of the main draw points for people buying the Retaliator. Unlike the blasters of the initial Elite lineup, the stock is completely new. It is the length of a retracted Raider stock, and although it is quite short, it looks great, is extremely sturdy, and provides a good chest/cheek rest.

Although it doesn't look it, the Retaliator stock fits snugly and tightly on to the butt piece of the Retaliator (and thus any compatible blaster). This is partly thanks to the arch on the top, but also due to the lump on the inside of the stock (see top left). This keeps the stock from moving up and down, which means the stock will not shake about.

Not to mention it looks awesome on any blaster. If there's one accessory in the Retal pack which is pure awesome, this is it.

If there's one complaint to be made (apart from its length), it's that attaching a bandolier/sling to the stock will not go well, because unlike the Recon stock the sling point is long enough for the bandolier to rattle about. This can be annoying, but it's a minor detail if you don't use slings.

One small problem is that the Retal stock does not fit onto the Pyragon or Praxis/Lumitron. Considering all the other stocks thus far have fitted, this is a little disappointing.

Next up is the Retaliator Foregrip. It's a simple accessory, and seemingly redundant because Nerf released a foregrip/bipod with the Stampede. However, this does have features which make it better than the Stampede foregrip in some ways.

Firstly, it's orange, and looks pretty cool. Secondly, it's smaller and lighter than the Stampede foregrip because it has no integrated bipod. Thirdly, it doesn't have an annoying button that the Stampede's foregrip uses to deploy its bipod.
Last but definitely not least, the grip on it is rough, and it has a space for your index finger, and so is extremely comfortable if your hand fits on it. As you can see in the pic on the right, it barely fits my whole hand, so adults may have trouble with it. The Stampede's foregrip is larger, so if your hands are large stick with the Stampede foregrip. If your hands fit on the Retal foregrip, and you don't need to bipod, then stick with the Retal foregrip because it's more grippy and looks cooler.

You might be saying 'but even so what's the point of a foregrip?' This is a legitimate question, as the foregrip, in essence, is a stick protruding out the front of the blaster. What it does is allows greater and more accurate horizontal movement, allowing you to turn and aim much easier than if you didn't have it. It's also more comfortable than holding the barrel.

The Retaliator's barrel is very simple, and seemingly only differs with the Recon barrel in colour scheme. Depending on the blaster you're accessorising, either barrel might match well or badly. Like the Recon's barrel, the Retaliator barrel cuts a little range from the Retaliator. The Retal loses less range, however. Additionally, both barrels improve the accuracy of the blasters, but the Retaliator's works particularly well, allowing in incredibly and surprisingly accurate shots. This is a major plus because it means the Retal barrel is not simply an accessory for tacticool.

The Retal barrel's party piece, however, is inside the barrel. Unlike the Recon's barrel, it has proper faux rifling. Whether or not it actually does anything is unknown to me, but it just looks awesome. You could film the beginning/ending sequence of a James Bond film using this barrel (the iconic gunbarrel scene).

Up next is the Retaliator's fantastic 12 dart clip (mag). When the clip (mag) system was introduced, everyone complained that 6 shots were not enough. Some people (including me) made 'superclips (mags)' using 2 6 clips (mags), so as to make a clip (mag) with 12 or more dart capacity. Not long after, the Raider came out with its 35 drum. However, it was massive, heavy, bulky, and had a tendency to jam/misfeed. Finally Nerf released the 18 drum and clip (mag), which are great midsized clips (mags), but 18 clips (mags) are too long to fit in most magazine pouches, and 18 drums have the same problem due to them not being thin.

Finally Nerf has released a 12 clip (mag), and they've done it brilliantly. It doesn't fit more than 12 (it refuses to) despite there being space. This is good, because putting 19 darts in an 18 clip (mag) caused jams, and you don't want jamming when in a Nerf war.

The 12 clip (mag) strikes a balance between capacity, size and spring strength, allowing for easy and fast feeding without damaging darts, as well as allowing easy storage. Additionally, as it's part of the Elite lineup it features a half clear shell - perfect for checking ammo count. Sure, it's not full clear, but it still does its job well enough. In any case, having a half clear shell is really cool.

Unfortunately, because the 12 clip (mag) is part of the Elite lineup you can't use the Flip Clip (mag) connector on it, although IMO 12 clips (mags) are too long for the flip clip (mag) to be effective, so it's not an issue. I do like the new styling though.

I sometimes complain that handles are not particularly comfortable. The Retaliator's handle however is extremely comfortable. As you can see, my hand fits quite comfortably on the handle. This would be suitable for adult hands, though those with extremely large hands might have trouble.

The right picture also shows off one of the Retaliator's locks, which prevents you from pushing the slide forward if it's only been half cocked. There's a load of other locks, but basically they all result in the slide only being able to move one way depending on cycling stage, clip (mag) only drops out when the slide is back, and you can only pull the trigger when it's ready to fire. For the more mature Nerfer you could just remove all of these because you're not stupid enough to injure yourself doing dumb things, but for young children these locks will be useful.

The jam door is identical to the Recon - unfortunately it doesn't quite open 90 degrees, and it doesn't expose a whole lot. In any case I haven't experienced any jams yet, so you shouldn't need to use the jam door at all. Most modders just remove it anyway to allow easier jam clearance.

Now on to performance. As this Retal is an Aussie downtuned version, I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Ranges without the barrel are erratic at 11-16m.
Ranges with the barrel are much better at a consistent 14m.

Accuracy without the barrel is terrible, and at maximum ranges the darts travel up to 2m apart and up to 10 metres in range difference. In my range testing I had one that dropped at about 11m, and one that soared to 20m! The majority landed between 11m and 16m.
Accuracy with the barrel is surprisingly pretty good. At its full range, I get a cluster of around 14m with a 0.5m radius from the average landing spot.
I can also attest to most of the accuracy being thanks to the blaster. Even Streamlines were being hurled out with reasonable accuracy, but naturally Elites were that little bit better.

ROF is as fast as your hands can prime and fire - 2-3dps is possible, and the spring is also quite weak, allowing for easy rapid fire.

The Retaliator is available for as cheap as $40 for the moment, which given what it brings and how it performs is pretty good value.

All in all, the Retaliator is a fantastic blaster. It provides great power, surprisingly good accuracy with the barrel on. and is useful for numerous situations. I highly recommend it, even with the downtuned Aussie version. As usual, I'm finishing this review with a first person picture and my ratings.

Pros:
Adaptability/customisation potential, barrel still improves accuracy, accuracy is surprisingly good, ranges are good, stock is very sturdy, 12 dart clip (mag) is awesome
Cons:
Sights impede priming, ROF is slower than most other CS, stock and grip are a little short for larger persons, barrel still reduces range

Power: 6/7
Accuracy: 4/5
Value for Money: 5/5
Usability: 5/5
Rate of Fire: 3.5/5
Overall: 4.36/5

Personal Rating: 4/5 - It's an excellent blaster all round especially with a pump grip, but I personally prefer the EAT or a good Rapidstrike.

What surprises me most of all is that it's not that bad compared to the US version, which is getting up to ~17-18m stock.

My BlasterHub review of the Retaliator: link

EDIT 1: After watching/reading some range tests, my Aus Retaliator is unusally good, getting ranges only just below that of US Retals, averaging about 50ft. I'm curious to see how much better US Retals actually are, or how other Aus Retals perform.