Monday, September 27, 2010

Vulcan vs Stampede- we solve nothing:)

Soo..the other night some friends randomly popped over for drinks which quickly turned into a "dude, show us all these Nerf blasters you've got..." session.

Drinks flowed, dribble talk followed, and then one of the girls just walked in and said those words:

"so which one is better?" (she coulda meant flavour of chips or drinks or us personally but we automatically assumed that for some insane reason an attractive girl would actually GIVE a damn about which Nerf blaster is better..)

Who would win? Just like with timeless debates on Aliens vs Predator, Terminator vs Robocop, Sam Fisher vs Solid Snake, Superman vs Mighty Mouse (?) Nerf now has it's own:  Vulcan vs Stampede. Is Nerf's new all blazing powerhouse the king of all Nerf blasters? Does it have what it takes to topple the mega blaster that is the Vulcan?



As with all of these "versus" comparisons, the thing that always matters is the scenario that you're testing the blasters in. For all intended purposes, in the right situation a Nitefinder could take down a Stampede easily.. and in others..maybe not so much. But.. perhaps if the blasters were used in situations that they (at least aesthetically) are most suited in.. maybe we could really see how they really perform. Or.. more likely, this test proves nothing other than it seemed like a good idea at the time:P
My defence. Vulcan EBF 25 + Titan AS-1. 
SO here's the scenario. Two players down stairs, one player upstairs. Players downstairs have a Stampede, 1x 18 round clip and 1x 6 round clip each. Player upstairs has the Vulcan with two 25 round belts and a Titan AS-1 with three missiles. Players downstairs are actually pretty good shots. Player upstairs.. is me.
Bring on the Stampedes! Two of these suckers wanna take my bedroom?
Players downstairs have to make it to the top of the stairs and..um..into the master bedroom. This means.. getting past the player upstairs. Player upstairs really has something to fight for (I don't want people going thru my bedroom!)
The playing field. Only one way up..or down. I guess they coulda always starved me out..
I found adding the Stampede tactical shield to the Vulcan (via a Recon tactical light) also makes the Vulcan a pretty formidable defender from my upstairs ledge looking down into the living area.
View from upstairs..
It was decided that if it was just one on one, the higher ground advantage meant it would be next to impossible for the downstairs player could take the stairs. Especially WITH the shield on the Vulcan. So adding two players downstairs meant there could be cover fire and distractions. (This however works a lil better when there is not tequila in the mix..)
Yup.. Greg looks on, mocking those downstairs..
So what do you reckon fellow Nerfers? How would you storm the higher ground if you were one of the guys down stairs? Or..as the defender, how would you ensure the guys downstairs never made it past the first step?  As a side thought.. maybe there should there be a reason for the defender to come DOWN the stairs (perhaps for more ammo?

21 comments:

  1. id use a bbgun.. ;-)

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  2. If I was on the downstairs team, I'd put someone almost directly beneath the Vulcan, shooting practically straight upwards at the higher ceiling. Darts would richochet down off the ceiling (or just reach the top of their arc and fall under gravity) onto the dude with the Vulcan from above, negating the advantage of the shield. Meanwhile, the other guy rushes the stairs.

    Although if I were testing the two, I'd set it so that each 'side' has the same amount of money (say, $120) to spend on their blaster, ammo, clips, extras etc. You can set up a Vulcan with quite a few belts of ammo for the same price as a Stampede and a couple of spare clips :D

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  3. Are you saying that the Vulcan is better for defence, but the Stampede is better for offence?
    Personally, I prefer the Stampede because it uses clips - which I have lots of. Also, I don't like the length of time it takes to reload a Vulcan.

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  4. The Vulcan isn't really an offensive blaster in my opinion due to it's size and cumbersome design; even with a shoulder strap it's not easy to run with. Stampede is easier to wield and run around with, so it's more versatile as both.

    The Vulcan is much more fun as a stationary blaster- set yourself down somewhere with several belts and just take 'em out. Everyone laughs like a crazy fella when they do this:P

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    Replies
    1. I remember a Nerf Dude in the commercial for the Stampede double wielding. Is that a good idea?

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  5. Ooh.. ceiling ricochets.. I hadn't thought of that:) Nice one!

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  6. This is an ideal situation for ball nerfers as an attacker. Also since you added the shield aspect can the attacker have the sgnerf riot shield?

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  7. I have two words for you

    ... Well... four words mushed together to become two.

    Airzone Scatterblast.

    GRENADE! Have one of those lobbed behind you and there's a good chance you might end up "exploded" in the back :)

    @Cutie: I can't see a guy with a stampede effectively carrying a riot shield. Possible but not very effective.

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  8. While I own both blasters, and I do like them both, I prefer the Vulcan (at least in this situation). Then again, I have modded my Vulcan chain to have a 200 dart chain, so I kinda have my heart in one place for defense (In the words of the Heavy "Run cowards, I LIVE!!!). That being said, I bought the Stampede just as a offensive weapon exactly to do what cutie had suggested (Riot shield in the left hand, Stampede with Raider drum in the right, ammo clips on my belt) for those times that I do play offense. The Stampede is by far more maneuverable than the Vulcan, but the Vulcan is an unstoppable defense Turret. Both have their place in a CTF match.

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  9. Unfortunately I haven't successfully found any decent materials to make a shield- the boot liners described in SG Nerf's how to guide don't seem to be available down under (I found a few..but they're kinda.. floppy). I have a mad crazy idea of converting one of my storage tub lids into one.. but that requires me to.. get practical and use..tools. :P

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  10. You could just get a couple of thick bits of cardboard then cut a large hole to see through (don't forget to add clear plastic)

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  11. you could crawl up the stairs hiding behind the side rail-wall bit

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  12. Jacob:- winner! That's exactly how they got me. One drew my fire, while the other pushed up against the side rail of the staircase. When I realised I'd lost visual of one of them, I moved over to the staircase to cover it; second guy then ran to cover the first guy who was already half way up the stairs and i'm not sure which one of them got me, but I copped a dart in the shoulder:)

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  13. Could you use a Tactical Scope in the place of the Recon light? It might actually help you aim :D

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  14. Stamped and Vulcan have two different purposes and can't be compared. Vulcan is a defending weapon and stampede is an assault weapon. so its like asking witch is best a Tommy gun or a BAR

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  15. My uncle works at Nerf and got me a discount, but i can't decide which one to buy? I play with my fiend in his yard , which is reasonably big and we use his porch that stretches around his house (chairs, hot tub, trees, railings are natural barricades.) Which would you recommended for this scenario?

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  16. I would scoot backwards, behind the wall, so that I could tear them apart of they came up, but they couldn't get me from below.

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  17. i just noticed that you put the test in the stampede's favorite enviroment, indoor wars. the vulcan is meant for out door wars and you had two stampede users, so technically this review is biased and one-sided. if this test was outside, the vulcan user would of had a chance, albeit a small one, of winning. perhaps could you please redo this test outdoors on a balcony with multiple entrances and make it one on one to make it fairer.

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  18. vulcan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  19. I prefer the Vulca blaster, but I can´t have money for this blaster!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  20. If you can't do a thing, throw a lanard scatter blast or your own grenade and go up!! If you only have a stampede, run around to distract the guy up and one might be able to go up and dash into him. Still this is only 50/50. You might not be able to go up. Still run quickly up!!!

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